another big weekend
My tongue is peeling and I have an upset stomach. I don't think this is a good sign. I'm at work, but I don't know how long I'll last. Other than the queasy feeling, I don't feel too bad, but it depends on whether the queasy feeling just stays at that, or develops into full-blown nausea. I don't know - I was fine last night!
Anyway...
Friday night, I ended up cancelling my date. I went to the gym after work and I think I pulled a muscle or something. My knee was very sore and I was limping by the time I got home. I was also feeling buggered, so figured going out wasn't the smartest idea. So I made plans with my date for Saturday night instead and crashed into bed. Didn't even make it to the halfway mark for Midsommer Murders (and I still want to know whodoneit).
Saturday I picked up my new sandles, which are handmade leather. Very nice. I got a few blisters wearing them in, but now they're really comfy.
Saturday night met my date and we played a couple of rounds of bad pool at Rics. I'm really not sure about this guy. I think maybe he's the ultimate nerd and I'm really more into geeks. He's nice and easy to talk to and all of those things, but he just doesn't seem to be comfortable in his own skin and guys like that never last long with a girl like me. I'm just too confident and outspoken. Anyway, we had a good night - couple of beers at Rics then over to the Troubadour for the gig (more on that later). I drank maybe 5 or 6 beers (large consumption for me) and I think he was growing on my by the end of the night - maybe he was just nervous. Or maybe I was just drunk. ;o)
So, the bands. First up was Gentle Ben and his Sensitive Side who are basically The Skippy fronted by Ben Corbett (from SixFtHick). I wasn't too sure how I'd feel about these guys - I really like The Skippy but can't stand the musical stylings of either of the Corbett brothers. It turns out that they were pretty much as I had expected - I would like the band if they had a different lead singer. Although the first half of their set had the aural feel of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I didn't mind the songs too much, but Ben Corbett just annoys me with his antics and I don't think that's ever going to change. The guy that was sitting next to me (not my date, on the other side) loved them though. So it's not everyone.
Next up were The Drones. Now one the OLS scale of bands, you can pretty much get a rating from 0 to 5 as follows:
0 - absolutely nothing to redeem them. Hated them so much I either walked out or wanted to.
1 - didn't really like them, but they weren't that bad
2 - don't love 'em, don't hate 'em. Would see them again if they were supporting someone I liked.
3 - really enjoyed them. Not enough to buy their CD, but enough to make the effort to see another gig.
4 - loved them. Bought their CD and signed up for their mailing list.
5 - I'm obsessed. I've not only bought their current CD but their entire back catalogue. They're on the top of my list for gigs in the future and I'll cancel all plans to see another one.
Very few bands get a 0. I think I've only scored a 0 maybe five times in my life. This band got a 0. The riffs were boring, the drummer used the cymbol way too much, and the lead singer couldn't sing. We're talking Australian Idol the unforgettables couldn't sing. Actually, I'm not even sure he was trying to sing. It was more like a cross between a scream and a yell. And they were loud. Really loud. It was almost painful. I managed not to walk out only because I wasn't sure if my date was enjoying them. He wasn't and we probably should have gone for coffee until they were over.
The headliners were Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males. I first laid eyes on Dan Kelly when he was playing guitar for his uncle Paul Kelly (who's practically an Aussie icon over here) in Dublin during Paul's European tour. I was pretty impressed with Dan, then Paul mentioned his band, so I figured I'd check them out when I next saw them playing. Which I did - this was not long after I got back to Brisbane from Dublin (I think I still had a slight accent). They rated a 4, possibly verging towards a 5 after I asked about CDs at the gig and was told by a very down-to-earth and friendly Dan that they didn't have any because margarine had melted all over the ones they had for the tour. I laughed, decided that I really liked these guys and went out and bought it from Skinnys instead.
So anyway, I was expecting a good gig. I knew the CD back to front and inside out by now. Since I last saw them, they've changed bass players (the new one's kind of cute) and added a keyboard player. I think the changes worked quite well. I left my date and headed for the front so I could see (the crowd stood up for DK&TAM after sitting for the others). And danced to my hearts content. I was still on a high when we left after the gig.
Sunday I pottered around for the morning doing my housework and then headed off to The Gap (that's a suburb in Brisbane, not a trendy clothes store) to see the Law Student's choir peform. They were good. A nice blend of voices and one really strong soprano. They had one tenor that was slightly off occasionally, but otherwise a very polished performance. After that was a performance by the local orchestra. Again they were very good, but one of the violins was slightly off. I don't think it was tuning because it wasn't constant, more like he/she wasn't hitting his/her sharps and flats properly. Probably no-one else noticed. The audience were mostly old people. ;o)
Sunday night, I went back to the Troubadour with the Dendy guy to see Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males again. The first support this time was The Standing 8 Counts. Not really my thing. In the same style as The Drones, but these guys were certainly better than them. Their main drawbacks were staging and their lead singer. In terms of staging, they had their keyboard out front and their two most interesting players (the two lead guitars) spent much of the gig facing the back or side of the stage. The lead singer couldn't sing and didn't seem to be much chop on guitar either - he played basic chords and that's it. Once again, the drummer needed to learn that the cymbol should be used as an exclamation point, not as the main beat focus. And they were too loud as well. They did get a 1 though.
This time 'round I did leave for The Drones. We went and grabbed some chippies and a pot of tea each and waited it out. Didn't quite time it right - they still had about 2 or 3 songs left when we walked back in.
Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males did another great set. They begged and pleaded with the smallish crowd to stand up and come closer to the stage, but they didn't get much response until about half way through the set. The chick and one of the guys from The Drones got it all started, so I guess they're good for something. This set was very similar to last night's - I was hoping it might be more of an accoustic set for a Sunday night. But it was still good and I still enjoyed it. I got my $10 worth, so that's the main thing.
Sorry if this has been a little disjointed. It's been broken a few times so I could get some work done and answer phone calls. And I'm feeling a little better after having some lemonade for morning tea. Love that fizzy goodness.
Listening to: Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males - Sing the Tabloid Blues
Anyway...
Friday night, I ended up cancelling my date. I went to the gym after work and I think I pulled a muscle or something. My knee was very sore and I was limping by the time I got home. I was also feeling buggered, so figured going out wasn't the smartest idea. So I made plans with my date for Saturday night instead and crashed into bed. Didn't even make it to the halfway mark for Midsommer Murders (and I still want to know whodoneit).
Saturday I picked up my new sandles, which are handmade leather. Very nice. I got a few blisters wearing them in, but now they're really comfy.
Saturday night met my date and we played a couple of rounds of bad pool at Rics. I'm really not sure about this guy. I think maybe he's the ultimate nerd and I'm really more into geeks. He's nice and easy to talk to and all of those things, but he just doesn't seem to be comfortable in his own skin and guys like that never last long with a girl like me. I'm just too confident and outspoken. Anyway, we had a good night - couple of beers at Rics then over to the Troubadour for the gig (more on that later). I drank maybe 5 or 6 beers (large consumption for me) and I think he was growing on my by the end of the night - maybe he was just nervous. Or maybe I was just drunk. ;o)
So, the bands. First up was Gentle Ben and his Sensitive Side who are basically The Skippy fronted by Ben Corbett (from SixFtHick). I wasn't too sure how I'd feel about these guys - I really like The Skippy but can't stand the musical stylings of either of the Corbett brothers. It turns out that they were pretty much as I had expected - I would like the band if they had a different lead singer. Although the first half of their set had the aural feel of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I didn't mind the songs too much, but Ben Corbett just annoys me with his antics and I don't think that's ever going to change. The guy that was sitting next to me (not my date, on the other side) loved them though. So it's not everyone.
Next up were The Drones. Now one the OLS scale of bands, you can pretty much get a rating from 0 to 5 as follows:
0 - absolutely nothing to redeem them. Hated them so much I either walked out or wanted to.
1 - didn't really like them, but they weren't that bad
2 - don't love 'em, don't hate 'em. Would see them again if they were supporting someone I liked.
3 - really enjoyed them. Not enough to buy their CD, but enough to make the effort to see another gig.
4 - loved them. Bought their CD and signed up for their mailing list.
5 - I'm obsessed. I've not only bought their current CD but their entire back catalogue. They're on the top of my list for gigs in the future and I'll cancel all plans to see another one.
Very few bands get a 0. I think I've only scored a 0 maybe five times in my life. This band got a 0. The riffs were boring, the drummer used the cymbol way too much, and the lead singer couldn't sing. We're talking Australian Idol the unforgettables couldn't sing. Actually, I'm not even sure he was trying to sing. It was more like a cross between a scream and a yell. And they were loud. Really loud. It was almost painful. I managed not to walk out only because I wasn't sure if my date was enjoying them. He wasn't and we probably should have gone for coffee until they were over.
The headliners were Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males. I first laid eyes on Dan Kelly when he was playing guitar for his uncle Paul Kelly (who's practically an Aussie icon over here) in Dublin during Paul's European tour. I was pretty impressed with Dan, then Paul mentioned his band, so I figured I'd check them out when I next saw them playing. Which I did - this was not long after I got back to Brisbane from Dublin (I think I still had a slight accent). They rated a 4, possibly verging towards a 5 after I asked about CDs at the gig and was told by a very down-to-earth and friendly Dan that they didn't have any because margarine had melted all over the ones they had for the tour. I laughed, decided that I really liked these guys and went out and bought it from Skinnys instead.
So anyway, I was expecting a good gig. I knew the CD back to front and inside out by now. Since I last saw them, they've changed bass players (the new one's kind of cute) and added a keyboard player. I think the changes worked quite well. I left my date and headed for the front so I could see (the crowd stood up for DK&TAM after sitting for the others). And danced to my hearts content. I was still on a high when we left after the gig.
Sunday I pottered around for the morning doing my housework and then headed off to The Gap (that's a suburb in Brisbane, not a trendy clothes store) to see the Law Student's choir peform. They were good. A nice blend of voices and one really strong soprano. They had one tenor that was slightly off occasionally, but otherwise a very polished performance. After that was a performance by the local orchestra. Again they were very good, but one of the violins was slightly off. I don't think it was tuning because it wasn't constant, more like he/she wasn't hitting his/her sharps and flats properly. Probably no-one else noticed. The audience were mostly old people. ;o)
Sunday night, I went back to the Troubadour with the Dendy guy to see Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males again. The first support this time was The Standing 8 Counts. Not really my thing. In the same style as The Drones, but these guys were certainly better than them. Their main drawbacks were staging and their lead singer. In terms of staging, they had their keyboard out front and their two most interesting players (the two lead guitars) spent much of the gig facing the back or side of the stage. The lead singer couldn't sing and didn't seem to be much chop on guitar either - he played basic chords and that's it. Once again, the drummer needed to learn that the cymbol should be used as an exclamation point, not as the main beat focus. And they were too loud as well. They did get a 1 though.
This time 'round I did leave for The Drones. We went and grabbed some chippies and a pot of tea each and waited it out. Didn't quite time it right - they still had about 2 or 3 songs left when we walked back in.
Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males did another great set. They begged and pleaded with the smallish crowd to stand up and come closer to the stage, but they didn't get much response until about half way through the set. The chick and one of the guys from The Drones got it all started, so I guess they're good for something. This set was very similar to last night's - I was hoping it might be more of an accoustic set for a Sunday night. But it was still good and I still enjoyed it. I got my $10 worth, so that's the main thing.
Sorry if this has been a little disjointed. It's been broken a few times so I could get some work done and answer phone calls. And I'm feeling a little better after having some lemonade for morning tea. Love that fizzy goodness.
Listening to: Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males - Sing the Tabloid Blues
posted by OLS |
Monday, October 04, 2004 | 8:58 am
2 Comments:
Yeah, I like that about local muso's as well - treat them like a normal person and they generally treat you like a normal person in return. It's nice.
And yes, I'm feeling heaps better thanks. I got some fresh air at lunch and stodgy food and my tummy has settled right down and my tongue almost looks normal again. It's a good thing. ;o)
- OLS
Saw Dan Kelly when he was supporting, and then playing with Uncle Paul earlier this year.
Man, is he cute!!! I guess the music was okay, too;-)
Post a Comment
<< Home