Moonlit Serenade

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Dress: Anthea Crawford lace jacquard

Shrug: Martini rabbit fur

Jacket: Emerson @ Big W

Booties: Corelli @ Williams

Bag: Guess

Charm Bracelet: Pandora

Ring: Pandora

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Izmir Kofte... very spicy...

Wheel of Brisbane

Brisbane River by night...

Last night, I spent a wonderful evening listening to the Glenn Miller Orchestra with my family. Even though the beloved namesake of this inimitable band has been gone for over 70 years, the musical stalwart he created continues on...

Dressing for a concert is always tough in winter - you know it'll be hot inside under the lights & in the crowd but the temperature outside will be close to freezing when it's time to leave - so layering is a MUST. This Anthea Crawford jacquard dress with 1930s/40s tailoring (strong shoulders, straight cut, emphasised waist) gives the "big band era" vibe without looking like a costume, ditto the rabbit fur shrug whilst the entire ensemble is funked up for 2014 with the edition of the booties & pattern-mixing of the leopard print brocade jacket.

But I digress...

After dinner at Ahmet's Turkish Restaurant (where I'm still getting used to the new menu) followed up with a churro from the Southbank market stall, we took a walk along the river & made our way to QPAC for the long-awaited show... We missed it in 2012 & were elated that it had finally returned to our shores for a repeat performance!

It was worth the wait, with the core orchestra playing many of the original Glenn Miller Band's greatest pre-war hits (such as Moonlight Serenade) before joining with members of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra's string section to re-create the Glenn Miller Army Airforce Band.

Throughout the show, these accomplished musicians were joined by singers Wendy Smith-Brune, Mark Kopitzke (more Buble than Buble, in my opinion) and the doo-wop group The Swing Kittens to belt out standards like I'm Glad There is You, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy & Chattanooga Choo Choo. In addition, swing group The Broadway Dancers (incidentally from Australia) added their own special choreographed flavour to proceedings... Basically, I want to own ALL of their costumes, particularly the red flapper dresses from the Johnson Rag number... 

It was truly like stepping back in time with no special effects or computerised backdrops to break the spell. Even the deco-style concert hall evoked the "big band" heyday feeling. Classy; never gimmicky, it was all about the music... after all, that is what continues to live on...