Wednesday 21 July 2010
Sunday 18 July 2010
Saturday 17 July 2010
"I didn't know Mexicans were brown.."
This is a very delayed blog about the night I went to see Ska band [Spunge]
I had bought my brother the tickets for his 20th birthday, he had asked me to go with him, partly because we're cool like that, also because it would cross off a few things from Nathan's Play List.
The gig was at the O2 in Birmingham, somewhere I had never been before. It was held in the upstairs room which was probably the size of half a football field.
As with all gigs there were some warm up bands. The first were called The Rimes and from their performance I'm guessing they haven't been doing it very long. Watching them was a bit of a disappointment from a performative point of view as they did nothing. The lead singer really got into the music but just looked like a bit of a tard as the other guitarists were stiff as boards and the drummer you couldn't really see.
From a music point of view they played really well and the lead guitarist had a few solos which were shocking to see come from the fingers of such a bored looking boy - who btw, wore such tight jeans i was trying to figure out where his You-Know went as i could not see any room for such a genital! Maybe that's why he looked so stiff - no pun intended - he just simply couldn't move due to his ridiculously tight jeans!
The second band were far better.. Their set up took a while, and I found watching the lead singer trying to hang fairy lights around his mic stand rather amusing, yet a pretty touch. This band were from California - I think - and were called ORANGE.
Instantly they were better than The Rimes.. They were have FUN! And you could see it, and it made you have fun too. At times the music drown out the words and you only caught little bits, but the fact they carried on and engaged with the audience really made it make up for that.
During their first song the lead singer, Joe Dexter, pushed lead guitarist, Alex Gomez's, mic stand off the stage, which started the banter which flowed from then on through their set. For two songs, guitarist Perry Ladish, took control of the mic bringing a completely different sound to that of the previous of their set. They did a Beatles cover, after which Perry said, "Did you like that one? I wrote it last night."
Unlike the first band, ORANGE spoke to each other and to their audience, and it was quite amusing hearing Americans trying to say 'Birmingham'. The banter between them contined with Zak and Joe both trying to speak at the same time, which eventually led to Zak saying, 'That's what happens when you invited Mexicans in to play. We take over. Fucking brown people!" They were so light hearted about everything.
After finishing their set [Spunge] were welcomed to the stage. After watching ORANGE who were a bit heavier than what I had expected I didn't really know what to expect next - I had only ever heard about four [Spunge] songs.
My brother and I had managed to get right to the front of the barrier and were as close as humanly possible. The band walked on to stage and wow did the room alight even more than they already were. You could feel the total atmosphere change and become even more alive. It was amazing before it had even begun.
After their first song, lead singer said, "Thank you. You are by far the best audience we have had so far. We're now half way through our tour!" Everyone, naturally cheered and he continued with, "This is the second night of our tour."
Even though I did not know many of their songs, if any at all, I still had a brilliant time and found my self singing along to the chorus's. A few times I phoned my friend Tom who had been unable to come to see them to give him a taste of what he was missing, and I got a bit camera happy and took quite a few pictures - with the all banned flash on! (I shall add pictures to this blog soon!)
When it came to their last song, Kicking Pigeons, the room went crazy, and it continued even after they left the stage. The lights came up slightly and the room erupted with "We want more! We want more!" It got to the point where you really couldn't imagine them coming back on stage, and just as you thought people might give up the drummer walked back on stage.
"We never do encores."
Their return was just as amazing as the first time they walked on stage and once again people didn't want it to end. It was truly incredible. For the final time the guitarist jumped onto the speaker right above mine and Nathans heads and pulled faces while playing at us. It was like our very own show!
When they left the stage for the final time the room cleared quickly, I however decided to stay and see if anyone came out of the front to mingle. After all they had been asking all show where the best place was to go and drink afterwards, to which people shouted "here!"
My insistence paid off and although I didn't get to meet any of [Spunge] I did get to have a very lengthy conversation with Joe Dexter. Me and him are real tight now and are friends on Facebook. Booyar!
Eventually we were asked to leave the room while they got it ready for the evening event Propaganda, which was a bit of a ball ache as the lead singer of [Spunge] had just walked past us. But heyho, never mind.
All in all the evening was amazing.. It was really nice to go to a proper 'gig' apposed to the huge concert events I am used to. Knowing that the people on stage can actually see you is a real boost and makes the experience all that bit better and more exciting - which i suppose sucked a bit for the first band as they would have been able to see how bored everyone looked, but then so did they so never mind.
On our way out me and Nay grabbed some freebies from the ORANGE merch table, the one I was most excited about was the 'Free Shit' sign with an arrow, and on our way out of the room we met their drummer Zac Glosserman who sold Nay a CD for petrol money and we had a picture with him too.
[Spunge] is certainly a band I will listen to again and makes me want to listen to more of Nathan's Play List as it seems my brothers music isn't all that bad! ORANGE were a pleasure to watch and really woke up the crowd ready for [Spunge]. They were a breath of fresh air after being bored to tears by the seemingly just as bored first band The Rimes, who gave a perfect example of a band in their 'garage phase'. It's just a shame they didn't stay there!
I had bought my brother the tickets for his 20th birthday, he had asked me to go with him, partly because we're cool like that, also because it would cross off a few things from Nathan's Play List.
The gig was at the O2 in Birmingham, somewhere I had never been before. It was held in the upstairs room which was probably the size of half a football field.
As with all gigs there were some warm up bands. The first were called The Rimes and from their performance I'm guessing they haven't been doing it very long. Watching them was a bit of a disappointment from a performative point of view as they did nothing. The lead singer really got into the music but just looked like a bit of a tard as the other guitarists were stiff as boards and the drummer you couldn't really see.
From a music point of view they played really well and the lead guitarist had a few solos which were shocking to see come from the fingers of such a bored looking boy - who btw, wore such tight jeans i was trying to figure out where his You-Know went as i could not see any room for such a genital! Maybe that's why he looked so stiff - no pun intended - he just simply couldn't move due to his ridiculously tight jeans!
The second band were far better.. Their set up took a while, and I found watching the lead singer trying to hang fairy lights around his mic stand rather amusing, yet a pretty touch. This band were from California - I think - and were called ORANGE.
Instantly they were better than The Rimes.. They were have FUN! And you could see it, and it made you have fun too. At times the music drown out the words and you only caught little bits, but the fact they carried on and engaged with the audience really made it make up for that.
During their first song the lead singer, Joe Dexter, pushed lead guitarist, Alex Gomez's, mic stand off the stage, which started the banter which flowed from then on through their set. For two songs, guitarist Perry Ladish, took control of the mic bringing a completely different sound to that of the previous of their set. They did a Beatles cover, after which Perry said, "Did you like that one? I wrote it last night."
Unlike the first band, ORANGE spoke to each other and to their audience, and it was quite amusing hearing Americans trying to say 'Birmingham'. The banter between them contined with Zak and Joe both trying to speak at the same time, which eventually led to Zak saying, 'That's what happens when you invited Mexicans in to play. We take over. Fucking brown people!" They were so light hearted about everything.
After finishing their set [Spunge] were welcomed to the stage. After watching ORANGE who were a bit heavier than what I had expected I didn't really know what to expect next - I had only ever heard about four [Spunge] songs.
My brother and I had managed to get right to the front of the barrier and were as close as humanly possible. The band walked on to stage and wow did the room alight even more than they already were. You could feel the total atmosphere change and become even more alive. It was amazing before it had even begun.
After their first song, lead singer said, "Thank you. You are by far the best audience we have had so far. We're now half way through our tour!" Everyone, naturally cheered and he continued with, "This is the second night of our tour."
Even though I did not know many of their songs, if any at all, I still had a brilliant time and found my self singing along to the chorus's. A few times I phoned my friend Tom who had been unable to come to see them to give him a taste of what he was missing, and I got a bit camera happy and took quite a few pictures - with the all banned flash on! (I shall add pictures to this blog soon!)
When it came to their last song, Kicking Pigeons, the room went crazy, and it continued even after they left the stage. The lights came up slightly and the room erupted with "We want more! We want more!" It got to the point where you really couldn't imagine them coming back on stage, and just as you thought people might give up the drummer walked back on stage.
"We never do encores."
Their return was just as amazing as the first time they walked on stage and once again people didn't want it to end. It was truly incredible. For the final time the guitarist jumped onto the speaker right above mine and Nathans heads and pulled faces while playing at us. It was like our very own show!
When they left the stage for the final time the room cleared quickly, I however decided to stay and see if anyone came out of the front to mingle. After all they had been asking all show where the best place was to go and drink afterwards, to which people shouted "here!"
My insistence paid off and although I didn't get to meet any of [Spunge] I did get to have a very lengthy conversation with Joe Dexter. Me and him are real tight now and are friends on Facebook. Booyar!
Eventually we were asked to leave the room while they got it ready for the evening event Propaganda, which was a bit of a ball ache as the lead singer of [Spunge] had just walked past us. But heyho, never mind.
All in all the evening was amazing.. It was really nice to go to a proper 'gig' apposed to the huge concert events I am used to. Knowing that the people on stage can actually see you is a real boost and makes the experience all that bit better and more exciting - which i suppose sucked a bit for the first band as they would have been able to see how bored everyone looked, but then so did they so never mind.
On our way out me and Nay grabbed some freebies from the ORANGE merch table, the one I was most excited about was the 'Free Shit' sign with an arrow, and on our way out of the room we met their drummer Zac Glosserman who sold Nay a CD for petrol money and we had a picture with him too.
[Spunge] is certainly a band I will listen to again and makes me want to listen to more of Nathan's Play List as it seems my brothers music isn't all that bad! ORANGE were a pleasure to watch and really woke up the crowd ready for [Spunge]. They were a breath of fresh air after being bored to tears by the seemingly just as bored first band The Rimes, who gave a perfect example of a band in their 'garage phase'. It's just a shame they didn't stay there!
Thursday 15 July 2010
The Summer Calls...
- Visit best friend in Leicester. Check.
- Visit an old friend in Loughborough. Check.
- See old college tutor. Check.
- Spend a day or two in the sun. Check.
- Book Brighton/London tickets. Check.
- Buy a camera. Check.
- Visit an old friend in Loughborough. Check.
- See old college tutor. Check.
- Spend a day or two in the sun. Check.
- Book Brighton/London tickets. Check.
- Buy a camera. Check.
- Buy [Spunge] tickets. Check.
- Buy Imogen Heap tickets. Check.
- Buy Paramore tickets. Check.
- Go to Brighton for a week.
- Go to London for three weeks.
- Spend time with the family.
I think this is going to be a rather splendid summer :)
- Go to Brighton for a week.
- Go to London for three weeks.
- Spend time with the family.
I think this is going to be a rather splendid summer :)
Friday 9 July 2010
Running Shoes
Running Shoes
Put me up on a pedestal why don’t you
Let me see the ground from way up here
Lift me up where the buildings reach to
So I can watch you worship me
Come scatter rose petals at my feet dear
And buy me presents everyday
Call me beautiful in the morning
Don’t let your faithfulness ever stray
It’s not that easy
It’s not that great
Being sat up here
My mind starts to frustrate
I don’t belong here
Where you’ve put me
You think too highly of me
My dear
Sit me comfortably on my velvet cushion
Feed me grapes from the great vineyard
Keep me cool with palm leafs blowing
While I’m locked up in your heart
Won’t you watch as the people pass me
Sat up here, without a trace
All the faces they blur and pass me
As I start to contemplate
It’s not that easy
It’s not that great
Being sat up here
My mind starts to frustrate
I don’t belong here
Where you’ve put me
You think too highly of me
My dear
I’m starting to get annoyed now
As my tower, it won’t unwind
I’d like to put my feet back on the ground now
Please stop stealing all my time
It’s not that easy
And it’s not that great
Being forced up here
My mind is really so frustrate
I’m getting restless
As I try to tear you down
Won’t you please just listen
To all the sounds around
Can you hear the mummer
Of my beating heart
Begging, asking, pleading
To go back to the start
Before you put me
All the way up here
Trying to protect me
From the world you so fear
I don’t need your hand
And I don’t need your help
I was doing fine without you
Till you shut, my world out
And this pedestal you built me
And put me way upon
I didn’t once deserve it
So lets leave that and move on
Because its not
Because its hard
Because its starting
To tear me apart
Because you’re driving me crazy
With your obsessive loving words
Just quit and slow down dear
And we’ll be closer to the start
Don’t chase me down, love
Don’t scare me away
Cause once I've got on my running shoes
You’ll never find me, again
You’ll never find me again
Thursday 8 July 2010
One day you'll find your -
There should be butterflies, and there's not.
There should be blushing, and there isn't.
I should be struggling to control my breathing as you get close to me, but I don't.
Something isn't right.
Surely if it was right, if it was meant to happen.
Surely if it was meant to be, if my waiting had not been in vain.
Surely if it was supposed to go further, if we were supposed to 'be'.
I would. And it would. And you would. And we would.
But I don't.
So I've come to the conclusion. That I need butterflies. And if there aren't any, then there aren't going to be. And there is no point in carrying on pretending.
Because honestly, truthfully, that is all I am doing.
I don't want to pretend. I don't want to learn to feel something more. To be patient and wait for the butterflies to come. Because what if they don't. What if I miss out on the butterflies while I wait for these false ones to appear.
What if I already feel the butterflies I am searching for from a person who barely knows I exist?
Because truthfully, there are some butterflies, just not about you.
There's a boy. He is beautiful. And he barely knows who I am.
I get butterflies when I think of him. When I am lucky enough to talk to him, I freeze. Unable to find the words.
I could talk to him for hours, even when I have nothing to say, just because I want to talk to him.
I find him so interesting. I just want to know more.
I could look at him forever and never get bored.
But I'll never be good enough to deserve him, to have him want me, to have him even know me.
Maybe its infatuation. Maybe it's obsession. Maybe.
But he is the only one who gives me butterflies. So for now I shall hold on to that and hope that, "one day you will find your -"
There should be blushing, and there isn't.
I should be struggling to control my breathing as you get close to me, but I don't.
Something isn't right.
Surely if it was right, if it was meant to happen.
Surely if it was meant to be, if my waiting had not been in vain.
Surely if it was supposed to go further, if we were supposed to 'be'.
I would. And it would. And you would. And we would.
But I don't.
So I've come to the conclusion. That I need butterflies. And if there aren't any, then there aren't going to be. And there is no point in carrying on pretending.
Because honestly, truthfully, that is all I am doing.
I don't want to pretend. I don't want to learn to feel something more. To be patient and wait for the butterflies to come. Because what if they don't. What if I miss out on the butterflies while I wait for these false ones to appear.
What if I already feel the butterflies I am searching for from a person who barely knows I exist?
Because truthfully, there are some butterflies, just not about you.
There's a boy. He is beautiful. And he barely knows who I am.
I get butterflies when I think of him. When I am lucky enough to talk to him, I freeze. Unable to find the words.
I could talk to him for hours, even when I have nothing to say, just because I want to talk to him.
I find him so interesting. I just want to know more.
I could look at him forever and never get bored.
But I'll never be good enough to deserve him, to have him want me, to have him even know me.
Maybe its infatuation. Maybe it's obsession. Maybe.
But he is the only one who gives me butterflies. So for now I shall hold on to that and hope that, "one day you will find your -"
Monday 5 July 2010
A long time coming...
I feel i have neglected my blog quite recently, which is silly, as this is one of those times i need to write down my thoughts so that i can try and process them.. things are a big fat muddle!
Do you ever find yourself listening to a song, and it makes you want to cry, it sends shivers down your spine, it gets stuck in your head and you believe that if this was a film we were living this would, for the moment, be your title soundtrack song? I am having one of those moments. One of those moments when i don't really know where this scene is going but i wish it was just a film, purely because i can't wait to skip over all the unsureness of the biggest part of it and come to my concluding end.
I watched Eclipse the other night. Advanced preview screening. It was amazing. Completely the best out of the three films so far, and it reminded me how much i love the books, especially that one, so i have started them again. I have just got back from buying the soundtrack album.
Sometimes i can't help but relate with Bella, as silly as that may sound. Not with the oh-my-god-my-boyfriend-is-a-vampire issue of course, but with the unsureness of everything. With the decisions, the choices, with the wanting to please everyone and pleasing no one by doing it. With the 'golden retriever' qualities of certain people and the not knowing of how to let them down gently. With no hint never being a big enough NO.
I spent the last day and a half in Loughborough with an old friend. Someone i have known for years, someone i only get to see every other year - if i'm lucky. I went for his birthday, it was a year and a half - almost to the day - since i had last seen him. I had a lovely time.
Yet as lovely as the time was it was also quite hard. Catching up on a year and a half's events means opening and talking about a lot of doors you have otherwise closed - or that, at least, you thought you had. It involves getting to know each other again, getting to tell all the darkest moments of the time you'v spent a part and getting to laugh at all the good times you have both experienced, as well as reminiscing on the last time you were together.
Of course the bad times are always the ones better remembered.
And then you come home. Full of stories for the family, hellos from people they too, haven't seen in a while. And you are left to get back to your regular everyday mundane life, the escape you felt while eating lunch in the park or walking round an unexplored town or sleeping in one of the many bedrooms in one of the biggest houses you have ever stepped foot in, have all left you, and now it is time for the routine to begin again.
And with every escape from that grey routine you tread so oftenly you always escape from thoughts, from feelings, from problems, from worries, and as soon as the green mile is placed back in front of your feet you welcome yourself a whole new, fresh, untouched, unfelt, pallet of thinking, of feeling, of worrying, of problems that seem so far away from being solved.
And all you can do and hope and think and wish, is that this soundtrack would start a new song now please.
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