High Adventures in the Great Outdoors

On the Road Again  

Touring is a young man’s sport, at least until a band reaches a level of mainstream success that enables one to travel in comfort and style. While the advent of the internet has made it easier than ever to connect and music as well as performances accessible via the click of a button, nothing rivals the real-life experience.

Over the years of roaming around, especially when it comes to touring with bands, it proved not only to be essential to pack light, create a plan of places to visit outside the realm of venues but to arrange for accommodation ahead of time – especially when it comes to navigating your way across the more sparsely populated places of this earthround, i.e. Australia.

Apart from the logistics of arranging travel between the capital cities and navigating the long distances on terra australis, staying well-rested during travel and touring with late nights and early mornings is vitally important to keep spirits up. No matter how appealing the journey itself might be, a nice comfy bed to sleep in does wonders.

Using services like AirBnB might be an option but come with the complication of picking up keys, et cetera, it is not often a feasible option. Having spent night in a wide variety of places and accommodations ranging from sleeping on floors, which is more often than not the go-to for low budget tours, to five star hotels, nothing beats a hotel for me – all the more if it is well-priced yet also offers a bit of style and added comfort, despite it being out of the question on most tours.

Enter the newly established Little National hotels in Sydney and Canberra, which take space efficiency, compactness and minimalism to stylishly new heights.

Yes, the rooms are small, however, the spatial design of the layout reminiscent of Japanese architecture is an example par excellence for effective planning with the lion’s share of the space being dedicated to specifically designed oversized Arms of Morpheus beds, which wedged in between two walls and equipped with a smart TV with fluffy super king doonas range on the more comfortable scale of hotel beds I have encountered.

If I had to pin down the DNA of Little National it would come down to a commitment to entering the small doors of minimalism to arrive on the other side with altered values of warmth and comfort, reduced to essential necessities but done in style with a keen and clever sense for functional use of space, ambience and technology, i.e. providing guests with everything they need and literally nothing they do not.

With sustainability ranking high on the agenda, waste is reduced to a minimum with shared facilities to get your caffeine fix or hydrate 24/7.

In a world where “boutique” is often used in lieu of the provision of good service, Little National Hotels make sleek and well-thought through accommodation an affordable and fun option to catch some Zs, which especially in the world of vaudeville and touring is essential, as it might be one of the most glamourized aspects of being in a band but reality is that where one  sees anything outside the confines of a van ‘n venue and the nature of the game is “hit and run”. It is not for nothing that musical acts from The Eagles via Leonard Cohen to Elvis, Chris Isaak and Snoog Dog have penned homages to hotels…

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image from company website

High Adventures in the Great Outdoors

What makes great soap?

Well, there are certainly some basic that need to be accomplished in terms of making it fundamentally sound, however, there is a point when soapmaking becomes an art in itself and leave behind scientific foundations.

Having used soaps for aeons, I find that my favourite soap bars have some things in common, e.g. texture as well as lather and moisturizing abilities derived from fatty acids in the vegetable oils used, with different oils making different contributions and the calibration becoming a balancing act.

Enter Fucking Great Soap.

Incepted twenty years ago and inspired by the movie Fight Club, the soaps his brother and partners were creating to sell at the local farmers market and a dissatisfaction with soaps not being manufactured the Tyler Durden way, Patrick Shea eventually took over and commenced his own operations.

After a stint of inactivity, Patrick eventually got the itch again and after a period of trial and error, he refined his own idiosyncratic recipe, which proved to be quite popular amongst his circle of friends.

Working on refining his formula further and using organic ingredients wherever possible unless costs would become prohibitive and with the eye ultimately on making his emissions an affordable luxury, he has established a veritable soap company. While the soap bars are aesthetically pleasing and easy on the eye at times running danger of overwhelming me with the urge to take a bite, they are meant for use not display.

Fucking Great Soap’s emissions come in a myriad of handcrafted colourful variations with the common denominator being that they are not only long lasting and durable but deliver supremely in the lather department.

f a fun hobby and have built-in Christmas presents for my

Favourites of the range include Midnight Tryst, which fragrance-wise is an intriguing melange of Birchwood Oud,  wild cypress, ozone, makrut lime, sea salt, oud, elemi, leather, amber, ocean moss, and frankincense, with the total resulting in much more than the mere sum of its parts.

A staple of the core range is the Man Bar, which despite what the name might suggest is much more nuanceful than what one might suspect, based on a carefully selected range of ingredients, i.e. activated charcoal powder with mahogany and a dominant musk fragrance oils, sitting against a backdrop of patchouli and clary sage essential oils.

Given the affordable price range, the quality and fun approach, it’d be difficult to find reasons to not give FGS a go and lather up.

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image from company website

Nat’s What I Reckon

Enmore Theatre

Sydney, Australia

May 15, 2021

Not unlike we have alluded to in the review of  Nat’s What I Reckon’s recently released book, the man’s talents are manifold and his antics are best to be experienced via his  immensely popular YouTube channel or in the flesh as it allows not only for finer nuances but also his personality to shine through, which is an integral part of his appeal.

With his star on the rise and resonance having intensified throughout 2020,  it was nice to see him take on bigger stages in 2021 like the Enmore Theatre as part of his “On Purpose” tour.

The evening was a melange of storytelling with Nat giving insights into the wild ride that saw him become an internet phenomenon and the creative process and inspirations that fuelled it all. With his idiosyncratic piss-taking demeanour he manages to incorporate multimedia components into his stage show, which punctuate and substantiate his accessible and wry anecdotes, backed by audience participation, interactive dialogues, his appreciation of music.

What makes the show is both Nat’s unique energy as well as the fact that while his brand of comedy is silly and unapologetic yet never lacks an inherent humanist edge and an outlook at what is perceived to be normal that is informed by his brushes with mental health issues.

Given Nat’s What I Reckon’s traction and quantum leap his career and his stage craft has taken over the last twelve months, it should only be a matter of time until he will channel his alchemy in ways that will take him to the next level both in terms of comedic performances as well as success in other English speaking parts of this earthround.

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image from artist website

This Searing Light, The Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: The Oral History

Faber & Faber

Joy Division aficionados would be intimately familiar with the movie on the band from 2007, which was meant to portray the story of the band channelled through their own lenses, substantiated by input from other contemporary witnesses.

Jon Savage's approach to this tome on the history of Joy Division was informed by interviews the content of which never made it into the narrative of the aforementioned movie, backed by accounts of over fifteen witnesses including but not limited to Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Annike Honore, Deborah Curtis, Paul Morley, Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton and Martin Hannet.

The result is a less linear complementary piece, shedding light on the band’s genesis via their rise to their eventual tragic demise set against the backdrop of dreary post-industrial Manchester, which could be interpreted as what you would get in addition to the movie’s director’s cut.

Now, if you are a hardcore JD fan, it’s unlikely that this book will deliver never heard before facts, however, it is definitely a well written collection of interviews that aid in adding yet another facet to the unique outfit that Joy Division was – specifically when it comes to the different perspectives contributed by those who were actually involved.

An insightful ode to the creation of the monument of original and extraordinary creativity that was Joy Division and one that remains unrivalled to this day.

Water of Life – Whisky Company & Bruichladdich

Being a whisky aficionado on terra australis can be challenging at times, specifically when it comes to sourcing drops from the old world. With orders from overseas being subjected to extortionate taxes, it is vitally important to have a local, trusted distributor that continuous delivers the goods when it comes to expertly sourcing the best quality single malt whiskies at a competitive price.

This is where the Whisky Company comes into play.

Founded by Craig and Katherine Merson, a pair with Scottish roots and immense knowledge of whisky, they are not out there to merely  convert the uninitiated but based on your preferences, aim to assist in pointing you in the right direction and helping to find a bottle that tickles your fancy to set you on a course of discovery and global adventure.

Given Whisky Company’s love for experiences, expectations were high when a Bruichladdich Scotch Whisky Virtual Tasting Event was announced, especially since Chloe Wood was going to be involved, a never not charming luminary in the field of whisky and Islay at large, who hosted the tasting via Zoom directly from Glasgow.

With Chloe having grown up merely a few miles from Port Charlotte on the mecca of whisky, i.e. the isle of Islay in Scotland, and having been actively involved with Bruichladdich all of her professional life, there could not have been a more suitable guide.

Flanked by Bruichladdich Brand Representative Andy Buntine, who represents the distillery in Australia, we were off to an immensely engaging and fun evening with knowledge being dropped left, right and centre on history and production through to character, flavours and aromas of the Bruichladdich range, all the while accentuating the romance of the story and brand.

Starting out with the Bruichladdich’s honeyed and florally sweet Classic Laddie and the delicately peated Port Charlotte expressions, which we have covered in granular detail before, the first highlight was presented in form of the archaic Bere Barley expression: With Bere Barley having less yield and therefore more emphasis on barley flavours, it is as expected more vibrant on the nose with pears, vanilla, apples and oranges being on the forefront aroma-wise.

I love the distillate-driven mouthfeel and the chocolatey, earthy flavours, which seamlessly transition to spicy, dried fruity flavours and oaky vanilla finish with citrus reverberating. Definitely need to secure myself a bottle for the collection.

The highlight of the evening for Bruichladdich aficionados like myself was to get a taste of Port Charlotte Valinch, expressions of which are getting more and more difficult to come by.

What Bruichladdich’s head distiller Adam Hannett has channelled his alchemy in here is clocking in at over 60% ABV and what stings the nostrils is what I would described as a marriage of toffee and peat, accentuated by a biscuity and berry rich sweetness that sits against a backbone of coffee and bacon with nutty overtones peppered in. It evoked a Pavlovian response with me.

On the top of the mouth, the sweetness of the cask comes through, with sherry notes pervading black pepper, charcoal ash, coffee beans, wet soil and fruity peat flavour profiles.

The elongated finish culminates in an exquisite and warm gingery crescendo, which leaves one lusting for another dram.

An interesting factotum was to learn that Bruichladdich has started a campaign to reduce their overall carbon footprint and an initiative to send bottles out without tins, which demonstrates not only the endeavour to their commitment to sustainability.

Being a hopeless  smoke and peat head, I sneakily saved the sample of Octomore 11.1 for last.

With Bruichladdich’s yearly Octomore releases having earned a reputation as peat bombs, it was interesting to see that with the 11 series, they dialled back the phenol parts per million component a bit, which allows for other nuances to shine through in a more prominent manner , e.g.  Scottish mainland  barley flavours. An example par excellence for Bruichladdich’s emphasis on provenance and terroir.

On the nose the 11.1 convinces with not only the tested and tried peat aromas but a complex flavour profile comprised of eucalyptus, vanilla and brine.

What materializes on the palate in the most delicious oily manner are  vanilla notes unfold backed by a slight alcohol burn and accentuated by peppery, orangey and zesty highlights. Peat smoke sits in the middle  and revibrates throughout without completely taking over, which results in a delicious and dynamic profile. In essence, I’d go as far as saying that the Octomore 11 series is one of the accessible ones, especially for the uninitiated looking to work themselves into the glorious realm of Octomore.

I cannot wait for the 2021 Fèis Ìle expressions and the Octomore 12 series, which will hopefully see the light of day later this year.

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