NME New Music Tour

Tuesday night I managed to convince a few of my girlfriends to join me at the NME new music tour. The gig was at Koko in Camden which is one of my favourite venues. We got there early and so managed to secure a balcony area where we could sit and wait for the bands to start, and which also gave us a great view of the stage. The only band I had any real interest in seeing was Pull Tiger Tail, and I was not disappointed. The Guitarist Davo(??)was your typical cocky, I think I'm hot Brit rocker, and while he irritated the crap out of all my friends I found his antic mildly amusing. At one point he jumped down into the press alley in front of the crowd, I think he was expecting mass hysteria, but the crowd barely reacted. I really started enjoying myself when they got several people on stage with them to help them play one of their songs (will have to buy their CD in order to tell which song it was). It had an awesomely infectious beat, magnified by the extra people onstage thumping out the rhythm. This was the point where they started to look like they were really having fun, and from my great vantage point I could tell the crowd was loving it. I am seriously looking forward to seeing where this band again.

The surprise band of the evening was The Little Ones. I had never actually heard of them before this tour and they blew me away. I loved how they could stand on stage next to these other typically British bands, with their own very unique sound and "rock out". They even encouraged the crowd to throw things at them at one point. The lead singer, Ed Reyes, is incredibly charismatic and I fell in love with him the moment he stepped up onto stage and started wriggling his little butt around. He reminded me of a toddler, trying to explain something very earnestly, all big eyes and cute expressions. The music was incredibly happy and upbeat and I couldn't stop smiling throughout their performance, I actually felt a pang of loss as they walked off the stage.

I don't have terribly much to say about the other two bands. The drummer for the Blood Red Shoes was amazing, but I found the lead singer to be dull and her guitar smashing act at the end of their performance seemed like a childish temper tantrum. I would definitely like to keep an eye on the drummers career, my uneducated opinion is that he should ditch the girl and find someone with a bit more spunk.

The Rumble Strips.... where do I start? 15 minutes into their performance I snuck into the toilet where I overheard two girls discussing the Rumbles performance. The one drunken girl summed it by saying,"it's just shouty bloke music, who would want a Rumbles bootleg album?" I was unmoved by their performance. I spent more time watching the crowd than watching the band, and their music didn't really stir up any emotion. I was pretty much indifferent and we left before they had finished.

All in all I am really glad I went along to this. It is always great to hear new bands live and to find unknown gems! I'm off to buy the Little One's and Pull Tiger Tails albums.

One day older, one year older

Yes, this weekend I turned 24. I have to say that this year my expectations and excitement levels were at an all time low. There has been so much other stuff going on that it didn't seem to sink in that my birthday was upon me.

Luckily for me I have some amazing friends who
a) helped organise a celebration and
b) turned up and made the night worth while.
We started off at the Amused Moose comedy club. I was feeling a little apprehensive, cause if comedy is not great then it is just embarrassing. Luckily for me the three comedians were fantastic. It being my birthday I was very worriesd that one of my friend would draw attention to me and embarrass me. Sadly I do not need friends to draw attention to me as I am more than capable of embarrassing myself. During the one quite moment in the comedians witty banter I hiccuped....loudly, and it did not even take him 5 seconds to launch into me. I now have a new nick-name. But if you weren't there on sat night I'm afraid there is absolutely NO WAY I am going to divulge what it is.

Anyway....after the comedy ended we hung out for a couple minutes but the club emptied out faster than I could top up my glass of wine, so we headed out to Ghetto, were the music is kitsch and the men are "friendly", to dance dance dance the night away. The trip home was long, but fun filled and Jo will be forever known as McSleepy.

Thanks so so much to all y'all that pitched up. My night would not have been the same without you xxxx

39 Steps

I was tired!!! Very very tired. And I did not feel like going out. But I had booked these damn tickets through damn lastminute for dinner and theater, so I dragged my sorry ass from work through to Picadilly to meet with the lovely Carlene. Dinner was nice (the company more than the venue) but the theater was great. My interest was piqued when I realised the theater was actually underground (yes I am easily excited!) Despite my lethargy, I was able to concentrate and even managed a few laughs. There were only four actors playing a number of roles. The whole show was very tongue in cheek but at the same time very very clever. I spent the whole night wondering how they had managed to think up so many different ways to bring this movie to the theater. I am sure I would've appreciated it even more if I had actually seen the movie!!!!! Never the less I was highly entertained for 2 hours and would loved to have met the actors so I could personally tell them how much I had enjoyed the show. After seeing this show I am even less impressed with "Treats" than I was on Monday night! For me this show is what the west end is all about, slightly over the top acting, clever props and a lot of laughs.

The long overdue Fall Out Boy concert review

I am a HUGE fall out boy fan. I have introduced all my friends to them and I've been waiting a year to see them live. So I my expectations for this gig were pretty high...and they went unmet. We arrived to hear the last few songs of the support act and I took the opportunity to check out the crowd... once again I was the oldest person there by years and at only 23 that was not a good feeling. Pretty much as soon as FOB came on stage the teeny bopper punks started moshing, things were out of control before they called for the "whirlpool" or whatever the moshers call it. The band had zero spark and at no point did it look like Patrick Stump was having a good time. Pete Wentz endless spinning around made me dizzy and don't even get me started on their half time entertainment freak show. If I wanted to see some guy jump through a table I would rent Jackass.
I had heard bad reviews about FOB's live performances but had refused to believe them... I guess I can't live in denial anymore!

Trick or treat?

Last night I took Julie to see "Treats" for her birthday. If I am totally honest I didn't know a whole lot about the show before I booked the tickets, all I saw was some famous faces that I wanted to see a bit more up close and personally.
I haven't seen all that many plays (in other words non-musicals) and so I think my expectations were a little off. I basically expect a live movie. What we got was some real live crying and some jilted dialog. That's not to say it isn't good, but somehow without camera angles and lighting and music (and all the other movie magic) it's just not the same. And yes I know it's not supposed to be the same, as I said, my expectations are off.
In the end it was enjoyable and I got to see some stars and I feel a bit more cultured, but I can't claim that theater is my most favourite thing.

I choose my choice!!!

I've just gotten back from SA. It was wonderful to be home. To be back with the people who at the end of the day know me the best and love me despite the dork I was in High school. The whole time I was there I was more than willing to tell anyone who would listen how great the UK is and how they should come over that very minute. I also made sure everyone around me knew how happy I am here. But even while I was talking I was wondering if I had made the right choice in making the UK my home. I AM deliriously happy here most of the time, and the life and opportunities here so for exceed the options in Cape Town, but at the same time I am missing out on a lot. My young brothers and sisters are growing up at a rapid pace with little thought to how that makes me feel, my parents and grandparents go on and get older and my friends are getting married (separate issue all together). So getting on the plane was hard, much harder than the last time as now I know I will not be back for another three years or so, and so so much is going to happen in that time, but at the end of the day, I choose my choice. I choose London with all the hecticness and stress, as well as the beauty and vibrancy. And I choose to let people in SA move on without me. I choose my choice!!!!!