We learned something important. If we want to feel like we are in a cosmopolitan place, with energy and diversity and mountains of things to do, we have to go to Australia. This is particularly true if we want to see concerts. Few artists come to New Zealand, and those that do usually play in Auckland (the largest city) and leave. We folks here in Wellington are often forgotten. We now know how to fix that. Go to Australia.
One of our favorite bands, Mariachi El Bronx from L.A., has a new record out and they were coming on a tour to Australia. Mariachi El Bronx is the alter ego of the punk band The Bronx. Every so often they release a mariachi record, which is great fun. They get dressed up in mariachi clothes and entertain us with Mexican music. I have no idea how I discovered them, but I am glad I did. They just make me happy. What is not to love when you listen to a band that has horns, a violin, and an accordion? (The accordion is particularly close to my heart since I am Polish.). We never had the chance to see them in the U.S., so when we had the opportunity, we jumped on it. We bought tickets to see them in Sydney and Brisbane. Off we flew to Australia for a mini-tour.
We like Sydney. There is plenty to do and see. But we had no time to dawdle. We walked around the Darling Harbor and that night we saw the show. It was fantastic and a good time was had by all.
Then we had a plane to catch to Brisbane. Brisbane (pronounced Briz-bn) is the capital of Queensland. If you visit Australia, Queensland is usually on the list of places to go to visit the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest. You might go through Brisbane to get there. Brisbane is more like a city in Florida–tropical, hot, and humid. Did we see any part of Brisbane? Not really. But we did not care. Our focus was seeing MEB. And see them we did. It was a blast.
And then what did we do? We went back to Australia two weeks later for another concert. Another of our all-time favorite bands, Fat Freddy’s Drop, a band based in Wellington, was on tour. About six months ago, the leader of the band, Chris Faimu (DJ MU) died. I was heartbroken. Many wondered what would happen since he was a driving force in their music. The remaining band members decided to do a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first album, something MU wanted to do. They hired some musicians to take his place (an impossibility really) and announced they were going to first appear in Australia. We bought tickets to see them in Melbourne. (And I am not ashamed to say, we later saw them in Wellington.)
For this visit, we also made sure we had time to enjoy the city. Melbourne has become my favorite place to visit in Australia. People tend to go to Sydney because that is where the international flights end and everyone needs to see the opera House. But Melbourne, a city of six million and counting, it is now the largest city in Australia, beating Sydney. It has so much energy and so much to do—restaurants of all kinds, museums, shopping, parks, and markets. And shows. Lots and lots of shows. If there were a place in Australia I’d live, it would be Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bn).
On this trip, we walked the laneways. Melbourne has been around a while and as the city has grown, rather than tear down old buildings to make room, they use them, preserving many of its older buildings and that history. The laneways are part of that history. This is a fascinating and fun walk through narrow alleys full of restaurants and shops. There are also arcades, old indoor shopping centers from the late 1800’s that shine with art glass ceilings and dark wood paneling. I strongly recommend taking this walk if you visit Melbourne.
Here are some pics:
A Yank Among the Kiwis 