1112th
May

Long time no see! (write/post/read/etc) I’ve been pretty busy over the past month as my table at the London MCM Expo has been confirmed, so I’ve been making lots of jewellery, sending off new designs and coming up with exciting ideas. I did have a minor setback, where I accidentally ordered a design sheet in pink instead of red, so I now have a load of pink Star Trek engineering insignias. Luckily all the other designs work just as well in pink, so I just need to reorder the insignias in the correct colour.

There have been so many public holidays over the last few weeks and I have spent them lazing about in the sunshine in parks, having BBQs and going to house parties. I will do a big photopost soon to recount my adventures.

There have also been lots of gigs which have all been awesome. I went to see Tim Minchin at the Royal Albert Hall on the 28th April, and although I was late arriving I luckily only missed the first two songs. It was the same show as at the O2 Arena last year, but to be honest I had forgotten half the new songs already so it was still just as funny and captivating. The show was being filmed for a DVD which was exciting, and I had seats that were really close to the stage, so maybe I will be able to spot myself!

The next gig was one I had been looking forward to for most of the year; Death From Above 1979 at the Forum. Due to some last minute spare tickets I ended up going with some friends, which really made the experience even better. We got there early and bagged some nice places on the railings behind the pit so we had an awesome view without getting squashed. The crowd were hands down the most mental I have ever seen at a gig, and the amazing thing was they kept going from the first song to the last. You could literally see the steam rising off the mass of bodies. DFA played pretty much their entire discography, bar two or three tracks, and kept the talking to a minimum. It was exactly the comeback it needed to be, just the audience and the band connecting over the tracks that have made them such a cult favourite over the years. I highly anticipate their set at Reading Festival, along with their inevitable future tours and hopefully a new album too.

Turn It Out
Dead Womb
Going Steady
Too Much Love
Cold War
Black History Month
Go Home, Get Down
Little Girl
Blood On Our Hands
You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine
Pull Out
We Don’t Sleep At Night
Romantic Rights
Do It!
————————-
You’re Lovely (But You’ve Got Lots Of Problems)
Losing Friends
If We Don’t Make It We’ll Fake It

Coincidentally, while I was at the DFA1979 gig I managed to blag tickets for an intimate Friendly Fires show on the Monday. God bless Scarlet Mist! It was at Heaven and was a small warm-up gig to preview their new album, Pala. I was confident it would be amazing as their self-titled debut was one of my favourite albums of 2009 and they had always been great when I had seen them at festivals. Luckily it lived up to my expectations and we danced away an hour in the sweaty arches of the venue with no cares in the world. The new tracks sounded great and they had a ridiculous light show full of lasers, spinning colours and confetti to accentuate the carnival atmosphere. They ended on Kiss Of Life which elicited a loud cheer from the crowd and we all shook our hips along with Ed before it was time to leave.

Lovesick
Blue Cassette
True Love
On Board
Chimes
Skeleton Boy
Show Me Lights
Live Those Days Tonight
Hurting
Jump In The Pool
Pull Me Back To Earth
Paris
————————-
Hawaiian Air
Kiss Of Life

, , , , ,

1115th
Apr

On Wednesday I got to skip free from work at 3pm (after being given an Easter Egg) and make my way to Leicester Square for the XFM session featuring Miles Kane. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, so after some food and cheeky cocktails in the pub we ventured into the Global Radio headquarters. We waited in the reception area until most of the other competition winners had arrived (there were about 25 of us in total) and then we were ushered into the ‘Green Room’ bar where we were served free beer. Beer only tastes good when it’s free! The walls had been signed by previous XFM guests so we wasted time trying to spot the best ones. The Wombats had scrawled their name in massive letters, possibly to compensate for how sh*t their music is.. Eventually everyone had arrived and the band was ready, so we were led into a room just off the recording studio, which had massive glass windows so we could see inside. It felt a bit like we were in a zoo and Miles Kane was a rare tiger exhibit.

Steve Harris was in with us, and introduced Miles and asked him a few questions before they played their set. They played the three singles plus an album track and I was really impressed with how polished it all sounded. I knew it would be good, but they really exceeded my expectations. It was over too soon and we were taken back to the bar and told that Miles would be with us in a moment. After signing the wall himself (and right over Alex James by mistake!) he made his way round the room and chatted to each pair of competition winners, thanking them for coming and signing things and having photos taken. It was a really nice touch, although when he reached us my friend started off the conversation by saying she didn’t actually know who he was! Luckily she recovered and went on to say that she was really impressed, and asked if he was playing Reading and Leeds. He confirmed that he was and after two hilariously bad photos with us, it was time to leave.

All in all it was a really fun afternoon. We got to see bits of the XFM studios, have lots of free beer, watch a great set and meet Miles Kane afterwards. I’ll definitely be trying to win my way into more sessions in the future.

Last night the entire Glastonbury lineup was revealed, which took me by surprise because I wasn’t expecting it for another couple of weeks! The biggest announcement for me is Queens of the Stone Age headlining the Other Stage on the Sunday. I was wondering who I was going to see instead of Beyonce, and now I’m incredibly happy. A lot of the smaller bands are also playing Reading so if there are clashes it won’t be the end of the world.

Bands I am most excited for include:
Morrissey
Biffy Clyro
Two Door Cinema Club
Metronomy
Primal Scream
Bright Eyes
The Chemical Brothers
Friendly Fires
The Kills
Queens Of The Stone Age
TV on the Radio
Bombay Bicycle Club
Miles Kane
Battles
The Horrors
Warpaint
Yuck
Ok Go
The Joy Formidable
Crystal Castles
Graham Coxon
Patrick Wolf

, , , , , ,

1112th
Apr

Royal Ruckus

Posted in gigs | life - (0 Comments)

I had assumed this week would be fairly leisurely after the insane amount of gigs last week, but I have somehow won two tickets to see Miles Kane at XFM in Leicester Square. It means I get to leave work at the luxurious hour of 3pm and explore XFM’s studio for the first time, I’m pretty excited!

Last weekend was a thing of beauty as we descended on the Circle Line for a pub crawl in honour of my cousin Ben’s birthday. The theme was royals and politicians (because of the upcoming royal wedding) and although we only managed about 9 different pubs, we got incredibly drunk and confused a lot of tourists in the process. Here are some select photos from the day. I’m the one dressed as the Queen.

, , , ,

118th
Apr

Since I was unhappy with Aidan’s first faceup, I ordered some smaller brushes on the internet and attempted another go last weekend. I have to admit, I was pretty much terrified when I removed the first face with acetone-free nail varnish remover. My fingers stuck to the resin where the remover was and I was worried that I was somehow melting the resin, so I quickly scrubbed the head clean and then put it in water to clean it. Luckily no damage was done (as far as I can tell) but I’m quite apprehensive about removing it again, so I’ll stick with this face for as long as possible.

It took me two days to do this faceup, as I redid the eyelashes and lips a fair few times and I was blushing the body at the same time. Overall I like it a lot more; it’s less feminine and more natural. I’m not so sure on the top eyelashes, but he looked a bit odd without any so I’ve left them there for the time being. Next up, I attempt to sew clothes!

Bonus pretend rockstar pose

, , ,

117th
Apr

On Monday was my second of three gigs in a row, Carl Barat at Koko. Now I’ve written reviews of two of his gigs fairly recently so I won’t go into much detail, but it was possibly the best of the three. I went straight after work again and found myself right near the front of the queue, and when inside I managed to get on the barrier (and save a spot for my mum). This meant we had an awesome view and minimal crushing which is always nice! The setlist was actually slightly different for a change, and the biggest surprise was Didz Hammond coming on to sing for the Dirty Pretty Things tracks. It was a highly enjoyable night and as long as Carl keeps playing gigs, I’ll keep going to them.
 
The Magus
Run With The Boys
The Man Who Would Be King
Carve My Name
She’s Something
Deadwood
Shadows Fall
Je Regrette
What Have I Done
Death Fires Burn At Night
Death On The Stairs
Bang Bang, You’re Dead
——————–
Nine Lives
The Ballad of Grimaldi
Sing For My Supper
So Long My Lover
Truth Begins
Don’t Look Back Into The Sun
 
Tuesday night was my last gig in a while, Micachu and the Shapes performing Chopped & Screwed with the London Sinfonietta Orchestra. I’ve gotten so used to the time printed on tickets being the door opening time that I showed up just after 7:30pm to find the performance had already started. (This has happened before at various comedy shows too, although it meant we were noticed by Ross Noble as we slunk to our front row seats and got talked to all night and received a round of applause) I quickly took a spare seat at the back and let myself enjoy the performance.
 
The band and orchestra together recreated the entirety of the recent release ‘Chopped & Screwed’ with additional interludes to make it slightly longer and flow seamlessly. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as their previous release had been a joyful, experimental clash of pop and electronica, but this was vastly different. It was a lot mellower and a heck of a lot more experimental, with not a catchy hook in sight as Mica’s voice echoed out across the hall. I did enjoy watching and taking it all in, although I’m not sure if it’s something I would listen to on record. The loveliest moment was when the orchestra put down their instruments and played a plain 3 chord backing to a flute piece using glass bottles filled with water. It was beautiful in its simple execution and very inspiring to watch. The band also made great use of home-made and unique instruments, something that has become a bit of a trademark for them. There was a brief interval where I slipped down to my actual seat near the front, and the whole thing was over by 9:15pm. It felt quite strange to get home from a gig before half ten!

, , ,

Designed and maintained by Amy Walker 2017 | Contact