Romeo

Romeo the Jack Russell trying really hard to peep at his humans having a drink on the other side of the ledge.

Taken yesterday while walking past Lock n Load on Boundary Street, West End.

Bullhorn @ Beetle Bar

Here's another shot from my trip to the Beetle Bar last weekend. This band is called Blowhorn. It consists of a drummer up front leading the whole thing. He is then backed by a baritone saxophone and a sousaphone, two trombones, another saxophonist (switching between different sized instruments), and two trumpeters (also switching to include a french horn and a cornet). There was a bit of funk and some soul, which got people dancing, and some more mellow stuff including cracking instrumental versions of Groove Armada's At The River and Stevie Wonder's Ebony Eyes.

Bon Fromage @ The Joynt

If you like your mid-week grooves with a generous helping of cheese then Bon Fromage is the band for you. They pushed out a bit of Concrete and Clay, some Four Tops and even a bit of Englebert Humperdinck. Songs people of my age shouldn't really know... but do. Things got a bit livelier after this shot was taken. The singer took off his jacket and several people were up strutting their stuff including yours truly.

All strictly tongue-in-cheek, you understand.

Grim Tiller and the Diablo @ Beetle Bar

 

Brisbane's live local music scene is huge. I hardly ever get out to see gigs but I managed it on Friday night and really enjoyed it. Two bands in one night for $10 and they were both great. And being a smaller music venue, they didn't confiscate my camera at the door - how refreshing! The crowd was small but energetic and everyone looked like they were having a ball.

Yule-kulele jam

On Thursday night we trotted down to The Joynt on Montague Road for a festive final BUMS meeting of the year (that's Brisbane Ukulele Musicians Society). We played Santa Baby which turned out really well - and a stonking rendition of Blister In The Sun by the Violent Femmes (not very Christmassy but still lots of fun). It helps that we have a double bass and some very good ukulele players amongst us who carry the others. You can't hear the wrong chords at all. At one point I had been confidently strumming away and concentrating on the words projected overhead - then I looked down to see my hand curled into the right shape but in the wrong position... which would have been resulting in a deliciously awful dischord. I am getting better, though!

Head Lights

What is this? Well it's a slightly off-centre photo of a chandelier in the Lychee Lounge with Barbie doll style heads plonked on top of the bulbs to make them glow subtly. It doesn't really throw out much light - the heads would probably melt. Purely an art piece, I reckon.

OK it's a bit macabre...  but for me, having never been a fan of Barbie dolls, I love it!

The iconic pub The Regatta Hotel sits on Coronation Drive in Toowong. It's been 9 months since the floods and the ground floor still remains closed while they rebuild. You can pop in for a drink or something to eat, though, as the first floor is open.

By the way - you can't see it very well in this shot but the jacarandas are in bloom again. Expect some purple here soon!

 

Beer Garden in King George Square

As promised, here's the beer garden ready and waiting for customers!
Hmmm. It must be beer o'clock by now, surely?

Big Hello Outside Lock 'n' Load

Flocking Trendy Wallpaper!

I never thought I'd say this but...I'm developing a 'thing' for flock wallpaper. After decades of mocking the flock each time I discovered a patch in a dark corner of an Indian restaurant in England, I'm now seeing it in a new light. This is a bar in West End called Lock n Load. Very trendy.

Grillside at The Norman

 

 The Norman Hotel in Woolloongabba bills itself as "Brisbane's Worst Vegetarian Restaurant". True to form,  last night they would have had about half a cow on the grill at any one time. The line-ups were out the door.

March Theme Day: Your Favourite Part of Town

It's the first of the month already! Last month I completely forgot about the theme day things were still very upside down. This month I'm a bit more with it. "Your favourite part of town" is the theme and I choose anywhere in West End.

Boundary Street (pictured). The individual shops (that aren't in a mall) and the bars, restaurants and buskers. The casual atmosphere, sense of community, interesting and engaging residents (myself included, but of course). The fact that you actually see Aboriginal people... and people from other backgrounds that aren't white. That people walk or cycle around the streets instead of driving everywhere all the time. Oh the list goes on even more than I do. It's a great part of town.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Bar Balls

Upstairs at Cloudland in The Valley, you can find the Crystal Palais bar. It's made up of 19,000 clear balls which catch and throw the light everywhere. 

Cloudland

Here we are at Cloudland on Ann Street in Fortitude Valley.

I just can't do this place justice with my camera skills. It's a 24 hour venue that goes from being a cafe and bistro during the day to a full-on nightclub at night. It has grass on the stairs, a waterfall, plants growing everywhere, a retractable glass roof, seating pods suspended from chains 3 stories up, fancy themed booths individually decked out - including one with a double bed and a mountain of cushions and another with a peacock theme. Even the toilets are worth a visit - all space age and mirrored so much you bump into yourself. The designer is Nick Brunner from Melbourne who also designed the Press Club and Family - other venues in The Valley. You can visit the Cloudland Website for more.

Cloudland has a long and meaningful history with long-term Brisbane residents - everyone remembers it and you can read more about that in tff's excellent blog here.