The Wizard Of Oz

Last night I switched on my drug - Foxtel - and sat back to enjoy the Saturday night "Golden Years of Hollywood" presentation from Bill Collins. Firstly let me say I just love the old Bill, and golly gosh how on earth does he keep his hair that brilliant chestnut colour. I guess he gets hair help from the "stars" ie, Bert Newton. In any case last nights visual feast was the truly great MGM classic "The Wizard Of Oz". I always enjoy hearing what old Bill has to say on the topic of films and he never ceases to amaze with his vast amount of knowledge, even on movies which he has presented about a zillion times over.

So last night even he was first to admit that he would find it hard to give any information about the film not already done so before. Though as usual he managed to find some zingers. The first being a book which was released all about the film and of which was actually written by the most unlikely of author, Salman Rushdie. Also he mentioned the change in directors as the film was being shot as the first director wanted to axe not only Judy Garland but mainly the song "Over The Rainbow" as he thought it was too slow. Bill then also pointed out the year in which the film was made - 1939. I sat back and thought, far out brussell sprout that is 70 years ago yes that's right 70 years ago.

I guess I had not thought the film was that old, 50 years maybe but 70 - wow!. It just goes to show the endurance of such a wonderful film and the fact that after all this time it still manages to enthrall and in my case scare the shit out of millions of little children the world over. Oh and yes I did check the back and front door on numerous occasions last night - just in case the wicked witch of the west tried to take my cat. Oh and of course being a ranga all I ever dreamed of was one day becoming the good witch of the North - Glinda - sadly I am still waiting.

Highlighter Hair

Above: I was going for a "cyber cheerleader" look on this night out - my hair was in fact very very highlighter pink, though even this picture does not do the colour justice. I guess you just had to be there.

Recently I was asked what is the craziest colour that I have ever dyed my hair. The answer was simple, highlighter pink. As you can see I was going to a rather adventurous night out with unconventional conventionalist's when I decided late on a Saturday afternoon that "hot pink" was the objective of my ensemble. Of course not having time to rectify things if they went wrong I ended up looking like a Stabilo hot pink highlighter. Strangely people thought I was wearing a wig, which didn't make feel happy since I had lost so much skin off the top of my head stripping the colour from my hair with bleach. So from the dark days of my usage of food colouring as a means to an end to walking into a hairdressers and walking back out with fairy floss hair I have done it all baby. Strangely I am thinking of going back to being a full blown ranga for a while, then again do I really want rotting fruit to be pegged at my head? Mmmmmm.

RIP Mike Leyland

I loved the Leyland Brothers. Frankly Saturday early evening's before bath time were not complete unless you watched "Ask The Leyland Brothers" and "The World Around Us" then topped it all off by scaring the shit out of yourself with "Great Mysteries Of The World". So it was sad to hear that the pioneer of travel documentary style television had gone to God. I hope he is a having a wonderful time though I have no doubt he is exploring the furtherest reaches of heaven and finding it just as fascinating as he did here. Only the Leyland Brothers could show you a rock and convince you through their enthusiasm that it was a diamond. So below is an early episode of the once great show just in case you were not fortunate enough to see it as a kid. Strangely I never noticed the wet tee shirt competition which seems to permeate through the opening credits. It's funny the things you don't see as a child and honking huge nipples were obviously not on my agenda, though I guess I wasn't a boy which probably goes a long way in explaining why I missed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MyS9uCcbgg

Depeche Mode Concert Review - August 16th 2009 - Hollywood Bowl

Above: L to R: Brian - Peter - Tamara - Jodie - Mark - Andy - yes they are Scottish - yes they are nude under the kilt.

Above: Yep that's what we saw - a lot of light from a galaxy far far away

Below: Tamara making the best of a bad situation and tilting her head to show the guy who spoke out of the side of his mouth she also had a nervous tick. (Sorry in joke)

Below: Marky and Jodie being silly with the stage a distant orange blip behind us.

Below: The stage - on zoom.

Above: Yes that is them on stage - hoorah!

Below: Marky and Tamara being silly before the show

Set List 12

Hollywood Bowl (August 16th, 2009)

In Chains

Wrong

Hole To Feed

Walking In My Shoes

It's No Good

A Question Of Time

Precious

Fly On The Windscreen

Jezebel

Home

Come Back

Policy Of Truth

In Your Room

I Feel You

Enjoy The Silence

NeverLet Me Down Again

Encore #1

Somebody

Stripped

Strangelove

Encore #2

Personal Jesus

Waiting For The Night (Bare Version)

For some reason, and I have no explanation, I have not been as impressed by the latest album of my beloved DM. “Sounds of the Universe”. It is a good album but it didn’t seem to have the same baptism of fire for me like previous albums. There are a number of very good tracks, and the video for “Wrong” is the best video since “Precious”. Of course my dislike of most things Anton Corbin who creates the video’s and art work for DM usually has a lot to do with why I like any video he doesn’t do, hence why I loved “Wrong” and “Precious”.

So I went to the first show with trepidation. Would I love the new tracks live? Or would they leave me feeling a little lost? Thankfully upon meeting my DM husband, Andy in the hotel bar along with my DM brother in law, Brian I was assured by them both that the new album was not sitting well with even the biggest of fans, i.e., them. They were also concerned that our feeling of the album just not sitting right was being reflected in this tour and that without doubt the album wasn’t doing so well sales wise. It was nice to hear fans whose opinion I trust feel the same way I did and be prepared to say it aloud. The fact is between them they have pretty much been to every show DM has ever done, this tour and past, and so if anyone knows what the crowd is reacting to it is them.

So, Peter, Marky, Tamara and I along with Andy and a very very very hung over Brian all bundled ourselves into a rather large taxi and headed to the famed Hollywood Bowl – a purpose built outdoor amphitheatre . On the trip to the bowl I commented that myself, Mark, Peter and Tamara would all be sporting blue hands, and be blue from the waist down before the night ended as we had all been on a jeans shopping spree earlier in the day and had decided to wear our new purchases for the first big show so we would be all spruced up. Of course it was then that a laughing fit ensued between us all and didn’t stop in the cab for pretty much the entire trip, which saw Brian become considerably greener and obviously wishing he were somewhere else in stead of being with those from the Colonies.

So of course upon arrival at the Bowl we milled around and tried to look cool in our new duds. It wasn’t long before we realised that the band had come on stage and we needed to get to our seats quick smart. Of course you can’t be running to your seat when it is located in row xxx up the back of a bowl where you need to get about four sets of escalators to reach into the stratosphere so much so that you may in fact become weightless. I think as it turned out we were about four or so rows from the back row, or thereabouts.

I am lucky because I have experience with American audiences, both at the Bowl and elsewhere having seen plenty of shows in the US. Though if you haven’t then to the average considerate Australian you may need to have a Bex and a lie down before doing battle at a US concert. The fact is American audience goers live up to the quintessential antithesis of what we all loath about American’s. They are loud, annoying, disrespectful and eat big serves of greasy food with huge chug a lug’s of beer to wash it all down with, all whilst watching a show. So you take your seat, the show has started and the fuckers all around you are talking, eating, walking around, standing in front of you, and being complete pains in the arse, and that is when they are being respectful. The most loathsome aspect of going to a concert in the US, and I have found it is from one coast to another is the bizarre ritual of smoking copious amounts of dope during the entire show. Fuck me if it ain't 2009 and Woodstock was 40 years ago mate but WTF.

Yes that’s right, it wasn’t Cyprus Hill we were seeing it was Depeche Mode and you would have thought it was 1969. I thought this culture was confined to “rock n roll” type bands but when I saw Tony Bennett at the Hollywood Bowl and could smell dope like I was walking the promenade in Griffith NSW circa 1972 I was flabbergasted.

So yes I always seem to forget about this minor detail when I go to see DM in the US, until I get there and then I am rudely reminded. Oh and don’t bother trying to ask them to shut up or sit down or stop making your head spin because they are ALL doing it. I have to have a laugh because if you so much as even breathe at certain concerts in Australia you would get lynched let alone have the audacity to smoke a giant spliff at a Kylie concert. Can you imagine? Actually Kylie has recently played the Bowl I wonder how high she got. No doubt she was certainly “Spinning Around” So for my Australian companions it did take a little getting used to; you know not wanting to commit homicide and all.

Now onto the main event, the show itself. By the time we got to our seats the band was well into “Walking in my shoes” and frankly as usual Dave was giving it everything he has got. Upon reflection we looked at the time and the concert had started quite early but given the fact that the previous show had been cancelled in San Diego due to Dave’s voice playing up I figured he wanted to get the show over and done with. Poor pet. Thankfully his voice was fine and even though the sound was rather crap due in most part to poor mixing the show went well. I think for me the highlight was definitely “Fly on the windscreen”. I love when they throw something really old and out of know where into a set, it shakes it up, which is something they don’t do all the time – Dave being a boring old Taurus and never wanting to change may have something to do with it. I understand Dave I am a Taurus too. Heaven knows Dave does love his black pants, black vest and black shoes so it is always left up to Martin to compensate with a fashion faux par like eyeliner or purple nails.

Don’t get me wrong I love his outfits and this tour’s tip to toe glitter ensemble was fantastic, at least we could see him – hint hint Bono. Of course they played all the standards which the US crowd always respond well too including Dave’s aerobic class to “Never let me down” which believe me starts to make your arms well and truly ache. Of course I love when they also decided to throw in some songs from the album “Songs of faith and devotion” mainly because the US audience show that they really couldn’t make up their mind with the album and are still tense about heavy guitar sounds and Dave’s drug taking days. Frankly I loved the album and seem to be the only one going mad at US concerts – you know the odd Australian out.

So now on to the subject of Dave’s drug taking days – since I’m on it already. Frankly I think something is going on with Dave, he only brings out the black scarf around the neck when he has previously been on “the ox” (drugs) and for some reason its back this tour. Not every show but for many. Now this isn’t the only observation and I know he has allegedly been ill but frankly he did seem to be lacking something, perhaps album sales maybe, but all in all he wasn’t looking as chipper as the last tour and I hope he doesn’t go back down that road. Okay I have left out Fletch pretty much in the whole post – yes he was there – yes he jumped up and down at inappropriate moments – yes he doesn’t play much at all – yes I think he is playing an x-box whilst on stage instead of actually doing anything – yes it is a big waste of time him having a stylist as recorded in the tour booklet, how hard is it to get black pants, black tee shirt and black sun glasses together for an old ranga? Yes I love Fletch but even he admits to doing nothing.

So the show ended with the controversial choice of “Waiting for the night” which of course is a

slow song. They chose to end the shows on the last tour with “Goodnight Lovers” and of course the fans went ape shit because they wanted to hear something more up beat before they went home. Frankly I loved the slower song to end the night; it just proves they are not like every other band. Oh as for the stage sets I did like them, the big revolving centre piece ball and graphics were good. For some strange reason I have always liked what Anton Corbin does with the set designs but I think that is where he should be left – on tour.

So it does sound like I had a bit of crap first show and I guess in a way I may have but it was still very good and I enjoyed it, especially the part when it was over and we were walking back to get a cab and of course got invited in to the after show party with the band. Yes that’s right we stood at the after show party and watched Fletch and Martin lap up the ladles whilst we drank their booze and ate their food. I have been up close to both Martin and Fletch before and no I didn’t approach them, I have no need say anything to them. I once stood next to Martin at a Dave solo show in LA and told him that I loved him and thanked him. He was gracious and attentive and at least acknowledged my good intention. So it was nice to feel after our long trip that DM appreciated us and were able to spare a few free drinks and aperitifs put on in our honour was much appreciated. Oh and no Dave never ever is seen at after show parties or any party for that matter, fair enough, he needs to leave the chicks for Fletch.

Being old and frankly feeling it we dropped off my DM husband and Brian who had curbed his hangover with more booze by this point at a local haunt in Hollywood. We then proceeded to go back to the hotel and go to bed but not before our cab driver thought it would be a good idea to get up close and personal with some mean looking gangsters driving in the car next to us. Tamara noticed some bullet holes in the body of their vehicle and I believe if the cabbie had of pissed them off much more by darting in front of them then we might have been sporting some bullet holes of our own. Rock N Roll baby! Stay tuned for the review of night 2.

P.S. – Note to Martin – please never sing Jezebel again ever – k. Though we still love you even if you do, but umm don’t.

King Kyle Sandilands = BFW: Big Fucken Woopie

I noticed in the latest round of Kyle drivel on the news that he opts for a golden microphone. Frankly the only person who deserves the golden microphone accolade is John Laws. The reason he got it was due to the fact he managed to stay on the radio for more than 50 years. Something I highly doubt King Kyle Sandilands will enjoy, in fact I'm hoping he never get's another fifty seconds. Love John Laws or loath him he managed to stay on air for a very long time and was number 1 for most of it - so perhaps he was doing something right. Apart from this gibe against radio the goose call's his company "King Kyle Productions" God and I thought I had an ego problem. So the only thing left to do is play a song with him in mind. Perhaps if we all put together a collection we could convince one of those up and coming "Pop Corn Gangsters" from Melbourne who wants to make a name for himself that what Bon so rightly termed a "dirty deed" no doubt could be done dirt cheap and he could be our back door man for a fee.

Of course I'm just a humble law abiding housewife so what would I know? but I'm sure someone else could try and work it out. Having said that the infamous criminal Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read was once asked to knock Warwick Capper at a football match in Melbourne. He said he thought about it but then declined as he knew Capper would eventually disappear into the ether as he had no talent. This perhaps goes a long to explaining why King Kyle isn't on the missing list what with intellectual hit men roaming the streets it isn't any wonder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQcY7j9ZQYI&feature=related

Note: Stage divers on Countdown and the fact Bon was in fact playing "live", Oh how 1976!

Tour Of The Universe - Except Asia Pacific - Part 1.

Above: Marky and Peter upon Peter's arrival. Below: Peter drinking wine out of a paper cup upon his arrival at my suite.

Below: Tamara arriving - after a 24 hour flight - a tired baby.

Below: The Coyote relaxing in the some what "duluxe" suite. Okay okay it just had views to the Hollywood sign but no mini bar - k.

Below: Our home away from home The Wilshire Plaza Hotel -LA

Below: Wow and we found this really great resturant up the road you should try it - its called Denny's.

Most people who are involved heavily in a religion go on pilgrimages, I am one of them. My religion is the house of Depeche with my God Dave and the Arch Angel Martin with Fletch taking the position of Minister for jumping up and down and not actually playing anything whilst on stage.

So as with every other tour I have packed up and headed to Mecca or its DM alternative the USA. Last tour I chose to go to New York, frankly my town of choice but this time I thought I would go to LA as I can normally get myself into all kinds of trouble in that town, and frankly I am not Robinson Crusoe on that front. So the choice was made – LA Or Bust!

This time I managed yet again to convince people to come along with me and join the devotee’s in our trek to see God. Peter, Mark and Tamara all joined me and oh what fun we had. Firstly we all had to arrive, separately, which of course makes no sense since Mark, Peter and I were all coming from the same location but of course I got to LA first to make sure I got there with enough time to climatise.

Of course it was business class with Qantas all the way and I should have listened to the husband when he said the new in seat video means you no longer have to take anything with you on board other than your passport and ticket. Yes, yes so what if that is what he does for a job do I ever listen – no. Suffice to say I enjoyed at least 10 hours of non stop video action as its something I don’t always get time to do. I will in a later post have a laugh with you about the perchant for business passengers to wear the supplied Morrissey pj’s. Very funny and strange behaviour.

So I arrived in LA a few days before everyone else. Of course I don’t give a fuck what anyone says jet lag is the worst form of torture and I just like to get to the hotel, order room service, and then sleep it off and worry about the time later. So that is what I did.

After two days of eating and sleeping Marky was the first to arrive. Of course he pretty much did what I did and slept all day. The next cab off the rank was Peter who arrived a few hours before Tamara. Finally we were all together, and as you can see by the arrival photos, tired but excited. So we then had a few days to go shopping and begin having fun before our first of three shows. Stay tuned boppers.

Talkin Bout My Generation

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of Keith Moon. He would be 63 if he were alive today. Suffice to say the toilets of the world breathed a collective sigh of relieve when old Keith went to God, as did many a hotel manager where he blew the toilets into a million pieces with dynamite. In the end he was banned from the Holiday Inn, The Sheraton, and the Waldorf and many other hotels in-between. Frankly if I were that famous and rich I would most definitely chuck a few sticks of dynamite down the dunny to see what effect it would have, and don’t get me started on how many tellies I would chuck out the window, or into the pool or possibly off the balcony.

Strangely in the end Keith was the only baby boomer in “The Who” with whom lived up to their much sold prophecy, “My Generation” you know the old lyric “Hope I die before I get old”. Well frankly as far as the baby boomers are concerned, and you do know how I love to bitch about what self indulgent wankers they can be not to mention how they love to live in the past and spend everyone’s money and then blame everyone else but themselves leaving them now with no retirement money and everyone else having to foot the bill because the stupid twats seemed to think the 60’s would last forever and they may in fact “die before they get old”. Well, well, well you bunch of gooses now that you are in fact “old” you have no money and the sad fact that you have to re-live the past by watching a bunch of old men trying in vain to smash up their instruments on stage with the greatest of care so as not to end up requiring a hip replacement afterward.


Still I should shut up since Gen X came up with the lovely line “No future, No future, For Me. Thanks Sex Pistols perhaps you may have summed it up nicely, or perhaps you were talking about the Baby Boomers?

A Tribute To MJ and Richard

When Michael Jackson died I was shocked and of course sad. Despite the fact that the media has enjoyed tearing him apart I always kept a candle burning for his level of talent and overwhelming ability to entertain people. When he toured in the 80's I was lucky enough to see him at Parramatta Stadium, which was across the road from where I lived, and very exciting to see the stage and equipment being set up weeks before the shows. I can honestly say I have seen lots and lots of live concerts everything from Tom Jones to Franz Ferdinand to Neil Diamond but I have never seen anything like a Michael Jackson show. Fortunately I was able to see him again when he toured in the 90's and was blown away yet again. He had it all, stage presence, theatre and of course he could actually sing. Apart from his phenomenal stage shows when you listen to the albums with their amazing production and ahead of their time sound and vision he was truly the King of Pop.

When I was in 6th class a girl from my class had purchased the video to Thriller. A much sought after item I must say considering no one I knew owned a video player at the time, funnily enough neither did the girl who bought the video. So she begged our teacher to let us watch it on the school's video player. The teacher thought it would be good as a treat to get all of our form together to watch it. To say I was blown away and it changed my musical life forever is an understatement. It was fucking amazing and I will never grow tired of seeing the video clip or remembering how it made me feel at the time. So yes I bawled when it was confirmed he had gone to God.

I was also compelled to think of Richard who died about two years ago who owned the antique toy shop not far from my house who was a Michael Jackson impersonator. He was the subject of a documentary film just before he died which focused on his life and the interesting and eccentric man that he was. It was titled "Richard - The Most Interestingist Person I Have Ever Met" The film won accolades at the Cannes Film Festival and it is little wonder when you see it. I met Richard a few times when I went into his shop. He was fascinating and not unlike looking at Michael Jackson if you imagined him not so dressed up everyday. Richard was a complex man with many frailties which eventually was his demise and he was unfortunate to succumb to the black dog taking his own life.

I was sad when Richard died. Every eccentric who dies before their time and is misunderstood always seems to leave my heart a little heavier and Richard was certainly someone who touched me with his passion and enthusiasm. I understand how it is to be devoted to music. My affection for Depeche Mode is similar to Richards love of Michael Jackson and in that way I understood why he was the way he was about MJ.

So I thought about it in the ensuing days after MJ had died and I decided I needed to memorialise them both in a way. So I asked Peter and Mark to help me put up a massive sign in honour of Richard where his shop once was and now sits unoccupied since his death. I wanted to honour his passion for MJ and somehow MJ as well. It was freezing cold on the night we put it up, our fingers almost chipping off as we stuck the sign up, but it was fun and exhilarating and as we did it I blasted Thriller out of the car stereo. We left it up on the shop window for a few weeks until they had the public memorial and then we snuck back and pulled it down. Frankly leaving the shop window cleaner than it has been since Richard were alive.

I was deathly ill with the flu on the night of the memorial and I was awake feeling sick so I watched the telecast live. I was extremely impressed with the service it was brilliant, I cried buckets. So to anyone who doesn't understand what its like to be called a freak then Rev Al Sharpton put it perfectly when he addressed MJ's children by telling them "Was nothin strange about your Daddy, it was strange what he had to deal with, but he dealt with it" Hallelujah!

So to Richard I truly hope you are moonwalking with Michael Jackson all the way to Eternity.

A Day At The Beach

As per my last post in regards to the up coming Powerhouse Exhibition on the 80's I thought I would share with you tonight a photo I provided to the curator. Yes it's me, and yes it's true, even baby Goths went to the beach - sometimes. Frankly this photos confirms that no matter how I would like to sugar coat it I was a freak. Thankfully I am now damn proud of it, though you can afford to be at 37 can't you? lime green sneakers and all and with years of wisdom under you belt or belly as the case may be until March. As for my DM exploits in LA I am in the process of sharing the experience, suffice to say I had a brilliant time and still believe that Dave Gahan is God, well to me anyway and I would happily let his cup runneth over - anytime - anyplace. Stay tuned boppers.

Dreaming of the 80's and Peter Kapusi - The saga continues....

Yesterday I was interviewed for an up and coming display that is going to be installed at the Powerhouse Museum in December. The theme of the display is still a little unclear to me at this stage but I think it might be the 80's in general, with certain sub-cultures as bit parts on the side. Of course the sub-culture that I was interviewed for was Goth. Surprise, Surprise. So yesterday I basked in the undeniable glow of my own ego whilst I was filmed by a team of museum curators eager to learn more about being a Goth in the 80's.

I was initially contacted by the museum after they had spoken to Steph who organises the Under The Blue Moon Festival and she assured them I was the person to whom they should seek reminisces. So here I was yesterday, in my lounge room, with a film crew with lighting and camera's fixated upon my good self all for the purpose of finding out what it was like to sway around a darkened club to the sounds of Depeche Mode, whilst wearing a musty St Vincent De Paul outfit that cost a mere $5 tip to toe total.

I was surprised I kept them as captivated by the whole experience of the 80's Goth subculture as I did. I even managed to shed a tear at one point when explaining how I felt I had arrived home and met my other space aliens when first entering the Goth nightclub Sanctuary. In fact it is possible what I actually proved to them and possibly anyone who visits the installation or AV as they called it, "that's Audio Visual for those like me who don't understand acronyms," is that underneath it all I am still just a red headed dork who dyes my hair to be different.

My hope now is that I never have to see vision of me wearing the only clothes that currently fit my "with child" state. The fact I had to jazz up my boring outfit with a pair of lime green Nike sneakers fresh from my LA trip should speak volumes. Of course the husband was scathing in his assessment of my attire stating how much I should avoid the sneakers. Well fuck him I thought, if I was going to look like a middle aged has been what better way to express myself than to wear something not even an 18 year old would dare to touch, right?. My thanks to Leigh Bowery's spirit yesterday that reiterated the slogan "Wear it like your life depends on it"

So after my adoring crowd left along with the tape of me gushing about an era that if I were to be transported back to via a "back to the future" machine I may now think it wasn't that super dooper after all. I retired exhausted into my inner sanctum - "this is my bedroom to those who have never heard me refer to it in this manner". Then I drifted off to sleep to dream about all the things I didn't do in the 80's but obviously my subconscious still thinks is a good idea to tease me with - passing the HSC, having long natural black hair and a tan and being a very very naughty school girl with Peter Kapusi.

I'm Back Baby

Okay so one post per month is all I can handle. I can change - I promise. But I will still be me - lazy as ever and longing to return to the comfort and solance of my bedroom and an episode of Eastenders.