1131st
Jan

It’s been a bit quiet here over the past week, because I’ve had some job troubles. My current contract came to an end and I wasn’t sure what was happening with the new company I was supposed to be transferring to. But it has worked out ok and I’m on paid leave for a month, so I now have lots of free time on my hands! I’m going to try and get some more acrylic designs drawn up, and work my way through a massive backlog of DVDs and Blurays. I have a terrible habit of buying films and tv series, and then just leaving them on my shelf without watching them. So every few months I have to self-impose a ban on buying new things until I have watched most of the older ones. This week’s task is finishing my Buffy the Vampire Slayer boxset. I bought it two years ago in a sale, watched up to the middle of Season 6 and then left it. I can think of worse things than lying in bed and watching Buffy all day.

Last weekend I had a friend come to visit, so we spent our days wandering London and shopping. I was actually very good and resisted buying anything in Tatty Devine, and then I undid all my good work in Forbidden Planet and Kid Robot. I got myself Amy Pond and the Eleventh Doctor with a fez and a mop from the newest Doctor Who figures, plus some more Qees, Bearbricks and Dunnys. Unfortunately I ended up with quite a few duplicates so I will have to ebay those. I also got the most adorable blind boxed mini Lunartik Teacup, which I loved in the full size but it was far too big for my shelf. I’ll have to take some photos soon as my collection seems to be growing exponentially!

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1124th
Jan

On Saturday was the rescheduled Manic Street Preachers gig at Brixton Academy. I’ve had the tickets for it since May last year, so to say I was looking forward to it would be an understatement. Honestly I think it was the best Manics gig I’ve ever been to. The venue was ram-packed full of fans, old and new, with some having queued all day in the freezing cold for their spot at the front, and I arrived just in time to see British Sea Power take to the stage. I wasn’t expecting much from them as the last time I saw them I had been bored out of my mind and the singles I had heard on the radio weren’t great. They really took me by surprise with their stage presence and enthusiasm and I found myself really enjoying them. I think I’ll have to check them out properly in the future. Song recommendations please!

Manic Street Preachers came on just after 9pm and spent the next two hours blowing everyone away. The only way the setlist could have been any better, was if they took out ‘Tsunami’ and added in some more tracks from ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’. They only played four songs from their latest album and then the rest was a divine mix of hits and fan favourites. I think the highlights for me were opening with the energetic ‘Slash ‘n’ Burn’, hearing ‘Enola/Alone’ for the first time and the beautiful acoustic rendition of ‘You Stole The Sun From My Heart’, which had the whole audience singing along as loudly as they could. I think the band were trying to make up for rescheduling the gig, as they were bounding around the stage even more than usual, getting the audience to sing along and laughing and joking in between songs. It put the crowd in such a good mood and I think everyone left the gig smiling.

A lot of people seem to disregard Manic Street Preachers based on their more recent (and usually rubbish) singles, but if they delved deeper into their back catalogue and live shows they would find a band with some fantastic songs, who are consistently amazing live.

Slash ‘n’ Burn
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Motorcycle Emptiness
(It’s Not War) – Just the End of Love
Everything Must Go
Roses in the Hospital
My Little Empire
Postcards From A Young Man
You Love Us
Suicide Is Painless (Theme from MASH)
Enola/Alone
A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun
Motown Junk
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Small Black Flowers That Grow In the Sky
You Stole the Sun from My Heart
Faster
La Tristessa Durera (Scream to A Sigh)
Some Kind of Nothingness
Me and Stephen Hawking
Tsunami
A Design for Life

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1117th
Jan

200th Gig

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I’ve been tracking my gig numbers carefully since I entered the 190’s, and now I have finally booked what is currently my 200th gig! It’s Micachu and the Shapes at the Royal Festival Hall in May, although no doubt I will book more for before that date so my 200th will change. It’s a nice milestone though.

It’s been an exciting week for gig bookings, as Atari Teenage Riot announced a show at the HMV Forum supported by none other than Kap Bambino! That’s two awesome bands in one night, I literally cannot wait!

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1111th
Jan

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.

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118th
Jan

I’ve been playing with my 15-85mm this weekend and photographing some of my newer toy arrivals.


Spock bearbrick from series 19, and the Kirk and Uhura doublepack that I picked up in New York.


Shaun of the Dead figures I got for my birthday.


Doktor A dunny from the Dunny two tone series.


Iron Man bearbrick from series 20.

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