Naked. Famous. Florence. Win, right?

Last Thursday I flew to Auckland for Florence + The Machine. It was, to put it mildly, a bit of a whirl-wind trip. There was overpriced wine and smuggled bottles of smirnoff. There were lost mobile phones. There were free tiny chocolates. There was 2 hours of sleep in an airport before the flight back to Wellington.

Anyway. I have previously typed numerous words of gurgling admiration for Florence. Honestly, that chick is so cool. And remains cool. Fuck, better than cool really: her rich, expansive voice, twirling and skipping, laughing and talking with the crowd makes me love her. She just has so much good energy.


Photo nicked from here. My camera died months ago.

I realise I'm (again) gushing here, and will move on to actually talking about something new: The Naked and Famous. They supported Florence. And they were great.

I'd heard their single "Young Blood" a bit on Kiwi FM, and apparently it's getting a bit of airplay on TripleJ right now too which is awesome. Like Florence, they connected well with the crowd, and, unlike most support acts, the crowd didn't just suffer them, waiting for the main show.

Also, The Naked and Famous have got a wicked sense of humour, if the photos on their official facebook page are anything to go by:







Their album hasn't been released yet, but there's a bit of a taster to be had with the single The Sun also buzzing in the interweb, like a fly trapped by a spider (it's 11pm here. Excuse the awful simile).

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that The Naked and Famous are rad. They sound a bit like Passion Pit. And a bit like Phoenix. A bit like they're awesome. Check them out.

x Esther

Separation City

I’ve been meaning to write about this film for a long time. Directed by Paul Middleditch and written by Tom Scott, Separation City is a Kiwi (with lots of Aussies and a couple of Germans too) film that was released here last year, was and released in Australia in mid-March this year (no idea what cinemas it’s showing in, sorry).

Put very simply, Separation City is a film about relationships and breaking up in Wellington. The poetic irony is that I watched it, and then was broken up with, in Wellington (screw you, poetic irony). The film follows Simon, (Australian Joel Edgerton), who is married, increasingly unsuccessfully, to Pam (Dannielle Cormack). Simon and Pam are part of a group of several professional, mid-30s friends who all have small children and who all are trying to figure out love and life. Rhonda Mitra plays one of these friends, the supposedly German/Dutch Katrien, though Mitra has got the plummiest accent you’ll ever hear. Katrien’s husband Klaus, (who does sound legitimately German) cheats on her, and Simon, frustrated and not connecting at all with Pam, falls in serious unrequited love with Katrien. Unsurprisingly, stuff gets problematic.

L-R - Katrien, Pam, Joanne, Harry, Simon

That’s the simple outline. Separation City is about a lot more than just break-ups. To begin with, it’s got a sharp, dark, sense of humour. Also, being set in Wellington, it’s got politics, sleazy politicians and wry journalists. When it examines families and the daily, often cringe-worthy dynamics of family life, (used condoms, chocolate cereal for breakfast, remembering to buy "cheapish but still drinkable Aussie Shiraz" for a dinner party), it’s amusing, accurate and not prepared to gloss over the awkward things that matter. Finally, the cinematography in Separation City is fantastic. Wellington comes across as the spectacular, hilly coastal city it is, though in Separation City, Wellington's absolute best side is shown - it’s nearly always sunny and only mildly breezy (filthy lies). It’s worth watching the film just for the beautiful scenery.

And now I have a confession to make. I really wanted to love this film. It’s set in Wellington! Joel Edgerton is very good looking! Les Hill (who plays Simon’s journalist best friend, Harry, and who is, hand down, the films’ best actor) is (without hyperbole) the greatest character ever!

But I couldn’t love it. I could like sections of it a lot, but in places the film feels forced and contrived. The voice over provided by Simon and Katrien is especially contrived and unnecessary (though Simon’s can be quite funny). The pace is very uneven, and although the sections with the men’s group are all at once hilarious, poignant and revealing, they feel somewhat out of place, like they could be from another film.

This is not to say you shouldn’t watch Separation City. It is very much worth seeing. But just don’t go to it expecting to fall in love.

xx Esther

Another café review (and some zine action!)

I love cafés. They’re my happy place. So really, I can’t help that this is another café review. It’s for C1 Espresso, on High Street in Christchurch which, during my weekend spent trying out a possible vocation as a cowgirl, I managed to visit it twice. That’s how good it is. (And yes, you may have noticed that I like to only review cafes that I’ve already decided are superdooper cool – why would I bother wasting words on the dodgy ones?)

C1, just being cool

Like most of my favourite cafes, C1 does an excellent long black, the décor is funky and alternative (they fill the holes in their brick walls with lego, people!) and there’s a large range of fresh counter food options (I tend to be too impatient to order off the menu – but their menu options do look great). Although I had a brief Oh Noes! moment when I realised they didn't serve date scones, their tasty, baked-on-the-premises sweet or savoury muffins are more than adequate replacements (the spinach, feta and tomato relish one is especially good) (so good in fact that I ate it all before I remembered to take photos).

Lego-filled brick wall. For the win.

When I went to C1 in the afternoon for a hot Lemon, Honey and Ginger drink, I brought along an issue of a very charming zine, Story To…Pod People (Issue Two) which I bought earlier that morning at a groovy handmade, design-y shop (I’ve completely forgotten the name of it… fail), just off Litchfield Lane.

Story To’s collection of public-transport themed musings range in tone and in style from the amusing to the grotesque to the quaint to the grim. It’s interesting really worth trying to find a copy. Story To… is produced in Melbourne, and though it’s currently on hold, its creators are working on other interesting projects, so hopefully we should again receive more interesting compilations of words and pictures from them.

Esther xx

Summer Lit Bits

I love reading in summer. Sitting on the beach, or in a park with a good book is my idea of bliss. This summer I have conquered some classics that have been on my 'to read' list for some time. Happily, I managed to cross a few titles of my lengthy list.

'Howards End' 1910 - E. M. Forster

So many of my literary friends rave about E. M. Forster. I have to confess that before this summer the film version of 'A Passage to India' (which is fantastic.) To rectify this I picked up my housemates copy of 'Howards End.' This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I literally could not put it down. Forster's style is so 'real', his characters do not seem artificial at all and he captures the complexity of human thought, relationships and behaviours better than most authors. He is not afraid to write the hard truths of life and relationships, something that so many writers avoid in lieu of creating an idealised bond between characters or a predictable ending.

Written in Edwardian England, 'Howards End' is the story of two unmarried and sisters, Margaret and Helen Schlegel in their early twenties. The novel explores their changing relationship, along with the aspirational middle-class society they belong to. The sisters are described as 'literary' individuals, with Forster exploring the notions of culture, creativity and art throughout the novel. Helen represents the epitome of living a art-driven, free spirited lifestyle, while Margaret's blend of practicality and literary interests reflect the shifting social concerns of the early 20th century. Forster manages to give depth and authenticity to their relationship, with their struggles of growing up and choosing their separate life paths telling of that faced by many siblings. This is a book for those who like to read about the complexities of relationships. Something we all know a lot about.

Also, arty types will love the references to theroies of art and Betthoven's tranquil 5th symphony (this was used in the film adaptation, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Ey7MjUshg).

'Travels With My Aunt' 1969 - Graham Greene

This book is simply hilarious! 'Travels With My Aunt' is the story of a retired, fifty-something bachelor whose dull lifestyle is interrupted by his worldly Aunt. Henry Pulling meets his Aunt Augusta for the first time at his mother's funeral, only to find the elderly Lady has more enthusiasm and unorthodox ideas than himself. After a series of humerus encounters involving cannabis making its way into his mother's urn and subsequent police interrogation, Henry finds himself travelling to Istanbul on the Orient Express. He travels along this famous railway with his Aunt and her much younger African servant-come-lover, the devoted Wordsworth. Suddenly Henry's life is far removed from tending to his dahlias as he hears of his Aunts numerous lovers, adventures and travels.

Greene's fast-paced, layered style makes 'Travels With My Aunt' a real page turner. The plot seems far fetched from the outset, but Greene makes it work by giving a believable voice to his characters. Ultimately, the novel demonstrates the complexity of human beings, with both Henry and his Aunt revealing many layers throughout the text. It isn't until Henry is removed from his uninspiring, solitary milieu that his true colours reveal themselves. Suddenly he and his aunt don't seem quite as different. For Greene, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Definitely a book for a lazy afternoon when you want a good laugh.

'Vanity Fair' 1847 - William Makepeace Thackeray

I picked this classic novel up a few years ago, but soon put it down! The dense 19th century language and complex plot was a bit too much for me. This summer I read the whole thing, and loved it! Thackeray's style reminds me a bit of Jane Austen's: witty, satirical and dense with social commentary. If you like reading Victorian novels, and the snapshots of a seemingly more glamorous society, then this is the book for you.

'Vanity Fair' is the story of the cunning Becky Sharp and her friend Amelia Sedley. The lengthy novel spans from the girls youth to middle age, seeing them endure the demanding social expectations and etiquette of the Victorian Age. Becky exemplifies the position of the orphaned Victorian woman, forced to take her future in her own hands without parents to do the all important marital bidding for her. The scheming Becky is portrayed as selfish and greedy, in contrast with the virtuous Amelia. The former presents a veneer of respectability, whilst disregarding social expectations at every possible moment, while the latter spends her life living according to what was expected of a good Christian Victorian woman. Pointedly, both women fail to achieve lasting personal happiness in the novel, providing an interesting snapshot of the lives of women during the 19th century.

The novel shows how difficult it was during this time to achieve happiness, social standing and security within the rigid social constraints. Thackeray's humour makes the novel an enjoyable, yet dense novel. I recommend this one for a lengthy plane or car trip as its size and 19th century language make for a slow, but worthwhile read.

Now to the rest of the books on my ever-growing to read list.

Happy reading,

Grace

xx

Beess and co. café

After becoming quite lax with my posting (I encountered some major technical difficulties – I lost my clearly vital camera cord), I thought I should resume my blog activities with a post that fitted quite nicely with my recent state of laziness – lazy summer lunches.

Specifically, I’d like to write about one of my favourite Canberra cafés – Beess and co. at the Yarralumla shops. I’ve eaten both breakfasts and lunches at this fabulous place – and all have been pretty snazzy. But for some reason, (probably because you have to get up so early in the morning for breakfast), I've eaten a lot more lunches here. So a lunch review this is.

Back in the days when I was gainfully employed, I used to work in Deakin and really, the only benefit of my soul-crushing data entry job (except for the fact that it allowed me to pay giant central heating-bills… stupid Canberra winters) was that it positioned me to regularly buy lunch at Beess and co.

The first time I had one of their smoked salmon, avocado and salad sandwiches, with an olive oil vinaigrette, I was so impressed that I had to call my sister off my work phone (ok, another benefit) and tell her how I was blown away by the best sandwich I had ever had. She didn’t quite share in my amazement. Also, their long blacks are so good, that I used to wait til lunch to have my first coffee just so I could really appreciate their baristas' skills.

The amazing smoked salmon sandwich

Last week my fellow blogger, the charming Miss Grace and I decided to go to Beess and co. for an aforementioned lazy summer lunch. It was lovely, except I did see the CEO of my ex-work having a power lunch their with some board members. This was a little awkward so Grace and ate inside rather than under the trees (this was actually quite nice because it was air-conditioned inside).

For lunch Grace had the vegetarian lasagne – which she reviewed as quite a tasty dish. I branched out from smoked salmon sandwiches and ordered the coconut prawn and soba noodle salad. The prawns and salad were fantastic, though I thought the salad dressing could have been a little sweeter.

Vegetarian Lasagne

Coconut cream prawns and soba noodle salad

I have a lot of time for Beess and co. and hope that they can continue to be a quality urban café. At mine and Grace's lunch, as ever, the table service was prompt and friendly and the coffee fantastic. The prices, while not extraordinarily cheap, are really quite reasonable. It's often quite busy at lunch there, so it pays to book - this way you can also reserve one of the many tables that are located under some enormous leafy trees which provide some nice dappled shade.

xx Esther