Blog
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Genesis Owusu in The Tank
This was a bit of an unusual gig. The Tank is a giant underground oil tank previously used for ship oil by the Navy. Now it's been repurposed as a gallery space under the Art Gallery of NSW's new mode…
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Mildlife
Friday night rolled around and we had Melbourne band Mildlife at the Factory Theatre, conveniently around the corner from our place. Normally I'd take my mate Gab to this gig but he was in Japan so Ho…
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Gig catch up: Nick Cave, The Clouds, Elefant Traks and Glass Beams
I've gotten a bit behind in my gig reports so here's a big dump of what's happened since May. Nick Cave 7th May, 2024 at State Theatre We've seen Saint Nick of Warracknabeal many times over the years…
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How to get your stuff repaired when the retailer and manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court
A few weeks ago I was roasting some pumpkin for a delicious soup and towards the end of the cooking time the fan on the oven started into overdrive, making a lot of noise then it started beeping and p…
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Companies: why are you like this?
25 years ago a bunch of Internet people cracked the shits with the inhuman, one-way corporate speak employed by the companies they interacted with, consulted to and advised. Those rants became The Clu…
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sleepmakeswaves and Elephant Gym
Last Saturday night I went to see sleepmakeswaves at the Manning Bar in Sydney Uni with a couple of mates. I have many fond memories of this gig: the epic Freaky Loops gigs, Terrence McKenna and lunch…
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White Bay Power Station: 700 Feel + Ryan Fennis & Voidhood
I've been entering the ballots for Phoenix Central Park 's music programmes for a while now and never managed to get tickets. It's a tiny venue and the gigs are free, but often artists you've never he…
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Floodlights: Oz Rock revival?
As a kid of the late 70s, Oz Rock was my childhood soundtrack. In the mainstream in the 1980s it was bogan classics: Cold Chisel, The Angels, Rose Tattoo, Dragon, The Radiators, Australian Crawl, Barn…
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Battlesnake: metal madness!
Last Saturday night I went with my mate Michael to see Battlesnake. This band have been on my radar to watch with their over-the-top stage theatrics and right-on hard rock. Think Saxon by way of Spina…
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Brekky Boy
My favourite music venue gains it's favour because it's so close. I can be at the Factory Theatre in about 5 minutes. Back when they only had terrible beer we used to duck home in between bands for a…
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Golden Plains 2024
Holly and I have been going to this incredible festival as often as possible since 2018. It's like no other festival: amazing people and vibe, single stage with a really diverse lineup of bands and so…
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Minami Deutsch at Marrickville Bowlo
I was willing to go see this band just because of the description: Japanese Krautrock. It's like the punchline to a joke at Pitchfork Media's expense. But they were good. Really good. Tight, clever an…
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Apple Vision Pro demo
I'm currently in Austin, Texas for MeasureCamp so when I read you could book demos (via The Sizzle, of course) I waited until it was 7 days out and booked it in. Easily done on the Apple site, though…
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Russian Circles
Last night's gig was Russian Circles, a "post-metal" band from the US. I've followed them since the 2000s. It was a stinking hot night: 28° and something like 90% humidity, so of course I rode my bike…
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Updating ContractOrPermie.com
I've been a contractor rather than permanent employee for a good chunk of my working life. I started working in the mid-1990s when the business world had been clearly demonstrating that they had no lo…
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Egoism at the Marrickville Bowlo
Rounding out 2023 we saw Egoism on the 22nd December. The gig was a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Community Care so there were a few bands. Sound seemed a bit iffy on the night though one of the supp…
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Pizza Death at The Burdekin
Quite the change of pace from Kristen Hersh the night before: three death metal bands over three hours. Pizza Death have a solid gimmick, fun banter and silly songs. Supports Head In A Jar and Carnal…
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Kristen Hersh at The Vanguard
Last Friday night we got to see Kristen Hersh of Throwing Muses perform her solo work at The Vanguard in Newtown. I haven't been to this venue since the 1990s when it was "Top Gun". Hersh was incredib…
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Cook tech: Eat Your Books
I love to cook and so I have a lot of cookbooks. This brings about a problem. Much as I love leafing through cookbooks, sometimes you need to work out what to cook more quickly. And I'm often trying t…
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GoGo Penguin at City Recital Hall
Last night I finally got to see GoGo Penguin, a band from Manchester I've been following for 10 years. I've been hanging out to see them live the whole time. I love their music. I dragged along my mat…