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Festival Hall was filled to capacity on Friday night, with eager anticipation in the air as it saw the return of Pulp.
When they walked on stage and the first notes of “Do you remember the first time?” started to play, the crowd went wild and this set the scene for the rest of the night.
Frontman Jarvis Cocker was in fine form. Randomly flinging chocolates into the crowd, giving out beer and champagne, he even threw out a pear because, according to Cocker, “nothing beats a firm, hard pear”. His wild dancing was almost hypnotic and he had to change his shoes early into the show because he was afraid of falling over on the slippery stage.
The set list did not disappoint. All the fan favourites were played, including Common People, Disco 2000, Babies and The Fear. Cocker did admit that they were a little rusty, he hoped they would nail “Like a Friend” this time and confessed that they hadn’t played “Party Hard” in many years but would give it “their best shot”.
Not that anyone there would have noticed. Every word to every song was sung back to them by the crowd and one person at the front was even told to “calm down” by Cocker as he/she got a little too enthusiastic.
It was all over too soon and as Cocker thanked the crowd and announced that they had to go, Festival Hall erupted into a chorus of NOOOOO!
A brilliant night with a brilliant band. It was my first time – and I will always remember…
What do you think about when you hear the word Absinthe? Green fairy? Bohemia? Severe hangover? All of the above?
I panicked a little when I saw that ‘absinthe’ would be the first word of my challenge. What options would there be for this picture? I didn’t want to it to be the obvious shot of an absinthe bottle with pretty glass cup and fancy sugar spoon.
My first thought was to visit Brunswick St, the heart of Melbourne’s modern bohemia. As I wandered the street, I watched the eclectic mix of people, shops and urban landscape but nothing really came to me…
So back to square one.
I did a little research into Melbourne’s bohemian past and stumbled upon Grosvenor Chambers. Now an unassuming menswear store on Collins St, it was built in 1889 as Australia’s first custom built complex of artist's studios, housing many famous Australian artists such as Frederick McCubbin and Tom Roberts
In 1930, Australia artist and author Ola Cohn established a studio at Grosvenor Chambers. Undoubtedly, one of her most well-known pieces is The Fairies’ Tree, carved in the stump of an old red gum tree in the Fitzroy gardens. It was a labour of love that took her three years to complete (1931-1934) as a gift to the children of Melbourne.
"I have carved a tree in the Fitzroy Gardens for you and the fairies, but mostly for the fairies, and those who believe in them, for they will understand how necessary it is to have a fairy sanctuary - a place that is sacred and safe as a home should be to all living creatures.
Therefore, I dedicate this book to children and fairies, as it is to them I owe my inspiration."
(Foreword from her book, "The Fairies' Tree")
I am a born and bred Melburnian, but shockingly, I had never seen or heard of The Fairies' Tree before (or knew there was a mini Tudor village next to it, what the hell???). But maybe that’s just me…?
So one chilly (but sunny) Saturday in the middle of winter, I headed down to check out The Fairies’ Tree. In the time that I spent there, I can tell you there was hardly a moment when there weren’t children visiting it with their parents pointing out the various fairies and animals that were lovingly carved into the tree. It really is an impressive piece of art with an incredible amount of detail. The colours are still so vibrant for something almost 80 years old.
Lucky for me, green fairies were all around the tree truck and I had a great time trying to get that perfect shot… I am also well aware of the irony of taking a photo of a green fairy carved into a tree for children to represent Absinthe - ah c’est la vie.
Watch this space.
I have given the letters of the alphabet to my lovely bf and asked him to choose a subject for each letter for me to photograph - to help me develop my skills.
Stay tuned to to see how it goes....
