Friday: Woke up really excited at half past six and could barley get back to sleep. Did my shopping in Chatham so I wouldnt have to bother doing it on Saturday. Went down to Strood train station at half three and got a train to London Bridge because there were no trains going to Charring Cross, discovered at London Bridge that I could just walk over a couple of platforms and get a train to Charring Cross rather than spend about twenty minutes on the underground trying to find somewhere familiar. Went straight up to Camden to get some tickets for shows (Comeback Kid/Raised Fist and Cro-Mags/Bane, wanted to get a ticket for the all-dayer that Knuckledust was co-headlining but the tickets still hadnt gone on sale), got something to eat at the Vegan Chinese place, they gave me a card for this deal theyre doing that every time you eat there they check off a square and for the tenth one they get off you get a free meal. Went to Angel to find Islington Academy and ran right into Mills on the escalator. After wandering the streets of Islington for a while we eventually found the venue in a shopping centre (how cool would it be if theyre was a gig venue someplace like Bluewater?), we then went to a pub for a drink and ran into Nick from MFKZT and Nathan from the Kerrang message board (you sent me a CD, Cult Of Luna I think, Im still very appreciative sir That wasnt me, Ive never sent a CD to anyone from a message board well someone did). Went to the venue and checked our bags into the cloakroom and walked upstairs where the first band had already started:
Grand Magnus: Great musically but the high vocals fucked me off, I later found out the singer was also in Spiritual Beggars, which is exactly what I thought when someone played me them. A few songs in this seven foot guy with long haired and a great dirty beard walked past us, I recognised him and turned to Mills and yelled excitedly DUDE, THATS BEN WARD FROM ORANGE GOBLIN.
Ran into Mike and his housemate from Reading whose name I still cant remember, I showed Mike all the new tattoos I got since the last time I properly talked to him, he asked if Medway Tattoo & Piercing were any good, I held out my arms and said Do you not have eyes man.
Electric Wizard: Oh fucking yes, this is what kept me up this morning. I think I may have to add Liz to my list of women in music I have a crush on, first off she has a guitar sound that belongs to no one else, the way she plays kicks the arses of most of the boys in the contemporary Doom genre and she plays with her hair all in her face which Im always a sucker for. They only had time to play four songs (the only ones I recognised were Dopethrone and We Live, the title tracks from the only albums of theirs I own right now) but they fucking slayed everyone.
Cathedral: It may have been Lee Dorians awkward vocals during the first song but I found it hard to get into them after Wizard (the people spilling their beer over me didnt help either), the stuff they played off their last album sounded great and I was glad to hear them play Night Of The Living Seagulls but me and Mills decide to leave before they played any encores. We saw the cat obsessed, forty year old Goth woman from round our way before we left, thankfully she didnt see us.
Got the train to Chatham and went in the Tap for a couple of hours, saw Steve, Chris and Zak and talked bollocks. Saw the fit blonde girl who was trying to trip up Natalie from a couple weeks back, she poked me in the stomach, waved at me then walked off, did she think she knew me from somewhere, did she read my sordid pinings for her in my Myspace blog, who knows. Another thing about girls and me, there is this really fit girl with long brown hair and three well placed lip rings who normally hangs out the Redneck/fag locking dude from Underground Heroes, sometime in the night Zak tried to chat her up and she just walked off, I could tell from the look on her face she thought Zak was a dick and she saw me with him and I was sure that shed think the same of me, I used to make enough harm for myself when I used to go out to the Manor, get drunk and stare at pretty girls for so long theyd catch me doing it and always give me a look back to let me know they didnt care for me, realising that Id never get to know that person would always hurt, thankfully I dont stare at girls with such intensity anymore but sometimes I just feel really lonely and catch myself doing it from time to time. Later I saw the girl in the unisex toilet on the top floor being held up and dry humped by Fubar, as I was washing my hands she asked if I like her shoes, I said they were alright, at least Ive established some kind of communication with this girl. Left about half one got a cab and faked being drunk to get out of talking with the driver.
Saturday: My order from Discord came through the post (Faith/Void split, Fugazi, Scream and the Flex Your Head and State Of The Union comps), got really excited when I saw the address of Discord house on the package and cut it out to keep (Im a Hardcore geek, I know). Walked down to Morrisons, bought a newspaper then came back and got ready to go to London. There were no trains going to London from Strood so I had to get the train to Rochester and get a train to Victoria, got annoyed by a group of middle aged women nattering at the back of the train so I picked up my stuff and went to the next carriage. Went to Berwick Street and got a Nick Cave album and an Unsane 7 comp. Went up to Highbury and got in line for the show, got fucking IDd after the guy searched my bag. Had a look at the merch stall, the had March Into The Sea by Pelican on sale for 8, fuck that Sounds Perfect do it for cheaper than that. The bands:
The Zico Chain: Good apart from the fact that they sang in an American accent despite coming from Brighton and as they really wanted to be Nirvana, I could see them getting really popular though.
Pelican: They played a lot of boring stuff off their new album but ended with something from their first EP, I was actually glad they didnt go on for an hour as the running time list promised.
Cave In: Amazingly fucking tight, when they were tuning up their guitars before they played they started shredding out these sick Metal solos, I knew right off that I was in for a good night. They played all their good Indie/Post-Hardcore stuff and some of their early Metalcore stuff (and one new song which suggested that they might make a full comeback to that style). Stephen apologised for parting all day and blowing out his voice (I did notice he was singing Dark Driving off key), but it was fucking great anyway, a couple of guys from Pelican even stage dived and they finished with Juggernaut.
Got annoyed by middle aged posh twats on the train to Rochester. As I was walking home I found myself walking up a small street towards a group of four Chavs, now if I crossed over the road (which didnt have any pavement) they would have seen I was intimidated and started on me, if I tried turning back and walking down the road chances are they would have chased me, if I walked straight towards them I ran the risk of bumping into them and then there would be a fight, so I just moved into the road to walk past them, one of them stopped me and asked where the Kebab shop was, I mumbled I dont know and pointed in a vague direction as I heard one of his friends spit then I walked away I heard him say, I think he said that way when they got out of sight I took off my backpack to check that guy didnt spit on me, he didnt, I hate my town.
Grand Magnus: Great musically but the high vocals fucked me off, I later found out the singer was also in Spiritual Beggars, which is exactly what I thought when someone played me them. A few songs in this seven foot guy with long haired and a great dirty beard walked past us, I recognised him and turned to Mills and yelled excitedly DUDE, THATS BEN WARD FROM ORANGE GOBLIN.
Ran into Mike and his housemate from Reading whose name I still cant remember, I showed Mike all the new tattoos I got since the last time I properly talked to him, he asked if Medway Tattoo & Piercing were any good, I held out my arms and said Do you not have eyes man.
Electric Wizard: Oh fucking yes, this is what kept me up this morning. I think I may have to add Liz to my list of women in music I have a crush on, first off she has a guitar sound that belongs to no one else, the way she plays kicks the arses of most of the boys in the contemporary Doom genre and she plays with her hair all in her face which Im always a sucker for. They only had time to play four songs (the only ones I recognised were Dopethrone and We Live, the title tracks from the only albums of theirs I own right now) but they fucking slayed everyone.
Cathedral: It may have been Lee Dorians awkward vocals during the first song but I found it hard to get into them after Wizard (the people spilling their beer over me didnt help either), the stuff they played off their last album sounded great and I was glad to hear them play Night Of The Living Seagulls but me and Mills decide to leave before they played any encores. We saw the cat obsessed, forty year old Goth woman from round our way before we left, thankfully she didnt see us.
Got the train to Chatham and went in the Tap for a couple of hours, saw Steve, Chris and Zak and talked bollocks. Saw the fit blonde girl who was trying to trip up Natalie from a couple weeks back, she poked me in the stomach, waved at me then walked off, did she think she knew me from somewhere, did she read my sordid pinings for her in my Myspace blog, who knows. Another thing about girls and me, there is this really fit girl with long brown hair and three well placed lip rings who normally hangs out the Redneck/fag locking dude from Underground Heroes, sometime in the night Zak tried to chat her up and she just walked off, I could tell from the look on her face she thought Zak was a dick and she saw me with him and I was sure that shed think the same of me, I used to make enough harm for myself when I used to go out to the Manor, get drunk and stare at pretty girls for so long theyd catch me doing it and always give me a look back to let me know they didnt care for me, realising that Id never get to know that person would always hurt, thankfully I dont stare at girls with such intensity anymore but sometimes I just feel really lonely and catch myself doing it from time to time. Later I saw the girl in the unisex toilet on the top floor being held up and dry humped by Fubar, as I was washing my hands she asked if I like her shoes, I said they were alright, at least Ive established some kind of communication with this girl. Left about half one got a cab and faked being drunk to get out of talking with the driver.
Saturday: My order from Discord came through the post (Faith/Void split, Fugazi, Scream and the Flex Your Head and State Of The Union comps), got really excited when I saw the address of Discord house on the package and cut it out to keep (Im a Hardcore geek, I know). Walked down to Morrisons, bought a newspaper then came back and got ready to go to London. There were no trains going to London from Strood so I had to get the train to Rochester and get a train to Victoria, got annoyed by a group of middle aged women nattering at the back of the train so I picked up my stuff and went to the next carriage. Went to Berwick Street and got a Nick Cave album and an Unsane 7 comp. Went up to Highbury and got in line for the show, got fucking IDd after the guy searched my bag. Had a look at the merch stall, the had March Into The Sea by Pelican on sale for 8, fuck that Sounds Perfect do it for cheaper than that. The bands:
The Zico Chain: Good apart from the fact that they sang in an American accent despite coming from Brighton and as they really wanted to be Nirvana, I could see them getting really popular though.
Pelican: They played a lot of boring stuff off their new album but ended with something from their first EP, I was actually glad they didnt go on for an hour as the running time list promised.
Cave In: Amazingly fucking tight, when they were tuning up their guitars before they played they started shredding out these sick Metal solos, I knew right off that I was in for a good night. They played all their good Indie/Post-Hardcore stuff and some of their early Metalcore stuff (and one new song which suggested that they might make a full comeback to that style). Stephen apologised for parting all day and blowing out his voice (I did notice he was singing Dark Driving off key), but it was fucking great anyway, a couple of guys from Pelican even stage dived and they finished with Juggernaut.
Got annoyed by middle aged posh twats on the train to Rochester. As I was walking home I found myself walking up a small street towards a group of four Chavs, now if I crossed over the road (which didnt have any pavement) they would have seen I was intimidated and started on me, if I tried turning back and walking down the road chances are they would have chased me, if I walked straight towards them I ran the risk of bumping into them and then there would be a fight, so I just moved into the road to walk past them, one of them stopped me and asked where the Kebab shop was, I mumbled I dont know and pointed in a vague direction as I heard one of his friends spit then I walked away I heard him say, I think he said that way when they got out of sight I took off my backpack to check that guy didnt spit on me, he didnt, I hate my town.