Not technically "records".

It was Record Store Day again on the Saturday just past. There appears to be some sort of shenanigans/argument going on around this, which I neither understand nor care about. What was important was that I managed to hit two participating stores in the space of a few hours.
At Polyester in Brunswick St. I bought a copy of "Prayers On Fire", from Julia Zemiro, of all people. That's three I have now- red vinyl, black vinyl and CD.

Listening to it later I was struck by how well it has aged. It is monstrously good- clever, heartfelt and immensely changeable from track to track.
Then, in the afternoon, I ducked into Greville Records over in Prahran to see Warwick and Steve, and grabbed this absolute pearl:

Details and samples can be found right here. I've had volume two- sadly, there are only two volumes- of this for a while now, it's good to finally make it a pair.
So, two CDs, for a grand total of $35, requiring a cross-town trip (which I woulda been making anyway) a bit of conversation and a few beers. A good day's work all round, even better that it was all done by 5.00pm.

Not so hot.

In the wake of a pretty rough week, some welcome distraction.
All quotes pinched from elsewhere, for your convenience. But I couldn't find a poster for this one:
Johnny Casino rocks into Melbourne next Friday 13th. February, for a special two set appearance at Yah Yahs. This is quite possibly your last chance to catch Johnny Casino and the Secrets before they head to Europe and the UK to promote the European vinyl release of his latest long player "I Am Who I Am, Not Who You Want Me To Be". Goodtime rock'n'roll.

Two sets from Mr. Casino will provide all the vitamins, minerals and energy of a fucking month long residency by most other bands. This will be a great night.

On Valentine's Day, what could be better than taking your date to see a documentary about Melbourne's libertarian smut king, Paul Elliot?


In the great lost tradition of the late-night Aussie TV infomercial, as compered by the likes of Issy Dye, comes TOTALLY WEIRD SHIT, a 'documentary' that explores the trials and tribulations of alternative bookstore owner Paul Elliot and his 'World Famous' Polyester Books. While 'pa and ma' record and bookstores are going by the way of the dodo in favour of dumbed down retail chains stocking semi-trailers-full of environmental waste, Polyester has stood its ground in a competitive and cut-throat consumer environment.
It's screening at the store itself, at 330 Brunswick St. Fitzroy, from 6.00pm.
Then, later on, the Old Bar presents a very special night:

To commemorate Bon Scott we have selected a handful of bands and players that are able to pay tribute to the man behind some of AC/ DC's classic songs. As always these nights are always sold out so get in early if you wanna witness the madness:BON VOYAGE, a superstar group put together for this night including members of Blacklevel Embassy, Devil Rock Four, the Hell City Glamours and featuring SPOD as Bon Scott.
That looks unmissable to me.

Next time- special bi-state edition.

Wintergarden Room

Had a good night on Saturday, at the re-opened Wintergarden Room. It's pretty flash compared to how I remembered it- a big renovated space upstairs. Dolores & Chane are great hosts, and if there was a riot going on up in Collins St., I didn't notice it.
Ran into several old friends including Paul Elliot, from PolyEster , who was telling me the vice squad have returned most of the DVDs they seized in the raid, and are only going to charge him in relation to six of them. I can't recall the titles, but they all sounded filthy. Why not sign the online petition here to show him some support ahead of the trial?