Ragged & Ecstatic

Project drinks this week were at the Rooftop Bar. Pulling this one out made the starting crew for the destination quite low, given that the bar was on the roof of Curtain House, in the cold, windy Melbourne night.

Warmed up with drinks at work, Steve, DC, Sarah, and Jess come along with me the three blocks down to the bar, and jumped in the lift to the sixth floor. More stairs to come, we met Dan at the top, and made our way to the bar. Ordering a first round, the bartender ended up throwing a pot of Asahi over me....and then still proceeded to make me pay! Outrageous!

Our group soon took up a circle of deckchairs on the rooftop, with the lit Melbourne skyline all around us. With heaters on, and shelter if needed, this little spot in the middle of the city was a treat, astro turf and all.

Dan and I then drove out to Northcote Social Club, and met Nicole, for a gig. Arriving during the set of Hoshi In The Clouds, they still impressed, and are a band to watch.

Philadelphia Grand Jury were up next, and wowed the crowd with their indie rock, and full scale energy. With the strange and attention-catching voice over introducing their songs, these three guys were very good. Their Going To The Casino was a crowd favourite, with the set ending with microphones, guitars, and cymbals being unhooked and dismembered and passed out to the crowd. Bizarre and very funny.

The main reason we were there, however, was to see Yves Klein Blue, for the sold out album launch. Having Ragged & Ecstatic just released, these Brisbane lads played out their tracks full an energy and charisma. Both Make Up Your Mind, the single Getting Wise have stayed in my head since the gig, they also played my favourites from the album, Soldier and Summer Sheets.

The encore included a cover of Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run for a birthday boy on stage, before they had the whole room singing and dancing to Polka. Such an exciting young band, with the animation of Michael on stage so engaging!