The Gratitude List: 2013 you've been so good

I can barely begin to imagine that 2013 is almost over. This year has been so good to me. I've been on so many adventures and I feel so grateful for all of the experiences I've had this year. I have had massive, mind blowing highs and I've spent more time smiling and succeeding that I thought was possible.

I think it's easy to get caught up in the end of year madness but it's great to sit down and think about the things that you are grateful for from this year. Send out a THANK YOU to the universe and make the decision that next year is going to amazing.

2013 was especially good to me so I've decided to put together my final gratitude list for 2013 with the things I've been grateful for throughout the year.

1. The live music I've seen and the amazing artists I've witnessed



It's easy to be grateful when my list of artists I've seen looks like this

Maximo Park / The Hives / The Killers / Childish Gambino / Big Day Out Festival (multiple bands) / Bloc Party / British India / The Kooks / Kristin Chenoweth / Idina Menzel / Jay Z / Justin Timberlake / Beyoncé / Bastille / William Beckett / Foals / The Basics / Franz Ferdinand / Muse / Alicia Keys

2. Travelling the world



This year I've been lucky enough to travel to

London / Dubai / Cancun / New York / Toronto / Anaheim (Disneyland) / Los Angeles / Bali / Gold Coast

A lot of my travel adventures have been through work and I've visited some absolutely stunning places with the best people. I loved every trip I've been on and I know they wouldn't have been as great had it not been the people I travelled with.

3. My family



But seriously, if your nieces and nephews were this cute you'd be grateful too.

4. My Black Milk collection



I've spent this year in lycra as my Black Milk collection has grown to ridiculous proportions. I love that I can wear something crazy and ridiculous and feel so comfortable and happy. I am grateful for the confidence their clothing gives me.

5. A little bit of everything else.



It has been so hard trying to reduce the things I'm grateful for into 5 points. I have had so many great experiences this year. There have been ups and downs but this post is about finding the things that have made me smile this year. I have shared this year with so many great friends and family and I am happy to look back at 2013 and think this was a lucky, fun filled, adventurous year for me.

Have you taken a look at your 2013 yet? Share your links below if you've posted about it - I'd love to see what's been making you smile this year

Bring on 2014 and another outstanding year.

 - Brooke

BEYONCÉ HAS A NEW ALBUM

YOU GUYS GET ON ITUNES RIGHT NOW - BEYONCÉ HAS A NEW ALBUM! 

When I got home tonight I had a text message from my friend Sally to let me know that Beyoncé has just released a new album - OUT OF NOWHERE. No warning, no press, no WARNING, just music.

It's called BEYONCÉ has 14 new songs and 17 videos, She's calling it a "visual" album and features appearances from Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean, Drake, Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland and Blue Ivy (her daughter).

"I didn't want to release my music the way I've done it. I am bored with that. I feel like I am able to speak directly to my fans. There's so much that gets between the music, the artist and the fans. I felt like I didn't want anybody to give the message when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it's ready and from me to my fans."

I have listened to 2 songs to far and a I will be listening to the rest tonight. I will be watching ALL the videos (which includes "No Angel" that was filmed in East Brunswick when she was in Melbourne).

I AM SO EXCITED TO HAVE THIS ON MY PHONE. It feels like Beyoncé has given us all an early Christmas present.

 - Brooke

Gratitude List: Week ending 17 Nov

I didn't post a Gratitude List last week due to my excitement and distraction by The Blogcademy (don't worry there's a post coming on that). This weeks Gratitude List is jam packed full of fun amazing things to make up for it.



1. THE BLOGCADEMY - The highlight of my week/month/year. I can't even begin to explain how happy I walked away from these two days. I was so blissed out on Friday afternoon that the almost 2 hour commute back home didn't bother me. I could see my hula hoop from Hooplovers.com in my rear-view mirror and I smiled all the way home. My re-cap of the two-days is coming (it's in the drafts being carefully edited before posting).

2. A quick stay in North Melbourne - I didn't want to have to stress about traffic so for the two days that  I went to the Blogcademy I decided to rent a small studio apartment in North Melbourne. It was a last minute decision and it was the best decision. It was nice to set up shop in a small little space and be by myself for 2 nights. It gave me a chance to re-charge before the next day in quiet.



3. Seeing Franz Ferdinand live - on Thursday night I went to the Forum theatre tired and mentally exhausted but it didn't last long once Franz Ferdinand hit the stage. I found myself bouncing around, dancing and singing and basically having a fantastic night.

4. Creating Vision Boards - Since I moved to a new store I needed to update and re-new my vision board for at work. It's something I really love doing and I think I'm pretty damn good at it. I love creating collages and this is the perfect excuse. I also scoured the internet looking for some inspirational quotes and have plastered one of the walls in our back office with these quotes. It looks bright and cheerful and exactly what I want when I am sitting out there.

5. Chinese food for another b'day - I didn't realise exactly how many family b'days there are in October / November until I started writing these lists. We've had 4 different b'days in as many weeks. Last week it was my sisters turn and we went out for delicious Chinese food at one of our favourite places followed by one of my Mum's amazing sponge cakes.

This week I want to make sure I do something nice for somebody else - I want to share the kindness and happiness I've experienced this past week with somebody else. I'm not sure how or what but I'm determined to make someone smile unexpectedly.

 - Brooke

P.S Thanks to Lucy at My Day My Way for the shout out - it's nice to find another blogger being grateful for their week

An evening with Mrs Carter - 22 October 2013

From the moment Beyoncé appears on stage you know it's going to be a special evening. She commands your attention and hold it for 2 hours of hip shaking, mind blowing, eyeball popping entertainment.

I was lucky enough to go to my second show on this Mrs Carter World Tour. I managed to score tickets to her show in Toronto in July and this week I was lucky enough to have tickets to her first performance in Melbourne.

I haven't seen Beyonce since her Destiny's Child days. She has toured but I haven't attended. After listening to her latest album "4" on repeat for a solid 6 months (I find it REALLY hard to put on something else) I felt this year it was time to experience Beyoncé again. That is what she is - an experience.

Her whole show is designed to make you feel - it's overwhelming and empowering and I know I walked away unable to put into words what I had just experienced. I'm still struggling. I think I'm going to let some of the photos I took on the night do the talking.

There was so much anticipation in the lead up to seeing Beyoncé, I can't believe it's over and she's headed to other parts of Australia on her tour. I'm so happy I got to witness the marvellous performer that Beyoncé is.

For those interested here is her setlist from the performance (it's a doozy):

• Run the World (Girls) 
• End of Time 
• You Are a Queen 
• If I Were a Boy (With elements of "Bitter Sweet Symphony") 
• Get Me Bodied 
• Baby Boy 
• Diva 
• Naughty Girl 
• Party 
• Freakum Dress 
• Why Don't You Love Me 
• 1+1 
• Irreplaceable 
• Love on Top 
• Survivor (Destiny’s Child cover) 
• Countdown (interlude video)
• Crazy in Love 
• Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) 
• Grown Woman 
• I Was Here (spoken / interlude on video)
• I Will Always Love You 
• Halo 
• Green Light / Suga Mama

These songs + her incredible dancing (and vocal abilities), dancers, all female band and her backup singers (The Mamas) = everything you could hope for in a Beyonce concert and more.

 - Brooke

Cobra love

This last week has been full of mega highs and head stomping in the ground lows. One of my mega highs was that on Monday night I was given the opportunity to photograph one of my favourite bands, Cobra Starship. This came at the absolute most perfect time.

I feel so happy and honoured to have been able to take these photos. This band to me is simply fun and amazing. Every time I've seen them I've danced around with a huge smile on my face and this time was no different. 

The crowd size left a lot to be desired but the bands energy didn't waiver. They played a huge set filled with a fantastic mix of old and new songs.

I heart you Cobra Starship - please come back soon!!!!

Much love 

 - Brooke

Monkeys, kookiness and lists

Last week as I previously mentioned was a super busy week. Not only was I back at work after a bit of a break over New Years but I also attended 4 different gigs. Every year in Australia there are a few music festivals and the week after New Years we are inundated with amazing shows that I can never pass up.

This year I went to 2 x Arctic Monkeys shows (supported by Miles Kane), The Kooks and then CSS. All of these bands I have seen before so I can't count them as new bands, but they were all so fabulous. 

It was so nice to see these bands again as they have all evolved and grown as performers since the last time I've seen them. I first saw Arctic Monkeys back in 2007 when they headlined Glastonbury and also saw The Kooks and CSS at the same festival. They were all still relatively new bands back then so I think the fact that I'm still willing to buy and listen to their music and go to see them live is pretty impressive (I didn't realise that I saw all three at Glastonbury back then until I was typing this - weird).

These photos are just a few iPhone snaps I took at the shows - not the greatest quality but I'm hanging to get a new point and shoot camera so they'll have to do for now. I'm hoping I can get a new one before I attend the "Big Day Out" festival at the end of the month. 

I've also been seriously considering #12 on my 50 things list and I may have just found the most perfect image. 

The original image on the left is from (surprise surprise) Jack's Mannequin's latest album art and it has pretty much everything I could desire - cat, asterisk, simple but beautiful. I don't know if it looks better "normal" or if it were more a line image (hence the inverted image) - thoughts?

I have had it in my mind for YEARS that I've wanted the asterisk somewhere on my body - I read an interview with Andrew about the meaning of the symbol and his band and his meaning made sense. It is inspired by a quote from Siddartha "the river is everywhere", the asterisk's is the lines that represent life and all the things around you, and everything intersects meaning everything and everyone is connected uniting the universe. Now I have to work up the courage to get it done.

Wish me luck 

 - Brooke

67 Special Happy Times

Last night was a trip down memory lane - one of my most favourite Australian bands re-formed 3 years after their farewell gig to say goodbye their local pub that is closing. 

From about 2004 until 2008 67 Special were a constant part of my nights out and always put on fantastic gigs - last night was no different. It was amazing to catch up with my fellow former "Spechy forumers" who I haven't seen in AGES and who are still as awesome as ever. 

Watching 67 Special last night reminded me how cruel and unbelievable the music industry can be. This band is so talented and put on one hell of a show with amazing songs and incredible stage presence but they weren't able to "make it". It was clear last night that their finale was not due to their lack of passion or enjoyment of playing live. It just doesn't seem fair.

I wore my new Black Milk Mario Watchmen swimsuit out to the gig last night. I'm not usually the kind of person who would wear a bodysuit / swimsuit with a skirt but there is something about Black Milk that gives me that confidence. I have bought a whole bunch of their leggings and this was my first swim. I was worried about the sizing (after a friend bought one that didn't fit right) but the worry was unfounded as it fits brilliantly and holds everything in perfectly. My next purchase is going to be the Ribs Black swimsuit or Purple Galaxy swimsuit or the Tiger swimsuit (or maybe all three).

Peace & love

 - Brooke

Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

Last weekend (or was it two weekends ago) I attended the Splendour in the Grass music festival in Woodford Queensland. Coldplay headlined the final night and it was a beautifully epic final performance of the weekend.

I don't think there is many words to describe exactly how perfect their set was. We were treated to a lot of old songs as well as a few new new songs from their forthcoming album. 

These photos aren't traditionally right when looking at concert photography but there was something magical about how these turned out. I used my point & shoot Canon and I've realised over the past few shows I've been to that I am in desperate need to upgrade again as it's far too slow for low light situations.  

I'll have some more photos from the festival in another post. I just loved these ones so much I felt they deserved their own post. 

Just for good measure and to get your week started right here's the video for their latest single "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall"

Happy smiles

 - Brooke

Nervous photo taking

On Tuesday night I headed into Melbourne to a nice little venue called Billboards to photograph Kele Okereke (aka the lead singer of Bloc Party) (!!!!!). I was feeling really great and excited about it until about 2 minutes before he walked onstage - I started to get REALLY nervous. I was about to photograph KELE FROM BLOC PARTY - Bloc Party, the band who's music has been a massive part of my life for so long.

I've photographed a whole bunch of bands I love before and never made myself nervous, not like this. There is something about being in the presence of Kele that I found really daunting. I've seen him live before quite a few times so I couldn't even use the "I've never seem him before and I'm so excited/nervous". 

When he walked onstage I had to stop my hands from shaking and just get myself into that "zone". He was a really easy person to photograph live - he's expressive, impressive, beautiful and mesmerising. 

*See what I mean about BEAUTIFUL*

I'll link to the rest of the photos when the gallery becomes live on thedwarf.com.au but until then I just needed to share these couple of photos from the night. I'm pretty proud of how the gallery turned out.

**** EDIT ***** The gallery is up on thedwarf.com.au CLICK HERE to check out the other photos

After the gig as I was going to pay for my car parking I took a massive tumble down a stair (only 1) and I now have a HUGE bruise on my leg (I'll get proper pics and share soon - it's gross), 2 bruised knees and a sore ankle. I haven't fallen that badly for SO long and when it happened I was so mad/embarrassed that I wanted to crawl into a hole. 

Tomorrow night I'm off to the Kaiser Chiefs sideshow. I'm extremely excited about this. I'll be back with my report on Splendour in the Grass (didn't I mention that I went to this amazing music festival last weekend?) and the couple of other shows I've been to this week. All in all it's been a busy, fun time.

Happy, tired smiles

 - Brooke

thedwarf.com.au A few bands

I've had a couple of photography assignments over the past few weeks - I think today is about the day to catch up and share. 

I love photographing bands - it allows me to try and capture those little moments at a gig that I've been living for years. Plus I like making these bands look good. 

First gig was British India - if you've been following my blog at all I've posted about these boys a couple of times. Basically they're awesome and I heart them and their music a lot. Photographing them live is always fun because they're so energetic and put on a great live show.

Second up was one of Red Riders last shows in Melbourne (absolute last one is on June 17th). They supported Children Collide on their tour. I won't really go into the first show we were at (it ended in some guy shoving me three times in the chest and me almost punching him in the face) but the second show (which these photos were taken) was much funner (except some person kept dropping stink bombs in the venue). I will miss Red Riders when they're through - I'll be at both of their final shows but I'm sure I'll post about that some other time. 

Children Collide were pretty good too :) They felt like the kind of band I would have loved 5 years ago. I never really got into their music - they put on a fantastic show though, very energetic and the crowd certainly loved them. 

As normal - just click on the photos to be taken to the galleries. 

Happy snapping

 - Brooke

R.R.R.I.P *sad face*

It's not a fun day when you wake up and find out that one of your absolute favourite Australian bands is calling it quits after 8 years of love. That is what it felt like this morning when I received a text message from one of my friends telling me to keep a couple of dates free for some farewell Red Riders gigs. 

I did some searching and found the following statement on their website:

Late last night the guys announced the official end of Red Riders. Here is what they had to say...

Hey Guys,

This is kinda hard to say, but anyway here goes: after eight immensely fun years of playing together as Red Riders it seems like now's the right time to bow out. We're all still the closest of friends, but just feel like the entity that is Red Riders has run its course, and rather than grind something that's special to us into the ground, we'd like to call it quits while we can still stand proudly behind everything that we've made together. 

We wanna thank everyone who's ever bought a record of ours, come to one our shows, shared our music with someone, written about us, put our music on the airwaves... Basically, to anyone who's ever given a damn, thank you! It's been mad sharing a part of our lives with way more people than we had any right to expect to. We're gonna keep making music in other guises so keep a ear out, and if you see us at the pub, or lurking up the back of a show someplace, come say hi. We can grab a beer.

Love,

RR.

P.S We're gonna play a couple of special farewell shows in Sydney and Melbourne in June, but otherwise the upcoming shows supporting Children Collide will be our last. Hope to see you there!

After 8 years, 2 EP's, 2 albums and lots and lots of live gigs it's going to be sad to say goodbye to a band who have been a favourite for such a long time. It's another band who I've got very fun memories of being young and stupid and having such a great time at their gigs. 

I'll miss dancing and yelling out "I THINK YOU'RE BLIND" and jumping around while spelling out ASPIRIN. I've met some AMAZING people through their music and I'm sure we'll celebrate at these few shows we have left. 

Now nothing I do ever seems to go my way,

Everything I do is ordinary.

Peace out lovelies

 - Brooke

P.S I know I've had a few music posts this week but it's been one of those crazy weeks. Music is my escape so it's my way to deal with what is happening on a "day to day" basis. 

Music Mondays: Mark Ronson & The BUSINESS International

Oh I've been busy - well kind of not really. I've just been tired. It's been a while between posts because I've been trying to come to terms with being a "boss" (cue The Lonely Islands "I'm The Boss" song) and living. Which cannot be seen as a bad thing IMO.

I'm back - and with a post I promised before I disappeared from the blogosphere.

Mark Ronson brought his band the Business International to Melbourne as a part of the Future Music Festival. We luckily got a side show and snapped up tickets straight away. As I have mentioned before I was supposed to get a photo pass but unfortunately it didn't come through.

It was one spectacular show - it's always hard to know exactly what kind of show an artist who fills their album with guests is going to bring. Surely he's not able to bring Lily Allen and all those crazy awesome members with him - and he didn't. Instead he managed to group together a collection of artists who contributed to the album but were able to fill in for the "bigger" missing artists. 

We were treated with the special guests Spank Rock, MNDR, Rose Elinor Dougall, Alex Greenwald (lead singer from Phantom Planet) and Andrew Wyatt (Miike Snow). It was a group effort with Ronson conducting all the pieces from his platform. 

The energy and craziness of the night is hard to describe. I've never been to a show where the main artist is able to take a back seat but still have such a huge presence in the room and on the stage. Not only were we treated to a mixture of songs from his new record but they managed to mix in a few songs from "Versions" as well as an unexpected but hugely appreciated version of Phantom Planets "California" (the theme song from The OC).

This was a super fun gig to experience and I'm so happy I was there and able to dance around with friends. 

What else have I been up to? Well there was a day at the Melbourne Zoo, some movie and shopping days also as well as work. Oh dear lots of work.

On Sunday I'm headed off to Bali for a work conference - it'll be 2 nights of craziness and I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about. 

Peace Out Lovelies,

x x x

Brooke

Dreaming of Purple

*Source*

I've been dreaming of super proper purple hair again. This time I want super purple hair all over not just partial purple hair.

*Source*

The best way to get myself excited about this is to look all over the Internet and find other purple haired beauties. I've ordered some Deep Purple Special Effects hair dye so while I wait for it to arrive I'll just keep dreaming.

*Source*

Finding these pictures helps keep my resolve to do this. I have purple hair now but it's just not quite right, it's not a true purple so I'm ready to get the bleach out and get it right.

I've also got some turquoise hair dye (arrived TODAY!) so I'll have purple hair with a strip of turquoise.

It's been a hell of a week. I can hardly believe half the things that have happened at work. It kind of sucks when your job is directly affected by world events - with the state of the world today it's not making my job so fun at times. This week has been truly shocking.

But I've had some good news this week though - it hasn't all been doom & gloom. I've got my name down to photograph MGMT at their show when they hit Melbourne next month (just waiting on confirmation) and I'm very excited about this. They'll be the most "known" band I'll have had the chance to photograph live so far *eek*

Happy *almost* weekend

- Brooke

Isn't it beautiful - Andrew McMahon acoustic tour

3 shows, 4 days, 3 cities - it was an adventure alright. I'm tired, I feel hungover, I'm sick and congested but I would not change these 4 days (from Thursday to Sunday) for the world.

Thursday night (as my last post stated) I flew to Brisbane with my sister Crystal to attend the first show on the Andrew McMahon acoustic tour of Australia. I don't think I have to put in any background on my love for this mans music (see previous blog posts here, here, here, here). This was a tour where I didn't really know what to expect - he was playing his music in a way that I've never experienced it before - I was really excited/nervous (IDK why I just was) before the first show.

The nerves were unfounded - he was spectacular EVERY show. Every song that he performed took on a new life when played with just his grand piano (or keyboard in Melbourne due to the Hi Fi Bar having a broken down lift and their inability to get a grand piano down into the venue) and Bobby Raw's acoustic guitar.

What surprised me the most out of these shows is that even without jumping all over the stage and climbing on his piano Andrew has this amazing stage presence. His ability to completely draw you in and absorb every word that he sings is something to behold. He is charming between songs, comfortable to share stories and make jokes. He is a natural onstage - you can tell that it is where is he meant to be.

Every night he mixed the setlist up a little which was nice. Normally on these kinds of adventures we're faced with seeing the same setlist every night but Andrew threw in different songs and played the songs in different orders. I wouldn't have cared if we had the exact same setlist in every city because the songs he played in Brisbane on the first night were great - but that little bit of surprise every night was a very nice touch.

The Melbourne show was easily the best of the bunch. I'm not saying that because I'm from Melbourne and it's my home town, I'm saying it because it's true. There was this energy in the crowd that made it fun, enchanting and deleriously amazing. It was the perfect ending for this adventure for us.  

* Me & Crystal in Sydney - My friend Lauren joined us in Sydney & Melbourne too *

I have been to a lot of show in the past few years and not many of them beat the shows I have just witnessed - the bar for this year's music shows has been set by Andrew McMahon and it's going to be very very very hard to beat.

This was one adventure I didn't want to end but I'm so happy that we managed to do it.

From my happy heart to yours,

 - Brooke

P.S After owning the documentary "Dear Jack" for almost 2 years I watched it today. I felt inspired after the past few days and I finally felt brave enough to watch it. I cried all the way through but was left completely amazed at Andrews courage and beautiful spirit. It was both shocking and inspiring to watch his battle and survival of Leukaemia. A MUST watch in my humble opinion

P.P.S Thanks Soundwave Touring for taking a chance and bringing Andrew to our shores. It meant so much to a lot of people and you've left us with memories for a lifetime!