Warning, eating of cute fluffy bunnies follows.
On Thursday night I headed into Freo after work to catch Josh Pyke at the Fly By Night Club. I wandered randomly to Frarri Café (sic. note the cunning attempt to dodge a law suit for trademark infringement). On offer I noticed they had rabbit, something I rarely get the opportunity to try (this would be only the second time). So, I opted for it, accompanied by a glass of the Hayshed Hill white. The serve was quite generous and the rabbit came on some slices of pumpkin and triangles of polenta in a watery sauce. If I wasn’t trying to experience the taste of the meat itself I would have described the dish as bland, but it certainly let one taste the meat. I guess the taste could probably be described as ’stronger chicken’ or something along those lines.
Glancing at the menu I noticed that rabbit, in Italian, is “coniglio”. And the colloquialism for rabbits is “coney”, as in “bag a brace of coneys for lunch”, which probably means it’s derived from the Italian. And of course “Coney Island” is probably not named for its abundance of icecream holders or large circular pyramids, but for an abundance of rabbits. A glance at the Wikipedia reveals that I may be partially right. Except it was Dutch. And it may have been cone shaped hills. Or something.
Full of food, wine and a cappuccino for less than $30 I head off to the Fly By Night club, which at 22 minutes before the advertised 7pm start time seems quite deserted. Conveniently, the Sail and Anchor is located around the corner, and a quick walk there nets me a middie of Brass Monkey Stout fresh from the top of a new keg. Quite yummy. I hear some eastern staters at the bar referring to Fremantle as Freo (Frio?) di Janeiro, and calling the place a boomtown. Interestingly I must have wandered through the bad part of town, because I noticed a pawn shop, detox centre (although it may have been a ‘new-age’ one), and a Good Sammy outlet. I’m not sure if parts of Freo are slipping back into the pre-America’s cup boom state of existence.
A brief glance in the Sail’s bottle shop (must try that chocolate beer sometime), where I don’t see anything more special than I could find at the International Beer Store, then it’s back to the Club where a short queue has formed. After buying my ticket and getting my stamp (”Stamped by Brad”), it’s a beeline to the bar and then acquiring a seat on which to sit and drink it. The supporting acts are Princess 1.5 and Jen Cloher and The Endless Sea, both of whom were entertaining. The Fly By Night club is sort of a big yet intimate venue, last time I was here I fell in love with Hope from My Friend The Chocolate Cake.
Jen made the mistake of asking what is there to do in Perth, and before anyone sensible could answer, someone piped up with “Chase goats”, which I’m sure is something our tourism industry isn’t pushing as hard as a recreational activity.
About 10:45pm Josh and his band come on stage. He looks familiar as he’s wearing the same shirt he wore in his “Memories and Dust” film clip. As well as content from the new album he plays “Private Education” and of course “Memories and Dust” and closes the set with “Middle of the Hill”, as an encore performing the older “Vibrations in the Air”, and “The Doldrums”, both of which I liked. I would have been much happier if other club goers hadn’t decided that during the main act was a good time to try to have a chat with their friends over the music.
Josh Pyke is playing the Hyde Park Hotel tonight (Saturday).
