I Forgot

The man and I held another Vintage and Retro sale last weekend and it was a massive bloomin' success. I only failed on one account: I totally forgot to tell all you lovely readers about it - I know, it's an epic fail, isn't it? Best sign up to the newsletter (email me at owlandthegrapes@gmail.com with 'Subscribe' in the subject line) or join our facebook group to ensure this never, ever happens again. Hopefully though, if you're a Sydney kid, you heard about it anyway. We were featured everywhere from uber cool newsletter Two Thousand to independent radio station FBi (or so my friend Guy says). And honestly? It's probably for the best that I didn't tell you because if it had been any more packed on Saturday I think the place would have burst. And then we'd never be able to have another sale again. So really, I did the right thing. Alas, I feel bad so, to make up for my abandonment, I will tell you well in advance (ie now) that the next sale will be on the 12th and 13th of December. If you play on my guilt enough I might even give you a discount on the weekend. Which, given how cheap everything already is, basically means I'm offering to GIVE you a heap of awesome clothes. How can you be angry with me after that? I'll tell you: You can't.

Here are some of the man's photos from the weekend:

Sweetest dog ever. I offered his Mum a swap: Clothes for dog. She wasn't too keen.

It was 7-Eleven Day. This meant free slurpees for everyone. I had two (or maybe it was three?) and then hit a major slurpee low mid afternoon. I'm pretty sure I had the sugar shakes. Amazing.

Millie threatened to jump out the window because someone stepped on her tail. It was pretty traumatising. She's okay now though, thanks for asking.

And so it begins.

It's a five-year-old institution. It's proudly independent, and it holds a wicked party. Indeed, if the music station were a person, it'd be in Kindergarten by now. Alas, it's much more than a person. Mature beyond it's years and mightily ahead of it's game, FBi held an excellent (and indeed tantrum-free) 5th birthday bash to rival any Sydney gig. While perhaps not the most popular kid in school, FBi is certainly the coolest, and pulled a crowd of band members, DJs and a good chunk of the Sydney scene last Friday night who were well worthy of the sounds on offer.

Performing that night was Sydney-based S.Y.L.K (pictured below) who played a highly entertaining set with tongues firmly planted in cheeks. Unmistakably very Salt 'n Pepa in dress, they were typically and fantastically wrapped in gold and all things 80's.


Spod is not-so-simply a whole lot of fun, his set (below) complete with dancing girls, cut-out faces of the leading man himself and a skilfully incorporated old-school Game Boy.


Yves Klein Blue, a promising band indeed, played a great set with strong Brit-rock influences while The Grates played enthusiastically to a packed floor.

The favourite band of the night for me however, unexpectedly came in the form of three-piece Philadelphia Grand Jury who performed wonderfully to a comfortably small crowd. They play again at Oxford Arts this Thursday, if you can catch them I recommend you do. (And they're sweet with being called The Philly Jays, so really its all yes's over here)


I won't review the entirety of the night (there are professionals for that sort of thing), I'll just end on the note that you should check out Philadelphia Grand Jury (pictured above) on their myspace. Listen to Wet Winter Holiday. Actually scrap that, all their songs are well worth a listen.