The bits of stuff that fall in the cracks between Life, Music and outrageous fortune.         February   Close this window to return to Mike Rudd & Bill Putt's Stop Press   Peter Greagg masks his hunger The Greaggs pay a visit 28.2.07 - It's not often the Greaggs are in town, so it would be nice if I got the message straight when they do venture this far south. In the event we went out for coffees in Camberwell, when what the poor darlings really needed was a nourishing lunch, a faux pas for which I hope they can eventually find forgiveness for me in their hearts. As it was they came bearing tantalising gifts, one being an exquisite looking Pinot from Hobart where Peter (pic left) had run, cycled and swam a half triathalon (!), the other being a ubiquitous collection of home-baked CDs bearing some interesting looking titles scrawled in black texta. Titles like Spectrum - Terminal Buzz, Ariel - Aloha, Ariel - Goodnight Fiona etc. Since 'retiring' from Treasury, Peter has taken a keen interest in the technique of transferring music from vinyl disc to digital format, a skill at which he has proved to be very adept. I'm looking forward to reviewing his work too, as it's very possible some of our back-catalogue may never see the light of day otherwise.   Barry remembers Camberwell Back with a vengeance 11.2.07 - I was very fortunate to be invited to the Barry Humphries Back With A Vengeance show at the State Theatre last night. I've never been to a Barry Humphries' live show, although I've seen a few Dame Edna TV shows, and I was looking forward to it with considerably less apprehension than, say, a Bob Dylan concert, but not neccessarily expecting to be blown away either. I was relieved to find that we were some distance from the stage, especially when I saw the scope of Les Patterson's gobbing, not to mention the Dame's notorious singling out of audience members for attention, but despite being in box seats, we didn't miss a word, due to the excellent amplification and (I'm assuming) Barry's visually non-intrusive throat or lapel mic, (I didn't actually see where it was ). In fact, the presentation was impeccable throughout, managing to hint at lavish whilst actually being no more than thoughtfully economical. Mind you, the Dame's voice was even more strained than usual, and when she referred to it being 'this afternoon' she may have been in a matinée time-warp, and I'm not sure where she goes when she goes into her 'The Thinker' pose, but the Dame character was always going to be the one that might betray some tiredness with the cabaret-like routine. I won't bother to detail the rest of the show; although I was particularly moved by the poignancy of the late-lamented Sandy Stone showing us round his memories of a bygone Melbourne in Beryl's cut-price Wendouree home for the bewildered, but there was a surprise (for me, at least) at the end which suggested that Barry might seriously be thinking of moving on, rather than being some sort of ageless and eternal Melba the Dame would like us to believe. I don't know if this is standard practice -Susie seemed to think that this was something new - but Barry appears at the end of the show like some Wildean vision in a tux, and all the characters fall into place as his creations, and there was a genuine swelling of emotion from the audience in response and, well, pride dammit!, as he, Barry Humphries, author, actor, observer, satirist et al took his rightful ovation from his home-town audience.     back to the top