Diaries news

I recently read somewhere that Sydney has more Thai restaurants per-capita than Thailand itself. For those of you who prefer your food trivia a bit more high end though, you can delight in the knowledge that the waiting list for a meal at (famed Sydney eatery) Tetsuya’s quite regularly backs up into the months. Yes, whether it’s an $8 pad Thai from your local or $500 on a thirteen-course degustation menu, Sydneysiders love their food. No wonder then, that the Sydney Food & Wine Fair has over the past 17 years become one of the most important dates on the city’s calendar. Held annually in conjunction with the Sydney morning herald good food month, this year’s fair boasts it’s best ever line-up of restaurants, wineries and entertainment. Food plates will be going for as little as $5 and wine for $2.50, I also guarantee that this is the only chance you will get to dine on fare from restaurants like Buon Ricardo and Quay whilst wearing jandals. Proceeds go towards the AIDS Trust of Australia- which should make you feel a little less guilty about loosening up the old belt a notch or so.

Sydney:
Sydney was quite a marathon. Our Spectrum show was sold out and such a good night! Our friends from NZ, Surf City opened and then Alex from Red Riders' side project, Straight Arrows played - they were all awesome! After the show we ended up next door at Vegas drinking sambuka and tequilla shots all night. Finally found a bed to sleep in at 11am on Sunday morning and managed to get 3 hours sleep before rushing over to the Annandale to play at 2.30 pm.
The Annandale drew 50 or 60 kids and although were totally tired we had a sweet time playing. Ricky (Mikey the guitarist has been rechristened Ricky!) used a bass amp for his guitar as the guitar amp blew up the night before at Spectrum.
We then headed straight to Bondi for the Beach Road Hotel gig during which an abnormal looking female stood still at the front and eye-balled Ricky while waving at him non-stop for 30 mins. Not sure what she was expecting to get back as Ricky's hands were kinda tied up. After the show we climbed up to the roof with teenagersintokyo. Ricky got smashed and was break dancing on cobble stones! Awesome.
On Monday we went to Sydney zoo! It was amazing! Check out the pics yo.

 
Phil Hadfield , bassist for NZ's Cut Off Your Hands continues to report from the road as the power-pop band circumnavigate the Australian seaboard.

Newcastle:
There weren't many people in the huge room but those who came were singing along to every word. Drove back to Sydney that night. Along the way we stopped for gas, this old guy pulled up at the petrol station who looked like he was gonna die... he was about 200 years old and had driven down from Brisbane. We helped him for a bit then took off home. Good samaritans on the road!

Phil Hadfield , bassist for NZ's Cut Off Your Hands reports from the road as the power-pop band circumnavigate the Australian seaboard with Sydney-siders teenagersintokyo.



Arriving:
We got into Sydney exhausted from a 5am start at Auckland airport to catch a crazy flight through Brisbane, connecting to Sydney. Most of us had stayed up the night before spending last moments with girlfriends (see photo of the three of us on the phone to them simulotaneously!), as after this we're off to UK for the rest of the year!

After meeting the teenagersintokyo girls and boy we got on the road to Canberra with newly established first impressions, and school camp style group separations. We soon broke down awkward barriers and were hanging out like old chums. We got to Transit Bar to find the sound system was down, and had to use their vocal PA which was a pain, but we're pretty used to playing crappy sound systems so we got on with it. It was the first time
we'd seen teenagersintokyo and we weren't quite sure what to expect , but we were all very impressed- in particular by their huge Siouxie and the Banshees style tribal tom-tom drum break downs!

This photo is Angus and I hanging out and playing piano and guitar in the long hours between sound check and performing in Cork, where things move much more slowly. Cypress Avenue above the Old Oak... we played late and ended up sound checking for  about ten hours. So long that we actually wrote a song called 'If the lemmings wanted me'- and another one which was drum and bass oriented called 'Give me the beat donkey skunk.' Our dad was with us through the tour in Ireland so he got out the guitar and jammed with us...which was lovely.

We recently performed at the most beautiful UK festival 'Latitude', where we played in the forest. Sheep kissed different coloured sheep and after it was all over we followed the road to the sea where we lay in the ocean bed and listened to the sound of the water rushing over millions of perfect stones. We dried off in the sun and our eyes were filled with the
sugar coated colours of the beach huts along the path...and the green of the beast.


Words by Julia
Photo by Mitchell Connelly

I was going to start this one with how tough touring can be and bla bla bla, there's a
light at the end of the tunnel, but fuck, really no matter how tired or frustrated you
may be , when you're standing in a tiny fishing village on the other side of the world
and you turn the corner to be confronted by this ......you can't help but think, life's
pretty good.

Photo by Mitchell Connelly