Friday Barkwit

The "Vivid" Festival has come to town and as a precursor, I must admit I haven't ventured in to the city but may do so tomorrow if the mood takes me. The whole thing has been choreographed by one of the most difficult people to interview - Lou Reed. Yep the old raspy wild sider is still doing funny stuff:

The forecourt of the Sydney Opera House has come alive with the sound of high-pitched music and howling dogs at the world's first concert performed for dogs.

The concert was the brain child of acclaimed US music artist Laurie Anderson and rock legend husband Lou Reed.

Anderson wrote the 20-minute piece Music for Dogs, describing it as "an inter-species social gathering on a scale never seen before in Australia".

"It was really so fantastic. All the dogs were really grooving on the music. They really seemed to enjoy themself," Anderson said. Big dogs, small dogs, dogs dressed up for the occasion and even a 15-year-old arthritic dog, whose owner pushed him in a makeshift dog wheelchair, attended the performance.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity for Kim, because he's old and he can't walk very far. He does like music, classical music," said the owner of border collie 'Kim Beastly'.

As the winter sun beamed down, the white sails of the Opera House shaded the audience, some perched on the steps overlooking the stage and more enthusiastic dog owners closer to the stage to make the most of the performance.

While dog owners could hear the music, some of the strange tones and high pitches were certainly geared for the dogs to appreciate rather than their two-legged owners.

With so many sizes and breeds of dogs in one spot, a local Sydney vet was on site in case there was any brawling. But with only one minor injury to report, he was able to have a laugh about the incident.

"It's fantastic! It's a testament to Laurie and her reputation and the organisers of the event," Geoff Golovsky said.
"There's been no problem with the dogs. Everyone's been responsible. Someone stood on a dog's leg and is a little bit sore." The performance was part of the Vivid light festival which runs in Sydney from May 27 to June 20.

Well I'll reserve judgement but . . . barking mad comes to mind! Long weekend for us Aussies, God Save the Queen and her lovely birthday. Also the first World Cup game for the Soccaroos so wish us luck, we're playing a pathetic little team and are sure to win . . Germans can't play football can they?

Oh and just so you know, I have a new responding to comments thing. Make sure your comment name links back to your email. I'll respond individually. Gets a bit tedious commenting on the blog . . leave a link and I'll talk yer sox off.