I've decided to give my CD collection the most brutal ruthless cull ever as I seem to be in a middle of a general decluttering patch lately. Once I got over my usual squeamish "oh noooo I'll give it more chance" reluctance to part with CDs, it's actually quite liberating to cut them down. So far I've culled 110 CDs, and looking at the big pile of them sitting on the floor, it's an uneasy thought that there's a $1,500 - $2,000 mountain of unnecessary stuff sitting there reproaching me and...

I've never been to The Athenaeum for a music gig though I've been there twice for the Comedy Festival, and it made for a very nice, intimate concert, just Beth accompanying herself on an acoustic guitar. It's been forever since her last album and I had been wondering what she was up to in the last few years, it turns out she's had a couple of kids and will be releasing a new album soon (yay!). I've noticed that Beth seemed to struggle with the vocals a bit and sounded a tad raspy and strained in...

Saw PJ on both nights she was playing in Melbourne, Sunday and Monday Great shows both times; on Sunday I went with my concert buddy who's a fan as well, and we had great seats in the stalls. The only drawback was a slightly distorted sound and a guy in front of me who either had ADD or had too much to drink or just wasn't digging the show, because he couldn't sit still for half a minute and twitched like an eel on a hot stove. Second time around, I was in the stalls again but further away...

Saw Dresden Dolls this past Sunday. I must confess, I didn't enjoy it as much as when I first saw them at The Corner a few years back or when I saw Amanda Palmer solo a couple of years ago. Partly because I've been having problems with anxiety last week, and had this tight knot sensation in my chest which seemed to get in the way between me and, well, enjoyment generally. Partly because it was a bit exhausting to stand through two supporting acts with not much air-conditioning going on in the house....

I'm having seriously bad luck with this band. A couple of years ago I missed out on their show because I was unwell, and yesterday I left the gig before the encore, mostly because I just wasn't in the right frame of mind and body to enjoy it. A combination of things was to blame: I've had a stressful week at work dealing with one of our major brochures which was a major pain in the ass; I had a mild cold which never evolved into anything serious but still sapped away at my energy; the main act was...