The January Heat

It is a humid and overcast day in Sydney, but it's not getting me down. January is probably the best time of the year over here, it is where the city comes alive and all the bands come down to play.

In the past few weeks it has really kicked off. Last Saturday I went along to a free concert from Brian Wilson, taking place just down the road in the Domain (a park right next to central Sydney) as part of the Sydney Festival. Braving the light rain and heaving crowds was worth it just to hear "God Only Knows" played live by the great man, which is certainly up there as one of my favourite songs of all time.

Last night I went down to the same park with a few friends to catch the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. The crowd was huge - mostly family types - but there was a cool vibe nevertheless.

Next on the radar is The National. I've only recently fallen in love with this band - I read some really positive blog posts about them so I decided to give them a try - and I am so glad I did. They are playing a few shows in a fortnight and I have been lucky enough to score a ticket.

After The National comes the Big Day Out. My first one in 5 years, having been living outside of Australia since early 2003, I am quite excited. Here's hoping that Australian crowds have grown up in that time. I hope not to be trampled, kicked and punched too excessively in the Rage Against the Machine pit come nightfall on January 25th.

Tonight I am heading down the road to one of my local pubs to watch a friend of a friend on piano. If she is any good I'm sure I'll write about it tomorrow.