We took a nice trip to Australia. As you might guess, the jetlag was brutal, but it’s a pretty country with friendly folks, and well worth the journey. It was great to take some time off to explore, but I was also glad to get a chance to play in front of some different audiences.

There’s an excellent open mic at The MoshPit in Erskineville (a suburb of Sydney), and we were able to e-mail ahead of time to get a spot. We got there a little early, but it wasn’t long before the room filled up.

I’ve been using busking as a chance to practice in front of audiences lately, and Sydney’s policy is pretty straightforward: you go sign up for a card and they give you some ideas for good places and also where is off-limits. I chose a couple spots – on the downtown mall area, as well as on a walkway/bridge.

I wish I had a video of the seagulls diving at my face while I was playing at Manly Beach. I thank them for the chance to keep tempo while dealing with distractions, feathery or otherwise.