Thursday: Got a letter from my local MP about the petition I signed at Reading for people with AIDS to get adequate treatment by 2010. Went to the job centre to meet with my disability advisor , worked out an arrangement to come every two weeks to look for jobs (seeing as I have trouble using the phone they can get someone to do it for me) and also my sign on every two weeks now but they changed the time so I don't have to get up ridiculously early and I can do it on the first floor with Fiona instead of queuing up with everyone else on the top floor. Came home, ate then headed straight for Rochester train station. Went straight to Camden, picked up a couple of seven inches in All Ages Records, tried to get a ticket for Strike Anywhere and The Loved Ones at the World's End but they weren't on sale yet, if I miss this gig I'll . . . cry I will. Had a look all round the shops and markets for a pair of Hip Hop style jeans, eventually found a small shop near Camden town station, nearly bought a pair of Machiavelli's but had a sudden conflict with my conciseness about not supporting big brand names, so I got a cheaper pair with the face of the Martian from the old Warner Bros cartoons. Went down to Soho, saw loads of shops with Hip Hop jeans and felt stupid for walking all over Camden. Had a quick look in HMV then went to Sister Ray and got a new Bronx seven inch and the Boom Bip & Doseone album, went to Virgin and got the new Napalm Death album, went to Foleys and read a bunch of independent comics, found this really ridicules one called American Virgin about this young teenage spokesperson for a Christian campaign to make kids wait 'til they get married being targeted by gangsters to make him lose his virginity, I was amazed that it took itself seriously when I got a text from Mills saying he was at the World's End. Got the train back up to Camden, hung out with Mills before doors opened at the Underworld, which was only at half capacity, went straight to the bar near the stage, noticed Chris from Sounds Perfect walking through the crowd, he came up to us and chatted until the bands started
Capricorns: They played a set similar to the one they played at the Tap, but it sounded so much better when it was coming through Torche/Baroness' huge stacks, best set I've ever seen them play.
Torche: Fucking band of the night, The bass was so heavy we couldn't hear the vocals that well from where we were standing, they made me think about checking out Floor again because they played some songs that I didn't recognise off their album but other people where singing along to, I think I just heard Floor at the wrong time, I was more into Stoner Doom with guttural vocals the time when Chris played me one of their albums in Sounds Perfect.
Baroness: Didn't seem like much after Torche, they were cool and played well, but it feeled like they overstayed their welcome after a while, even Chris couldn't stay for the whole set and left about half way through, me and Mills stayed 'til the end but I could stop myself from thinking "please stop"
We left and before we got to Camden town station, this black guy followed us;
Black Guy: I wanna talk to my Heavy Metal friend.
Mills: What him?
Black Guy: No, You.
Mills: What, are you fucking insulting me?
Mills handling the situation as only Mills can, he did actually walk away from us because of that. We got to Victoria, Mills went to Burger King for a Whopper, I went to Marks & Spenser's for a fruit salad and orange and carrot juice (nicer than it sounds). Got on the train, had to walk all the way to the end of it to find the only two free seats in First Class, Mills being drunk took the one of the First Class signs off one of the seats and made me do unspeakable things.
I got off at Chatham as that was the only stop after Bromley South, my train back to Strood was another twenty minutes so I went to the Kebab shop and got chips in pita for company, train came, got to Strood, walked home.
Friday: Went online straight away and booked my Strike Anywhere/The Loved Ones ticket. I did my usual Friday stuff which I won't write out because I get sick of doing it and I'm sure the people who read this every week (all four of you) get bored with it too, in fact the less said about what happened this day the better, I went down the Tap with a book about seven and didn't see anyone I knew until after ten when Steve and Liam drunkenly wandered in to celebrate recording their demo and playing a gig at the Command House (which I and Mills wont be able to attend because we are seeing Neurosis the same day), had a chat with them about City Of Dis, Steve said "it should be interesting" and that Eight Ball sound nothing like November Coming Fire, I gave them shit for picking such a shit name for their band (they've got to be the thousandth and tenth band to came themselves Eight Ball, but Steve said it was alright as none of the other bands called Eight Ball are famous, and of course Steve is destined for Stardom). Mills, Nick, Janet and Becky showed up a bit later we all went up to the top floor to dance (well everyone except me and Mills, we just went up their because everybody else was there, like Norman Mailer said "real men don't dance"), we managed to lose Steve so me and Liam had to go look for him, found him in the pool room talking to Chris, the lead guitarist from Eight Ball, Liam and Steve left for a taxi home, I stuck around with Mills and his little group he came with until half one when they left and I nearly fell asleep sitting where I was. Got chips then walked up to the taxi rank where I saw Ollie and his mates, as I got into my taxi Ollie yelled "James, you dickhead that was my taxi" as I was smart enough to walk up to the thing while they where just standing there.
Capricorns: They played a set similar to the one they played at the Tap, but it sounded so much better when it was coming through Torche/Baroness' huge stacks, best set I've ever seen them play.
Torche: Fucking band of the night, The bass was so heavy we couldn't hear the vocals that well from where we were standing, they made me think about checking out Floor again because they played some songs that I didn't recognise off their album but other people where singing along to, I think I just heard Floor at the wrong time, I was more into Stoner Doom with guttural vocals the time when Chris played me one of their albums in Sounds Perfect.
Baroness: Didn't seem like much after Torche, they were cool and played well, but it feeled like they overstayed their welcome after a while, even Chris couldn't stay for the whole set and left about half way through, me and Mills stayed 'til the end but I could stop myself from thinking "please stop"
We left and before we got to Camden town station, this black guy followed us;
Black Guy: I wanna talk to my Heavy Metal friend.
Mills: What him?
Black Guy: No, You.
Mills: What, are you fucking insulting me?
Mills handling the situation as only Mills can, he did actually walk away from us because of that. We got to Victoria, Mills went to Burger King for a Whopper, I went to Marks & Spenser's for a fruit salad and orange and carrot juice (nicer than it sounds). Got on the train, had to walk all the way to the end of it to find the only two free seats in First Class, Mills being drunk took the one of the First Class signs off one of the seats and made me do unspeakable things.
I got off at Chatham as that was the only stop after Bromley South, my train back to Strood was another twenty minutes so I went to the Kebab shop and got chips in pita for company, train came, got to Strood, walked home.
Friday: Went online straight away and booked my Strike Anywhere/The Loved Ones ticket. I did my usual Friday stuff which I won't write out because I get sick of doing it and I'm sure the people who read this every week (all four of you) get bored with it too, in fact the less said about what happened this day the better, I went down the Tap with a book about seven and didn't see anyone I knew until after ten when Steve and Liam drunkenly wandered in to celebrate recording their demo and playing a gig at the Command House (which I and Mills wont be able to attend because we are seeing Neurosis the same day), had a chat with them about City Of Dis, Steve said "it should be interesting" and that Eight Ball sound nothing like November Coming Fire, I gave them shit for picking such a shit name for their band (they've got to be the thousandth and tenth band to came themselves Eight Ball, but Steve said it was alright as none of the other bands called Eight Ball are famous, and of course Steve is destined for Stardom). Mills, Nick, Janet and Becky showed up a bit later we all went up to the top floor to dance (well everyone except me and Mills, we just went up their because everybody else was there, like Norman Mailer said "real men don't dance"), we managed to lose Steve so me and Liam had to go look for him, found him in the pool room talking to Chris, the lead guitarist from Eight Ball, Liam and Steve left for a taxi home, I stuck around with Mills and his little group he came with until half one when they left and I nearly fell asleep sitting where I was. Got chips then walked up to the taxi rank where I saw Ollie and his mates, as I got into my taxi Ollie yelled "James, you dickhead that was my taxi" as I was smart enough to walk up to the thing while they where just standing there.