20.03.08: Raw Comedy Semi-Finals - Wed 19 March
Current mood: excited
Category: Friends

As Jason and I headed over to The Sit Down Comedy Club in Paddington last night, we passed a service station displaying its petrol prices on a noticeboard.
I looked at the sign.  And I looked again.
"What is that?!" I exclaimed to Jason, pointing at the glowing neon signage, "That’s not a price!  That’s just a heap of random numbers jumbled together!"
I’m still staggered at how petrol prices suddenly rise by over ten cents over night.  Especially prior to long weekend holidays.

After a lot of controlled breathing on my behalf, we finally arrived at the Comedy Club, found our table, and settled in for what we hoped would be a great night of comedy and laughs.
 
We were there specifically to support a friend of ours, Baz McAlister, who had been selected for tonight’s semi-final of "Raw Comedy"; a competition for new up and coming local talent.
Tonight’s semi-finals acknowleged 16 people, all of various ages and experience on the comedy circuit.  Each contestant had 5 minutes to complete their routine and get as many laughs as possible from their performance.

The night consisted of a wide range of talented people - some better and more ’polished’ than others - but all giving it their best shot at stand up comedy. 
We couldn’t complain about the level of talent from what we saw this evening and had plenty of laughs throughout the three hour show.

At the completion of the semi-finals, five people were chosen to continue on to the finals next week.  To our delight, our friend Baz was chosen as one of the five for the finals.

CONGRATULATIONS, BAZ!

We look forward to attending next week’s show and finding out who the top two comedians from Brisbane will be to attend the Melbourne Comedy Festival in April.

(Photos below of Baz McAlister performing his comedy routine.)

Currently listening : Krankhaus By Angelspit Release date: 16 July, 2007

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17.03.08: And the nominations are...
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Writing and Poetry

The Australian Speculative Fiction Awards - commonly referred to as the Ditmar Awards - recognise excellence by Australians in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. The Ditmars are a proud tradition that have been continuously maintained by Australian fandom since they were first presented in 1969.

Each year, the Australian National Speculative And Science Fiction Convention presents the Ditmar Awards for the previous calendar year.

Mil and Jason have been included in this year’s short list of nominations for "Best Australian Speculative Fiction Novel for 2007" for The Darkness Within. Jason has also been nominated for "Best New Talent in 2007", which is also an incredible honour.

And in further recognition of their book, Mil and Jason have also been nominated for the "Australian Shadows Award" with the Australian Horror Writers Association. The winner of this award will be announced in April. 

The Darkness Within was originally co-written by Mil and Jason in 2000 and published in 2007 by Hachette Livre Australia. The novel recently received an Honourable Mention at this year’s Australian Aurealis Awards which were held in February in Brisbane.

Currently listening : Wolf Sky By Wendy Rule Release date: 01 May, 2006

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12.03.08: Punching movie chatterers in the face - Mon 10 March
Current mood: annoyed
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

I can't tell you fully how much people talking during movies annoys me.  I have few words.  In fact,  I have LOTS of words!

Jason and I went to the movies on Monday night.  I got free tickets through the local paper, so we made the effort to meet up at South Brisbane for an evening of entertainment together.  It was a preview screening of "Vantage Point" and we were pretty keen to see it, especially since it was being shown on the huge IMAX screen.

Unfortunately, a local Brisbane radio station  (most likely "Radio Old-Fogeys-Only-Thanks" which undoubtedly just plays safe songs from the 50s and 60s with the occassional polka) had also been giving out free passes, so the cinema was filled with an audience of various ages.

Frustratingly, out of all the seats we could have chosen, we picked seats in front of Mr and Mrs 80-Not-Out.
There's nothing like seeing an action-suspence movie WITH A PERSONAL RUNNING COMMENTARY ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT.

I kid you not, there wasn't one single silent 5 minute stretch where this couple didn't state the obvious or comment on something that just happened in the movie.

"Ah.  He's got a camera."
"Oh. Now we're going to see it from this man's point of view."
"He has a gun!"
"Oh.  He just killed him!"

ARRRRGHHHHH!

Even the high action car chase scene was filled with enough "Oh!s" and "Wow!s" and "Whoa!s" that for a moment I thought that the elderly couple were actually driving the vehicles.

Sadly, it seemed like the couple must have also been hard of hearing because my angry "SHHHHHH!s" and "Oh, for **** sake!s" appeared to fall on deaf ears.

I mean, really people, if I want a running dialogue, I'd buy the DVD and watch the special features commentary section with subtitles.

So, is it illegal to punch movie-chatterers in the face?  I'm going to have to investigate that one, because I'm sure there is a sub-clause in there to say that it is permitable providing you have given the preliminary "SHHHH!" warning 5 minutes before hand.

Currently listening : Failure By Assemblage 23 Release date: 13 November, 2001

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02.03.08: Future Music Festival + The Chemical Brothers - Doomben Racecourse - Sat 1 March
Current mood: happy
Category: Music

With the main purpose of going to the festival being The Chemical Brothers set, we preceeded the event with a leisurely afternoon of drinking and chatting on Southgate's front porch.
As the sun began to lower in the sky, we then made our way to Doomben Racecourse where "The Future Music Festival" was being held.
I had no expectations from this festival.  It was to be a first time experience for me, having never attended an all electronica and DJ event before.

Upon arrival, Southgate, Mattjew and I ventured over to the "Ten Pound" stage. Here we caught the end of the set from Norwegian band "Datarock".  Dressed in red, two guitarists, a keyboardist, and a drummer, these guys were jamming out a few good dancey tracks, and the folks in the small mosh pit were happily jumping to it.  Described as 'electro rock' or 'dance rock', the band appeared to be enjoying the first of the five Australian Future Music Festivals.

After a few songs, Southgate turned to me.
"Man, I'm so drunk," he declared, having had a few pints back home.
"Really?" I replied, "Coz I'm thirsty."
"Time for a drink!" exclaimed Mattjew, and we all nodded our heads in agreement and headed for the nearest bar.

The drinks at this event were an absolute rip off in this blogger's humble opinion.  We each had to purchase 'drink cards' ($10 or $20 each), and upon a drink purchase, the total amount was stamped out of the card.  This, of course, meant that if you had any money left over on the drink card, you pretty much lost it.  Bourbon cans were $8.50 which meant I could buy two on my $20 drink card with a useless $3 left over.  Yes, the festival organisers really knew how to make their extra money at this gig.

The nearest bar was in the "Future Funk" room.  A mess of moshers were dancing as a DJ (Evil Nine?) was pushing out tunes from a turn table.  The room was jumping and the music wasn't terrible so the three of us got drinks and jumped up and down for a bit.  Southgate and I were, instead of miming air guitars, were miming scratching records, leaving me in stitches of laughter. 
I couldn't help but giggle at the punters in their mixture of outrageous outfits, all jumping around, their flared 'phat pants' swishing, their feather-laiden hats bobbing up and down.  The audience response to the DJ was simply bizarre: in a kind of heavy metal "show us your horns" kind of way, whenever the DJ held up his hands in the air, the moshers would follow suit.

After catching up with friends, having a few more drinks, and gazing at the people screaming on the "Dominator" ride (a horizontally seated ride which lifted the people up in the air in a circular motion and generally swung them around from side to side in an attempt to make them throw up), we finally made our way over to "Future Music" main tent.
Here, we caught the end of DJ Roger Sanchez's set as he spun records (or CDs as the case may have well been).  What he played wasn't too bad and I was impressed to hear Underworld's "Born Slippy" as his final track.

DJ Sven Vath (rhymes with 'bath') was next on stage, once again spinning a few tracks.  His choice of music didn't impress me too much so I decided to relieve the bordom - or so to speak - by finding the port-a-loos.
Despite the large number of toilets located near the main stage, they each had a queue of people 7 or 8 deep.
As I neared the front of the line, I was a little surprised when the door opened and two guys exited, one wiping his mouth, which caused me to cringe.  Whether it was sex or drugs they were doing in there, I don't care to guess.  I was more surprised that you could actually fit two people in there to begin with!
By the time I got to the front of the queue, the guy who exited told me that there was no toilet paper left.  I rolled my eyes but had waited so long, it was a small inconvenience to tolerate.
Horrifically, there may not have been any toilet paper in there, but there was just about everything else, including excrement upon the toilet seat!
Now, I've travelled the world a bit and had to visit some pretty repulsive toilets, but these were some of the worst.  I was just glad that the sun had gone down and the heat wasn't slowly cooking the port-a-loo contents.

I rejoined my friends near the sound tent at the main stage and at 8pm DJ James Holroyd appeared at the main mixing desk.  He took position at the left of the stage on a smaller turn table desk as the large centre one was rolled out and a humungous mixing desk and set of synths were wheeled on to centre stage, ready for "The Chemical Brothers."

At 8:20pm, Southgate, Mattjew and I found ourselves at the barrier at the back of "The D".
Subtly, The Chemical Brother's song "No Path To Follow" - the first track from their latest album "We Are The Night" - could be heard. 
This was it!  We were excited!
Opening with "Galvanize" with the "Dont hold back" line of encouragement, the crowd went wild!  People jumped, hands were waving in the air, and the glow from mobile phones, cameras and raver glow sticks littered the crowd.
The Chemical Brothers set for the 90 minutes certainly did not disappoint.  All the songs that I had hoped they would play *were* played to an interesting light display including green lazers which beamed out over the crowd during "Hey Boy Hey Girl".  The visual screen behind him was constantly projecting interesting digital images, a big plus since the two guys as an actual act aren't really anything to see (they were, after all, simply pressing buttons on a turn table).

Their set, which was an 80 minute mixture of remixed songs all blending into each other, with never a break in the music, included remixes of past singles including "Believe", "Get Yourself High", "Out Of Control", "Song To The Siren" and "Star Guitar".
Their 2007 album "We Are The Night" was not to be left out either as they played "All Rights Reversed", "Saturate" and the catchy "Do It Again."
At 9:50pm, the main set ended in a pumped up remix of "We Are The Night" which left the crowd jumping and screaming for more.
After a few minutes of darkness as the duo left the stage, they then reappeared for one encore song: an extended remix of "Block Rockin' Beats" which once again had everyone screaming with excitement.

I was not disappointed with The Chemical Brothers set of music or the visual display.
The crowd, however, were not as pumped as I had hoped they would be.  Many were too drunk to stand having spent the entire afternoon there spending hundreds of dollars on over priced alcohol.
Others appeared drugged up to the eyeballs or as high as kites.

I was in the mood to dance my feet off and unfortunately, due to the subdued crowd in my section and the lack of personal space, dancing was pretty much impossible.

Overall though, the event was enjoyable and full of laughs.  Even the ride back - five of us squished into the Mil-Mobile - and our bizarre adventure through Toombul Macca's was a laugh from start to finish.

The Future Music Festival plays the rest of Australia on these dates:
Perth - 2 March
Sydney - 8 March
Melbourne - 9 March (sold out!)
Adelaide - 10 March

So get your fluffy gators and phat pants on, man, and get dancin'!

Currently listening : Singles 93-03 By The Chemical Brothers Release date: 30 September, 2003

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26.02.08: Jeff Martin - The Coolangatta Hotel - Sat 23 Feb
Current mood: impressed
Category: Music

Having missed Jeff Martin's previous Brisbane acoustic performance in September 2006, Jason and I were determined to get to this show at the recently renovated  Cooly Hotel in Coolangatta.
Jeff Martin, orignal front man for Canadian band "The Tea Party" but currently pursuing a solo career, is a man who instantly grabs ones attention the moment he sets foot on stage.  This man oozes charisma, charm, sex appeal and pure talent the second he picks up one of the many musical instruments that he has the knowledge to play.  His presence on stage always reminds me of a large, mysterious lion with a long dark mane, dark eyes and intriguing features.
Joining him on stage this evening was talented Irish percussionist Wayne Sheehy, surrounded by a mass of symbals and African drums.

Positioned on the barrier, and thankful for the venue's air conditioning after a 40 degree C day outside, I had a great view of both Jeff and Wayne on stage.
The room was surprisingly crowded this evening, filled with a mass of The Tea Party fans who seemed to know every word to every song of the evening.

I lost count of the number of times Jeff changed electric acoustic guitars and other musical instruments (including a hurdy gurdy and a type of sarod or sitar),
but Jeff displayed his amazing musical ability with all instruments.  The power and emotion in his singing was, as always, spectacular to witness live.

The only downfall of tonight's gig was the sound quality; despite the fact that we were situated in front of a tall speaker stack, the sound was way too loud for such a show and at times distorted.  I was thankful for throwing in a pair of ear plugs at the last minute, and ended up using them for the entire show.

Amongst tonight's set were personal The Tea Party favourites "The Bazaar", "Sister Awake" "Psychopomp" and "The Badger". 
Jeff also included tracks from his solo albums such as the bluesy "Black Snake Blues", "Requiem" and the lovely "Daystar".
The highlight for me was a cover of Dead Can Dance song "Rakim" which was performed extremely well, including the female sections.

At the end of the show, Jeff announced that he would be back in Brisbane in September with his new 'rock band'.  Jason and I looked at each other in excitement - definitely another show NOT to be missed!

Currently listening : The Edges of Twilight By The Tea Party Release date: 03 July, 1995

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19.02.08: Iron Maiden - Bris Entertainment Centre - Tues 12 Feb
Current mood: sweaty
Category: Music

The week started when Iron Maiden arrived at Brisbane Airport on Monday 11th Feb at 2pm.
Jason and I drove out to watch the cleverly named "Ed Force One" (named after Iron Maiden's undead mascot "Eddie") arrive in Brisbane, piloted by Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson.
This was a first in band history as far as they knew, as assembled on board was the entire band, crew, all the musical equipment and stage sets and props. Transporting everything and everyone together for a world tour is pretty much unheard of however the band figured it would be the most convenient way of moving from continent to continent in such a limited amount of time.
Add the bonus of having a licensed airline pilot amongst your band, and the exclusive use of a plane from Astraeus Airlines, and you're on your way to perfect world tour.

The plane landed smoothly as expected and as it taxied back down the runway to the airport terminal, Jason and I jumped back into the car in a hope to see
it up close.  This lead us to be driving around the roads of Brissie Airport peering eagerly out the car's windows, searching for the landed 757 to no avail.
Me sighing "But it's a 757!  It's not exactly small!  How can we have lost it?"
Finally Jason sighted the now secured aircraft at a "VIP terminal" and I planted my foot in the Mil-Mobile.
We got to the gates of the secured terminal just as the two Murray's tour buses were pulling out - the entire band and crew inside!
In a split decision, we decided to follow the buses; a decision which lead us weaving in and out of peak traffic, losing the buses amongst the lines of traffic, then finally finding them again in Fortitude Valley.  Jason yelling out directions as he viewed the bus ahead of us, almost lost in the busy city traffic, as I drove periliously, avoiding other cars and pedestrians who wandered vaguely across the road in front of us.
We ended up at the Stamford Hotel (much to Jason's delight, as we had wagered where the band would be staying), and stalked out the front with another half dozen Maiden fans, cloaked in band shirts, all armed with cameras and CD covers and thick black Niko pens.
We were treated to a quick handshake and "Hello" from band guitarist Janick Gers as he ventured out of the hotel and continued on his way up the street, most likely looking for a pint at the nearest Irish Pub.

By Tuesday night we were all pumped!  This was it - the final Australian show for Iron Maiden for 2008.
The Brisbane crowd were relatively quiet in comparison to the Melbourne horde.  The excitement was still there, but the halls outside the main venue were
tame; there would be no rowdy chanting amongst the merch stands for this gig.

Inside, the stadium was filling nicely.  I finally got to see Lauren Harris perform (I missed her set at the two Melbourne shows) and found myself tapping my foot to her songs and nodding my head in approval.  Her music was pure rock'n'roll and she was having fun.  She reminded me of a young Joan Jett; dressed in black, with tight leather pants, and belting out some rocking female vocals. The best thing was that she wasn't trying to copy her father's style (Steve Harris from Iron Maiden) and had her own boppy tracks.

Second support band was Behind Crimson Eyes.  In my opinion (and many other's opinions by the sounds of it) this group was not suited as a support for
Iron Maiden.  It wasn't that they sounded horrible, it was just that their style and sound was dramatically different and would have been better as a support group for a band like Korn or Slipknot.
I couldn't help but giggle when the group announced their last song and the entire mosh pit cheered!  And to add injury to insult, people booed when their set finished and they began to leave the stage!

By the time the lights went back down for Iron Maiden, the venue was pretty full.  The floor and moshpit were filled with excited fans standing shoulder to shoulder, far more crowded than the Melbourne gigs.
As the famous "Churchill's Speech" began, the lights came back up, the first of the pyrotechnics ignited, and the Maiden fans screamed enthusiastically and in full force.
Clenched fists were raised into the air, people yelled in approval, and lead singer Bruce Dickinson sprung onto the stage to open the show with their hit "Aces High", performed in front of a huge backdrop of their tour poster; a pyramid similar to their "Powerslave" album cover with Sheriff Eddie, Seventh Son Eddie, and Powerslave Eddie seated before it.

The set list was the same as the second Melbourne show which included crowd pleasers "2 Minutes To Midnight" and "Revelations".
A backdrop change and slight costume addition of a red trooper's coat for Bruce then had him flag bearer once again for "The Trooper". 

"The Number Of The Beast" performed under red lighting had the audience singing happily along with the chorus.
My favourite "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" was again performed with Bruce in an old cloak and the back drop changing to an ancient ship.  This 14 minute
track is still a big favourite for many Maiden fans, and having this performed under blue and green lighting and a floor based fog machine favourably set the
atmosphere once again.

"Powerslave" had Bruce in a feathered 'God-like' mask.  I was amazed once again at this man's ability to sing and run around whilst wearing this head-dress
for the entire song and not falling flat on his face.

The Iron Maiden Fan Club winners had their few moments of fame as they crowded the stage in the middle of "Heaven Can Wait" and got to sing with Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers.  Bruce also stayed on stage this time, carefully at arms distance from everyone.  It was obvious however that these fans who had won this opportunity to be on stage were not going to cause any trouble and were just excited to be there with the band.
"Fear Of The Dark" - the only song for the evening from the 1990s - was another big crowd pleaser and I think the crowd sung more of the tune than
Bruce Dickinson did!
Finally, the song "Iron Maiden" had another background change which featured a futuristic street scene from Maiden's "Somewhere In Time" album.  During this
track, a huge cyborg Sheriff Eddie entered the stage with his 'laser gun'.  This brought screams of approval from the fans as Eddie aimed his gun at band and audience members.

After a short interval, the band returned for their Encore.  The background changed to a large picture of "The Prophet" from their "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" album.  Bruce Dickinson introduced the members of the band, people screaming excitedly with approval, in particularly for bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko Mc Brain.
The start of their first encore track began with lead guitarist, Dave Murray, on an acoustic guitar.  Bruce was having so much fun at this gig, that he actually mucked up the start of "Moonchild" and he and Dave had to start the song again whist trying not to giggle!

In fact, the entire show had Bruce laughing, playing around with the band, pulling amusing facial expressions at the audience and generally having one fabulous time.  It was obvious during this show that the entire band was relaxed and just enjoying their last show in Australia.
It was also apparent that the band was amazed at the strong fan base here in Australia, with Bruce insisting that they would be back in Australia "VERY" soon.

Rumours by the following afternoon were that they would be back at the end of 2009.  fans can only hope that it is true, and we dont have to wait as long for this amazingly talented group to visit us once again Down Under.

Set List for Brisbane - 12th February 2008:

Intro -  Churchills Speech
Aces High
2 minutes to midnight
Revelations
The Trooper
Wasted Years
Number of the Beast
Can I Play with madness
Rime of the ancient mariner
Powerslave
Heaven can wait
Run to the hills
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
**Encore**
Moonchild
Clairvoyant
Hallowed be thy name

My photos from this concert can be viewed here:

Mil's Iron Maiden Photographs

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09.02.08: Iron Maiden - Melbourne - Wed 6 and Thur 7 Feb
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Music

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better (after seeing Nightwish last Saturday night), I was proved wrong.

Oh, was I proved wrong.

Going to Melbourne to catch Iron Maiden at their first Melbourne gig since 1992 (their "Fear Of The DarK" tour which I went to at Melbourne's Festival Hall) was well worth the trip down south.
This time, Iron Maiden had scored the Rod Laver Arena, selling out the 15,000 seats on their opening Melbourne night on Wednesday 6th February.

The vibe was electric as we squashed onto the tram to take us to the venue.  It was filled with mostly males, all sporting black "Iron Maiden" t-shirts, all different but displaying a picture of one of Maiden's many album covers on the front.
I was dressed similarly, in a black "DJ Eddie" Maiden singlet, black skirt and bike boots, and felt like a die-hard fan.
And I am, damnit. 


Having been introduced to their music when I was 14, just after the release
of their "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" album, I then filled my teenage bedroom with their back catalogue of albums and freaked my mother out with "Eddie" posters and banners.
Their music stayed with me and twenty years on, here they were, back in Australia with a high-flyin', hard-rockin' metal show.

Outside the Rod Laver Arena, thousands of supporters were gathering, many buying merchandise, some entrusting the cloak Room guys with their studded belts and wrist bands which were not allowed inside the stadium.

Upon entering the venue, thousands more fans were lining up at the bar or the merch stands.  Prices were high but were being paid - $15 for a poster, $20 for a stubbie holder, $45 for a cap, $50 for a t-shirt or $100 for a Hoodie.
I felt it was a little steep, considering that tickets were already $100 for silver class or $150 for gold, but it had been 16 years since the band had toured, so the fans weren't complaining too much about price.

At 7:30pm first support act "Lauren Harris" appeared on stage.  I was still moshing at the merch stand but could hear her singing in the background amongst the boisterous chants of "Maiden! Maiden!" which echoed amongst the crowds at the bar.  Lauren is, of course, Maiden's bass player Steve Harris' daughter.  I was a bit disappointed that I missed her act, but buying a Maiden tour shirt seemed far more important at the time.

Clutching purchased merch, I then entered the main arena and found my Gold Class seat, situated at the left of the stage.  From here, I could clearly see the stage and also behind the set, where the Roadies and sound guys were mustering.

At around 8:15pm second support act Melbourne's "Vanishing Point" started their set.  It was obvious that they had a small following here in Melbourne as the cheers went up and the mosh pit started jumping.

Finally, at 9:15pm it happened.
Opening the show with "Churchill's Speech", Iron Maiden then launched into the song "Aces High" to start their Melbourne show.  The fireworks went up, the crowd screamed, and lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, leapt out onto the stage, wearing black hat and Army cammo vest.

(Photo: The Age, Melbourne)

The actual set was amazing.  A huge back drop of the 2008 tour's official poster - reminiscent of their "Powerslave" album but combining The Sheriff from their "Caught Somewhere In Time" album and Eddie holding the unborn Seventh Son from their "Seventh Son" album - filled the back wall.
The stage was set up as the inside of an Egyptian pyramid (again, with the Powerslave theme) with Egyptian heiroglyphs lining the walls of the set and two sarcophagi with red glowing eyes stood along the back wall on each side of the drum kit.

 Still in Army uniform, "2 Minutes To Midnight" and "Revelations" had the crowd in full mosh-mode.
The back drop then changed displaying the cover of "The Trooper" single, and with it, Bruce changed costume, donning a red Trooper's Jacket and waving two large Union Jack flags throughout the song.

"The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" was a hit with me, with not only another back drop change but also with Bruce wrapping himself in a large dark cloak, playing the part of The Mariner. The back ground was now an old derelict ship, and the fog with blue and green lighting set the scene perfectly for this 14 minute song.

"Powerslave" was also a hit, as Bruce once again changed costumes, this time wearing a yellow leather vest and a full "god like" mask made of feathers.  A slight pyrotechnic hitch had Bruce singing the first verse from behind the set, before it was safe for him to appear back on stage.  Somehow he managed to run around and sing whilst wearing this amazing head-dress.

"Fear Of The Dark" and "Heaven Can Wait" were also crowd pleasers, as the 15,000 fans managed to drown out Bruce's tempremental mic and basically sing the song to him!

Finally, during the song "Iron Maiden" a giant robotic version of the band's mascot, Eddie (as The  Sheriff) came out on stage, mock shooting members of the audience with his laser gun.
It was a bit of a laugh, but got the crowd hooting with approval as Eddie walked from one side of the stage to the other.

The three encore songs did not disappoint either - "Moonchild", "The Clairvoyant" and finishing on the popular "Hallowed Be Thy Name" left the fans in a roaring frenzy and eager for more.

I was so impressed by Maiden's performance (despite the fact that Bruce's mic kept fitzing out, leaving Bruce furious and cursing the Tech guys behind stage) that I decided that I had to come back for more.

And, I did.
The Thursday night show was just as impressive from my Silver Class seat, with better sound (with it now being rectified) and a different view of the stage from the night before.
Bruce was obviously happier due to the sound correction and chatted enthusiastically to the crowd, giving us more "Bruce Time".

The band has not lost it.  Bruce still sings as well as he did 20+ years ago.  And his fencing hobby obviously keeps this guy super fit, making this obvious as he ran, leaped and jumped across the stage - whilst singing -  for the entire two shows.
The rest of the group are still as sleek as before, working together during instrumental breaks and guitar solos.

Iron Maiden are playing Brisbane on Tues 12 February. 

And yes, I will be there.  Again.
After all, who knows how long it will take for Maiden to return to Australia?
But here's hoping Australian fans have reminded the band of how popular they are Down Under and the break wont be as long next time around.

Full set list of Melbourne's first show on Wed 6 Feb -

Churchill's Speech / Aces High (from 'Powerslave' – 1984)
2 Minutes to Midnight (from 'Powerslave' – 1984)
Revelations (from 'Piece Of Mind' – 1983)
The Trooper (from 'Piece Of Mind' – 1983)
Wasted Years (from 'Somewhere In Time' – 1986)
The Number of the Beast (from 'Number Of The Beast' – 1982)
Run to the Hills (from 'Number Of The Beast' – 1982)
Rime of the Ancient Mariner (from 'Powerslave' – 1984)
Powerslave (from 'Powerslave' – 1984)
Heaven Can Wait (from 'Somewhere In Time' – 1986)
Can I Play With Madness? (from 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' – 1988)
Fear of the Dark (from 'Fear Of The Dark' – 1992)
Iron Maiden (from 'Iron Maiden' – 1980)
–––––––-
Moonchild (from 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' – 1988)
The Clairvoyant (from 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' – 1988)
Hallowed Be Thy Name (from 'Number Of The Beast' – 1982)

Report: Iron Maiden and Ed Force One Lands in Melbourne -
http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=4047

Review: Iron Maiden's First Melbourne Gig by Undercover -
http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=4054

Review: by Melbourne's 'The Age' Newspaper -
http://www.theage.com.au/news/gig-previews--reviews/iron-maiden/2008/02/05/1202090405851.html

Interview with Dave Murray and sneak shots from the Melbourne gig (video) -
http://media.theage.com.au/?rid=35304&category=Music

Currently listening : The Number of the Beast By Iron Maiden Release date: 26 March, 2002

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03.02.08: Nightwish - The Tivoli - Sat 2 Feb
Current mood: electric
Category: Music

It's been three years since Nightwish last visited Australia when they were promoting their album "Once".  Since that time they have released another album, 2007's "Dark Passion Play", and have had a change of lead singer.
I was curious to see how the band would sound live with newcomer Anette Olson on vocals after the gorgeous Tarja Turunen left the group.

With a fantastic backdrop of the Nightwish "Dark Passion Play" album cover which  glowed under the UV lights, the band opened their set with part of the first track from their album "The Poet And The Pendulum" which immediately had the packed room of Brisbane's The Tivoli Theatre joining in on the chorus, punching their fists into the air to the chorus.

Following this were the popular "Bye Bye Beautiful" (rumoured to be about Tarja) and "Amaranth" which also had the entire room singing along to the choruses.
It was obvious that this night was going to be about their latest CD with a couple of previous favourites thrown into the two hour performance.

As with their last show, the entire band still sounds and looks amazing. 
Tuomas Holopainen, founder of Nightwish, looked simply sexy with long brown wavy hair, dark goatee, dark eyes and a huge loop earring, reminiscent of a mysterious pirate, thrashing away at keyboards all evening, with the occassional sneaked swig out of a bottle of red wine.

Marco Hietala on bass still sported his dwarven-like plaited goatee and theatrically played around with blonde lead guitarist Emppu Vuorinen as they belted out heavy rocking tracks from the albums "Dark Passion Play", "Once" and "Wishmaster".

Jukka Nevalainen on drums wasn't going to be left out and sat smiling as he pounded out the heavy beats, occassionally smiling and pointing to members of the audience with his drum sticks.

Finally, Anette Olson, standing centre stage for the majority of the performance proved that the photographs with their CD did not do her any justice.  This young lady is as cute as a button in a dark, gothy kind of way, remeninscent of Amy Lee (Evanescence).  Dressed in a short black dress with wide black belt, and her hair in two plaited piggy-tails, she constantly wore a smile for the Nightwish fans and won us all over very quickly.
Involving some audience participation by a invoking the famous "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! OI! OI! OI!" and shaking hands with the first few rows of the mosh pit, Anette fitted the bill.
Although fans loved Tarja, her style was very different to Anette's, and having this slight change - rather than trying to copy Tarja to the letter - was probably the thing that made it work for her. Anette has her own personality and her own singing voice.  Although never quite reaching the notes that Tarja could, Anette certainly did not disappoint with her performance in any way.

The band, as a whole, are just magic to hear and see.  This was their last Australian show for this tour, and they were obviously making the most of it tonight and having a great time.
Tuomas' passion upon the keyboards is just fabulous to watch as he controls not one but two sets of synths.

The set ended with the fabulous song "Nemo" again inspiring the audience to join in on the chorus and then scream with approval and applause at the conclusion of the song. Emppu and Marco threw their guitar picks into the crowd and as I watched Emppu's sail through the air, the audience members obviously were not, as it landed between punters still screaming and clapping.

After a few minutes, the band reemerged onto the Tivoli's stage and rounded up the evening with three more songs as the encore:  "Seven Days To The Wolves", "Wishmaster" and ending on the hit "Wish I Had An Angel" which hand the ecstatic throng screaming once again with appreciation.

Nightwish then threw picks and drumsticks into the audience before joining hands on stage and bowing before departing.

AS the crowd began to disburse, I glanced down to the floor a few feet away and sighted Emppu's pick which had landed unnoticed upon the ground.  It did not stay there very long as I fought my way through the slow moving crowd and snatched it from the floor in delight.
A little bonus from the night to preserve with my "Dark Passion Play" CD as a great reminder of a wonderful evening.

http://www.myspace.com/nightwish

Currently listening : Dark Passion Play By Nightwish Release date: 02 October, 2007

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03.02.08: The Screaming Jets - Waterloo Hotel - Fri 1 Feb
Current mood: rejuvenated
Category: Music

I had forgotten how hot The Waterloo Hotel could actually get.  It had been about five years since I had last seen a gig at this venue and it hadn't changed much in that time.
As I entered, the steaminess reminded me of a greenhouse in Summer.  The punters inside had already rocked it out to the support band, but I was there for the main act - The Screaming Jets.
I have been a fan of the Jets since the release of their CD "All For One" in 1991 and this was my first opportunity to hear them play live.

I positioned myself in the second row of the mosh pit.  Beside me, flannel clad guys and girls stood drinking cans of VB and Jim Beam, waiting for The Screaming Jets to play.
It was just after 10pm when the five piece rock'n'roll group assembled on stage.

The crowd went crazy.
And I laughed. 

It's been 18 years since TSJ belted out their hit "Better", so the 20-something-year-old band memebers are no longer the 20-somethings that I recalled from my teenage years.
Lead singer, Dave Gleeson, hasn't lost his Aussie rock'n'roll style or attitude however. Full of comical facial expressions and playing it up to the audience, he jumped around the stage in high energy, stopping occassionally to pose for photographs when glimpsing cameras aimed in his direction.

Despite the heat and lack of air-conditioning, the entire band were having a great time.  Gleeson apologised for the split in his jeans but insisted that his "nuts wouldn't fall out" during the show, "Even if they are currently the size of raisins."

Gleeson had a lot of serious topics as well during their set, including comments about George W Bush which instilled a rush of hoots and agreements from the audience.
"Blue Sashes" was dedicated to the Australian Army both here and overseas, again with approval from the sweating crowd around me.

Most impressive was the closing song "Better" which part way through Gleeson passionately spoke of the lack of Australian music content on Australian radio these days, and how it was all inane American crud and no guitar bands.  The audience, naturally, screamed in agreement, punching fists into the air and singing along to the song's chorus.

After a short break, the band came back on stage for a few encore songs.  Final song was dedicated to Lleyton Hewitt entitled "C'mon!"

I was impressed by tonight's show by TSJ.  They covered all three albums  and threw in a few personal favourites including "Elvis", "Shiver" and "Needle".
Gleeson's comedic expressions and antics (including falling to the floor, still singing  whilst on his back) and acknowleding the audience by pointing to people and posing for photos made the night even more enjoyable.
Their style has not changed over the last 18 years, proving that they are still the old school Aussie rock band that they have always been and intend to stay.

Next time, I shall be dragging a few mates along, to hear some *real guitar music* Aussie style.

Currently listening : All for One By Screaming Jets Release date: 09 July, 1991

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28.01.08: 12th Annual Aurealis Awards - 26 Jan 2008
Current mood: good
Category: Writing and Poetry

The 12th Annual Aurealis Awards were once again held in Brisbane last Saturday, 26th of January, 2008.
The awards are  nominated to Australian speculative fiction authors who had work published during 2007.
"Speculative fiction" covers the fiction genres of horror, science fiction and fantasy. 
Jason's and my co-written novel "The Darkness Within" received an "Honourable Mention" under the horror novel category.

The weekend was a great chance to catch up and host some of our friends and fellow spec-fic authors from interstate - Sean Williams, Cat Sparks and Robert Hood.  It seems to have become a yearly tradition for the five of us to catch up over the Aurealis weekend and share some jokes between drinks.

The awards themselves were once again great fun.  The Fantastic Queensland and Aurealis Team seem to keep outdoing themselves each year.  The visual presentation gets bigger and better, as does the standard of brilliant spec-fic works from our Australian authors.
Big thanks go to Fantastic Queensland, Queensland Writer's Centre, Orbit Publishers and Pulp Fiction Booksellers for presenting us with such a wonderful night.

Big congratulations go to all the winners of Aurealis Awards.
A full list of the winners can be found here:
http://www.aurealisawards.com/Winners.htm

Special congratulations to our friend Cat Sparks who won both the 'Science Fiction Short Story Aurealis Award' and the 'Short Story Golden Aurealis Award' for her story "Hollywood Roadkill".

I would also like to thank Sean Williams and Kim Wilkins for being fun MCs for the evening and for doing a super job.

Photos below:

Sean Williams and Kim Wilkins - Mil Clayton and Jason Nahrung -
Mil Clayton - Cat Sparks

More photos from the Awards can be found here:

Mil Clayton's Aurealis Photos
Mil's Pix

Cat Spark's Aurealis Photos
Cat's Pix

Other links of interest:

Aurealis Awards
http://www.aurealisawards.com/

Orbit Books
http://www.myspace.com/orbitbooks 

Fanastic Queensland
http://www.fantasticqueensland.com/

Currently listening : Fxxk The Mainstream Volume 1 By Various Artists Release date: 16 July, 2007

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