Day 8: Brisbane, Show Day
Nau Mai
Yesterday we began the second leg of our 2026 Australian tour.
The court surface at the Windsor Croquet Club had gotten wildly out of hand overnight and we were relieved to see the groundsman at work in the morning wrestling things back under control. On this occasion he was mowing a line parallel to the direction of play. He had his mower’s long electrical cord perfectly laid out so it would follow him as he progressed across the field whilst avoiding the risk of fouling.
This was a very relaxed show day for us. We had until 2pm to get to the venue and were free to enjoy a slow morning eating, drinking coffee, and watching the mowing of the croquet courts progress.
For my morning meal I grilled some eggplant on the BBQ and served it atop a pile of leftover risotto that I had reheated in the microwave. This was sprinkled with a healthy pinch of chili flakes. I created a simple side salad for the dish with rocket (arugula) and grated parmesan, dressed with olive oil and salt.
We were feeling pleasantly unwound as we pulled up outside the Tivoli Theatre at the northern end of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. It was a warm, sunny day, and we had enjoyed more rest than before any show in living memory. This old theatre was charming and characterful and even had a grand piano in the foyer so Jon could practise for his up and coming big band gig.
The Tivoli Theatre had an excellent loading ramp that looked straight out of an action movie set. You wouldn’t want to be a henchman patrolling this walkway or you might find yourself shot and flipping over the railing.
This venue was created as a cabaret theatre in the late 1980s in an old bakery building. There are snazzy carpets that are watched over by old wooden ceiling beams and a horseshoe mezzanine wraps around the room with its wrought iron balustrade. It felt warm and cosy in this room and it also sounded phenomenal.
I was impressed by these custom made power boxes. No compromising on style or functionality!
Here is the eagerly anticipated FLASH PICK REVIEW segment.
F L A S H - P I C K - R E V I E W
I recently upgraded my picks. I purchased these two flash picks from the Brisbane music store Pedal Empire and they each cost $13.95 AUD. They came in a plastic bag but not one that is resealable so this is not a long term storage solution for these picks.
The salesman at Pedal Empire said that these picks last a long time. This would be good for me as I find my picks get too blunt after a few hours of playing. After a single show I had not noticed an increase in bluntness in the pick I used but I will have to check back in after a few more hard nights on the road.
There was no noticeable increase in my speed from using these picks but I’ll have to commit to doing a proper speed measurement to really get to the bottom of that metric.
They do have noticeably better grip than the Duralin Standard precision picks I was using before and perhaps this contributes to their claim of increased accuracy. They have a fine matte finish that hangs onto the finger without sacrificing agility.
I found that the 0.75mm was more to my liking which makes sense since I usually play a 0.78mm Duralin Standard precision pick. The 1.00 mm had a bit too much stiffness and lacked the nice kickback you get from the flex of a sub-0.8mm pick.
As for tone and volume, I was unable to distinguish any tonal improvements over the Duralin, and I thought the Gravity 0.75mm played at a very nice volume. If I needed to change it I would just adjust the volume on the amp.
