If you’re in Brisbane I highly recommend picking up a copy of Scene Magazine this week.  It’s a really good read.  And contains some album reviews by me.

scenemagazine.com.au

I’ve recently returned from what many people would class as “paradise”.  A place with hot sunny weather, white sandy beaches and warm clear seawater teaming with tropical fish.  Perfection right?  Well let me tell you, nowhere is ever perfect. Continue Reading

Facebook is great for putting a shout out for travel advice before you head off on a trip somewhere.  That’s exactly what I did before leaving for Bangkok and one of the suggestions I got (thank you Aida) was to check out the night flower market Pak Khlong Talat.

The market is located on Chak Phet Road but spills out into the adjoining side streets and alleyways.

From what I can gather it’s actually active 24 hours a day but is busiest at night.  It’s the perfect place for an after dinner wander.

Patrick and I let ourselves get lost, soaking in the sights and smells of hundreds and hundreds of colourful fresh-cut blooms being sold in bundles, bags, garlands and more formal arrangements.  At one point we strayed into a large fluorescent-lit warehouse where people were packing flowers at long workbenches.  No one seemed to mind us ambling through.

The market also sells fresh fruit and vegetables and is a great place to test your tropical fruit knowledge.  Mine isn’t as good as I would have hoped, but I have discovered a love for mangosteen.

Maybe it gets more hectic at other times, but when we were there, the atmosphere was very relaxed.  Some of the stallholders were eating dinner, or having a snooze, keeping their energy levels up for the long nights work that still lay ahead.

We saw very few other tourists.  I suppose it’s because fresh fruit and flowers aren’t easily packed in a suitcase, much to Patrick’s dismay.  With a dozen long-stemmed red roses selling at less than $2 a pop he would have liked to stock up for Valentines Day for the next ten years!

I’m in Thailand (because I’m a total jetsetter don’t ya know) and it appears they do haircuts on train station platforms here.

I’m not sure if they were fully-qualified hairdressers.  Maybe this is just where they train.

Brisbane’s recent Paniyiri Greek Festival…..

Crowds, dancing, food, more food, funfair, music (specifically Zorba’s Dance, on repeat), even more food (specifically honey puffs.  Little honey-injected deep-fried nuggets of doughnutty goodness.  Totally healthy) and me, attempting to steal a chicken from the children’s petting zoo.

I’ve just added a new link to my “sites I like” list over on the right.

JessiBeag

If you haven’t already clicked on the link to find out for yourself, let me tell you a bit more about it….

It’s written by my total drama queen (I mean that as a compliment) of a sister Jessi.  The blog is all about theatre.  She’s already got a review, some interesting thoughts on the price of theatre tickets, challenges for you the reader and a bit about her own theatre work for you to peruse.

I know I’m slightly biased, but I’ve already been educated and entertained by her posts, so I encourage you to get on over there for a look.

Can you believe another Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be hitting our screens in the near future?  And a fifth one is already in the works apparently.  Despite Jack Sparrow being one of my favourite movie characters of all time, I don’t think I will be able to bring myself to watch this dead horse flogging, so I am searching for my pirate fix elsewhere.

Here are some of my options:

1. Stalk the Johnny Depp lookalike I’ve seen around West End and try to convince him to dress up like Jack Sparrow and hang out with me.
2. Buy a big ol’ yacht.  Christen her “Cash Onboard” and take a pleasure cruise off the coast of Somalia.
3. Go and see a pirate band.

Not wanting to seem weird, or get myself killed I chose option 3.

Saturday night I headed to The Joynt in South Brisbane to see “pelagic folk rock” outfit The Good Ship play their home port.

Giving your band a theme can be risky.  There’s a chance it can end up corny and confining.  But I can’t see that happening with The Good Ship.

They dress the part, but there aren’t any eye-patches or parrots on shoulders.  For the girls it’s corsets, beads and feather headresses, while the boys don waistcoats and caps you would imagine scoundrels at sea may have worn in the days of yore.  They manage to look cool rather than in costume.

The music has a folky sound, debauched lyrics and maritime references without being laboured.

It feels like their pirate theme has given them direction without hemming them in.

With nine band members on a small stage, swapping positions and instruments, some getting off stage to dance with the crowd, or towards the end climbing on top of the bar, it can all look a bit crazy and thrown together.  Their sound says otherwise.  These guys are all talented musicians and despite the seeming haphazardness bang out one tight melody after the next.

The other great thing about The Good Ship is that they all truly look like they’re having a blast onstage.  It’s infectious.  You can’t help smiling, tapping your foot, swaying your hips and singing along.

It could only have been made better if the Johnny Depp lookalike was there, dressed as Jack Sparrow.  Maybe next time.

(I was having too much fun to get a decent photo on the night so instead have a listen and a look at their single Bury Me above, or sail on over to goodshipband.com)

Very striking street art that went up on Boundary St. recently.  It’s done on paper and glued to the wall.  I believe the cool kids call that a “paste up”.  It looks like an angry koala.  You can’t tell from this photo, but it’s nose is glittery.  I’m impressed.