Confession time: I was a choir girl. First in primary school, then the Churchlands SHS Senior Choir which toured the US, and then a short stint in the Conservatorium Chorale at WAAPA. So I know my way around a Christmas carol. I can remember the words to all seven verses to O Come All Ye Faithful. I know various carols in Latin, in German, and in four part harmony. I sang in a production of Handel’s Messiah, for chrissakes.
I therefore feel qualified to proclaim this as the most awesome Christmas song EVER.
Angela Gossow is my feminine inspiration of late. Not just for the metal chick thing, or the cookie monster growl that’s bigger than most of the blokes can manage, but also because interviews and articles I read either say she’s as nice as pie or a psycho ice queen who “fucking hates everything”. Which I think means she’s a normal person.
Over dinner last Friday, Ben mentioned that “the place” to see them would probably be Gosnells on Sunday, due to the high bogan population. That got me thinking. By Sunday, I’d decided that it would really suck if the one time I finally got to see the Screaming Jets play live, it was in a crummy venue – and while Ben bailed, Al and Gem decided to make the trek out to Gosnells with us.
I’m really glad we decided to go – Gosnells might be a long way from anywhere but man, they like their pub bands out there. We rocked out to another amazing set with a bunch of people who were actually into it – and had a totally great time. I can’t enough good things about it, and neither it seems can Al, who is normally quite reserved about such things.
Apparently the Jets have an album coming out next year – bring it on! Hopefully they’ll tour here again because Sunday was an experience I’d love to repeat.
I have a weakness for good Aussie pub rock, and I lovethe Screaming Jets (warning: great band, very bad Flash website). I missed out on seeing them in 1992 or 1993 or something when they played the Wanneroo Tavern, because I was too young and they wouldn’t let me in. I missed them again a few years later when I got the date wrong and turned up the night after. I missed them a year or two ago when I saw the poster advertising the gig after the date. So I was determined not to miss them this time.
They’re playing five gigs in Perth, so I figured I’d go ultra-local and see them at Maxx Niteclub in Joondalup. That turned out to be a mistake.
First let me say the Jets are an awesome band, one of the few that actually sound better live. Dave Gleeson struts around the stage, pulling faces, performing acrobatics, and generally having a good time. I’ll admit that I don’t know whether the other guys in the band are all original members or not – they range from fairly young and hip looking to um… “experienced” – but they certainly play well together. They played some songs we knew, some that we didn’t, and some that even the band didn’t (according to Dave, anyway) and every number was right on the money. So what was happening on stage was all good and lived up to every expectation I had.
However, I was really embarrassed about the crowd. I dunno what it was, and maybe I’ve been reading too much TSSH but they all seemed so… suburban and inbred? No idea how to behave at a gig. They showed about the same level of interest in and appreciation of what was happening at the front of the venue as you’d give a crap local cover band, until the very end of the show when a few drunks rushed the front and bulked up the dancefloor area. Henry Rollins does a big spiel about going to a KISS gig in some backwater of California and one word he uses to describe the locals – troglodytes – just kept coming back as I looked around me.
Note to self: next time an opportunity arises to see a show in Joondalup or some other area of the state… go ANYWHERE except Joondalup. Other than that the Screaming Jets rocked. They are so good that the fact they have to play to rubbish Wednesday night crowds in backwaters like Joondalup is a tragedy.
I’ve been quite spoiled for good live music lately – and about bloody time! A bit over a week after the Danzig show, and there we are at Metropolis Freo seeing Fear Factory with DevilDriver. Full road report on MetalUnderground again:
Read it? Good. The bit about the shoe to the head is totally true. Out of the blue (well, out of the centre of the mosh pit), it bounced off my head and into some other chick’s face, and we looked at each other like “where the hell did that come from?”. Would be amusing if it wasn’t kinda ouch.
On the way out, Dave and I had two minutes of bonding with some dude wearing a Danzig I-era t-shirt. I admired his home made shirt and he displayed an appropriate amount of envy when we told him about our trip to see the great man himself. In the post-coital glow of a good show you hug people you normally wouldn’t even talk to.
On the way out, even more good news: both Arch Enemy and Soulfly are doing their own gigs in Perth after Gigantour (headlined by Megadeth and only playing the East coast of Australia). So I don’t need to save up and go to Sydney again, which is good because we may not have been able to manage it so close to the Danzig trip and the Web Directions conference. Next month we also get to see Killswitch Engage. And looking forward to the Big Day Out announcements which are usually made in October.
Yay! Maybe Perth isn’t the musical black hole I’ve been suspecting. Then again…
Sydney was miserable – it rained the entire time. Because we were only staying one night, we had only one bag and one change of clothes so getting soaked to the skin every 10 minutes was not exactly pleasant. However, the show was awesome and well worth the trip.
One thing I did lug all the way over there was my new 350D. I’ll get around to posting some of the photos on Flickr soon (not that grey Sydney drenched in winter drizzle is much to look at). I have already posted some camera phone photos from the gig.
My review of the show I’ve been waiting my entire adult life to see has been posted on Metal Underground. Many thanks to Ben for allowing me to use his story of childhood anguish for a cheap laugh. Go on, read the review and see what I mean 🙂
As has been widely reported in so many places that I’m not even going to bother finding a link, today Australian icon Steve Irwin was killed in a freak accident involving a stingray.
Many Australians consider Steve a bit of a joke, because he was letting Americans believe that Hoges was not an anomoly and “Crikey! We all talk like this down under!”
However, I’ve always had admiration for the guy because I really believe that he was taking the piss. I’m sure he truly did love wildlife and the outback and all that stuff, but there’s no doubt in my mind that his onscreen persona was purposely giving the American public exactly what they wanted and laughing at them all the way to the bank. It’s a very Australian attitude, really, and you have to hand it to him, he was never seen out of character.
It’s a very sad day for Crocodile Hunter fans everywhere, and especially for his family and kids.
Award-winning bloggerSi is giving away his famed wall of photos by mailing them out (old school, as in by post) to his fans. I eagerly requested my own piece of limited edition Diversionary memorabilia and was delighted to discover a cute smiling boathouse in my mailbox (thanks Si) along with the usual crop of bills (thanks Alinta Gas, for nothing).
I was tempted to reminisce about how people just don’t send letters anymore, but then I remembered instant multimedia-rich email and decided that was bullshit. Still, letters and postcards are cool. I think I will make a concerted effort to send home-made Christmas cards to all my friends and family this year.
My new toy – a Canon 350D – will no doubt help make this even more fun 🙂
Yesterday, Ben and Deb came over so I made my awesome chili con carne. We had been to the shops beforehand and found some gorgeous fresh jalapinos, so I decided to roast them under the grill before peeling them and mashing them up into the sauce.
Now, normally jalapinos that we buy around here aren’t particularly hot… and I had taken all of the seeds out before putting them under the grill. But these turned out to be scorchers – so my chili sauce was very tasty. We sat down with some nice hot chili, surf chips, and a nice cold Hoegaarden. Half way through dinner my fingers started to burn – because of course I hadn’t worn gloves while peeling.
Some ice fixed the problem… until after dinner, when I had a glass of Tia Maria. Hmmm… a pattern is forming. More ice. Rather than deadening the pain, the alcohol was thinning my blood and making it hurt more, or something. I don’t know exactly, but I couldn’t type until this morning…
Lesson: wear gloves when working with chilis, even if you don’t think they are hot. Sheesh.
Here’s a secret I’ve been keeping (not particularly well, admittedly): Dave and I have started our own venture, Clever Starfish.
As he’s a Delphi dude and I’m a web chick, we’ll be concentrating on what we do best – for him that’s writing software and GUI/usability evaluation, and for me it’s search engine optimisation, online marketing (like blogs and newsletters) and of course general web development. There’s a few plans, plots and schemes in the pipeline but we’re always on the lookout for new stuff.
So tell me, the new site: do you love it, hate it, or something in between? The link again: go visit the fishies 🙂
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