I saw Sufjan Stevens at the Festival Theatre last night. I cannot put in to words how amazing it was. What a talent. One of my friends took to writing notes every time something more incredible than the last happened, just so she could remember. I would list them, but they would seem absurd. Individually they do seem absurd, even bordering tacky (think fluro face paint, aluminium foil headdresses, back up dancers, ribbon twirling, balloons and glitter falling from the roof...) But they were just so right in this context. He is amazing, his band is amazing, his influences are amazing, his music, particularly from this latest album, is nothing short of brilliant.

I don't know that the gig will change my life in the way the infamous Interpol 2008 one did, but I can honestly say it was the most wonderful thing I have ever seen. Yes, better than Interpol.

PERTH he is playing for you on THURSDAY 3/2. BUY A TICKET. If you have never heard of Sufjan Stevens before now, BUY A TICKET. You cannot miss this performance. Please don't.

We were in Sydney to see Jónsi, which was of course absolutely magical. I gave film a try - I shot some in similar conditions last year at Deerhunter that worked OK - but alas, there was little to salvage from the 35mm photos especially after the processing place cut them all incorrectly! We both fell a little bit in love with both Jónsi and his amazingly handsome bass player, Úlfur.

I'm relieved more than anything that this is finally out. It's been a few months of hard work, but it's good, it's finally looking good. It folds out all pretty, it's got lots of layers (like the music), it's really something special.

It's called Rewind The Fall, it's by Box Elder, and it's available in person for $5, or via Bandcamp ($3 if you grab a code from here).

This is my favourite song on the EP.

Box Elder - Microdots

Steering By Stars - Closer from SteeringByStars on Vimeo.

Look, I don't want to gush about this, but... Steering By Stars are are little bit amazing. I think everyone in Adelaide has been waiting for this clip, not to mention the album due out in July.

Sure, the vid ain't all sunshine and rainbows but there is something so compelling to watch about it. It's also always nice to recognise places, and the dark-rainy-night aesthetic is just perfect.

Oh no! While at the moment I'm not blown away by their latest release, it is quite upsetting that Carlos D has left Interpol. Sigh.

songs.

Songs are lovely. I first saw them with Deerhunter in Melbourne; last night they came here, and played at my favourite venue in Adelaide, the Metro. I think 'intimate' is a good way to describe it. From the outside it's very unassuming, but weave your way towards the back and you will almost always find a good mix of people and highly underrated bands. Adelaide is having a bunch of great bands come through in the next few weeks... I'm looking forward to the Vivian Girls and Love of Diagrams.

In a completely unrelated matter, I am so disappointed with the grand final result. Who would ever have thought this could be a football blog? Nowadays, it's a hidden passion... I just don't have the time for it like I once did. I am so proud of the Saints though, but also so devastated that they've fallen short once again. It's a heart-wrenching ride.

julian plenti.

This is the best news I've had in weeks. A Paul Banks side project. I think 'exuberant' is a good word to describe how I feel about it.

Oh yeah and remember the zine shop I mentioned? I'm working in it. Tuesdays. And we've moved for a little bit, onto a busier strip - Rundle St, upstairs where the Gymnasium used to be. Come visit.

I went to Brisbane on the weekend but took almost no photos. I had an interesting kind-of epiphany last Wednesday and had no desire to do anything vaguely journalistic. I did go to a super exhibition which involved giant polystryene blocks in one part, and tents and a caravan filled with wonderful whimsical things in another. It was nice just to relax though, and see things without looking through a lens all the time.

hottest 100.

Starts today (full countdown will be over the weekend. Party time.)

I kind of rushed my votes and should a) not have voted for more than one Interpol song and b) should perhaps have rethought Maps, and even Caring is Creepy.

Interpol - Obstacle 1
Interpol - PDA
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
New Order - Ceremony
New Order - Crystal
Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Cure, The - Inbetween Days
Shins, The - Caring Is Creepy
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

It's very difficult to vote for the best songs of 'all time'. First, who has actually heard every song ever made to be able to make an informed judgment? Second, do you vote for songs that are brilliantly crafted, or songs that are simply your favourites? What happens in the case of a band (say, Joy Division) where your favourite song, or their best, may not be the most popular but you want them to receive the accolades of having a highly ranked song? What happens if you can't separate the majority of songs a band (say, Interpol) has ever written? Further, it's fairly easy to pick two or three 'best songs of all time', but when that number is stretched out to ten, you inevitably start forgetting and including songs that do/don't really deserve to be there.

I think I have over-thought this too much.

box elder.

I've been a bit boring lately... it's not that I haven't been doing anything, more that the stuff I have been doing is either a) Uni related or b) not quite ready yet. I did make this little flyer-esque thing for the band though, and also prettied up a blog for them. If you're in Adelaide you should totally go and see them sometime.

feb/mar.

Finally, some pictures of my February/March. Had some lovely times at the Fringe, in the Garden of Unearthly Delights, seeing comedians, at Format DIY Festival/Zine Fair/Academy of DIY. Lumonics are sadly no more. Rooftop bars are wonderful, especially in the late afternoon sun.

one year on and still going strong.

"I'm sure it will pass, but for the next few days, weeks, maybe longer, it is consuming me."

February 27, 2008.

It has been a little over a year since I fell under the spell of this band, and still not a day goes by when I don't listen to Interpol in some way, shape or form. It is impossible to describe the way my heart swells almost to the point of bursting when I am not expecting to hear the opening bars of a song, or how filled with joy I am at certain points in certain songs. It is strange, because their songs are not exactly joyous.

Carlos D, who I love, hate and am totally intrigued by has been working on a short film, and you can see the trailer and read more about it here. They are also currently penning new songs for their fourth album. I cannot WAIT.

bloc party.

Back to my travels, the reason why I was in Glasgow was because I was seeing Bloc Party! My original plan was to visit Glasgow instead of Edinburgh and go to the concert, but tickets sold out too quickly so I decided to go to Edinburgh instead. But the day before I left for Edinburgh I found that there WERE still some tickets left, and that Glasgow was only an hours train ride away! So off I went. The concert was brilliant, despite the fact that I got lost getting there. I had more trouble understanding Scots speak English than Danes speaking Danish, so asking for directions was useless :) I ended up taking a black cab instead.

laneway festival.

Wow, it's a posting bonanza!

Laneway Festival happened on Saturday, and while I wasn't desperate to see anyone in particular, I was still quite pleased with the performances of Port O'Brien and Mountains in the Sky. Architecture in Helsinki are always fun, as were Still Flyin', who I hadn't really heard before.

The thing I love about Laneway is the intimacy. It's not overcrowded like other festivals, and you are just as likely to be standing next to the lead singer of Born Ruffians (check) as your best friend (check. It's not her scene, but she did make an appearance! So pleased.) Everyone is just so chilled and happy, and the artists are quite accessible.

Two other super-awesome things happened at/after Laneway, the first being me having my photo taken for some sort of fashion thing! It was right during No Age. Super, I love street-style blogs and features.

The second happened when we were walking home. This cool looking guy came up to us, and I noticed his 'artist' lanyard straight away, but couldn't figure out what band he was in. Anyway he was slightly drunk and lost in little old Adelaide, and was looking for his hotel. The boy picked him as the drummer from Port O'Brien (he's good like that), and we all had a good old chat as we worked out where his hotel was for him and walked him some of the way. Port O'Brien were probably my favourites for the day, so it was a bit awkward when he asked us who we had enjoyed... aargh the dilemma - be honest and sound like a suck up, or lie and say another band. I wish I was a quicker thinker on my feet, I just ended up saying nothing and agreeing with everyone else's choices.

That's all for now. But there is plenty more to come from my travels!

big day out.

I'm thinking that it is easiest to share everything backwards... so my last week has consisted of a lot of sleeping, along with catching up with friends and going to the Big Day Out (which also comprised of sleeping and friends). I've also started working again at my lovely little bakery, which I missed so much. These photos are from the Big Day Out which was SO hot and icky. I don't think my camera liked the heat/sweat/sunscreen it was subjected to. The Grates and TV on the Radio were probably the highlights, although it was lovely to see Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! again after being away for so long. Seeing them made me feel like I was finally home again.

In other news, my other favourite local band Lumonics has lost a member and is down to a three-piece. It shall be interesting to see how they fare now.

PS I'm not sure if it's just my computer or what, but the quality of the photos looks a lot worse than it should be (they're not great to start with...). Apologies, they're not as bad on Flickr.

ratatat.

Psychedelic-electro-instrumental- craze hasn't been my 'thing' in the past, but after seeing Ratatat with some friends a couple of weeks ago, I think it could well be in the future...

Godt Nytår / Happy New Year to you all, I will be back after a whirlwind trip of Amsterdam and London over the next few days. The next month is going to be crazy, as I wrap up life in Denmark, explore Europe and finally make it home. Stories and pictures that don't appear in the next 30 days will be sure to come later :)

newspaper.

Even though I can't actually read it, I pick up the free newspapers from the train station to have a flick through whenever I get a chance. I can usually gather the gist of at least a couple of the articles by the pictures and the few Danish words that I know.

Look what I was greeted with when I opened up to page 2/3 yesterday:
A double page Kings of Leon spread!! Rad! That's one for my walls.

so pride and prejudice.

Sweet little houses.Pretty park.It is a truth universally acknowledged, that visiting any building looking vaguely like this makes me feel like I am in Pride and Prejudice.
Yesterday we went north to visit a manor house. It was in a HUGE park with gently rolling hills, clusters of trees and deer. I was expecting Colin Firth to appear out of nowhere at any minute.

Afterwards we went to Tivoli and enjoyed some totally shameless Danish pop, in the form of Alphabeat. They are cute and energetic, but slightly cheesy. The Danes love them though :)

i'm hopeless.

I couldn't not do it.

I found this, and couldn't resist.

I've never been one to pre-plan a wedding, or a funeral for that matter, but something, anything, from this album WILL be played at both.

Now I've moved onto listening and watching the real thing. Listening to copious amounts of Interpol when you are detached from everyone and everything is not a good idea. The only substitute I can think of, however, is Joy Division. Which is just as bad, if not worse.

one, two, three, four.

Pretty Danish flags / Perfect sky and my wonderful umbrella / I see ladybirds everywhere / Castle in which Hamlet is based.

In beautiful weather I visited a town called Helsingor. It is on the coast and is *this close* to Sweden. I sat under my umbrella on a hill in front of the castle and stared across the water at Sweden for over an hour. I waited to hear how the band had gone in their second ever gig, and their first one playing originals. It also happened to be part of a band competition.

They won their night and will now play in the semi-final.

I am so proud, but my heart aches.

this is...

... my favourite band in the world. After On par with Interpol.

Their name, a work in process. As are their songs. But I think they are amazing, and they have the most wonderful guitarist/wannabe percussionist/super-talented writer in the world. The other guys aren't so bad either!

These are also two of my favourite photos that I have ever taken.

I miss you.