Kingston Lord

A few weeks ago, we were thinking of going to a gig in Kingston, because it featured our new favourite band, Tubelord. And after a few google searches and e-mail rendezvous with the band, we managed to get to the gig, which was said to be pretty much invite-only.

But then we came to the pub/venue, and we didn't have any trouble getting in. They didn't ask for names, but they did ask for proof of age, since it was an over-18 venue.

Pretty much everyone there knew each other. I think it was supposed to be just a local gig, with local bands (except for Blakfish who came all the way from Birmingham) and their friends.

First to perform was mistakes.in.animation. They were okay, but the vocals got drowned out by the music. And it paled in comparison with the other three bands that were to come.

Mistakes.in.animation (Click for myspace)

Next was Blakfish. Who was amazing.

Blakfish (click for myspace)

After Blakfish was the reason we came all the way to Kingston in the first place. Tube-fucking-lord. They were awesome. The crowd went wild. The finale of "I Am Azerrad" was immense.

Tubelord (click for myspace)

Then came Colour, a band I didn't know much about or listened to. They were well brilliant. "Unicorns" is an amazing tune.

Colour (click for myspace)

When we were going out of the Fighting Cocks (yes, that's the name of the place) we managed to stumble onto Blakfish on the way. And at the pub they were singing along to Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters."

And here's another photo from Kingston.

Amused?

Signing out

Over and out

The Glamour Of Murder

From indie, we move on to metal. At Fibbers we got to see York's very own Glamour Of The Kill, which has shades and influences of Avenged Sevenfold. It's been quite a long time since my headbanging days (circa 2001-2004). So this was sort of nostalgic in a way. Going to this was actually Pill's idea. I just thought going back to metal would be cool. And it was.
The guitarist looks uncannily like Vince Noir. Y'know, the camp fashion-conscious guy from the Mighty Boosh. It was weird.

This is their opening song.

Glamour Of The Kill (click for myspace)

Check out "A Hope In Hell" or "Rise From Your Grave." There's nothing terribly original about them, but they're still really good.

This is one of the support bands, The Fallen. Check out their other song, "Bled Dry."

The Fallen (click for myspace)

Next, Tubelord

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: Glamour Of The Kill - Kiss Of Death
via FoxyTunes

Foals Academy

To end what was a horrid couple of weeks with an amazing gig by Foals at the Carling Academy, I found myself forgetting every bit of shit that's happened recently.

To begin the night, we stood in line for more than an hour in the cold (according to Pill) and in the rain, and a bit of a starter from Kebab Kid next door.
We were third in line as a group. So the queue was well worth it. We got front row for fuck's sake.
The two supporting bands, Jonquil and Youthmovies were a bit of a pick and mix. Jonquil was amazing. They sound much better than they do on myspace and throughout their whole show they used at least ten different instruments. Aside from the usual guitar, bass and drums, they also used an accordion, a flute, a cello, a sampler, a violin, and instruments I didn't even know existed.

Youthmovies was, well... Hmmm... It was a total riot of course. But the music was well shit. They were having a really bad day. But to take it out on the crowd, just botching up their songs that sounded like they had real potential to be great tunes, was unprofessional. It was so bad that when the guitarist 'lent' his guitar to the crowd for them to play, it sounded no different to when they were actually playing.

But then Foals descended upon us.

With an amazing opening tune, XXXXX, which is essentially a tuning up that's gone completely out of control and out of this world. Watching a band tune up has never been this awesome. Then they played 'The French Open,' and the whole crowd erupted into a frenzy. Instead of appreciative applauses the whole floor jumps with every beat.

This is an attempt to record 'Heavy Water' with Pill's phone. The quality of the video ain't amazing. But here you go anyway.


In the middle of 'Electric Bloom,' Yannis, the vocalist, was getting mental in the instrumental, climbing up the amplifiers and then going to the back of the stage for a run-up that will end up with him jumping onto us, the crowd. Yes, the fucking vocalist landed right on top of us, almost breaking Pill's finger and leaving it swollen. But hell, it was amazing.

We had to fight for our place in the front row, resisting every push and every crazed fan that wanted to squeeze in. It was a proper battle.

Yet it was exhilarating. The whole gig was one massive high from start to finish.

Next, Glamour Of The Kill.

Signing out

Over and out

Gulliver's Throat

Foals is tomorrow. Woo hoo.

I'm in London at the moment. Have been here since yesterday evening. And oh, I'm not staying at Brunei Hall. After all the shit that place made me go through in the last two years, I wanna avoid staying there as much as possible.

So here I am at Dibah's place. Taking advantage of their internet. I think this must be my second or third time here. The last time I was here was when this place was as empty as fuck.

My allowance hasn't come through. If by miracle it comes through tomorrow, I'll be fucking happy. Most likely it'll be on Monday though (2 whole weeks late!).

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: The Last Shadow Puppets - Calm Like You
via FoxyTunes

Dazed & Confused

Seminar this morning has been cancelled. Just as well, because I'd slept at 3am last night after a Christmas house party at a friend's at Lindley's. Good times.

I'm really tempted to go to London today. Since I don't have anything else to do for the day. And I only have one seminar tomorrow and nothing on Friday. Good, ain't it?

This weekend, I have three things to look forward to:

1) Foals
2) BSUnion Winter Games
3) Pill

And in that order. Hahahaha. I'm kidding. Pill, if you're reading this, I'm K-I-D-D-I-N-G.

...

You're actually not even on the list.

...

(cricket noises)

...

Ha. I'm kidding. Again.

Honestly though. Foals and Winter Games are secondary. I'm just glad to see Pill after 3 weeks or something.

(Tries to write something corny)

(Gives up)

I feel a bit dazed. I think I woke up way too early.

I miss London.

I'm coming.

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: Josh Ritter - The Temptation Of Adam
via FoxyTunes

The Time Of Foals

I really can't wait. After what was a frustrating week, this week I've got them to look forward to:

Foals

A sonic fits of math rock and psychedelic pop with a dash of dance punk, techno and minimalism, their music is as catchy as a mutated flu, with lyrics that are as escapist as they are incomprehensible. I've mentioned Foals before on this blog. Like all Foals videos, this one is as incomprehensible as their lyrics.


Foals - Balloons

Hailing from Oxford (some of them studied at the University too) they came out with one of the best debut albums this year, Antidotes. Their music borders on instrumentalism, with the vocals rather than serving as a verbal expressive become a part of the sonic audio attack, especially in 'Red Socks Pugie' and 'The French Open.'

I'm going to see them this weekend at the sold-out show in The Carling Academy, Oxford. Just so long as my allowance doesn't get delayed by another week. Oh, by the way, click on the photo to go to the band's official website, and here for their myspace.

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: Foals - Big Big Love (Fig. 2)
via FoxyTunes

Margaret Thatcher Is My Homie

Blog-hopping is one of those last resort activities I do when I really am just staring blankly into my screen wondering whether the screen will ever talk back and complain about the amount of crumbs that have managed to get into the keyboard.

One thing I've really noticed is how people say "oh if you don't like what I have to say just leave" on a lot of blogs. And most of them have this one common trait: they never really have anything interesting to say. I mean, there I was getting excited that someone would make me grab my thinking hat (which is basically just a pair of goggles I "borrowed" from the Chemistry lab), then I find myself bored to death with picture tags and dull accounts of your day-to-day life.

It's not so much I don't like what you have to say. It's really you boring me to death with your story of how you went to the Mall to watch 'Susuk' or something like that.

Don't tempt me with your promise of thought-provocation, and then betray that promise with a picture of you with your boyfriend at Chill having fake Pina Colada on every single post.

I find most of the people who are actually opinionated (and have interesting things to say) don't exclaim in bold, colourful letters, "I'm fucking opinionated. Disagree with me and die!!!!"

I guess being opinionated is like being a woman. If you have to convince people you are, then you aren't. (Note: I stole this quote from somewhere and changed one word to opinionated. I think it might've been Margaret Thatcher, ironically. Something about being powerful)

They say curves are sexy. So I agree. Some sexiness approaching.

don't look at me like that, you

I just wanna hug you and your curves

What an impressive pair you have

So there it is. Don't dirty your screen.

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: Beck - Bottle of Blues
via FoxyTunes

Ridiculous

I'm getting really pissed off.

It's fucking ridiculous. It's not fucking funny anymore.

Signing out

Over and out

Audio Heaven

I'm having multiple audio orgasms in both my ears.

This thing is amazing.

The month-long wait and the £125 (eBay) + £20 (P&P) + £44 (VAT) I paid for it, it was all worth it. I love my new retro-futuristic boombox.

Signing out

Over and out

Review: Harman Kardon Go + Play iPod Dock

Device: Harman Kardon Go+Play iPod Dock

Manufacturer: Harman Kardon
Rating: 4 out of 5

I don't need much in my speakers: amazing sound, amazing looks, simplicity, and plays with my laptop.

With that in mind, this sexy beast is the perfect thing for me.

First, the looks. It looks beautiful. Look at it making love to my iPod Touch. The stainless steel arch, the matte black finish. Simple, yet so elegant. If there was ever a boombox for the arty, this is it. Its retro-futuristic style is what I expect from Harman Kardon, which is known for making some of the best-looking speakers out there.

Second, the sound. Out of the box, it sounds amazing. Out of any of the portable iPod docks I've heard, this is the best. You don't need to adjust anything. The sound balance is just right. That's just as well, because you can't adjust the treble and bass levels from the speakers itself. There're only three buttons: the power button, and the two volume buttons. This might be a problem for some, but for me, it's too minor. It sounds awesome to begin with, you don't really have to change anything. This thing is much louder than my JBL Creature II (which I love to bits), and sounds much better.

Third, the features. It's got an RF remote, which means you don't have to point to the speakers to use it. The plastic feels a bit cheap compared to the speakers, and when you try to navigate through your iPod, the whole thing turns into a complex mess. But then it's got a compartment at the back for the remote, which hides it if you give up trying to learn how the iPod navigation works.

One thing that annoys me is how my iPod Touch doesn't fully fit into the dock. It's supposed to charge most iPods, and from what I've heard, it does. But the charge function doesn't work on iPod Touch. Which sucks, because that's what I happen to have. And because it's supposed to lie down in the dock, you can't see the iPod menu from faraway. Which renders the iPod remote navigation useless. And even if you look at it from a bird's eye view, the handle gets in the way. The handle also gets in the way when you want to navigate through your iPod with your hands. But you can connect the system to your computer and sync your iPod through the system.

Overall, this is an amazing system. A bit pricey for some people. After postage and VAT, I paid about £180. And that's the cheapest I could find. The simplicity will attract some, and repel others.

If you have the money to spend and looking for a super-stylish, beautiful audio and an iPod dock (note: it does not charge iPod touch) that does not require complex setting-up and knob fiddling, this is for you.
Included with the device:
A/C Adapter
RF Remote
3.5mm auxilliary input with cable
8 iPod dock adaptors, for all iPods
iPod Nano and iPod Mini plastic safeguards
S-Video port (for watching anything from your iPod on a TV)
Can run on batteries

Snowflakes

Snow.

Yes, it's less depressing than English rain. A lot less depressing.

It's actually bright.

Frozen sunshine then.

But it's fucking freezing.

Signing out

Over and out