Tommy Emmanuel is back!

This will be my first cultural event in a long time since I settled in Melbourne. And the first time in three years Tommy Emmanuel is back touring Australia. He'll give his one-night-only performance in Melbourne on Tuesday, in the Arts Centre's Hamer Hall. And I'll be sitting back cozy up in the balcony, right of the stage, watching him perform live for the first time.

There's a couple of numbers I hope he would play that night. But no matter how the night will go down I can't wait and already know it will be an extremely pleasant evening.

Varekai: a brief afterthought

Well I went for the show and didn't regret it. Felt like a kid again with all the oohs and ahhs the show managed to draw from the audience. The display of colorful costumes, lights, sounds, and twisted movements created a busy menagerie of exotic life. As I expected, the performance didn't dwell as much on storyline as its gravity-defying stunts. Although I'm not much of a juggling fan the show was well worth the money simply for its beautiful production design and diverse cast alone. But I must say that the show did a great job in creating the enchantment of another world with the acting.

Would I go for another Cirque production? I definitely would, if only to recapture that childish wonder.

Cirque du Soleil's Varekai

Today I'm finally doing what I've been wanting to do since I set foot on Melbourne: theater-going. Not the big, silver screen kind that goes along with giant popcorns that cost fifteen bucks and taste like paper. Live performances is what I mean. On this occasion, I'm going to watch Varekai, one of Cirque du Soleil's mystical performances.

I've seen the ads on TV and only barely know the storyline's about a young man's fall into a deep forest somewhere near a volcano, and his subsequent rebirth. Since it's a Cirque production, I'm expecting a lot of jaw-dropping stunts, though not as much in storyline. But I hope my expectations will be surpassed. The ticket cost me a fortune, but I believe would be worth the spend. Hoping this is the first of many interesting cultural events to come.