Day 95: Brisbane

"I have got a surprise for you tonight"

Oly really knows how to get my attention.

"Oh?" I replied, desperately trying to remain calm, flicking an invisible speck of dirt off my t-shirt in an uninterested kind of way.

Oly is really good at surprises, they are always the best ever, exactly what I have always wanted and needed. He manages to do it every time. Me, on the other hand, I have to tell him what I have bought him for Christmas because I am so excited, plus I sneak a peak at my presents under the tree. In my defense, I do it less since I have got older... probably something to do with time flying by and before I know it, it is Christmas eve and I still have a turkey to stuff.

I spent the most of the day wondering what I had done to deserve a surprise and the rest of the time wondering, and audibly guessing, what the surprise was, much to Ol's exasperation.

"Are we going to the cinema and sitting in the Gold section?"

"No"

"Are we going to visit someone?"

"No"

"Are we going out for a meal and you're going to romance me?"

"No"

"Monster truck racing?"

"No"

"Are you sure we aren't going to the cinema?"

"What time does it start?"

"What should I wear?"

"Will there be many people there?"

"Will I have to participate or are we spectators?" (it better not be one of those Hypnotherapy shows)

I bet he wished had just surprised me rather than give me 10 hours in which to vocalise my excitement which rapidly turned to vocalised apprehension around 8PM when we were walking down dark back streets in the middle of Brisbane's "Valley" and Ol was starting to look lost. It didn't help when I saw the Church of Scientology.

We finally turned a corner and walked past a huge queue which snaked around the block. As we went past the start of the queue, I caught a glimpse inside of a poster with the word "Joe".

"So we are going to see Eskimo Joe then?" I asked as if i had known all along.

"Yup"

(hurrah!)

It was the opening night of Eskimo Joe's "Beating Like a Drum" tour at the Tivoli Theatre. When we got inside a Brisbane band we didn't know, Iron On, were playing and after about 30 minutes of roadies faffing on stage, Little Birdy came on. Finally around 11PM Eskimo Joe played for an hour.

Both Eskimo Joe and Little Birdy are bands from Perth. Eskimo Joe were excellent, we would happily see them again. They were worth the very very very long wait... the lead singer, Kav Temperley, worked the crowd well. We were a little thrown by his accent which sounded English. Oly and I did that "Well I never, fancy that!" look at each other when we first heard him. I have it on Google authority that he is from Fremantle and travelled a lot as a child which could account for him betraying his Aussie lilt.

On the negative side, they really do need to get their roadies sorted out. The time between each band was too long and we were starting to lose interest waiting for Little Birdy, let alone Eskimo Joe. Maybe this is normal in Australia... wouldn't stand for it at Brixton Academy!

Em