so last night i saw the grates at the tivoli, brisbane. it was fantastic to see them, i haven't been to any of their shows in about a year or so. and i was excited because pae put me on the guest list and i got in to the after party - but more on that later. let me set the scene: the tivoli is this big old-fashioned theatre in a part of town that probably used to be nice. it has ornate chandeliers and a big balcony upstairs and every show i've seen there sounds amazing. it's been renovated but only barely - it is still quite shabby and a well-loved institution in brisbane.the support acts were nothing to talk about - but for the grates, imagine this: pitch-black room, audience grows quiet, sleigh bells start chiming, spotlights come on, a snow machine is covering the audience in sparkly white fake snow, and the stage lights come on. the grates set is like a winter wonderland with a big fur tree and a couple of penguins with red-lit eyes.very surreal. the band comes out, patience is wearing a white tu-tu and suspenders (!) with an awesome glittery belt and shoes. john and alana look normal and cool, their keyboardist was dressed in a giant panda costume (i am pretty sure it was conan). i only wish i had a decent camera to capture the set.they were awesome as always, never fail to deliver an energetic and fun set, with patience's random nonsensical musings coming between songs. a drunk girl climbed over the amps (there's always one) and drunken slid down the other side almost taking john out with her. for the after show party it was easy to get more passes for my sister and a few other friends, and we hung out at the bar and chatted with pae. here is my wristband: in other news i did that thing i do every couple of months and impulsively buy a lot of cds without even thinking about it. here are those, some old, some new, all great:and also here is a random picture of my dogs playing: