Pikelet at Oxford Art Factory.

With The Maple Trail and Songs.

Unfortunately my photos from this night are not much chop...I've borrowed a Nikon D70 from my brother which is really awesome, but I basically have no idea what I'm doing with it most of the time. So learning little by little.

It had been a good year and a bit since I'd seen The Maple Trail so I was pretty excited to hear some of their new stuff. As it turns out I only caught the middle of their set but from the sounds of it, they've still got it...so many layers and all of them brilliant.

Up next was Songs - I didn't know of this band until I got back from overseas last October but on the two occasions I've seen them since they've been fantastic. They just seem so together.

Perhaps it was only because I thought the supports were so on it, but Pikelet wasn't all I was hoping for. In fairness, the crowd did seem a little talkative and I was pretty distracted throughout most of her set, but somehow it all felt a bit sameish. Maybe her solo performance would be a little more varied.

Kitchen's Floor.

So I hadn't heard of Kitchen's Floor until recently, but I must say they played a mighty good live set. Their support, Holy Balm, were also fantastic though unfortunately I wasn't able to get any shots of them. It was kinda fun to hang at The Friend in Hand too - I walk past this place almost every day but hadn't been in before this show... I hope they have some more bands play there soon.
To hear recordings of these sets by Holy Balm and Kitchen's Floor head over to Sydney Tapes. While you're there you should definitely check out the sounds of Little A and Hira Hira...they are fabulous.

Botanica.

So I'm going to try blogging again, which after five months seems superbly difficult, especially without the topic of travelling to fall back on. But there is much going on here in Sydney too, so it can't be that hard for me to find a story worth sharing now and then. But really, all I've got for now are a few wee pictures from the Botanic Gardens that I took the other day. So ah...enjoy!