Thursday 30 July 2015

Ella Thompson EP Janus Launch @ Newtown Social Club // Adventures

Last night we had the pleasure of attending Ella Thompson's first show courtesy of The Venue Collective, playing all the songs of new EP Janus and opened by Okenyo. With a distinctly lyrical wisdom threaded within haunting melodies and very down to earth demeanor the 2 hours felt like agonisingly less.

Her debut record Janus takes from a Roman god of opposites, which is richly enthused in the dark brooding melancholy and the euphoric nature of her live performance- perhaps complacent otherwise.



Having heard very little of Thompson's sound, me and a couple of friends had an enjoyable night engaging within her domain and amongst a swaying audience enthralled by her pitch spectrum.

What I loved was her witty antidotes "never give your number away" and her obvious surrender to her sound as she swayed almost hypnotically to the bass, hands twirling majestically under a moody light casing deep shadows on the talented drum and bass/everything players.

The gracious artist and her playful indie-electro genre was up with the big guns at Splendour over the week along side Mark Ronson. Much to come from Thompson, you haven't heard it hear first.
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Wednesday 29 July 2015

The Freakshow @ Canberra // Review


Milkshakes that   Bringin' all the boys to Canberra (yes, it's better than yours).
No doubt you've heard of Pâtissez. Hailing from Canberra, this cafe is only in its early infancy yet is offerings are attracting masses especially for its notorious crew of "Freakshows." The fitting name encompasses a selection of four milk shakes with which some traditional sense of the word 'milkshake' has gone missing or rather been mutated into something much, much, much, much, did I mention much? More. 

And the story goes; 


Thankfully I've managed to resurrect after a forcing myself to finish what I started... and that was a Vanilla Shake. Not gonna lie, or sugar coat it (because gezee literally why would you?) it gave me a cavity just by laying my eyes on it. Whoa son, you are not my garden variety species of milkshake are ya? Ok, so naievely me and my five compatriots had arrived at 8am on the dot because we were petrified by the potential line that would ensue at about 10ish when we left. Another possible reason why was that we had determined early last night that this would be the ultimate hang over cure. Like any other curious establishment (including that of NASA) we embarked on an experiment.


Ok so 8am we arrive. Ready to conquer and tell our grandkids. Pace through our Instagram filters to the optimum effect. Put about an hour and a half on the car ticket (cos we mean business). The waitstaff tells us that their full...... BUT kindly put us on the waiting list, telling us that the wait is usually 45-60 mins long. Not to be discouraged we accept a minor defeat and fall back to the small alleys of the area, finding a niche little Italian restaurant to settle down in. 15 mins in we get a call telling us that our table awaits...... BUT MY POACHED EGGS ON HOMEMADE TOAST WAS YET TO BE ORDERED. (I panicked) But again, the lovely people at Patizezz pulled through and promised to keep our table until we called about 10 mins away.

I chowed my eggs. (much regret)

We return and are seated in the corner of the cafe. (Prime Insta location to capture interior) We order 3 Muddy Pots, 1 Nutella & Salty Pretzel and a French Vanilla (which I asked the lady to make my life decision on my behalf to order for me).

      



About 20 mins later we get agitated, no drinks yet.
Then again this is not your average.
Then they all come out and as the lady distributed the mason jars, the two straws per serving was a sure sign that we had made a mistake ordering one each. Although the novelty of two straws was something I always associated with childhood, this was a code red. (que nervous laughter x 5 friends & x1 waitstaff). Here comes the devolution of sanity.



*******REVIEWS:
Muddy Pot- Brownie and House Made Marshmallow, surprisingly delicate and not too rich drink, I think its the cream and brownie that makes it rich.
French Vanilla- House Made Marshmallow, cream is sweet and flavoursome, the drink is very vanilla-y you can literally see the vanilla pods through out, great and refreshing but you can kind of tire of the flavour after a while.
Nutella & Salty Pretzel- Probably the best one I tried (v. envious of my friend) its like anything salted caramel, a sweetness then a pleasant taste of salt, also you may want to protect your pretzels from your dining associates.






5 mins in:
Everyone has satisfactory cemented their impending experience on Snapchat, Fb, Insta, twitter (?).

10 mins in:
Toppings are attempted

20 mins in:
A Muddy Pot pilgrim starts feeling the heat and opts out. (1/6 complete, absolutely tragic, she will be missed)

30 mins in:
Nutella & Salty Pretzels breaks through the topping and finally starts the sipping

40 mins in:
There was only two left. A Muddy Pot and me (Vanilla)

Second Muddy Pot made a valiant effort (1/2 way), Nutella & Salted Pretzel threw in the towel at about the same time (just 1/2).

50 mins in:
The whole "I'll do ___________ for the next full minute" occurs, obviously a distraction technique.

60 mins in:
Hollow slurping noise throws into sharp relief that one has defied all obstacles to finish. It was not me. Not yet.

65 mins in:
Not to be discouraged, a break through occurs, I've done it. Someone mentions that this was probably as arduous if not more than a final high school exam.

70 mins in:
Two victors servant their triumphs with hearts as heavy as their current body mass. Bliss, euphoria mixes violently with self-loathing and the urge to get on a treadmill.

  

OTHERWISE what a fabulous experience. I imagine I could only say that retrospectively. This no doubt will help the capital's economy. The cafe was buzzing even on the Friday morning we came, the staff were empathetic and efficient. There even was a camera crew there filming the place and obviously putting the bloated walruses outside of the frame (well played). Although we didnt get to try any of the other offerings in the cafe, we picked up a red velvet on the way home for a compatriot that went a little too hard the night before.



Pro-tips:
#1 Its a bit hard to look for but if you spot a crowd, your in the right place.
#2 Bring a mate that does not back wash.  


Pâtissez, 21 Bougainville, Griffin, ACT




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New Segment Alert: A Week of Photography

Where I share a little of my fav pics of the week! 


Taken from my DSLR and iphone (the quality says it all), this gives you a bit of an insight to my daily routine without the commitment of a vlog, you know, no strings attached. Hope that's all good with you.

Stick around for upcoming posts, we are loaded and ready to get back to content delivering!
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Festival Virgin: Splendour Bender Edition

New milestone in life – I am a festival virgin no more! Leading up to Splendour I was almost talking myself out about the long travel, the packing and rainy weather – also, I’ll admit, the camping (I am not of the same substance as Bear Grylls).

For all you gal readers out there (and maybe guys too) who are imploding with both excitement and anxiousness about the festival experience, here’s to you! 


The tips are a guide only and I haven’t been to near as many festivals to be that knowledgeable so I’m coming from more of a “I survived” category.

 

Wise Words
1. Festivals are known for their immaculate toileting facilities (said no one ever so pack the sanitiser/wipes)
2. Stay hydrated with the H2O – you don’t want to lose that mosh spot because you or your friend just had to faint...
3. Check the weather – not the “Iphone weather”, I swear by the Bureau of Meterology lol

For Happy Festival Times:
Mini Bag – for the essential phone, cash, ID etc
Sunnies + Hat
Deodorant
Empty water bottle – security will make you pour it out even though it doesn’t smell like vodka

 


For Happy Camping (most are self-explanatory and in no order):
Hiking mat – you get a sore enough back standing in the mosh etc for each line up
Comb – the “I woke up like this” look doesn’t always go your way here)Thermal Sleeping Bag
Torch – you don’t want to trip over someone’s tent peg (awkward)
Hand Wipes + Sanitiser
Serviettes/Toilet roll
Spare dry socks – nothings more worse or colder than wet feet!
Plastic Bags – for washing and other things you don’t want to worry about until you get home
Resealable Bag – for keeping matches and instant coffee dry
Tent – lol why not
Shampoos/conditioner/soap/other toiletries
Raincoat + gumbooties
Deodorant – even though you showered you’ll still smell like a festival in no time!
Make up + mirror – brows, mascara, eyeliners are the bare essentials!


Outfit
Do you want to do festivals right? Of course you do now proceed to drooling over pictures of festival goddesses Vanessa Hudgens, Coachella Vic Secret squad (goals much) and fashion mags.
Clothing stores also awaken from their slumber of seasonal pieces (even in Winter) and deck out some festival inspo. Also... embrace the GLITTER!



So here’s to the first (and not the last) festival – unless you live for festivals, I salute you.

MVPD
xx
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Thursday 16 July 2015

On the Road Again

Tips for road trips
My parents are big on the 'you must see your home country because you explore abroad' hence why I have only ever been overseas once - to Vietnam. Hence why we always go on road trips like drive to Melbourne if we have a spare week.

 

So I've seen my fair share of little country NSW towns and gigantic landmarks like the Big Pineapple in Bunderberg and the Big Merino in Goulburn!


Now that means I slightly (only slightly) fancy myself the semi-ultimate road tripper so here's a little guide of how to survive the sore bottom, the leg cramps, solve the playlist dilemma and have you looking happy and fab (non hobo) at your destination.

 
1. I hope I don't need to tell you this already but: UPDATE YOUR IPOD. You can only go so far with the last sync circa 2010. Seriously, challenge yourself to listen to all the songs that come on shuffle (that's right - don't you skip that Hannah Montana track).

2. Plan de snacks.
Don't immediately go for your chips and crisps because: chips/crackers = dehydrate = drink water = busting for the non-existent toilet on the road (AKA The Water Cycle).
So get some hydrating snacks in the cooler bag too like fruit, carrots/cucumbers/Celery with dip.


3. Pack plenty of water - stay hydrated kids!

4. Pack simple cutlery in case you make that grocery stop and don't have the props to, for example, demolish your shared tub of ice cream!





5. Girls (and guys) pack all your face essentials or you’ll be wishing your face didn't look like a peeling mandarin.

6. Be equipped with thongs so those little toes of yours actually get to see the light (would you want to be crammed in sneakers for a 6 hour road trip – didn’t think so). Show your neck some love too with a contour pillow!

 


7. SUNNIES – last thing you need are holes in your retina to stop you from enjoying the passing landscape!

8. Don’t always Bypass the towns (unless its Bowral  - I joke). Country towns for some reason usually have a sweets store and of course nice cafes and homey bakeries for your lunch fix. (BONUS: non-cliche insta photo of a cafe no one else in Sydney has been)

 

9. If you can, plan a road trip where you can visit the Weekend markets! Places like Byron Bay have farmers and miscellaneous markets – just check which weekend of the month they’re open!

So there you have it, my list that hasn’t quite let me down yet. I’ll leave you to fight over who drives and who does the washing :P

Seriously, road trips are where memories are made!

MVPD xx




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