Friday: Walked to Chatham just in time to see a big brass band march up the high street with a guy carrying a big wooden cross leading them, went into Holland & Barrett to get Vegan food, came out and they started marching back the way they came. Got to Chatham train station only to find they'd closed the lines between Gillingham and Strood (which was good to know that I'd be able to get a Victoria train from Strood and not have to waste my time walking to Rochester to find out I'd have to go back to Strood). Walked to Tesco in Strood, picked up just a few things I needed then went home. Started walking to the Tap after seven, regretted leaving my coat at home but got used to the cold by the time I got to the end of my road. Found Sam and Ed, hung around with them, later Mills showed up. Chris and Zak said they'd be down by eleven but went to Tap before ten as the Manor was pretty much empty (as they left Steve the bouncer told them Tap was going to close at half ten tonight), later Ollie and a bunch of other people showed up. Saw Geoff for the first time in ages, good to talk to him. It was an ok night but something felt amiss. After Mills left we wound up on the top floor, some girl kept trying to talk to me but I couldn't really make out what she was saying over the music most of the time, plus my general uselessness with people I couldn't think of much to say to her so she left after awhile (I've said this before but I hate being Autistic). Left just before three am for food and a taxi driven by an irritable man who kept speeding all the way to my house.
Saturday: Woke up a eight with a Sheer Terror lyric in my head "the next morning beats down on me like a barroom brawl, it kicks my ass." Big package from Horror Business came through the post so I spent all afternoon listening to German Hardcore bands. Watched Bremner, Bird & Fortune, read a bit more of The Plague by Albert Camus then went to bed early.
Sunday: Left the house about half twelve, made it to Strood station just in time for a Charring Cross train. Found that a large section of the Northern line was closed off, so I had to get to Camden by going to Euston via Bakerloo and Victoria lines. Went to the Worlds End, got my tickets for Orange Goblin and The Hidden Hand but found out that Fu Manchu was already sold out. Went to Soho, every record store I normally go to was closed (even Virgin and HMV) so I went back to Camden, went into the second hand shop, got stuff by Enablers, Heavy Heavy Low Low, Machine Head and found a Tumor Circus 7" for 2, went to the CD stall in the market, found the new Fu Manchu and Grinderman albums really cheap then went back to Soho. I was just about to text Mills when I ran into him while I was walking past the Astoria, said I'd meet him in the Fox after I'd had something to eat. Went to the Thai Vegan place then walked over to the Intrepid Fox, hung around with Mills for a while, he managed to score a spare ticket off someone he knew then we went to the Astoria, one bouncer asked if I was drunk but at least he wasn't a cunt like the last two times I've been there and threaten not to let me in, the guy who tore my ticket saw my shirt and said "Death By Stereo" "yeah" thinking he liked the band "that's going to happen real soon man." Caught the end of Taint's set, weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.
Witchcraft: Mills was saying before they went on about people that leave time capsules for people to dig up and that he thought someone in the seventies put Witchcraft in one as an example of a Rock band (I have a similar theory with Municipal Waste and eighties Thrash/Hardcore Crossover). Talk in Swedish and rock they did, finishing their set a bit earlier than they should have (fuck The Sword, this band should have been the main support).
Went to the upstairs bar instead of watching The Sword, met Al from Blood Island raiders after years of talking to him over various messageboards, did go down and catch the end of their set, they weren't too bad but as Mills pointed out 1) they sound like carbon copies of Sleep 2) although they didn't look as Emo as they do in all their promo shots they were still wearing girls jeans.
Clutch: Played a good mix of stuff off the last three albums. Towards the end of the set Neil Fallon played second guitar and they brought out the guy from the Electric Worry video to play harmonica. Encored with Pure Rock Fury, the only old song they did all night, I wouldn't complain though. Picked up the picture disc of Witchcraft's first album before we left.
Waited outside for Mills, found him and some guy asked us for change but he didn't seem homeless as I'd just seen him checking out the bootleg merch before he spoke to us. Got to Victoria, wanted to get something from Marks & Spencer's but it was closed so I got something to eat from the Japanese place. Got on the train to Strood, talked bollocks with Mills, finished reading The Plague and made a start on Vibrator by Mari Akasaka (it's really good so far, kind of reminds me of a Hubert Selby Jr. novel). Got to Strood, said bye to Mills as he got the replacement bus service to Gillingham then walked home.
Saturday: Woke up a eight with a Sheer Terror lyric in my head "the next morning beats down on me like a barroom brawl, it kicks my ass." Big package from Horror Business came through the post so I spent all afternoon listening to German Hardcore bands. Watched Bremner, Bird & Fortune, read a bit more of The Plague by Albert Camus then went to bed early.
Sunday: Left the house about half twelve, made it to Strood station just in time for a Charring Cross train. Found that a large section of the Northern line was closed off, so I had to get to Camden by going to Euston via Bakerloo and Victoria lines. Went to the Worlds End, got my tickets for Orange Goblin and The Hidden Hand but found out that Fu Manchu was already sold out. Went to Soho, every record store I normally go to was closed (even Virgin and HMV) so I went back to Camden, went into the second hand shop, got stuff by Enablers, Heavy Heavy Low Low, Machine Head and found a Tumor Circus 7" for 2, went to the CD stall in the market, found the new Fu Manchu and Grinderman albums really cheap then went back to Soho. I was just about to text Mills when I ran into him while I was walking past the Astoria, said I'd meet him in the Fox after I'd had something to eat. Went to the Thai Vegan place then walked over to the Intrepid Fox, hung around with Mills for a while, he managed to score a spare ticket off someone he knew then we went to the Astoria, one bouncer asked if I was drunk but at least he wasn't a cunt like the last two times I've been there and threaten not to let me in, the guy who tore my ticket saw my shirt and said "Death By Stereo" "yeah" thinking he liked the band "that's going to happen real soon man." Caught the end of Taint's set, weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.
Witchcraft: Mills was saying before they went on about people that leave time capsules for people to dig up and that he thought someone in the seventies put Witchcraft in one as an example of a Rock band (I have a similar theory with Municipal Waste and eighties Thrash/Hardcore Crossover). Talk in Swedish and rock they did, finishing their set a bit earlier than they should have (fuck The Sword, this band should have been the main support).
Went to the upstairs bar instead of watching The Sword, met Al from Blood Island raiders after years of talking to him over various messageboards, did go down and catch the end of their set, they weren't too bad but as Mills pointed out 1) they sound like carbon copies of Sleep 2) although they didn't look as Emo as they do in all their promo shots they were still wearing girls jeans.
Clutch: Played a good mix of stuff off the last three albums. Towards the end of the set Neil Fallon played second guitar and they brought out the guy from the Electric Worry video to play harmonica. Encored with Pure Rock Fury, the only old song they did all night, I wouldn't complain though. Picked up the picture disc of Witchcraft's first album before we left.
Waited outside for Mills, found him and some guy asked us for change but he didn't seem homeless as I'd just seen him checking out the bootleg merch before he spoke to us. Got to Victoria, wanted to get something from Marks & Spencer's but it was closed so I got something to eat from the Japanese place. Got on the train to Strood, talked bollocks with Mills, finished reading The Plague and made a start on Vibrator by Mari Akasaka (it's really good so far, kind of reminds me of a Hubert Selby Jr. novel). Got to Strood, said bye to Mills as he got the replacement bus service to Gillingham then walked home.