Tinpan Orange play on my mate Kirsty's deck.

Bands that would normally play festivals and big venues are playing mini gigs in people's houses all around Australia thanks to this mob called Parlour. It's such a great idea. You pay for your ticket (much cheaper than an official venue) and you get the relaxed setting with friends and neighbours, up close and personal with the band.  Last night about 50 of us relaxed on to my friend Kirsty's deck for a gig by the fabulous Tinpan Orange. With BYO drinks -and for a gold coin donation curry and a cake- it really doesn't get better than that!

 

Melbourne Ska Orchestra @ The Triffid

  If I wasn't so busy dancing and cheering I would have been able to stand still enough to take a non-blurry photo. If you like ska music and get the chance to see these guys play live, do yourself a favour and check them out. How they managed to fit 24? 25? musicians and their instruments on that small stage I have no idea. What a crazy, energy-charged, hilarious, infectious bunch of lunatics.

Kurilpa Derby 2012

Every year, the residents of West End close off the main road, dress up and get on their bikes, scooters, prams, beds, office chairs, wheelie bins or whatever else they can put on wheels for a big party. There's a big parade followed by a series of whacky races. There's plenty of music, dancing and laughs to be had....

 

 

 

 The squid relay is disgusting but strangely mesmorising. Teams have to run with and transfer a squid to their team-mates using their mouths only. My thanks to Pete for these two fab photos below. I was standing right next to him at the first transfer point, camera poised, ready for action, when my camera suddenly stopped working. Aaargh! The memory card had filled up - what a schoolgirl error. I am still kicking myself. Anyway you can check more of his photos out here.

Finders Keepers at the Old Museum

 We've been having some beautiful crisp days in Brisbane recently. The air is dry and cool but the skies are sunny and clear. It reminded me of this time last year when I was at the Finders Keepers market at the Old Museum in Bowen Hills taking some photos for a local cafe. There are all sorts of stalls selling really beautiful home made stuff from craft to clothes to food stalls, a cafe and a bar. There's a stage with bands playing... loud enough to hear but not loud enough to drown out any conversation... and an area where you can just lounge around in the winter sun. I looked up the Finders Keepers Brisbane blog and it turns out they are having another one on the weekend of July 7th/8th so mark it in your diaries if you're in the area.  Here's a flavour of the event. All photos taken 2.7.11...

   

...and that's just outside! I didn't take any shots inside of any of the clothes or other bits and pieces. I'll save those shots for this year.

Naaaaaybeeeers! Everybody needs good....

Wednesday was Anzac day in Australia - a public holiday and for us a chance to catch up with the locals (and some not so locals), have a few beers and play some music together.

There was a range of instruments to come to the party. We had 3 types of drums, 2 guitars, a banjo, a banjolin, a fiddle, a harmonica and about 8 ukuleles. And lots of singing voices.

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.

The best kind of fun

So about 18 months ago, like it seems millions of others, I picked up a ukulele habit and it has been so rewarding. I grew up playing classical piano and never got the chance to play music with anyone else - and of course when you go out to other people's houses you can't take your piano with you - so it is the best kind of fun when you can get as many people playing instruments together at the same time playing vaguely the same tune. Last night we had five ukuleles, one guitar, one banjolin (banjo body, mandolin strings), one double bass, one fiddle, tablas, bongos, drums and a shaky bell thingy (not the technical name). Not to mention a wide variety of singing voices. Some of us were kids and some were 'young at heart'. Some of the players were playing their instruments for the first time and some had been playing for 20 years. There was even an audience (of 4) and one of them got up and danced. It was brilliant!

Here we are now, Entertain Us

Wednesday night at the Performing Arts Centre was a performance by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. 9 ukuleles varying in size and tone from a big electric bass one to a pocket-sized one, played by 8 musicians and tunes ranging from Beethoven to Nirvana...can you guess which one they were doing in this shot?

Let The Wild Rumpus Begin!

Ah, the joys of learning a new instrument.

Have you ever been up close to someone playing one or two long notes loudly on the trombone? It sounds similar to a foghorn and your head vibrates...I think she was laughing because I had gone cross-eyed. And a beginner blowing through the reed on a clarinet can produce squeaks that will make your hair stand on end.

 The bottom photo is my daughter and the top one is her friend and they have both been playing for about 2 weeks. I expect to see them busking in Boundary Street in a few years. In the meantime, if you are in about a 2 mile radius of that trombone when it's being blown then you'll get a bit of a preview.

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!

All Aboard The Six White Boomers Bus!

Each year for the last 15 years the bus depots in Brisbane have had a competition between themselves. They each dress up one of their buses for Christmas. This is the winning bus from this year's comp courtesy of the Bowen Hills depot and I think yule agree they have gone that extra mile. We've got tinsel on every pole, gum nuts and gum leaves, a huge Aussie flag and a fleet of kangaroos (Six White Boomers, no less) all roped up to a "sleigh" piled with presents at the back. There are all sorts of Australian Christmas references like...

 

A day at the beach! Inflatable palm trees, a bucket and spade, junk food and tinnies! 

There's even a thong tied up to one of the railings: 

(That's the footwear variety)

And let's not forget the native animals riding up the front - kangaroos, an emu, a kookaburra, a platypus, a wombat... and a few other things I don't recognise... all festively draped in tinsel!

I was having a chat to the driver (Hi Lyn!) and she said passengers love it. Everyone smiles. People take photos and really get into it. Some of the drivers dress up as Santa - it's hilarious.
One woman even told her that she hadn't been looking forward to Christmas until she got on the bus.

In case you were unaware of the Aussie classic hit "Six White Boomers" well I have a little treat for you here.

The Urban Grind

With the weather warming up a bit now, by about mid-morning you can sit out in the sun quite comfortably. This one was taken on Saturday morning at the West End market. It's primarily a fruit and veg market but you can buy other stuff there. You can get your eyebrows threaded and your back massaged, you can buy crafts, clothes and a wide variety of snacks from all over the world. While we sat and relaxed, sipping our flat whites (and strawberry smoothie) a pretty lady sang suitably mellow guitar songs. Tough life, eh?

Uke'n have a good laugh learning the ukulele

Last night I went to the WEE BUMS which is like the main BUMS (Brisbane Ukulele Musicians Society) but more of a sub group based in West End (hence WE ... don't know what that other E is there for - maybe because it's supposed to be smaller than the main?). Anyway. It's held in Blackstar cafe on the second Friday of every month and last night when we got there it was standing room only. Someone had a double bass and the rest - there would have been about 50 people - had all manner of ukuleles and were playing at all sorts of levels. A few people up front took it in turns to load up a song onto the projector with all the words and chords. Despite me realising that I was playing the completely wrong chords on more than one occassion, the overall sum of our parts was strangely harmonic.

String Quartet on Queen Street Mall

Here we are on the corner of Queen Street and Albert Street. Friday just gone around lunchtime.

I didn't get their name as I was being dragged in the direction of a toy sale but I heard the violinist telling someone that they were from Brisbane. They were FANTASTIC. The sound reminded me of Eastern European folk with loads of energy and punch, the girl leading the boys and talking them through the changes. They attracted a crowd of smiling onlookers on a busking corner that people usually breeze past in a shopping daze. If you catch them, stick around and enjoy the ride.

Great Big B.U.M.S.

I went along to another Brisbane Ukelele Musicians Society (B.U.M.S.) jam at the Coorpooroo Bowls Club last night. It was an even bigger turnout than last month with an open mic section and songs for everyone to play and sing along to.
As we strummed and sang into the night upstairs, the "Bingo Bitches" punk-inspired bingo game downstairs rattled off numbers of their own.
Ace!

B.U.M.S. on seats

Well I had a great night at the Brisbane Ukelele Musicians Society jam night last night. There would have been 100 people there - this picture is only about a third of the room - all strumming their ukeleles and having a good laugh at the same time. They had a projector with all the chords and lyrics on it so everyone could read the songs and by the end we were all singing pretty loudly and playing more or less in time! Amazing really for such a wide range in skills and experience. I've got sore fingers now but I'll definitely be going again next month.

Last Minute B.U.M.S. Practice!

So over the past few months I have been toying with playing the ukelele. When I went camping at Easter I became a bit more competent and was able to strum along to a few songs. Tonight I'm off to my first night at the B.U.M.S. (That's the Brisbane Ukelele Musicians Society incase you were wondering - visit their website if you are interested). They have a jam every month at the Coopooroo Bowls Club and last month there was well over 100 people that turned up to play along! I can't even imagine what that would sound like but by the end of the night, with any luck, I'll find out and get back to you tomorrow.

Tim Minchin and the Queensland Pops Orchestra

Here's a shot from last night's fabulous concert at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

 If you like ginger pacifist athiest comedians who express themselves through song , this is the man for you. And the orchestra were amazing too.  

Here's one of the numbers he played last night.