Nextshow is the Greyhound-St Kilda- Dec 4th-sunday- 6pm

The Camelot Lounge is quite a great venue. Surprised us in its size and the care and attention in the decor. Right in Marrickville, tucked away in an industrial cul-de-sac around that sharp corner coming away from the station and towards the Inner west.
We did two sets, continuing to play in a lot of new tracks.Sounding tougher and sharper. I was wearing some black satin shit I've had in the wardobe for a while. All black and white. White t shirt and hat. I've embraced the white t shirt. In the 80s it was so naff. Guys like Eric Clapton and the kind of fellow he would influence style wise would wear a suit with the sleeves rolled up and a white t shirt. With high waisted jeans. I kind of like that look now. But like I'm sure I've said, I like outmoded forms in clothes as well as music. I like to wear and fly shit that people have tried on before. Recognizable forms and feels. I don't have the stamina to invent my own shit, I like to throw incongruous stuff into relief. Things that still have a charge.
I guess thats why I play the headless bass in Harry Howards NDE. people are scared of those futuristic bats with strings!
The gig the night before the Camelot lounge was a solo set above a small Italian restaurant in Drummoyne. Playing with an acoustic is a bit of a novelty for me but I got into it. I can access a lot more of my older stuff with that wooden box. People asked for obscure numbers which I was happy to play. "Anchors aweigh" and "listen to her lovers sing".

Got back to Melbourne and did BLB, the radio show I do with Elizabeth McCarthy everyTuesday from 12-2pm on RRRfm.Elizabeth loves to drive me nuts playing shit like Guns and Roses and the appalling Stevie Nicks. I'm sad to say it works every time. I can't stand that jive ass rubbish! We had Robyn Hitchcock in as a guest . He was in town as part of the "way to blue" Nick Drake tribute shows. Elizabeth wasn't interested in any of it but did the studio panelling and kept it running smoothly. Robyn is one of my favourite songwriters and singers. One of the greatest contemporaries we have. A one off. He had done an interview in the Melbourne Age where he had cconfessed he didn't like Nick Drake at all until REMs Peter Buck and the producer Joe Boyd had tuned him into it in the 80s. Nick had only ever done a dozen gigs and recorded 3 albums. Robyn says that you develop a "beak" in your voice by playing gigs through bad pa systems and Nick never got a beak. He said in the paper that his voice just sat there "like a luxurious poached egg". I congratulated Robyn on this flight of wit and said that if I was the editor of the paper they would have been breakout quotes. "Nick Drake had no beak!" and "his voice sat there like a luxurious poached egg!"
Had some lunch with Robyn and he bumped into an old Cambridge friend . Jerry Hale , who runs a guitar store in Johnston street.
The actual show was deluxe. In the beautiful Recital hall.
Joe Boyd - Producer/Curator
Kate St John - Musical Director
Lisa Hannigan - vocals
Krystle Warren - vocals
Robyn Hitchcock - vocals
Vashti Bunyan - vocals
Green Gartside - vocals
Scott Matthews - vocals
Danny Thompson - bass
Neill MacColl - guitars
Zoe Rahman - piano
Martyn Barker - drums
Luluc - vocals
Shane Nicholson – vocals

Zoe and Steve from Luluc were my favourite singers. Neill MacColl on guitar -and singing on one song- was superb. He was Kirstys brother and Ewans son.Ewan wroite "dirty old town" and "the first time ever I saw your face". I had just bought a vinyl folk album of his in Sydney at a junk shop. "the Manchester Angel and other songs- with accompaniment by Peggy Seeger".
Scott Mathews was a brilliant young singer and guitar player. Robyn intruded at the start and finish with his magnificent beak. Closing the show with his own "I saw Nick Drake". He is a bit of an adept at writing old fashioned broadside type topical songs such as "NY DOLL" from a recent album which he wrote after seeing the film of the same name about Arthur KIller Kane. He also wrote one about Steve Jobs. "I saw Nick Drake" is an elusive, poetic flight. He has mad skills in vocals, words and guitar playing.

Then I took a train to the station and then a bus to the airport and a plane to Hobart where I had a room above the stage I was to play in.

The gig itself was underattended. Hobart is unpredictable. I did two sets. Enjoyed it. Playing anything people asked for.
I also did, for myself, "alabama bound" as originally arranged by the Amazing Charlatans and also the two LOVE songs aI know. "alone again or" and "you set the scene".

Flew back to Melbourne and trained and bussed it back to Upwey where I then walked for twenty minutes uphill to our compound. Had a bath and ate some cookie. Clare was working in the studio with Jane Dust on a 2012 scheduled album.


The next day I sat and worked on my pedals and amps and power supplies and electric guitars to try to get a handle on volume and gains and polarities . Settled on the Roland amp for the 12 string and the Fender M80 with a Sansamp in front of it for the 6 string.
Then I went to see the Dames doing a gig as part of a female musician dominated night at the Greyhound in St Kilda. The north / South divide in Melbourne music could not have been so starkly drawn. Not a sign of any indie rock and all this anachronistic semi goth, tattooed Dave Navarro type attitudinal rock stuff. Actually, if some of the players and people in attendance walked around in Brunswick or Fitzroy, they would be seen as being ironic or wilful/playful SUPERSTARS! Collectively, it was not so impressive. I have always felt myself to be a "south of the river" type , even though its years since I lived there. I still like to be around that part of Melbourne. Something about the lack of hipsters makes it seem more "adult". Maybe it'll change if more gigs happen there and its not so much of a "dress ups" type scene. It'll be a bit more natural.

So, come and see us there St Kilda peeps! We'll be doing two sets from 6pm. Sunday Dec 4th.The Greyhound Hotel. Directly across from St Kilda town Hall.

Actually, it was cool night there as we ran into Alsy and Jill from the Triffids P/L who were in town to do some rehearsing ahead of a show at Queenscliff soon. The'll also be doing tehir own show at the Tote on Wednesday 30th November.

Sydney Camelot Lounge Nov 11th Newcastle Great Northern Nov 12th

Well I caught some great shows recently. Steve Winwood AND Steely Dan at a big arena show. Only been to that place in Melbourne 4 times. The Highwaymen, Cindy Lauper,Willie Nelson and Johnny Paycheck ( or was it Bobby Bare?) and now these two. Loved both sets. Steve Winwood played mainly Traffic stuff which suited me. I would have listened to him do anything. same with Steely Dan. I find it pretty silly how people can whinge as to how artists dont do what they did 20 or 30 years ago. I'm happy to see them rise to the challenges of life and a performing life. How they negotiate the moment with people who know them. Like a hyper kind of relationship.
Bon Dylan cops it a lot but hes out there playing HIS SONGS . Imagine if the Rolling sTones played as much as him. I think they'd be a pretty interesting act to see if they did. They'd have to pull out a lot of material to keep interested and try a lot of arrangements. Wouldn't have all the drama . Maybe thats just as important too?
Went to a great show by Go Go Sapien. One of my favourite bands trying to cut through the scene at the moment. They have an album out called "this bodies wrong for us". It comes with a MOVIE they made to accompany it.
Go see 'em. they're great! All dressed in silver.Or white.
Also saw Laura Jean launch her album. Stellar album she has and the night was great. Slow burning dynamics. Great lyrics. Folk rock I guess. Laura is over six foot with a Gibson SG set to a great clean tone.

Funny thing with a lot of indie types is they put out an album and then go away and hide! I don't understand. They don't try to get to a level of playing with a lineup where you play so much that the players relax and its not so traumatic. Maybe they like the trauma and the drama? What if they never get to experience the joys of walking on to a stage and its a situation you're in control of. Maybe the only one?

On BLB recently we've talked to football icon Tommy Hafey, Aboriginal activist Gary Foley and writer of "the street sweeper" Elliott Pearlman. Top shelf stuff!
Tomorrow (Tuesday 8th) we talk to Graham Bond. Most noted for creating AUNTIE JACK and probably NORMAN GUNSTON. the following week we will be talking to Robyn Hitchcock. When I say 'we" I mean myself and Elizabeth McCarthy , midday-2pm on RRR in melbourne.

Looking forward to playing more dates. I was a little down in my feel for the idea of the immediate future of recorded music. I am still unsure of what will happen. i was talking to an engineer friend at one of these gigs. He was going to email me a link to where I could download some music software. I marvelled at the age we are in . He said "yes, the best of times and the worst of times..." I could not have expressed it better.

Playing a solo show (no pa !) upstairs at La casa in Drummoyne- Thursday Nov 10th

Dave Graney and the Lurid Yellow Mist - the Camelot Lounge - Marrickville Friday 11th Nov

Dave Graney and the Lurid Yellow Mist - the Great Northern Hotel - Newcastle- Saturday Nov 12th

The Alley cat- Elizabeth st Hobart- (solo show) Friday Nov 18th

Dave Graney and the Lurid Yellow Mist- two sets at the GREYHOUND - St Kilda - from six pm - Dec 4th

The Sherriff Of Hell by dave graney L.Y.M.

be a patron! buy an album!

Our second or third show in melbourne for the year was a delight. Northcote Social Club is on high street and you could always pull right up to the door of the venue and take your stuff in. Some town planning has been going on however and the footpath has been widened and the road narrowed and the parking forbidden. Dont know who its goona benefit as the traffic is treacley slow at teh best of times. The hipsters are around but its still a great area for ethnic food and there are tons of petrol heads about. Could be the end of the strip as we knew it already!
The Ocean Party are very young and open faced and personable. Instrumentation is two clean sounding guitars into a Fender valve and a Mesa Boogie combo with bass, drums and keys. Looking so much like early Orange Juice. they use sweet major seventh chords and the lyrics are timeless in style and content. Delivered faultlessly. If I said they are a pop band I am not being at all dismissive or negative. Songs with hooks and charm.
The Sand Pebbles were playing without Tor C who is a great singer and guitar player. They do have two other guitar players though and the sound was full of clarity and excitement. Must be a great feeling for them to be able to step up like that. They played some songs from earlier albums as well as from their latest. Not saying they don't need Tor as he usually stands front and centre and the mix of his voice with Andrews is spectacular. Just saying that they were able to play using other feels and dynamics, without him.

We came on and played a set we had been honing in Adelaide for those two nights a few weeks ago. New songs like "cop this-sweetly", "flash in the pantz", "playin' chicken", "lifes a dream", " field record me", "don't wanna know myself" were mixed in with songs from our current album. we could do a whole set of new songs at the moment but that would be cruel. Very keen to get into the studio. Perhaps before the end of the year. Have to work out some way to release recorded music in the current clime, which is sometimes very worrying. The next album will be our first of new material since 2007. In some ways we have been very cautious in introducing new material. People have to be ready to accept it. Ready to hear it. Otherwise, it just doesn't leave the room. As all musicians know, that can be a very hollow and maddening feeling. To do your best and things just don't happen. Be good if there were people or powers to blame but sometimes its all just luck and timing.
The times are funny though, people are beguiled and distracted by technology itself. I could go on....but I won't.

Playing a solo show upstairs at La Casa in Drummyone on Thursday 10th Nov.
Playing with the Lurid Yellow Mist at the Camelot Lounge in Marrickville on Friday 11th November.
Playing with the Lurid Yellow Mist at the Great Northern on Saturday 12th November.

Playing a solo show at the Alleycat , Elizabeth st Hobart on Friday 18th November.
Playing with the Lurid Yellow Mist at the Greyhound in St Kilda at 6pm on Sunday Dec 4th. A very rare show south of the river!