Guardian, the game and the future

The sad fact is that I have already drafted in my head the end of my review of the book "the game". Thie is quite impressive as I am upto page 24 out of 448. This is what the guardian thinks. http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1579127,00.html Reality, who needs it..........

Zombie update

Ok, just before I went to bed one night this week, I saw the start of "dawn of the dead". What a great film! I first saw it in Salt Lake City. I didn't watch it all this week, because I had to get up early. The beginning of the film is so great. The brother teasing the sister and then getting eaten by a zombie. The xombies moved fast as well. When the zombie needed to get into the car it picked up a rock. They are not so stupid. After seeing that, I do think that latest film "the land of the dead" is bit weak. I don't follow these things in such greate detail, but another classic zombie movie had the line "if you really loved me you would let me eat your brains".

Laura Cantrell

I went out to see Laura Cantrell play at the Liverpool academy last Thursday. Laura is a new country singer who actually lives in New York. Her first album was "not the trembling kind" that was new country sung with old country heart. I played that CD a lot. It was a big favourite CD of John Peel. She has a fantastic sweet and sad voice. The audience was mostly star struck blokes. There was a very strange sing a long part to a song that goes like "the whisky makes you sweeter". I was at the bar getting a round at the time. I managed to restraing myself from buying two shots of whisky, mostly because spending ten quid on a round for two people seemed a bit excesive, even for someone with my hedonistic tastes. The singers in the audience belted out the song with a kind of embarrased enthusiam that made the experience somewhat wierd. Laura did "Lee Harvey Oswald was a friend of mine" because some heckler had requested it at an earlier show. Wow hecklers are a force for good. I liked the mandolin playing. This is some kind of neat picking thing. I am not very good with this musianship thing, so perhaps it was something else. I need the third Cantrell CD for some serious lonesome time. Support was by Holly Williams who was a neat singersong writer. I got her CD. The sad thing is, I will never brush her blond hair, because she ended her set with a cover of a Hank Williams song. That is thing I remember about her set. There is no escape from granddady, but a song is a song and these thingts have lives of their own. I have played here CD a lot, so perhaps a happy ending after all.

Land of the dead

I went out to see the film "Land of the dead" on Friday. This was the latest film by the Zombie supremo George Remero. I have to admit I go to zombie movies to see zombies chase and eat people. I am usually less interested in seeing a political message in a zombie film. Although I thought that the film "dawn of the dead" was fantastic. It was a good blend of zombies and social realism. The land of the dead film was a good zombie movie, but the political stuff did not work so well, although you could see that Remero had made an effort. After the remake of the film the day of the dead, I do like my zombies to run rather than just amble along.

The game

I have just started reading the book "the game" by Neil Strauss. Amazon in their infinite understanding of my life recommended it to me. To show my independence I payed the extra money to get it from Watersons, but I had to brave the attractive female book seller. The book is te story of a journalist working with "pick up artists". Anyway the front of the book has the after picture and the back of the book has the before picture. I was about to complain that "pulling" invlved wearing a shirt and using cologne. I f**king hate wearing a shirt. Does this really mean said that I have to live alone. I had to wear a shirt when I was at school. I could just spemd the three quid and get a shirt ast TJ Hughs, but .. However, I already like some of the tricks of trade. The "neg" concept sounds cool. We shall see, how things work out......

review blues

I am not very happy with the quality of my gig reviews. When I read stuff like "I liked their sound", I cringe. I should start reading the reviews on the NME site. I need a more flowery imaginative writing style. So, perhaps: The screeching guitars cured my lust for the vapid beauty of the lead singer. Or. The drummers assault on my shattered ears finnally finished all hope of tomorrow's work. Or. The tangled orgy of the mosh pit whipped itself into the final frenzy as the next song ripped out. Ummm, a bit better. Perhaps I will continue the practice when I see a real band.

bands versus books

The regular reader will have noticed that I have been mostly been posting gig reviews, rather than book reviews. Perhaps, you may thing that there is dust gathering on my books. I see a half read copy of "the female eunuch" on my desk. I am back in major deadline mode, so I don't always have a lot of energy for reading. I also need to get some new glasses, as my eyesight seems to have got worse. I have been putting off a trip to specsavers. When I can't read to the end of the chart, I feel I have failed the test.

Hayseed Dixie

I went out last night to see Hayssed Dixie play at Liverpool student union. This band plays some ACDC songs in a bluegrass style. I can't honestly say that I am a big fan of ACDC. ACDC always seemed a wimpy compared against Motorhead. The hair and that guy with the school uniform on. Luckily it looked like an audience of ex-ACDC fans. Unfortunately, I think if I looked at google, I would not find that ACDC got what they deserved, which is some kind of plane accident. Perhaps they are still on tour. Anyway, I was a bit worried it would be a bluegrass crowd. They would all be swigging that moonshine whisky and standing around with shotguns, while whittling a statue of young Bush with a 12 inch Bowie knife. The floor would be covered in cheap whisky flavoured puke. Dungerees and checked shirts. All my bile would go on the BLOG, where a man can write in piece without the fear of a drunken shot gun shell. It was a ACDC crowd, with blokes remebering theior rabble rousing past. "I once stood two rows from a man who was smoking a joint." "Do you remember the time we got drunk a liter bottle of distilled shandy?". It was a good set. Everyone had a good time. I disappered before the encore. The bouncers at the venue have told people to leavs as soon as the set ends. So you are not even allowed to go for a piss. Naturally, some people urinate in the bushes outside (me too). This would be OK, but I work in the building across from the venue, so I don't want to go to work and smell last nights urine.

The Suffrajets

I went out to see the The Suffrajets play at the Liverpool Barfly last night. I would like to point out that I am getting my bands in before the start of term. The first band up was a pleasant shouting girl band. Unfortunately I can't remember their name, but I liked their sound. A bit like L7. At some stage they did a slow power ballard type of song. I have nothing against a singer singing a power ballard, as long as the rest of the people in the band cut their head off with a samuri sword and hang it in the venue with sign hanging on their neck "power ballards suck". I did enjoy the set. That is the great thing about blogging. I can stand at the back of the venue, hidding in the drunken blogging backround. Then the next day, I can unleash the review. I publically talk behind people's back. The power of technology-- it enhances all the best parts of my personality. The next band was a girl rock/punk band. I enjoyed the set. When the singer asked the audience to move forward and then they did. She had a London accent, probably resulting from living in London. The weird thing was that I believe that this band was the Suffrajets, but there was one more band to go. This is a new way to gig, put the headliners on second. Of course I could be wrong and the next band were The Suffrajets. What do I know, I am just a humble blogger not a journalist. Most of the last band were men-- this suggests to me that the second band were The Suffrajets not the third band. Anyway I liked the third band the least. The audience thinned out as well.

upcoming gigs

I am looking forward to a number of gigs coming to Liverpool. I have got a ticket to see Laura Cantrell, who is playing. This is a new country singer who is based in New York. She looks like the kind of person who make me paint her wooden fence white, and perhaps carry lots of boxes in and out of houses. Perhaps, I am turning into a handyman stalker with weird need to fix stars houses. Lady Tron are playing next month. I am looking forward to this techno treat. I have seen flyers for them playing DJ sets around a lot, but I want to see the band. Another important "local" band are playing next month. Half man half biscuit are playing the Carling accademy. A nice evening of comedy and pathos from some boys from the Wirral.

Shout out louds

I have just been to see the band "shout out louds" play at the Liverpool Barfly. I know that this blog is typo ridden, but the band's name really does end in "s". They reminded me a lot of the cure, but there were a lot more guitars (ok 3). One might have been a bass, but I am never really sure about these things. (I just can't understand why the NME will not consider hiring me. Does it really matter than I can't tell if the baqnd has a bass play. If I knew that I would be in the band.) Anyway I enjoyed the set. The first band up played 60's garage band type music. I think they were called the "The Silhouettes". They were a bit too happy for my taste. I was more in the mood for listening about violence and depression. I can't really blame the band for mental mood of the audience members. I was happy to not be lifted. Anyway next week I get to see Laura Cantrell.

floods

I have been feeling very guilty about my last New Orleans post. Too much hedonism and not enough humanity. When I watch the people on TV, I can see why they didn't leave when warned. When I lived in Lexington, I used to go to Macdonalds (or was it Burger King) before the evening shift. Some of the people in the same fast food restaurant seemed poor and crazy. The same as here really, but unless you have lived in the states you will never know that not everyone has a convertable and a pristine big house.

Barfly

I wnt out to see "we are scientists" at the barfly last Friday. The set was OK, but I think I prefered the support. They had someone from Shefield introduce them. I rarely see bands have someone intruduce them. The person who introduced them seemed more rambly and incoherent than the singer in the band. I want that job! I have a dream of introducing one of my cousin's son at a school magic show. I could give a fantastic introduction to his skills learnt under the swirling sands of the Egyptian pyramaids, while I begged for mercy from the dark lord demons that he had summoned to kiss his innocent hand. The kid could come out and then do tricks from a kit got from W.H Smiths. I also like the idea of Peter Kaye doing a much mote unimaginative introduction to his own sone's show. Peter would the set me up with my own TV show. The trouble is, this competetion is set in Burnley. Peter Kaye probably just has to say "this is a magic show and it will be great", and people will talk about it for years to come. I guess I will have to suffer the indignity of obscurity...