Written by lainie at 10:50 PM on May 5, 2009 in Music, Holidays / Road Trip.

Found while wandering around Melbourne: Oliver Lane

You know how sometimes you read a food blog (like The Food Pornographer) and you get this suspiciously "Malaysian" vibe? At the risk of sounding like one of those tumpang glamour Malaysians (omg, Guy Whatsisface is half-Msian!), this website, FoodSwings, must be at least half Malaysian. I don't care.

Cause "swing" reminds me of "swingers" yeah, and if there's one thing Malaysians do, it's swap food. You order the chicken, I order the fish, we'll totally pick off each other's plates. Yeah. Pass me that plate, over your brother's head. I want some of your mashed potatoes. Have some of my pasta. It's horizontal plate juggling.

Fed Square from across the road

Websites will tell you that the true reflection of Melbourne city is found in the Federation Square. Personally, I don't think that's quite true, but hey. It still has a lot of things to see.

Dress in the display window at Fed Square's Australian Racing Museum caught my eye

I have been, and will over the next few days, frequenting the Fed Square on a daily basis, due to the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Jazz performances and masterclasses are being held all around Melb for over a week. I can't wait to compare this with the upcoming Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival.

You might even see me on their bloody live Fed Square webcam. I don't know, I refuse to download the Windows Media plugin. Feels too dirty for my Mac.

[ I forgot to upload this post -- the jazz fest is over dy ]

I've been getting a feel of the local jazz scene by watching some of the free performances in Fed Square. Will also be heading over to The Paris Cat and Bennetts Lane. Also 303, La Mama's, Lebowski's and Bar Open. Suggestions welcome for gig nights/other venues!

Incidentally, the best jazz gig I saw by far was one I stumbled upon on Brunswick St. Daph, Tim and I walked by Uptown Jazz Cafe and heard some really good music, so we headed up. There was a cover charge, but it was waived for us (yay!).

The saxaphonist really made my night with his music -- and I've just learnt that I was watching Australia's renowned jazz player Bernie McGann in action, with The Andrea Keller Quartet. So I'll definitely be heading back to Uptown Jazz Cafe. I love the feel of the place, and the staff seems made of really cool people.

The music-appreciation vibe in the place is just sweeeeeet.

Beer DeLuxe's Hamburger Grill had an egg and bacon burger. And coffee. Warmed me right up. Average burger, very good coffee, and friendly staff.

 You see that burger above? That was where I discovered seagulls are bullies and will POUNCE on anything you throw their way. I almost expected a bird, lighting its cigarette, dressed like The Fonz, to come coerce my burger patty from me.

Fed Square is a random place. I had a stranger come up and serenade me a song, while I was nursing a hot cup of coffee (he sang pretty well, I almost wanted to ask if he was going to be in the jazz fest). Another day I was greeted by this:

Protesters demanding peace for Tamils (in Tamil Tigers territory) from Sri Lankan military....

I also met an arts writer for the music scene, Lisa (Dib?), from the website The Dwarf. Funny name for a website. I tried explaining I used to write for an arts website called Kakiseni, and got a blank stare. Nothing makes me feel so far away from home than being surrounded by people who don't know Kakiseni.

It's nice to be in a country that doesn't arrest their buskers (like how Meor was detained). So I get to see stuff like this on the street:

Kristy Jinks (who found my video on Youtube) and Ben Fumi, busking along Southgate.

Was in a really good mood during this performance. I'd just watched the fireshow, and was trying out some award-winning limoncelli gelato from Tutto Bene. Had just met my sister's friend Stephanie for dinner at Southbank's Blue Train Cafe. Stephanie mentioned her friend would be visiting Melbourne. The friend? RETA!

Tis a small world.

Well. I'm off. Here's a pic meanwhile of a charming band called Flap!, from the Melb Jazz Fest. I'll have videos of them up soon. You can check out Flap!'s Myspace page first, if you'd like. I think I watched them perform all the songs but Tetris.

Written by lainie at 06:22 PM on March 1, 2009 in Music.

Some of you have probably seen Terra Naomi's videos on Youtube, she has a Youtube hit by the name of "Say It's Possible". I never caught on as strongly as some of her fanbase, but I had one of her covers playing in the background. The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work.

Like most covers I play on Youtube, I don't give them as much attention. I like Terra Naomi's voice a lot; and she reminds me of some travelling hippie/bohemian friends, especially in those more talky videos. But my attention span is pathetic. So. I'm doing my thing, surfing a few hundred tabs at a go.

Then out of nowhere, some haunting vibrato lifts off my browser and catches me off guard, sending serious chills up my spine. Somewhere after the second minute, this evolved from another slightly above-average cover I was expecting, to one that I have been repeatedly playing, all night. Even Bosco sings along when I play it loud .

So do, check out her cover of "The drugs don't work", and see if you get what I mean.

You can also see her official website here: Terra Naomi. I prefer surfing her Youtube page, she covers a lot of songs I like (along with some of her original compositions). 

You're bound to find a gem or two. Oh, and keep a watch out for a really cool guitarist she has.

Written by lainie at 03:31 AM on July 25, 2008 in Music, Friends, Arty stuff.

Went for Live at No Black Tie last night. Performances by Pete Teo, Reza Salleh, David Knight and Yuna.

My friends and I were there to watch Yuna - and judging by the response before she even got to her first song (Rocket), so was a large part of the crowd. The other person with a lot of fans (and helpful friends that kept heckling "I love you") wasn't even a headliner - Melina William, sessionist for Pete and Reza.

Adri and Lola both liked Yuna's performance very much, and have been pimping her too.

Kat gave me the coolest (er, Christmas) present recently: it's called The Don't-Get-Caught Doodle Notebook by Susan Mcbride, and you can preview some of the pages on Google Books. It's a pre-doodled notebook that encourages you to add on to it, when you should be hard at work in whatever cubicle you're stuck in at the office.

The skateboard dude came pre-doodled. I just added the cape, skateboard dots and giant mutant chicken. FUN!

This resulted in Adri supplying many suggestive lesbian ideas on what I should draw. Since I learned that night that she's a cheap drunk, I don't know if she remembers she now owes me a stickwoman comic script where "at the end, a carpet is always munched, literally or figuratively" (declaration followed by a big, proud smile).

Laine: I don't know if it's a bad thing that your drunk lesbian ideas sound so appealing, but I'll draw it!

(put 2 lesbians together with a headline like "The People Muncher", and you have a doodled stickwoman about to munch a rug, naturally - tiny doodle right above the tagline)

Adri: Is that the carpet?

Lainie: Yeah. Either that, or a square amoeba.

Love your graphic designer friend today, get her this notebook too.

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I started receiving messages asking me to get my ass to Palate Palette, just next door. I'd forgotten it's Lapsap's first anniversary. Where the people are wild, the clothes are trashy, the hairstyles crazy and the music fun.

I was tired, but not only did I survive the night, I had heaps of fun (and woke up the next day thinking "Shit, I'm gonna get tagged in some awful photos on Facebook soon").

Jemufo: How was last night?
Lainie: Awesome! But I lost count of how many times I was violated.

From below my neck to slightly above my knees, multiple times, and that was just within the minute of walking in. You Lapsap people have no idea how to keep your hands to yourself, but every so often I'm skanky enough to like how you bring out my inner trashbag :D. 

It's all good when beautiful, skanky girl friends are doing it. I like that I feel safe there, even when privacy and comfort zones are beyond my imagination on the sauna-like dancefloor. And the music, ahhhh. Always a fun mix.

[ Because I've since learned some declarations are necessary: If you're some random stranger reading my blog, please don't try the same the next time you see me in public, you'll probably a) freak me out, and b) set aforementioned friend gropers into vicious protective mode. Unless you're a pretty girl, in which case, you've declared yourself fair game. ]

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I also bought a much needed external hard disk (500G) and cheap, foldable keyboard - anyone subscribed to my Twitter account will think I spell like a squirrel randomly jumping across the keys sometimes, but it's just my wonky laptop, where some of the buttons don't work (and some I have...literally...ripped off....). I left them with Jemufo when I realised I'd be heading to No Black Tie.

When I was at No Black Tie, I gave Kat my other bag with camera and stuff for safekeeping because I'd be headed to Lapsap. At about 4am, I was sheepishly calling Spes from the front door of my home because I'd forgotten to take my keys, though I did make numerous mental notes to myself that it was exceedingly important that I remember it, including just before handing the bag over to Kat.

By the way, a few days ago, when I picked up a notebook I'd been using as a coffee mug coaster (wouldn't want to scald my study table, would I?), to jot some meeting details on it with a big red marker, I realised that the "notebook" is actually my passport.

I didn't scrawl stuff like "MEETING FRASER BEFORE 6PM IN KL" on my passport, but I hope I haven't fucked with the chip inside with the numerous mugs of coffee I've put on top of it. I forgot I took it out to get my passport number for my visa application.....

No, I don't feel too smart about it either.

*dancing in room to Pulp's Common People video on repeat*