Doris Goddard @ The Hollywood

Doris has been the owner and licensee of the Hollywood Hotel in Surry Hills for over 30 years.

Before running a pub she was quite the starlet - working on stage and screen with Bob Hope, Robert Mitchum, Katherine Hepburn and Peter Sellers.

I was a bit nervous about shooting her - i felt i'd be in danger of presenting a faded star, the young beauty who is now older and not so glamourous. But Doris is still full of life and i was happy with this nice candid snap. It captures the champagne, a great natural smile plus the glint and recognisable mirrorball of The Hollywood.

She's featured on the last page of the current issue of Time Out Sydney as our first colourful Sydney identity.

Last Drinks at Barons

Notorious Kings Cross dive bar Barons is closing it's doors for good this Wednesday.

Like many of the character rich old joints in the Cross it's being demolished to make way for a new multi storey development.

I'm sure most Sydney drinkers would have some hazy memories of a night spent surfing the lounges of the dimly lit bar.

I remember being taken there as a 17 year old, sipping Midori Illusions with my workmates and trying to learn backgammon. On another night I recall being asked to leave once dawn hit after spending the night canoodling with my first girlfriend. This was before the times you needed to buy some garlic bread downstairs in order to drink upstairs.

I visited Barons during the day yesterday with Time Out Sydney's editor to soak up some of the vibe before it's all gone. It didn't look quite right, deserted and in daylight. But i took a bunch of snaps which you can now see in the Barons photo gallery.

Nick Cave and Grinderman

Here's some photos from Nick Cave's gig at The Enmore Theatre tonight.

Nick Cave is a genuine Australian music legend. Unlike many of his generation who lost their mojo and grew complacent and boring from success, Nick Cave is still filled with more passion and venom than most half his age. His unique style and broad creative output is beyond compare.

In a cheeky move for this tour, his band Grinderman plays the support slot prior to Nick Cave's solo set which was filled out by his bearded Grinderman band mates.

Here's a clip of Grinderman performing on Later with Jools Holland.

For the gig tonight us photographers were restricted to shooting just one Nick Cave song, and none of Grinderman. Still, it was a privelege just watching.

Australians at CMJ

CMJ isn't the rite of passage for bands that South by Southwest is, but it's still a popular place for up and coming artists to showcase their talents to a New York and college radio audience.

It starts this week and Australians due to play include:

• Eskimo Joe
• Melanie Horsnell
• Midnight Juggernauts
• Mink
• New Buffalo
• The Panda Band
• Little Birdy
• Intercooler
• Second Dan

Plus some Kiwis who we'd like to claim as our own:

• The Brunettes
• Cut Off Your Hands

Apart from a few exceptions our representation seems fairly uninspiring. There's a lot of on the rise local acts i think America would love, they just don't have the funds or capability to make it happen.

Midnight Juggernauts photos

Here's some of the finished photos from that shoot with Midnight Juggernauts in Centennial Park.

The band are riding high at the moment with a hectic touring schedule. As well as the North American tour they're on now with Justice, they're about to head to Europe and tour with Digitalism across the UK. They also appear to be playing all the Australian summer festivals. Dates on their website.

Robyn @ Oxford Art Factory

I've not been shooting much music lately so here's some shots I almost let go unblogged from several weeks ago, Robyn at Oxford Art Factory.

The Swedish pop singer is now with Modular records and was proudly wearing her Muscles t-shirt. Muscles also contributes a remix to her recent single.

While The Brag thought she was lip-synching her performance, it sounded live to me. She's like a mix of Uffie, The Knife and your run of the mill pop singer.

See some more photos in the Robyn @ Oxford Art Factory gallery.

Meet the Blogger

A little bit of self promotion in "The List" liftout in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

I was glad to get a plug for rival publication Time Out Sydney in there.