June 2007 – Page 3 – helenthura.com

June 6, 2007

Jacob Diefenbach and Claire Whiting

I went to Rics again last night, this time to see Claire Whiting and Jacob Diefenbach who you may remember that Mum and I saw at the Powerhouse last year as part of the Brisbane Cabaret Festival. Well, I was impressed with him then and I was more than impressed again last night. There was a nice number of people at Rics which meant that it stayed nice and cosy. Partially due to the rain I would say – we have rain for about 14hrs straight since last night and our tank is now overflowing and the catchment areas for the dams have been getting rain as well 😀

First up was Claire Whiting and she was a total treat. A girl and her guitar, a handful of songs and a delightful voice. I will be going to see her more often for sure. After a couple of songs she was joined by Ben Stewart to add another guitar and some more vocals. As my little brother would tell you I am hopeless when it comes to remembering the names of songs unless I know the band really well. They played some great songs and one in particular that stands out in my mind was one that they had only just put together, it was a marvellous song.

Jacob Diefenbach.
A very dramatic piano player and a very commanding vocal style. Very much musical theatre inspired I think I would say in the dramatics and soaring vocals. The writer of some incredibly insightful and thought provoking songs not only about the gay culture but also about life in general and how we present our selves to the world. Favourite song had to be Drive to Kill which you can hear on his JJJ unearthed page

I chatted to a few people and got to meet two people that I know/know-of off the net which was pretty cool.

Then it was over. I stayed for a while and chatted to a few people, including Ricky a fellow camera toter and Caitlin. I was chatting to Ricky and thought I should introduce myself to the girl who is with him, so I turn and say “Hi I’m Helen” and then she goes “I know, I knew it was you when you pulled out your camera, I’ve seen you on myspace” which of course cracked me right up.

A very great night indeed 😀

June 4, 2007

Sundays at the Farm

As we normally do on a Sunday arvo, we went to visit Grandad yesterday and had a ball. Grandad is well Grandad. I mean if he was mmm sixty years younger and not my Grandfather well what can I say. He is a smart, has a sharp sense of humour and I am going to miss him terribly when the time comes.

Every Sunday we do pretty much the the same things.
We get to the farm and walk into Grandad’s bedroom where he is normally laying on his bed reading. He spends a lot of time reading on his bed as he needs to keep his feet up to reduce swelling. Mum, Matthew and I either find a spot on the bed or lay down on the floor or curl up in the window seat where we chat about what we have been doing in the past week, any interesting news we have read and just hang out. Pabbi comes in with us to go “Hi Lorry” and then goes outside to have a smoke and wander round the yard. After a while Matthew moves out to the kitchen or lounge room to do school work or read. Grandad, Mum and I move out into the garden to collect the harvest (which at the moment is Custard Apples, Cherry Tomatoes, Passionfruit and Avocados) and I of course spend time taking photos. During this time Pabbi either wanders into the garden to help or reads his book.

Once it gets too dark to work outside or everything is collected it is back inside to start tea. Grandad goes to put his feet up and we get to work in the kitchen. Either Mum or I cook tea and then either Matthew or I will make dessert and Mum makes the custard. We have dinner, chat, wash up and then pack the car and head home to the start of another week.

Grandad on his bed reading and Mum about to lay down in the background.

We have had a bit of rain recently and when we got to the farm it had just stopped raining and there was still nice water drops on the flowers. I grabbed my camera and tripod and set to work, doing what I do best. As the light was almost non-existent I grabbed my favourite lens (70-200mm f/4), reflector, flash and off camera cord and had fun lighting the scene myself. These Crucifix Orchids of which there are at least 3 different colours have been on the patio outside the kitchen window at the farm for as long as I can remember.

June 2, 2007

Labjacd

Clare and I went to see Labjacd last night at the Zoo and what a night it was. Well apart from the fact that we were both really tired to start with so it was a constant battle to keep the brain functioning and eyes open. In saying that though Labjacd were more than incredible. I am going to love any band that has a horn section and uses it well. The music on their myspace is not much of an indication I think of the groove and tightness that these guys have when they are live. The sax player kept cracking me up as he reminded me of the trombone player from Ozomatli in that they both appear to the whitest guys in the line-up but do the craziest skafest dancing.

Supporting Labjacd were Dubdoubt who I enjoyed a lot and will be keeping an eye out for in the future and Afro Dizzi Act who really didn’t live up to my expectations. I have been reading about Afro Dizzi Act in the street press for the last couple of years and have always meant to check them out then when I finally got to see them last night they were not what I expected at all. Still Labjacd were fantastic as were Dubdoubt

June 1, 2007June 1, 2007

Today I am a Daisy

In 2002, as part of our English assessment we went to see Still Standing which was loosely a rock musical about life in Brisbane in the 80’s. Through the swag of songs that were in the play I discovered Deborah Conway. I found a few tracks on the net and have had a great time listening to them over the years.

When I was in the city on Monday for the board I had a couple of hours to kill between my sessions and in that time I hung out with Sam for lunch and picked up some CDs. One of them was Deborah Conway, The Definitive Collection. I was looking in Rocking Horse for another CD and came across this one on the shelves and for $9.95 how could I say no? When I got home with slightly frayed emotions due to the day not ending how I had imagined I popped the CD and listened to it through. One of the songs in particular that jumped out at me was Today I am a Daisy.

Have a listen – [audio:Deborah Conway – Today I Am A Daisy.mp3]

Today I am a Daisy
Deborah Conway
Bitch Epic (1993)

Today I am a daisy
Tomorrow I will be the chain holding up your heart
Today I am a waitress but tomorrow I could be an astronaut
Flying to the moon, playing amongst the stars
Seeing the galaxy from inside a jar
Today I am a sea-shell
Tomorrow I will be the ocean roaring in your ear
Today I am your daughter
Tomorrow I will make your disappointments disappear
And you will come fly with me
We will play leap frog through the years
And life will be elegant
We can chase away the tears
Goodbye goodbye
Today will be tomorrow
Goodbye goodbye
Tomorrow’s almost here
Goodbye goodbye
Today will be tomorrow
Goodbye goodbye
Something might be clear
Today I am a daisy
Tomorrow I will be Vincent’s sunflowers,
Claude’s lilies anything I want
Today I am a waitress but tomorrow well I might be an astronaut
I will be bathed in love
I will be soaking in tenderness
And you will be standing there
The one who loves me best

There are three lines that I just love in this and these three lines are the current headline/caption thing on my myspace at the moment – way better that the “…” it used to be.

Today I am a daisy
Tomorrow I will be Vincent’s sunflowers,
Claude’s lilies anything I want.