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Brisbane (3)

Since December Queensland had been experiencing major flooding and on the 11th January the Brisbane river finally broke it's banks. I wasn't sure at first whether the house concerts would be able to go ahead here, but none of the houses were affected so we all decided they should.

Yesterday while driving around one neighbourhood I saw catamarans that had been washed up on embankments, one had a boat trapped underneath it. Then I drove 80km west to the Wivenhoe Dam. The dam was built after the last big floods in 1974 and although it was still possible to drive over it, the car park at the top had been closed due to the extensive damage. The dam couldn't prevent this flood entirely but they would have been much worse without it. By the time I drove back to the city, it was about 5.00pm, just in time to arrive at the next house, which belonged to Scott and Milly in South Brisbane.

Two weeks ago I didn't know Scott or Milly and Scott and Milly didn't know me. We were all on the same flight from LA to Sydney and we had met on a bus that was taking us all to a local hotel after our flight got delayed by 16 hours. They were huge music fans and thought there was a good chance they could pull enough folks together to have a concert. So, we kept in touch and two weeks later, here we were.

Every night is different because every audience is different and they often play a huge part in house concerts. It's what keeps you on your toes and makes it more interesting, and this was the rowdiest crowd so far! Totally up for it and great sports.

Back at the airport Scott and Milly had told me that if we could make the concert happen they would take me sailing before I left town. So, this morning we woke up early and took a boat out on Moreton Bay, the small bay a few kilometres from the city. A glorious way to say goodbye to Brisbane.

25 February 2011

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