#so many artists only come here on festivals and never arenas or venues

[deathisamotherofbeauty]

Wish the laufey book club would partner with more places other than the ones shes visiting on tour. This could be a great way for her to grow more of a following in the countries where maybe there arent many fans

Also i just want to get her merch without having to pau customs lol, and meet more of her fans :-)

[natromanxoff]

Queen live in Blankenberghe, Belgium - July 24, 1975

Queen made an appearance at the Gouden Leeuwen (Golden Lions) Festival in the summer of 1975. They reportedly mimed Killer Queen, and received an award as well. Various artists also performed and/or received awards on the day, including Rory Gallagher and Eddy Wally.

Here is a (comparatively) recent article about the event, submitted by Raf Foubert.

Coming off the high of their first Japanese tour, behind the scenes it was actually a very trying time for Queen, as they were virtually broke. In a 1999 interview with Mojo magazine, Roger Taylor recalled: "We came back after being demi-gods and playing five nights at the Budokan or something [ed: two, actually] and I went back to my bedsit in Richmond, 120a Kew Road. We were still on 60 quid a week."

The band's recording/production/management deal with Trident was going sour. In 1977, Brian May revealed the difficulty of having one company encompass these three aspects of the business. In 2011, Brian and Roger opened up much more about this time period in the Days Of Our Lives documentary. Roger was told not to break any drum sticks on stage since there was no money to replace them, and John Deacon pleaded with Trident for a £2,000 down payment on a house only to be met by deaf ears who drove Rolls Royces.

The band were in need of new management, and considered many big names, including Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant. They eventually went with Elton John's manager, John Reid (the exact date of his signing is unknown, but it was first mentioned in the August 16th issue of "Sounds"). He insisted to the band that he would solve their financial and legal issues, and told them to go into the studio and make the best record they could make. They did precisely that.

Around this time a US tour was being booked, as seen on this early itinerary (which even made it into Circus magazine).

Many of the venues were arenas, and Queen weren't yet popular enough to fill them (they were still playing the US theatres even in 1976, and wouldn't do the arenas until 1977 after releasing A Day At The Races). In a 1977 Australian radio interview, Brian May blames their management for refusing to finance anything to do with them by that point, perhaps unaware of the scope of the proposed tour, as playing three quarters empty arenas would have been disastrous.

The dates were cancelled and Queen recorded A Night At The Opera instead. "We never particularly asked for any material gains from what we were doing, but when it came to not being able to afford to even rent your room that you're in, it was just getting ridiculous now, and we couldn't write the album because we were so worried about what was gonna happen," revealed Brian in 1977. "I think the band nearly split up as well, because we all had different ideas of the direction we should be going. We were all very worried about managers and stuff, and it was hard to agree within ourselves what we should be doing. And there's so much politics going on, we had no time to think about the album. We knew that this was the crucial album, and we had to make it a good one."

Roger later added that the album was indeed "make it or break it" for the band. Brian has furthermore stated that had the album not been a success, Queen almost certainly would have disbanded.

[tisthenightofthewitch]

Ghost Are Shaping To Be Metal’s Next Awe-Inspiring Arena Act

From Motorhead, to Black Sabbath, and now the thrash kings, Slayer, metal is slowly losing its festival headliners, arena fillers, and most importantly its legacy acts. While it’s been a rather gradual shift, time only moves forward, and sooner or later metal will have to knight a new generation of arena and festival heavy weights. Early 2000’s bands like Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, and Disturbed have long demonstrated a knack for selling out arenas and filling headlining slots at festivals. However, most of these bands have rocked for nearly two decades, and it’s time for the 2010’s to showcase its respective arena acts. Currently completing their first US arena tour, Ghost are leading the charge for the next wave of arena and festival headliners.

Established in 2010 with their debut, Opus Eponymous, Ghost is quite possibly the fastest growing and most popular metal band of the decade. At first glance, the Swedish metal group embodies a very satanic aura, from their upside down crosses and the litany of demonic and catholic symbolism. While the music is the primary focus, their costumes and theatrics as a band are essential to the image and mythos they’ve established over the course of their career. They’ve even gone as far as making a web-series on their youtube channel, detailing the fictitious origins of the band and it’s current vocalist in power, Cardinal Copia. All masks and costumes aside, Tobias Forge is the creative force behind Ghost, being the band’s songwriter, lead vocalist, and founder. Tobias is actually the only known member, all the touring instrumentalists are incognito and share the stage name “Nameless Ghoul.”

As scary and sinister looking as they might be, Ghost brings one of the most melodic, catchy, and entertaining live shows in all of modern metal. Seeing them at their Hersey, PA stop was a remarkable and genuine concert experience; the crowd participation and the sheer enthusiasm that packed Giant Center arena is unrivaled by any band I’ve seen from the 2010’s. The crowd’s enthusiastic chemistry is comparative to Ghost’s onstage chemistry, with their goofy choreographed antics, and just their flawless musicianship between one another. Ghost’s stage production alone was worth an entry ticket; the cathedral-like stage spewed everything from pyro, fireworks, to a confetti filled finale. There’s something very authentic about Ghost as a band, but also as performers. They cater to several aspects of metal and rock music, but also theater in many ways, and at the end of the day Ghost is just pure entertainment, they give something for everyone to enjoy, and leave you feeling just awestruck.

Getting the chance to speak with Tobias Forge, he details the evolution of Ghost and how they got to their arena headlining status over the years.

Ghost went from opening arenas for Avenged Sevenfold in 2013, to more recently opening soccer stadiums for Metallica this summer, to now headlining your own arenas in the states, and soon to be in Europe. What’s the transition been like from opening arenas to now headlining them?

It’s been pretty gradual, over the years we’ve done support shows here and there, support tours here and there, but by the time that we headlined our first arena, which was now a few years ago, we had done quite a lot of arena shows before that, opening up. It wasn’t like a big physical shock, most bands will probably tell you that the weirdest thing about playing bigger places is usually you have to cover so much space on stage, like physically you have to. If you’re a semi-active rock band, the biggest shock from going to a club to arena or even worse, a stadium, is that all of a sudden you have so much physical ground, so much real estate to cover, which can be a shock. If you’re not used to running, and you have to run from one side to the other, and sing, that will punch you out. Gradually we’ve moved up through these venues, and on the first bit of the tour, not this tour leg, but on the tour when it started, we were doing “an evening with,” which meant we were playing two hours and forty minutes, and I definitely had a little bit of a shock over the first night like “whoa,” it was very tiring.

From an Economics, marketing, and profit standpoint, how have these aspects changed or evolved with “the ultimate tour named death?”

It’s kind of like what you’d say about bringing children up, if you have small children the problems are sort of small, and if you have older children then they are bigger. So you know back a few years when we were a band and crew in one bus, it took some time before we even had a truck. Now we’re three buses of people and six trucks, and it’s sort of the bigger the show the more it costs. That is the dynamic of every tour in the world, and the only thing that is making it harder for a band like ours is that it’s sort of new in the greater scheme of things, and in comparison to a lot of the other bands that are doing it on this level, or on an even bigger level. We are a new band that has managed to qualify into this setting, and if you look at most other very established and older artists, they charge a lot more for their tickets, a lot more than we do. That’s sort of the law of gravity and that makes it sometimes a little bit uphill, but we are fortunate to have the promoters and festivals believing in us on a worldwide basis. They believe in the idea that they need to invest in new headliners, the stars have aligned and fortunately they believe us to be one of the new ones to be able to fill that space. Just back a few years, there were several bands out there, but you know Black Sabbath is gone, and so many bands are just retiring or dying and in order to sustain these festivals they will need to invest in new bands and we’re one of them. However, you can clearly see on a festival of three days where The Scorpions are headlining one night, Kiss is headlining another night, and we are headlining a third, we are not getting paid the same as they are, of course not. The bottom line with that is we’re still looked upon and it’s expected of Ghost to deliver the same show, and that requires determination and you cannot look for economic return at this point. It’s further down the line of years and years and years of proving yourself, but that’s part of the game and that’s what I’ve been doing for almost ten years now.

You’ve stated the excitement for this tour was not only the fact Ghost would be playing arenas, but because the tour is spread across so many different markets. How has the reception been so far, in playing to these different markets, or territories that Ghost has less experience performing in?

The reception at the shows has been fantastic. Of course there are a few markets where it’s hard to expect anything because it’s in the middle of no where, and on top of that some of these shows have been on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and you can clearly see the ones that are on the weekends are doing way better. A lot these places that we’re playing are essentially in small towns, so they will have a magnetism for towns and cities around them, so people have to travel to come see it. That’s sort of the basis of that market in the first place, of course it’s a little bit sensitive if it’s a Monday or a Friday, but I must say that overall the promoter is very pleased, and we’re living up to the expectation of what a tour like this can do. That’s the point of the tour, reach out to people in territories where we haven’t really been, and having that in mind it’s been fantastic.

Have you held the idea or goal of Ghost inhabiting stadiums, or large venues since you started the band? These environments seem embedded in the very nature of Ghost’s live show.

My answer will be a little bit split between yes and no. Yes, I have always intended for my band to become a big arena headlining production value band. I always thought that Ghost as a project would be very production oriented. I never thought that Ghost would be that band, as in when I started I didn’t think that that was going to be the band that would define my entire career. However, once the first record got out and we started playing and we started touring, I had definitely put all my eggs in that basket, because I was like “this is the one that sticks, let’s just do this.” This is the one that I intuitively feel most myself, and I was gravitating towards that. Compared to all my other projects, this is the only one that I really truly understood, and could just do intuitively. I knew what to do with it, where as the other bands that I had were more of a head scratch. A lot of the ideas that I managed to either do or are still on the list with Ghost are things that are based on drawings and ideas that I had fifteen to twenty-five years ago. It’s a mixture, yes and no, I always thought I was going to work either with a band or in a band that was going to do full production touring, but I wasn’t sure it was going to be Ghost. It just happens to be two of my main interests, being in a band and writing songs, but also I’m very interesting in touring, and I’m very interested in the idea of stage design, tour design, light design, and all that. Had it not been for me being in a band, I would have gladly also done it for another band, building stage design for other bands.

Seven Inches of Satanic Panic undoubtedly has a very 60’s rock aesthetic, but specifically what bands from that era are influences to you personally?  

Ever since I was a kid my absolute biggest idols before I found extreme metal were from the sixties. It was Pink Floyd, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, I grew up listening to that. When I was eight, my favorite band of all time was The Rolling Stones. I knew everything about them, that was my biggest obsession. The sixties in general and as music have been hugely influential for me. Ghost just happened to be a little bit more heavy metal leaning, but there’s a lot of Pink Floyd in there, and a lot of The Doors, that was the stuff I listened to when I started playing guitar. When I was in my various different bands I’ve always heard that my writing was kind of odd because I had time signatures that were strange, and a melody language that was kind of peculiar. That was because I listened to Pink Floyd and The Doors, they taught me how to just write weirdly, and it’s not as outlandish as it might seem.

Many hail Ghost for their ability to balance a sense of nostalgia whilst maintaining an original song craft and sonic perspective. What has been your process, if not organically, in achieving this balance?

I always try to remember how I felt writing the first record [Opus Eponymous], and during the recording of the record coming after that, [Infestissumam], I think I’ve managed to tap into that. Don’t misunderstand and think I try to write the same record every time, it’s quite the contrary, but having that same playful approach when it came to writing that I had back when I had nothing to lose. Opus Eponymous was written in a complete void, where there was no one involved in my writing. I was depending economically on it, I had no crowd to please, and I had no one to please with my writing except my self and a buddy of mine basically. That’s what I’m trying to do every time; try the best of my ability to stay within that, and not think too much about the fact that “this is your most important record of your career.” With that being said you have that in the back of your mind every time, but you try to even that out, and you try to be somewhat distant from that. I wanted Ghost to sound like a big band, and because I’m trying to distance myself from that, that does not mean the songs aren’t commercial or whatever. I really tried to be commercial on Opus Eponymous, it was supposed to be very very catchy. I wanted it to sound like that huge band that you had missed out on. It was supposed to be very catchy, very memorable, and very playful. It was supposed to be a band from the seventies that didn’t know what the eighties were, but was trying to shape the eighties because they knew that was coming, but they didn’t know what the eighties were.

FORBES.COM

[theseadagiodays]

May 4, 2020

This is Not a Performance

Irving H Bolano’s incredible repurposed newspaper fashion for the Met Gala Challenge on Twitter #HFMetGala2020

May the Fourth be With You as you reach the next chapter of this current sci-fi drama we seem to be living through.   As the saying goes, reality can be stranger than fiction.   But it just happens to be a many red-eyed virus rather than an evil, black-masked father that we’re fighting as we all walk around like Storm Troopers.  

There are so many aspects of our lives, during Covid, which make it feel like we are actors in a make-believe story.   First of all, we’ve all become movie stars, with our faces, homes, and even pets showcased on our own silver screens.  As isolated as we are, our private lives now play out in the public sphere more than ever - no paparazzi required.    For some, this invasion of privacy is unwelcomed. But for many people, it satisfies a secret longing to share themselves with a wider audience.  After all, deep down, everyone wants to be seen and heard (I guess, me included, since I have this blog, after all).  It’s why TikTok and YouTube and Facebook have become multi-billion dollar companies so quickly.  And now, while this pandemic is a harsh daily reminder of the impermanence of all things, it makes sense that these digital missives are an attempt to seek immortality, in some strange way.

As someone whose work responds to human’s need to have a voice, I truly get why this is the case.  And I love that this time has turned housewives into opera stars, and health care workers into hip hop dancers, and housepets into circus performers. But, at the same time, I have become very aware of the masks that we wear, even inside our homes, to portray a certain self to the world that may stray quite far from our authentic selves.  The expression “dance like no one is watching” acknowledges the fact that we all tend to perform when we have an audience, and perhaps we’re only truly ourselves when we don’t.   I understand that the way we “perform” ourselves online gives each of us a chance to reinvent the fictions we want our stories to have.   So, while I surely take some guilty pleasure from intimate glimpses into strangers’ lives, I also do so with a certain skepticism about the veracity of what I’m seeing.  

This became particularly true for me when I received a recent link from my friend and amazing singer/songwriter, Dominique Fricot. Capitalizing on this current trend of oversharing, he cleverly asked his fans to film their morning routines for the music video of his new song, Wake Up, by his duo, Flora Falls.  Dom’s warm tenor voice blended with his partner’s breathy tones feel just like a lazy morning in bed.  But I’ll leave it up to you to decide just how accurate these portrayals of people’s idyllic daytime rituals actually are.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EbsqXou5FeY

May 5, 2020

Homeschool Heroes

About twenty years ago,  I was invited to adjudicate a youth music competition in the Yukon.  Travelling to one of the northernmost inhabited spots on earth, I imagined that my greatest surprise might have been a polar bear or Northern Lights sighting.  But it turned out to be something entirely different.  Among the 25,000 residents of the thriving metropolis of Whitehorse exists a treasure trove of talent.  I could not believe the incredibly honed skills and nuanced expression with which these 11-18 year-olds played.   Wondering why, I developed a theory that I now call SLoW: Sheltered Living Wonder.  When long, dark days, cold climates or pandemics force people indoors, they tend to spend inordinate amounts of time on creative endeavors and skill development.  In other words, they slow down and take time for wonder.

This theory has surely applied during these past few months of sheltering in place.   One of the most remarkable examples has been the inventiveness that many of my friends have brought to their first attempts with homeschooling.   So, I wanted to give a few shout outs to some of these Homeschool Heroes and the highly imaginative projects they’ve done with their kids.

Stunning Easter Eggs made from natural materials and dye, by my friend Jane Cox and her kids  (Botany lesson)

Candy Covid virus, made by Amelia, my friend Jen Sanke’s daughter, as she learned about the virus’ proteins (Biology lesson)

But perhaps the prize for most complex homeschool project has to go to my architect friend, Bryn Davidson, who upon returning from Australia, in late March, had to fully quarantine for 2-weeks.  So, with his 5-year old son Bei as helper, this Physics lesson allowed him to enjoy home delivery beer while in isolation.  Just brilliant!

https://youtu.be/FF9-2dWoUtc

May 6, 2020

Living in livestream

So today, 5 million British Columbian’s awaited our “sentence” with baited breath, as word spread that our provincial prime minister would deliver the Re-Open BC plan at 3 pm.   I have to admit, it felt a bit like when you were “grounded” as an adolescent and then your parents returned certain privileges to you.  Of course, I’m well aware that our province has already been far more licentious than many places around the globe.  We’ve been fortunate to maintain reasonably low numbers of infection (just over 2,000), with counts as low as 8 new cases per day, at this point. So, while our provincial parks closed, our beaches never did.  While we were encouraged, within a reasonable range of home, to be active outdoors, we were not restricted to walks only within the 100 metre radius of our house, as my Israeli friends were.  And while we could still shop at gardening and furniture stores, to make sheltering at home more enjoyable, New Zealanders had nothing but grocery stores and pharmacies open, for two months.  

I have sensed the gratitude my fellow Vancouverites have felt about these privileges.  But that does not mean that we aren’t still anxious to return to other aspects of living which we’ve missed.  When lockdown began, ominously on the Ides of March (the 15th), I’d harboured a secret hope that certain restrictions might be lifted on my birthday (exactly two months later).  And it turns out that Phase Two of the BC ReOpen plan will commence on May 19th, just 4 days later than I’d hoped.  What I most look forward to experiencing again are small gatherings with friends, (we’ll soon be allowed to socialize in public with up to 10 people); meals inside certain restaurants and pubs (those that are able to function within WorkPlace BC’s safety regulations); visits to registered massage therapists; and hugs with select people, (”using one’s own ‘risk assessment’.”)

But in the long-range plan, the harsh reality for artists has been laid out, as Phase Four (which includes resuming large-venue concerts, conventions, and international travel) can not occur until either a vaccine has been developed, an effective treatment plan is widely available, or herd immunity is achieved.  And this is not estimated to occur until mid-2021 or later.  So, the prospects are still bleak for symphony orchestras, opera and dance companies, artists who perform in crowded bars, or musicians who travel for arena shows and festivals.  This likely means that in order to satisfy audiences’ need to access live performance, and for artists to continue to share their creativity,  livestream formats will still have to persist for some time.  Therefore, I thought I’d share a few regular weekly livestream arts events here, both from Vancouver, LA & NY.

Canadian National Live Art Champion, Dmitri Sirenko, who we featured at our non-profit’s annual benefit on February 20th, 2020

Every Monday Night at 7 pm PST (Vancouver) Poetry Slam: https://www.facebook.com/Vancouverpoetryslam/

Every Thursday at 5 pm PST (LA): LIVE Art Battles - Watch painters do their magic in just 20 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJoWGVwzGtk99nTOCib9vg

Every Thursday at 8 pm EST (NY): Spotlight on Plays - famous actors perform readings of theatre pieces, online: https://www.broadwaysbestshows.com/post/the-best-of-series/

May 7, 2020

Collateral Blessings

So many thoughtful writers are adding to the discourse, as we all strive to make meaning from what can feel like a senseliess time.  I have so appreciated the abundance with which people are sharing these missives, right now.  Every day, bursts of inspiration or flickers of insight come my way, thru texts, emails and Facebook.  Like adventurers, traveling together thru the dark of night, we shine light on guideposts, anywhere we can find them, as we collectively quench each other’s thirst for wisdom.  

One of the most profound writings I‘ve recently discovered came from a stranger’s blog.  In The Examined Family, Courtney Martin, without ever diminishing the gravity of the havoc that this virus has wreaked, writes about some of the assets that have also come out of this time.  New friendships with neighbors.  A long-neglected puzzle completed with her kids.   The time to draw and truly notice an artichoke in her back garden. My good friend Juan calls these collateral blessings.  This reference to the accidental gifts that this cruel virus has given us, is a beautiful twist on “collateral damage”, a term coined to explain accidental friendly-fire deaths during the Gulf War.  Commenting on the anticipatory nostalgia that she projects she will feel about certain things, once this time has passed, Courtney writes:

“I instantly feel overwhelmed at the prospect of schedules and stuff. I don’t want to go back to our former accumulation or frenetic pace. I don’t want to stop texting (my neighbor) my little triumphs. I don’t want to forget about the artichokes in the garden. I don’t ever want to forget this happened--the grief and the beauty of it. I’m not even sure that will be possible, but if it were, I wouldn’t want it. I don’t want to vote like it didn’t happen. I don’t want to eat like it didn’t happen. I don’t want to consume like it didn’t happen. I don’t want to schedule like it didn’t happen. I don’t want to mother or daughter or befriend or neighbor like it didn’t happen. I don’t want to sit inside this little life, noticing and appreciating and breathing, like it didn’t happen. There is unnecessary suffering all around me, and inside of me, too, but there is also necessary meaning. May we hold on to that.”      

You can read her full entry here: https://courtney.substack.com/p/unnecessary-suffering-and-necessary?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo3OTg0NDcyLCJwb3N0X2lkIjozNzU1NDMsIl8iOiJCTnk2VyIsImlhdCI6MTU4NzA1MjgyMCwiZXhwIjoxNTg3MDU2NDIwLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjA5MjIiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.puI9NMne-783ypInpvTkJ96T237WcrTo2ItDhqlkMiY

May 8, 2020

Nostalgia

I’m rarely one prone to nostalgia.  My childhood photo albums are in storage.  I have no family heirlooms displayed in my home.  My tendency is to revel in the present or dream about the future.  But this pandemic has strangely turned me into a sentimental fool.  Perhaps this return to simpler times, where we seldom shop, where we wander mostly by foot, or where we get to know our neighbors better, makes us long for the past in certain ways.  

For me, I’ve honored this by resurrecting my daily teenage Twizzler habit - a candy I’ve rarely eaten since then, but that now feels so satisfying during my Netflix & Chill evenings (while watching films almost as old like Groundhog Day & Anchorman).  

I’m also listening a lot to Old School Hip Hop, where the explative-free rhymes of the 90’s feel so strangely innocent.  It’s refreshing to listen to these musicians spit verses that merely celebrate the joys of dance and rap, rather than ranting about gun violence and other societal ills.  Run DMC It’s Tricky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-O5IHVhWj0) and Beastie Boys Body Movin’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRBUw_Ls2o) happen to be personal favorites.  

Last month, I was tickled by an old memory while planting a lilac bush in my backyard.  I suddenly remembered a story about my college boyfriend, whom I hadn’t thought of in 30 years.  Our relationship started a bit secretively, so as not to hurt his ex’s feelings.  So, one May afternoon, we snuck away to a distant park that was hosting a Lilac Festival.  Unfortunately, our ruse was quickly spoiled when a candid photo of our picnic under the purple blooms was plastered all over the front page of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle the next morning.  

Another sweet memory returned in culinary form. Every Tuesday, for 7 years, my mother selflessly drove me an hour from home and back, for my flute lesson.  And to break up the long drive, we regularly stopped at Bickford’s Pancake House for my favorite adolescent treat: breakfast for dinner. Their specialty was the Dutch Baby Apple.  And I finally made my first homemade attempt at this deceptively easy delicacy, last Tuesday.  

This has also been a time to return to bedtime stories (some I’ve read to friends’ kids, and others for adults to hear.)  The Great Realisation by British performance artist, Tom Foolery, has been making the social media rounds. But in case you missed this touching tale that looks back on this time as if the tale is being told in a not-so-distant future, it’s a wistful story about some aspects of modern life that we may never long for in the future:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw5KQMXDiM4

[eabhaalynn]

Let the Music Play: A Love-Letter to Our Live Venues.

My concert-going career started at a very young age. Barely out of nappies, I went to see the ‘tweenies’ live with my auntie in 2004. The Odyssey Arena, Belfast, now known as the SSE Arena, is Northern Ireland’s biggest indoor arena, and while it is dwarfed by the stadiums and concert venues of the Irish capital and Manchester city, the imposing presence of the arena has captivated me for about as long as I can remember.

The Odyssey complex is as old as I am, its doors opened in the year I was born and so, at the time, everyone was as enthralled with the venue as I was.

The most recent concert I went to at the SSE was twenty-one pilots in March 2019. There is something really endearing about the combined nostalgia of a twenty-one pilots gig itself, and a venue with fifteen years’ worth of live-music memories housed in its elliptical, grey walls.

The SSE arena embodies my generation of Northern Irish kids; we have this big central concert venue, one that our parents could only have dreamed of. Its evolved into a bustling hotspot of tourism, nestled in tidily between the main motorway to East Belfast and the now notorious Titanic Quarter. The word ‘anticipation’ has become almost synonymous with the landscaped gardens, taxi ranks and brightly orange-cladded walls of the arena. From standing in the snow eagerly waiting for a wave from Shakira in December 2009, to queuing in the rain for an allocated seat out of the sheer anticipation of seeing then-heartthrob Matty Healy in January 2019, the artists change, the company changes, but the venues stay static.

Walking into the colossal atrium of the SSE arena, the dopamine rush of the distinctive sound of a ticket scanner, the frustration of the crush on the stairs, or the hilariously slow walker in front of you, the relief and disbelief of being swept away from an old friend by the tsunami of people pouring into the venue, and later washing back out of it. The expected responses to big world events, the additional security of Summer 2017 after the tragic events in Manchester, both outside and inside the same venues.

The feeling of utter tininess when you step through the tunnel into the arena. The power of the crowd, all there for the same reasons, all having a brilliant time. The knowledge that so many of your friends are experiencing the same event you are, that same knowledge, that’s somehow even more captivating in retrospect.

And that is just one venue.

I grew up in a ‘musical household’ and all that really means is that my dad plays the guitar, my mum always has the radio on in the house, and it’s been this way for about as long as I can remember.

Consequently, then, my childhood summers were framed by a local music festival, happens the first week in August in our village. It is, as they say, the craic. It introduced me to gig culture, a culture that has adopted me as I’ve aged. Gigs are like concerts, but smaller. A lot more personable, usually with a lot more bands involved, usually, you won’t know or listen to every band on the set list.

Gigs are in bars, or town halls, or even student union’s – I’m looking at QUB and Glasgow here, LUSU is an office building, though it’d almost certainly be more use as a gig venue. While you find your friends at concerts, you make friends at gigs. You find new music through gigs. Gigs are the control-alt-delete of your social life, especially when you’ve been going to them since you were six.

In reality, I could write whole love letters about every gig in every venue I have ever been to, I haven’t not been to a gig for this long, I think since I turned fifteen.

But none of us have time for that, enjoy these quick-fire feelings about gig venues and gigs from over the years, at home and farther afield.

The Oh Yeah! Centre in Belfast – the gateway to the gig scene. The absolute heroes who were hosting all ages gigs that one time a year every year that you didn’t have to source an ID. Nestled in the Cathedral Quarter, it is a genuinely wholesome, beautiful place to be. From falling in love with a 17 year old Declan McKenna in the front row at 15, to nearly choking when you heard the titular female name of Cherym’s now lead-single live for the first time, it is a very happy place and one that is truly committed to local acts and musical education at its heart.

The Lurig Inn in Cushendall – We all have a bit of love for our local, don’t we? The Lurig was the place to go out when you couldn’t get into, or couldn’t get to, anywhere else. Being 16 in the Glens of Antrim is certainly an experience, and it is characterised by the intergenerational harmony of a night in the Lurig with your wee man off the X-Factor. They have converted their venue into guestrooms, and of course I have feelings about this, but they still have solid acoustic nights from local artists on a regular basis, and I miss coming home to it a lot.

The Stubborn Stag at Kelly’s, Portrush – When you catch yourself driving to a gig in jeans and a t-shirt while you watch your peers in tiny neon skirts getting turned away from the main club, you know you’re doing something right – or maybe very wrong. This is my local for ‘big gigs’ and is a very underrated venue in Portrush. It is a genuinely lovely bar to be in, and attracts names from across the wide and growing North Coast music scene. I’ve even heard its worth using that roundabout in Coleraine for.

Students Unions of the world – This is basically in memorium of the Mandela Hall in Belfast. However, the Manchester Academies and QMU Glasgow need their recognition. These venues are gross, they’re sticky, they’re not even overly cheap on gig nights. But they give you the opportunity to see IDLES, the Academic, Miles Kane (!) and the Front Bottoms up close, even when you’re underage. And for that, we salute them. I do miss being able to see yer man from General Fiasco and his guitar every Sunday at the Speakeasy if I wanted to too (but don’t tell anyone).

The Belfast Empire – I haven’t actually got the words for the love I have for this venue. It is practically perfect in every way. From their regular ‘Gifted’ nights, which platform young talent, to their annual general fiasco gigs, to their high ceilings and stunning acoustics, to the location in the heart of Botanic, the closest street Belfast has to ‘cool.’ While I have never had much love for Belfast city, my heart absolutely bursts for the Empire. I cannot recommend checking them out when they reopen.

My favourite carpark in Belfast is actually also behind the Empire but that’s a story for another day.

The Button Factory, Dublin – This is where I first made eye contact with Eli Hewson, it is a beautiful, very cool venue on the periphery of Dublin’s Temple Bar. Just a stone’s throw from Gay Spar too. What more could you ask for?

Yes! Manchester – This is technically four venues, on Manchester’s Charles St. It is effortlessly groovy, and consistently hosts the best up and coming talent from Manchester, the North West, and farther afield. It is where I first saw Eli Hewson, buzzed on VKs at 2.30pm on a crisp October afternoon. It is also home to ‘the Pink Room’ the most beautiful venue I have ever been in. Imagine being at an Inhaler gig in a Barbie house. Now tell me how I can ever expect to beat that.

Sandino’s Derry – It’s a socialist bar. They have MSF stickers on the walls. It’s the complete antithesis of the Yes Pink Room; but is two stories of positive vibes and freedom. An endearing little venue that occasionally hosts good gigs but will always be there to radicalise you, if only a little bit and to welcome you home.

Some of the most endearing memories of my whole life have been finding friends at concerts, screaming and crying along to concerts, getting lost at concerts, arriving late and leaving early, and getting abandoned. Getting stuck in the mud, quite literally, and stopping at the kebab shop on the way home; and being scared you’re going to be stuck in Preston bus station forever.

Gig-going and concert going have given me anecdotes to last a lifetime, and I am not the only one. Let the music play.

I wasn’t sure where I really was going with this post, I didn’t at all plan it. But I truly hope it has encouraged you to support your local gigs and artists, and especially your local venues.

#letthemusicplay 

[thewidowstanton]

Archive feature 2012: ‘Mr Follow Spot’, Linford Hudson

Following this year’s Olivier Awards when Linford Husdon’s lengthy career received special recognition, we thought we’d mark the occasion by posting this feature. I was lucky enough to be shown behind the scenes at the London Palladium by him and to stand on the famous stage while he shone his light on me. He’d deiblerately left me in the eyrie, that is the follow-spot room to see if I could find my way back down. Luckily, I bumped into someone who knew the way!

By Liz Arratoon

It can only be The Mousetrap that’s had a longer West End run than Linford Hudson, who next October will have worked at the London Palladium for 50 years. Slim and dapper, the softly spoken British Jamaican is the historic venue’s elder statesman, and describes it as “my theatre, my home”. Its Hall of Fame, lined with photos and ephemera of past and present stars, reads like his personal CV. He knows every crevice of the building, even pointing out a tiny nick he made in a wall when he first arrived to record his height.

Linford came to the UK on September 9, 1963. It might have been traumatic to leave his island home and hit the capital in the Swinging Sixties, but he loved it. He’d watch TV’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium with his mother and walk past the Drury Lane and Aldwych theatres after school, taking in the scene. “I loved the hype of it all, the little lights flashing and dancers dancing, and kept going back. It was glamorous.” Just a month later, he saw an advert in the Evening Standard for a job at the Palladium and knew it was his way into a world that already entranced him. “It was for a pageboy. I came along and they employed me and I’m here still.”

He’d show people to the boxes and take messages or mail to management and artists. At 18, they said he’d grown too tall, but something better lay ahead. He explains: “When I was a pageboy I’d go up to the bio box [follow-spot room] in my break to look around and watch the shows because theatre was my first love. Mr Peter King, who was in charge of the limes, didn’t mind and said he’d teach me. I never looked back.”

But things were very different then. One of the hardest things to learn was the lethal carbon arcs; the red-hot carbon rods he had to put together to create a flame, which shone through a reflector and two lenses on to the stage. “They’d last 28 or 30 minutes. You’d have to turn them off and change them over with pliers in about six seconds without burning the theatre down, because we had a wooden floor then.” Linford laughs off the scars on his wrists, saying: “I could do it blindfold.” They also gave off noxious fumes and he had an allowance for milk, which supposedly neutralised the effects.

Another thing he had to learn was the feeling, the finesse of the lights, making the movement of the iris – the pin spot – smooth. “You have to fade it. Once you can feel a song, after a while you get used to it. I conquered it because Mr King was a very good teacher.” For example when someone such as Shirley Bassey lifted her arms, hit a high note and took a bow, he’d have to be ready to capture it down to her fingertips.

The equipment obviously advanced with time, and Linford reels off its technical details. Every spotlight – and there are about 20 types; German, Japanese, American Super Troupers, English and French – has its own sights, which he doesn’t use because “it can make you late on a cue. When you have artists going off and others coming on, there isn’t time to fade off and pick up again.” The huge lights give off incredible heat, which in summer is almost unbearable, but despite such hardships, and spurred on to succeed by a racist insult from another staff member, he mastered the job easily.

He has since lit show after show and everyone who was or is anyone. When asked to name his favourite or greatest star – maybe Josephine Baker who “still had an amazing physique and voice in her 70s”, Ella Fitzgerald or Judy Garland, whom he lit but never met – he’s slightly nonplussed. “That’s the biggest question because I’ve worked with them all. You find nice people, you find miserable people. Roy Castle was a brilliant guy, Frankie Vaughan (pictured above) was brilliant, Harry Secombe… the old boys were brilliant people. I can name names right down the line… Ethel Merman, Bette Davis, so many wonderful artists, man. Better Midler was fun to work with, Debbie Reynolds when she came with Carrie Fisher was brilliant, but my favourite lady, who I call my English rose, was Julie Andrews. Charming!”

The list is endless, and though the father of six and grandfather of ten stopped collecting autographs for a while because his kids kept taking them, he held on to Frank Sinatra’s. He remembers heady times when he was earning £12 a week and Sinatra sent his bodyguard with a massive £1,000 tip to share with the crew. “I worked with Frank here, at the Albert Hall and Festival Hall but you couldn’t get close to him. With Sammy [Davis Jr] it was different.” They’d go to London’s Playboy Club together and Sammy, always known as a big spender, would throw parties for everyone in the Palladium bar and take them and their families to events such as a new James Bond film.

Though known as Mr Follow Spot, he’s been much more than that. “I’ve been a plumber, carpenter, electrician and follow-spot operator here. I love rigging. I’d climb along very long trusses without a harness in the old days. It kept me fit,” he says, grinning. Down the years, Linford has also worked in TV and film, lighting Live at the Apollo and movies such as My Life with Marilyn. He’s worked with all the Royal Family; the Queen Mother, the Queen, Princess Margaret, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales on Symphony for the Spire at Salisbury Cathedral, and spent three days preparing and lighting her funeral at Westminster Abbey, which he says was “an honour”.

He’s lit 41 Royal Variety Performances – more than anyone else ever – and counting. “That show is the show,” he says, “All the people in the theatre business want to work on it. I missed a couple but all those boys at the Coliseum are my pupils. I taught at the National Theatre and the BBC. Everywhere I go, someone wants me to teach them, and I’ve been doing it for 25 or 30 years so I can pass it on.” His legacy to the business is indeed huge.

Now 66, the Palladium has told him to take a break, meaning his minimum 12-hour days are down to a more reasonable eight. “They invented a job for me, so I still come in and take pride in the building I love. It’s magnificent. It’s given me a very good living and taken care of my family. I’ve no regrets. Once I perfected my work everyone gave me jobs… the 02, Wembley Arena. When there’s a big show, they call for me. I’m semi-retired but when they call I still go and do it.”

It’s doubtful anyone in the business can imagine the Palladium without Linford, but he says should that time come, the theatre will be in safe hands. Its lighting team of Danny Turner, George Antoniu and Chris Barstow is headed by chief electrician Dave Draude, whom Linford describes as “a brilliant guy, brilliant knowledge, brilliant brain. He’s very good at his job. His boys are brilliant too, and will take care of this place for me. All my friends have moved and my teachers have passed away but I’m glad I can walk out of the building and know everything will be all right.”

This feature first appeared in The Stage in 2012

[fridaynightbordercrossing]

IN LOVING MEMORY: OCTAVIO HERNANDEZ (1959 - 2015)

I was shocked when the phone ringed and got the call that told me the news of the death of the journalist, promoter, chronicler and music lover Octavio Hernández, a crucial character in this city on the rock music scene, as well as in cultural stances. Memories come to life again. . .

At that time, I began to listen to local radio programs, i was highly impressed by Octavio Hernández's incendiary verb in his nightly weekly radio show, El Arca de Neón, especially after the tragic suspension of a Maldita Vecindad show in the Palenque del Hipódromo.

Octavio from a young age decided his way through rock and after completing the academic part, he nourished himself with knowledge collaborating on Melodía 10 Años, then newspaper Uno Más Uno, until he reached Signore, the Mexicanized version of Playboy, where he became famous for an incident with a music promoter at a festival in Acapulco who clocked him blindsided. At the reedition of the Avandaro Festival in 2006, I remember that when I greeted Octavio, he told me: "Do you believe what just happened?, this motherfucker thinks I forgot what he did to me in Acapulco and now he is even hugging me!".

His love for music and reasons of affection took him to the south of the American continent, where he saw the future of rock in our language and in Portuguese too. So, he came with a vision, and it was common that he inevitably spoke of the big bands like Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes, Os Titas, and Caetano Veloso,  as well as his beloved Radio Futura and other sparkling artists. He arrived in Tijuana and began the take-off of the Arca de Neón which was a guide of the present and future through the frequency of Estereo Frontera 102. 5, until crossing the border, where he started with El Acordeón, the first rock publication in Spanish in the USA.

Contests and shows like Duelo De Rebeldes and  La Frontera Aquí, the first visits from Maldita Vecindad, Santa Sabina, Social Security, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and others, we promoted by him. His pen set fire to the pages of El Precipicio in Diario 29 and continued to connect to his land via Ciudad Rock En Español, La Jornada and other newspapers and magazines.

In 1994, when I published my first fanzine, I began to frequent the Punto de Vista magazine office, where I went and collaborated for three years with great friends. One day (already in 95) on Madero Avenue, I ran into Octavio, I introduced myself to him and he responded as always, in the way he spoke to everyone, with that characteristic adrenaline and his mouth overflowing words that sounded like wisdom to me. Months later alongside another unforgettable friend, Ricardo Alarcón, we were working details of what would be the Tianguis of Rock and Culture. Coincided that Octavio was his friend, so, consequently, we coexisted in this place and we begin to have more approach. The day of the tianguis, I remember him very happy, hugging everyone, eating his sandwich and chatting. I remember him saying to me: "I'm going to see if, in those that follow, I'll bring the old demos I have from bands like Fobia, La Maldita and others".

One day, he invited me to collaborate on an event he was promoting, and we had a previous talk at the Rubén Hood, that little bar in the parking lot of Arena Tijuana 72. I accompanied him and another friend of his. We talked about a lot of stuff in music, but the most interesting thing was his painful story of the day of the tragic earthquake of 85, which changed his life completely, of his pain for those he lost. At that time, I had a social life, I moved everywhere as I pleased and coincided with my friends. He was a vital and necessary presence in events, for all of us. I remember the Festival of Alternative Culture, where he shouted to me "get off the stage" or his crazy turns with a bottle in hand in his beloved stage at  Mexitlan while Los Enemigos took the stage. I'm sure that my writing style copied (or stole) his words, his ways of writing and even the way he always nervously walked around in events, as I saw when he brought legends like Pappo Napolitano, Ratones Paranoicos and Voodoo Glow Skulls, among others. And I forgot, he connected me to be interviewed for a documentary about the border scene for French television, I have never seen that show.

He offered two workshops related to the culture of rock in the CECUT, one by himself, and another with journalist Delia M, I remember that one when my good friend Humberto Huerta and me finished at her house in the Zona Norte at the end of the workshop. Octavio later crossed the street only when Estéreo Frontera took El Arca off the air abruptly, so he was offered to move  to Stereo Amistad 99.7 in what I consider one of the best times for rock radio on the border, as they listened to their audience and took local rock music and  was part of the daily rotation. I constantly called the show on the air, which was transmitted on a small table with a green tablecloth. Over time, Octavio was given control of the nights at the station and Corazón Eléctrico was born, the first  attempt to have an independent alternative radio station, but, the new management ended the project due to "lack of rating and sales", as the new manager of the radio group commented directly to me on a phone call, when I innocently called to complain.

Octavio's path took him to La Banda Elástica Magazine, where he excelled covering all the ways of rock on the border. California and Tijuana were as one, opening the gates to bands of both sides...until one day at the Cecut announced his departure from the magazine, which, put some harsh distance between both sides, which was manifested in subsequent numbers related to rock history in Tijuana and USA on LBE. He wrote some essays about that in Perdidos En La Linea, Lumbre and others, until he landed a spot on Retila Magazine, where he was set up as the editor and assembled his dream team, I was included, the greatest honor for me, alongside with some of the best writers ever, but, the dream was short as the magazine ended after the economic crisis derived from an event that  the magazine organized and was a disaster. we only work three numbers, but was incredible.

It was the stage where we hang out the most and had great mutual respect. He interviewed me for one of his most famous articles, Tijuana Mesopotamia, which was the title of his first chronicle book, where the text also appeared, previously published in La Jornada. I got the book and  I appear in the acknowledgments. His pen appeared in a trendy magazine called Lumbre, which was a pretext to coincide in a night where we had an incredible gathering together with another dear friend, Ejival and other friends. He also wrote in No Cover, but only for the first edition.

Many of the stories that he wrote, I will reveal that they were versions, let's say, light, of how the events he wrote about happened, but his use of vocabulary to make the stories enjoyable is what I take away from...it's going to hurt remembering when he would stare at me and touch my head and tell me "pinche Rincon, you are quite a character" or his traditional "how are you, maestro?". He continued to collaborate with media such as Circulo MixUp, Cinemania and alongside his beloved friend Charly Alberti on yeyeye.com.

Suddenly, life changed. I remember he had a serious health problem, and after that, we met again when Roy Villela from Oxigeno Rock Shop called us to a magazine project. We met outside the Box Underground venue, and that day, there was a show featuring a band from Ensenada called Blue Mind. Suddenly, Octavio asks me if the man who was standing at the door was Raúl Ramírez, the famous and legendary Mexican tennis player, I say yes. Immediately he got up and went to greet Mr. Ramirez, who was accompanied by his wife, Miss Universe 77 Maritza Sayalero. Octavio reminded Ramirez of the wonderful afternoons with his usual dynamic, citing his legendary rivals as Jimmy Connors and Vitas Gerulaitis, but above all, his vibrant triumphs against the elite before a Ramírez who listened to him with pleasure and surprise. He went back to radio, at the now Fusion 102.5 for two more stints of El Arca De Neon, being the second the lengthiest one, finally, after all these years I went a couple of times, as that was something I put on the bucket list.

In recent times, he spoke more of the past than of the present, very little of the current market. He spoke of seeking to bring veteran artists of blues and old school rock to perform around here. He brought for shows bands like Santa Sabina (their last show before the passing of singer Rita Guerrero), La Barranca and Rubén Albarran from Cafe Tacuba. Worked a lot with the Interzona Festival and was featured on Canal 12 Televisa Tijuana on the Fusión TV show. We returned to coincide by mutual friends when he launched the Tijua Neo magazine alongside the journalist Fernando Del Monte, but issues made Del Monte leave the project. Later, he would leave El Arca show forever in harsh circumstances, however, he was able to return later to the show and others on the same station as a guest. I was invited to write for Tijua Neo in some issues, but then, for a series of stuff, we stopped talking for about three years. We never had any difference openly, but when we saw each other, I know there was some small tension,  we agreed that it was already past and that we should start over.

We met in person in January of 2015, we greet in my frustrated birthday event at the TJ Arte y Rock Cafe, and we said goodbye with a hug, as always. He told me that he knew we were going to work on something soon. The last contact we had was by a Facebook message, he invited me as a judge to the TIM band contest, but my time did not coincide because of the workshop I was working on at the time, so I declined...I did not think that he would die, I never imagined that. I knew his pain for his partner Rosalba and her health problems, but he was motivated by love, beer and for culture. It is worth mentioning that in his recent messages, he asks us to support local rock always.

Never assume that what we see today, will be tomorrow. Octavio, I admire you, I respect you and I love you, I remain with your direct and indirect teachings, with your words of appreciation, with your influence.

Thanks and see you soon, very soon, I hope not to be late.

(Text originally published on the AudioTijuana blog in Prenser and republished in the electronic magazine En Tijuana).

:::::::::::::::

I also would share the text in relation to an event-tribute that took place in 2014. He asked me to wrote it, since he tought i was the only one that knew more about his work. This was featured on El Mexicano newspaper :

ARCABUZ: A Tribute to Octavio Hernández, The Border Rider of Rock.

Octavio manifested his love for music from a very young age. His contact with rock was being notorious, being astounding with the live performances of bands that made history and are now legends, that marked him to get involved in journalism in his native Mexico City, where after from his beginnings, he learned the art of chronicling and musical criticism alongside respected characters like Víctor Roura  in the pages of Melodía: Ten Years Later, Uno Mas Uno and at the beginning of La Jornada, then he would put his talents to work for  Signore (the first Playboy Mexico magazine) and other publications would give him a unique and special place in national journalism.

Along with his first wife Rosvita he traveled to South America. In Brazil. he saw the jubilant  scene of emerging artists,  while on the streets of Argentina, he learned where the future of Latin American rock would come,  from groups like Soda Stereo, but his life destination would change, as he arrived in 1988 in Tijuana, where he saw the enormous potential that the city had to be considered the spearhead of a musical movement, but also, he discovered that California was another hotbed for bands and media, so, he stayed here.

He made history by being a great influence on the radio through the Arca De Neon show in its various stages at Estereo Frontera 102.5, Stereo Amistad 97.7 and Fusion 102.5, and also,  crossed the border to team with Dave Stampone - from the university radio station in San Diego ( KCR) - to make a prodigious binational simulcast. In Stereo Amistad, he promoted one of the first commercial radio projects dedicated to rock music called Corazón Eléctrico, something that deserved better luck. In Los Angeles, together with Enrique Blanc and Omar Márquez, he edited the first publication dedicated to rock in the Spanish language called  El Acordion, it became a vital part of the roots of La Banda Elastica Magazine, where he was featured later.

With his pen, he later became editor of Retila Magazine ("the rival" of La Banda Elastic in Los Angeles) and discovered the new cyber ways alongside YeYeYe.com and also collaborated in prestigious publications here and there such as Circulo Mix Up, Pulse Latino, Lumbre, La Olla Express, Bitácora, LA Weekly, La Opinión, No Cover in Spanish, Identidad and Guitar Player, among others.

As a promoter of concerts, he provoked electrical miracles such as the contest Duelo De Rebeldes (binational rock contest, thanks to which the new Tijuana music appeared on the cover of the San Diego Union-Tribune) and the first appearances in the city of Maldita Vecindad, Santa Sabina, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (whose debut was in Tijuana and not in Mexico City), Seguridad Social, La Lupita, Pappo Napolitano, Ratones Paranoicos, VooDoo Glow Skulls, La Barranca and others. From then on, he never stopped opening roads.

His chronicles and articles have been published in two amazing books, Tijuana-Mesopotamia, Crónicas y Otros Latidos and Cornucopia, Periodismo Sonoro y Anexas. On television, he appeared with his music section in the cultural program Fusion for Televisa Tijuana and is the director and editor of the cultural magazine TijuaNeo, where he demonstrates that his passion for rock is not at odds with his vast general culture. These stages, he lived them with all the same intensity that his heart had for his life partner Rosalba.

He has been found on the road those who are legends and those who could be. With nocturnal adventures accompanied by the inevitable cold beer, or the sun to the fullest, he always talks anecdotes and stories that seem fantasy and those, written, take a much more mystical dimension. He is one of the most transcendental characters of our border.

[forumofkuka]

Vans Warped Tour 2018: My Amazing First & Unfortunate Last

When I discovered my love for the emo subculture during the summer after 7th grade, I began expanding and refining my taste in both fashion and music. Spending countless hours on Tumblr - discovering new artists and designers - I eventually came across the epitome of emo/punk celebrations: Vans Warped Tour. As a nationally-touring, all-day rock & roll/punk/metal festival, Warped Tour became the unofficial holiday for all those who identified as “alternative,” almost like a family reunion. Each date of Warped Tour across the United States was a unique opportunity for all the surrounding scene queens, metalheads, and pop punk kids to come together, an event that truly seems like the only one of its kind. Here, dozens of bands/artists come together, perform sets on various stages scattered around the arena, sell their merchandise at (sometimes discounted) prices, and host meet & greets/signings for their fans to attend. Additionally, in the midst of all the music, alternative clothing brands, charity organizations, and local food trucks offer all kinds of products, some you buy and others you can win! Warped Tour is an opportunity for devoted fans to see many of their favorite artists take the stage, as well as discover new ones.

Ever since I discovered Warped Tour, I’ve wanted to attend; every summer, they make a stop in my state, in a city that is barely 20 minutes from my house, yet I’ve never been able to go because the festival always seemed to fall on my mother’s birthday or a vacation outside of the country. Finally, as I’ve graduated high school, Vans announces that 2018 will be the final year for a cross-country Warped Tour. Seeing the heightened stakes, I knew that this was the year I had to go, no matter what; fortunately enough, my local date fell three days after my mom’s birthday, and with a couple of friends, we bought a 4-ticket pack and planned our attendance!

Although it has become less prevalent in my day-to-day demeanor and appearance, my love for alternative music and edgier style hasn’t faltered. Sure, I’ve given away many of my Hot Topic graphic tees and lessened the black makeup, but if anything, I’m listening to post-hardcore, newcore, hard rock, and pop punk even more. Warped Tour encouraged me to step outside of my usual and to finally listen to iconic groups that I’ve neglected to give a chance in the past. Their names were very familiar in my head, but when it came to their actual music, I was clueless.

Two weeks before my mid-July date, I decided to create a collaborative Spotify playlist, where my friends and I (mostly me haha) added our favorite bops from artists that we knew we HAD to try and see. Through personal exploration, I finally listened to Tonight Alive’s latest album, Underworld, and absolutely fell in love. I wish I had given them a chance earlier! Although I didn’t end up sticking around until their set, I know now that I have a new band to keep up with and to hopefully get to see live in the future.

In addition to ‘studying’ for Warped, I spent a couple of weeks coming up with the ultimate outfit. Because I don’t get decked out in checkered patterns, fishnets, and band tees on a regular basis, I wanted to go all out for this festival, even more so because I’d be surrounded by people who were going to do the exact same!

When we finally arrived, July 15th, 2018, at Xfinity Theatre, I felt almost euphoric. I don’t think my friends or I could describe to you how smiley I was. Because of crazy traffic, we walked a little over half a mile to the actual entrance. As much as I’m super proud of being an emo, I didn’t hold back from laughing with my friends at how stereotypical or cringey some of our fellow concertgoers were - I mean, come on, alternative kids are usually outcasts for a reason and I’m not going to deny that we’re usually freaks LOL, I know I am! It was so so so hot outside, but there were many opportunities to affordably stay hydrated, since Vans Warped Tour hosted a large, FREE hydration station right by the Journey Stage and the entrance. At most concerts, any beverages - alcoholic or not - are never complimentary, and so I think this anomaly only shows the care and consideration the creators of Warped Tour have for its fans and attendees.

I felt so in my element. For years, I had only ever had a handful of friends who only moderately shared an interest in this subculture, but it was never to the same extent as I did. Being at Warped Tour finally gave me a chance to feel free, an opportunity for me to not have to tone down or hide this actual part of my identity. Looking back, I’m happy with how it went. We ended up splitting up in pairs for parts of the day, but I was able to watch or listen as I walked around to the sets of almost a dozen bands: Doll Skin, Issues, Real Friends, Unearth, Wage War, The Amity Affliction, The Story Untold, Northlane, Ice Nine Kills, Crown the Empire. Although I didn’t watch all of them fully, and there were various others I had wanted to see, it was so much fun to get a taste of different styles of music, ranging from pop-punk to metalcore, and to also see the vibes of the crowds. Never in my life, have I seen so much dust in the air from crowd-surfing, headbanging, and mosh-pitting. It was amazing, and with concerts already being such a euphoric and almost spiritual experience for me, I loved it even more.

Out of all four of us, I’m definitely the one in the group who is more extroverted, aggressive, eccentric, and just overall “out there.” I almost ran away from the group at times, as I would walk ahead of the group, looking around, and was the only one who seemed to be able to beeline through the crowds. 

Rather than spending ridiculous amounts on junk food, I was able to bring in half a dozen, packaged mini cucumbers, and surprisingly didn’t get them confiscated. Although it was a strange snack to bring, it worked out pretty well as an addition hydration boost!

Instead of droning on about the minute-to-minute occurrences of the day, I’ll summarize some highlights.

One of the funnier moments of the day was unexpectedly walking by a faculty member from high school, decked out in all black with his swoopy, punk-styled ginger hair. I had no idea he was into this kind of scene, but seconds after we walked by, a set ended and he quickly left. While I don’t know if he walked away because he saw that we had seen him, it was such a surprise that the one familiar person we’d see that day, wasn’t a student but someone who had worked in the IT department at our high school.

Another moment was when I was buying an Official Vans Warped Tour T-Shirt, and a girl came up to me, in order to compliment me on my outfit. To be honest, she wasn’t the only one to praise me for my checkered overalls, blue barlot crop top, fishnets, and dark gray Doc Martens. I even received a free sticker from a vendor for my overalls! I felt so warm inside, seeing others appreciate these stylistic choices that I had very much been excited about displaying! What stood out to me about this moment with this girl, in particular, was that she had actually tried complimenting me from her car, as my friends and I were walking to the venue, but I hadn’t heard her! The fact she came across me and went up to me, just to tell me, was so sweet <3

To continue on this train of highlights, although I had went into Warped Tour, not planning on getting anything signed or waiting in line for a meet & greet, I ended up meeting The Story Untold and getting all of their signatures on my phone case! Before Warped Tour, I had definitely seen their name around the internet, knowing they were a pop-punk band. Nonetheless, I had never listened to them before and didn’t get a chance to before the festival. When we were walking around the different stands, partly to see what’s there, partly to kill time until Ice Nine Kills was set to take the stage at 4:00pm, we decided to take refuge by the Fueled by Ramen stand and reapply sunscreen in the shade of the tent. While standing there, we had overheard a really good set by this pop-punk band that turned out to be The Story Untold. Hearing how good they had sounded, we decided to get closer and become more a part of the crowd. After jamming out to their songs, “History” and “Delete,” they had announced that they were going to their nearby stand for a meet & greet shortly after. Seeing as we had loved their set and weren’t planning on going elsewhere for the next hour, we quickly ran to their stand and managed to be within a dozen people from the very front of the line. When watching their set, their lead singer vaguely reminded me of All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth, in both appearance and sound. In between songs, he mentioned something about the group being French-Canadian, with the drummer, Johnathan Landry, having horrible English, as a part of a bit that continued on. While waiting in line, I kept thinking about why these two thoughts felt familiar, until I realized that the lead singer was Janick Thibault. Back in 2016, I remember watching a few of his All Time Low/Green Day covers on Youtube, at a time when I don’t think he was in the band. The world truly works in mysterious ways. I hadn’t thought about him since, and so it was crazy that we happened to be chilling by the Owly.fm stage, right when they were in the middle of their performance.

Aside from The Story Untold, my favorite set was by Ice Nine Kills, a band that was in my Top Three to see for the day. Besides being basically in love with Spencer Charnas, I absolutely loved their performance. In addition to sounding great, they really took their theatrical sound to the next level by having everyone in the band dress up as iconic and classic horror movie serial killers, such as Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) and Freddie Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street). Having probably something to do with their two latest singles, “The American Nightmare” and “Thank God It’s Friday,” it was really fun to watch, and their music completely encouraged an awesome moshpit (that I watched from afar) and a ton of head-banging.

The one downside of the day was having to leave 3 hours or so earlier than I had planned. Of course, it was mildly expected, but that’s part of going in a group, you make compromises, and with some friends not feeling well periodically throughout the day, it was my turn to sacrifice, especially since out of everyone, I was able to see the most artists on my list. Although it was advertised as the last cross-country tour, I know my friends and I - as well as many others - hope that that simply means that Vans Warped Tour might be a regional event, with separate tours on the East and West Coast. Warped Tour was a true moment of liberation for me and I will forever remember July 18th, 2018 as a peak of not only my 2018 summer, but my 2018 year as well.

[slyke25]

2013

I was now in the fifth year of my music blog, and things were going well.  I’d try to cover as many shows as I could, only covering artists I liked, and there was no shortage of talent rolling through Boston, which made for a busy year.

In 2013, I attended numerous memorable shows.  I invite you to click on the bold print below for links to each of the 19 shows, where you’ll find photos, videos, and maybe even a few words.

These are just a handful of some of my favorite shows from 2013, and to see the full list of every show I covered in ‘13 (with links) click the ‘12-’13 archive here.

Twenty One Pilots at The Met (1.19.13) - Prior to this show, I put together a post on the new duo that were relatively unheard of outside of Ohio.  Locally, they managed to sell out the LC Pavilion, a 2,200 capacity venue in Columbus, which isn’t the best concert market.  After hearing their new album, Vessel,  I knew these guys would soon be playing much larger venues across the country.  I couldn’t attend the show at TT the Bear’s, so I went to the show at the Met (capacity 500) in Providence the night prior.  Twenty One Pilots are now playing sold out stadiums, some 20,000+.

Sigur Ros at the Agganis Arena (3.26.13) - I’ve seen this Icelandic band three times (’06, ‘13, and ‘16 in Denver), and they crush it every single time.  They have the ability to invoke emotion quite like no other band.  I managed to film “Glosoli”, which is such a powerful song and still gives me chills.

Alt-J at the Paradise Rock Club (3.3.13) - I enjoyed their debut album, An Awesome Wave, and headed to the ‘dise to check them out.  Solid show.

Green Day at the Dunkin Donuts Center (4.19.13) - Can’t believe I never saw Green Day prior to this show, and I vividly remember when Dookie came out in ‘94.  This was ultimately one of those bucket list shows for me, and I ended up driving to Providence, as there was no Boston show.  A fun concert and worth the drive.

Muse at the TD Garden (4.12.13) - I was amazed at the production for this show.  They really went all out, and a cool experience.

Boston Calling Day #1 (5.25.13) (Portugal the Man,The Shins, Fun) - This was the inaugural Boston Calling Festival.  The Government Center location was less than ideal, and the sound was equally poor in spots depending where you stood, and they’d eventually move the location of the smaller stage for the next installment of the festival.  Since Boston proper had no large music festival of this kind at the time, it was kind of a big deal, and they managed to book a solid and diverse lineup each year.  

Boston Calling Day #2 (5.26.13) (Andrew Bird, Of Monsters and Men, Young the Giant, The National) - The second day of the new Boston festival proved to be as solid as the first.

Newport Folk Festival Day #1 (7.26.13) (Milk Carton Kids, Blake Mills (w/ Dawes), Dawes, Phosphorescent, Feist, Old Crow Medicine Show) - The rainy first day of this festival had a few bright spots, but i must say, Feist was one of bigger misses at Newport.  

Newport Folk Festival Day #2 (7.27.13) (Langhorne Slim, The Lone Bellow, Shovels and Rope, Jim James, Father John Misty, Jason Isbell, Colin Meloy, Justin Townes Earle, The Avett Brothers) - Very entertaining Day 2, and the Newport crowd definitely wasn’t ready for Father John Misty.  If you haven’t seen my live videos yet, please do yourself a favor and check out “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” and “Nancy From Now On”.

Newport Folk Festival Day #3 (7.28.13) (Lord Huron, The Lumineers, Andrew Bird, Beck) - Beck was a really great score for Newport, and a nice way to end the weekend.

The Black Crowes at the BOA Pavilion (7.30.13) - This 2013 tour would sadly be their last, and they officially called it quits in 2015.

The Nines Festival - Devens, MA (8.10.13)  (Delta Spirit, Dr. Dog, Explosions In The Sky) - I really enjoyed this festival.  This new Boston area music and arts festival sadly didn’t make it a second year.  Despite the respectably lineup, it definitely wasn’t promoted enough, and attendance was quite low.  That didn’t stop me from having a great time, and I had a beautiful experience.

After it was over, I appreciated it more and more as time went on.

Boston Calling Day #1 (9.7.13) (Lucius, Okkervil River, Deer Tick, Airborne Toxic Event, Local Natives, The Gaslight Anthem, Vampire Weekend) - Surprisingly, Boston Calling added a fall version, just four months after the initial May festival, but since the interest and ticket sales were strong, they decided to capitalize.

Boston Calling Day #2 (9.8.13) (Flume, Kendrick Lamar, Passion Pit) 

Phoenix at the House of Blues) (10.1.13) - Great show, and the highlight was Thomas Mars climbing into the mezzanine after “Rome”, walking from one end to the other, thanking fans for coming to the show while the band played “Entertainment (reprise)” in the background. I ended up capturing the it on video.

Pearl Jam at the DCU Center (10.15.13) - This was another insane experience, as I was photographing a band I’d loved since their beginning right from the pit.  Eddie Vedder was in great spirits, and even sported a Red Sox jacket.

The Arcade Fire (Brooklyn) (10.18.13) - Arcade Fire seem to like to promote their new albums with special live shows at small venues, and this show took place at a Brooklyn warehouse right before their new album, Reflektor was released.  

There was a small stage in the front, but by the time I arrived, there were so many people standing around it, that I opted for a more comfortable spot in the back.  What happened next was one of the most surprising moments I’ve ever seen at a concert.  Someone next to me ended up capturing the exact moment the band revealed a fake stage in the back, basically right where I was standing.  The stage up front where everyone was gathered was fake. 

I ended up writing a review of the whole experience.

Phish at the DCU Center (10.25.13) - Phish are always a good time.  The crowd, the scene, the music...it’s always a strange trip.  I wrote a few word on this show as well.

Chris Cornell at the Calvin Theatre (11.17.13) - Oddly, this was the first time I saw Chris live.  Hearing his voice for the first time instantly gave me chills, and I was fortunate to see him before his passing in 2017.

[racingtoaredlight]

Acoustics and Electronics

I’ve said this over and over and over again, but it’s the most essential part of music it cannot be emphasized enough.  Music...sound...is a physical being.  It is not something that just gets translated magically from someone’s hands or mouth to your ears.

The biggest impact on the development of modern music...from say the late 40′s to today...hasn’t been anything intellectual, theoretical or artistic.  It’s been the evolution of amplification technology.

Why does an orchestra have 80+ members?  To project that sound from the stage to the farthest reaches of the venue.  But what happens when technological advances allow a single musician to project sound waves with mass and force of an entire orchestra?  What happens when you can broadcast a recording over radio waves or the internet?

All of the sudden, things contract.  And over the past 2/3-century, we’ve seen that contraction come with outrageous velocity.  No longer are we reliant on giant groups of musicians to project sound...and no longer are we reliant on teams of sound and recording engineers to maintain and operate the equipment necessary to project sound.

But as a musician, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to understand the relation between the electric amplification and how it impacts sound waves.

***

TOP AMP (guitar):  Fender Deluxe Reverb, 22w (watts), 1 12″ speaker, 8 ohms.

BOTTOM AMP (bass):  Aguilar Tone Hammer 500, 500w, 1 12″ speaker, 8 ohms.

Which of these two amplifiers would you think is louder in a real-life setting?

***

Lets try an imagination exercise...

I’m sure most of you have at some point fucked around on a musical instrument.  And I’m sure that one of the first things you discovered was that the harder you played, the louder the instrument became.

One of the most fundamental laws in physics is FORCE = MASS X ACCELERATION.  Applied to your hands on a bass, if you just brush the string with your fingertip it will sound much quieter than if you really dug in with all the flesh in your fingertip, yanking the string away from the instrument.

Applied to soundwaves, think of them as boats.

What requires more force to move forward in calm water...a tiny kayak or a giant cargo ship?  Don’t say the kayak because you have to row because I know you want to so bad.  Dicks.  Conversely...what ship would you rather be in when waters get choppy?

The answer isn’t really easy because it’s not an apples to apples comparison.  You’re not asking a kayak to ship multiple containers across an ocean, just like you’re not asking a cargo ship to go white water rafting.  Like the physical world we live in, instruments are designed to fit a specific purpose dictated by the job they’re required to do...

***

Which brings us to our real-life application acoustics...

In earlier posts that touched on acoustics, I mentioned how different types of sound waves react differently when interacting with other sound waves.  It’s the reason why four trumpets can be heard as well as 18 violins.  Horn sound waves are like bulldozers, violins are like serrated knives.  It would take you a lot more effort to cut down a tree with a serrated knife than a bulldozer.

When looking at the guitar and bass though, the sound waves are similar enough that we can focus more on the physical aspect of amplification.  I.e. the force needed to project those sound waves...

Lets suppose that a guitar and bass’ sound waves are sustained for the exact same amount of time.  Now let me ask you an insultingly simple question...which instrument is bigger?

The bass, right?  Yes.  The bass.  And as we know from our study of physics, as the mass of something grows, it’s frequency decreases...you will never find a cargo ship that can accelerate as quickly as a cigarette boat.  It’s not physically possible.

Even when a guitar and bass play the same notes in the same register that overlaps between the two instruments, the frequencies of those notes on the bass will be lower because of increased mass of the instrument itself.  Frequency is determined by the distance between sound waves’ peaks and valleys, not by the speed in which those sound waves oscillate.  If this were the case, that hypothetical note you played really hard above would be a different pitch entirely.

***

Back to the question above about which amplifier is louder in a real-life setting...and gets us into the discussion about electronics.

When played at their optimal volumes, the two amplifiers will be pretty much spot on.  You could quibble and get into the science at a granular level, but in terms of practical application of these amplifiers, they’re close enough for government work.

We have an audience.  The bass and guitar needs to be equalized in terms of volume.  So then how could an amp that delivers 22w of power be the same as one with 500w?

The acoustic answer is that guitar’s sound waves have less mass but more acceleration.  The bass has more mass and its sound waves need more acceleration in order to keep up with the guitar.  Simplified, those watts are accelerating the vibrations picked up by the guitar’s/bass’ magnetic pickups.

Now lets get even more confusing...

***

*DISCLAIMER:  I am not an electrician, have only a very basic, practical understanding of this shit as to how it applies to actual playing...so if I’m wrong on some stuff, feel free to correct.

Both amps had an impedance of 8 ohms.  Ohms are a measure of resistance to an electric current...meaning if your amplifier (home stereo, guitar/bass, PA, whatever) is sending out a signal to a single 8 ohm speaker, it will encounter 8 ohms of resistance.

In real-world terms, what this means is that the wattage rating on those amplifiers with 8 ohm speakers is effectively cut in half.  It would be about a 15w rating for the Fender and a 300w rating for the Aguilar.

The more speakers you add, the more resistance you should experience...but it’s not that simple.  Say we add another 12″ speaker to either amp...if we wire it in series (amp > speaker 1 > speaker 2), the resistance is doubled because that single current gets 8 ohm of impedance from the first speaker, and then 8 more ohm from the second.

But if we wire in parallel, where the amplifier sends a signal to each speaker individually, you can use the full output of the amplifier (assuming it’s rated at 4 ohm max).

Why is this important?  For one extremely simple reason...

Say you send 4 ohm of signal to an 8 ohm speaker using that bass amp rated at 500w.  Your single 12″ speaker might have a max load of 400w...at 8 ohms it’s only getting about 300w, definitely safe for the speaker.  But what happens if you send all 500 of those roided up at 4 ohm watts to an 8 ohm speaker...

It’s too much current for the speaker to handle.  It might not happen immediately (though your shitty sound would certainly be noticeable), but at some point in the very near future (i.e. that same day), your speaker will blow.  This might come as a surprise to some of you, but it’s really hard to project sound waves when your speaker is smoking.

***

This is getting really long so I’ll try to finish it up quickly...

That picture at the top of the page?  The wall of Marshall amps?  Very useful in the days of antiquated PA systems and sound engineers figuring shit out on the fly.  In today’s world?  Vanity.

I know that he’s not a favorite of many here in the comments, but look at Trey Anastasio’s setup.  Ignoring personal preferences, Phish routinely plays in front of 25,000+ people, in venues ranging from outdoor festivals to giant indoor arenas to historic clubs...and he doesn’t need anything more than a single 2x12 speaker combo.  For awhile, he only had two of those 1x12 Fender Deluxe Reverb amps...which was beyond adequate for a place the size of Madison Square Garden.

Contrast that with Yngwie Malmsteen’s wall of Marshalls playing a 5,000 seat theater.

You needed amplification like that back in the day to project sound in massive stadium or arena concerts/festivals.  But in today’s era of mega efficient PA systems and automated sound engineering software, they’re pointless.  Today’s PA systems will project equalized sound with far greater fidelity, consistency and portability than any rig a musician could haul.

I go “direct in” on every single gig we play and use my tiny amp as a stage monitor so the band can hear me.  We use the Bose Stick PA for every gig that doesn’t have a PA system, and we did an outdoor show for 500+ people with power to spare.  This whole PA system takes 3 minutes to tear down and weighs probably 40 lbs total.

More importantly it takes all the guesswork out of having to get bass amps.  Given the venues and band formats we play in, I’d need probably 3 different speaker configurations to get the same consistency that simply going directly into the Bose Stick gives me every single time.

It saves musicians money (from having to buy equipment), time (from having to set up equipment) and headaches (from having to think about equipment).  Looking at those Marshall stacks again, do you realize how expensive that would be to transport, set up and, shit, BUY?  You’d have to hire multiple people who’s job it was simply to schlep that shit around.

And why?  Not for any sound benefit.  Not for anything functional or to account for the basic laws of physics.  Simply for vanity.

***

I think my point ultimately was “know your shit” but I dunno.  I just find this shit fascinating.

[musiccakekitty]

KpopKnight UK was a total shit show at the SSE Wembley Arena this evening (my birthday :c). The acts were amazing and they performed so well under the circumstances. A lot of shit went down, so for my own way to vent and maybe to let a few others know what happened I’m going list it and give a brief explanation of what KpopKnight UK was supposed to be.

KpopKnight UK was supposed to be a concert with 4 Korean groups performing:

Opening- new 6 member boy group Seven O’clock

Second- 5 member girl group Tahiti 

Third- Soloist Se7en

Last, Headliners- 7 member boy group Monsta x

and here is what went wrong:

1) Tickets only went on sale 2 weeks before the event- at ridiculous prices (original lowest prices being £110) only for the tickets to go on sale for much lower prices a few days before the concert and Wembley arena had not even agreed to the event until 2 weeks ago. (as well as fake tickets being sold, people who bought from the KpopKnight website had to get their tickets changed at wembley) 

2) The event was poorly advertised- they even asked fans to promote the event and those who had helped to sell a large amount would get special benefits. One being press who were promised to be able to interview the artists but turned out that KpopKnight did not inform the artists or their managers of the arranged interviews (and quite rightly both the press and artists were pissed off and confused) and KpopKnight called Monsta x “Snobby” for not agreeing to an interview that they had not informed them of.

3) Due to this tickets failed to sell- People thought the event was fake because we all knew they would not be able to sell out WEMBLEY FCKING ARENA (even G Dragon was not able to sell it out completely) they had to section off half the arena and people were moved to standing and closer seats ( me and my friends were moved right next to the stage seating) and because so few people turned up the organiser - KpopKnight -  thought it would be a good idea to start LETTING PEOPLE IN FOR FREE when a lot of people had to pay a lot of money to get in. On top of this only around 4 people paid for VIP meet and greet  with artist Se7en so they invited people from the standing area FOR FREE. understandably this pissed off a lot of people not only for unfairness but the total disrespect for the artists. 

4) No Translators- okay so being from south korea these artists are not fluent in english and the majority of us as fans do not speak fluent korean so KpopKnight thought it would be a good idea to not provide translators for the idols, which was so upsetting because the idols that could speak a little bit of english were trying so hard they really did a good job and you could tell that they wanted to say so much more but the language barrier was too great. 2 days days before the event KpopKnight put a message on social media asking for translators. 

5) Technical issues- there were so many issues and a lot of disrespect to ALL of the artists I was so shocked and upset about what happened but I’ll just highlight the few that stood out the most. 

When Seven O’clock had finished performing they wanted to take a picture with the crowd as they were excited to see so many international fans coming to support them but as they were posing the lights went out and they were being rushed off stage and as a member was saying “Please!” their mic was turned off (I think they managed to get a quick picture before they were rushed off, I hope at least) and as they were exiting the stage the voice over said “Finally” which was extremely rude and disrespectful to Seven O’Clock.

as Tahiti were coming on stage THEY PERFORMED IN THE DARK FOR A GOOD 3 MINUTES, the lights and screen were off as they were performing their dance. 

Before acts come onto the stage they show their names and logos on the big screen but as they were showing Se7en’s name they switched to Monsta x’s (monsta x being the headliners the cheers got louder as the logo switched) which was a horrible thing to do to another artist and after a minute of it being on screen they then switched it back to Se7en. 

Monsta x’s performance was cut short by 2 songs and they also failed to have working mics throughout the whole time they were on stage. 

6) THEY GAVE OUT MONSTA X’S HOTEL INFORMATION- That’s right, as one of the special benefits to advertising and bringing a lot of people in they would give you the groups hotel information, their privacy and safety thrown away for publicity and money, fans saying that the organiser of KpopKnight WALKED THEM to the hotel. The groups safety was tested a lot that day with bringing the groups through the audience entrance and exiting the same way, they were swarmed with only 2 guards keeping 200 screaming zombie fans away from the 7 boys which was also a problem for the driver of their car who was filming the fans and crashed into a pole (knocking off their number plate, I hope the boys are okay after that) 

7) After their performances the groups were rushed off stage without getting to say goodbye- No encore, no group end stage, the concert was supposed to end at 10pm, we went in late and came out early ??? and the voice over had the audacity to say “See us in thailand”. 

other things to take into consideration: 

Seven O’clock only had 5 members attend tonight as their leader was on a show called “Mixnine″ a korean reality show for up and coming idols, they missed their leader getting into the final of the show for this.

Monsta x’s I.M spent his birthday on a plane for this.

MONSTA X’S WONHO’S GRANMOTHER DIED 4 DAYS AGO and he comes to the uk to be treated like THIS. 

KpopKnight is disgusting, they lie to fans and idols, they are unorganised and disrespectful. They only care about money these guys did these artists dirty and disgraced the UK kpop community tonight they put the idols in uncomfortable situations and completely disregarded their safety. They treated the fans unfairly and I just hope that the groups do not blame the UK for this and return at a later date with a different organiser because honestly if they had just put planning and bit of fucking respect into it could have turned out great. 

If we compare this to Korea Festival 2017 - over 4000 tickets sold (at lowest $30 for the concert) 4 acts (2 major groups) enough space while still being full in an appropriate venue, sure there were a few problems with the day time event but overall it was a good experience for fans and idols everything that KpopKnight Uk was lacking.  

Aside from all of this, the performances were AMAZING! the artists worked so hard with their english and their dancing and vocals were fantastic this alone made my birthday a day to remember ♥

I guess what I’m trying to say is never come to the UK ever again, KpopKnight, Fuck you.

[taeguboi]

badboy!BTS Headcanons

Request:  ‘idk what this thought is but i think you might be able to do somethin with it and i thought of you when you reblogged some stuff tonight: what would bts be like if they weren't in bts and were bad boys? i was just thinking about what they might have done but then i also thought about how good jin would look in a leather jacket and fucking up people's heads like he's a bastard but he's handsomr so it's okay kekeke’

Notes at the end

Rap Monster: bad boy for justice

An afterschool bad boy

keeps to himself at school / work

but as soon as he leaves that building, it’s different:

fag in mouth, shirt loosened up for comfort

and he’s eyeing up any attractive girl that passes by

A gentleman to the ladies

Will drop kick the jerks that break their hearts

Has a surprisingly high set of morals

it just gets overlooked because of his bad boy aura and here’s why

Had his fair share of arrests

but to be fair to him, it’s mostly for a good cause

like he was the one that got provoked in a fight

or that thing he stole was actually something he was getting back for someone 

Basically won’t hate you if you’re cool with him though

“Hey, if anyone’s troubling you, don’t hesitate to call me, yeah?”

Brings back a lot of girls to his shared house

everyone thinks he’s a player

“ey up ‘Joon; who’s she this week?”

but it just genuinely doesn’t work out each time

they get put off by his tendency to fight 

Until he meets this one girl

she’s feisty and is just as verbal as he is passionate for justice / karma

They’re couple goals

and he proposes to her in a bar

but it’s their bar, it’s where they met and send like half their time together, so it’s romantic

She loves everything about him and rightly so

his passion, even if it may appear as unnecessary anger

his hard working demeanour despite his ‘common’ background

Yeah, he’s a bad boy, possibly only by appearance,

but he’s gonna build himself a good life

Jin: the classic rocker

Let’s begin with that leather jacket

It’s genuine vintage leather 

he lets girls wear it in the cold on a night out 

and it’s like so heavy but cosy?

Rocker

been to all the concerts

You invite him out to see some unknown local band for their first gig 

but somehow he’s already seen them and knows their full set

but he’s also seen the legends in arenas

Can’t forget the festivals

can’t forget the free love and ‘happiness’

Owns all the pubs and clubs by social status

enters the room and it goes silent for a moment

who will say ‘hi’ to him first?

It’s tricky because he’s so fucking magnificent and overpowering

So how did he get to this status?

He knows how to talk

no one makes a fool of him

will put up with 0% of anyone’s shit

gives no fucks when it comes to conversation

Will fuck with your head if you cross him

knows how to wrap people around his little finger

and then can drop them just like that

Sometimes he’ll be extremely witty

but nowadays he can say the pettiest thing and it has the same effect

Pretty much everyone is in his debt somehow

“You need [x thing] doing? Yeah, I know a guy that can sort you out”

So social

but doesn’t even own a phone

he just goes out every night

Has his local bar

his regular clubs

in which he pulls every night 

[in each club]

Very sensual

You’re one lucky girl if:

he takes you outside of the club to just talk to you

“You’ve been having a pretty good time in there, huh?”

“I bet you could have an even better time out here with me”

Will fuck anywhere, no matter who might see

and he’s never been arrested for it 

because he has his way with words

he can even bribe the police, and nothing

Becomes a bit of a biker

almost forms / joins a gang

but is way too independent to stick to it

Kind of a loner bad boy

Suga: underground rapper

Underground rapper with all the swagger

He does it all

Booze

Cigarettes

at least the occasional sesh

Will fuck many people, boys and girls

and he can do it every night because groupies

but is secretly a sucker for pretty boys

But he knows his bad boy nature can get him what he wants

Bar fights

Gets hecklers at his gigs but he puts them in their place

will jump off the stage to fight you

His regular venue only own 2 beer glasses now 

Could have the most supportive audience but will drive away into the night raising a middle finger

Can rock out any look

still looks hardcore that one time he performs in a dress

Barely dies his hair

Tries blonde once but does back to black 

because the roots come through in like 2 weeks

and then he refers to that fortnight as ‘that time I almost sold out’

Acts as if he’s the most tortured soul 

so you think you have some sort of connection

but fucks you and leaves you lmao

Has a ped

rides around randomly at night

drops off wherever he thinks he’ll get a good story from

write bad ass raps about his experiences

Gets wound up in quite some violent situations

it’s concerning how often he’s been at knifepoint

jumps on random cars

or hot wires then to dump in a lake

because why not

Agust D might never become a national household name

but it’s certainly a name known by everyone in town

J-Hope: wandering skater boy

Sporty bad boy

Footie with his lads

Skateboarding home

flying across busy roads

almost knocking over pedestrians

He’s been stopped by the police for it

but they escort him home and are shook

because his mum is a bad ass, probably worse

Doesn’t smoke 

but beer is life

Drunken antics every night

Will do whatever to win a girl over

*leaves her name in massive letters outside her bedroom window*

“Holy shit Hoseok, how did you...”

*police siren*

*gets arrested for pulling down letters of shop signs*

Goes to shops and purchases wrappers 

because he’s already eating the food before he’s payed

Graffiti artist

lives for that adrenaline rush

can outrun the cops every single time

because he can jump over everything, get through everything, etc

and can run for hours

Bit of a wanderer

by day, he’s out with his lads

by night, he roams free

He doesn’t need wingmen or clubs to pull

no; he has what it takes 

to just approach that lonely girl sat on a bench contemplating life

and no matter how many times his parents insist he bring no one home

there’s always a way to sneak into his room

Sometimes he just roams for days

doesn’t tell anyone

comes back in 3 days with some badass tattoo and some mystery souvenirs

[souvenirs that he smokes in a day lmao]

[low key stoner hahahaha] 

Jimin: ladies man aka the biggest flirt

His shirt is on/off like 50/50

Tastefully placed tattoos 

that don’t hide too much of his body

simple writing down either side of his abs

[think 2014 mama awards I think]

and a tattoo on his butt that was done for the lols

but it’s a story, like

“I have the illuminati on my butt”

Tongue piercings

which you get to see when he’s flirting

he’ll stick it out sometimes when begin suggestive

House parties always

Like does he even have parents around?

Works every day so he can pay for both bills and booze

He does up cars or something

You can show up and he’s not even at his own house yet 100 other people are

But when he is there to host his own house party, well...

all the bedrooms are occupied 

and it’s because he’s got a girl waiting for him in each room

what an exciting game, to see how many he can fuck 

before one of them finds out they aren’t the only one

holy shit Jimin there’s 5 bedrooms here how do you even--

*slap!*

that was the sound of a girl’s discovery

he’s used to it though

I think his face has built up a tolerance for the slaps because they happen that often

so he’ll basically grab whoever’s booty he wants

Those beautiful plump lips 

they weren’t just made for kissing and eating out though

they were designed for cigarettes

the way the smoke puffs out of his mouth is beautiful

low key erotic somehow?

Oh and the lip biting he does

paired with some smooth flirting

You’ll hear all the rumours about bad boy Jimin

and how you shouldn’t go near him

but you can’t help but give in to him and your curiosity

Honestly, it’s worth it; boy fucks damn well

Girls girls girls

He was that lad in school that the teachers hated 

for distracting the female students and making them swoon

Has always been shameless

Like in younger school years it was winking

and outrageous confidence

but then in later high school years

you find him touching you under the table

but was still a prat

always in the head master’s office

or isolation

or suspended

But he still managed to stay in the same school

even after hitting on a teacher

Turns up to prom in his usual leather jacket and jeans

actually, he just turns up anywhere however and whenever he pleases

You just have to let it happen

he never causes any real harm

V: the punk activist

Gorgeous long hair 

He’s had it in some bold colours

Fiery red becomes like his identity

the condition of his hair suggests a feminine nature but oh...

He’s anything but that!

His voice is extra gruff and deep

and he knows he can use it to his advantage

to get girls

and to threaten people

99% of the time gets what he wants

Spends a lot of money on piercings

he has all the ear piercings you can think of

snake bites lip piercings

an eyebrow piercing

he has other piercings that he don’t always make use of

and *ahem* some more intimate piercings

Has been known to turn you on 

just by telling you about his ‘down there’ piercing

“wanna see?”

fuck me yes I do

and money on tattoos

almost everywhere

tattoos across his torso,

bad ass tattoo sleeves,

his back and up to his neck: still tattoos

and some of girl’s names to win them over

He doesn’t care how she doesn’t mean that much to him

as long as she’ll make a good story

Gets arrested at least once a month

Has some cheesy and heart-felt lines though beneath all that anger

Fucks so many girls but then realizes

he’s hella gay

“Damn, that’s a pretty boy”

Joyriding

but somehow he makes it romantic with another person

like he just parks he car in the middle of nowhere so you can enjoy the moonlight with him

So yeah, he’s poetic it turns out, but

Quite angry

like a Punk Oscar Wilde almost?

Vegan?

Can get political, very opinionated

Passionate for whatever cause he’s taken up this week

Graffiti to make statements

Forms a punk band to make statements

Smashes windows to make statements

but although he can get violent

he knows what he’s talking about and has solid views

Starts movements

Gets called a faggot once with his kinda serious boyfriend

suddenly he’s a huge activist in the lgbt community

Will get full on sexual in the middle of a shop 

to prove a point to a stranger who scoffs at him kissing a dude

*grabs his partner’s dick and makes out with him*

it shuts them right up as he starts jacking off the other guy 

right there and then

they’re chuckling into each other’s mouths

and oh, he ain’t afraid to finish the job

even if the stranger has long gone

He likes to make headlines in the local paper

no matter how odd or cringy it can get

his purpose is to have a voice

Jungkook: restless muscle pig

Almost bipolar with his personality

New girl in town? There’s a Jungkook for that

Does extra jobs for extra cash

Some jobs are legit overtime work...

...some not so legit

But it gets him by so he can be a new person for each individual

Never fails to hit the gym daily

He’s never not in a vest since he reached his late teens

starts pointless fights

because of this pent up anger 

and need for attention on his efforts on his body

but then gets a serious caution from the cops 

that if it happens again, he could be looking at more than over night behind bars

so he takes up mma fighting or something

suddenly it’s a semi-professional career

girls love him 

but he doesn’t care

He’s still only down for nothing more than sex when it suits him

Loves his hard reputation

It gives him a personality to go by

No one really knows his past

but I think this lack of emotion is something to do with his childhood

as is the anger and need to work out

it was probably just something to do

Cocky

Eventually decides to take some exams and get the qualifications he didn’t bother with as a kid

acts like he owns the college

and actually, he kinda does because of the arrogant mindset

like because he thinks ‘I’m the best’, it is so

the guys don’t fuck with him

he winks at all the girls 

and kinda misbehaves with them

“Hey [girl], if I get this piece of paper in the bin in one shot all the way from over here, you can give me your number”

*actually gets the shot and is secretly shook but acts like it was nothing*

Turns out he’s hella intelligent 

and understands every little thing instantly

but that doesn’t stop him leaving college 

to return to his normal life each evening

or sitting in the back of classes with his feet on the table 

and food on his desk

So he’s still a little untamed and out of control

He still causes the odd street fight

almost loses his licence to fight in a ring

and he still trashes places

and he still has no definite personality

But then this one girl at his college

she puts him in his fucking place

He gets paired with her for a project and he’s like

“So, I talk, you type?”

and she is like 

“Hell no”

Oh look, he realizes he’s whipped for a girl 

because she ain’t afraid to backchat him

Muscle pig but with some weaknesses

Not sure if this has turned out too similar to my Fuckboi!BTS Headcanons but fuck it, there we go! I went by anon’s little thing about Jin as a basis for his hc and they’re not entirely based on what I think the boys would actually be like without BTS... Also for some reason, I feel different sexualities from them with these personalities so please don’t be offended... 

...and I’m not even sure they were all entirely bad boy things [esp the gifs they’re just all so soft hahaha] but it’s getting late and this took way longer to think about than expected [oml punk activist Tae with all the tatts and piercings is making my heart flutter so much even though it’s my own creation?]

[acrosstheboardmusic]

Bobby Singh of Front Of House Photography- Capturing The Canadian Music Scene

May 25, 2018

LUI: As a photographer, what attracted you to specializing in concert/musical photography? 

BOBBY SINGH: I was always a music fan first, attending tons of shows, local and large venues. Aside from some high school photography courses I never thought of photography as a hobby or as a career. But after sneaking in a point and shoot camera at a Prince club show in 2011, I liked the concept of sharing what I was experiencing for an audience! So I started asking local bands and promoters if I could shoot their show in exchange for getting on the guest list. Slowly I created a blog, then a proper site started to invest in better gear and partner with music publications for better access… and here we are! 

LUI: Who have been your biggest influences as a photographer—other photographers? Musicians? Which ones and why. 

BOBBY SINGH: I would collect and re-read every book I could find about the punk/new wave scene of late 1970’s New York City and the early 70’s glam scene in London, and without knowing at the time, the work of Mick Rock and Bob Gruen shaped my whole view of rock photography as art and also guerrilla journalism. Mick and Bob captured a scene just before and as it was exploding, and they were accepted as part of the music scene. Not outsiders, hoping to profit on what the kids were doing. I had the chance to meet Bob Gruen at a book signing and gush about all of this, which I’m sure thrilled him to no end! Mick Rock has a great documentary on Netflix right now called Shot! 

LUI: Who is the most impressive artist(s) you have ever had the pleasure to shoot and why? 

Tom Petty has been a personal favourite of mine for almost 20 years. I was beyond thrilled when I had the chance to shoot him live. What impressed me most was how he showed respect to photographers and valued our work. His release form (photo usage agreement some big entertainers impose on photographers) was incredibly fair. He offered to pay photographers a set fee if he ended up using one of their photos in publication. He was the complete opposite to some “big stars” who claim ownership over my work in exchange for the opportunity to photograph them. Free labour basically. To be in the pit standing 3 feet away from the furry UGG boots o Performance-wise I would say July Talk has been consistently one of my favourite bands to shoot live for years. Leah and Peter are so dynamic, and passionate and unpredictable, it’s always exciting to see what comes out of a JT shoot! 

LUI: What was your “fan boy” moment— that moment when you were shooting an artist and you were thinking OMG—I can’t believe I am here in front of this person! 

Patti Smith in New York City 2015. I was thrilled to be invited to shoot a small club show she was doing and I arrived during soundcheck. No photos allowed at this time. I just stood facing the stage as Patti sang to a pretty empty room. I figured when I meet her and tell her that I love her music her photography we’ll be great friends and I can get a great portrait of her outside the venue in The Village, we’ll be best pals! Well when I awkwardly stumbled over to her after soundcheck and put my hand out and said “I’m your photographer tonight…” She put her index finger in my face and snapped “Well I don’t like photographers at my gigs. Stay back, let the fans be up front!” I was terrified, and all my dreams of being Patti Smith’s best pal were shattered. But I was very happy to know she’s as real off-stage as she is on-stage! 

LUI: Finally, you have had the opportunity to shoot so many indie acts in and around Toronto- what advice do you have for indie artists as they start to gather their portfolios, create their press kits, launch albums—from a photography/image perspective? 

There’s a ton of great photographers in this city. Follow them all on instagram, go check out Sound Image at Analogue Gallery each year. See your options and find someone who has the same vision, or passion that you do, and talk to them about your project. Hire somebody only if you like their style, don’t hire them for a cheap price and expect different results than their portfolio. If someone hires you for your music, it’s ideally because they like what you do, otherwise the gig won’t be a good fit! Secondly, don’t skimp on budget. I know money is hard to come by for a lot of indie artists, but next to your music, your visuals are what people pay attention to. Don’t settle for poor quality because it fits the budget. Save up, find a rate that’s fair for both parties. Finally, understand the difference between licensing photos versus purchasing the rights. Just like with your music, there are intellectual copyright issues at stake. I’m sure indie musicians don’t want their music being used with alterations, edits, or exploited without their permission; the same goes for photographers and their photos. Find out the terms and deliverables that you’re paying for, and get it all in writing! 

LUI: What is next for Bobby Singh? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?? 

I had a five year plan about 4 years ago and I think it’s going well. The next step would be working closely with a band or artist over time to develop a style and a groove that only comes with time. Also building mutual trust that both parties are represented fairly. It’s safe to say that Across The Board and Front of House Photography have done just that!

LUI: Thanks Bobby! We LOVE LOVE LOVE your shots! 

The Hideout May 4th, 2018. From left to right Madi Galer, Tash Lorayne, Ben Healey, Jacqueline Auguste, Andy Ramjattan (ACROSS THE BOARD) - Photo by Bobby Singh 

Bobby Singh Bio: From https://www.fohphoto.com/

“Bobby Singh is a professional freelance photographer based in Toronto. Specializing in concert photography and since expanding to work with artist promotional and cover art photography, fashion and beauty portraits and artistic nudes. This is a collection of 5+ years of the the vibrant Toronto music scene, including small clubs, midsize tours, arena shows and festivals, as well as a few American festival jaunts.”

Jacqueline Auguste is the editor of LISTENUPINDIE! and the lead singer of the Canadian rock band, ACROSS THE BOARD.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

The Time I Cried at a City & Colour Show: by Ashley Porter

Words and photo by Ashley Porter.

I have been to countless shows in my life. I’ve been fortunate enough to witness many artists and bands who’ve had an impact on me. Music is a language that everyone speaks. It brings strangers together and we all interpret words and sounds differently. For me, some music says things I don’t have the strength or sense to say. It makes me feel things I never knew I could feel.

The first time I cried at a show was June 20, 2016. Though I’d been to a million shows before this one, I always refused to cry. I don’t know why, but I grew up afraid to let others see emotions from me. I was scared that people seeing me feel something at a show would be so lame or that I’d get made fun of. I realize how stupid that is, but as a teenager, kids pick on you for existing sometimes, so I never let anyone see my emotions at shows.

My boyfriend and I had just been at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware. The day after, we flew to Montreal. We had tickets to see my favorite band/human of all time, City & Colour (Dallas Green for those who aren’t familiar). My favorite record of all time is his Sometimes record. Although City & Colour had toured many times in the past, I’d never been able to see them. They’d always escaped me! So, my boyfriend brought up this crazy idea that we’d fly from Philadelphia to Montreal for 24 hours to catch a show. The thought of finally seeing this band live made my heart stop I swear.

It’s the day after Firefly and we’re very tired but excited for the day! We drive from our hotel in Dover, Delaware, to the Philadelphia airport. We land in Montreal sometime in the afternoon if I remember correctly. We dropped our backpacks at the hotel, ate really good food (at a place called La Cage), and headed into the venue. The show was at the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadians. As a huge hockey fan, I was stoked about this! I love visiting sports stadiums and looking at their history on the walls and seeing the entire building.

We arrive with time to check out merch and grab some drinks. At this point, I realize I have no idea where our seats are. My ticket doesn’t make sense to me, I’ve never been to Montreal or this venue. So I ask my boyfriend where we’re sitting. He purchased them, so I figured he’d know. It’s 15 or so minutes to show time now.

We walk down stairs and an usher offers to get us to our seats. We are in the lower bowl of the arena now and I’m ecstatic thinking these are amazing seats. I’m the type of person who’s happy as hell just being in the building where I can hear the band. If I can see them well or get close, that’s a bonus. So, we’re with another usher now who leads us ONTO the floor of what would be the hockey ice. I'm thinking “Okay this is an insane view!” So I slow down, thinking our seats are here.

Nope.

We keep walking, until we are at the front row of seats. Front row and center. I look at my boyfriend like, “you’ve got to be freaking kidding me?” and this fool has the biggest smile on his face. My head is about to explode at this point.

Fast forward to when City & Colour are coming out to the stage. I am marveling at the fact that Dallas Green and his band are literally ten feet from me. The barricade is small, so everyone in the front row stands up. To explain the seating, the floor of the arena is all fold up chairs.

So the front row are the only ones who can come up to the barricade. Everyone has to say in the row that their seat is in. It’s nice going to a show and not having to be pushed up against anyone or space invaded in standing room only spots.

Dallas mutters a few words and immediately starts playing. I melt at the sound of acoustic guitar, anyone who knows me is aware of this. Dallas plays songs with the band and solo throughout the set. I am singing along and there’s tears coming out of my eyes, but they’re happy tears. I had the time of my life, Dallas sounds INCREDIBLE live. His voice is so soothing and oozes with emotion. His voice is a actually perfect (ok I know everyone says that about their favorite band, but have you heard him?!).

City & Colour has truly evolved with every record. It’s no longer a guitar and a voice. Dallas plays with an amazing band who were so fun to watch. They all played with such passion and emotion, I could see that in their facial expressions and they way that they moved on stage.

The moment I heard the intro to “Day Old Hate” is when I really lost control of my emotions. The song is so sad but beautiful, I love that. I’m trying to hide the fact that I’m ugly crying to my boyfriend, who’s standing next to me. The guitar in that song destroys me and I honestly don’t have a clue as to why. From the first time I heard it, (I was a freshman in high school) it’s always made me emotional. I wish I could explain why. But to this day, I can’t. To me, that’s my favorite part about music. A room full of people hear a song and each one feels differently about it, for different reasons.

Singing along to my favorite song, with Dallas singing it a few feet from me, gave me goosebumps. I shed so many tears. My heart felt so full at that very moment. The best day of my life, hands down. Getting surprised with amazing tickets to see my favorite band, in a city I’d never visited. I’d never believed in perfect days until that one. I’ve never felt so much joy. That night reminded me to let it out. Whatever you’re feeling, sometimes you need to cry. Sometimes you need to laugh. Sometimes you need to dance, too. Music is so powerful. Let it move you.

[hookysblog]

Festival Les Deferlantes, Perpingnan FESTIVAL LES DÉFERLA

Sorry about the lack of photos, but my phone ran out of memory;( However, here’s two beauties…

A lovely drive though France to this gig. The traffic is horrendous on the last leg and even though the sat-nav says 3.5 hours ….. it actually takes 8, with us driving all over the place when we get there…bloody sat-navs!

This would be a beautiful spot, for any festival. High on a hill set in an old medieval castle. Their set up and organisation, food etc., is fantastic with Chemical Brothers headlining. We play really well and are received very well too, a lovely day out. Nice to see the Chemicals crew members and their Agent Alex Nightingale on the trip. Nice drive home with gorgeous weather.

  The Foundry, Sheffield Students Union.

After two weeks off I am very nervous. It seems like such a long time! We practice very well, and even though as soon as we start practicing, we wonder why we are? Because we know the songs so well;)

Using a new boy today, Rob on monitors. Rob is the bass player from The Cadavers, Part Time Band contestants, and it’s nice to have someone you know doing the fold-back. It makes life a lot easier.;)

Geek Alert: Foldback System – when you see a band perform live, the black speaker boxes facing the musicians at the front of the stage, are called ‘fold back’. Folding the music back to the performers, so each musician can hear what they and the other group members are playing on stage.

(Pottsy actually mis-heard this years ago and thought, until last week???… it was called ‘fallback’…how weird is that!)

We are out of term time so no students, and I wonder what will happen?

I needn’t have worried. It is HOT!  And packed with a very boisterous audience greeting us very, very warmly. The boys play fantastically, it is insanely sweaty and I am delighted to see Queen Vivien of Bedford Boys Club 1981 fame backstage with her beautiful grown up daughter, which makes me feel very old… God doesn’t time fly?;)

Y not Festival, Matlock, Derbyshire

Nice drive to picturesque Matlock, in Derbyshire. It is strange rounding a bend and seeing this huge festival site stretching out before you, in the middle of absolutely bloody nowhere. I go out in the tent to watch the band before us play, PRETTY VICIOUS, and very young and energetic they were too, with a great drummer.

As I’m watching there is one surreal moment when someone reaches over my shoulder and points to the back of the guy in front of me, who is wearing a Festival T-shirt, and points to Peter Hook and The Light on it. I think is he taking the piss? I look round and the guy who’s pointing screams, ‘Fucking Hell!’ he shouts, ‘Peter Fucking Hook!’ I beat a hasty retreat.

The tent is packed, bursting at the seams, and apart from this huge stanchion in the middle of the stage, everything is great. It’s a mixed audience but most are very young.

The gig goes GREAT! Starting with Joy Division, then moving on to New Order. The crowd and mosh-pit getting wilder and wilder. With crowd backing vocals for ALL of the songs. Then about halfway through the set a young lady at the front pulls her top up showing off her lady parts and Jack drops the most monumental bum note I have ever heard…God bless him! We finish with LWTUA and the audience are still singing it 10 minutes after we have finished!!!

A lovely drive home as the sun sets and I feel very happy, tired but happy.

Thank you to all at Y not! Thank you very much;)

Hacienda Classical, Rainbow arena, Birmingham.

A quick trip down to Brum, turns into anything but quick when the motorway turn off is shut on both sides of the M6??? Who’s crazy idea is that???

Make it just in time as today has a 9p.m. curfew. We are playing an Electronic New Order set today all mixed together, just like the Classical in fact. We play well and for a support act are very well received. As we limber up for the main event the Arena fills up nicely. Then were on. The sound at the start is a bit ropey but soon comes together and after about 4 songs is rocking. Everyone plays great and nice to have Daz out of 808 State toasting tonight, as MC Tunes is busy. After we finish we drive to a hotel Gatwick ready for our early flight to Croatia. I have never been and am very excited.

Splitzka Festival, Primosten, Croatia.

Nice flight, thank the lord, and before we know it we are in Croatia. Which on first glance looks a lot like an unspoilt Greece. We have a short drive and unbelievably it is pissing down. The driver says they have had no rain for over 68 days, but we are Mancs…it follows us wherever we go! There is at least two foot of water on the roads now and we are very worried about the Festival. The driver laughs it off and sure enough within two hours everywhere is dry as a bone.

This is a lovely place and we get picked up for dinner later and driven into the hills to a beautiful rustic restaurant on top of a hill overlooking the ocean complete with a beautiful sunset…told you!

As we feast on home made bread, oil and olives, with a 8 hour baked lamb dish that is simply sensational, we are all sat they feeling really fat and realising we do not have long until we play….Oooops! There is nothing worse than playing on an overly full stomach…God we are getting old.  Then back to the Fessie which is gorgeous and before we know it we are off. Great gig and a great crowd, loads of Bootleg Croation Joy Division T-shirts greet me.

A wonderful time, is had by all!

A lovely warm night makes for a lovely warm singer and I am wet through. Then a young lady approaches me asking for a hug,

I say, ‘I’m wet with sweat?’

‘It’s fine.’ She says.

Then as she hugs me she whispers in my ear,

‘I miss him.’  

‘I miss him too.’ say I.

And off she waltzes. Great night. One odd sight backstage is this one bloke just sat on his own in a corner, sniffing away. When I ask who he is, it seems he is the festival drug dealer, offering all the normal stuff and the lads say he has done absolutely no business all day and now all night? That is brilliant. The old me would’ve adopted him but now I am delighted that the old drug thing now seems totally out of fashion. Last week in Magaluf on the strip, I was watching this guy approaching all the kids passing by, me thinking he was promoting a bar or something, and the kids were nice to him with quite a lot of backslapping but none stopped. Then he sauntered over to me, ‘Hey signor…you want cocaine?’ I smiled, if only he knew. You’ve not got enough in that rucksack for me dickhead. Ha Ha! I decline obviously, but am very heartened by all these kid’s reactions. He must have approached about 80 and every single one said no. I am delighted.

JUST KEEP SAYING NO KIDS!

Nice late start makes for a lovely easy morning and is only ruined by my usual legal work that has occupied my life for too long now. In the words of Ian Curtis….’Where will it end?’ Nice trip home surrounded by kids on the plane, which was different. A cool, damp Manchester welcomes us with open arms. And….no queue at Passport Control? Which makes a lovely change;)

Rebellion Festival 40 years of Punk, Blackpool.

Lovely to be asked back and to be celebrating 40 years of punk.

I cannot believe it is 40 years ago I started!!! The crowd here are so nice and friendly it is an absolute pleasure to play. I do a Q and A with John Robb and get to meet Brix Smith after too many years. I love Brix, a great woman and let’s face it we all make mistakes don’t we? Eh Mark;)

The old theatres in here are fantastic, with many old features still in place, including me, Hee Hee. I watch the Anti Nowhere League who are as mad as ever and then get told they are Nazi’s…eh? They are just like us…fat, old blokes singing bollocks. How could anyone take any of us seriously, anyway…back to the gig! We are playing in a 2000 seater and I am delighted to be told later that it was one in one out. We are the first band to fill out a venue in the festival. I don’t feel great tonight but have to admit it goes very well and we take roof off. As I drive home later past many of the places where I used to play as a boy, I sigh. I love Blackpool.

Rewind Festival, Cheshire.

Nice jaunt back to Cheshire with The B.E.F.

This is a great Festival, loads of fancy dress and a real party atmosphere. Older crowd, but I fit in perfectly. Nice to be asked back by Martin and lovely to meet the other featured artists. Mari Wilson (who I had a mad crush on when I was a kid, saw her play loads of times in Manc, loved the beehive!). A lovely relaxed day ensues and some wild people about, Jason Donovan, Rick Astley. I feel quite grungy in comparison. B.E.F are a great group and have another great line up, as we practice backstage in the true punk tradition everything is so relaxed it’s fantastic. Then we are on….Everything goes great and I even spot Sally, my trainer in the crowd at the front, a lovely surprise.

Nice to be home.

Just to finish off a lovely picture of me from 1981.

Thank you everybody, you’ve made an old man very happy.

Love Hooky ’16 xxx

[bangsmusicandentertainment]

THE CULT TO PERFORM SELECT DATES IN NORTH AMERICA AND THE UK IN RECOGNITION OF THE FORTHCOMING REISSUE OF THE BAND'S PIVOTAL ALBUM 'SONIC TEMPLE'

In recognition of the forthcoming re-issue of THE CULT's multi-platinum-selling Sonic Temple album on Beggars Banquet Records, the British group that's led by Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy will embark on select dates in North America and the UK starting May 2 in Houston, TX (itinerary below). Tickets are on sale now for the "A Sonic Temple" tour and available here. 

Meanwhile, the band expects to announce another block of dates very soon for2019/2020. The set list will draw from THE CULT's 10 studio albums with the centerpiece being a superset that's focused on the core songs from Sonic Temple; some of these songs have not been performed since the album (their fourth) was originally released in 1989. Sonic Temple--a pivotal, game-changing album that brought together the alternative and hard rock audiences--will be reissued in a 30th-anniversary edition by Beggars Banquet Records (exact release date TBA). Sonic Temple features the singles "Fire Woman," "Edie (Ciao Baby)," "Sweet Soul Sister" and "Sun King." Read a new Q&A with Astbury and Duffy below. Each show will be a gathering and celebration for Cult fans--an opportunity to come together for one night--an event that will be memorable for all who attend. In Los Angeles only, where Astbury and Duffy live, the band has created something extra special. The Greek Theatre will become "A Sonic Temple" on June 15 with a diverse multi-act bill that has roots in THE CULTlead singer Ian Astbury's pioneering pre-Lollapalooza festival "A Gathering of the Tribes" (1990).Prayers, Zola Jesus and Vowws will join headliners THE CULT. Read the press release here. Q&A WITH IAN ASTBURY AND BILLY DUFFY(April 2019)

Q&A  WITH IAN ASTBURY AND BILLY DUFFY: IAN ASTBURY: What was your mindset as a musician and as a person when you began to write the songs for the album? IA: We decamped from London to Los Angeles for a break in early '88, 87 had been particularly intense with The Electric album being released and touring. London had become difficult to live in for various reasons even walking the streets was challenging at times, I was receiving unwelcome attention from the way I looked I received a lot of unwanted attention. L.A. was a mystical paradise. I was drawn by myths that surrounded the canyons and hills of the city and the vibrant music film and art scene. Eventually, we began to feel more comfortable during this extended stay and soon fell into writing songs. We then went to Vancouver to spend time with Bob Rock in pre-production. He was the anchor and had a vision of what the band should sound like. I was traveling further inward. My instinct was to create a cinematic album that contained visceral landscapes, nuanced and textured. We certainly felt it was time for the next evolutionary step. 'Sonic Temple' is one of the few albums that brought together the divergent hard rock and alternative audiences. Can you reflect on this and how the band navigated this terrain? IA: We certainly didn't want to repeat ourselves. We wanted to retain our core DNA as we went deeper into psych and hard rock influences. It was a complete immersion for me into art, film, music, poetry, and literature, weaving those influences into what was to become Sonic Temple. The band was becoming more popular. We were in uncharted waters. Most of the bands we had come up with had split up or fallen off. We were accelerating. There was no real time to breathe. We were forming new allegiances and breaking the glass ceiling of "the indie outsider." How did 'Sonic Temple' change the band as you found success all over the world and toured relentlessly? IA: The lifestyle pressures were intense before 'Sonic Temple.' In 1987 we had already completed a sold-out tour of the UK, immediately jumping into a tour opening for Billy Idol that was total chaos. We then opened for Iggy Pop (who later appeared as a guest vocalist on the song NYC) and David Bowie in Europe and then went on a headline tour of the US and Canada with GNR opening. That was also chaotic as one could imagine. Expectations were high and we had a lot riding on ST being an artistic and commercial success. We blazed the trail in some way. Later that year we had to cancel a tour of Japan due to nervous exhaustion but were given the go ahead to play Wembley Arena and Brixton Academy needless to mention an infamous Australian tour. It's impossible to quantify the experience unless you've lived through it. Several critics made judgments during that time without any real experience or insight into what it was like to be that young inside of a whirlwind. The subsequent touring for 'Sonic Temple' picked up where we left off in '87. Our lives where irreversibly changed as we began to soar the platinum skies. In some ways the success of the biggest songs and videos from the album dwarfed other songs from the album that were illuminating so many subjects and the chaos of the times. What are your thoughts about this? IA: Certainly, MTV amplified the commercial success of, say, Fire Woman but for me the heart of the album was really in songs like Edie, NYC and American Horse and Soul Asylum. We pushed to create tension drama and vibrant layers I was trying to create a soundtrack for an imagined film. As you tour this year with 'Sonic Temple' as the centerpiece of your set, what do you want audiences to take away from it? IA: I hope people coming to the concerts take away a sense of love and optimism, connection and communion. 

BILLY DUFFY: 'Sonic Temple' is one of the few albums that brought together the divergent hard rock and alternative audiences. Can you reflect on this and how the band navigated this terrain? BD: I believe in retrospect the album was basically the culmination of all the work the band had put in since our inception in 1983 as the Death Cult. It was an evolution of the partnership as writers and performers of Ian and me. At the time in that decade, we basically put one foot after the other as you do when starting out and followed our gut instincts as how best to develop as a team and always look to move forward. In simpler terms maybe we tried specifically on ST to take elements of our sound from the Love album and from Electric--both sonically quite different--and make a cohesive third album having the best of both all the while still moving forward and being of our time. I'd agree that perhaps it was one of the few albums that did indeed marry hard and indie rock and that was simply how things evolved with the Cult--not really part of any master plan. However, we have always tried to avoid being pigeonholed since the very early days so it's just how we operated. I think the greater shock to the Cult's early fan base was from Love to Electric, so by ST we felt we had established ourselves as more a rock n roll band than an indie one, even though of course that was our background. What was your mindset when writing the music for the album? BD: I think as always we were reflecting as honestly as we could our lives and environment at that time. I do feel we did manage to put together some great songs, which can be a challenge when your life is mostly spent on the road. Personally I was proud to have gotten the band so far and wanted to enjoy and experience making a truly full-sounding rock album like the ones that had so inspired me back in Manchester in the early 70s. How did Sonic Temple change the band as you found success all over the world and toured relentlessly? BD: I think we had gotten used to touring with Electric a fair bit by then but did embark on a serious year-long tour for ST. I'm not exactly sure we felt successful, but it was reassuring for me to see the band get to another level of recognition. The momentum was always forward and upward. We never looked back too much and never second guessed ourselves. We did have to grow into a 'arena' band and present a somewhat larger than life stage show but that was what was required of us at the time and we did it as best we could. And in the end, I had a lot of fun doing it. As you tour this year with Sonic Temple as the centerpiece of your set, what do you want audiences to take away from it? BD: I think as time has passed our music has endured fairly well. I'd like fans to not only allow themselves a little indulgence into maybe simpler happier times of the late 80s for a few hours at a ST 19 show but also be happy that the music is now really their possession, not ours, and to do with it what they will. For the most part, once an album is done, Ian and I never look back too much and let it go out there with few regrets. Let them celebrate those good times back then but not dwell in them and even more so look forward to new and different experiences in the future.  

THE CULT 2019 Initial Tour Dates 

DATE LOCATION VENUE THU5/2Houston, TXHouse of Blues FRI5/3New Orleans, LAThe Fillmore SAT5/4Jacksonville, FLWelcome To Rockville Festival THU5/9Dallas, TXHouse of Blues FRI5/10Atlanta, GATabernacle SAT5/11Marston, NC (Charlotte)Epicenter Festival SUN5/17Grand Rapids, MI20 Monroe Live MON5/18Columbus, OHSonic Temple Festival TUE5/19Chicago, ILChicago Open Air Festival WED5/25Catton, United KingdomBearded Theory Festival THU5/26Gateshead, United KingdomThe Sage FRI5/28St. John's, NL CanadaMile One Center SAT5/30Moncton, NB CanadaCasino New Brunswick SUN6/1Montreal, QC CanadaMTELUS MON6/2Rama, ON CanadaCasino Rama TUE6/5Winnipeg, MB CanadaClub Regent Casino - Event Centre WED6/7Enoch, AB CanadaRiver Cree Resort & Casino THU6/9Vancouver, BCCanada Vogue Theatre FRI6/10Seattle, WAMoore Theatre SAT6/12San Francisco, CAThe Regency Ballroom SUN6/14Reno, NVGrand Sierra Resort Casino - Grand Theatre MON6/15Los Angeles, CAGreek Theatre SAT6/22Vitoria, SpainAzkena Rock Festival FRI9/13San Diego, CAKaaboo Festival

  The Cult by Tim Cadiente Visit THE CULT's social platforms for all tour dates, news and updates: WebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagram