I see a lot of events and murmur about how we should go to things and get out more, and usually don't end up doing anything about it. But just you try and stop me when I saw that Anthony Bordain and A A Gill were speaking as part of the Sydney Writers Festival, moderated by Tony Bilson.
It was on last night and it was sensational. Bordain and Gill are both quick, full of energy, and importantly, also fully of rage. And they are extremely funny.
We have both read most of Bourdain's books, and I've recently sent around this A A Gill restaurant Review from Vanity Fair as an outstanding example of the genre. I'd only really had a peripheral interest in Gill previously, but he's rocketed way up my list of awesome people. The man is a legend.
The only thing I have to complain about is Bilson. He was *so* out of place with the other two - he was pretentious, scripted and boring. Bordain and Gill left him for dead. He kept trying to inject himself as the third personality in the conversation - I think the fact that he was left twiddling his thumbs at the book signing afterwards while panting fans lined up for Gill and Bordain said it all.
Jamie at one stage very appropriately pointed out that it was the most "things white people like" crowd ever condensed in one place. Which was totally true. Hipster "foodies" as far as the eye could see. It was kind of embarrassing when we went to BBQ King afterwards, and the table of people next to us had just been at the same event and proceeded to have the exact same conversation as Jamie and I had five minutes earlier about how Bilson didn't fit in and how the other two were so awesome. Really, Are we THAT predictable?? Although, with a mouth full of delicious squirting duck skin, I quickly got over my utter whiteness.
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