I got bored of having pink hair, so I whipped out the dye this weekend and did it purple. This is Manic Panic Ultra Violet, with some of my Special Effects hot pink showing through from underneath. I love the colour but I remember how hard it is to maintain, so I may switch to a darker colour with more staying power.

Last night I went to see Does It Offend You, Yeah? at the new venue XOYO in Shoreditch. It almost didn’t happen, as my ticket hadn’t arrived in the post and Ticketweb weren’t replying to my emails. Luckily, 5 minutes before I left work I got an email back saying they had put my tickets on the door. I arrived late anyway as the only support act listed were DJs, and that usually bores me to tears at gigs, and my tickets were waiting at the door for me. Unfortunately although Does It Offend You, Yeah? were supposed to come on at 9pm, for some reason they were running late, so I had to put up with some god awful dubstep DJs for half an hour. All the hip, young 18 year olds appeared to be enjoying themselves, whereas I was bored to tears. They ended soon enough and then it was time for the main act.

It was the band’s first headline gig in about 8 months but they were playing with a renewed vigour. Losing members and going on a break didn’t make them rusty, it only made them stronger. The set was very new album heavy, with some of the tracks seeming almost familiar already as they have been previewing them for the best part of a year. The standout track was definitely the new single ‘The Monkeys Are Coming’ with its catchy chorus and pounding basslines, but there was plenty of room in the setlist for older favourites as well. As the band trooped off stage after the last song, the deafening roars and screams of the audience continued until they were coaxed back out to play an unplanned encore. We bounced around gleefully one more time and then it was finally time to leave, sweaty and sated.