Australia v England Centenary Rugby Test

   In this Rugby Union Test Match the teams were still wearing the bulky jerseys [jerseys and caps are my other colectables!!] and the Wallabies wore a commemorative sky blue [which created great media around all the QLDers in the team who'd never be seen dead in a sky blue jersey. Worse still the kit sponsor at the time was Reebok who specialised in ill fitting sports clothes: big collars; sleeves too long; bigger sizes just meant longer.
   Aside from that embarrassment it was some great rugby they played on June 26th 1999 in the all important lead up to the Wallabies winning the World Cup later that year in the UK!!
   This t-shirt was my most loved at the time, good quality, it didn't lose shape and I wore it everywhere as my own playing career was winding dow due to bad knee and calf muscle injuries. It had a second life in 2008 when I lost lost of weight and cracked open that vacuum sealed bag filled with old favourites. I wore this to the UK that year and had lost of animated conversations with British rugby fans as we weren't doing as well by then having lost the 2003 and 2007 Webb Ellis Cups.

Silverchair [Innocent Criminals]

   'The Chair' are such a Newcastle story... a group of school mates form a band, exuding the musical influences of dad's record collection and passionate musical education. Called 'Innocent Criminals' they take on 'battle of the bands' and other opportunities and launch a huge album that takes them around the world several times. The world wide fame happens after one band member leaves for an OS Rotary Exchange for 12 months. Sons of a plumber, fruiterer & local laundry operator... 'Silverchair' left the 'Nirvana in pyjamas' tag in their wake and produced a couple of the most amazing rock albums I've heard. The band is currently hibernating!!
   Daniel Johns lyrics are not rocket science but his musical imagination is stunning. When he still lived locally I used to see him barefoot and walking his dog near the Prince of Wales Hotel at Merewether. This was prior to his degenerative arthritis like illness.
   It was my job to drop off the Wanderers 4th grade rugby jerseys weekly all winter to Chris Joannou's dads laundromat too!! I asked him about that when [having seen the band live the night before] we waited fro the same Launceston-Sydney flight home in January 1997. This led to an animated discussion about Wanderers Rugby and several of their mates I knew to be playing Juniors with the club. They seemed genuinely excited to have bumped into someone from Wanderers. I took the obligatory photo and attempted to keep my composure, nervous at having chatted with a bunch of 17 year old rock stars.
   I saw the band again at their secret Luna Park competition winners gig, then in Sydney, at Homebake and at Newc Ent Cent [barn] with 'The Offspring'... I wasn't able to get to the Civic Theatre double shows but the DVD of that gig is amazing!!

"Helvetica" Band name or ?

   I'm walking out of the local shopping centre and a passerby asks me "helvetica, can I ask you... what is that?'
I explain it's a font "you know... a style of lettering... on the computer!!" He says he plays in a local metal band and they've been looking for a new name, something like Metallica... "that'd be perfect!!"  I let him know you can buy it on http://www.redbubble.com and we part ways.... I actually think someone may have beaten him to it, but I haven't kept an eye on the local gig guide to check it out!!
   Not being a huge fan of metal I am quite fond of the truetype font that is 'helvetica'... it's old school, compact, good for some reports and a contrast to Tahoma in newsletters, no... seriously!! And let's face it [ha ha, see what I did there]!! it does get me into some interesting conversations... there are people all over NSW who think variously:
- it's a photocopier company
- a swedish car
- a type of exotic cheese
- a Greek soccer club
- and you guessed it, a heavy metal band!!

'Helvetica' a great font!!
 
 

'Pearl Jam' proudly from Seattle

   This recent purchase goes with my baseball cap from some ten years ago... the common link is that as a 'grunge' rock band their sense of humour sees Pearl Jam authorise a range of what they'd call 'bandwagon' merchandise.  
   The blue cap has the initials PJ on the front mirroring an era of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team [who play out of the so-called 'Safeco Field'] and this t-shirt features the iconic 'Space Needle' built in 1962. This Tower is front and centre for any Seattle based TV show [e.g. Frasier, Greys Anatomy] or tourism promotion. Beyond all this I have grown to have a deep appreciation for the music of Pearl Jam. It wasn't always so...
   To be fair when I first heard their music I found it to be just noise and assumed the young people I knew who liked it must have been smoking something when they listened [ I haven't changed that view]. It's the only way their early independent popularity made sense to me.
   All that, until I stopped and listened to 'Vitalogy' in December 1994. True, it was more accessible, but I could also relate to more of the subject matter. I began to read about the band and came to admire their campaign against Ticketmaster as they were restricted to less attractive venues in the US and offered relatively cheap affordable ticket prices in protest at the ticketing empire. Though the tour collapsed it was a significant stance that led to US Government action. Add to this their early refusal to make music videos or accept interviews. When 'Vitalogy' smashed the charts they still seemed uncomfortable with that kind of fame as much of the focus fell on lead singer Eddie Vedder.
   The next few albums seemed an attempt to change, to find new sounds and to maintain their edge [No Code and Binaural are classic examples].
   My final appreciation of the band is that theirs is a concert where you may choose to stand, gyrate and mosh... but you could equally sit and take it all in from the cheap seats and simply get lost in the sounds!!
   This I managed to do at Sydney's Ent Cent having passed up a previous opportunity to see the band outdoors!! I'm too old to do the 'Big Day Out' in Sydney next January [no really] so I still hold some small hope of a side show announcement, but time is running out!!
   Nonetheless 'Lightning Bolt' [the bands 10th album] is entertaining me on long drives! 'Mind Your Manners' is a worthy song and 'Sirens' an interesting choice for the highlights reels of the recently completed Major League Baseball 'World Series' best of seven between Boston and St Louis...
   As an aside Eddie Vedder's foray into the Ukelele is a great record itself... gotta love a muso who anonymously hits Aussie beaches to surf and disappear from time to time!!
 

U2 'When Love Comes to Town"

   Sticking to the U2 theme this t-shirt is a treasured item!! The 'Lovetown' Tour made two stops at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and the night I went will stay with me forever... It mirrored the 'Rattle & Hum' doco film in every detail and nuance with a standout set from BB King!! I don't care if U2 never play outdoors again... 'The Claw' is amazing and the outdoor screens and LEDs must be visible from space, but you can't manufacture intimate connections with music & lyrics as it did seem that "God walked through the room"!!
   I think for me it was a time of struggle in my life and the transcendent nature of U2's best tunes was a palpable experience. Remember, this is the first time you've heard 'Pride [In the Name of Love}','Where the Streets Have No Name' etc. Having been too 'something or other' to jump in and miss a day at work I passed on the opportunity to see U2's War tour concert at the same venue because I'd have to skip a day of work... idiot!!... so this was a long time coming...
   The way U2 reinvent, reinterpret and re-theologise their songs depending on the global and local situation means everytime I've heard their standards since has provided it's own meaning and also lots of memories of previous tours. It's what helped me make the links between Zoo and Popmart and also to find a depth of emotion in the bands tribute to the Pike River Miners linking 'One Tree Hill', 'Amazing Grace' and family members of Steve's in the audience that night!! New album finished by the end of November I guess!!
 
 

U2 Zooropa or was that Zoomerang?

   I think I was 40kgs lighter when I bought this absolutely favourite U2 t-shirt!! It was available from the Zoo TV Tour here in Oz which was another of those where the band get part way around the world and then break for 12-18 months before finishing the Asian leg through Japan and down under...
   ZOO TV was an amazing, huge and slightly disturbing vibe... a comment about media manipulation and it's impact on us as humanity. I loved the grainy Berlin inspired sounds [all made clear when I found my way to Zoo Station in 1998. We were at Moore Park the night the Lemon malfunctioned in the rain and the band had to be let out and brought to stage by a different route!!
   The middle set harking back to Rattle & Hum reminded of the way in which those songs connected with some painful and some shaping life experiences from years earlier and I was transported to those days, emotions and learnings in a 2 hour extravanga!! Some years later, the same was true of the PopMart show but it was marked by a much more hopeful outlook and style.

Rugby World Cup 1999

   The Wallabies 1999 vintage bounced back from a low ebb circa 1995 to claim the William Webb Ellis Cup [Bill]. The official version of events is that Webb Ellis at Rugby School in England picked up the ball and ran with it in a multi players per side game of football, thus creating the great running game Rugby Union!!
   The John Eales led Wallabies were a special team and gave many of us special pleasure at knowing the Wallabies had won TWO World Cups... I'll still say we were 4 or 5 degrees celsius and one turnover away from THREE but unlike the All Blacks we don't have to win ours 'at home'!!
   But seriously, it shows the + and - of a four year World Cup cycle that as teams have begun to plan their futures around it the All Blacks as undisputed best team in the world have let nerves and resolve get the better of them on a number of occasions!! First hand experience showed me the NZ home fans and crowd were anything but confident in 2011 at Eden Park where France did almost bring them unstuck... but to be honest I think home ground was the difference again!!
   This t-shirt was a piece of shameless cheap capitalising on the win BUT when I bought it I could actuallu wear it. These days it hangs on the wall amongst other memorabilia!!

Star Wars 'Episode IV'

   

   The original and best film was clunky, mind blowing and visually astounding!! You have to remember that we'd never seen the opening credits or story intro scroll upwards and into the screen 'wow'!! And then when the Space craft tip enters the screen and the underside just keeps getting bigger and bigger... But George Lucas is at least equal measure innovative creator and frustrating perfectionist. I get the idea of going back to redo things you had in mind that CGI couldn't yet do BUT I wish the stormtrooper hitting his helmet on a bulkhead stayed in!! #firstworldproblem I guess!!

   I'm pretty sure I bought this t-shirt in the US. The other marker for me with this film and t-shirt are that I saw the film from the mezzanine level of my Uncle Colin Hanks' 'Chelsea Theatre' in Melbourne St, East Maitland!! Memories!! 

   

US Open Tennis 1998 Men's Champion Pat Rafter

   New York is an amazing place... I've been fortunate enough to visit three times and still have plenty to do and see!! It's a great place for playing celebrity spotto, plunging into pop culture, capturing history or just watching the wide variety of people getting around Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens or Flushing!!
   That said, this t-shirt was ordered over the internet either the day of the Men's Final or just before!! The surface really suited Rafter's game and he went back to back there... I was acccidentally there in 2008 on my trip exploring new and/or experimental faith communities and took in The Women's Semis, Men's Doubles Final and a super sized basket of lattice fries with cheese sauce [a classic US menu item]. But in 38 degree heat I did only walk half way across the Brooklyn Bridge so I can cross it next time with family along again...
   This shirt reflects my love of sport, admiration for Rafter's style of serve and volley play but also a soft spot for New York City!! We visited an empty Flushing Meadow in 2000 in winter and me again in 2008, paying homage to the Champions Row statues and the name plates outside Arthur Ashe Stadium... graphite pencil rubbing next time...

My favourite things we/I have done there include:
- Times Square walking
- 'Late Show with David Letterman' standby and then audience
- 'The Lion King' on Broadway
- Yankees v Braves Baseball at Yankee Stadium
- Westside YMCA
- World Trade Centers [US spelling] in 1998
- Then 9/11 Memorial Museum and Walking Tour with Effected Family Guides 2008
- The Seinfeld Reality Tour with Kenny Kramer
- Bumping into Robin Williams
- Planet Hollywood
- Wall St Maccas
- Seeing a Movie with a noisy US crowd + real butter popcorn [though it wasn't Rochelle Rochelle]
- Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade including the Wiggles
- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lights
- Barnes and Noble and Tower Records Lincoln Center
- Central Park
- Wollman Rink
- FAO Schwarz
- 'Transmission' Liturgical Faith Community and Grace Church Upper Westside/Chelsea
- Soup from the man who inspired Seinfeld's 'Soup Nazi'
...

'Planet Hollywood' Las Vegas

   From standing in George St Sydney full up with the flu, watching the movie heavyweights arrive for the Opening Party... to LA, Paris and Times Square in New York... I loved enjoying a meal at 'Planet Hollywood.' In Planet Hollywood Paris we shared the space with a hundred very drunk Scottish Football fans during the opening night celebrations of the '98 World Cup and we paid over $60 AU each for our burger meals!! It made a nice change from baguette and slices of cheese or the savoury mince crepe at the local caravan near 'The Young & Happy' hostel!!
Kitsch but interesting, overpriced but unique!!
   I think the cult of celebrity is hilarious but the craft of film making is something to celebrate... and costumes, props and scripts make great pop culture artifacts!! No wonder I enjoyed the surprise of the movie costume exhibit at Fed Square in Melbourne recently!!
   I understand there's a whole Casino and Resort in Vegas now with the Planet Hollywood theme, back then it was part of the marble shopping mall in a Palazzo with a sky blue cloudy sky ceiling!!