The Jezabels

It's been a while since I've continued my tours of NYC, so here we go again, with an absolutely guaranteed opportunity for you to star-spot me - if I was in NYC in two weeks time, you would find me here!!

Cultural Tour - 2nd Stop : The Jezabels

I fell in love with this incredible Aussie group in February, when I downloaded the weekly iTunes free track, "Hurt Me". It became one of the songs that helped me get around my 7km Round The Bays run, and I've been a fan ever since. I just need to track down their Debut "The Man is Dead" - already having the single from that EP, "Disco Biscuit Love", plus their last EP "She's So Hard", and their new EP "Dark Storm". LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

So I would give anything to be in NY to see them perform, and I can only hope they come back when I'm actually over there! I'm not quite as good as you are Katie at describing why I love a particular band so much, but I'll give it a go! I love the scale of each track - the songs are definitely not shrinking violets. They are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum - epic (I hate this word but it is all I can think of right now to come close to how grand this music can be). The lead singer, Hayley, takes her voice to stunning Kate Bush heights in each track, and you have to play these songs loud! The pianist in me likes to imagine that I could be Heather, and the awesome drums keep everything moving which is why Hurt Me was such a great running motivator.

Have you guys been to any of these places? Which would be your pick for a gig like this?

Thursday October 21 - NY - Bowery Ballroom 8pm
Thursday October 21 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall 1am
Friday October 22 - NY - Piano's Upstairs Lounge
Saturday October 23 - NY - Fat Baby

Triangle Below Canal Street

I can't get enough of film festivals. Not so much for the networking, or educational lectures, or markets, but for the atmosphere, and of course the actual films. And I can tell you there's nothing like going to a film festival on your own in a foreign city. You end up having the most fascinating conversations about film with people from all over the world. I did just this at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008 - it was fantastic! Even lining up for one of the Midnight Madness screenings in the center of Toronto, such a great spirit among all the random people who are actually happy to stay awake until that hour..!

Cultural Tour - 1st Stop : Tribeca Film Festival

Why this film festival? Because they do an amazing job at showcasing films about New York, both documentaries and narratives. What better way to learn about NYC as a new arrival..? Oh yeah, and all the famous people.. (me? celebrity whore? never!)

No point telling you guys everything you already know about this festival - it's not like I'm discovering something totally new - hah! And I'd love not to go by myself - anyone planning to be in NYC with me next year will be spending lots of time in queues, eating hotdogs (or vegie dogs) and ice-creams, and drinking coffees with me and talking about how fabulous it is to be in the greatest city in the world, doing something we're passionate about! I know several of you who will be totally with me on this!

So next April/May, with any luck, I'll be there.

My boy leaves for NYC in less than 2 days. I have the day off work tomorrow to hang out with him, then it's off to the airport early Friday morning. I'm feeling up, down, all over the place. I went to hot yoga last night after a two week break, and remembered how much I love it - might start going a couple of times a week again, as it's such a great release, and time-out from everything.