22 Dreams

"With the Church, what remains...is real, tangible magic - ultimately unidentifiable and unexplainable." - Robert Lurie, No Certainty Attached , 2009. I've just finished reading Robert Lurie's biography on Steve Kilbey & the Church, No Certainty Attached . In reading this book I was immediately struck by how good a writer Lurie is; he's my hero now, not Kilbey! I think he's done a damn fine job in balancing critical, well-researched perspective with the passion he has for his subject. His grammar and vocabulary are ace, too. I'm enthralled! So I'm going to use this book as an influence, a template, for my future scribe-extrapolations! ;) Robert Lurie intersperses his narrative with occasional autobiographical anecdotes, such as his account of discovering the Church and the 'Starfish' album in 1988, and the immense, lasting impact the band has made on him. He talks about his time in Sydney in July 2003 where he met up with Steve Kilb...

Painkiller gig last Monday night, 22 Dec 2008, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. I went along to the gig with the same friend I first went to see the Church with in Dec 1987, exactly 21 years ago, when Under the Milky Way was first performed. What has happened to us in 21 years?? Well, he has two children and a business that keeps him mightily busy while I'm childless and footloose and work in a library and make music in my spare time. ...I really don't wish to give up my music. I attribute my latter-day confidence and sanity to music, and the relationship that music has had with me over all of these years. This was Steve Kilbey's 2nd Painkiller gig, the first gig having been at the same venue on 10 September this year. On 10 September I came in on my own at around 10pm and was upset because a close friend had been crying on the phone to me. Hearing those songs for the first time in the delicate state I was in had a seismic effect on me, I latched onto the sound and ...

Wednesday night, 10 September, I went along to the Painkiller gig at the Oxford Art Factory situated at the Hyde Park end of Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. I almost didn’t go. I was heavy-hearted and burdened with a friend’s unhappiness. The anticipation of witnessing and involving my senses in Steve Kilbey’s new line-up and music washed over me. I felt cotton-wooled, numbed and nonchalant about leaving the door. Conversely I knew perfectly well I couldn’t miss this . So, after a (small) glass of red, I hopped into my car and drove the 15 minute drive to Oxford Street. I parked at Oxford Street Paddington and walked briskly towards the Darlinghurst end of things. It was a crisp, fresh evening with a dry icy breeze that served to awaken and straighten my senses. Activity around Taylor Square and Darlinghurst seemed relatively subdued, even for a Wednesday night. Perhaps because it was such a crisp night, or there was some sports game featured on the tele, that people avoided what is usual...