Brisbane Blog

So, if you’ve just joined Twitter you may be be wondering exactly what all the fuss is about. People use Twitter in lots of different ways, but the main way I use it is to meet other people in Brisbane. Brisbane has a thriving community on Twitter, and once a month there’s a big meet-up called a btub.

The next btub is tomorrow night, Friday May 1st, at the Ship Inn, Southbank (the Ship Inn is at the south end of Southbank, near South Bank train and bus stations – click here for a Google Map). It kicks off at 6pm and will be going till late. We’re on the second level – go through the beer garden, and you’ll see glass sliding doors to the Griffith Graduate Centre. You’ll see a sign pointing to the stairs – just go up, and you’ll find us.

btub stands for “Brisbane Twitter Underground Brigade” but it’s not really underground any more, we have lots of people turn up. There’s lots of interesting and friendly people to chat to so if you’re free, drop in – if you want to chat with me, my photo’s on the side of this blog (but I now have longer hair and a goatee/mo). I’ll be late (about 9pm) because I don’t finish work till 8pm.

There’s a btub group on Facebook, and there’s a Facebook event for tomorrow night’s meetup. And you can also follow btub’s Twitter account.

If you’re on Twitter, a service that lets you find out what people are doing, you might want to follow the Brisbane Blog’s Twitter account and you’ll get updated every time there is a new story on the Brisbane Blog. Or if you want more, follow my personal account (David Jackmanson) and find out what I’m up to.

If you like improvised comedy, Impro Mafia has a show “News-A-Rama” on at the Arts Theatre this Sunday May 3rd 2009. It’s $10 to get in, and the address is 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane – click here for a Google Map.

According to the Impro Mafia website, at the show you’ll:

Meet the newsroom of The Daily Gasp – Justice City’s dodgiest and least reputable purveyor of news to the citizenry.

The staff of the Gasp (what it’s known as for short) have only hours to put together the evening paper – complete with kidnappings, alien encounters, politicians love nests, true crime stories and celebrity scandals.

Meanwhile their noble and long-suffering editor (as he likes to view himself) must sort the wheat from the chaff and come up with a front page story that will wow the punters and keep the paper going for one more day.

Film Noir meets the X-Files meets Citizen Kane.

4ZZZ, on 102.1-FM, is Brisbane’s independent community radio station playing rock, pop, punk, electronica, hip-hop and more (click here for their current Top 20 popular songs, or you can click here for their program guide). 4ZZZ-FM has just started streaming their shows live to the web 24 hours a day, so even if you’re not in range of their transmitters you can listen in – click here to get access to their live streams.

To mark the start of live streaming, 4ZZZ-FM are putting on a week-long mini-festival called “Better off Zed”, which includes the Rumble Rock Wrestling gig at 7pm on Sunday May 3rd at the Jubilee Hotel, 470 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley (click here for a Google Map). Tickets are $15 or $5 for 4ZZZ-FM subscribers, and the show features 4 live bands AND live hardcore wrestling matches (plus midget wrestling) presented by Pro Wrestling Alliance Queensland.

This YouTube vid from one of the PWAQ’s shows gives you an idea of what to expect from the wrestling:

And these vids show you the bands who are performing:

Sixfthick (click here for their MySpace page)

Hits:

Metallurgy (click here for their MySpace page)

I can’t find any videos for the F1 Elevens but click here to visit their MySpace page so you can listen to their music.

If you’re on Facebook, click here for the event page for Rumble Rock Wrestling, and if you’re on Twitter, you can follow 4ZZZ-FM here.

UPDATE: looking for Free Comic Book Days from other years? Click here to see all FCBD posts

This Saturday, May 2 2009, is Free Comic Book Day, which I found out on Twitter thanks to this post by spoonerist (and this one, too). In this YouTube vid, Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the X-Men movies, talks about FCBD:

At least two comic stores in Brisbane are taking part in Free Comic Book Day, Ace Comics at Level 2, 121 Queen St, Brisbane City (click here for a Google Map), and Comics Etc at 79-81 Elizabeth St, Brisbane City (click here and scroll down to the bottom of the  page for a map). So drop into either of those stores and see what books are free this year – and if you know of any other stores that are taking part, please leave a comment.

Technorati Tags: free comic book day, brisbane, queensland, australia

The Labour Day 2009 celebrations are on on Monday May 4th, at the oval at the RNA Showgrounds in Fortitude Valley – click here for a Google Map.

Brisbane’s union members will be marching from Spring Hill through Fortitude Valley from 10am and the celebrations will kick off at the showgrounds from 11am, with free bands, free kids’ rides and lots of political debate. If you want to march, click here for more info, or visit your union’s website.

This slideshow shows the photos I took of the march and celebrations two years ago, in 2007:

And this video shows Kevin Rudd, then Opposition Leader and now Prime Minister of Australia, talking at the same event in 2007:

UPDATE: You can see 30 photos of the bands who performed at the 2009 Caxton St Seafood and Wine Festival, taken by flickr user letsmakeart, in this slideshow:

The Caxton Street Seafood and Wine Festival is on this Sunday, May 3rd 2009 from 11am to 10pm. The festival is held at Caxton Street, Paddington, between Petrie Terrace and Hale St, and the best way to get there is to catch a train to Milton Station – click here for a Google Map and click here for Translink’s public transport journey planner.

Food for sale ranges from $3.50 for a shish kebab or $4 for a cannoli, up to $220 for the MEGA sized Caxton seafood platter. There’s a big range of prices, so click here to find out more about what’s on sale on the day.


Entertainment at the festival includes Grace Knight:

Winnie Coopers:

Omni Anti:

Kate Bradley with The Goodbye Horses:

and Dukes of Windsor

for more info about the day’s entertainment, click here.

Tickets are $15 pre-booked, or $20 on the day, plus booking fees and charges in either case. If you want to drink, you’ll need ID. Click here for more info on tickets and booking. If you’re on Facebook, you might want to join the festival’s group – click here to go to the group page.

Impromafia, one of Brisbane’s impro comedy troupes, presents Free Open Mic Improv at 7.30pm every Monday night at Mick O’Malley’s Irish Pub, underneath the Wintergarden arcade in the Queen Street Mall, Brisbane City – click here for a Google Map.

UPDATE: The show on Monday April 27 was the LAST at O’Malley’s, so don’t turn up there looking for any more impro gigs on a Monday night. I’ll let you know as soon as Impro Mafia has a new venue for Monday night open mic impro – they are looking for one right now.

These open mic night are a chance for brand new impro comedians to see if they have what it takes, so come along and see who’s trying to make it in the world of Brisbane improvised comedy.

UPDATE: This picture taken by Twitter user @KateEdwards shows the scene at O’Malley’s on Monday, April 27 2009:

Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

If you want to read more blogs about Brisbane, you should check out brand-new blog My Two Cents. Alex, the blogger there, has just published a first story about a fundraising gig for victims of the recent Victorian bushfires.

The story includes a video of the night’s performance by one of the bands, Expedition Pie.

The Top Floor gallery at 99 Elizabeth St, Brisbane City, (click here for a Google Map – when you get there go up the stairs next to the arcade entrance) is putting on a Superhero Ball tomorrow night, Saturday April 25th 2009. There will be plenty of performances to entertain you, including Evelyn Hartogh as Wonder Woman. Here’s a vid of Evelyn from 2006:

It’s $20 to get in, and all the action starts at 7pm.

On Saturday May 9th, there will be a commemoration service to remember the Battle of The Coral Sea, fought from May 4-8 in 1942, when the US and Australian navies stopped a Japanese invasion fleet from reaching Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. This was the first defeat the Japanese fleet had suffered since it entered the Second World War in December 1941.

The service will be at Lyndon B Johnson Place, Newstead Park, Newstead, in the grounds of Newstead House – click here for a Google Map. The service starts at 10am and please bring a gold coin donation.