Month: February 2005

To borrow a phrase of my flatmates, R.E.M. were so good! Excellent show drawing from most albums over the years something from everything but Murmers and Fables…. Highlights were most of the set, but Seven Chinese Brothers as the fourth or fifth song was amazing. Monster and even Hi-Fi (both of which I have a whole lot of time for) work so much better live. I love, love, love Walk Unafraid and was exceptionally happy when they played it. The encore was stunning. When Stipe announces that this will be only the second time in 18 years they’ve played this song live, you just know it’s going to be something special.
The full setlist
I took your name
Animal
Undertow
The outsiders
Seven Chinese Bros.
High speed train
Everybody hurts
Electron blue
Leaving New York
I´ve been high
Departure
Orange crush
I wanted to be wrong
Final straw
Imitation of life
The one I love
Walk unafraid
Losing my religion

***********

What´s the frequency, Kenneth?
Bad day
Sweetness follows
Swan, swan H
Electrolite
I´m gonna Dj
Man on the moon

So! Good! And such a good venue to see them in. I thought it was good going to see them somewhere as small as Brixton a couple of years ago but this was just awesome. Strange crowd throughout, they didn’t get too excited but it was quite an old crowd for the main. Lots and lots of Fan Club people there, most tickets having gone out to them first. Almost total lack of a sing-along, even for the big big hits. Man on the Moon at the end got a good bit but that seemed to be about it. Hyde Park will be a whole other kind of gig, I’m looking forward to it. I’m not a huge fan of the new album, but it works really really well live, in particular Final Straw and Leaving New York. It may deserve a few more listens.

That was my fourth time seeing ’em. The first time was my first gig too. Dublin 99 for the world tour back then. It was also a first date and I had to borrow the cash from my mother to get tickets. It was a great great gig (support was the excellent Divine Comedy) and a good first date tho that went sour a few months later. Anyway one thing that I really like about R.E.M live, although it gets boring the more I see them, they play their biggest hits every set. It’s rare that you don’t get Loosing my Religion and Man on the Moon and Everybody Hurts. All great great songs but overexposed for sure. Just would rather 3 other songs now that I’ve heard these a few times. Radiohead, for example, don’t play Creep very often, so when they do it’s a massive treat and I’m lucky enough to have seen ’em do it. The audience doubletaked for a moment, not quiet sure what they were hearing. Something like that would go down well I think, or just one of the three. Still every gig is someone’s first I guess.

Very pleased to hear that JJ72 are on the main stage for Download Friday. I’ve not seen them or even heard from them in a while. Hoping for some London dates around the same time. Of course the loss of the lovely Hilary Woods on bass is a big blow but hopefully the third album will be a good one.

A few random things out and about lately have amused me. I was wandering down to Chalk Farm to get the tube one day last week when I heard someone whistleing pretty loudly, clearly and indeed well nearby. I couldn’t see who it was but it was a perfect version of Fields of Athenry. There was a moment as I crossed the bridge towards the station when I walked by someone who, like myself, had picked up on it and was singing along. A smile and a nod each way and that was that. One of those moments of a connection to home.

On the way home from the gig on the tube last night, there was a couple getting, well, fairly close sitting opposite us. But he was wearing a full sailors uniform and she was barefoot. She was wearing a dress of somesort, not sure if it was fancy dress or he really was…but the poor girl sitting next to them was getting quite embarrassed. Even more so when the guy elbowed his girl to move around in her seat so he could move his hand well…around t the front. Very subtle going there…

And the final was sitting in Starbucks this afternoon. Two cute young girls sat down nearby and after a couple of seconds starting talking about a survey of somesort. College students I would guess, but they spent the next two hours or so discussing questions and possibilities and trying to come up with things they could ask. Lots about how you feel to be sitting in starbucks, are you watching people out the window, do you know when people are watching you etc. They were loud enough but I found myself listening to them for a while, I wonder if they noticed and put something down about it.

I had gone to Starbucks to get some reading done. I started reading Lucifer from the first issue a couple of days ago and I wanted to get a couple of trades done this afternoon. And so I did. The first 32 issues of this are superb, easily one of the best comics of the past 10 years. Such a good story with decent to good art throughout. I believe it goes downhill rapidly after this point but I have another 20 issues or so to work through. I’m hoping for something good.

I saw A Life In The Theatre a few days ago. It contained two excellent performances, Patrick Stewart I expected no less from and I was very impressed with Joshua Jackson. It was amusing to see the front row of girls up and screaming at him when he was taking his bows. He did have the grace to look embarrassed about it, most others were amused. But the play itself was a little tedious. Some funny moments but it seemed to avoid the theme of the gap between the younger and older actor. As if it was just some dialogue written around that, instead of about it. Recommended only for the performances alone.

My defender hit 24 in CoH this afternoon. I’m enjoying playing him a lot and he’s levelling a lot quicker than I did at the time (without WL help too). It’s mainly down to *having* to team and doing a lot of missions. I can’t solo. I have 2, unslotted, offensive powers. Everything else is pure support. I’m considering a respec but I’m not sure what I want to open up with it. Maybe Invisibility and I could get as much as Phase Shift in now but I don’t know. I suffer without stamina, unless I can get Hasten and RA working together which I can most of the time, so getting Stamina etc isn’t so important.

Fuck fuck fuck.

I’m still not feeling any better and so last night I missed seeing Hope of the States at the Astoria. I had thought I could dose myself up and go off and see them but I really wasn’t feeling up to it. Of course NME has a glowing review for a 15 track set including a load of new songs.

Fucking cold.

🙁

That’s really gone and made my week even worse. Easily my favourite band from last year and a fantastic live group. Especially at a massive (sold out) headline show at the Astoria of all places. I had been looking forward to this gig for a good while. It was a highlight of all the upcoming.

Fuck.

I slept for most of today. I had pretty much figured last night that I wouldn’t be in work today but set my alarm anyway to see how I felt. I was right and that was that really. Surprisingly I had slept really well last night and by around 10 I was out of bed, wide awake and reading (Evan Dorkin’s Bill & Ted) comics. By midday I felt even worse and I thought I would try and sleep for a little more to see if that helped. Next thing I know it’s going on 5pm.

I now associate colds with hot chocolate. I don’t like Lemsip, I never have. So whenever I have a cold I tend to just take some drugs and drink lots of hot chocolate. Preferably mint hot chocolate but Tesco didn’t have any today. The Cadburys one I ended up with was very nice. I found out too that you could melt Vaporub in hot water and inhale the vapors and that was meant to help. So I gave it a try but it failed to do anything, include melt and I gave up on that.

Toast is one of the greatest inventions of mankind. Toast with butter and raspberry jam is almost enough to prove to me there is a god. It’s good at any time of day.

So that really set the tone for the day. I missed today’s drinks, really not feeling up to it despite it being less than 2 minutes away from my flat. So apologies to all on that front. Instead I’ve been watching some Alias which is allright and playing some CoH.

I dinged 34 this evening and yesterday I caught up on some badges including my Atlas Medallion I’m pleased to report. So that was fun. I have no idea how I’m going to grind my way through the next 16 levels, I really need an active SG at my level to keep it going and there isn’t such a beast. Ah well, all fun and games.

Budgie kindly lent me the new Peter David novel last week. I got to it on Sunday afternoon. First I had to finish and pass on the new Brookmyre book. It was fun, a little daft but well written and entertaining in general so I enjoyed it. Anyway the PD I read in a single sitting. He’s a fun writer, I have a whole lot of time for him although he is an annoying bastard too. It would be nice every once in a while to NOT HAVE A CLIFFHANGER! It just leaves me wanting the next one alot and that’s months if not a year away. It’s left me wanting to go back and read all the others so I’ll get to them at some stage. I don’t remember the last book I sat down and read in one sitting, I like doing it every now and again.

Valentines day then. Well I haven’t got much to say, in fact, I don’t have anything to say. However everyone else is commenting in some way and I didn’t want to feel left out.

Chatting with a friend on IM has reminded me of comics, so here are some I have read recently.

– Books of Magic : Life During Wartime. Fun, with some very nice art. I’ve read some of them on and off over the years but never got around to collecting them all. I had heard good things about this new version and cheap trades of the start of series are always good.
– It’s a Bird. I’ve been waiting for this in softcover for a while now. It’s an excellent read with some lovely painted artwork. I now want to go out and read his Superman run.
– Hellblazer : All His Engines. Yawn, Ennis did this so much better at least 100 if not 150 issues ago. Not an OGN, just a 4 issue arc stuck together. The first 35 issues of Lucifer were excellent but Mike Carey barely interested me with anything since then. Nice art in places but overall yawn.

For I while now, I’ve been meaning to do this again. So here’s Feb 14th through the years.

1994 – I watched Dances With Wolves Part 2. I can only assume ITV had split it up for over two nights. The highlight of my day was finding a cheat to warp through some Mario levels.
1995 – Well, school apparently bored me that day. I watched X-Files and The World at War that evening and I sent away for some info on an Irish sci-fi con.
1996 – School was “ok” I seem to have rented Raising Cain that evening and thought it was allright. Also the X-Men cartoon was the 5th part of The Phoenix Saga.
1997 – School was ok, there weren’t any “real classes”. Middle of mock exams it would appear and English was to be the next Thursday. That evening I babysat while my parents were out.
1998 – I slept in till 1 (having worked till 1 the night before). I was late for work because I had my shifts mixed up. I worked until 1 again. We had just gotten a new PC and I spent the afternoon before work playing around online. You know I can’t remember what I was working as at the time and do I mention anywhere what I do? Not a chance. I’m cringing and actually gone red at some of the other things I wrote around this time.
2002 – Doesn’t appear to have been much at all. The prior night had been pool after work with the lads so I imagine it was one of those mornings.
2003 – I went to see Daredevil in Streatham with two friends. Wow that was really two years ago
2004 – Out with the V in the bar until 2am when we were thrown out. The next morning was noted as hungover

And that’s all I got.

I’m now really really passed being fed up of feeling unwell. I have the start of a cold and I feel miserable, I have all day.

Enough already. There was a time, in fact only recently that I went two years without being sick and now I don’t seem to be able to go past a month.

It’s not funny 🙁

what comes between love and lust?

A couple of years ago I realised that I should be taking advantage of living in London, and getting paid enough to be able to afford, to make a point of going to gigs and the theatre. So since then it’s been rare that I haven’t been booked to go and see something at some stage in the next few months.

So far, booked for this year:

Hope of the States – Astoria – Feb 15th
R.E.M. – Hammersmith Apollo – Feb 19th
Donna’s – Astoria – March 9th
The Camden Crawl – various – March 10th
The Mars Volta – Brixton – March 13th
Mull Historical Society – Shep Bush Empire – March 18th
The Subways – Mean Fiddler – April 6th.
British Sea Power – Forum – April 13th
The Frames – Shep Bush Empire – April 22nd
U2 – Somewhere Glasgow – June 21st
U2 – Croke Park – June 24th
R.E.M. – Hyde Park – July 9th

With Download 10- 12 June to be added as soon as tickets go on sale and no doubt Reading to follow. I’m also tempted by Oxegen back in Dublin and the Give it a Name day up in the Ally Pally. Both of those are a wait and see.

Hoping for shows from Killers and Outkast around Glasto in Brixton or the like and I’ll go along to them

Theatre wise, I’m off to see Festen at the start of March and A Life In The Theatre next week. Death of a Salesman opens in Hammersmith later in the year and I want to try and catch that too. I have never seen The Mouse Trap so I’d like to catch that at some stage but I don’t think it’s going to finish it’s run anytime soon…

Also, I’m planning on catching Turner Whistler Monet at the Tate sometime in the next couple of weeks. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon in and around the Tate with my camera sounds like lots of fun.

I really should be doing work but this afternoon it’s just not happening. And yes I have some very eclectic music taste

It is early Friday morning and I’m shattered and hungover but for some reason I feel good. Yesterday was a good day. I got some stuff sorted out with the Dublin lads and at least have something small to work with.

I like airports generally and I don’t mind travelling. It’s a good chance to read and to spend a while chilling out, in theory. In reality I never managed to get organised. It doesn’t matter if I have lots of luggage or none at all, as soon as I have to go through the metal detectors I just loose it. Scrabbling with keys and coins and everything else and it never manages to work out. Carrying the passport and the ticket and everything else just gets to me. It’s minor I know but it always bothers me and I never manage to be ready for it.

Anyway back in the evening last night and off to a leaving do for one of the guys here. It was a late one, sometime after 2am when I got home quite drunk. A long long day without any dinner, never a good idea. It was fun tho and some good new people around aswell as some old friends making a rare night out.

This morning, U2 sold out Dublin. 160k tickets in under 50 minutes. Only two nights, the extra two nights appear to be off. This isn’t good news. It means that I’m not going to Glastonbury which to be honest does not bother me so much as the lineup is looking shit. So it’ll be a week off where I go to Glasgow and Dublin. See some friends, catch up with family and catch the lads. Yay. U2.com are doing full refunds for anyone who signed up for presale and wasn’t able to get some. All driven by Larry with a rather nice letter from him too. So that’s cool. I still have hope that extra tickets and indeed extra dates will go on sale and I’m keeping my eyes out. 2 nights in Dublin running would be awesome.

I’ve been talking to some support in the US at my share broker (la de da) and they are so scarily polite it’s not funny. Americans are funny.