The XX in Perth City

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As the whispered chatter died down, everyone suddenly became still in anticipation for The XX to infect the stage at Metro City, April 2.

Images of the arm flailing bass player from the previous band will never be forgotten but were well in the back of everyone’s mind by this point (What was the name of the band anyway. I know I sound old but I couldn’t here a word of what they were saying). The veiling of the equipment and instruments had already taken place showing two giant clear X’s displayed at centre stage.

As the iconic sound of The XX hit the crowd in the form of the song ‘Try’ everyone went into excitement overload only to realise it was but a mere sound check. And to this the girl standing behind me responded, “Oh…haha, I didn’t think I recognised the song.” …….*ULTIMATE FACE PALM.

This aside (and the hope that hopefully the whole crowd weren’t try hard hipsters like the girl standing behind me) I went on to enjoy the show, and what a great show it was. I’ll admit I’m a fairly new fan of The XX but their sound can’t be described as anything below mesmerising. If you haven’t seen them live then do, because they are that times 50 in person.

Their on stage chemistry is what is the most interesting to watch. They were so caught up in the feeling of the song, as if they weren’t even playing to an audience at all. When Oliver and Romy’s eyes locked they would sway towards each other, so in sync, as were their voices; so different but working so well together. Having said this, there’s a certain shyness about them when they did acknowledge and address the stage that was just so incredibly, dare I say it, adorable, that you couldn’t help but fall in love.

To top it off, they were so overwhelmed with the cheering crowd so you could tell they were genuinely thankful to be there (after all, they practically said between every song).

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The highlight for me would have to be when they played ‘Angels’ from their latest album release ‘Coexist’. I’m a sucker for crowd favourites at live shows because it’s when you know everyone in the room is singing along to the song, word for word. Well except maybe the girl standing behind me.

The XX are making their way through parts of Europe in May before heading to Canada and The United States. For more info on the band and tour dates visit thexx.info.

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Jodie Foster’s Golden Globe Speech

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Jodie Foster’s sexuality is a trending topic after her recent Golden Globe coming out speech.

Her sexuality has been assumed for years, though on Sunday January 13 when accepting her Cecil B. De Mille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, it was confirmed.

“So while I’m here being all confessional and I guess I just have a sudden urge to say something that I’ve never really been able to air in public, so a declaration that I’m a little nervous about,” said Foster

“I’m just going to put it out there, right? Loud and proud, right? So I’m going to need your support on this. I am single.

I hope that you’re not disappointed that there won’t be a big coming out speech tonight because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family, co workers and then gradually, proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met.”

She went on to talk about privacy and the expectation put on celebrities.

“Now apparently, I’m told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance, and a primetime reality show.

So I guess you could say it was not a coming out as such? More a statement that celebrities shouldn’t have to make the details in their life official to the public.

Either way though, all I kept thinking through the whole speech was..”Is she even allowed to be up there that long. Shouldn’t they be forcing her off the stage with music right now?This is one mighty long speech!” I guess if your name is Jodie Foster, the rules can be bent…(excuse the pun).

Below are some celebrity comments on the speech. Unlike a lot of media outlets, the celebrity commentary seems to be all very supportive.

Kathy Griffin: “I’m a big #JodieFoster fan, especially 2nite. Her speech tells LGBT youth: America has evolved, b proud of who u are!”

Rosie O’Donnell: “jodie foster – rather amazing speech

Lena Dunham: “The highlights of my evening (aside from the obvious) were Bill Clinton and Jodie Foster. Also seeing Adele turns out to be like seeing G-d”

Ricky Gervais: “Jodie Foster’s a lesbian? No way. In other news: Elton John isn’t completely heterosexual either.”

Marlee Matlin: “Jodie Foster at the #GoldenGlobes. Pure Jodie, rightfully defending her privacy while doing it with brains and a smile. She is pure class.”

Kat Dennings: “KEEP SECRETS, Y’ALL #jodiefoster”

Chelsea Clinton: “Thank you #JodieFoster for your sharing your grace & grit over 47 yrs, and most of all tonight. #AnExample #GoldenGlobes”

Ricky Martin: “Jody Foster On your terms. Its your time! Not before nor after. Its when it feels right!”

Zach Braff: “Jodie Foster’s seizure/speech was moving.”

Melanie Griffith: “‘@katebosworth: “Normal is not something to aspire to, it’s something to get away from.” – Jodie Foster’. Awesome!”

What did you think of the speech?

Friday’s Fashion Post – ‘Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather’

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By Jaini Shah

Who wouldn’t want to wear some awesome vegan friendly shoes right from the suburbs of Paris? They’re fashionable, comfortable and contain no animal products because guess what? ‘Good Guys don’t wear leather’.

In the words of Good Guys themselves; “GOOD GUYS cherishes the past, but embraces the future. The brand plays with shapes, styles and looks from older times, but continually explores new materials and production methods.” Sounds pretty cool huh?

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a pair of these bad boys for my birthday after a few of my friends put in to buy them for me. The best thing about them is that anyone can wear them and look uber fashionable with their amazing colours and styles suitable to fit anyone’s wardrobe.

Check out the Good Guys website at http://goodguys.fr/ for their new season stock or check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/goodguysparis for updates.

Living Proud – A Perth Suicide Prevention Initiative

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(As published on the Living Proud Website)

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By Stephanie Lane

Living Proud is a new suicide prevention initiative for the LGBTI* community in Perth with a number of successful community involvement opportunities already completed for 2012.

From community picnics and gender diversity forums to a large presence in this year’s Pride events, Living Proud is definitely becoming a well known name within the Perth community.

Coordinated by Gay and Lesbian Community Services (GLCS), it is part of the One Life WA Suicide Prevention Strategy which has community action plans in place across the state.

According to Living Proud community coordinator Tamara Bézu, the community approach the One Life Suicide Prevention Strategy has used is a useful way to look at suicide prevention.

“Suicide prevention is everyone’s issue, it affects everyone in the community,” she said.  “It’s important to be able to bring people together to discuss this, and to create safe environments where people are comfortable talking about how they feel.”

According to Ms Bézu, homophobia is still prevalent in society despite popular belief.  Suicide within the LGBTI* community is still largely due to discrimination, homophobia and transphobia.

“I think there’s sometimes the perception that homophobia is going away or that it’s not really an issue anymore because people might see a lot of celebrities that are out,” said Ms Bézu. “[People] might not think about the difficulties that are faced in everyday life by people who aren’t well supported or don’t have access to the resources they need.”

Lifeline WA community engagement manager Sally Hedderwick welcomes any community groups who can provide help to those in distress.

“People phone Lifeline when they are in crisis, and anything which can be done to prevent someone reaching this stage must be good,” she said. “Research shows that we must talk about suicide – not talking about it is not working. By talking about it we can help to de-stigmatise the subject and the people who are having suicidal thoughts feel able to get the help they need.”

Edith Cowan clinical psychology PhD candidate Geoffrey Carastathis has completed a study on the resilience faced by gay men and lesbians when coming out to their family. Mr Carastathis says research shows that people are most suicidal when they first disclose their sexuality to their family.

“When you first start to realise that you’re not straight you start to doubt yourself and you start to internalise some negativity,” he said. “When you come out to your family who are some of the most important people in your life, having them reject you for your sexuality really hones in that message that being gay or lesbian is not okay.”

Living Proud has been funded until June 2013.

For further information about Living Proud and upcoming events, visit www.livingproud.org.au.

*Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex people, and other sexuality, sex and/or gender diverse people, regardless of their term of self-identification.