Tuesday 25 December 2007

Happy Christmas everyone

Just a short one to say Happy Christmas to everyone.

Just in case you're worried I'll be on my own today, I'm actually waiting to be picked up to go over to Warwick and Sacha's place for lunch. This very nice offer came about at our last gig, when Sacha asked me what I was doing today - my original plan was to sleep in and watch telly all day. To be honest, there's only one thing on the teevee I want to see today so I prefer this option!

Best wishes and all my love to mum and dad, Russell and Sarah, Blake and Lachlan, Bron and Alex, Margaret and Lee, Charne, Rod and Grace, and Kylie and Tony - and anyone else I've forgotten. I miss the hell out of you all and I can't wait to see you when I come back in March.

Have a brilliant day!

Sunday 23 December 2007

Last Travel for 2007

It's been back to boring since Berlin, just more work, some band practice and a couple of gigs.

Well, that's maybe not quite so true.

Truthfully, the week I arrived back from my holiday was possibly one of the busiest I've had all year! After I arrived back at home, I had about two hours to chill out and get back to normal before it was back to band business. Having auditioned several drummers for the new band a couple of weeks earlier, we'd arranged a second audition for one of the guys we liked best for 7pm the day I arrived home. Thankfully, everything went beautifully and we now have a full line-up again! I think we made the consensus after three songs, in fact.

Now, for those who don't know what the transport system here in London is like, let me paint a picture. We have cabs (black cabs and mini-cabs), buses (those brilliant red double-deckers you see on telly) and we have trains: in particular, overlanders and the Tube. I'm simplifying a little, but that's generally all of it.

London is, as you'd expect, massive, so you really need to take best advantage of the available transport to get around efficiently. It can also be quite expensive: cabs are the priciest, followed by the trains then the buses.

For now, I'm going to bitch about the Tube.

Basically, the Tube sucks. Forgive me for unleashing my imagination, but when I arrived I'd imagined one of the largest and powerful cities in the world would be able to manage a reliable underground train system - apparently not. Silly me.

It's not bad enough that it's stinking hot (oh, and stinking) in the carriages and platforms. It's not bad enough that they break down incessantly. No, my biggest complaint is that they stop running just after midnight! If you want to do anything in this city, you're effectively curfewed by the fact that it's nigh on impossible to get home once the Tube stops running.

Okay, it is possible, but as I said this is a rant about the Tube - don't get me started on the buses.

Now, why did I start this little diatribe about the public transport system? Well, there's a specific reason: on Sunday nights, most of the Tube lines seem to stop earlier than usual. As it was a Sunday night, I was faced with the very strong possibility that I wasn't going to make it home at a reasonable hour (as we finished rehearsing at 11pm). As it was, I had to rush hurriedly to the station - only to wait around ages for a train, then find my connecting train wasn't running any more.

Two buses later, I eventually made it home around 1am.

Back to work the next day, I was understandably tired. Of course, no rest for the wicked - the next night was a sugarsmoke rehearsal as we had a gig that week, not to mention a recording session on the weekend. I'm pretty lucky with this band that our singer happens to live five minutes walk from me, so each night we catch a cab home and I'm usually in bed by midnight.

Unbelievably, I had Tuesday night off.

Wednesday, however, was another gig - that's right, on a school night. This time we were on at 10.30pm, but, unlike the last gig where we spent most of our time trying not to be bored, we had plenty of time to grab a nice meal and catch a couple of the bands on before us. This was easily our best gig, we had a pretty sizeable crowd and we played really well - was very pleased with how it went.



Thursday was another night off.

Friday night, on the other hand, was party time! The singer in my new band was having a house warming party and I was invited along, so down to Brixton I went. Unusually for a party such as this, we were all being herded out around 9.30pm to head up to a local club in order to see a band - a Belgian group called Das Pop. They were fantastic too, was really glad we went to see them! I also met the guy I replaced in the band which was, err, interesting. By this point, I was completely and utterly knackered so I made my goodbyes and headed home. Again, two buses later and I was in bed at 3.30am.

Before I went to bed, however, I made a point to set my alarm for 8am as I had to be at the recording studio at 11am and I wanted to be there promptly. Somehow, and I'm not pointing any fingers, but somehow my alarm didn't go off. In fact, when I eventually woke up I was surprised that it was so light before 8am... it wasn't until I put my glasses on that I realised, oh shit, it's 10am. I quickly called Abigail to apologise that I was going to be late, then ran off to one of the fastest showers I've ever had in my life. I then grabbed my bass and ran out the door to brave the public transport.

Okay, now remember my little tirade earlier? Take a guess what happened.

Actually, this day was probably the only time I've had any luck with regards to the public transport! I live about 10-15 minutes walk from my closest Tube station, but as luck would have it a bus arrived just as I passed the closest bus stop, getting me to the station in minutes. The second I stepped on the platform a train arrived. I had to make two connecting trains, and both arrived as soon as I arrived - I couldn't believe it, I was going to make it to the studio on time! I eventually made it to my station with one last bus to catch... and just as I was marveling that my usual hour journey was going to take me only 40 minutes, I walked out in to the air to see my bus drive off.

Yes, there were expletives.

Still, it was only a 10-15 minute walk left and I arrived at my destination only 10 minutes late. But that's okay, as our engineer hadn't arrived yet so things worked out okay in the end.

Recording itself was an interesting experience. As we only had a few hours to get everything done, it was decided to record each track live to save us time. It became quite hectic at times, but in the end we walked out with a CD with three new recordings.

Not content with working myself stupid all week, I decided a bit more punishment was in order - so I caught up with Lee and Margaret to see the new edition of Blade Runner at the movies!

Can you guess what I did on Sunday? If you guessed sleep, you are absolutely correct!

With that disgustingly busy week out of the way, there's only been a few other highlights to talk about. More rehearsals, of course. The Young Gods were touring the UK again in early December, so I went to see them again - and now I'm very pleased to say I've now seen them do Moon Revolutions and Summer Eyes live! I was very seriously considering going to see them again the following night in Brighton, having figured out I could make it there and back on the train - but in the end I thought it best to save my money.

The next big event was a sad one: Jon, sugarsmoke's lead guitarist, had decided to head back home to Australia and we were playing one last gig with him at his big farewell party. The venue was tiny and it wasn't anywhere near as well organised as our previous gigs, but it was a fun way to say goodbye. Now it looks like we're on hiatus for a few months until we find a new guitarist.

Which brings me to this week just gone. Yet another one of my favourite bands from the '90s had reformed, this time it was EMF. You know at least one of their songs (Unbelievable), but they've done more (and better, imho) since then. Sadly, their original bassist died several years ago, but his replacement tonight was in the form of Richard March, formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself. Amazingly, when we were at the venue he walked in the door near me and he actually recognised me! (Remember a few months ago I met PWEI in Stourbridge? How cool is that!)



Finally, there was another small gig I went to on Friday night - this time, in Wolverhampton. Yet again, I travel to the Midlands to see a band - this is the third time! Rather than rush myself too much, I took the day off work so I could leisurely make my way there. Well, when I say leisurely I mean I took a coach, which was packed full of people, noisy and hot (thanks to a faulty air conditioner). But that didn't matter, because I was going to see the mighty Ned's Atomic Dustbin once more!

Like the EMF gig, I was meeting up with a bunch of people I've met on various message boards on the web, so after checking into my hotel I headed off to the meeting point and met them all - loads of new people, a few I already knew. After hopping from bar to bar for a while, we finally made it to the venue, at which point I grabbed hold of the railing at the front and refused to leave. I managed to stay there the entire show too, although my poor ribs and knees (and face!) are now facing the consequences. But I don't care, I had such a brilliant time I feel it was well worth it!



The bus ride home the next day, however, was even less pleasant than the ride up. The air conditioning may have been working, but I start to get annoyed when a journey that's supposed to last less than four hours winds up taking more than five. Maybe it's just me?

Any way, that's me pretty much bang up to date now.

Tuesday 27 November 2007

The Final Days

Okay, so once I was able to move again on Friday I took a trip into Alexanderplatz to the TV Tower although my mushy brain didn't properly register the weather conditions: overcast, rainy and fog. Great idea, let's try to see the city through that! I did my best, though, and it was a nice view - from what I could see, at any rate.

Considering I was technically on a holiday, I don't feel too guilty about spending the rest of the day just relaxing and spending time chatting to my fellow hostel dwellers. Plans were afoot for the following day anyway: I'd noticed a flyer for an alternative tour of Berlin, offering to show the sights of the city not normally covered by the regular tours. It sounded good to me (and was recommended by at least one person), so I rose early and arrived at the meeting point by 11am - coincidentally, the very TV Tower I'd visited the day before.



After waiting a while for more people to arrive, we eventually departed on the U-bahn (the underground train system) to our first stop. I'm afraid my memory is not so good at the best of times so I don't remember the area, but I do know what we saw - lots of street art. The first was one building entirely covered in murals, one side commenting on the pervasiveness of the media in our lives, while the other was about corruption in politics. It was really impressive and extremely well done, as was the next destination.



As it turns out, the area we were in used to be an extremely dangerous area of the city - our guide said he would never have dreamed bringing anyone there 10 years ago. As it turns out, a group of street artists decided to do something to try and improve the area. Their idea was to turn the ground section of one of the area's apartment blocks into a massive mural of 50 faces, ranging from the anonymous to the famous (such as Jimi Hendrix and Ghandi). Surprisingly, this tactic actually helped turn the tide of the area and it's now a much nicer area. The art itself is amazing - extremely colourful, most are very vivid and it's a testament to the very talented artists who helped transform the area into something to be proud of.



As we were promised a chance to traverse the city in the manner of a true Berliner, our next stop was a popular second-hand clothes warehouse where you pay for items by the kilogram, rather than by the individual items. Not being a fashionista myself, I only took a brief look through the place (although I did stop to take a closer look at some of the jackets) - but I still walked out empty handed.

Next on the itinerary was a visit to a man-made waterfall that also provides a terrific vantage point to see the entire city. The water wasn't running due to it being winter, but the view was well worth it. It was still bit grey, but nowhere near as bad as the day before! After this we all decided to grab some lunch, so we wandered down to a local currywurst stand. For the uninitiated, currywurst is basically a sausage (or two) chopped up, sprinkled with curry powder, doused in tomato sauce, then more curry powder - with optional chips on top. This is proper German food, so being the occasionally adventurous type (I can hear the scoffing from there, thank you very much) I partook in a portion - and it was pretty good.



With lunch consumed, we were back on the U-bahn to the next stop - and easily the most dangerous. As we gathered in the morning, our guide (who, I might add, was an Aussie!) mentioned we were going to be breaking into an abandoned prison (in use during the '60s by the Soviets) on the outskirts of the city - but he assured us that not only was there a legal loophole making it highly unlikely we'd be in any trouble, but also he had his phone ready to call his lawyer in case of said trouble.

The building itself was a fair way out of the city and involved a 10 minute walk beyond the train stop, but we arrived and proceeded to navigate the many dangerous barriers, fences and other paraphernalia erected to keep troublesome trespassers out. If you've seen Prison Break or Escape from Alcatraz, it was sort of similar to that.



Actually, it was a rather pathetic little plastic fence that had been trampled to the ground and was easily stepped over, but you should never let the truth get in the way of a good story, right?



Inside was remarkable - aside from the broken glass everywhere (and the cold), there was loads more graffiti art inside. It looked like it'd been home to a few raves in its time, although I have no idea if there had been - at least one section looked tailor made for a DJ booth. We proceeded to scale the stairs (avoiding the very dangerous elevator shafts) until we reached the top floor. Hidden up here in one darkened area was a room that looked like it contained a massive bath, but our guide wasn't entirely sure what it actually was (or, consequently, what it was used for).



Not content with seeing the city from here, we then climbed a ladder to the roof - the absolute top of the building. Now, regular readers of my journal should be well aware of my shitscaredness of heights (yes, I just invented a word) - but it's amazing what a peer group will do for one's courage. Up the ladder I indeed went - to an absolutely amazing 360 degree view of the entire city. On one side was the city centre, with the TV Tower proudly standing erect at its heart - to the other side was a formidable industrial area, belching smoke and undoubtedly lots of other nasty gunk into the atmosphere. From here we were also able to notice several bemused occupants of neighbouring homes, so at this point it was decided to head back down and on to our next destination.



One short bus ride later and we were at an area that was badly bombed throughout the war and had yet to be repaired in any way - except for one building: it had been completely transformed into a huge skate park. It's slightly surreal to wander past the remains of buildings that are barely standing, only to be confronted by one not only intact but filled with kids on skate boards and inline skates. Next to this was another condemned building that was favoured by various itinerants and grafitti artists, so we took a quick look inside - after we were warned the locals were very proud of this building and had acquired the services of a gang of punks to help protect it. No sign of them today, though.

Now, although I'd already seen some remains of the Wall a couple of days earlier, it turns out I was slightly gypped: there is a much longer section (1.3 kilometres worth) still intact by the river, which helped serve as part of the death zone. This was where we headed next, to walk along the back section of the wall inside the very area we would have been shot dead not 20 years ago. Adorning this side of the wall was some of the most amazing street art I've ever seen, including one amazingly detailed reproduction from a Spawn comic.



If this wasn't enough, we then had a makeshift ladder presented so we could climb up the Wall and have our picture taken!



By now it was becoming quite dark, so our next stop was our last - a large artists' collective that started life as a condemned squat. We didn't get to spend much time here, but we did take some time to have one final drink together and rest - I'm not joking, we seriously traversed almost the entire city in a day. It was brilliant. If anyone's going to Berlin, I highly recommend this tour!

As this was my last night in Berlin, I wanted to make it a big one - so I headed back to the hostel to see if anyone else had big plans for the night. As it turns out, nearly everyone did! As usual, we spent most of the evening hanging out in the cafe taking advantage of the super-cheap drinks and watching videos on the computer until it was time to leave - at 12am.

The plan was to hit one of the clubs in the city, which involved a couple of train trips. As you can imagine, trying to corral a good dozen or so half-drunk travellers from around the world took a bit of effort, but we made it in the end.

As it turns out, the club was... well, crap. We were warned by a couple of girls on the train that the place we were going to was rubbish (they were heading to an American Cowboy bar which sounded great to me), but we weren't able to convince anyone else so an R&B bar it was. Ugh. Please note my extreme distaste for this poor excuse for music. Thankfully there were several levels with different types of music, so a handful of us ended up in one room that was playing something that was at least listenable.

Eventually, this same handful grew tired of the club and decided to head back to the hostel. After grabbing our jackets, we headed outside to discover something completely magical - it had started to snow! I've never seen snow before in my life (oh, okay I lie - I saw it when I was _very_ young in Canada, but I barely remember it so I say it doesn't count) so I was absolutely enthralled. The small group I was now with consisted of myself, a Canadian girl and two fellow Aussies - we were all entranced.

Before heading home, we all decided to grab a bite to eat at a nearby currywurst stand (twice in one day, not bad eh!) before heading out into the snow to pummel each other with snowballs. This is going to sound really stupid, but for some reason I wasn't expecting snow to be as cold as it was - not surprising, really, considering it's _ICE_!! Lucky I had my gloves with me.

We eventually called a truce and hopped in a taxi back to the hostel which was an adventure in itself. By now the snow was really coming down quite heavily and the car was having a bit of trouble sticking to the road, but in the end we made it back - this time, to an even thicker layer of snowball material! Needless to say, lots of target practice was had on the short walk back to the hostel - I even got whacked in the side of the face by a German girl who was out with her own friends having their own snow fights.



By this time I was having so much fun I was really sad to have to leave - even worse, I had to get up at 8am to get ready to make it to the airport in time (I went to bed around 4.30am or so). I rose in time, had a shower, checked out and headed to the train station.

My plan was to catch the same train I caught in to the city back to the airport - the S9. As it's a fairly regular one, it arrived within 10 minutes and I was already falling asleep as it started to roll off. As the journey was a good 45 minutes or so, I let myself drift off - occasionally checking the scenery so I could see how the outskirts of the city looked during the day. After a while I noticed the TV Tower again and thought to myself how close the airport must be to the city... and then it struck me, it isn't. The hair on the back of my next stood to attention as we rolled in to the next station and, with utter horror, I saw the notice board announce the train I was on - the S41!!

Now, before you go jumping to conclusions, let me assure you I _definitely_ got on the S9. Let me finish the story first before my near-legendary ability to board the wrong trains gains more strength.

I immediately jumped up and got off so I could try to work out what the hell was going on. A took a look at the train map and realised I was indeed half way back into the city on one of the loop lines, so my first step was to get back to a station that could get me to the airport. Luckily, a train heading that direction promptly arrived and I hopped aboard. Quite naturally, I vigilantly verified each station was taking me closer to my destination until I arrived at the first intersection I could change at.

Back on the platform, I approached a guard to ask when the next S9 would arrive - to which the answer was not any time soon, it had been cancelled for the day! At least this answered why my original train suddenly transformed into something else - I guess that's what the announcements I couldn't understand were trying to tell me. He then assured me the next train to arrive was going to the airport, so I had nothing to worry about - and I didn't. It arrived within 20 minutes, I made my flight with plenty of time and arrived home by 3pm.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed my week away. It was lovely to be able to forget everything that's been building up here over the last nine months and just chill out, relax and have fun. I'd really love to go back to Berlin too, I feel like I only barely scratched the surface of the city, but the lure of so many other places to visit is too strong to ignore. It's both a blessing and a curse of this side of the world, there's so much to see and do - you never know where or what to do first!

With my holiday behind me, normal life was calling - almost immediately, in fact. I barely had time to sit down after arriving home than I had to head into the rehearsal studios to help audition new drummers for my new band. I'm glad to say we think we've find the right guy, we're having a full rehearsal with him on this coming Sunday night so we'll see how it goes.

But that's not all: Monday night I had rehearsals with my other band, which started disastrously but quickly turned around. We've also half-written a new song which I've had a very strong hand in, considering it's entirely based around a bass riff I came up with a couple of weeks ago. Of course, this rehearsal was to prepare us for our third gig on Wednesday night, which was our last one with our current guitarist.

Tonight was (thankfully) a night at home, but the rest of the weekend is just as chaotic: Friday night I'm going to a house warming party, Saturday we're in the studio recording all day, then Sunday is the aforementioned rehearsal with the new drummer. I'm hoping I'll be able to fit a sleep-in somewhere in the middle there.

Saturday 24 November 2007

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, you little arse

Thank you Australia - hopefully soon I'll be able to proudly tell everyone I'm Australian, and not apologise for the xenophobia and other bullshit Little John has inflicted upon us in the name of my country.

Always remember: we are a society, not an economy.

Friday 23 November 2007

Friday will be a quiet day

I haven't been on the pub crawl. I decided it's probably the tackiest thing I could do, so instead I went out with a group of people who work at the hostel. We ended up in this small bar called Sofia with a fairly large group of Spanish girls, which was - not unsurprisingly - quite nice.

Yesterday, I originally planned to catch one of the tours to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, but one of the guys I'd gone out with the night before wasn't ready to leave in time, so we decided just to head over when we were ready. After a bit of a mix up with which trains to get, we eventually arrived there around 1.30pm.

We split the cost of the audio tour and wandered around. There was loads to see, all of it terrible and disheartening. On occasion we'd come across one of the tours and listen in (which made me wish I'd caught one) and, as expected, it was all pretty nasty stuff.

The most amazing part, for me, was not just experiencing the disgusting cruelty so many people were forced to endure, but hearing and seeing actual survivors from the camp going touring the buildings they'd been imprisoned in and describing the conditions they went through. Not in person, I hasten to add - these were videos.

It must take astounding bravery not just to have survived this hell, but to return and relive those memories. These amazing human beings did their part to help remove this scourge from the planet, and for them and the many others who fought these creatures (one of whom, I'm tremendously proud to say, is my wonderful dad) I remain eternally in awe and in gratitude.

What I really need now is a joke to lighten the mood, but I'm all out of them.

After the trip back, I decided to chill out for a while and grab some food. Eventually I ended up in the cafe of the hostel with a bunch of other people having a few drinks, which lead to us all hitting the city for a night out. We wandered down the road and found a nice bar, then proceeded to chat and drink the night through - well, actually I don't know what time we called it a night. But it must've been late, I didn't get up until 12pm and I have a very, very bad feeling in my head so I can only assume.

Needless to say, I'm going to take things quietly today. It's raining here, anyway, so the tour I wanted to go on might not have been a good idea. I can always do it tomorrow.

Wednesday 21 November 2007

Another brick...

I arrived safely yesterday and found my way to the hostel fairly painlessly. Well, except for the slight confusion figuring out which train to get... oh, and that little run in with the ticket inspector, which saw me narrowly escaping a fine for an unvalidated ticket. Typical, less than two hours in the country and I'm already a fugitive of the law.

Like London, it was pitch black at 5pm so it didn't make a lot of sense to go out sight seeing last night. Instead, I checked into the hostel, said hello to a couple of fellow travellers and headed out for some food and a few drinks with one of them (and a brief look around, of course).

Waking up this morning at 8.30am reeking of cigarette smoke (never, ever forget how wonderful the smoking bans are!), I quickly had a shower and tried to figure out what to do and see today. After perusing some of the pamphlets for the various tours around the city, I discovered a nice walking tour was leaving just down the street from me - in 20 minutes. Rushing out the door with my bag, camera and warm clothes, I caught the U-bahn to the station and made the tour in plenty of time.

Oh yeah, it's frickin' freezing here! Last night it was apparently -2 degrees. Today it was 5 degrees. I am ever so thankful I decided to buy gloves and a new beanie on the weekend, I think I'd be a block of ice otherwise.

The tour was a good four hour, five kilometre walk that mostly focused on the eastern side of the city (history buffs will know this was the Soviet side until recently). Our guide was a really friendly American girl who's gone native, and she detailed a great amount of the history of every place we visited. Photos will be posted when I get back, I promise - there was some good stuff!

The Pink Floyd freak in me was most excited by a visit to Potzdamer Platz which, in addition to being one of the most infamous areas of the Berlin wall, was also the site where Roger Waters performed his massive star-studded staging of The Wall, just months after the actual wall was dismantled. Interesting enough, part of the area is just an empty block of land. There's a lot of this around the city, actually: there are still disputes over the rightful owners of these areas - the Potzdamer Platz area in particular was forcefully taken from a famous Jewish-German family by the Nazis in the '30s, and it was only recently that reperations were given to the descendents of the original owners.

There's a lot of pretty spectacular architecture around, although the vast majority of it is recreated from how things looked before it was all bombed to pieces. Of course, the most infamous of all structures is the wall itself, which thankfully no longer exists beyond a few small pieces. That said, there are plenty of reminders of its presence if you know where to look: the most obvious being the cobbled path that winds throughout the city to mark where the wall intersected east from west.

One of the other memorable areas we visited was the memorial to the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust. Only recently constructed, it consists of 2711 (I think it was) concrete blocks uniformly spread over a five acre area. No two blocks are apparently the same height, and the ground they are embedded in is also non-uniform, so it's a bit of fun to walk through. The guy who designed it made it this way specifically, but refused to offer any explanations to what they mean - instead, it's up to individuals to make up their own minds as to its significance. Not surprisingly, I have my own theory - but I'm not going to share it with anyone.

Not far from this is the area where Hitler's bunker lies, where he committed suicide during the final days of the War. The original attempt to build new apartments over the top of it were scuppered when the ground was found to be too unstable to build on, so instead the bunker was filled with concrete and a car park was put there instead. Oddly, this seems a fitting tribute to the psychopath who destroyed so many lives.

After the tour, I considered my options and decided to head back to the hostel to figure out what to do for the rest of day. And rest, I'd been on my feet walking for over four hours straight!

I still haven't decided what to do yet, but I'm strongly considering going on one of the pub crawls offered - it seems like a decent introduction to the night life here, plus it'll give me an opportunity to meet some new people.

As for the rest of the week, there's plenty of other tours to do, museums to see, shops to visit... too much. Should be fun, can't wait to find out what I end up doing!

Monday 19 November 2007

Twas the night before...

It's hard to believe that I've been living here in London for eight months now. I still wander around and marvel at the fact that I'm living in one of the greatest cities in the world - last night, in particular, I was wandering through the rain and the cold, along the Thames, with the Houses of Parliament (and Big Ben) lit up in the distance. I couldn't help but smile.

Even harder to believe is it's been six months since I last went travelling! Aside from some minor excursions to Birmingham to see some gigs, the last proper travel I did was to Amsterdam just before I started work. Yes, that also means I've been working here for six months too. There's an old cliche about time that seems to apply here.

However, this is all about to change! For the next week, I'm going to be spending my time in Berlin - and I can't wait. With all of the work, bands and other stuff I've been doing I feel like I've settled into the same stale groove I was in before I came over here, so it's nice to shake things up again and actually get out and see a bit more of the world. Plus I could really do with some time off right now!

The only bummer about it is I've picked up a nasty bastard cough that I just can't shake. A couple of weeks ago I was sick (AGAIN!!), but this time it only lasted for a day or two - I felt perfectly fine afterward. The most annoying part is that, one week later, I started coughing. And coughing. And it's still here a week later! I don't feel sick at all, I just can't stop coughing. I've tried throat lozenges, cough syrup and various other remedies, but it's stubbornly refusing to leave. This means I'm going to have three very annoyed room-mates at my hostel in Berlin as I spend the night coughing up a lung.

In other news... there is no news. Well, we had another gig last Saturday night which went fairly well, but not many people turned up in the end, which was a bit of a disappointment. The next one is a few days after I get back - on a school night too! We're still auditioning drummers for the new band, we're seeing two the night I get back so hopefully one will turn out okay.

If all goes according to plan, my next post should be from Germany.

Sunday 28 October 2007

Rockin' all over the World

Ha, and I bet you thought I'd dropped off the face of the planet!

Yes, it's been three months or so since my last post - I guess that means I've been busy, right? Well, I guess you could say that. Let's recap, shall we?

Let's start with the end of my last post: the audition went very smoothly and I've now been playing with that band for three months. I slotted in pretty quickly, so much so that we had gigs organised almost right away - and the first one was just two nights ago! That's right, I've now played my first gig in London. It was so much fun, the crowd was surprisingly large (in the end a smidgen over 60 people showed up specifically to see us - the venue fits 100) and we all had a brilliant time. But hey, don't just take my word for it - here's a couple of videos!

The first one is from a song called Cut:



This next one is from a song called Turn. It has a really cool bass line, so naturally I like it a lot:



There's also heaps of pictures on my flickr page, so if you're interested check them out. We have another gig scheduled for November 10, then we're going to do some recording and hopefully a couple more gigs - unfortunately, our lead guitarist has decided to head back to Australia at the end of December so I'm not quite sure what's going to happen after that.

On to the next band. Well, a couple of weeks ago I decided to quit the first band I joined. Things just weren't working out, I was becoming very bored with it all and I was becoming less and less impressed by Dave's intentions. For some reason, I just happen to think that the most important thing a band needs more than anything else is songs - not a tailored image dictated by costume designers and DJs. I guess I don't know anything about the music industry in the UK though (at least, that's what Dave tells me) because he was far more interested in these things and completely neglecting to write new songs. After five months together we only had three songs, which if you ask me is a bit pathetic. I hope he manages to get the success he's desperately craving, but I'm afraid he's going to have to do it without me.

Funnily enough, the night I'd decided to quit Dave's band I thought I'd take a look on Gumtree to see if there were any interesting offers going. After a short search I came across another band looking for a bassist, so I took a listen to their tracks - and was totally blown away. I instantly wrote to them expressing an interest, and the next day I had an audition scheduled for the next weekend. I was also sent three songs to learn, but I was so into them I went ahead and did a fourth as well.

I turned up to the audition around 10.15am on a Sunday morning, met the band and plugged in - then played as if I'd been with them for years. It was pretty much perfect, and it was the same for all four songs. After we played, we chatted for a while and I had a good feeling about how it was going - I'd been shitting myself all week, I really wanted to be in this band. They told me they had a couple of other guys to see and they'd let me know later in the week. I said my goodbyes and headed home. Not 30 minutes later my phone rang - it was the guitarist, telling me they decided I was perfect and they didn't want to see anyone else.

I'm beyond excited about this band, the singer has an amazingly strong voice and she writes really interesting and slightly quirky lyrics that I like a lot. The guitar work is fantastic, the drums are cool and, most importantly, they have really solid bass lines that I enjoy playing. I'm already perfect with half a set's worth of songs, I should have the other half ready by our next rehearsal.

That's the exciting stuff out of the way. Work is much the same, although it's been a bit busy the last couple of weeks (and frustrating at times), but I'm still pretty happy there. Not a lot else to talk about there, really.

Haven't done a lot of travel lately, mainly due to work and the bands. I did take a trip to Dudley to see the Aussie Pink Floyd Show which was kind of interesting. The main attraction in Dudley appears to be the zoo, which has been constructed around the ruins of Dudley Castle. Sadly, the zoo was quite a depressing place - most of the animals were in some pretty small and shabby cages - the orangutans in particular had a truly awful area and they looked miserable.

At least the gig was good: I met up with my mate Brian and we hung out for most of the day, having a few pints and some food before the show. And wow, what a show! I know I'm never going to see the real Pink Floyd, but these guys do a pretty damn impressive imitation - at times you could close your eyes and you'd swear it was the real thing. They also had a massive light show complete with multiple lasers - but no inflatable

I also recently spent the night in Brighton so I could go and see vileevils playing - which I think was worth it, in the end. As it turns out I could've easily made it back to London after the gig, but it was nice to have a day off work and just chill out by the seaside.

So now I'm digging through my memories to try and recall any other important events and nothing is sticking out, so I guess that's about all to tell for now. I've had a couple of people tell me they're not as interested in these music posts, but I'm afraid you're going to have to bear with me as it's pretty much all I've been doing. The good news is I've just booked a week's holiday away for the end of November - I'm going to Berlin! I had to take a week off before the end of the year otherwise I was going to lose my holiday time, so I was racking my brains where to go. In the end my flatmate said I should go to Berlin because she had a brilliant time when she was there, so I did a small amount of research and decided it sounded good to me! So fear not, faithful readers, there will be more travel posts coming soon!

Until then, you're going to have to put up with a couple more music posts - Carter USM is next week, plus the Young Gods are coming back to the UK for a lengthier tour than last time so I'll be going to see them a couple of times again. Oh yeah, and EMF are doing a one-off show too - with Richard Poppie on bass!

In the mean time, I'll leave you with this:

Tuesday 14 August 2007

15 Years - Well Worth the Wait

I think I was around 15 when I first heard of Skinny Puppy. One of my friends had just come back from a trip to America and had brought back a CD of theirs called 'Too Dark Park'. It was a twisted, nasty and thoroughly amazing album which helped open my eyes to a new form of music I was slowly beginning to appreciate.

Tonight, I finally saw them live - and it was entirely worth the long wait! Before I discuss it, though, let me go through what I've had to endure to finally see them.

First of all, they've never - ever - toured Australia. There were constant rumours that it was going to happen, but that ended rather obviously when they split up in 1996. Once again, one of my favourite bands I'd never see live. Things turned positive a few years ago when they announced they had reformed and were touring again - with the band even saying they were planning to finally make it to Aus!

It never happened. Word on the street was they asked for too much money, so they never made the trip. Another tour missed.

Tonight, however, all of that changed!

Before they took the stage, however, a rather bizarre chap named Otto van Schirach did... something. His accoutrements involved a laptop, a mixing desk, a strange looking stuffed bird and a flashing (what looked like a) dog. The music was crazy and so was he - he waddled around the stage dressed in a kind of superhero costume (complete with eye mask, cape and underwear), then proceeded to make incoherent noises along to the music.

To be honest, it was utter rubbish, but it was hilarious at the same time. He was very obviously taking the piss, which became even more apparent when someone came on stage with him dressed in a giant woolly monster costume - with a pair of bananas for teeth. Otto then pulled out a flashing toy sword and pretended to duel the beast, eventually slaying it along with the music. Later on, more costumed weirdos hit the stage, but nothing could top the banana-beast.

Then the time came - finally, I was going to see one of my all-time favourite bands! This time around they're only a three-piece: cEvin kEy, Ogre and some dude on drums. Their last tour, Otto van Schirach was their guitarist, so I was a little surprised he didn't turn up on stage.

The first couple of songs Ogre was hiding behind a shadow screen, making weird shadows to go along with the vocals. It wasn't until the third song he finally stalked out looking like a cross between a geisha girl, someone from KISS and a vivisection patient - fake blood everywhere and pumping nicely.

For the entirety of the show I alternated between dancing and taking some pictures (and videos - check YouTube!) and by the end I was drenched in sweat. The crowd was okay, although there were far too many tall people in front of me standing still and elbowing anyone who accidentally nudged them. I had a good time regardless.

The set list contained these songs, but not necessarily in this order:

Anger
ugLi
Dogshit
Tormentor
Rodent
politikiL
Amnesia
daL
Hardset Head
Dig It
Worlock
I'mmortal
Fascist Jock Itch
Far Too Frail
Blue Serge

I'm ecstatic I finally got to see them - once again, proof of why I have no intention of ever leaving this city. I'm just having too much damn fun!

This was the first gig of music month too: next week is Tool, the week after is Sonic Youth and a couple of days after that I'm heading back to Birmingham to see the Aussie Pink Floyd show. Then a few days later I'm off to see David Gilmour! Did I mention how awesome it is living here?

I guess you may be asking what I've been up to the last few weeks? Well, it's been ups and downs really. My first week in the flat was relatively sedate, full of work and band practice. It became somewhat exciting on the second weekend when I went to Denmark Street to buy a new bass - oh boy, is it beautiful. I'll get some pictures up at some point - then again, maybe I'm the only one interested in bass guitars?

Later that afternoon, after arriving home, Dave sent me a message that he was a pub near Tottenham Court Road and I should join him. Always looking for an excuse to get out, I was on my way there in minutes. We proceeded to chat, bullshit, drink and have a great time for the evening - until Dave's girlfriend arrived with two of her friends.

By this time I was very, very happy (read: acting like a drunken dickhead) so I made a bit of a fool of myself, but that's okay because we were all doing the same. Anyway, by the time it was time to leave, Dave and Murielle headed on their own way - while one of the friends asked me where I lived. I told her, to which she responded that she was in North London as well and we should share a cab ride home. Not one to say no to a beautiful woman, I agreed. Then she surprised me by saying I should just stay at her place. Not one to say no to a beautiful woman asking me to stay at her place for the night, I agreed again.

On the way home, I started flirting like crazy with her - and I'm certain she was returning some of it. When we got close to her place, she insisted we stop off at an off-licence and buy some more drinks - which we did. Arriving back at her flat, I plonked myself on the lounge while she sat on the rug - and then called me over to sit with her. Not one to say no to a beautiful woman urging me to sit by her on the rug, I joined her.

We spent the next hour or two chatting, bullshitting and listening to music until the light started to appear outside - at which point she panicked a bit as she had to work the next day (but not until 1pm). Feeling a bit tired myself, I agreed we should retire. Ready to hit the lounge for the night, I was stunned when she told me to follow her to the bedroom.

I am ever so tempted to leave this story right here to let your overactive imaginations to run wild, but I'm not that cruel. Other people are, as you're about to find out.

As it turns out, her bed was quite huge so she offered to share it with me, so long as I didn't make any moves on her. She lent me some clothes and we hopped into bed, chatting some more and making eyes at each other - I swear, it was not a one-way thing. After a bit more bullshitting, I plucked up the courage and decided to make a move - fortune favours the bold and all that.

I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. Then I leaned forward and kissed her on the nose. Then I leaned forward and kissed her on the lips - to not a great deal of response. I tried again, to a bit more response followed by her stroking my face. Taking this as a positive sign, I leaned in for another kiss - even better response.

Until she suddenly exclaimed shock about how she'd kissed a 22 year old guy earlier in the night.

That effectively put an end to my advances, which I'm sure was the intended effect.

I tried to put my best face on, smiled then rolled over and went to sleep. Woke up many hours later, showered then headed into the city to meet Kylie for a catch-up day. We'd swapped numbers before I left, and I actually felt really positive about the whole thing. Hell, I may have been turned down, but I still managed to spend the night in the bed of a beautiful woman. Things are definitely looking up!

I'd dearly love to say this story had a happy ending, but it doesn't. The aftermath is long and complicated, which has lead me to feeling very angry and used in a way. I haven't seen her or heard from her since, but I've been told to stay the hell away by the only person who knows her at all. For once, I've decided to take this advice.

Once again, this little escapade has just proven that I know absolutely nothing about women and that they're the most wonderful and frustrating creatures on the planet. Then again, I've only told my side of the story.

There's still more to tell, though. Yesterday we kicked the singer out of our band. He's a really nice guy, but he's been thoroughly unreliable when it comes to rehearsing and the final straw came when he announced to Dave his intentions to move to America or, if that fell through, back home to Italy. This was the point when we realised his heart simply wasn't in the band, so we started looking for new singers. Two days later, we found her in a close friend of Murielle's. Now all we need is a drummer and we'll finally have a proper band!

I might also be joining a second band this week, too. I ran into an old friend from Newcastle a few weeks ago and his fiance's band has just had to kick their bassist out after ruining a very important gig for them. When I mentioned that I'm a bassist, his eyes almost popped out of his sockets and I was quickly having an intense conversation about music with the lady in question. I've been given a handful of songs to learn and I'm going to have my first practice (I guess it's an audition, really) on Thursday. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Umm, that's about it really. If anyone is reading this, please send me an email (andrewontour@gmail.com) so I have an idea of how large my audience is - it's something I've been curious about for a while.

Friday 20 July 2007

End of an Era

Tonight is my last night staying in a hostel. I've been here just over two months, so needless to say I'm really, really, really looking forward to leaving.

Funnily enough, I think I'm going to miss it. Okay, so I'm not going to miss sharing a room with five other smelly, snoring bastards. I'm not going to miss having to lock my valuables up every night, nor will I miss waiting for a bathroom to become vacant while busting to go to the loo.

However, there are a few things I've enjoyed. Primarily, it's actually been a lot of fun having so many people around. Take last night, for example. Rather than come home and just sit on my bed (there's no lounge room here), instead a bunch of us had organised a trip to the Slug at Fulham for a night of drinking and debauchery. Which is precisely what happened! Then there's the Sunday afternoon gatherings at the pub, the Friday nights out on the town... there's almost always something to do. Having thought about it, most of it seems to involve abuse of the liver. I never used to be like this - what happened?

But all good things must come to an end, and there's a few things I'm really looking forward to that I'm going to put into practice as soon as I'm out of here. Number one on the list is getting myself in shape! Since I've arrived I've been eating, quite frankly, like a bit of a pig. That's going to change, I plan on changing my diet significantly to include as much fruit and veg as possible, and little to no junk food (oh, I'll miss it).

Then there's the exercise. Aside from my daily walk at lunch time to get something to eat, I've been doing very little in this department. Again, this is going to change. I've never noticed it all that much before, but I'm starting to become a bit porky and I really hate it. In the rehearsal rooms we go to, one whole wall is lined with mirrors - and the last thing I want to be is the fat bass player, which is what I see every time we go there. Even Dave and Alessio were giving me shit about it the other night.

For this, I've decided to hit the gym - ah, yes, that old chestnut. The thing is, I'm really sick of having a bulging belly and I swear I have bigger boobs than some girls I know, so much so that I feel embarrassed walking around in tee-shirts (which comprises 99% of my current wardrobe). I hate bulging in the wrong areas. Really hate it. This is going to change. I'm also considering buying a bike, but I'll see how I go over the next few weeks once I'm in my new place.

That's number one on my list of things to do.

Next on the list is to buy a new bass and two new guitars (I want a nice acoustic as well as an electric), then to get my butt practicing as hard as I can to become brilliant(er). I've actually surprised myself quite a bit with my latest band, I'm actually pretty pleased with some of the bass lines I've been coming up with - but I can do better (I know I can, simply because I hum them in my head all the time).

I must be doing something right, at any rate: while I was at the FLA gig the other week, Felicia was telling me about Dave and Alessio's previous attempts to find a bassist - apparently they went through around 15 others before I popped up. She said it's because Dave is really picky about who he plays with (which made me feel pretty damn good!), but when I asked him about it he said it was more to do with the fact that the others simply couldn't play a note to save their lives, or were just wholly unreliable. I am neither of these things, so I've lasted - and I plan to keep lasting.

I've also had a simple acoustic pop song running in my head the last couple of weeks that I'd like to work on. This is what happens when I spend an entire week listening to the Wonder Stuff!

What's number three on the list then? Well, I haven't made it that far yet, to be honest. I'll let you know if anything comes up.

Saturday 14 July 2007

So What's Been Going On?

It's been a pretty plain couple of weeks, not a lot going on really. Just been working, rehearsing, going out a bit - that sort of thing.

I've mentioned a few times how much I love the music scene over here. I've been to see another couple of bands since the PWEI gig which were ace.

The first one was Ned's Atomic Dustbin, whose name you may remember from the PWEI article - and the picture I had taken with their lead singer, John Penney. That gig was actually on the Thursday night after I was in Brum, so it's been a bit of time since then.

Ned's are another band I've really dug since I was in my mid-to-late teens but never had the chance to see. They have a really unique sound, from John's deep voice and crafty lyrics to their twin bass attack (of course I'm going to like a band with two bassists!), not to mention all of their bouncy pop songs that are infectiously addictive. Well, it was worth the wait! Their set was full of classics (some of which I craftily filmed on my trusty camera) and they were on fire!

Like me, the crowd was advancing in age a little, but that didn't stop us having a good time! There was lots of bouncing, screaming and singing along to be had, not to mention meeting up with friends from web forums once again (naturally, most of them were at the PWEI gig too).

Next up was Front Line Assembly, yet another band I've been aching to see for about as long as Ned's. FLA are an offshoot of one of my very favourite bands, Skinny Puppy, so when I found out about the gig I booked two tickets almost immediately. However, my silly brain forgot one important detail: Lee was going to be in Africa when they were playing (and he'd told me this several times, so it was my own stupid fault for forgetting). So here I was, several days out from the show with a spare ticket and nobody to go with - until luck finally prevailed. It turns out that Alessio's girlfriend is into lots of the same bands as I am, and was just as eager to see FLA - so we ended up going together! By the way, Alessio is the singer in my new band.

Again, it's been around 14-15 years of waiting to see FLA and damn it, was it well worth the wait. Stunningly good - I didn't take the camera along this time so no pics or videos, but I still have my memories! The set list was a bit surprising, especially considering they played only two songs from their latest album - in fact, they played more from Millenium, which was released in 1994! Nothing at all from Hard Wired (which was a shame as I think it's one of their best), but they did play Plasticity, which was unbelievable. By the end, Felicia and I walked out very happy - as well as loaded with merch. Well, I did - Felicia only had a poster which she snagged for me!

Next up on the list are the August gigs: Skinny Puppy, Tool and Sonic Youth. Naturally, I'm looking forward to Puppy most, but the others look like they'll be pretty awesome too. Better yet, a couple of guys on the PWEI forum are going to sell me some Carter USM tickets for November, so I'm going to that too!

I've also managed to pick up a couple of tickets to see DAVID GILMOUR! Easily my most favourite guitarist in the entire world, he's going to be launching his new DVD in September. There's going to be a world-wide premiere in selected cinemas showcasing 85 minutes of the DVD, one song being performed live as well as a Q&A session beamed to all the locations. But where will all of this being taking place? Only at the Leicester Square Odeon, which I just scored tickets for this morning!

Let's see... Roger Waters in January, David Gilmour in September. Is this shaping up to be the best year I've ever had? All signs are pointing to yes.

I love living over here, I think I may have mentioned this before. Again, why would I ever want to leave?

Sunday 1 July 2007

At Last, the Truth

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post and quite a bit has happened since then. I think it's about time to spill the beans about what's been going on for the last couple of months.

As I've already explained, I've been working here in London for three weeks and have been looking for somewhere to live for a couple of weeks longer than that. What I haven't explained is why this happened. I didn't run out of money, if that's what you're thinking.

Just before I left on my big trip to Oxford and Ireland, two new tenants had moved in with Lee and Margaret - I think they'd only been there for a couple of days before I headed off. After three excellent weeks on the road, I arrived back in London on a Saturday afternoon to find nobody at the flat - and no one was there until Monday night. However, when that person did arrive I was greeted with more disdain than enthusiasm.

Now, at this point I had already realised just how much of a pain I've been to my extremely kind and patient friends, so I felt bad enough that I was again taking up space in their home - so much so, that I was already planning to head out on the road again in a week to see my cousin in Paris. However, I still had to wait around in London for the Young Gods gig. My original plan had been to stick around in Ireland for a few more days and catch the ferry to Swansea, then make my way back a couple of days before the show. Unfortunately, the Cork-Swansea ferry had stopped at the time so, panicked and not knowing what else to do, I thought I'd head back to London instead.

I knew something was wrong when the same person completely ignored me the next day, so it didn't come as a huge shock when I was sent an email the following day from Lee to tell me one of their new flat mates had complained about me being there - and that I had to leave.

Now, I know Lee and Margaret read this so I just want to assure them once again that I don't hold a grudge or any malice against them! Quite the opposite, in fact: they have both been so unbelievably kind to me that it actually woke me up to how much of a pest I must have been. Besides, we still hang out and do things together all the time - it's barely changed!

At this point, I had a few options available: one was to pack my things, place my tail firmly between my legs and head home defeated; another was to hit the road again; finally, I could face up to the responsibility I've shirked over the last eight years and actually start to make my own way in the world - on my own.

The day after the show I checked myself in to a hostel in Shepherd's Bush. The next day, I started looking for work and a place to live. As I've already explained in previous posts, it took no time at all to find a job. Finding a place to stay, on the other hand, is not as easy - who'da thunk it?

However, the story doesn't end here. I've now been working for three weeks and I'm thoroughly enjoying it - I like the work and, quite frankly, I do a bloody good job. I've made a bunch of new friends here at the hostel and we've been having a great time. I've joined a new band and I'm having a brilliant time, I'm still in the process of learning the songs but I'm really excited at how they're turning out. I've started venturing out on my own as well as with friends. I still haven't been hit by a truck, but I did have a mild side-swipe on Friday night which was quite pleasurable. Sadly, she bolted just before midnight without a number or even a goodbye, but it was far more than I was expecting to happen so I was quite pleased anyway! Besides, the truck with my name on it will come eventually. I'm in no rush.

And finally, the best news of all - this afternoon I received a call to let me know one of the places I looked at this week would like me to join their household. The final piece of the puzzle has been filled!

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that being forced to move on was the best thing to happen to me since I arrived - no, the best thing to happen to me for a year. There are a few other things that have happened since I arrived that I don't really feel comfortable writing about just now, but the good news is that I've recovered from it all far better than I could've imagined.

Tuesday 12 June 2007

Is Everybody Happy?


Yeah!

12 years ago I went to see PWEI in Bondi Junction, then again the next day at Eastern Creek Raceway.

Three days ago, I finally saw them again! Okay, so it was minus Clint - but it was still worth all of the trouble I went through to get there!

It all started early Saturday morning... on a bus. Although they're far more efficient, I can't justify taking trains willy nilly. Still, I arrived in Birmingham around 12.30pm and met up with my friend Brian - who I met only a couple of months earlier in Caernarfon!



After dropping my bag off at my cheapie hotel, Brian proceeded to give me a guided tour of Birmingham. First we walked past the Rainbow, a pub part-owned by Fuzz (the drummer from PWEI), then went for a walk through the Custard Factory and its small market before arriving in the city proper.

Despite the weather being so crappy in London, it was spectacular in Brum - blue skies and really hot, but this didn't deter us from exploring. Of everything I saw, the most memorable would be the modern art gallery - which contained, quite literally, some real shit. Honest.



About a month ago, two of these modern art type guys decided their next project - you're going to love this one. The gallery held an auction to raise some money, but it had to be a value that could be broken into two separate notes of any currency. In the end, the winning bid was €505 - which the two guys proceeded to eat. One note each. I am not making this up. The exhibit we saw was the result: two rather dirty and crumpled up Euro notes, as well as a video showing the whole affair. That's right kids, modern art is shit.



The only way of following this up was with a meal, so we headed to the pub for a drink and some lunch. Once finished, it was time to catch the number 9 bus to Stourbridge. Any PWEI fans out there will know why this was a big deal!

An hour or so later we finally made it to the home town of three of England's greatest bands: The Wonder Stuff, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Pop Will Eat Itself. Pretty damn exciting for a fan, but realistically not the most exciting place I've been to. Brian was meeting up with some friends at the local Irish pub, so that's where we spent most of the afternoon - until it was time to head to the venue!



I was dead keen to arrive when the doors opened as they were going to be selling super limited edition tee-shirts and I didn't want to miss out. In the end, we beat the merch guys to the venue! I spent the next hour taking pictures and meeting lots of new people - most of them fellow PWEI Nationers, but I also said hello to John Penney who was DJing for the night. He's also the singer for Ned's Atomic Dustbin, who I'm going to see this Thursday night. I couldn't resist asking him if he remembered Def FX, as they both did a big tour of America in the early '90s. Surprisingly he did remember them, quite fondly as it happens!



At 8.30pm Miles Hunt took to the stage with his very lovely band-mate Erica Nockalls on the fiddle. He started off with a few songs from his new solo album, before band-mate Malcolm Treece joined them on stage to do a bunch of Stuffies songs. I don't have a lot of their stuff, but what I do have I really like - so it was a pretty damn cool set, I thought! Funnily enough, even though the night was billed as a vileevils gig, the crowd for Miles was pretty damn big.



When Miles ended, I quickly staked my claim at the front of the stage (with a bunch of my fellow Nationers). Despite the announcement a few days ago that Clint wasn't going to be here, there were still a few whispers around the place that he was going to turn up. That didn't really matter that much to me as I was about to see vileevils! I've been busting to see them ever since they formed, so I was buzzing with excitement - and I'm ecstatic to say it was miles better than I'd hoped!



Starting the set with Reaper (We don't fear the Reaper, We celebrate good times, We don't sleep 'til bedtime, honestly, sometimes), the boys were on fire for the entirety of their relatively short set. Only seven or eight songs all up, but they were all as brilliant as I'd expect them to be. They're absolutely a worthy follow up to the mighty PWEI juggernaut! With camera in hand, I did my best to snap as many cool pictures as I could while still jumping around having a good time. Alas, it was over all too soon... however before Gra departed the stage, he told us all to stick around for something special.

I think you can guess what it was.



Minutes later, one Richard March appeared on stage - followed by Gra, Fuzz and Adam! Sadly, Clint didn't turn up after all, but what we did get was some classic PWEI tracks from their long and sordid history. Starting with the inevitable There Is No Love Between Us Any More, they then stumbled their way through R.S.V.P., nailed Not Now James We're Busy, almost incited a dance floor riot with Get the Girl Kill the Baddies, before climaxing with Their Law. I'm pretty sure there was something else in there as well, but my memory is failing me for now.



Brian and I had already organised a taxi back to Brum with a couple of friends of his, which wasn't for another couple of hours, so I thought I might stay by the stage in the vain hope I could organise a photo with the boys. After a bit of waiting (and purchasing of more merch!) I managed to score a photo with Erica, who was on her way to the backstage area (not only is she stunning, but damn is she TALL!). Eventually, my waiting paid off as Adam ventured out with some gear - I asked if I could grab a picture with them, to which he was more than welcoming!



Heading into the backstage area with my favourite band... how to describe it? Unbelievable, to coin a term from another great UK group - how's that? During the show I had the bright idea of writing a text message on my phone to show Gra, explaining just how far I'd come to see them. It worked too, he mentioned it during the show - and now I was able to explain personally what I've been through in order to see them again. After a few minutes chat, I thought I'd best not to hold them up for too long so we all huddled together and took one of my most prized photos of all time.



I'm having such a brilliant time over here, there's always something to see or do practically every day of the week. Most importantly, I feel like my life has turned around completely from where it was a year ago: I'm happy again, I'm feeling positive about life and my self-confidence is growing back more and more every day. Now all I need to do is find somewhere to live and I'll be even happier!

Before I go, I'll leave you with a little souvenir from the show. This is Get the Girl, Kill the Baddies performed live by the greatest band in the Universe: Pop WILL Eat Itself. Enjoy... or else!

Thursday 7 June 2007

Another Time

Oh well, looks like it's not going to happen. Gra and Fuzz have just posted that Clint won't have his visa in time to make it to the gig, so no secret PWEI show. Still, it's going to be unbelievably brilliant to see the vileevils, so I'm hardly complaining!

I guess I should tap out a few words about what I've been doing since I came back from Amsterdam. Not a lot, is the short answer. The long answer is...

Well, actually I didn't really do much at all last week except hang out and prepare for work. After everyone telling me it was going to be difficult to get a bank account, all I needed to do was turn up to a short seminar and fill out some forms. The next day they rang to let me know it was done. Easy!

I'm sitting here racking my brains trying to think what I did between Wednesday and Friday, but nothing is coming to mind - which makes me think I did bugger all. Which is highly likely.

Friday night, on the other hand, was my inaugural night out in London - on my own, that is. To start things off, I joined Lee and Margaret in celebrating Susie's birthday by going out for drinks and some food in the city. Poor Lee was still recovering from a cold and we being browbeaten by both girls to come out for dinner - to which he finally relented. We were then entertained by the restaurant staff tying balloons to Susie's wrists and arms, before presenting her with a massive birthday hat made from balloons.

After dinner, I headed off to the Inferno club in Camden - and had a brilliant time. With my rather eclectic tastes in music, it was wonderful to go to a club that only played the kind of music I like! I was originally planning to leave at midnight so I could catch the tube home. Instead, I left at 3am! I'd already planned for this contingency, though, and had written out which night buses I'd need to get back home. This took a good hour on its own and I eventually staggered into bed at 4am - with the sun coming up. Can't wait to do the same again next month!

On Saturday, I was invited to dinner at Lee and Margaret's place so, feeling a little under the weather, I made my way over there in the afternoon to watch some teevee, chat, help Susie load music on to her new iPod and, of course, eat.

The biggest thing to happen this week, of course, is the start of work! Rocking up on Monday morning at 9.30am, I spent most of the day becoming familiar with the business and the products they have. Was a bit of fun. By the end of the day I did get around to doing some work, but I didn't get into any serious stuff until the next day. It turns out it was a good week to start too, as on Wednesday the office was booked in to do a training course!

In the meantime, I've also decided to get back into music again. I came across an ad on a website on the weekend that had a link to a demo that I liked quite a lot - sort of like Joy Division/early New Order. I contacted them and met up with the guitarist last night and we hit it off pretty damn well. So well, in fact, that we both ended up drinking in the pub for almost five hours. I guess it goes without saying that I got the job!

I've also been looking for places to live. I've inspected a couple of places that didn't do much for me, but there was one that I absolutely loved in a fantastic area, a really nice place and brilliant people. It's not often that I absolutely click with anyone, but the girl living there was one of them. I don't find out if I get the place until Monday, but I really, really hope I get it. Not only because I hate looking for places, but because it was so perfect!

Only one more day of work until I head to Brum for the 'evils gig. I'm excited beyond the capacity to rationally describe it in words, so I better go before my head explodes.

Saturday 2 June 2007

I'm Excited

As everyone knows, Pop Will Eat Itself are the greatest band in the entire history of the Universe. Naturally, the world became a less interesting place in 1997 when they split up.

Eight years later, they attempted a reformation which began with five shows in January 2005 and an attempt to record a new album. Sadly, Clint and Rich were unable to keep it going - but the good news is, Gra, Adam and Fuzz decided to start a new band: vileevils!

I saw PWEI twice in 1995 and they are still my favourite two gigs I've ever been to. They've been my very favourite band for years and years and years, so I was a bit down that I missed the reformation gigs. The bright side, at least, is that I have a DVD of one of the shows and it was just as wonderful as I'd expected.

As one of my previous posts might have hinted at, I'm seriously loving the music scene here in London. I'm seeing so many bands I've either wanted to see for years and years but never had the opportunity, or I'm getting to see some of my favourite bands again after an extremely long time.

Next weekend I'm heading up to Birmingham to see vileevils. It's a special gig: it's a benefit fund-raiser for a little boy named Oscar who was born without hands or feet. He also happens to be the son of one of PWEI's old roadies, who also used to be in the very original incarnation of PWEI - when they were known as From Eden.

When I heard about this show, I knew I had to be there. It's starting to look like it's going to be an even more special event than I'd anticipated. Why's that, you ask?

First it started with a rumour that Clint was going to be in attendance, a plausible event considering it's a special show for an old friend.

The next inkling came with an announcement that Miles Hunt would be in attendance too, playing before the 'evils. For those not in the know, Miles Hunt used to be in From Eden too - but is better known as the lead singer of The Wonder Stuff. You know at least one of their songs: you know 'Dizzy'? I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning... that's the one. That's The Wonder Stuff - funnily enough, with someone else singing. But it's still them.

Finally came a posting on the PWEI forum this morning from a Mr. Fuzz Townshend which read a little exactly like this:

Subject: Hmmm. So That Makes Five Of Us , Then?

Message: One never knows what will happen at these kind of events.




Could it be? Is it possible?

I guess I'll find out in a week!

Tuesday 29 May 2007

Mum - please don't read this!

I've had my Amsterdam cherry broken and I'll never be the same... for this reason, parts of this message will be coded in order to protect the innocent - mostly my mum. Sorry mum.

Waking up at the dog-awful time of 5.30am on Saturday morning, I managed to crawl out of bed, have a shower and still make it to the tour departure point on time. Hopping on the bus, my lack of sleep brought on premature grumpiness so I stuck my headphones in and listened to My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult while we drove to Dover - roughly 90 minutes from London.

The day's plan was to take the ferry to Calais (France), then drive up through Belgium until arriving in Amsterdam around 7pm. Not all at once, thankfully: we were stopping for a couple of hours in Bruges (Belgium).

As my first real taste of Europe proper, I couldn't really ask for a better introduction. Rich with beautiful architecture, it was all too easy to wander the streets just admiring the sights - and even easier to get lost. Which I did. Even during my worst directionally challenged moments, I've never panicked quite as much as I did this day.

With time ticking away, I knew I had to find my way back. Rather than simply backtracking the way I came, I caught a lucky break and recognised a landmark I'd wandered past earlier. Reorienting myself, I eventually made it back to our starting point and firmly planted myself close to the departure point. With a bit of time left, I figured I'd grab something to eat (sampling some genuine Belgian fries) and picking up some special souvenirs, before sitting by the water watching the swans and striking up a conversation with some of the others on the tour.

Unfortunately, not everyone on the tour was as lucky as I was.

While I was wandering around panic-stricken, I kept noticing two girls on the tour. Sometimes I was following them, other times they were following me - but they were always around. That is, until it came time to leave. The bus waited around for quite a long time - with the driver even taking a quick jaunt around the area just in case they were close by - but eventually we had to leave without them. Quite a start to the trip!

Back on the coach, I donned my earphones once again and napped the rest of the way until we reached the outskirts of Amsterdam. Now, the tour I chose was remarkably cheap - it turns out there was a reason. This time there were no fancy hostels to stay in: instead, we were sleeping 30 minutes drive outside the city at a campsite! Thankfully we were staying in cabins, but it still meant we needed our own sleeping bag and pillow (which I'd hurriedly rushed out to buy the day before).

After settling in, we once again loaded into the bus for our inaugural descent into the bowels of Amsterdam. Dropping us off at Central Station, I attached myself to a nice South African couple with fantastic music taste, and a pair of young American guys. Wandering the streets occupied most of the evening - most of the time looking for something to eat. In the end, the two guys decided to head off in a different direction. We were all meeting up to go back to the campsite at 11pm anyway, so the remaining three of us grabbed some Dutch fries and retired to a bar until the bus arrived. Some good news too - the missing girls had finally arrived via train!

I'd just like to point out at this time that the weather in Amsterdam was not as pleasant as I'd hoped it to be. It wasn't as bad as had been forecast in England, but it was still overcast and a bit chillier than I would've liked. The knock-on effect of this reared its head when I leapt into my sleeping bed with just a tee-shirt on. I'd decided against buying a really thick sleeping bag for some reason and I was rapidly starting to regret my purchase. My next step was putting a jumper on. When that didn't help, I had to get back into my only pair of jeans I'd brought with me. Not entirely comfortable as I'd like, but at least I was warm enough to get to sleep.

With the morning came a decision: what to do first? I'd originally hoped to go on the optional trip to Volendam so I could see some authentic clogs, cheesemaking and windmills - but I guess I was the only one, as it was called off. Instead, I joined the American guys from the night before - along with three girls, also American, as well as another Aussie - and headed off to see Anne Frank's house.

I've now been to several places rich with the recent history of human atrocities - I can now add another one to the list. It really is hard to fathom just how unbelievably evil people can be to one another until you come face to face with the legacy left behind by the survivors of any atrocity, and in this particular case it's in the diary pages of a young girl guilty of one thing: being born in the wrong place in the wrong time.

It is truly heartbreaking to read the various select passages from her period of self-imposed incarceration, but at the same time it is beautifully uplifting to hear the stories of those who survived this period, describing the sacrifices these incredibly brave people had to make in order to simply survive from one to the next with the heavy threat of persecution all around them. To describe this monument as a highlight almost seems insulting, it was a genuinely moving experience.

Next up, we thought we'd take in a bit of culture by visiting the Van Gogh Museum. It was quite a hike - with more than one wrong turn made - but, eventually we made it.

I'd like to think that I have a certain amount of appreciation of the arts, so I did my best to appreciate the Dutch master's works. Thankfully it's not a difficult thing to do, as some of his work was truly spectacular - and I actually learned quite a bit. As it turns out, Van Gogh only decided to become an artist late in his life - without even knowing if he had any talent for it! As it turns out, his dedication and determination eventually won out in the end, which is something I greatly admire of anyone. There were a couple of pictures I really enjoyed, and I even accurately detected some of the motives and thinking behind various paintings. All up, a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours.

Having soaked up history and culture, our next stop was a combination of both these things: a trip to the Heineken Experience! Arriving just minutes before the queue was closed off, I was initially a little wary of going here considering I was less than impressed by the Guinness Factory. Despite this, I was enjoying the company a great deal (having had some time to get to know the girls a bit more) so I figured it'd be a bit of fun. Besides, by the end of the tour we were given three drinks and a free gift.

Admittedly, it was a lot more fun than the Guinness factory, but they were both pretty similar: both are basically just big museums with a few artifacts from the past scattered around the place. There were more places for some amusing photo opportunities at Heineken, though. Plus, there were more drinks and each bar had a great atmosphere.

By now we were really having a good time - three beers in 30 minutes will do that - and we were all getting on really well, so it was quickly decided it was time to find a coffee shop.

This is where the code starts, by the way. If you know what I'm talking about, great.

We found one not too far from Heineken and headed inside. We each grabbed a cake, along with a few other local specialaties, and sat around for a little while relaxing. This didn't last too long, sadly, as half of our small group had to head back to the meeting point to join the rest of the tour group. Another optional extra on this trip was a live entertainment show down in the red light district - and I figured while I was here, I may as well sample a bit of everything on offer here.

If I had the choice again, knowing what I know now, I'd definitely skip the show. I'll refrain from a detailed critique, only to say it wasn't worth it.

When we eventually emerged from the theatre, our tour guide took us for a walk around the red light district. Now, I'd heard a lot about this area (primarily: don't take pictures lest you wish your camera to end up in a watery grave), but it's still quite a sight to behold. On the way around, two of the girls on the tour were propositioned by strangers on the street, too. After taking in the sights of all sorts of working women, we headed back to the bus and, consequently, the campsite. Funnily enough, I slept like a baby this night.

For our final day in the 'dam we were pencilled in for a boat ride around the many canals. Apparently there are more canals in Amsterdam than Venice, so there were plenty of areas to travel through. Sadly, this was our last taste of the city as we were soon herded back onto the coach for the return journey, which saw us arrive back in London by 9pm or so.

Admittedly, I was expecting Amsterdam to be smaller, a bit dirty and extremely sleazy - it was none of these things. In fact, it's probably the most beautiful place I've been to so far - in every possible way. Yes, there are areas of Amsterdam that aren't quite as nice as others, but even in places such as the red light district there's still an atmosphere of fun in the air that you don't normally see in most cities.

I only really had one day to see the sights, which wasn't nearly enough. I guess this means I'm just going to have to go back again!