Satyricon/Enslaved – The Forest is My Throne / Yggdrassil
It's time for another Satyricon album. This one is a split EP so Satyricon only have four songs on it, and there's not really much to say about them that I didn't say about Dark Medieval Times. Save for a nice acoustic moment in 'Min Hyllest Til Vinterland', and the cool pleasure/pain moaning during the intro to 'Night of the Triumphator', it's inoffensive but boring.
Enslaved's stuff is a lot better. They have more of the intensity and energy that characterises decent black metal and it's a lot more fun to listen to, even if from a purely technical perspective there's little to differentiate them from Satyricon or Emperor. Unfortunately they're let down by some atrocious production. I know black metal is supposed to have shitty production, but there's a big difference between shitty as in 'giving things a raw, primal feel' and shitty as in 'barely being able to discern the drums because it sounds like they were recorded from a mike embedded in the producers rectum'. In spite of that they've still managed to make a fun EP.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Saturday Thrash Metal Blogging
The band I saw last night (Murder World):
They sounded pretty much exactly like they look.
I am pretty proud of this photo though. The lighting looks cool and I caught the dude moshing on the left at just the right moment.
They sounded pretty much exactly like they look.
I am pretty proud of this photo though. The lighting looks cool and I caught the dude moshing on the left at just the right moment.
Friday, February 09, 2007
She Was His Queen
Isis – In the Absence of Truth
But before the fantastic concert last week came a fantastic album. Not quite as fantastic as their previous record Panopticon but close to it nonetheless.
On this album Isis have lightened up and opened out a bit. There's still plenty of heaviness but while Oceanic and Panopticon were both mostly one oppressive dirgelike drone metal anthem after another, they've found room on In the Absence of Truth for ambience and more cheerful emotions. The production also seems a lot better, which is most appreciated. The drums on the earlier albums always sounded a little anaemic, despite the talent of the drummer, and it's good to hear them get the solidity and power they deserve this time around.
As is standard form with these guys there's a weighty concept behind the music. The lyrics are mostly incomprehensible and they haven't been posted on their website yet so it's pretty hard to tell exactly what it's all about beyond the hint given in the liner notes, that the title is derived from the quote “Nothing is true, everything is permitted”, attributed to the Muslim mystic Hassan-I Sabbah. This might seem a little opaque but Isis are old hands at rendering their concepts and narratives impenetrable enough so that it adds flavour to the music without getting too heavy handed.
The opening track 'Wrists of Kings' immediately takes a departure from Isis' earlier albums, as they ever so slowly build from a delicate, sad motif to a final thunderous climax over seven patient minutes. The next track 'Not in Rivers, but in Drops', is more conventional by their standards but still shows a lot more textural variation than their older stuff.
'Dulcinea' is their version of a soft, sad love song, at least until the end when it suddenly drops into a heavy, menacing riff before breaking out into a brilliant climax, complete with wailing lead guitar and an inspired rhythm part that drags even the most sedate listener out of their computer chair for an impromptu headbanging session.
'Over Root and Thorn' took a while to grow on me, partly because the opening few minutes of ambience, while great, is so quiet, and the rest of the song is a bit left field for these guys, featuring far more keyboards and clean vocals than usual. I've come to really like it though. I was disappointed when they didn't play it live.
'1000 Shards' and 'Holy Tears' are good songs in the vein of their older material. I'm almost perplexed listening to 'Holy Tears' now, it was so brilliant live but merely registers as 'good' to me when I hear the recorded version.
Those two tracks are separated by 'All Out of Time, All into Space', the first track to really grab me off this album and a truly beautiful piece of ambience.
'Firdous E. Bareen' is the most unusual track, taking electronic percussion and building a tribal rhythm up over the course of seven minutes, only introducing the barest essentials of a melody at the end. An unexpected twist for such a melody oriented band.
The last track, 'Garden of Light', starts very prettily, but goes downhill from there and is the only song on the album that doesn't really impress me. Not that it's not good to listen to, but it just doesn't live up to the high standard of the rest of the album.
As far as musicianship goes the band have done an excellent job moving their sound to the next level after Panopticon, introducing more varied textures and more dynamic moods. On the other hand the songwriting doesn't quite live up to the expectations generated by it's predecessor. There are no 'holy shit' moments like those scattered throughout the last album (most notably the climax of 'In Fiction'), and although every song is at the least very good, it simply doesn't achieve the constant level of total awesomeness that Panopticon achieved.
But before the fantastic concert last week came a fantastic album. Not quite as fantastic as their previous record Panopticon but close to it nonetheless.
On this album Isis have lightened up and opened out a bit. There's still plenty of heaviness but while Oceanic and Panopticon were both mostly one oppressive dirgelike drone metal anthem after another, they've found room on In the Absence of Truth for ambience and more cheerful emotions. The production also seems a lot better, which is most appreciated. The drums on the earlier albums always sounded a little anaemic, despite the talent of the drummer, and it's good to hear them get the solidity and power they deserve this time around.
As is standard form with these guys there's a weighty concept behind the music. The lyrics are mostly incomprehensible and they haven't been posted on their website yet so it's pretty hard to tell exactly what it's all about beyond the hint given in the liner notes, that the title is derived from the quote “Nothing is true, everything is permitted”, attributed to the Muslim mystic Hassan-I Sabbah. This might seem a little opaque but Isis are old hands at rendering their concepts and narratives impenetrable enough so that it adds flavour to the music without getting too heavy handed.
The opening track 'Wrists of Kings' immediately takes a departure from Isis' earlier albums, as they ever so slowly build from a delicate, sad motif to a final thunderous climax over seven patient minutes. The next track 'Not in Rivers, but in Drops', is more conventional by their standards but still shows a lot more textural variation than their older stuff.
'Dulcinea' is their version of a soft, sad love song, at least until the end when it suddenly drops into a heavy, menacing riff before breaking out into a brilliant climax, complete with wailing lead guitar and an inspired rhythm part that drags even the most sedate listener out of their computer chair for an impromptu headbanging session.
'Over Root and Thorn' took a while to grow on me, partly because the opening few minutes of ambience, while great, is so quiet, and the rest of the song is a bit left field for these guys, featuring far more keyboards and clean vocals than usual. I've come to really like it though. I was disappointed when they didn't play it live.
'1000 Shards' and 'Holy Tears' are good songs in the vein of their older material. I'm almost perplexed listening to 'Holy Tears' now, it was so brilliant live but merely registers as 'good' to me when I hear the recorded version.
Those two tracks are separated by 'All Out of Time, All into Space', the first track to really grab me off this album and a truly beautiful piece of ambience.
'Firdous E. Bareen' is the most unusual track, taking electronic percussion and building a tribal rhythm up over the course of seven minutes, only introducing the barest essentials of a melody at the end. An unexpected twist for such a melody oriented band.
The last track, 'Garden of Light', starts very prettily, but goes downhill from there and is the only song on the album that doesn't really impress me. Not that it's not good to listen to, but it just doesn't live up to the high standard of the rest of the album.
As far as musicianship goes the band have done an excellent job moving their sound to the next level after Panopticon, introducing more varied textures and more dynamic moods. On the other hand the songwriting doesn't quite live up to the expectations generated by it's predecessor. There are no 'holy shit' moments like those scattered throughout the last album (most notably the climax of 'In Fiction'), and although every song is at the least very good, it simply doesn't achieve the constant level of total awesomeness that Panopticon achieved.
In Case Anyone Needed A Laugh
Fred Durst shows off his passionate virtuosity in one of the finest guitar solos ever committed to YouTube.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
I Know Your Type... MURDERER! Hey, It's The Champion Of Cyrodiil!
Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
It only took me nine months, but I've finally finished Oblivion. When I say 'finished' of course I'm just referring to the main storyline, I still have all the guild missions to finish off, plus all manner of side quests and half the map still to explore. And I just bought the expansion pack.
Oblivion is the fourth RPG in the Elder Scrolls series, and stylistically it is virtually identical to it's predecessors. You are given complete customisation of your character, informed of a direction to go in should you wish to follow the main storyline and then dumped into a huge, detailed world where you are free to go anywhere, do anything, talk to (or kill (or attempt to kill)) anyone and of course to engage in Barnes' favourite pastime, picking up everything no matter how worthless it is in order to sell it for more money.
The story of Oblivion is based around an attempt by an evil demon prince, long ago banished from the Earth, to conquer the empire in which Oblivion is set. He does this, imaginatively enough, by opening huge fiery portals everywhere which spew forth nasty demons who head off and wreck havoc. If this sounds like typical fantasy tripe to you then you're quite right. It was a little bit disappointing to have such a straightforward 'battle against evil' tale in this instalment after the more nuanced, original back story of the previous game in the series (Morrowind). Still one of the strengths of the series is the writers determination to present these fantastical scenarios with realistic consistency and believability, and I appreciated the hints here and there that the invading army of demons (a bloodthirsty, warlike lot who come from a lava filled dungeon world and are fond of saying things like “Kneel or die, slave!”) are really just trying to get back to the home they were exiled from many years ago.
As a game Oblivion is superb. The art and graphics are truly breathtaking, and on a decent computer you feel fully immersed in a genuinely huge, living, breathing world as you traipse around the countryside, admiring the views, picking pretty flowers and getting mauled by wild animals, bandits and wandering demons.
The gameplay is almost perfectly balanced. No other game in recent memory has kept my attention for such a long time. You'd think the endless dungeon clearing and errand running would get old fast but the designers have shrewdly extracted loads of variety from the same old RPG game mechanics that have been employed for decades now. Even just sitting here thinking about it while writing I'm tempted to go back to it... there's a Daedric shrine near where I am at the moment and those quests are always fun. Plus I've got to return to the assassins guild for my next mission from them (and there's nothing more fun than sneaking into a highly secure fortress and offing some unsuspecting chump)...
If I have one criticism it's that a poorly chosen character type can make the game unnecessarily hard. I played a destruction magic/archery based character, and only made progress an inch at a time until about five months ago when with the aid of a few choice magic items my character hit that sweet inflection point and began carving a swathe of destruction through his enemies (and any friends with poor enough AI to get in front of him). Still, the game was good enough to keep me coming back to it often enough to reach that point.
I figured it was past time to write something about this game now that I've finished the main quest, but with the first expansion sitting on my desk and another due in a few months I don't think I'll be putting it aside any time soon...
Edit: Misspelt Cyrodiil. Fucking fantasy names...
It only took me nine months, but I've finally finished Oblivion. When I say 'finished' of course I'm just referring to the main storyline, I still have all the guild missions to finish off, plus all manner of side quests and half the map still to explore. And I just bought the expansion pack.
Oblivion is the fourth RPG in the Elder Scrolls series, and stylistically it is virtually identical to it's predecessors. You are given complete customisation of your character, informed of a direction to go in should you wish to follow the main storyline and then dumped into a huge, detailed world where you are free to go anywhere, do anything, talk to (or kill (or attempt to kill)) anyone and of course to engage in Barnes' favourite pastime, picking up everything no matter how worthless it is in order to sell it for more money.
The story of Oblivion is based around an attempt by an evil demon prince, long ago banished from the Earth, to conquer the empire in which Oblivion is set. He does this, imaginatively enough, by opening huge fiery portals everywhere which spew forth nasty demons who head off and wreck havoc. If this sounds like typical fantasy tripe to you then you're quite right. It was a little bit disappointing to have such a straightforward 'battle against evil' tale in this instalment after the more nuanced, original back story of the previous game in the series (Morrowind). Still one of the strengths of the series is the writers determination to present these fantastical scenarios with realistic consistency and believability, and I appreciated the hints here and there that the invading army of demons (a bloodthirsty, warlike lot who come from a lava filled dungeon world and are fond of saying things like “Kneel or die, slave!”) are really just trying to get back to the home they were exiled from many years ago.
As a game Oblivion is superb. The art and graphics are truly breathtaking, and on a decent computer you feel fully immersed in a genuinely huge, living, breathing world as you traipse around the countryside, admiring the views, picking pretty flowers and getting mauled by wild animals, bandits and wandering demons.
The gameplay is almost perfectly balanced. No other game in recent memory has kept my attention for such a long time. You'd think the endless dungeon clearing and errand running would get old fast but the designers have shrewdly extracted loads of variety from the same old RPG game mechanics that have been employed for decades now. Even just sitting here thinking about it while writing I'm tempted to go back to it... there's a Daedric shrine near where I am at the moment and those quests are always fun. Plus I've got to return to the assassins guild for my next mission from them (and there's nothing more fun than sneaking into a highly secure fortress and offing some unsuspecting chump)...
If I have one criticism it's that a poorly chosen character type can make the game unnecessarily hard. I played a destruction magic/archery based character, and only made progress an inch at a time until about five months ago when with the aid of a few choice magic items my character hit that sweet inflection point and began carving a swathe of destruction through his enemies (and any friends with poor enough AI to get in front of him). Still, the game was good enough to keep me coming back to it often enough to reach that point.
I figured it was past time to write something about this game now that I've finished the main quest, but with the first expansion sitting on my desk and another due in a few months I don't think I'll be putting it aside any time soon...
Edit: Misspelt Cyrodiil. Fucking fantasy names...
Torchwood
Torchwood is the more adult spin off show of the new Dr. Who series. It follows the adventures of a secret extra governmental agency in charge of protecting Earth from aliens, monsters and other bugaboos. For some inexplicable reason they are based in Cardiff.
The show inherits a lot of its parent's goofiness, even though it tries hard to take itself seriously. Combined with the underwhelming acting ability of the cast this results in a lot of cringe inducing moments. But for every episode that stinks, like the regrettable Fight Club tribute 'Combat' or the 'where the hell did all this shit come from' moments of the season finale, there's one that works quite well. The characters are fairly well thought out and whenever they focus on them rather than some absurd sci-fi monster of the week things work pretty well.
It will be interesting to see where it goes in its next season, as the writers seem to have weighty topics in mind for it. Life after death (or the lack of it) continually pops up, as well as the agents inability to relate to the mass of humanity that they are supposedly protecting, which increases as they have more and more experiences with things beyond the mundane world of normal people, and don't much like what they see.
Dr. Who remains, of course, far superior, goofiness and all.
The show inherits a lot of its parent's goofiness, even though it tries hard to take itself seriously. Combined with the underwhelming acting ability of the cast this results in a lot of cringe inducing moments. But for every episode that stinks, like the regrettable Fight Club tribute 'Combat' or the 'where the hell did all this shit come from' moments of the season finale, there's one that works quite well. The characters are fairly well thought out and whenever they focus on them rather than some absurd sci-fi monster of the week things work pretty well.
It will be interesting to see where it goes in its next season, as the writers seem to have weighty topics in mind for it. Life after death (or the lack of it) continually pops up, as well as the agents inability to relate to the mass of humanity that they are supposedly protecting, which increases as they have more and more experiences with things beyond the mundane world of normal people, and don't much like what they see.
Dr. Who remains, of course, far superior, goofiness and all.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
We Cannot Hide Ourselves
Isis – Live at the Metro, Sydney, February 3rd
Considering all the crazy shit that happened after this concert I was almost surprised to remember when I woke up the next morning that, on top of almost being arrested, I'd also just seen yet another amazing concert, just a week after Tool and Muse!
Like Mogwai and Satyricon this show was at the Metro, which is quite a nice venue. Very similar to the St. James in Auckland. It was an unusual crowd in attendance, with most of the punters being weird amalgams of the glasses and cardigan set that came to see Mogwai and the beer chugging munters that were at Satyricon. Surprisingly the theatre was completely packed; Mogwai wasn't full, and Satyricon's show was almost empty. I would have thought that either of those bands would be more popular than Isis.
Laura
The opening act were Laura, who were fairly good and played to a very receptive crowd. Other than when My Disco opened for Mogwai I don't think I've ever seen another opening act be so warmly appreciated. Their sound can pretty much be described as by the numbers post rock. Most of their songs sounded very much like their obvious antecedents, Mogwai, Sigur Ros and Isis, which I guess made them a good choice for an opener.
Laura again
These Arms Are Snakes followed. I was looking forward to seeing them, even though I knew nothing about them except that they had a cool name. They started out very promisingly, with lots of crazy feedback and delay drenched screaming from the singer, but it didn't last. The singer's rock star preening and posturing was delivered with total confidence but that lame indie faux-cock rock shit just annoys me. Their music, a heavy variety of indie rock, didn't impress me much either. Mind you I did like their guitarist. He had a bit of a crazy Mars Volta thing going on.
These Arms Are Snakes
I found a good spot close to the front for Isis. Unfortunately I was sandwiched amongst a bunch of big, drunk, sweaty guys, but they turned out to be friendly enough (you just have to remember when amongst metallers that when they say “Don't fuck with me, I'll kick all your fucking asses! Give me my beer back, cunt!” in metallish it translates to “Hey bro nice to meet you” in English).
It was kind of weird that Isis didn't have roadies to set their instruments up for them. They came on stage, fiddled around with their equipment for twenty minutes, walked off for five and then returned to enormous applause.
Isis
The sound wasn't nearly as good as Tool. The vocals were definitely too quiet, and some of the heavier parts lost all definition and just became a big blur of noise because the gear apparently couldn't quite handle it. The band themselves were very quiet and unassuming, not really saying much between songs except for 'thanks', and giving polite waves on the way on and off the stage.
The setlist is easy to remember because it was basically the new album played from beginning to end with a couple of omissions and old songs inserted here and there:
Wrists of Kings
It's always great going to the concert of a band with about Isis' level of popularity. There are lots of people but not so many that it's too crowded, and absolutely everyone is there for the music, rather than to be able to say they've seen Bono close up or to get sweaty and gross while shoving around strangers. It was really cool to see so many people enjoying the long moody and mellow intro to this song, when most metal bands would be being told to play the hard shit or go home.
Not in Rivers, But in Drops
This one was a stunner. When these guys dropped into the heavy section at the end I felt it in my gut, and not just from sheer volume but because the music itself is powerful in a way that just reaches in and forces you to respond from the inside out. No other band I've seen live has blown me away quite like that. Not even Tool.
A little digression. Tool's music is very cerebral compared to Isis'. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it explains why they stand there so formally on stage, while Isis are big fans of a bit of the old jumping around, and why it's better in some ways to watch Tool from the seats, which would be unthinkable for Isis...
False Light
The only track from Oceanic. There wasn't much old stuff (nothing off Celestial or anything older) played tonight... hopefully they'll come back again before they make another album and do a bit more of a retro set.
Isis rock so hard that you get that shaky camera effect like in nu-metal music videos, even with a still photo
Dulcinea
Slightly disappointing as this track is a standout on the album, but that monster of an outro wasn't done justice by the sound setup.
Syndic Calls
Every track from Panopticon was greeted with cheers and applause as soon as the first phrase registered with the audience. Good to see that I'm not the only one who think this album is beyond awesome!
1000 Shards
They had to stop and retune their guitars between every song. That's what you get for playing in drop B!
Wills Dissolve
Contrasting Isis with Tool again, Tool were very polished and played their instruments (almost) to technical perfection. Isis were a bit sloppier, I heard a couple of genuine stuff ups but I was impressed by the way that they always recovered immediately, even if they hiccuped on one of their complicated rhythms.
Holy Tears
On the album this song is good but not a highlight. On the other hand at the concert it was a genuine holy shit moment. That heavy being-pulverised-by-an-ocean-of-noise-(in-a-good-way) feeling I mentioned above was at its strongest at the end of this song. Just amazing.
Funny comment feature is currently unavailable, due to incredible awesomeness
And then they walked off stage! Maybe I was spoiled by Tool's two hour set but I was expecting a bit more. The encore was paltry in length too, only one song but they made it count:
In Fiction
I just don't have the words to describe how much I loved hearing this. This is a genuine contender for my personal favourite song ever and it would be fair to say that I was close to wetting myself with excitement when they played the first few notes. They drew this song's dark, moody intro out nice and long and the audience dug it which was great. Often audiences aren't interested in the quiet introspective parts of songs and this in turn affects the band's performance, so it was most impressive that they played this part with the same passion and emotional intensity as the heavier parts. And as for the heavy parts, as I said, I don't have the words. Just wow.
You can't really tell from this photo, but this is some heavy fucking shit
And then they walked off for good. I was hoping for more but what we got was still amazing. I honestly couldn't tell you whether I preferred them to Tool. Both bands have similarities but are quite different live acts, but both were among the best concerts I've seen. It's kind of weird... I'm getting to see a lot of good bands over the next few months: Suffocation, Deftones, Mastodon, Converge and Lamb of God (again), plus Nine Inch Nails just announced an Australian tour in May, but I'm not getting all that excited about any of them. I simply don't think any of those bands could be as good as Isis or Tool, but hey, you never know...
Considering all the crazy shit that happened after this concert I was almost surprised to remember when I woke up the next morning that, on top of almost being arrested, I'd also just seen yet another amazing concert, just a week after Tool and Muse!
Like Mogwai and Satyricon this show was at the Metro, which is quite a nice venue. Very similar to the St. James in Auckland. It was an unusual crowd in attendance, with most of the punters being weird amalgams of the glasses and cardigan set that came to see Mogwai and the beer chugging munters that were at Satyricon. Surprisingly the theatre was completely packed; Mogwai wasn't full, and Satyricon's show was almost empty. I would have thought that either of those bands would be more popular than Isis.
LauraThe opening act were Laura, who were fairly good and played to a very receptive crowd. Other than when My Disco opened for Mogwai I don't think I've ever seen another opening act be so warmly appreciated. Their sound can pretty much be described as by the numbers post rock. Most of their songs sounded very much like their obvious antecedents, Mogwai, Sigur Ros and Isis, which I guess made them a good choice for an opener.
Laura againThese Arms Are Snakes followed. I was looking forward to seeing them, even though I knew nothing about them except that they had a cool name. They started out very promisingly, with lots of crazy feedback and delay drenched screaming from the singer, but it didn't last. The singer's rock star preening and posturing was delivered with total confidence but that lame indie faux-cock rock shit just annoys me. Their music, a heavy variety of indie rock, didn't impress me much either. Mind you I did like their guitarist. He had a bit of a crazy Mars Volta thing going on.
These Arms Are SnakesI found a good spot close to the front for Isis. Unfortunately I was sandwiched amongst a bunch of big, drunk, sweaty guys, but they turned out to be friendly enough (you just have to remember when amongst metallers that when they say “Don't fuck with me, I'll kick all your fucking asses! Give me my beer back, cunt!” in metallish it translates to “Hey bro nice to meet you” in English).
It was kind of weird that Isis didn't have roadies to set their instruments up for them. They came on stage, fiddled around with their equipment for twenty minutes, walked off for five and then returned to enormous applause.
IsisThe sound wasn't nearly as good as Tool. The vocals were definitely too quiet, and some of the heavier parts lost all definition and just became a big blur of noise because the gear apparently couldn't quite handle it. The band themselves were very quiet and unassuming, not really saying much between songs except for 'thanks', and giving polite waves on the way on and off the stage.
The setlist is easy to remember because it was basically the new album played from beginning to end with a couple of omissions and old songs inserted here and there:
Wrists of Kings
It's always great going to the concert of a band with about Isis' level of popularity. There are lots of people but not so many that it's too crowded, and absolutely everyone is there for the music, rather than to be able to say they've seen Bono close up or to get sweaty and gross while shoving around strangers. It was really cool to see so many people enjoying the long moody and mellow intro to this song, when most metal bands would be being told to play the hard shit or go home.
Not in Rivers, But in Drops
This one was a stunner. When these guys dropped into the heavy section at the end I felt it in my gut, and not just from sheer volume but because the music itself is powerful in a way that just reaches in and forces you to respond from the inside out. No other band I've seen live has blown me away quite like that. Not even Tool.
A little digression. Tool's music is very cerebral compared to Isis'. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it explains why they stand there so formally on stage, while Isis are big fans of a bit of the old jumping around, and why it's better in some ways to watch Tool from the seats, which would be unthinkable for Isis...
False Light
The only track from Oceanic. There wasn't much old stuff (nothing off Celestial or anything older) played tonight... hopefully they'll come back again before they make another album and do a bit more of a retro set.
Isis rock so hard that you get that shaky camera effect like in nu-metal music videos, even with a still photoDulcinea
Slightly disappointing as this track is a standout on the album, but that monster of an outro wasn't done justice by the sound setup.
Syndic Calls
Every track from Panopticon was greeted with cheers and applause as soon as the first phrase registered with the audience. Good to see that I'm not the only one who think this album is beyond awesome!
1000 Shards
They had to stop and retune their guitars between every song. That's what you get for playing in drop B!
Wills Dissolve
Contrasting Isis with Tool again, Tool were very polished and played their instruments (almost) to technical perfection. Isis were a bit sloppier, I heard a couple of genuine stuff ups but I was impressed by the way that they always recovered immediately, even if they hiccuped on one of their complicated rhythms.
Holy Tears
On the album this song is good but not a highlight. On the other hand at the concert it was a genuine holy shit moment. That heavy being-pulverised-by-an-ocean-of-noise-(in-a-good-way) feeling I mentioned above was at its strongest at the end of this song. Just amazing.
Funny comment feature is currently unavailable, due to incredible awesomenessAnd then they walked off stage! Maybe I was spoiled by Tool's two hour set but I was expecting a bit more. The encore was paltry in length too, only one song but they made it count:
In Fiction
I just don't have the words to describe how much I loved hearing this. This is a genuine contender for my personal favourite song ever and it would be fair to say that I was close to wetting myself with excitement when they played the first few notes. They drew this song's dark, moody intro out nice and long and the audience dug it which was great. Often audiences aren't interested in the quiet introspective parts of songs and this in turn affects the band's performance, so it was most impressive that they played this part with the same passion and emotional intensity as the heavier parts. And as for the heavy parts, as I said, I don't have the words. Just wow.
You can't really tell from this photo, but this is some heavy fucking shitAnd then they walked off for good. I was hoping for more but what we got was still amazing. I honestly couldn't tell you whether I preferred them to Tool. Both bands have similarities but are quite different live acts, but both were among the best concerts I've seen. It's kind of weird... I'm getting to see a lot of good bands over the next few months: Suffocation, Deftones, Mastodon, Converge and Lamb of God (again), plus Nine Inch Nails just announced an Australian tour in May, but I'm not getting all that excited about any of them. I simply don't think any of those bands could be as good as Isis or Tool, but hey, you never know...
Sunday, February 04, 2007
The Sunday Lessons
- Typical Sydney: If you spend $100 on swanky new trousers you'll quickly get them covered in dirt and ditch water from crawling through a hole in the wall to get into an illegal warehouse rave that has been shut closed by the police.
- Don't try and argue with the riot police. They get angry very easily.
This picture was probably the best of what I took of the actual crowd. There must have been at least 500 people still there at the end of the night when we were forced to leave.
Even the dog was getting into it
La Polizia!
Guilty of:
Trespassing
Selling liquor without a license
Playing music without a license
Having fun without a license...
- Don't try and argue with the riot police. They get angry very easily.
This picture was probably the best of what I took of the actual crowd. There must have been at least 500 people still there at the end of the night when we were forced to leave.
Even the dog was getting into it
La Polizia!
Guilty of:
Trespassing
Selling liquor without a license
Playing music without a license
Having fun without a license...
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Obligatory Google Bombing
Because I must do as my master Neil Gaiman commands and link to this post: Penn Jillette
Friday, February 02, 2007
Your Lucky Day!
Special Friday evening 'Jon is too drunk to write a post with content' bonus link!
Britain's Most Massacred Regiments (thank you Making Light)
Britain's Most Massacred Regiments (thank you Making Light)
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Australia Day
What a weird couple of days. Like most people I thought that the Sydney Big Day Out's threat to ban the Australian flag was a little stupid (not to mention likely to cause more harm than good), even though I was somewhat appreciative of their intentions and explanations of their actions (Yeah! Lets celebrate our country by listening to a bunch of popular bands from overseas! And Jet!). Even though I was expecting a significant reaction from the kids on the day of the Big Day Out, I still was surprised by just how strong it turned out to be, almost everyone there was either wearing a flag or a stick-on tattoo of the flag. Plus of course there were plenty of munters wearing those shirts with a picture of the Aussie flag saying “Support it or f*%k off”, which piss me off for a number of reasons. Firstly I'm aesthetically annoyed by little tough guy twats who're trying to appear intimidating but at the same time are too scared to wear a shirt with a real swear word on it. Secondly I wonder what they'd make of me. I live in Australia but I don't support their flag, would they tell me to fuck off or would they say “Oh no, we didn't mean you. You're OK, you're white”? I'm not sure which would be worse...
Anyway despite the unpleasant tone of some of the participants the day passed without incident. The next day (which was actually Australia Day) I largely avoided contact with any Aussies at all, spending most of the day in Bondi and the eastern suburbs with a big bunch of Kiwis. The one time I did venture into town I ran into a couple of drunk guys dressed in Australian flags. They came up to me and started chatting, and while they seemed friendly enough there was definitely a vibe about them that I disliked. Sure enough just then a black (i.e. Aboriginal) woman walked past and yelled out “Happy fucking Australia Day you fucking Aussie cunts” (or something along those lines) at them. At this point these guys started hurling abuse back at her. What disturbed me was the way that everyone else around was eager to join in the heckling. Now this kind of thing certainly doesn't happen everyday, at least not around where I've been living and hanging out. It's like for two days the whole country, normally so relaxed and easy going, undergoes some kind of nationalistic psychosis, and makes Waitangi Day look positively civilised. At least the two guys I was talking to were provoked by the incident into a discussion about whether it was 'fairdinkum' for the blacks to say 'fuck Australia', the final verdict of which was that they should be grateful that the poms showed up and conquered them, because otherwise the Japanese would have done so, and they'd be even worse off. Right...
Anyway I found this all somewhat frightening. Not in an 'oh my God it's just like Nazi Germany' sort of way but because it disturbs me how readily this nations youth can be persuaded to venerate an inanimate object. I seriously hate John Howard more every day. At least the actions of George Bush and his government are explicable, they may be motivated by greed, pride or some pathetic strain of religion but at least a connection between action and motivation is apparent. Not so in Australia, everything that comes out of Howard's mouth seems to be inspired by nothing but pure malice. He's like some of warlord from a b-grade eighties fantasy movie who simply wants what's worst for everyone. His recent comments about the flag seem to imply only one thing, Australia will probably want to go to war at some stage in the not too distant future, so we'd better make sure that we have plenty of young people ready to die for a flag. And the shaven headed 20 something boys of suburban Sydney are only too keen to oblige.
Anyway despite the unpleasant tone of some of the participants the day passed without incident. The next day (which was actually Australia Day) I largely avoided contact with any Aussies at all, spending most of the day in Bondi and the eastern suburbs with a big bunch of Kiwis. The one time I did venture into town I ran into a couple of drunk guys dressed in Australian flags. They came up to me and started chatting, and while they seemed friendly enough there was definitely a vibe about them that I disliked. Sure enough just then a black (i.e. Aboriginal) woman walked past and yelled out “Happy fucking Australia Day you fucking Aussie cunts” (or something along those lines) at them. At this point these guys started hurling abuse back at her. What disturbed me was the way that everyone else around was eager to join in the heckling. Now this kind of thing certainly doesn't happen everyday, at least not around where I've been living and hanging out. It's like for two days the whole country, normally so relaxed and easy going, undergoes some kind of nationalistic psychosis, and makes Waitangi Day look positively civilised. At least the two guys I was talking to were provoked by the incident into a discussion about whether it was 'fairdinkum' for the blacks to say 'fuck Australia', the final verdict of which was that they should be grateful that the poms showed up and conquered them, because otherwise the Japanese would have done so, and they'd be even worse off. Right...
Anyway I found this all somewhat frightening. Not in an 'oh my God it's just like Nazi Germany' sort of way but because it disturbs me how readily this nations youth can be persuaded to venerate an inanimate object. I seriously hate John Howard more every day. At least the actions of George Bush and his government are explicable, they may be motivated by greed, pride or some pathetic strain of religion but at least a connection between action and motivation is apparent. Not so in Australia, everything that comes out of Howard's mouth seems to be inspired by nothing but pure malice. He's like some of warlord from a b-grade eighties fantasy movie who simply wants what's worst for everyone. His recent comments about the flag seem to imply only one thing, Australia will probably want to go to war at some stage in the not too distant future, so we'd better make sure that we have plenty of young people ready to die for a flag. And the shaven headed 20 something boys of suburban Sydney are only too keen to oblige.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Spiral Out. Keep Going
Big Day Out Sydney, 25th January
After attending stunning performances by Muse and Tool back to back over two nights, I got to see them both performing together at the Big Day Out. This was pretty exciting in and of itself, but as it happened there wasn't a lot else in it for me at this years festival. I'm obviously getting old and out of touch with what's cool in music.
Nevertheless my friends and I dutifully took the day off work, got up early and had a very nice champagne breakfast. In a throwback to the days of tertiary education we drank two bottles of champagne between four of us before 11am (not counting the spirits we added to give it kick).
Seeing as there was little that interested any of us playing early in the day we didn't show up until about 1pm, and spent most of the afternoon in queues. Queues for the toilets, queues for food and oh god you'd better believe there were queues for drinks. You were looking at at least half an hour per drink. One suspects that this was a deliberate decision on the part of the organisers to prevent drunken violence. They certainly seemed more concerned with safety and did more to boss the punters around than what I was used to at the Big Day Out back in Auckland.
The show was held at Olympic Park and it was very similar to Ericsson Stadium, the Auckland venue. The layout was much the same and the individual stages were similar sizes, there was just a lot more room between them. The major difference was the dance tent, which was absolutely cavernous compared to the shitty little supertop back at Ericsson. The other difference was all the Australian flags, but that subject is probably best reserved for a post of its own...
The first band I made an effort to actually go and see was The Butterfly Effect, who are more or less the Aussie equivalent of The Bleeders, or maybe Blindspott. I was surprised to realise I knew a few of their songs (they're often played in the clubs around here) and they put on an OK show, but The Bleeders would blow them off the stage. I really missed seeing all the Kiwi bands who you can rely on to play almost every year early in the day. The Bleeders, Deja Voodoo... you know, I even miss 8 Foot...
The Butterfly Effect
Immediately after them we made a hasty exit from the main stadium in an attempt to hide from the shame of coming from the same country as Evermore and Scribe. Now there's a couple of bands I wouldn't have missed.
At that point there followed a few hours of aimless wandering. We finally decided to sit down and watch a bit of My Chemical Romance. In the past I have often dissed these guys quite strongly, characterising them as worthless, turgid, talentless little shits capitalising on the most inane kind of teenage angst who would only be worth watching if you put them in a blender, but I've come to reconsider that position. Maybe it was the bourbon but I came to realise that there is a lot of entertainment to be found in watching a really shitty band perform really shittily while a bunch of pubescent emo losers jump up and down and squeal. For added comedy, ensure that half of the little morons are wearing Australian flags over their black t-shirt and boardies.
My Chemical Romance. From a good safe distance.
At that point I jettisoned my friends and made a solo mission to see Peaches. I first saw her at a Big Day Out in Auckland years ago, and was surprised (but entertained) by the overt sleaziness of her act. This time I knew what to expect going in and didn't enjoy it as much. She was cool and delivered what was expected, but failed to really get the crowd going, at least around where I was standing. Points though for causing some dopey hick battler to get all pissy and drag his 11 or 12 year old son out of the crowd, announcing loudly and angrily “I don't want my son to see this kind of thing!” apparently referring to the giant penises flying across the huge video screens behind the stage. Even if Peaches' music didn't do much for me this year I do wholeheartedly approve her attempt to pervert the youth of Australia.
Peaches
The line up was looking pretty sparse for the next few hours so after a half hearted attempt to reunite with my friends I decided to cut my losses and head into the D barrier to get a place for Tool. I was faced with two tough dilemmas; firstly should I stand on the barrier and be right in front of the stage, but have to put up with the moshpit for the four and a half hours until they finished (plus being right by the speakers for the whole time) and secondly should I stand stage left so I could see Muse play, or stage right so I could be right in front of Adam Jones but be unable to see Muse. I eventually settled on 'almost right on the barrier, in front of Adam'. Most satisfying. But before I could enjoy the fruits of my careful decision making, I had to suffer through my greatest trial yet. An hour of The Killers, followed by an hour of Jet! A truly horrifying prospect, and a lesser man would have caved and gone home rather than face it. Or perhaps enjoyed it.
The Killers weren't too bad. I do say nasty things about them sometimes but it's more that they're overrated than that they are actually bad. I certainly don't dislike them nearly as much as say Green Day or My Chemical Romance or The Arctic Motherfucking Monkeys. Of course when I say 'weren't too bad' what I mean is that I endured through it without too much trouble, and in fact all I can remember about it now is that the singer is an annoying little b-grade Morrissey impersonator who I wanted to punch in the face.
The Killers
Jet on the other hand were abysmal. I can scarcely fathom how they got placed so highly on the bill but I suspect it had something to do with misplaced Aussie nationalism. They're nothing more than a second rate copy of The Datsuns, and The Datsuns are pretty shit to begin with. Fortunately I was not alone in my assessment, judging by the healthy amount of verbal abuse, obscene gestures and broken glass that was hurled their way in a steady torrent from the moment they took the stage until they played their last song and mercifully departed. It was almost worth it, but unfortunately none of them received any head injuries.
Jet
Finally, my long dark winter of the ears was over and Muse took the stage. I couldn't see them at all except for on the big video screen so I have no wild tales to tell of on stage shenanigans or breathtaking visuals, but I can say that they sounded awesome. The setlist was a subset of what they played the other night:
Knights of Cydonia
Starlight
Butterflies
New Born
Supermassive Black Hole
Hysteria
Map of the Problematique
Invincible
Time is Running Out
Plug In Baby
Stockholm Syndrome
Take a Bow
Good stuff but no one else around where I was standing seemed that into it. And to be honest even I was feeling a little impatient...
Matt Bellamy Fashion Watch:
I dunno, I couldn't see him.
Maynard Fashion Watch:
Pretty much the same as the night before. Only with a hat.
So after a long long wait (the girl in front of me claimed to have been hanging on to that barrier for seven hours before Tool walked on stage) the headliners finally appeared.
Stinkfist
Seeing Adam play this song from a couple of metres away can only be described as being like dying, going to heaven and having Sarah Michelle Gellar ask me to poop in her butt. To tell the truth, this whole concert was amazing.
Yay it's Adam!
The crowd got pretty mental during this song. I saw no fewer than three semi conscious girls get carried past me by St. Johns before it ended. I became mildly worried for the well being of my friends back in the moshpit and for that of the gaggle of cute little goth chicks I seemed to had found myself surrounded by but things actually mellowed out completely by the time this song was over. Rumour has it that the moshpit the night before was brutal, and that Muse's BDO set had been really rough, so maybe the munters had just worn themselves out.
The Pot
I was a bit disappointed not to hear this one the night before so I was very pleased that they played it this time. Justin played that crazy assed bass riff like a motherfucker. Awesome.
46 & 2
Jambi
Schism
Probably not quite as good performances as the night before (even Danny's solos, while still amazing, weren't as mind blowing as at the earlier show), but being right in the crowd, surrounded by (refreshingly mellow) people who were as into the music as I was made it personally more enjoyable for me. I liked Maynards little dance with his hat while Adam played his talk box solo during Jambi.
You can't really tell but in this photo Danny Carey is transcending time and space.
Epilady Solo
I was stoked to see this one again from up close. Go Adam go!
Sober
Opiate
A couple of nostalgia trips tonight. I appreciated that they made an effort to play a few different tracks for the sake of those of us who attended both concerts!
After three days I finally take a decent photo. Adam playing Vicarious.
Lateralus
Spacey Instrumental
Vicarious
Aenima
All just as much fun as the previous night, if not more. The stage show and performances weren't quite as good but the vibe in the crowd was fantastic and it was by no means anything less than fantastic. Things are just always a bit less polished and not as intimate at a festival. Was it just me or did Adam stuff up the intro to Vicarious a little? If so it was the only time I heard him make a mistake over the two nights. Seeing him up close like that was like a spiritual experience for me (I was still grinning my head off two days later, so that on Saturday night people in bars kept asking me what drugs I was on). At the concert I (barely) refrained from yelling out “Adam I love you and want to have your babies!” but between the constant waving about of my hands and the singing along with the guitar solos and so on, I think he probably got the picture anyway.
And then they left, promising to be back in December. (A year!?! But I want it now!) We stuck around for a bit of The Crystal Method (DJs) but my legs were about to fall off by that stage, so it was off to bed for me.
I seem to have outgrown the Big Day Out a little but it was still a good day. The highlights being, in this order:
Adam
The rest of Tool
Muse
Champagne breakfast
Laughing at My Chemical Romance
After attending stunning performances by Muse and Tool back to back over two nights, I got to see them both performing together at the Big Day Out. This was pretty exciting in and of itself, but as it happened there wasn't a lot else in it for me at this years festival. I'm obviously getting old and out of touch with what's cool in music.
Nevertheless my friends and I dutifully took the day off work, got up early and had a very nice champagne breakfast. In a throwback to the days of tertiary education we drank two bottles of champagne between four of us before 11am (not counting the spirits we added to give it kick).
Seeing as there was little that interested any of us playing early in the day we didn't show up until about 1pm, and spent most of the afternoon in queues. Queues for the toilets, queues for food and oh god you'd better believe there were queues for drinks. You were looking at at least half an hour per drink. One suspects that this was a deliberate decision on the part of the organisers to prevent drunken violence. They certainly seemed more concerned with safety and did more to boss the punters around than what I was used to at the Big Day Out back in Auckland.
The show was held at Olympic Park and it was very similar to Ericsson Stadium, the Auckland venue. The layout was much the same and the individual stages were similar sizes, there was just a lot more room between them. The major difference was the dance tent, which was absolutely cavernous compared to the shitty little supertop back at Ericsson. The other difference was all the Australian flags, but that subject is probably best reserved for a post of its own...
The first band I made an effort to actually go and see was The Butterfly Effect, who are more or less the Aussie equivalent of The Bleeders, or maybe Blindspott. I was surprised to realise I knew a few of their songs (they're often played in the clubs around here) and they put on an OK show, but The Bleeders would blow them off the stage. I really missed seeing all the Kiwi bands who you can rely on to play almost every year early in the day. The Bleeders, Deja Voodoo... you know, I even miss 8 Foot...
The Butterfly EffectImmediately after them we made a hasty exit from the main stadium in an attempt to hide from the shame of coming from the same country as Evermore and Scribe. Now there's a couple of bands I wouldn't have missed.
At that point there followed a few hours of aimless wandering. We finally decided to sit down and watch a bit of My Chemical Romance. In the past I have often dissed these guys quite strongly, characterising them as worthless, turgid, talentless little shits capitalising on the most inane kind of teenage angst who would only be worth watching if you put them in a blender, but I've come to reconsider that position. Maybe it was the bourbon but I came to realise that there is a lot of entertainment to be found in watching a really shitty band perform really shittily while a bunch of pubescent emo losers jump up and down and squeal. For added comedy, ensure that half of the little morons are wearing Australian flags over their black t-shirt and boardies.
My Chemical Romance. From a good safe distance.At that point I jettisoned my friends and made a solo mission to see Peaches. I first saw her at a Big Day Out in Auckland years ago, and was surprised (but entertained) by the overt sleaziness of her act. This time I knew what to expect going in and didn't enjoy it as much. She was cool and delivered what was expected, but failed to really get the crowd going, at least around where I was standing. Points though for causing some dopey hick battler to get all pissy and drag his 11 or 12 year old son out of the crowd, announcing loudly and angrily “I don't want my son to see this kind of thing!” apparently referring to the giant penises flying across the huge video screens behind the stage. Even if Peaches' music didn't do much for me this year I do wholeheartedly approve her attempt to pervert the youth of Australia.
PeachesThe line up was looking pretty sparse for the next few hours so after a half hearted attempt to reunite with my friends I decided to cut my losses and head into the D barrier to get a place for Tool. I was faced with two tough dilemmas; firstly should I stand on the barrier and be right in front of the stage, but have to put up with the moshpit for the four and a half hours until they finished (plus being right by the speakers for the whole time) and secondly should I stand stage left so I could see Muse play, or stage right so I could be right in front of Adam Jones but be unable to see Muse. I eventually settled on 'almost right on the barrier, in front of Adam'. Most satisfying. But before I could enjoy the fruits of my careful decision making, I had to suffer through my greatest trial yet. An hour of The Killers, followed by an hour of Jet! A truly horrifying prospect, and a lesser man would have caved and gone home rather than face it. Or perhaps enjoyed it.
The Killers weren't too bad. I do say nasty things about them sometimes but it's more that they're overrated than that they are actually bad. I certainly don't dislike them nearly as much as say Green Day or My Chemical Romance or The Arctic Motherfucking Monkeys. Of course when I say 'weren't too bad' what I mean is that I endured through it without too much trouble, and in fact all I can remember about it now is that the singer is an annoying little b-grade Morrissey impersonator who I wanted to punch in the face.
The KillersJet on the other hand were abysmal. I can scarcely fathom how they got placed so highly on the bill but I suspect it had something to do with misplaced Aussie nationalism. They're nothing more than a second rate copy of The Datsuns, and The Datsuns are pretty shit to begin with. Fortunately I was not alone in my assessment, judging by the healthy amount of verbal abuse, obscene gestures and broken glass that was hurled their way in a steady torrent from the moment they took the stage until they played their last song and mercifully departed. It was almost worth it, but unfortunately none of them received any head injuries.
JetFinally, my long dark winter of the ears was over and Muse took the stage. I couldn't see them at all except for on the big video screen so I have no wild tales to tell of on stage shenanigans or breathtaking visuals, but I can say that they sounded awesome. The setlist was a subset of what they played the other night:
Knights of Cydonia
Starlight
Butterflies
New Born
Supermassive Black Hole
Hysteria
Map of the Problematique
Invincible
Time is Running Out
Plug In Baby
Stockholm Syndrome
Take a Bow
Good stuff but no one else around where I was standing seemed that into it. And to be honest even I was feeling a little impatient...
Matt Bellamy Fashion Watch:
I dunno, I couldn't see him.
Maynard Fashion Watch:
Pretty much the same as the night before. Only with a hat.
So after a long long wait (the girl in front of me claimed to have been hanging on to that barrier for seven hours before Tool walked on stage) the headliners finally appeared.
Stinkfist
Seeing Adam play this song from a couple of metres away can only be described as being like dying, going to heaven and having Sarah Michelle Gellar ask me to poop in her butt. To tell the truth, this whole concert was amazing.
Yay it's Adam!The crowd got pretty mental during this song. I saw no fewer than three semi conscious girls get carried past me by St. Johns before it ended. I became mildly worried for the well being of my friends back in the moshpit and for that of the gaggle of cute little goth chicks I seemed to had found myself surrounded by but things actually mellowed out completely by the time this song was over. Rumour has it that the moshpit the night before was brutal, and that Muse's BDO set had been really rough, so maybe the munters had just worn themselves out.
The Pot
I was a bit disappointed not to hear this one the night before so I was very pleased that they played it this time. Justin played that crazy assed bass riff like a motherfucker. Awesome.
46 & 2
Jambi
Schism
Probably not quite as good performances as the night before (even Danny's solos, while still amazing, weren't as mind blowing as at the earlier show), but being right in the crowd, surrounded by (refreshingly mellow) people who were as into the music as I was made it personally more enjoyable for me. I liked Maynards little dance with his hat while Adam played his talk box solo during Jambi.
You can't really tell but in this photo Danny Carey is transcending time and space.Epilady Solo
I was stoked to see this one again from up close. Go Adam go!
Sober
Opiate
A couple of nostalgia trips tonight. I appreciated that they made an effort to play a few different tracks for the sake of those of us who attended both concerts!
After three days I finally take a decent photo. Adam playing Vicarious.Lateralus
Spacey Instrumental
Vicarious
Aenima
All just as much fun as the previous night, if not more. The stage show and performances weren't quite as good but the vibe in the crowd was fantastic and it was by no means anything less than fantastic. Things are just always a bit less polished and not as intimate at a festival. Was it just me or did Adam stuff up the intro to Vicarious a little? If so it was the only time I heard him make a mistake over the two nights. Seeing him up close like that was like a spiritual experience for me (I was still grinning my head off two days later, so that on Saturday night people in bars kept asking me what drugs I was on). At the concert I (barely) refrained from yelling out “Adam I love you and want to have your babies!” but between the constant waving about of my hands and the singing along with the guitar solos and so on, I think he probably got the picture anyway.
And then they left, promising to be back in December. (A year!?! But I want it now!) We stuck around for a bit of The Crystal Method (DJs) but my legs were about to fall off by that stage, so it was off to bed for me.
I seem to have outgrown the Big Day Out a little but it was still a good day. The highlights being, in this order:
Adam
The rest of Tool
Muse
Champagne breakfast
Laughing at My Chemical Romance
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I Suck
My lovingly recounted tale of this years Big Day Out has been delayed until tomorrow. In the meantime, The Beast's 50 Most Loathsome Americans List for 2006 is required reading:
14. Britney Spears
Charges: Boozy celebrity bimbos are replicating at an alarming rate these days, but the difference is this bilious tramp has two doomed children, both cursed with the warped ribonucleic helices of a beer-chugging swamp princess with a defective larynx and a lucky low-rent wannabe hustler who may actually be the more responsible parent. Spears' marriage to a universally detested embarrassment to humanity was trashy in two flavors: showbiz in its brevity and trailer in its impressive babies-per-year output. But the worst thing about their unholy matrimony is that we ever had to know who Kevin Federline is. His fame is entirely her fault, and her fame has by far outlasted her initial perverse schoolgirl/jailbait appeal.
Exhibit A: If Britney had shown the world her bald crotch four years ago, it would have caused widespread rioting and possibly a national holiday. Today, even Madonna thinks it's gross.
Holy! Fucking! Shit!
Tool – Live at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, 24th January
It's been almost five long years but finally I had another chance to see Tool in concert once more. Tickets went on sale in September so I have suffered months of anticipation leading up to it, but the day finally arrived and after the longest eight hours of work ever I shrugged off the effects of my cold and headed down to Darling Harbour for the crowning centrepiece of my week of awesomeness.
Upon reaching Haymarket it quickly became apparent that we were not the only ones to whom this concert was an 'Event' with a capital E. A huge swarm of goths, bogans and general freaks had descended on central Sydney like some black-clad biblical plague. Back in Christchurch it never seemed like a big deal to see a huge crowd of alternative people hanging around in a mob but it was genuinely unusual to see the metalheads invade sophisticated, trendy Sydney. I wish I'd taken a photo.
Unfortunately tickets to this concert sold out in less than an hour, and I refused on principle to pay six hundred dollars to a scalper for moshpit tickets, so I had a pair of seated tickets which were unfortunately not together. Investigation revealed that one seat was right in the centre, more or less the best seating available, whereas the other was right around the side against the wall where you could barely even see the backdrop screens behind the band. Basically I had one ticket for the best seat in the house and one that was almost the worst. Shrewdly I gave the good ticket to B, reasoning that if she was in the crap seat she'd miss out on the visuals and a lot of other stuff, whereas the muso in me would be more than satisfied by having the perfect vantage point to overlook Danny Carey's drumkit. I was also on Adam's side of the stage, even though it's harder to see guitar playing from so far away he is my idol so I take what I can get.
Yeah my photos suck. At least it emphasises how crappy my seat was.
The mood in the concert hall was totally amped, almost euphoric. Even though the people sitting immediately around me could be charitably described as dour and taciturn, the room as a whole was buzzing with energy and excitement, about a dozen mexican waves traversed the room before the band appeared and I've never seen so many of the black t-shirt set smiling at once.
A few general comments about the concert: the sound mix was really good. All four band members came through crystal clear but there was still enough punch to feel the heaviness in your guts. I did like sitting in the seats as a change from the moshpit as it meant that your whole attention could be focused on the performance without having to be concerned about someone crowd surfing over your head or the stinky guy next to you rubbing his armpit in your face. On the other hand the area where I was sitting was a bit subdued compared to the rest of the room, I wanted to have the whole 'shared experience' thing and sing along and wave my arms about with everyone else, but it just wasn't happening where I was. Also I was quite a long way away from the band. Better seats would have helped these problems but it still would have been no substitute for being in the crowd.
But on to the songs. The lights went out, and a low bass drone filled the room. The band walked on stage to rapturous applause and launched straight into 'Stinkfist', complete with the usual extra guitar solo before the 'I'll keep digging' part. I hung on the edge of my seat with my tongue hanging out watching Adam play it, thinking that it couldn't get any better than this, but I was wrong.
A bit of keyboard noodling from Adam introduced the second song, '46 & 2'. Both of these tracks were performed with expert musicianship and genuine energy, which is rare for a band to do with singles that they've played to death a million times before. One of the highlights of the night came when Danny played his legendary solo in the middle of this song. It was amazing in and of itself and I was almost wigging out thinking, 'This is only the second song and this concert is already blowing my mind and I'm going to get to see it again tomorrow!'. I can't describe how awesome that moment was without stringing an endless list of superlatives together so I'll just say that I nearly shit my pants out of excitement.
The aforementioned keyboard noodling.
Once they'd finished Maynard took the time to inform us that the word of the day was 'holyfuckingshit'. A phrase that was to emerge unbidden from my lips more than a few times before the concert was over. The next song turned out to be 'Jambi', a catchy, relatively accessible song from the new album and an obvious choice for inclusion in the setlist. Maynard's delivery was soulful and powerful and Adam's guitar solo was just as awesome as on the album.
Maynard Fashion Watch:
Maynard still has a mohawk. He also wore blue jeans, sunnies and an ATF jacket. The jacket disappeared pretty fast.
Next was 'Schism', with a sad little guitar intro added at the start and a new drum solo before the quiet breakdown bit, with Adam playing a fast, heavy version of the quiet riff and Danny Carey causing me to cream my pants for the second time in half an hour. I thought the '46 & 2' solo was insane enough but this one was even more unbelievable. There must be something to this sacred geometry crap because I can scarcely believe anyone can play like that without supernatural assistance. 'Holyfuckingshit!', said Jon.
Following that song the haunting, feedback drenched 'Lost Keys' started up. I was very pleased to hear this one, as it's one of my favourite tracks off the new album and it seems to be unfairly bagged by a lot of people as 'filler'. As expected it segued right into 'Rosetta Stoned', with Maynard babbling his stream of consciousness lyrics into a megaphone. On the album the guitar solo for this song didn't do a lot for me but in this live performance Adam infused it with the emotion it lacked in the recording. Very satisfying.
'Rosetta Stoned' was followed by a bit of a random jam, with Danny playing a repetitive tribal rhythm while Adam soloed with his epilady over the top of it. Fantastic stuff.
After that it was time for the nights obligatory nostalgia trip. The only track from Undertow they played was 'Swamp Song'. One of my least favourite Tool songs to be honest, but they certainly looked like they had a blast playing it. Justin was going nuts (I guess it's more fun to play other peoples songs) and Maynard goofing around trying to psyche Danny with fake starts into the outro.
Then it was nap time. A bit of ambience started playing and the band all put down their instruments and lay down on the stage to have a rest. I guess they decided it was a bit antisocial to hide backstage for their intermission like they did on the previous tour.
Once they returned to their positions they played 'Wings for Marie/ 10,000 Days'. The light show was very impressive, with green lasers being fired across the hall. The performance was quite subdued and had a very different vibe to the rest of the show (which is no surprise really). Maynard especially was very memorable. I've been known to bag him for being a bit overrated as a singer but seeing him perform this song live will probably shut me up for good, I was really struck by the power in his voice. Ninety nine percent of the audience were respectful and obliged the band when Maynard asked for no flash photography during this song, but of course there are always a few who don't get it. I'm actually pretty impressed that they play this song at all. Maynard has a prickly reputation and it must be hard to get up and sing a really personal song about a the death of loved one while a thousand shirtless bogans wave their arms at you and scream 'Woohoo!'.
A trio of fan favourite anthems closed out the night. 'Lateralus' was probably the highlight of the concert for me, I was never a huge fan of the song on the album but live it's just amazing, with Adam playing some of the most inspired melodies and solos he's ever come up with and Danny offsetting them with sublimely inventive rhythms matched with his typical virtuosity. It gives me a huge kick that Danny sets up that huge big gong behind himself to use it just once, at the beginning of the climax of this song. The crowd knows it too; a huge cheer erupted when he hit it.
A really spacey and pretty electronic, ambient instrumental led into 'Vicarious', which appears to be a favourite of the band. After that headfuck of an opening riff, the drop into the main melody of the song could only be described as 'thunderous' and the song came off with energy even greater than that of the rest of the concert.
The night was capped off with 'Aenima'. The band made a point of hanging around on stage for a bit after the lights came on and waving to everyone, which I thought was really nice, especially for a band that supposedly hates their fans.
The hordes of goths, westies and outcasts then tumbled out on to the streets with huge dopey grins on their faces. A pair of well heeled young ladies strolled out of the hotel lobby over the road as I walked past. “Oh my God!” one of them cried with a mixture of panic and disgust, “Where did all these goths come from!?” For one glorious night Sydney took a break from shitty indie rock and boring house and let good music have its day in the sun. Or evening under the moon, as the case may be.
It's been almost five long years but finally I had another chance to see Tool in concert once more. Tickets went on sale in September so I have suffered months of anticipation leading up to it, but the day finally arrived and after the longest eight hours of work ever I shrugged off the effects of my cold and headed down to Darling Harbour for the crowning centrepiece of my week of awesomeness.
Upon reaching Haymarket it quickly became apparent that we were not the only ones to whom this concert was an 'Event' with a capital E. A huge swarm of goths, bogans and general freaks had descended on central Sydney like some black-clad biblical plague. Back in Christchurch it never seemed like a big deal to see a huge crowd of alternative people hanging around in a mob but it was genuinely unusual to see the metalheads invade sophisticated, trendy Sydney. I wish I'd taken a photo.
Unfortunately tickets to this concert sold out in less than an hour, and I refused on principle to pay six hundred dollars to a scalper for moshpit tickets, so I had a pair of seated tickets which were unfortunately not together. Investigation revealed that one seat was right in the centre, more or less the best seating available, whereas the other was right around the side against the wall where you could barely even see the backdrop screens behind the band. Basically I had one ticket for the best seat in the house and one that was almost the worst. Shrewdly I gave the good ticket to B, reasoning that if she was in the crap seat she'd miss out on the visuals and a lot of other stuff, whereas the muso in me would be more than satisfied by having the perfect vantage point to overlook Danny Carey's drumkit. I was also on Adam's side of the stage, even though it's harder to see guitar playing from so far away he is my idol so I take what I can get.
Yeah my photos suck. At least it emphasises how crappy my seat was.The mood in the concert hall was totally amped, almost euphoric. Even though the people sitting immediately around me could be charitably described as dour and taciturn, the room as a whole was buzzing with energy and excitement, about a dozen mexican waves traversed the room before the band appeared and I've never seen so many of the black t-shirt set smiling at once.
A few general comments about the concert: the sound mix was really good. All four band members came through crystal clear but there was still enough punch to feel the heaviness in your guts. I did like sitting in the seats as a change from the moshpit as it meant that your whole attention could be focused on the performance without having to be concerned about someone crowd surfing over your head or the stinky guy next to you rubbing his armpit in your face. On the other hand the area where I was sitting was a bit subdued compared to the rest of the room, I wanted to have the whole 'shared experience' thing and sing along and wave my arms about with everyone else, but it just wasn't happening where I was. Also I was quite a long way away from the band. Better seats would have helped these problems but it still would have been no substitute for being in the crowd.
But on to the songs. The lights went out, and a low bass drone filled the room. The band walked on stage to rapturous applause and launched straight into 'Stinkfist', complete with the usual extra guitar solo before the 'I'll keep digging' part. I hung on the edge of my seat with my tongue hanging out watching Adam play it, thinking that it couldn't get any better than this, but I was wrong.
A bit of keyboard noodling from Adam introduced the second song, '46 & 2'. Both of these tracks were performed with expert musicianship and genuine energy, which is rare for a band to do with singles that they've played to death a million times before. One of the highlights of the night came when Danny played his legendary solo in the middle of this song. It was amazing in and of itself and I was almost wigging out thinking, 'This is only the second song and this concert is already blowing my mind and I'm going to get to see it again tomorrow!'. I can't describe how awesome that moment was without stringing an endless list of superlatives together so I'll just say that I nearly shit my pants out of excitement.
The aforementioned keyboard noodling.Once they'd finished Maynard took the time to inform us that the word of the day was 'holyfuckingshit'. A phrase that was to emerge unbidden from my lips more than a few times before the concert was over. The next song turned out to be 'Jambi', a catchy, relatively accessible song from the new album and an obvious choice for inclusion in the setlist. Maynard's delivery was soulful and powerful and Adam's guitar solo was just as awesome as on the album.
Maynard Fashion Watch:
Maynard still has a mohawk. He also wore blue jeans, sunnies and an ATF jacket. The jacket disappeared pretty fast.
Next was 'Schism', with a sad little guitar intro added at the start and a new drum solo before the quiet breakdown bit, with Adam playing a fast, heavy version of the quiet riff and Danny Carey causing me to cream my pants for the second time in half an hour. I thought the '46 & 2' solo was insane enough but this one was even more unbelievable. There must be something to this sacred geometry crap because I can scarcely believe anyone can play like that without supernatural assistance. 'Holyfuckingshit!', said Jon.
Following that song the haunting, feedback drenched 'Lost Keys' started up. I was very pleased to hear this one, as it's one of my favourite tracks off the new album and it seems to be unfairly bagged by a lot of people as 'filler'. As expected it segued right into 'Rosetta Stoned', with Maynard babbling his stream of consciousness lyrics into a megaphone. On the album the guitar solo for this song didn't do a lot for me but in this live performance Adam infused it with the emotion it lacked in the recording. Very satisfying.
'Rosetta Stoned' was followed by a bit of a random jam, with Danny playing a repetitive tribal rhythm while Adam soloed with his epilady over the top of it. Fantastic stuff.
After that it was time for the nights obligatory nostalgia trip. The only track from Undertow they played was 'Swamp Song'. One of my least favourite Tool songs to be honest, but they certainly looked like they had a blast playing it. Justin was going nuts (I guess it's more fun to play other peoples songs) and Maynard goofing around trying to psyche Danny with fake starts into the outro.
Then it was nap time. A bit of ambience started playing and the band all put down their instruments and lay down on the stage to have a rest. I guess they decided it was a bit antisocial to hide backstage for their intermission like they did on the previous tour.
Once they returned to their positions they played 'Wings for Marie/ 10,000 Days'. The light show was very impressive, with green lasers being fired across the hall. The performance was quite subdued and had a very different vibe to the rest of the show (which is no surprise really). Maynard especially was very memorable. I've been known to bag him for being a bit overrated as a singer but seeing him perform this song live will probably shut me up for good, I was really struck by the power in his voice. Ninety nine percent of the audience were respectful and obliged the band when Maynard asked for no flash photography during this song, but of course there are always a few who don't get it. I'm actually pretty impressed that they play this song at all. Maynard has a prickly reputation and it must be hard to get up and sing a really personal song about a the death of loved one while a thousand shirtless bogans wave their arms at you and scream 'Woohoo!'.
A trio of fan favourite anthems closed out the night. 'Lateralus' was probably the highlight of the concert for me, I was never a huge fan of the song on the album but live it's just amazing, with Adam playing some of the most inspired melodies and solos he's ever come up with and Danny offsetting them with sublimely inventive rhythms matched with his typical virtuosity. It gives me a huge kick that Danny sets up that huge big gong behind himself to use it just once, at the beginning of the climax of this song. The crowd knows it too; a huge cheer erupted when he hit it.
A really spacey and pretty electronic, ambient instrumental led into 'Vicarious', which appears to be a favourite of the band. After that headfuck of an opening riff, the drop into the main melody of the song could only be described as 'thunderous' and the song came off with energy even greater than that of the rest of the concert.
The night was capped off with 'Aenima'. The band made a point of hanging around on stage for a bit after the lights came on and waving to everyone, which I thought was really nice, especially for a band that supposedly hates their fans.
The hordes of goths, westies and outcasts then tumbled out on to the streets with huge dopey grins on their faces. A pair of well heeled young ladies strolled out of the hotel lobby over the road as I walked past. “Oh my God!” one of them cried with a mixture of panic and disgust, “Where did all these goths come from!?” For one glorious night Sydney took a break from shitty indie rock and boring house and let good music have its day in the sun. Or evening under the moon, as the case may be.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Heh
My political views according to the ozpolitics political spectrum test (via No Right Turn):
(Click for larger image.) I think it sums me up pretty well. Nontraditional and proud of it. Why didn't I get 100% damn it!
(Click for larger image.) I think it sums me up pretty well. Nontraditional and proud of it. Why didn't I get 100% damn it!
The Time Has Come To Make Things Right
Muse – Live at the Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, 23rd January
And so begins the chronicle of my week of awesomeness. I was a little leery of seeing Muse; while on one hand I've attended two of their concerts in the past and both of them were supurb, on the other hand I was not too impressed with the big shit that Matt Bellamy and co took in my ipod earlier this year so I was prepared for potential disappointment.
Although my lovely companion and I were beset by numerous pifalls and terrors on our way to the concert venue, involving burst water mains blocking off major thoroughfares, tight transportation connection times and mixed drinks of highly variable alcohol content, we arrived with about half an hour to spare before the main act started (fortuitously completely missing the opening act).
Matt Bellamy Fashion Watch:
Matt wore a red tracksuit with white stripes. He's also had a haircut so that he looks like a dorky indie rock guy as he did on the Origin of Symmetry tour. His haircut on the last tour was much cooler.
Take a Bow
Map of the Problematique
They opened with two of the better tracks from the new album. The pit was rough but very appreciative, even of the new songs. 'Take a Bow's intense build and release is custom made for arena rock spectacle.
Butterflies and Hurricanes
Supermassive Black Hole
New Born
A trio of popular and catchy singles got the crowd well and worked up. They've added a cool extended break down to 'Butterflies and Hurricanes', and 'New Born' was the same version as on the last tour, with Matt playing an extended feedback solo bridging the intro and the first appearance of that awesome main riff, just to crank the anticipation up.
Starlight
Forced In
Bliss
Feeling Good
Hoodoo
After all those rock out songs the audience probably looked a bit worn out so it was on to a few mellow 'wave your hands in the air' tracks. 'Starlight' and 'Hoodoo' are new songs and worked a lot better live than on the album. 'Forced In' and 'Feeling Good' are random older tracks and were most welcome surprises, at least for me. 'Forced In' was performed without vocals in front of video screens displaying images of fire (see figure 1). Very cool and moody. During 'Bliss' they released the big confetti filled balloons like at the end of their set on the last tour. Not as fun as at the Auckland show, and there's nothing grosser than being squashed up against a greasy sweaty munter with red confetti stuck all over his shirtless torso.
Invincible
Bleh. Don't like this song, but Muse are such a powerful live act that they can inject even their more average songs with undeserved energy.
Time is Running Out
Plug in Baby
And two big anthemic singles to close out the set. By the end of these songs it was fair to say that I was completely fucking wasted from my hour in the moshpit. I got a bit of a rest at this point but it wasn't over just yet...
First Encore:
Soldiers Poem
A nice acoustic interlude from the new album. For some reason seeing and hearing it live made me finally 'get' the song. Damn you Muse for giving me new appreciation for an album that I bagged!
Hysteria
Stockholm Syndrome
And just in case there was anyone left in the pit with an ounce of energy left they belt out their two most hard rocking songs back to back. Total insanity ensues.
Second Encore:
Knights of Cydonia
And they finished with their most recent single. I thought this one would go off better (the 'No one's going to take me alive' sing along section is pure calculated live performance gold) but maybe the crowd was just too worn out to get into it.
After that it was just a long wait for a taxi in the rain with a pair of the saddest (and drunkest and tackiest) wannabe groupies I've ever encountered, all the while coughing my guts out on account of the nasty cold I caught.
Muse are the anti-Placebo. Placebo can release a pretty good album and then proceed to retroactively ruin it with an incredibly lackluster live performance. Muse can release a total stinker but walk out on stage and belt the songs out with such enthusiasm (Dom had a look on his face while smashing the shit out of his kit during 'Knights of Cydonia' that can only be described as total joy), flair and virtuosity as to completely change my opinion of the album, if only for the duration of the concert.
I think the Auckland concert on the Absolution tour was better, as they played a little more random stuff whereas this time they mostly stuck to their singles and tracks off the new album. Plus the energy of the crowd there was more positive and less muntery. But those are not serious complaints, it was still a fucking awesome concert. And yet it was only the first leg of my long weekend of awesomeness, over the next couple of days, things were only going to get better!
And so begins the chronicle of my week of awesomeness. I was a little leery of seeing Muse; while on one hand I've attended two of their concerts in the past and both of them were supurb, on the other hand I was not too impressed with the big shit that Matt Bellamy and co took in my ipod earlier this year so I was prepared for potential disappointment.
Although my lovely companion and I were beset by numerous pifalls and terrors on our way to the concert venue, involving burst water mains blocking off major thoroughfares, tight transportation connection times and mixed drinks of highly variable alcohol content, we arrived with about half an hour to spare before the main act started (fortuitously completely missing the opening act).
Matt Bellamy Fashion Watch:
Matt wore a red tracksuit with white stripes. He's also had a haircut so that he looks like a dorky indie rock guy as he did on the Origin of Symmetry tour. His haircut on the last tour was much cooler.
Take a Bow
Map of the Problematique
They opened with two of the better tracks from the new album. The pit was rough but very appreciative, even of the new songs. 'Take a Bow's intense build and release is custom made for arena rock spectacle.
Butterflies and Hurricanes
Supermassive Black Hole
New Born
A trio of popular and catchy singles got the crowd well and worked up. They've added a cool extended break down to 'Butterflies and Hurricanes', and 'New Born' was the same version as on the last tour, with Matt playing an extended feedback solo bridging the intro and the first appearance of that awesome main riff, just to crank the anticipation up.
Starlight
Forced In
Bliss
Feeling Good
Hoodoo
After all those rock out songs the audience probably looked a bit worn out so it was on to a few mellow 'wave your hands in the air' tracks. 'Starlight' and 'Hoodoo' are new songs and worked a lot better live than on the album. 'Forced In' and 'Feeling Good' are random older tracks and were most welcome surprises, at least for me. 'Forced In' was performed without vocals in front of video screens displaying images of fire (see figure 1). Very cool and moody. During 'Bliss' they released the big confetti filled balloons like at the end of their set on the last tour. Not as fun as at the Auckland show, and there's nothing grosser than being squashed up against a greasy sweaty munter with red confetti stuck all over his shirtless torso.
Invincible
Bleh. Don't like this song, but Muse are such a powerful live act that they can inject even their more average songs with undeserved energy.
Time is Running Out
Plug in Baby
And two big anthemic singles to close out the set. By the end of these songs it was fair to say that I was completely fucking wasted from my hour in the moshpit. I got a bit of a rest at this point but it wasn't over just yet...
First Encore:
Soldiers Poem
A nice acoustic interlude from the new album. For some reason seeing and hearing it live made me finally 'get' the song. Damn you Muse for giving me new appreciation for an album that I bagged!
Hysteria
Stockholm Syndrome
And just in case there was anyone left in the pit with an ounce of energy left they belt out their two most hard rocking songs back to back. Total insanity ensues.
Second Encore:
Knights of Cydonia
And they finished with their most recent single. I thought this one would go off better (the 'No one's going to take me alive' sing along section is pure calculated live performance gold) but maybe the crowd was just too worn out to get into it.
After that it was just a long wait for a taxi in the rain with a pair of the saddest (and drunkest and tackiest) wannabe groupies I've ever encountered, all the while coughing my guts out on account of the nasty cold I caught.
Muse are the anti-Placebo. Placebo can release a pretty good album and then proceed to retroactively ruin it with an incredibly lackluster live performance. Muse can release a total stinker but walk out on stage and belt the songs out with such enthusiasm (Dom had a look on his face while smashing the shit out of his kit during 'Knights of Cydonia' that can only be described as total joy), flair and virtuosity as to completely change my opinion of the album, if only for the duration of the concert.
I think the Auckland concert on the Absolution tour was better, as they played a little more random stuff whereas this time they mostly stuck to their singles and tracks off the new album. Plus the energy of the crowd there was more positive and less muntery. But those are not serious complaints, it was still a fucking awesome concert. And yet it was only the first leg of my long weekend of awesomeness, over the next couple of days, things were only going to get better!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Quick
There have been no posts for the last couple of days (and there probably won't be any for a few more) on account of fucking shit up.
For those who are interested, just quickly:
Sydney, 24th Jan:
Stinkfist
46 & 2
Jambi
Schism
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Danny and Adam jam
Swamp Song
Nap time
Wings for Marie
10,000 Days
Lateralus
Aenima
Spacy electronic jam
Vicarious
Short verdict:
Fucking awesome
For those who are interested, just quickly:
Sydney, 24th Jan:
Stinkfist
46 & 2
Jambi
Schism
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Danny and Adam jam
Swamp Song
Nap time
Wings for Marie
10,000 Days
Lateralus
Aenima
Spacy electronic jam
Vicarious
Short verdict:
Fucking awesome
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
In Which You Follow The Gospel Truth
Deftones – Saturday Night Wrist
The Deftones are a notoriously uneven band, capable of being both absolutely brilliant and completely disappointing, often almost at the same time. Their b-sides album (released the year before last) contained both an audio disc (pretty average) and a DVD containing their music videos interleaved with random footage (totally awesome). Their albums are usually pretty strong, the high points being Around the Fur and White Pony (opinions differ as to which is better, I prefer the latter but I can see why the former is well loved too), Adrenaline is not bad for a first album and their fourth (self titled) contains a lot of very good songs but for some reason is usually too dense and hard to listen to all at once. On the other hand I can't recommend them as a live band. I saw them live at the Big Day Out in 2004, and I hate to say it but they were a tremendous disappointment.
So it was with grounded expectations that I bought their new album, Saturday Night Wrist, fortunately I'm pleased to report that it's pretty good. I doubt that they'll ever recapture the brilliance of White Pony, but this album is a solid effort. These guys are one of those bands who go in a different direction on each album, and on this one they've chosen an interesting, promising one. A lot of bands continue to pretend to be angst filled youths when in actual fact they've long ago begun comfortably settling into a tame middle age with their bags of money, so it is nice to see on this album that the Deftones have managed to introduce a more upbeat mood while still remaining heavy. This is complemented by an increased use of electronics and loops, and lots of generally weird noises and kooky scales. A Faith No More influence is definitely in attendance.
The first single, 'Hole in the Earth', sounds like it could have come off one of their earlier albums but is not representative of the rest of Saturday Night Wrist. A more typical track is 'Beware', which combines a haunting but slow and heavy chorus with a quirky off-kilter verse riff, and a nice, heavy, more traditionally Deftonesy outro. Other notable tracks include 'Mein', which features Serj from System of a Down, and 'U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,SELECT,START', which is an instrumental with a sad, lonely mood that belies it's goofy name. The only song I like more than 'Beware' is the outstanding 'Pink Cellphone', which sets sultry spoken word female vocals atop a minimal electronic backing loop. The lyrics start out as strange religious phrases but end up mutating into dirty sex talk. Frivolous but endlessly entertaining.
Most of the rest of the album is good but not superlative. These guys have done a lot better in the past but the highlight tracks more than make it worth the purchase and I'd probably rate it higher than their self-titled. They'll also have another chance to increase my opinion of them next month when I see them live again...
The Deftones are a notoriously uneven band, capable of being both absolutely brilliant and completely disappointing, often almost at the same time. Their b-sides album (released the year before last) contained both an audio disc (pretty average) and a DVD containing their music videos interleaved with random footage (totally awesome). Their albums are usually pretty strong, the high points being Around the Fur and White Pony (opinions differ as to which is better, I prefer the latter but I can see why the former is well loved too), Adrenaline is not bad for a first album and their fourth (self titled) contains a lot of very good songs but for some reason is usually too dense and hard to listen to all at once. On the other hand I can't recommend them as a live band. I saw them live at the Big Day Out in 2004, and I hate to say it but they were a tremendous disappointment.
So it was with grounded expectations that I bought their new album, Saturday Night Wrist, fortunately I'm pleased to report that it's pretty good. I doubt that they'll ever recapture the brilliance of White Pony, but this album is a solid effort. These guys are one of those bands who go in a different direction on each album, and on this one they've chosen an interesting, promising one. A lot of bands continue to pretend to be angst filled youths when in actual fact they've long ago begun comfortably settling into a tame middle age with their bags of money, so it is nice to see on this album that the Deftones have managed to introduce a more upbeat mood while still remaining heavy. This is complemented by an increased use of electronics and loops, and lots of generally weird noises and kooky scales. A Faith No More influence is definitely in attendance.
The first single, 'Hole in the Earth', sounds like it could have come off one of their earlier albums but is not representative of the rest of Saturday Night Wrist. A more typical track is 'Beware', which combines a haunting but slow and heavy chorus with a quirky off-kilter verse riff, and a nice, heavy, more traditionally Deftonesy outro. Other notable tracks include 'Mein', which features Serj from System of a Down, and 'U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,SELECT,START', which is an instrumental with a sad, lonely mood that belies it's goofy name. The only song I like more than 'Beware' is the outstanding 'Pink Cellphone', which sets sultry spoken word female vocals atop a minimal electronic backing loop. The lyrics start out as strange religious phrases but end up mutating into dirty sex talk. Frivolous but endlessly entertaining.
Most of the rest of the album is good but not superlative. These guys have done a lot better in the past but the highlight tracks more than make it worth the purchase and I'd probably rate it higher than their self-titled. They'll also have another chance to increase my opinion of them next month when I see them live again...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
I Can't Say No To You
Evanescence – The Open Door
There should be some kind of music snobs anonymous group where you can go and admit to all the terribly uncool music that you secretly like. "Hi. My name's Jon and I listen to Evanescence." Maybe I'm just subconsciously biased because Amy Lee is hot but for some reason I'm prepared to accept and enjoy their brand of histrionic goth-metal cheese at face value.
The new album is more or less the same as their first. The band lineup has seen a few changes but you'd barely notice, save for the regrettable absence of Josh Freese on drums. On the first album, Fallen, it was the heavier songs that were worth listening to and the ballads, like the cringeworthy 'My Immortal', were Celine Dion-esque exercises in rectal bleeding. In contrast The Open Door's heavy tracks tend to be generic and forgettable, whereas the ballads range from 'embarassing but fun' (I'm thinking of 'Call Me When You're Sober') to genuinely moving ('Like You'). Usually Amy has a great voice but unfortunately years of struggling to be heard above a distortion laden backing band in a live setting seem to have instilled in her a tendency to go into foghorn mode when the music gets heavy. For these reasons I found the first album to be more consistently good overall but the stand out tracks on The Open Door easily surpass anything on Fallen.
As of the time of writing my Amy Lee vs. Natalie Portman poll had them both tied on six votes each. My analysis of the results is: 'What the hell is wrong with you? Get the fuck off my webpage.'
Having said that, I'm not inclined to argue the point much more, as like all celebrities eventually do Amy has succumbed to Hollywood Makeup Drenched Skeleton Disorder. Disregarding the portraits in the album art, which are so airbrushed as to be considered anime, take a look at these:
Before:
After:
There should be some kind of music snobs anonymous group where you can go and admit to all the terribly uncool music that you secretly like. "Hi. My name's Jon and I listen to Evanescence." Maybe I'm just subconsciously biased because Amy Lee is hot but for some reason I'm prepared to accept and enjoy their brand of histrionic goth-metal cheese at face value.
The new album is more or less the same as their first. The band lineup has seen a few changes but you'd barely notice, save for the regrettable absence of Josh Freese on drums. On the first album, Fallen, it was the heavier songs that were worth listening to and the ballads, like the cringeworthy 'My Immortal', were Celine Dion-esque exercises in rectal bleeding. In contrast The Open Door's heavy tracks tend to be generic and forgettable, whereas the ballads range from 'embarassing but fun' (I'm thinking of 'Call Me When You're Sober') to genuinely moving ('Like You'). Usually Amy has a great voice but unfortunately years of struggling to be heard above a distortion laden backing band in a live setting seem to have instilled in her a tendency to go into foghorn mode when the music gets heavy. For these reasons I found the first album to be more consistently good overall but the stand out tracks on The Open Door easily surpass anything on Fallen.
As of the time of writing my Amy Lee vs. Natalie Portman poll had them both tied on six votes each. My analysis of the results is: 'What the hell is wrong with you? Get the fuck off my webpage.'
Having said that, I'm not inclined to argue the point much more, as like all celebrities eventually do Amy has succumbed to Hollywood Makeup Drenched Skeleton Disorder. Disregarding the portraits in the album art, which are so airbrushed as to be considered anime, take a look at these:
Before:
After:
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Smoke and Mirrors
by Neil Gaiman
Most fantasy authors, even those fond of writing huge multi volume doorstop epics, really shine when it comes to short fiction and Neil Gaiman is no exception. The absurdities of the genre make it hard to sustain belief and take the story seriously, and the longer and more complicated the story becomes the harder it is to pull it off. Even a brilliant writer like Gaiman drops the ball once or twice when working on a years long serial like Sandman, but in a short story collection like this one he is free to introduce an interesting fancy or a witty perspective and play with it for a few pages before moving on.
As with his other writing the fantasy aspect is fairly is not really all that fantastic; there are no clichèd Tolkien-esque conventions here, every story is set in what is more or less the 'real' world and the magic works in a manner more like that of a fairy tale or an urban legend rather than the more typical Dungeons and Dragons type mechanics. This realistic grounding is one of the things that makes Gaiman's work so resonant. He always starts with a story or a premise that is completely drawn from real life, and the supernatural elements merely serve to emphasise or reframe that premise.
The stories in this collection are drawn from over a decade of his career so there is a fair amount of variation in style, tone and subject matter. Just as a few examples: a science fiction version of Beowulf with a werewolf as the hero, a pair of unique and perverse takes on traditional stories (namely Snow White and Santa Claus) and Gaiman's version of the last book of the bible. Some of the stories are obviously earlier work and aren't up to his usual standards, but even taking them into account the collection as a whole is such high quality that it would be impossible to pick a favourite tale.
His latest collection, 'Fragile Things', is awaiting consumption and as much as I'm keen to devour it, I'm forcing myself to finish the history books I've had lying around for months before I do so.
Most fantasy authors, even those fond of writing huge multi volume doorstop epics, really shine when it comes to short fiction and Neil Gaiman is no exception. The absurdities of the genre make it hard to sustain belief and take the story seriously, and the longer and more complicated the story becomes the harder it is to pull it off. Even a brilliant writer like Gaiman drops the ball once or twice when working on a years long serial like Sandman, but in a short story collection like this one he is free to introduce an interesting fancy or a witty perspective and play with it for a few pages before moving on.
As with his other writing the fantasy aspect is fairly is not really all that fantastic; there are no clichèd Tolkien-esque conventions here, every story is set in what is more or less the 'real' world and the magic works in a manner more like that of a fairy tale or an urban legend rather than the more typical Dungeons and Dragons type mechanics. This realistic grounding is one of the things that makes Gaiman's work so resonant. He always starts with a story or a premise that is completely drawn from real life, and the supernatural elements merely serve to emphasise or reframe that premise.
The stories in this collection are drawn from over a decade of his career so there is a fair amount of variation in style, tone and subject matter. Just as a few examples: a science fiction version of Beowulf with a werewolf as the hero, a pair of unique and perverse takes on traditional stories (namely Snow White and Santa Claus) and Gaiman's version of the last book of the bible. Some of the stories are obviously earlier work and aren't up to his usual standards, but even taking them into account the collection as a whole is such high quality that it would be impossible to pick a favourite tale.
His latest collection, 'Fragile Things', is awaiting consumption and as much as I'm keen to devour it, I'm forcing myself to finish the history books I've had lying around for months before I do so.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
In the Shadow of Deepest Darkness
Satyricon - Dark Medieval Times
Yes I realise I bagged these guys fairly hard for their shitty concert last year, but I figure I'll still write up their albums, as the ones I've listened to were at least passable enough to convince me to go see them live.
Dark Medieval Times is their first album and is probably their best. This is of course a relative judgement; Satyricon's best is still pretty average by most standards. There's nothing on this album that Emperor haven't done better, and there's almost nothing that makes them memorable or stand out from other black metal bands.
The one gimmick that is uniquely theirs are these cheesy medieval folk instrumental interludes featuring flutes and harpsichord style keys, which are just that, a gimmick. They're kind of funny the first time you hear them, but I doubt that it is intentional humour. I will admit that there are a couple of good points about this album. The album divider 'Min Hyllest Til Vinterland' (My Tribute to the Winterland) is a very nice acoustic guitar interlude, and at one or two other points on the album they actually do manage to legitimately rock out, so the album is saved from complete mediocrity. And if that sounds like damning with faint praise, well that's exactly what these guys deserve. Take the balls out of black metal and you're left with mostly just spooky photography and bad production.
Yes I realise I bagged these guys fairly hard for their shitty concert last year, but I figure I'll still write up their albums, as the ones I've listened to were at least passable enough to convince me to go see them live.
Dark Medieval Times is their first album and is probably their best. This is of course a relative judgement; Satyricon's best is still pretty average by most standards. There's nothing on this album that Emperor haven't done better, and there's almost nothing that makes them memorable or stand out from other black metal bands.
The one gimmick that is uniquely theirs are these cheesy medieval folk instrumental interludes featuring flutes and harpsichord style keys, which are just that, a gimmick. They're kind of funny the first time you hear them, but I doubt that it is intentional humour. I will admit that there are a couple of good points about this album. The album divider 'Min Hyllest Til Vinterland' (My Tribute to the Winterland) is a very nice acoustic guitar interlude, and at one or two other points on the album they actually do manage to legitimately rock out, so the album is saved from complete mediocrity. And if that sounds like damning with faint praise, well that's exactly what these guys deserve. Take the balls out of black metal and you're left with mostly just spooky photography and bad production.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Holiday Watching
A few movies I saw over the summer holidays.
Hart's War
A courtroom drama set in a Nazi P.O.W. camp. Starts out promisingly enough with some interesting characters and plenty of moral ambiguity, but rapidly devolves into typical Hollywood hocum complete with grand speeches about honour and Bruce Willis dying to atone for all our sins.
Walk the Line
It would be pretty hard for this movie to really fail, as it has the sure fire asset of Johnny Cash's awesomeness to rely on, but they've still managed to take his story and render it impressively bland and lifeless. It's a waste and a pity, but hopefully sometime in the future when a bit more time has passed since Cash's death someone will make a biopic about him with a bit more guts.
Silent Hill
I was prepared for this to be absolutely terrible and in most ways it was; bad directing, terrible pacing and actors that could benefit from coaching by the cast of Shortland Street. But it turned out to be worth the trouble both for the 'so bad it's good' factor and for its surprisingly good backstory.
Kung Fu Hustle
A perfectly decent martial arts comedy. Works great as a comedy, but not so well as a martial arts film save for one really cool fight scene involving a pair bad guys armed with a guzheng (Chinese harp) with deadly magical powers.
Hart's War
A courtroom drama set in a Nazi P.O.W. camp. Starts out promisingly enough with some interesting characters and plenty of moral ambiguity, but rapidly devolves into typical Hollywood hocum complete with grand speeches about honour and Bruce Willis dying to atone for all our sins.
Walk the Line
It would be pretty hard for this movie to really fail, as it has the sure fire asset of Johnny Cash's awesomeness to rely on, but they've still managed to take his story and render it impressively bland and lifeless. It's a waste and a pity, but hopefully sometime in the future when a bit more time has passed since Cash's death someone will make a biopic about him with a bit more guts.
Silent Hill
I was prepared for this to be absolutely terrible and in most ways it was; bad directing, terrible pacing and actors that could benefit from coaching by the cast of Shortland Street. But it turned out to be worth the trouble both for the 'so bad it's good' factor and for its surprisingly good backstory.
Kung Fu Hustle
A perfectly decent martial arts comedy. Works great as a comedy, but not so well as a martial arts film save for one really cool fight scene involving a pair bad guys armed with a guzheng (Chinese harp) with deadly magical powers.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Holiday Reading
A few quick reads from over the holidays.
Girl Genius – Phil and Kaja Foglio
A nice breezy steampunk manga style comic. It's complete fantasy cheese without being stupid or cliched and has a very original story and setting. It's been a long time since I read a decent by-the-numbers epic fantasy so this was a nice discovery. A few teaser chapters are available online at their website if you're interested.
The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion – Will Eisner
Another graphic novel. In stark contrast to Girl Genius this book is about as dark and depressing as they come, diving into the nasty details of anti-semitism in the 20th century by chronicling the history of the forgery known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. As you probably know The Protocols is a vile piece of hate literature that continues to be published worldwide today, despite being debunked as lies many times since it first appeared.
It's grim stuff, but as well as being interesting to know the book itself is stylistically an interesting implementation of a non-fiction comic. Just don't read it at the same time as Girl Genius. Too much cognitive whiplash.
Water From The Sun/ Discovering Japan – Bret Easton Ellis
A pair of short stories by the author of American Psycho published in one tiny book. These are really pretty superfluous; they merely retread the same territory as his infamous novel, only quicker and with less ickiness, and with the protagonist replaced by a soulless TV news presenter and a soulless has been rock star respectively. Not worth the half an hour it'd take to read them.
Holocaust Tips For Kids/ Smite The Heathens, Charlie Brown – Shalom Auslander
I have no idea who this guy is but these books were only $3 each so I grabbed this one at the same time as Easton Ellis' on account of its amusing titles. The first story, Holocaust Tips For Kids, delivers almost exactly what the title promises. A young Jewish boy learns about the holocaust in history class and details his intended courses of action in case the Nazi's should ever come for him and his family. I think it's meant to be comical and serious at the same time but coming on the heels of The Plot it was really just depressing.
Smite The Heathens, Charlie Brown is a lot lighter. Using the time worn characters and scenarios from the Peanuts comic strip, the author recounts a tale of religious rivalry growing from innocuous mistrust to all out war. The message is serious but who can't laugh at the idea of jackbooted 'Snoopy Youth' marching the streets to flush out 'Great Pumpkinites'?
Girl Genius – Phil and Kaja Foglio
A nice breezy steampunk manga style comic. It's complete fantasy cheese without being stupid or cliched and has a very original story and setting. It's been a long time since I read a decent by-the-numbers epic fantasy so this was a nice discovery. A few teaser chapters are available online at their website if you're interested.
The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion – Will Eisner
Another graphic novel. In stark contrast to Girl Genius this book is about as dark and depressing as they come, diving into the nasty details of anti-semitism in the 20th century by chronicling the history of the forgery known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. As you probably know The Protocols is a vile piece of hate literature that continues to be published worldwide today, despite being debunked as lies many times since it first appeared.
It's grim stuff, but as well as being interesting to know the book itself is stylistically an interesting implementation of a non-fiction comic. Just don't read it at the same time as Girl Genius. Too much cognitive whiplash.
Water From The Sun/ Discovering Japan – Bret Easton Ellis
A pair of short stories by the author of American Psycho published in one tiny book. These are really pretty superfluous; they merely retread the same territory as his infamous novel, only quicker and with less ickiness, and with the protagonist replaced by a soulless TV news presenter and a soulless has been rock star respectively. Not worth the half an hour it'd take to read them.
Holocaust Tips For Kids/ Smite The Heathens, Charlie Brown – Shalom Auslander
I have no idea who this guy is but these books were only $3 each so I grabbed this one at the same time as Easton Ellis' on account of its amusing titles. The first story, Holocaust Tips For Kids, delivers almost exactly what the title promises. A young Jewish boy learns about the holocaust in history class and details his intended courses of action in case the Nazi's should ever come for him and his family. I think it's meant to be comical and serious at the same time but coming on the heels of The Plot it was really just depressing.
Smite The Heathens, Charlie Brown is a lot lighter. Using the time worn characters and scenarios from the Peanuts comic strip, the author recounts a tale of religious rivalry growing from innocuous mistrust to all out war. The message is serious but who can't laugh at the idea of jackbooted 'Snoopy Youth' marching the streets to flush out 'Great Pumpkinites'?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Breaking News
After six months of unsuccessful searching researchers uncover trace amounts of good local metal in Sydney.
A spokesman for the research group said they were alerted to the discovery by the fact that their name is a Mr. Bungle reference.
A spokesman for the research group said they were alerted to the discovery by the fact that their name is a Mr. Bungle reference.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Wildebeest Asylum User Feedback Time
On account of Jungle Rhino's wrongheaded and unfathomable comment to the previous post:
Oh come on she's not that hot. Now if Natalie Portman goes and gets married before becoming washed up and posing for Playboy - that would be a true tragedy...I have created a completely unbiased poll to prove that he's nuts.
Reference photos:
Natalie Portman:
Amy Lee:
Natalie Portman:
Amy Lee:
Thursday, January 11, 2007
If Anyone Wants Me I'll Be In My Room
Crying.
In unrelated news, cats and dogs now living together. In Soviet Russia, incredibly talented classic rock drummer collaborates with Korn!
In unrelated news, cats and dogs now living together. In Soviet Russia, incredibly talented classic rock drummer collaborates with Korn!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
I Am... The EMPEROR!!
Emperor – Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk
My little overview of black metal has been continuing apace over the holidays. We now come to one of the most iconic bands in the genre, Emperor. Yes they're Norwegian, but I believe it is up for debate as to whether they're trve or not.
Anyone who's curious about this kind of music should definitely start with Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, as these guys seem to be the black metal band most easily enjoyed by people who don't like black metal and this is probably their most well regarded album. Indeed it is very accessible when compared to other bands of a similar style. Despite containing all the standard trappings of the genre (low-fi production, raspy vocals and spooky keyboards) it has some pretty solid and catchy songwriting which is still eminently enjoyable even when buried under a layer of fuzz. Compared to their contemporaries these guys have a far more epic sound, they're more about majestic satanic ritual whereas Mayhem and Burzum are more about grim frostbitten moors under moonlight.
Like those other bands these guys have had band members incarcerated for murder and arson but musically they don't compare to Mayhem for manic intensity, and in fact they seem to be deliberately aiming for a more commercial sound. While they're more sophisticated and have one or two great melodic moments on this album (for the record the tracks in question are 'The Oath' and 'With Strength I Burn') I'd still prefer to listen to Mayhem. Nevertheless I'd recommend these guys as the church burning, queer bashing murderers you can play for your Mum.
My little overview of black metal has been continuing apace over the holidays. We now come to one of the most iconic bands in the genre, Emperor. Yes they're Norwegian, but I believe it is up for debate as to whether they're trve or not.
Anyone who's curious about this kind of music should definitely start with Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, as these guys seem to be the black metal band most easily enjoyed by people who don't like black metal and this is probably their most well regarded album. Indeed it is very accessible when compared to other bands of a similar style. Despite containing all the standard trappings of the genre (low-fi production, raspy vocals and spooky keyboards) it has some pretty solid and catchy songwriting which is still eminently enjoyable even when buried under a layer of fuzz. Compared to their contemporaries these guys have a far more epic sound, they're more about majestic satanic ritual whereas Mayhem and Burzum are more about grim frostbitten moors under moonlight.
Like those other bands these guys have had band members incarcerated for murder and arson but musically they don't compare to Mayhem for manic intensity, and in fact they seem to be deliberately aiming for a more commercial sound. While they're more sophisticated and have one or two great melodic moments on this album (for the record the tracks in question are 'The Oath' and 'With Strength I Burn') I'd still prefer to listen to Mayhem. Nevertheless I'd recommend these guys as the church burning, queer bashing murderers you can play for your Mum.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Now Everyone's Doing It
Making a sex video that is.
New to me is one featuring the dude who played Screech on Saved by the Bell. Rumour has it that he used a cock double.
There's a one minute preview up on pornotube. I don't recommend watching it.
New to me is one featuring the dude who played Screech on Saved by the Bell. Rumour has it that he used a cock double.
There's a one minute preview up on pornotube. I don't recommend watching it.
Doing Your Mom And Trying To Kill Your Dad… There Should Be A Play.
Angel Season 4 Part 1
Yes I am still watching these, although at a very, very slow rate.
Angel was always a much darker show than Buffy but in its fourth season it became truly grim and the humour, while still present, started to become somewhat out of place. As in earlier seasons the plot is quite well done on the larger scale. The main storyline, in which L.A. is menaced by a seemingly invincible Satan-like demon is nicely intertwined with the dangling plot threads from the end of season 3, namely the arrival of Angel's teenage son, Cordelia's mysterious disappearance and Wesley's involvement with the show's perennial bad guys, the law firm Wolfram and Hart.
The grimness of the season is in part due to the hopeless nature of the heroes' battle against the big bad, who despite Angel and Co's best efforts persists in doing unpleasant bad guy type things such as blocking out the sun, making the sky rain fire and your standard general slaughter, but mostly the sad, depressing mood comes as the constant messing around with the main character's relationships done in the last season bears fruit, leaving the heroes mistrustful and resentful of one another. Lots of nice angsty character development ensues.
The highlight of the first half of the season comes at the end, when the heroes, out of desperation, are manipulated into transforming Angel into his evil alter ego Angelus. This cheerful, maverick psychopath is a smart addition to an already tense scenario and revives what was starting to become somewhat of a miserable, depressing plot arc. It's disappointing that we didn't see more of Angelus during the show's run because he's a great character. While I understand that the writers didn't want to overuse him, I think there still should have been more of him (other than in this season he only shows up in one episode in season one, and in flashbacks in season two), as his evil deeds are the basis for the whole backstory behind the show.
Despite the writer's numerous missteps this show continued to be worth watching, it's just a pity that the same could not be said for its parent.
P.S. Even though I'm a bit late with this news some of you may be interested to know that season eight of Buffy is in the works, as a comic series.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
New Years Resolutions
Are made to be broken. I only had two and the first one was "drink more moderately".
I acquitted myself very nicely on Friday up in Brisbane, achieving only a responsibly pleasant level of drunkenness before calling it a night at 4am.
Flash forward 24 hours, and I am throwing up in the toilets of a club in Kings Cross before returning to the bar, sculling the rest of my beer and buying another sambuka shot to mask the smell of vomit on my breath. At least I retained the presence of mind to stay out of the strip clubs this time but it wasn't the finest hour for my new year resolution.
I acquitted myself very nicely on Friday up in Brisbane, achieving only a responsibly pleasant level of drunkenness before calling it a night at 4am.
Flash forward 24 hours, and I am throwing up in the toilets of a club in Kings Cross before returning to the bar, sculling the rest of my beer and buying another sambuka shot to mask the smell of vomit on my breath. At least I retained the presence of mind to stay out of the strip clubs this time but it wasn't the finest hour for my new year resolution.
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