I had a superb last week travelling from Adelaide to Melbourne, via the Grampians and the Great Ocean Road. Adelaide is a peculiar place, I was there for 2 days and I wouldn't encourage anyone to stay any longer. It is nice enough but a bit pointless. There are some old buildings but these are spoilt by more modern architecture. I have never seen so many multi-storey car parks in the centre of a city. The PR people for Adelaide recognised the problem with selling the city the slogan on the billboards around town is, "Adelaide: You are here." Factually correct but not inspiring. There are some nice parts to town, the Botanical Gardens are pretty, the seaside resort of Glenelg at the end of the tram line is cool, the Adelaide Cricket Oval is picturesque, the bars and restaurants seemed pretty lively. I was lucky to be in town during the Fringe Festival. I randomly bumped into a guy I knew from the Court Jesters in Christchurch. He is an international busking artist. I also stumbled upon the woman who runs So You Think You're Funny in the UK and organises gigs in London.
I then did a 3 day tour from Adelaide to Melbourne with Groovy Grapes. It was excellent. There were 20 of us on the trip and it was a United Nations group. Girls from Switzerland, a guy from Israel, some French-Canadians, a normal Canadian, a Dane, a German, a Japanese girl and Irish and English. The first day was a 12 hour slog from Adelaide to the Grampians. It wasn't a particularly exciting drive. We had a couple of stops but nothing outstanding. However, the Grampians are outstanding. We got there in the late afternoon and I was amazed. I had not heard of them before going on the trip and they are quite magnificent. They are reminiscent of the Blue Mountains but with a character of their own. We stayed in the heart of the Grampians at Halls Gap. In the morning we did a hike up into the hills and were confronted with wild Kangaroos hoping through the morning mist. Next stop was the Great Ocean Road. It is far prettier than I imagined. We travelled the first section up to Port Campbell with towering lumps of rock dotting the coastline. The hostel in Port Campbell was right on the bay. We went to watch the sunset over the 12 Apostles, which was atmospheric even with the large crowds. The next day was a Helicopter ride over the 12 Apostles. The weather was again perfect and the view was sublime. We then drove the rest of the way along the Great Ocean Road. It goes into a rainforest section and the road winds along the waters edge on the hillside.
In Melbourne I was staying with Team Ireland, girls from the Kiwi trip. They have a flat in the heart of St Kilda. St Kilda is a pretty little place, the beach is more Shoeburyness than Bondi but still nice. It was a 10 minute walk from the Grand Prix circuit at Albert Park. It is a great circuit. Most circuits have big run-off areas so it is difficult to get close to the cars as they speed round. Albert Park is a temporary circuit and doesn't have the run-off areas so can get within a few metres of the racing line. I had a 3 day ticket which is cheaper than buying a race day ticket in the UK. As with all motorsport events various companies advertised their goods with beautiful models. Gillette had a shaving tent to advertise their new razor. If you queued up you could be shaved by a model. It struck me as a bit strange, and whilst the anecdote would have been good the models didn't seem to be particularly good at shaving so I decided against it. After qualifying Wolfmother played a concert at the circuit. It was a massive crowd. They were excellent. Afterwards I went to the backstage area where a group of fans gathered and had got the attention of the lead singer who climbed the fence and jumped into the crowd, crowd surfing right by me (click here for the video). On the Saturday night I was out with Team Ireland for St Patrick's Night. Lots of paraletic green people. On raceday the crowd tripled and we were treated to the various area displays. The race itself wasn't the most dramatic of events. Once it finished the fans invaded the circuit. I got round to the paddock area trying to spot any celebs, the Minogues had been on the Pit Walk. I was hanging around when a golf buggy pushed pass with Murray Walker aboard! He does commentary for Australian TV. In the evening I went down to the Crown Casino, the biggest casino in the Southern Hemisphere. Australians and New Zealanders are very proud of having the biggest, tallest, largest something in the Southern Hemisphere. It is all a bit naff. I associate Casinos with people dressed up looking suave and sophisticated, aka Casino Royale. I don't associate it with burnt people in shorts and t-shirts and drunk teenagers. The next day I flew back to Sydney and was standing at the baggage carousel when I realised that Evermore were standing next to me. This wasn't because I recognised them with my musical knowledge, though they didn't look like your normal passenger. It was due to their luggage being stamped with Evermore in massive lettering.
I am back in Sydney at work continuing as a Marketing Co-ordinator. I went to see the Kaiser Chiefs play at a tiny venue during the week. I assumed they would play a big venue for their only night in town. To see them in that size venue in the UK you would have to pay big money. It was a great night. They really rocked out. It was Peanut's birthday so we all got to sing him Happy Birthday.
Before heading off to Adelaide I had a couple of stand-up gigs in Sydney. The first was a tiny audience, typical new act night, which I nailed. A couple of nights later I was performing at a really good night. Wil Anderson was on the bill and it is run by a guy about to make it big time Sam Bowring. I was on first and the MC had done a good job of killing the crowd (he got much much better later). I went on and stormed it, improvised the first part then sailed into my routine. I couldn't ask for more. I got a call from Sam Bowring this week to take a last minute cancellation. I decided to try out some more experimental material which I warned Sam and the MC about. It didn't go well. I can't say I have ever so successfully alienated a crowd within the first 2 minutes. I started OK but then lost the crowd. I then thought I would use some tried and tested stuff in the middle only to find the audience take a deep intake of breath together on the punchline. I have never managed that. I nearly walked by this stage, but I wasn't going to be a coward. I saved it a little towards the end but not by much. The next night I had another Improv gig with Scared Scriptless. There was a massive crowd in who were up for a good night and this lifted the performers. It was certainly the best show I have been involved with them , it was consistently good from start to finish. I couldn't put a foot wrong from start to finish. I had a good team around me who allowed me to push things. I feel like I have moved up through the gears in the past few months. I managed to finish the show serenading a girl who was there for her 21st Birthday. Zero to Hero in 24 hours.
