I caught
The Proclaimers when they hit Melbourne last year and as expected, it was a fun gig that bounced around happily when it wasn't swooning with their unique harmonies. Apparently they weren't planning on making the trip again this year but then somehow they were invited down again because Scotland is playing in the Rugby World Cup. Anyway, they're playing two shows in Melbourne at the C.U.B Malthouse on November 12 and 13 (tickets from
Playbox). I bought their new album a couple of days ago and was surprised to see Edwyn Collins produced it. Hopefully he's pleased with it as I'm enjoying it a lot so far (Mojo got all enthusiastic and gave it
5 stars). If you're a music fan living in Melbourne who hasn't been to the Spiegeltent yet, well, what the hell do you think you're doing?
Get a ticket and get down there! I must admit the lineup is slightly less interesting this year as they've opted for fewer music acts (with some repeated) and there's more cabaret-type stuff. The venue itself remains a must-see though. Finally, the lineup for the strangely named
Melbourne Music and Blues Festival has been announced and there's a sense of desperation in the headline acts: Chicago, The Pretenders, Bryan Ferry and Bonnie Raitt. Last year at least had a mix of quality classic and contemporary acts in Beth Orton, Ani DiFranco, The Waifs and Bob Dylan. A friend said this lineup looked like something direct from the late 70s and it's a bit hard to argue with that. There were a few interesting local acts in the smaller print (eg. Mia Dyson) but I don't think they did the publicity guys many favours with their choice of headline acts.
I'm not a big blues nut, I have the Robert Johnson box set and I love it when Eric Clapton plays blues but it's not a genre I usually follow. I went along to the 