Kind: Checkins

identifying you are at a particular geographic location
Checked into https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1526523

I had never been to The Merri Creek Tavern. I felt warned by a comment Dave Graney made in an interview with Will Hindmarsh on RRR—that synths and drum machines were not the usual du jour. I was not wrong.

Izzy Voxx

Izzy Voxx opened the night. While the recorded music is a combination of synths, bass, and drums, the stage setup consisted of a backing track, vocals, and guitar. She was supported on guitar by Jarra Grigg (of The Dharma Chain?), who utilized a pedalboard of delays, reverb, and even an EBow. The washed-out guitar added an ethereal feel often missing from the recorded tracks—a layer that reminded me of Davey Lane’s performance on FOSAGAWI. Musically, the sound sat somewhere between Montgomery and Washed Out.

Rhizome and the Flavonoids

Having followed the discussion between Dave Graney and Wes Smith, I knew there were multiple members and wondered how they would all fit. Miraculously, they squeezed a bassist, backing singer, guitarist, and keyboardist onto the stage.

The sonic palette was defined by the contrast between an Arp Odyssey, a Korg MS-20, and a drum machine (though I couldn’t quite spot where the machine was hidden). This setup provides a clear sonic link to post-punk acts like Devo. I was also reminded of Workers & Parasite, both for the synth usage and that characteristically sharp, angular sound.

Twinkle Digitz

The set featured a handful of new songs, including the latest single, “Do It Rightly.” Another track, perhaps titled “Heaven is a Letdown?” (I may have misremembered that), exploring the idea that heaven is a disappointment without a specific someone – and the oddity of being able to eat infinite snacks without consequence. Twinkle is also tapping into the zeitgeist with “Aurnj Man”, supposedly the next single.

The days of covers are long gone. No Tina Turner or old Go-Go Sapien songs. Sadly, we didn’t get “It’s Autonomous, Thomas,” but something always has to give. Will continues to evolve his setup, adding a new guitar pedal, FreqOut, for more dynamics. Thankfully, he outsourced the slides to someone else, one less obsticle – I wonder if moving toward controlling both slides and music via MIDI is possible?

I really liked the Merri Creek Tavern. The only minor letdown was that the red background didn’t always provide the best backdrop for the visual extravaganza.

Checked into https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx

After a sell-out 2024 season, BIG Live returns to Melbourne at Princess Theatre for an extended season. Witness BIG Live’s world-class dancers from around the globe perform ballet’s greatest Christmas show.

Be mesmerised by the breathtaking snowflakes and the exquisite Sugar Plum Fairy as they perform with dazzling costumes and exquisite sets.

Every moment will captivate you and your family’s imagination. Fill your hearts with the Christmas spirit this December with BIG Live’s iconic production of The Nutcracker!

The Nutcracker tickets | Princess Theatre | Ticketek Australia 

My family and I recently saw Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker at the Princess Theatre. This was a first time seeing a professional ballet (or any professional dance come to think of it.) It was a strange experience know so much of the music (which was sadly not a live orchestration) but not actually appreciating the ‘story’ that went with it.

To be honest, I probably should have prepared myself more than I did. I always thought the story of the nutcracker was about a magical nutcracker that comes alive to fight a bunch of mice. Having since gone back to read (or listened to) Ernst T. A. Hoffmann’s short story ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’, I realise there is a bit more going on that I had not picked up on, particularly in association with the bit about Princess Pirlipat and Madam Mouserinks, known as the Queen of the Mice. (Maybe my problem is that my knowledge and memory has been tainted by watching Barbie and the Nutcracker with my daughters?) Either way, I got a bit lost in Act II:

Clara and the Prince travel to the beautiful Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Prince’s place until his return. He recounts for her how he had been saved from the Mouse King by Clara and transformed back into himself. In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, tea from China, and candy canes from Russia all dance for their amusement; Marzipan shepherdesses perform on their flutes; Mother Ginger has her children, the Polichinelles, emerge from under her enormous hoop skirt to dance; a string of beautiful flowers performs a waltz. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a dance.

Source: Wikipedia

To me, all these groups of dances coming in felt like some sort of hip-hop dance off. I had no idea how this fit with the ‘story’.

All that aside, it was interesting to see a professional dance production after years of recitals where there is little continuity throughout. It was also interesting to listen to The Rest is History’s episode Tchaikovsky: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall.

Checked into ARSELESS CHAPS ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR – AUSTRALIA 2025

Arseless Chaps Album Launch

TOUR DATES

Sunday 9 November 2025 – Howler, Melbourne

Source: David Roy Williams

Davey Lane

It is funny how you think you know an artist, only to see them live and find out you were wrong. For me, Davey Lane is the guy from You Am I and The Pictures. However, what I failed to consider is who is Davey Lane today? I had listened to his interview on Trusty Chords and listened to recent Lane’s cover album, How to Make Davey, Vol 1. But for whatever reason I did not listened to his recent album Finally, a Party Album or his older albums.

I assumed that he would not be supported by a full band, but I presumed that he might go acoustic as Dave McCormick did supporting The Fauves. I was wrong. Davey played his Rickenbacker solo or along with a backing track. Like Davey – who seemed to be apologising for them – I was left wondering about backing tracks in the modern world, especially after reading Karl Bartos’ discussion of the Portastudio. Aesthetically, I would always rather a full band, however I think that there is something about hearing any track through a quality sound system.

The tracks that I remembered Lane playing were:

  • I’m in Hell
  • You Were a Mirage
  • You’re the Cops, I’m the Crime
  • Absent Lover
  • God, I’m Fucked Up Over You
  • Some Dr. Feelgood track played in the style of Oingo Boingo.

There were no You Am I tracks.

On a side note, I have no idea what the three drinks he had and the order he was going through. All I know is that nervous drinking gets you pissed quick. Wonder if he was nervous about performing to an unknown audience? In the end, I have been left listening to Finally, A Party Album and am grateful for the introduction and wondered if I just wasn’t listening before?

Arseless Chaps

This is the third time now that I have seen Tony and Damien as the Arseless Chaps, having previously seen them at The Howler and John Curtin Hotel. As the album launch, Tony and Damian played most of the album, with the only noticeable absence being My Mate Nosferatu.

Interestingly, the set ended with FOSAGAWI, rather than KylieTISM.

  • Pushed Off or Stabbed Off
  • Disbelief on Trial (Again)
  • You Asked, We Listened
  • Barbed Wire Canoe
  • S Club
  • Lance the Unbeautiful
  • Depressing News Around the World
  • Bum Dialing the World
  • Pong
  • Pretending to Give a Shit …
  • Venga Bus
  • KylieTISM
  • FOSAGAWI

I think FOSAGAWI is my new live favourite. It was made even more magical with the addition of Lane on guitar.

Davey Lane rocking out to FOSAGAWI

In part this felt like a reminder of the Disco Machine, but it was something more than that. I got the feeling that there was little practice as Lane looked like he was feeling his way through the song. I hope someone recorded it, but then maybe there is something about just being there?

Although my heart will always be with the Disco Machine, I am progressively coming around to Arseless Chaps. Although Cowell has touched on the logistics associated with the stripped down setup, however I feel that it also allows for a different side of Cowell and Martin? Almost more relaxed? There was almost a sense of joy in simply playing live together encapsulated by their fascination in each others synth solos.

Postscript: Felt strange seeing Cowell not being supported by Twinkle Digitz.

Checked into Twinkle Digitz – Album Launch EXTRAVAGANZA!

One man electro pop/rock maestro TWINKLE DIGITZ is psyched to launch his debut self titled album with an audio visual stage extravaganza –  Saturday June 14th at Cactus Room, Thornbury.  Glam rock punks, KEYO ROSES FLYING CIRCUS and post-rock groovers ROUTINES will also be joining the fiesta.

Twinkle Digitz – Album Launch EXTRAVAGANZA! Tickets at Cactus Room (Thornbury, VIC) on Saturday, 14 June 2025

Excited to attend a Twinkle Digitz headliner!

Will Hindmarsh performing as Twinkle Digitz at The Cactus Room.

I attended the album launch for Twinkle Digitz debut album at The Cactus Room. The gig was also supported by Routines and Keyo Roses Flying Circus.

The size and space of the gig was different to the other Twinkle Digitz gigs I had been to, such as Corner Hotel (1)(2) and The Howler. I am not sure of the capacity, but it was not huge.[1] The venue website describes it as:

Very spacious, acoustically treated, 7m x 7m room, with 5m high ceiling.

Such a confined space, it would be easy to use the word ‘intimate’, but I think it would be better described as homely. With barely a step between the stage and audience, it was hard not to feel a part of the choir. This was not a peek behind the curtain, it was a concert where there was no curtain.

In addition to the change of space, every time I’ve seen Twinkle Digitz in the past he has been supporting. Other than the gig at The Thornbury Local, it has always felt like someone else’s audience. This felt like an extended family.

Twinkle Digitz played through all the tracks on his self-titled album, including Wait in the Future (Friendo) which I had never heard live before. The question I was left wondering is whether Will ever stops? It sometimes feels exhausting watching his endless antics, I can only imagine what it is like for him. (Hopefully he had more than one ham sandwich in the car for afterwards.) The latest additions to the set were the mid-solo jumps, a borrowed Roland AX-Edge Keytar, a Alesis Samplepad played with maracas and stage lights.[2] As the equipment started to fail – computer glitching and Theremin being temperamental – one was left asking, how many anchovies are too many?

I was listening to a Tapenotes podcast episode in which Nicolas Godin from Air reflected upon Moon Safari and how when they went to tour it they had already moved on. I first saw Twinkle Digitz back in 2021. It was pretty much the same set of songs. (Although the cover of ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ has dropped out sadly overtime.) I wonder how it does not become stale? Clearly, one answer is that although the outcome remains the same, how it is achieved is constantly evolving.[3]

Although I love Twinkle Digitz self-titled album (aka ‘The World’s Greasiest Boy’) and the way it shines with different colours, like a light prism, with each listen,[4] there is still something special about the live sound. I remember wondering what it was that was lost about live music during COVID. I thought that maybe it would be enough to have a quality sound system to enjoy music. However, I never cease to be amazed by the power of live music. I was subsequently left reflecting how you capture that energy?[5]

  1. It took me back to seeing Debase perform at the small side room at EVs back in the day. ↩

  2. The jumps are an addition to the synthy workout – synth squats, guitar lunges, pianola presses and stage jumps. ↩

  3. I feel like another aspect to it is that it would seem that Will plays in so many different groups that maybe each feeds the other? In an interview for Matt Berninger’s solo album, Berninger spoke about the importance of exploring other projects and how those splinters feed back into The National. ↩

  4. My latest intrigue came while listening to a breakdown of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ on the Strong Songs podcast. Kirk Hamilton touched on the chromatic mediant and the way it adds colour to the progression. I realised that ‘God Machine’ begins with a chromatic median. It then had me trying to replicate it on keyboard to better appreciate the make-up of the song. ↩

  5. I had listened to the Routines EP, but hearing them live had a completely different feel. I think that it all surrounded around the drums. I wonder if drums are the hardest thing to capture? Whenever I think about moments in live music where I have been blown away, it seems to have centred around the drums – Radiohead opening with ‘There There’, Montaigne closing with ‘Ready’ or Damian Cowell’s Disco Machine launching into ‘Here Comes the Disco Machine’. ↩

Checked into ARSELESS CHAPS (Damian Cowell & Tony Martin)

Arseless Chaps – Damian Cowell and Tony Martin. It’s a TISM front man and comedy icon’s electrobanger duo.

ARSELESS CHAPS ARE PERFORMING TWO SHOWS THIS APRIL:
12th April – Crowbar, Sydney
13th April – Howler, Melbourne

Tickets on sale Thursday 30th Jan 11am AEDT

In the grand tradition of Groove Armada, Daft Punk, The Presets and Barlow and Chambers, Damian Cowell – the guy who pretends to be the singer of TISM – and comedy royalty Tony Martin knob twiddle their way into your nervous system.

They bumped into each other in Damian Cowell’s Disco Machine and Tony Martin’s Sizzletown, and now the world’s oldest ravers are colliding in a full-on electroclash. What can you expect from brains that gave you TISM, The Late Show, Martin Molloy and Get This? Beatz with a ‘Z’ plus reprehensibly flippant lyrics about life’s terrors.

Like two lawn bowlers wandering into a bush doof, Cowell and Martin sing, dance, do that widdly thing on their cheap synths, and embody the ancient philosophy of Fosagawi – full of shit and getting away with it. Make sure you’re sorted for Es, Wizz and Metamucil.

Source: Arseless Chaps (Damian Cowell & Tony Martin) | DRW Entertainment

Twinkle Digitz

A picture of Twinkle Digitz performing at the Howler, 2025

There is something strange about a Twinkle Digitz concert. Structurally, he plays roughly the same tracks each time, most of which make up the self-titled album, but it still always feels fresh and new. (Sadly, Tina Turner has dropped off the set list.) In part I wonder if I am drawn in by the chaos of watching one artist jug so many moving pieces?[1]

There are moments where Twinkle Digitz seems to get carried away into another place, maybe it is playing a solo or doing a boogie, only to realise that he needs to trigger this or play that.[2] The other part of the chaos is that each time I have seen Twinkle Digitz (Corner 2021, Thornbury Local 2023, Corner Hotel 2023), there is something added to the show, whether it be change to the setup or an added prop. For example, this was the first show where visuals were used, a video projected at the back of the stage. This was a blend of patterns, eighties classics and snippets from his own video clips, all timed to perfection, sort of.

In addition to the visuals, the setup seems to continue to evolve.[3] The latest addition was the Stylophone Theramin. This was used to add random wofts of wonder to the songs.[4] Here I am reminded of something Clay Shirky wrote about workflows:

At the end of every year, I junk a lot of perfectly good habits in favor of awkward new ones.
…
Some of those changes stick, most don’t, but since every tool switch involves a period of disorientation and sub-optimal use, I have to make myself be willing to bang around with things I don’t understand until I do understand them. This is the opposite of a dream setup; the thing I can least afford is to get things working so perfectly that I don’t notice what’s changing in the environment anymore.

Source: Uses This – Clay Shirky

I presume that the core midi is maintained in a DAW (Ableton?) on the laptop, so he does not necessarily need to completely reprogram things. However, any addition seems prone to throw the balance (and feedback).[5] I remember a few years ago, Twinkle Digitz posted a video of his synth workout – synth squats, guitar lunges and pianola presses.[6] However, as always, I was left exhausted keeping up with the moving parts and think that there is something to be said about this being a workout.

Arseless Chaps

Arseless Chaps

In an interview on the BBC Bookclub show, John Banville spoke about the act of writing another book as a fix for the previous failures.

I know there are failures on every page and I am tormented by that. That is why I write another book, so that I can get it right.

Source: Bookclub – John Banville by BBC Radio 4

I get the feeling there is an element of this with Damian Cowell. Like Damon Albarn, I would argue that Cowell suffers from ‘creativity as a condition‘, a solace to the world’s malaise, a balm for teenage rejection maybe? Unlike Twinkle Digitz, the four concerts I have seen featuring Cowell have all been different. Yes there is cross-over, such as tracks like S Club and KylieTISM. However, all the concerts have all been somewhat unique. The latest guise is the Arseless Chaps (originally the moniker for a Triple R radio show the two did ten years ago), which features Damian and Tony Martin taking up the whole stage. Gone was the Disco Machine and in its place was Cowell and a multi-layered workstation, tweaking this, playing that. I had thought that Tony might have been given responsibility to trigger this or click that, but other than a random interlude tinkling at the keys or the Casio VL, he was left to singing, talking and dancing.

With this stripped back setup came a different approach to song craft. With the new tracks, Barbed Wire Canoe, Nosferatu, Tones and I and Fosagawi, it felt like there was more storytelling.[7] In an interview with Tyler Jenke on the Trusty Chords podcast, Cowell spoke about Martin’s addition to the new music in the form of monologues. I think that maybe the change is not storytelling through song, but the means of going about it. Talking about the idea of a perfect pop songs with Jenke, Cowell talks about “every bit is as good as the last bit”. I feel that the newer music builds on this idea to really flesh things out. Yes there are the hooks, but they are never to the detriment of other elements.

Interestingly, Cowell quipped that he now knows what band he wants to be in. I presumed that this may have been in reference to the recent TISM reunion. However, I could not help but feel it was in reference to the old Disco Machine band as well. Some of whom were their themselves. The last time I saw Cowell perform as ‘damiancowell’ it still felt like a Disco Machine show, just in white. Having only Cowell and Martin on stage clearly differentiates from this. With Jenke, Cowell talks about “finally being me … doing me best, creating the whole sound myself.” I wonder if we always feel that we miss what we do not have. A part of me missed the presence of the rest of the band – I will never forget that feeling when the band all kicked into (Here Comes The) Disco Machine – although there is a sad modern reality associated with having a large band. (“Two band members equals one hotel room.”) I wonder then if it is as much that he now knows the makeup of the band he wants to be in? However, it must be said, the slimmed down setup provided its own affordances, such as allowing for the full use of the visuals.[8] This takes ‘Cowell as auteur’ to a new level.

The set started with a joke about the world’s oldest ravers. This and Cowell’s comment about returning to electronic music had me thinking about a comment from Dylan Jones’ book on the music that made the Eighties and the longevity of dance music:

“The dance revolution sparked by acid house continues to this day, as electronic beats remain the driving force of the music industry, and of pop music in general. Mark Moore was there at the outset, and. he talks about those days without a hint of ennui.
‘Acid house probably had far more of an impact than a lot of other youth cultures,’ he says, as if repeating a catechism, ‘but the problem is most of the other ones had better looks. So whenever someone does an exhibition or a book, this period never comes out of it as well as the others. Punk, glam, hip-hop, New Romantics, they all look so much more interesting, even if they only burned for a few years. Culturally the impact of acid house is huge because we’re still feeling it now, because most music these days is dance orientated, and it all started back then in the late eighties. There was also no manifesto. Most youth cultures have unwritten manifestos, but we didn’t have one, other than loving your neighbour.”

Source: Shiny and New by Dylan Jones

NOTE on the Howler: I am not sure if I am getting old, am boring, or something else, but I really like a gig that finishes at 9, rather than start then.

  1. I have a little Roland MC-101 and imagine with that alone many of the tracks could easily be automated, but I guess where would be the fun in that? ↩

  2. I think that there is something refreshing about when programmed music does not always work. When I saw Methyl Ethel, Jake Webb missed the drop in the second verse of Neon Cheap. In part, I think he was caught up in it all, but what was kind of funny was that he realised it and called it out mid-song. ↩

  3. I could be wrong here, it is possibly the same every time, but does not seem that way. ↩

  4. The Theramin has also been used to great effect on Instagram as Twinkle Digitz primary means of communication. ↩

  5. It would not surprise me if I am wrong and the setup is the same as it was four years ago, but Dave Graney did mention that at least the laptop is a step-up. No longer does it need to fart mid-set. ↩

  6. If I ever did personal training (which I wouldn’t) I think I’d have Twinkle Digitz as my coach for sure. ↩

  7. When I went back to Cowell’s older music I found ‘storytelling’ as a craft throughout, so maybe I am wrong. ↩

  8. Thankfully, the visuals were seamless this time. Maybe the visuals would have been as good at the last gig, but we will never know. ↩

Checked into
Although I have used chatbots like Gemini and CoPilot in passing, I have never used any of this in the classroom. It was therefore interesting to hear the presentation explore Gemini, presented by Steve Smith.

Google provide two options for engaging with Gemini:

  • App (free)
  • Workspace (paid)
    However, even with the free, when using an educational account, your data is never a part of the training set.

Some of the ideas for teachers touched on for how Gemini might help in education included:

  • Creating the first draft of a lesson plan based on a prompt.
  • Developing resources.
  • Summarise emails when behind.
  • Generating overviews using NotebookLM.

While for students, there is the option for Gemini chat for 13+ with built-in guardrails. Some of the ideas shared included:

  • Getting feedback
  • Doing research
  • Creating things

Importantly, this feature needs to be turned on and is not on by default.

Some resources shared as a part of the session included a hub of all things Google and AI, as well as slide deck of 30 things that Gemini can help you with.

One of the other presenters also shared a piece of research that might be worth exploring:

Identifying the components of foundational Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy – Early results from a Delphi study

This article provides some initial results from the first phase of a Delphi study to identify the critical components of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy curriculum. This article explores the study results that address a four-level capability model, but only the lowest level of this model. The Delphi panel comprised 17 experts in AI, and the first round of the study used a survey to gather the experts’ responses in three areas that were based on previous literature – knowledge (and concepts) of AI, skills related to AI, and understanding AI in context. A structured thematic analysis revealed several themes under these categories. For foundational knowledge and concepts, it was determined that three areas were needed, namely 1) what is AI? 2) applications of AI, and 3) AI technologies. Skills were divided into cognitive and technical skills, with cognitive skills further divided into 21st-century and applied skills. Understandings comprised social issues, risks, and debates. The repeated ideas that formed these themes gave rich insights into how an AI literacy curriculum might be structured and provided a firm foundation for subsequent rounds of the study, which will involve further iteration and consolidation of these ideas.

The catchphrase throughout was “Enable, empower, equip, evolve”. With the focus on moving forward, I was left thinking about Marshall McLuhan’s tetrad:

  • What does the medium enhance or amplify?
  • What does the medium make obsolete?
  • What does the medium retrieve that had been made obsolescent earlier?
  • What does the medium “flip into” when pushed to the extreme?
Checked into
I attended a webinar offered by Google run by Steve Smith to go through the various changes associated with Google Classroom.

Over ten years old, the suggestion given Classroom as Grand Central Station. It serves as the hub for learning and teaching. In addition to core Google applications, there are a range of add-ons that sit inside Classroom, this prevents any chance of data leaks in moving between ecosystems.

Focusing on teachers, the discussion was how it empowers and gives back time. Some of the features highlighted to celebrate this were:

  • Teacher analytics to zoom in and out of data.
  • Share view of page with guardians to provide a means of bring them into the classroom.
  • The ease of grading and giving feedback supported by comment banks
  • Interactive resources, including Practice Sets and Interactive questions for YouTube. Interestingly, Interactive Questions allows teachers to safely push out clips without actually going to YouTube.
  • Tagging skills and standards.
  • Easily export and share classwork across the school.
  • Administrators can join a class as a visitor, useful for checking in or adding a co-teacher.

From a student perspective, classroom offers a range of opportunities, such as:

  • Differentiation.
  • Interactive video activities.
  • Assign to student groups
  • Assign reading activities using Readalong.
  • Self-managed Practice Sets.
  • Originality reports that encourage critical thinking.

In addition to 6-step program for using Classroom, a link to the Google Classroom course was shared.

I have not really kept up with Google and all the changes in the last few years as my work has moved in different directions. It was interesting to see where it had come, but also intriguing to considering where it might be going, especially with the addition of Gemini. Using the Back to the Future protocol, I wonder what the ideal outcome of using all these tools would actually look like? I think that the reality is probably that it is used in different ways in different circumstances.

Checked into https://www.katemillerheidke.com/events/2024-05-11-nunawading-the-round

Kate will be playing her greatest hits and most beloved pop songs, as well as performing tracks from her original musicals Muriel’s Wedding the Musical and the new Bananaland, some unexpected covers, taking requests, and telling stories from across her varied career. Excitingly, she’ll also be debuting new material from her forthcoming 6th studio album, which will dive deep into the genre of ‘gothic folk’.

This is a special opportunity to see Kate in intimate, stripped-back mode, accompanied by her long-term collaborator Keir Nuttall on guitar.

Source: KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: Catching Diamonds Tour 2024 | The Round

I feel like there are artists that you think you know, but never get beyond a superficial listen. I am not sure if it is because of the sources of music, such as radio, or something else, but I feel like I always appreciated Kate Miller-Heidke’s unique talent, but never dived in much further. I think that this changed after seeing her perform ‘Wuthering Heights’ as a part of the ABC New Years Eve concert, streaming music and Child in Reverse with its minimal production.

Although I listen to a lot of music, not much passes across the generations, Kate Miller-Heidke seems to be that exception. After missing out on Taylor Swift tickets, I bought tickets to see Kate Miller-Heidke for my daughter’s birthday, her first live concert. In part, this was because for the Catching Diamonds tour, Miller-Heidke was performing a cut-back show at theatres in the suburbs and in the country, meaning that it was all ages. I actually did not know what to expect from The Round. My wife suggested it might be a bit more dressy. There were definitely no band t-shirts. It felt more like the theatre.

It was also good to discover another great support act, Georgia Mooney.

Mooney’s music exists beyond the bounds of time and space. An avowed Star Wars nerd who presents as a 40s movie star – she seems both from a long time ago and a galaxy far away, while speaking directly to the present. Influences from every member of the Wainwright family, Joni Mitchell, the sophistication of the Great American Songbook and even classical composers sift through her songs seamlessly, alongside fuzzed out guitars and production that evoke the unsettling genius of Kate Bush – both her idiosyncratic wall of sound instrumentation and unexpected turns of chords and melodies.

Source: Georgia Mooney

I had never heard her music before and never seen a dulcimer played. This was also made more interesting listening to her album, Full of Moon, afterwards.

With the sound stripped-back, I wondered what impact that might have on the sound? Interestingly, aided by an array of effects pedals, Keir Nuttall on acoustic often managed to fill the sound of a whole band. While with the support from Kate Miller-Heidke on piano and guitar, I was left wondering if a full band was even needed? Even with her tracks from Child in Reverse, with their programmed loops, I feel that these would have been the same with or without the band, especially as she was supported vocally for these tracks by Georgia Mooney. I actually feel that the stripped-back sound allowed more flexibility to improvise. This all then served as the perfect foundation for Kate Miller-Heidke’s voice.

My (poor) memory of the setlist

  • Fire and iron
  • O Vertigo
  • Sarah
  • The Tiger Inside Will Eat the Child
  • Humiliation
  • Caught in the Crowd
  • A Simon and Garfunkel track
  • Last Day on Earth
  • Hectic Glitter
  • You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore
  • Simpatico
  • Zero Gravity
  • Words / Paint It Black
  • Psycho Killer
Checked into
A recent staff seminar day ended with a presentation by Dr. Adam Fraser. Here are my notes.

Dr. Adam Fraser. is involved in work around topic of wellbeing.

Dr Adam Fraser is a peak performance researcher who helps people strive to achieve better performance in everything they do. In his time he has worked with elite athletes and sporting teams, special forces soldiers and business leaders.

Source: About Research Based Wellbeing Keynote Speaker — Dr Adam Fraser

In regards to education, he has developed The Flourish Movement program:

The Flourish Movement program, which began in 2016, is an internationally award-winning program, designed with and for school leaders. Driven by data and grounded in research, Flourish offers practical strategies aimed at helping school leaders develop sustainable leadership practices by improving both their effectiveness and overall wellbeing.

Source: The Flourish Movement™

The focus of the program is to:

  • Build recovery
  • Prevent burnout
  • Manage emotions
  • Improve leadership and culture

Through his work he has found that he gets different results based on methodology. In particular, his work often focuses on action research. For example, rather than getting participants to complete a single survey capturing a single point in time, he gets them to complete a ten day survey.

With a lot of change occurring at the moment, his particular focus was on disruption and how we can be manage this. After reflecting on what we thought were our biggest challenges at the moment (missing functionality? clean data?) he shared end-of-life research which suggests that at the end of their life, we regret not being more courageous. Associated with this, the things that we are proud of (excluding raising children) is often based on the hardest thing we’ve done.

Extending on from the ‘hardest thing’, he explains that ‘happiness’ is a challenge just outside our reach, it is learning something new, where we have to grow and evolve to achieve it. The opposite of ‘happiness’ is chronic boredom. Bored employees are dangerous! In the end, growth comes from those who can sit with the discomfort. Often sitting with such discomfort comes from culture.

For Fraser, culture is “how we do stuff around here.” He the example of George Mohler’s work around predicting crime and the problem associated with cultural bias of police officers to elaborate on this ‘stuff’. At the heart of it, our behaviour and mood are contagious. The question is whether our mood worth catching? (According to Fraser, the poorest work habit is contempt and lack of respect. We need to be very careful of this.) Small behaviours lead to big outcomes. To demonstrate this, Fraser argued that one of the biggest developments in medicine was nurses being able to question doctors.

As an extension of this, Fraser argued that there is no such thing as a trivial behavior. He used a survey of American schools in which the most common item to be raised in staff meetings were the dirty cups left in the sink as lack of respect and humility. Another example was two small actions that Craig Bellamy made that has changed the culture at Melbourne Storm, that is, to socialise with/as a family and get a job in the off-season.

Like many players before them, 13 of our new boys ventured into the world of full-time, labour-intensive work alongside their pre-season training duties as a part of the New Recruit Work Program.

Started 18-years ago by our very own head coach, Craig Bellamy, the program sees new Storm recruits – regardless of reputation or experience – take on two 40-hour work weeks.

The goal? Teach them about hard-work and gratitude.

Source: Gratitude, Humility & Hard Work – Our Work Program by Melbourne Storm

Every person impacts culture.

One of the problem, Fraser stated, with culture as “the way we do things around here” is that it works like an immune system. When new people and ideas come in from the outside and try to change things, the system fights them off. The only way to change culture is to get a ground swell. Too often their is a lack of alignment between behaviour and values. The danger is trivial things that go unquestioned or unnoticed can often set things back. We will forgive a lot, but what we do not forgive is a lack of alignment, that is where trust dies.

Associated with our behaviours is the challenge of our emotions. We have a big brain hardwired towards pessimism. In addition to the positive and negative ripples that we create, we need to consider how we respond. Fraser referred to Shelly Gable’s four responses to good news to explain this.

Let’s imagine you have just told a colleague that you’ve been promoted. Here are Gable’s four possible responses:

  1. Active-constructive: the responder is enthusiastic, interested and supportive. They might say, “That’s brilliant news! I’m so pleased for you. Can I help you prepare?”
  2. Passive-constructive: they seem positive but their response is muted and with no enquiry. They say, “That’s nice,” with no real interest or enthusiasm.
  3. Active-destructive: in this scenario, they energetically belittle or reinterpret your good news, focusing on any negative implications. They might say, “Seriously? It looks like more work for not much money, and the people there are boring. It doesn’t sound that great to me.”
  4. Passive-destructive: they barely acknowledge your announcement or changes the subject. A typical response might be, “I see. Anyway, guess who I saw on my way in?”

Source: Gable’s Four Responses to Good News by Mind Tools

The question that we were left with is what small things we are going to do to help support change?

Checked into https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/methyl-ethel-new-old-australian-tour/157735

Methyl Ethel New & Old Australian Tour
7:30pm, Thu 7 December, 2023
Northcote Theatre

I am not sure if the story about Picasso charging 1 millions dollars for a sketch on a napkin due to the years put into the skills prior, but I feel there is something in this when it comes to the work of Jake Webb and Methyl Ethel. I vaguely remember listening to an interview with Webb during the lockdown years of COVID, where he spoke about how the time had allowed him cram a few years of learning into a shorter amount of time. I am guessing that this new live setup is the culmination of this.

I had expectations about what this concert would be like. I had read reviews from The Night Cat and watched various live performances captured on YouTube with the full band. I was wrong. Webb mentioned the addition of cello in Take 5 podcast earlier this year. However, I did not expect that this would be at the expense of the drums, bass and guitars. However, in some ways this pivot was not a pivot, a part from the addition of the two celloists on stage, there are a number of solo recordings which capture Methyl Ethel as a one-man band, including the performance of Castigat Ridendo Mores amoungst the grass trees. So having two synth stations should not have been a huge surprise.

The tour was billed as ‘New & Old’. I assumed that this meant some new songs and some old songs. Wrong again. The whole performance was framed around the new setup and the affordances that this provided. This meant that the old songs became in their own way new songs. Although this was a natural fit for some Methyl Ethel songs, it was definitely a change for some of the older more guitar laden tracks. I was left thinking about a comment by Mark Mothersbaugh regarding the balance to playing the new and old:

If the ghost of David [Bowie] came up to me tonight and went “Mark, I’m going to do a concert for you and you only. It’s going to be a brand new album, nobody’s ever heard these songs. It’s all about everything that’s going on in the world now, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Ukraine or it’s going to be Spiders of Mars, the live show that blew your mind. You’re going to see that exact absolute same show
and you can sit anywhere in the audience you want.” I go, “I’ll take Spiders from Mars and you can save your brand news stuff for somebody else.”

…

Well you know what, we did choose a weird life for ourselves, because that’s what I’m going to be doing you know until we end up stop touring. We’ll play new songs and people will be polite and sit through them and then they’ll get to the stuff that that they wanted to hear, you know you’ll play Uncontrollable Urge or you’ll play Satisfaction and they’re they’ll lose their minds.

Source: Mark Mothersbaugh – Broken Record by @pushkinpods

Maybe the children are just growing up? The reimagining that I thought was most interesting was Twilight Driving. Gone was the ethereal arpeggiated guitars, instead there was a driving beat throughout. It was still the hits and they still hit, but the changes helped highlight what makes the music work. Often songs were stripped back to their beats, hooks and vocals. I hope that a recording of one of these tracks is realised in some shape or form, although I also wonder if the joy is in being there. (Thought, this has me thinking about an MTV unplugged style gig?) In the end, this has me intrigued about the new album. I wonder if it will be as lush and theatrical as the sound live?

Just a few funny things to note. This was the first concert I had ever been to where people were seemingly laying bets on whose songs would be play, after there was a request field when booking the tickets. Sadly, One and Beat was not played, guess iy did not fit the new sound, maybe? Also, Jake helped Armlock, the support act, pack up and then setup himself. I am sure that it is nothing, but there is something to me about the artist setting things up themselves. However, that may also relate to the size of Webb’s additional equipment on the side of the stage. I personally had not seen so much gear since Radiohead in 2004, although maybe I need to get out more. I would love to have a walkthrough of the setup to not only see what gear Webb uses, but how he uses it too, like Dadi Freyr’s rig rundown. For example, I was intrigued how he was controlling the other synth station through some sort of looper. I was also left wondering where the cellos actually sat in the whole mix.

—

Rough list of tracks from memory:

Set 1
All the Elements
Twilight Driving
Real Tight
Castigat Ridendo Mores
Neon Cheap

Set 2
Ruiner
Proof with a guest appearance from Stella Donnelly
Something in the Water
Ubu
No. 28

Checked into https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/damian-cowell-presents-damiancowell-with-guests-burnt-sausages/157700
I was adamant that so soon after the last concert at the Corner Hotel that this might be some sort of swan song. Cowell soon squashed such rumours (clearly I was not the only one) stating that this was his last concert until he can be bothered putting on another one. He also admitted he may have duped us and that the gig was as much for the band as anything. I wonder if he felt putting it on the same night as the AFL semi final at the MCG might have missed a few punters or maybe he is a perfectionist who was really annoyed that the Cubase graphics crashed at all the gigs on the east coast. He also joked about ending Kestrel Hawk and starting another band with basically the same members was a means of moving on from one of the members. That was a bit awkward with the absence of Bek Chapman.

I was talking to the guy next to me before the concert and we were wondering why Cowell disbanded the Disco Machine. My thought was that it gave greater scope to play whatever he liked. Or as he postulated at the last concert, maybe it is about just being ‘Damian Cowell’. Regards to performance, there were none of the usual diatribes this time around, only a random discussion about a concept album involving Nosferatu and a young man who manages to escape the image of Nosferatu only to again be reacquainted old age in the nursing home.

I was actually left thinking about ‘the band’. Although there are new additions to the group, having seen the band three times now, I am left thinking that although everything is ‘Damian Cowell’, Andy Hazel, Gordon Blake, Emily Jarrett and Tony Martin are just as important to Cowell himself. They even found a spot for the ‘agent of entropy’, Will Hindmarsh, bashing away on the pads while trying to keep his headphones and glasses on. I always wondered with so much of the music being triggered by samples whether he would strip it right back. There was a glimpse of this with the three singers starting off the set with Don’t Bring Me Down, Proust. However, once the full band kicked in half way, it was clear that no one is going anywhere.

Although a different order, the songs in the setlist were pretty similar to his show on the 15th of September.

Source: Setlist.fm

I must admit, this is the first music that I have gotten into that nobody else I know gets. Well certainly much as I seem to. It was funny seeing some older fans bringing along their kids, who clearly were not as engaged. Personally, I find the music equal parts serious and silly. While I find seeing live concerts cathartic, even better when they finish around 9.

 

Checked into https://thefauves.com/news.htm
In Year 11, my school did something common for so many schools in the area, a trip to Central Australia. As a part of this trip, we were allowed to take $30 of spending money. For some, this meant buying opals in Cooper Pedy or souvenirs along the way. For me, it meant buying The Fauves Lazy Highway. Let loose on Alice Springs for an afternoon, I ended up in a music store, where I found the album with a bonus disc. I have always been a sucker for bonus discs and unique packaging, like digipaks. So there went most of my money.

I recently read Bobby Gillespie’s memoir Tenement Kid. In it he talks about losing his ‘rock and roll virginity’ to Thin Lizzy:

I lost my rock and roll virginity to Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy that night. I was filled with the Holy Spirit of Rock and Roll, never to be the same again.

Source: Tenement Kid by Bobby Gillespie

I am not sure I would have described it in the same way as Gillespie, but something changed for me when I saw The Fauves at an under-age gig at EV’s in Croydon in 1997. Although I had been to a few random community concerts, this was my first concert of loud rock music with a proper most pit. Although I did not come away with a chipped tooth from crowd surfing, like my friend, I was definitely left changed for the better.

I think that Lazy Highway then met me at the right time. Not only was it the ‘next album’ after discovering the band, but it shone a strange light on the world that I was living in. As an album, it carried a strange balance between the Doctor’s sentimentality and Coxy’s quirky cynicism. As Dan Condon summarises:

They were able to put a spin on Australian life at the time in a way that was in no way cringe, but never really glorified things too much either.

Source: The Fauves announce live shows, playing classic albums in full

Along with Thousand Yard Stare, these two albums have really stayed with me over time. Although I seem to have drifted away after that.

I wanted to go to their performance of Lazy Highways at the Workers Club,  but sadly had COVID. I was therefore happy to see them follow up with a second performance at the Corner Hotel. Even better, this time including both Future Spa and Lazy Highway, as well as being supported by Dave McCormick playing a solo set deep cuts, classics and a cover of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space.

It was a great concert as they churned through Lazy Highway and Future Spa.

 

Something that I enjoyed was how human it all felt. There was endless banter about how many records they did not sell, how they did not visit Teddy in hospital while making Lazy Highways and how the Doctor still needs the dots on the guitar neck when playing the chords. My only disappointment was that I felt that the keyboards performed by Phil Natt got lost in the mix.

Afterwards, I was left thinking about the trend to play anniversary gigs and the expectations this can place on the artist. For example, I wondered if Cox often played around with the melodies to keep the songs fresh. However, watching some older videos online, it would seem that this has always been the case. This left thinking about the expectation to play what the punters want versus the desire to play newer tracks. In the presser, it states:

We need reasons to put on shows.
You need reasons to come to them.

Checked into https://davidroywilliams.com/tours/damian-cowell/

Twinkle Digitz

I told my daughter I was going to see Twinkle Digitz. She asked me who the heck that was. After seeing Twinkle Digitz now for a third time (first, second), I kind of ask myself the same question every time. I played her Boogyin’ with my Baby-o and she said that I like it because of the synthesisers. That is clearly a part of it. However, I think that it is more than that. Even though the music and performance is carefree, slightly daggy and sometimes very silly, I think there are anchovies to be had. Also, there is something chaotic about the music that draws me in. Even though so much is based on triggers, it still feels like it could break at any minute, especially amidst an impromptu jig mid song.

I have lost count of how many times I have watched / listened to his An Apocolyptic Evening stream. Yes I was there to see Damian Cowell, I did not even know that Twinkle Digitz was the support until a few days before hand, but when I found out I was not going to miss it for the world. He played all the usual tracks, such as Pandora’s Box, Shit Eatin’ Grin, Boogyin’ with my Baby-o, Dancing ln My Dreams, God Machine and Blackmail Boogie. However, he also played a couple of newer tracks.

The first addition was In the City. This is a song of contrasts, with its blissful guitar driven verse which then explodes into the chorus. In some ways it reminds me of Radiohead’s Palo Alto. This he played when I saw him at Thornbury Local, but I could not hear it at the back. The other addition was the ‘almost finished’ It’s Autonomous Thomas, a song he supposedly co-wrote with ChatGPT. This had a different feel, although it was built on a rich bed of arpeggios, it was a bit more of a slow build.

I am hoping that the mention of ‘almost finished’ might mean that one day there might be a Twinkle Digitz album or EP. There is definitely something missed when it comes to high-fidelity depending on the streamed video recordings. But then again, maybe there is something about not necessarily knowing what you are going to get each time Twinkle Digitz performs that is a part of the appeal.

Damian Cowell

I saw Damian Cowell’s Disco Machine a few years ago after the release of Only the Shit You Love. I wondered if I was biased by it being the first concert I went to post-lockdown. However, I was not disappointed second time around.

Some artists are just different live. Sometimes it is the energy of the performance, sometimes it is the sound, sometimes it is the reimagination of the songs. For Cowell I feel it is all three.

I love the wall of sound produced live and the energy that comes with this. In addition to the singers up front, with one less musician on stage this time and a reduced percussion section, there was more space for Andy Hazel and Gordon Blake to bounce around at the back of the stage. (I especially loved Hazel’s shuffle associated with Sanctuary.) While the contrast between Cowell and his back-up singers brings out something different to the music. Although many of these parts are often present in the recorded music, in a song like Fuck I’m Dead, they provide something different to Cowell’s original recording.

After both gigs, I was intrigued with how Cowell never seems to rest on his laurels. I imagine he could just turn up and roll out the hits, but instead he always seems to be trying new things, playing different, even if it is his old music. For example, he played Garbage from Machiavelli and the Four Seasons. The choice felt like it was as much about Cowell’s modern sound as it was about some token rolling out the past. The only disappointment was that Cubase / visuals crashed halfway through the show, although nothing as bad as the video from The Zoo. Even with all the efforts mid-song to get the computer up and running again, some things are just not meant to be.

Setlist

I Shit Me

Fuck I’m Dead

(Sort of) Emo

The Arseless Chaps

The Boy In The Box

Cool For Catamites

Market Forces

Damian Cowell’s Disco Machine

Get Yer Dag On!

This Is Bullshit

S Club

Where the Fuck’s the Vengabus?

Garbage

KylieTISM

Checked into https://support.qvm.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/10035390763161-CRFT-WRK-Melbourne-Craft-Fair
Ventured in with the children to Melbourne on the weekend for the first time post-COVID. We went to the Queen Victoria Market to buy donuts from American Donut Kitchen. In the process, we discovered that CRFT*WRK Melbourne Craft Fair was running. The girls loved looking at the different stall. Lost a whole afternoon. Eventually bought a couple of different luck dips.
Checked into Check out who’s playing in April at the Thornbury Local
I saw Twinkle Digitz perform at The Thornbury Local. I had previously seen Will Hindmarsh aka Twinkle Digitz support Damian Cowell’s Disco Machine at the Corner. I was intrigued to see him again.

David Byrne talks about the the impact of space on the music that is created and performed. I am not exactly sure what music fits with the Local. The space includes a long bar on one wall and tables on the right, with a space down the centre to walk, with a small stage at one end with the mixing desk in front of the stage. Clearly, U2 are not going to work there, even with their cut back sound and choir. In some ways, Van and Cal Walker’s acoustic guitars, the support for the night, fitted the bill. What complicated things further was that it was clearly a shared space. Unlike myself, it felt like many were there for other reasons, some to socialise, some to eat, either way the music sitting in the background. After reading so much about The Go-Betweens and the Brisbane music scene lately, I wonder if this is what the Curry Shop was like?

Peter Walsh and Robert Vickers recall the Curry shop with wonder:

VICKERS: A dive, very small. It was, in fact, a curry shop. It was a place where you could buy curry and eat it, if you chose. A small basement— there was an alley in the back which opened into the store. It had a definite feel of squalor.
WALSH: It was dangerous to eat there. I don’t think I ever ate there. I played there.
VICKERS: It was certainly perfect for the time. It had columns, wooden columns, all through it; you were always up against a post. It looked like there were walls everywhere that had been taken down except for the uprights. A little tiny stage, and you couldn’t see anyone playing onstage because everyone could stand up front. You couldn’t hear anything—but you were there.
WALSH: You could hear the amps, and you could hear the guitars. The dressing room doubled as a urinal. I thought the people who ran it were hippies, and they meditated on a Sunday night, they had people to put you to sleep. And then someone must have said, “You should have some rock ’n’ roll!” – Page 46

Nichols – The Go-Betweens

With all this in mind, I am not sure if the music sonically fitted the space. However, the performance of one person on a stage supported by an array of technology means that the performance did in fact work.

One of the things that really draws me to Twinkle Digitz is the self-deprecating humor in the performance. This is particularly encapsulated in the outfits. (As a side-note, I feel  There is something in the power of the prop. When I first saw Twinkle Digitz, it was at the Corner Hotel. At the Corner there is a clear divide between the stage and the audience, with a space off stage to wait and prepare. When I arrived at the Local, Will Hindmarsh was at the bar (to be honest, that is about the only place one can stand at the Local) with a few friends in a very unTwinkle Digitz attire, what I would call a lumberjack jacket. He was so unTwinkle Digitz that he had to explain to the lady behind the bar that he was in fact the performer for the night when ordering a drink. Once Van and Cal Walker had finished their set, he went about setting his gear in full view of the room. I wondered how he would transition from Will to the magic of Twinkle Digitz. However, once he had setup, out came the jacket and glasses. Surprisingly, these simple additions seemed to change everything. Alternatively, I am not sure that Worker & Parasite’s performance would have worked without the divide between setting up and performing.

Here is my attempt at the set list (although I am sure I have missed some tracks):

Pandora’s Box

Boogyin’ with my Baby-o

Shit Eatin’ Grin

In the City

Black Christmas

We Don’t Need Another Hero (Tina Turner)

Dancing In My Dream

SexxxKisss (Go-Go Sapian)

Checked into Werribee Open Range Zoo
Went to Werribee Open Range Zoo for the . There are the usual Post-COVID changes, such as 1.5m and sanitisation stations. However, the biggest changes were in relation to ‘enrichment’ and choice. There seems to have been a change in ethos and language. As we did the tour, there were things like spikey balls for the ostriches or sand for the rhinoceroses. It was explained that these were provided to improve their lives. Additionally, there was a lot of discussion around not forcing animals to do anything. Instead, they were incentivised to do what was best for them, such as being given a treat for coming when called. I am sure that some of these approaches are not necessarily new, but the explicit choice in language does represent a significant change in my opinion.
Checked into https://www.montaignemusic.com.au/tour-shows
I was not sure what to expect from seeing Montaigne live at the Corner Hotel. Personally, I was interested in how Making It! would translate to the stage. Although it was the Making It! tour, I did not expect the album to be played straight-through. The point made was that was how it was meant to be appreciated as an album, therefore this is how it was to be played.

In regards to the intricacies of the album or guest performances, these were covered by pre-recorded tracks, something that has become common in the evolution of music performance, or substitutes, with Montgomery stepping in for David Byrne in always be you. The set also closed with ‘the hits’.

The official set time was to finish at 11:20, but Montaigne provided a track-by-track breakdown in-between each track. This included discussions of Pat, failed concept album and the music industry. This blew the set out to 12:00.

One of the other things that I was looking forward to seeing were the support acts. Both Montgomery and Molly Millington were solo acts, supported by pre-recorded tracks, sequencers or guitar. I remember seeing Twinkle Digitz thinking that the all-in-one setup was somewhat quaint. However, it now occurs to me that the support gig comes with certain conditions. I have been at the Corner before where they utilise both the main stage and the smaller stage, but there are challenges which changing over. It made me wonder about the impact on what is possible. For example, I could imagine Montgomery being a band experience, similar to say Chvrches. I feel that I now appreciate Sylvan Esso’s WITH tour. It also makes me think about the way in which Jake Webb reimagines Methyl Ethel for different contexts.

Checked into Art of Fighting – Melbourne Recital Centre
I was a late call-up for Art of Fighting’s 21st anniversary performance of Wires at Melbourne Recital Centre.

The debut album of Melbourne-indie band Art of Fighting, Wires, received widespread acclaim, receiving the ARIA in 2021 for Best Alternative Album, featuring the soaring tracks Give Me Tonight, Reasons Are All I Have Left and Skeletons.

Marking the 21st anniversary of Wires, the band will play the 2001 album in full in the intimate surrounds of Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, in all its grandeur and melancholy. In 2019, after over a decade’s hiatus, Art of Fighting returned with their fourth album the dream-pop Luna Low, showcasing their refined beauty and sonically serene palette.

I loved Wires. It sat alongside Ukiyo-E’s Inland, Prop’s Small Craft Rough Sea and Augie March’s Sunset Studies. It provided space.

“When we’re playing them, there’s so much of a gap between the beats that if we don’t all hit the beat at the same time it’s gonna sound terrible, so it’s like walking a tightrope when you’re playing those really slow tempos,” he added. “And I think it worked really well for the lyrical content for that album, because all of that was about to fall apart any minute too.”

I remember seeing them at the Hi-Fi Bar in 2003, however I feel that Melbourne Recital Centre was a better match for their music. Then maybe again I am just getting old and would rather sit down at gigs.

Checked into Digital professionalism webinars
The Digital Professionalism webinar run by Matt Woodley discussed the challenges of staying professional in online environments, with a focus on the VIT Code of Ethics. This is something that has become even more pertinent with the move to online learning. What was useful was the opportunities to stop and reflect with others. Every context is different, but the questions about appropriate practice and safety online remain the same.