Gamer Diary: Guild Wars 2 (Part II)

Today I finally had the opportunity to experience the gameplay of Guild Wars 2 and I wasn't disappointed. After making a human, you log into an instanced zone - Shaemoor, where you defend the village from centaurs and then two earth elemental hands. It's a pretty epic start to the game (not as epic as the opening instance of Rift though). After defeating the elemental, it turns out your character was passed out for a couple of days and had had a couple of visitors, including some old friends. Your main quest to to go and see these old friends, however you have the option of doing side quests to increase your karma (kind of the equivalent of WoW's reputation point system) and experience in an area called Queensdale.

On the map there are 'hearts', which you can travel to to help out NPCs. These quests are kind of grindy, but I didn't find them boring. Every so often, events occur where you might have to fight off enemies from an area or escort an NPC. It makes the world feel more 'alive' and exciting. The graphics are nice, with beautiful environments and realistic looking characters and creatures. The map is also marked with points of interest and 'vistas' - places you can travel to on the map to get a more in depth view of the area.

Another interesting feature about the game is that you acquire a different set of skills depending on what sort of weapon you equip. You unlock more abilities for that particular weapon the more you use it.

My thoughts so far: Guild Wars 2 has many things to keep you entertained. You can follow the main story or you can go off and do the side quests, which are pretty addictive, and it's nice not to have to follow a strict linear path. The combat system isn't difficult and the game provides hints for those new to the game. From my experience so far, I would recommend the game, especially if you're looking for a new MMO or RPG to play.

Gamer Diary: Guild Wars 2 (Part I)

I finally got my hands on one of this year's most anticipated gaming releases: Guild Wars 2. I was lucky enough to get it for $72 as JB Hi-Fi were having a 20% off games sale, so I was pretty happy about not paying $90-110 for it as I'm a (very) poor student. Anyway, my desktop PC (which I named Tiberius, 'cause I'm pretty cool and like to name my possessions) is currently out of action, which is a major pain in the arse because my laptop can't run very many games. Therefore, I can only play games of high system requirements at an internet café (for now). Anyway, I finally had the opportunity to try out Guild Wars 2 for the first time a couple of days ago. I didn't really get to do much as there was a bit of patching to be done, but I thought I'd blog about my first experience with the game anyway.

Guild Wars 2 gives you the choice of five races: Asura (small, highly intelligent Yoda-esque beings), Sylvari (elf-esque, plant-like humanoids), Humans, Norn (Viking-like humanoids),and Charr (beast-like humanoids). And eight classes: necromancer, engineer, ranger, thief, elementalist, warrior, mesmer, and guardian.

I chose a female human ranger. The humans actually look pretty decent. The character customization is fantastic. Lots of hair styles to choose from, several body shapes and a decent variety of colouring for hair, eyes, skin, armour, etc. And you can customize each aspect of your characters face. This is something new to me in the mmorpg genre, as I'm a former World of Warcraft player, where the character customization is pretty limited. It's nice to create a reasonably unique looking character, she's pretty sexy looking too.

After you create your character's look, you choose a story background for them. Which apparently will determine which skills, weapons and abilities you'll end up with. You can choose whether your character comes from poverty, middle class or nobility; a personality trait (such as charm or dignity); which god you are blessed by; and what your biggest regret is.

It took me freakin' ages to come up with a name for my character, as all the ones I wanted were taken. I ended up settling with Yulissia (my main WoW character is named Ulysses, so I tried to get something similar). She is middle class, charming, blessed by Melandru - the goddess of earth, nature and growth, and her biggest regret is not recovering her sister's corpse. I chose a Stalker as my pet, which is a leopard-like creature.

After all this it was time to finally start my adventure! But unfortunately I needed to leave once I got into the game! At least I can get straight into it next time I have the opportunity to play. By the way, the server I'm on is Blackgate if you're interested. I hope to play soon!

Film Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

It's been a while since I last posted, but I'm going to try to get back into the blogosphere. Last night, my good friend and I went to see the recently released Snow White and the Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sanders, starring Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth. As you probably figured out, the film is based on the German fairy tale, Snow White. The plot is similar to the original story, with an appropriately darker tone and I guess more 'layers' to the story, for example, the kingdom in which the story takes place is miserable due to Queen Ravenna's (Theron) rule, with its subjects longing for change. Gender would be one of the main themes of this film, with issues to do with women's age and appearance being raised. Ravenna is obsessed with being beautiful and youthful, as she has been taught that this is what women are valued most for (an issue relevant to our own world). Yet at the same time, she refuses to submit to male domination. I thought she was an interesting character and Theron did a wonderful job of portraying her. It is made clear that Ravenna has issues and that she isn't evil for no reason.

I enjoyed the art direction of this film. The creatures were fitting of a fantasy film and seemed reasonably original too. The costuming was good too, in particularly the outfits of Queen Ravenna. I would say the acting in this film was decent. I'm a bit weary of Kristen Stewart's acting as I'm not the biggest fan of her portrayal of Bella in the Twilight saga. However, I think she did alright in this film. Theron was good as always and I think Hemsworth did a good job too. I think he's going to become a pretty big action hero! Looking at the film on a shallow level, there is definitely eye-candy. Hemsworth has that 'manliness' about him and is attractive, Sam Claflin (who plays Snow White's childhood friend, William) is a hottie, Charlize Theron is her usual stunning self, and Kristen Stewart has moments where you stop thinking of her as a teenager (even though she is 22) and think "she is actually quite pretty".

In conclusion, I thought this was an enjoyable film. My friend liked it too, which is worth mentioning because he's reasonably hard to please when it comes to movies. If you are a fan of the fairy tale/fantasy genre, then it is worth a watch. It has action (fight scenes), cool creatures, comic relief, and the 'love' part, which many fairy tales are famous for, barely makes an apparently (some may view this as a bad thing though). It's definitely not a 'girly' film. Snow White and Queen Ravenna are both interesting female characters, which is always something nice to see in a film. The film also contains the important elements from the original tale that you want and expect to see. I would give it a 7/10.

I hope this review was somewhat helpful, despite it being brief. I tried not to give anything anyway!

Gig Report: The Neo-Kalashnikovs | Myth Of Democracy @ Wine Cellar

On Friday the 2nd of March, I went to the Wine Cellar to see The Neo-Kalashnikovs and Myth Of Democracy perform. It was my second time seeing both of these bands and they did not disappoint. It was also my second time attending the Wine Cellar. Another band called Royal Fortune was performing but I unfortunately missed them as I was running late, as per usual. This gig had free entry, which is always a welcome bonus!

I arrived just in time to see The Neo-Kalashnikovs, although I missed their first song as I was getting my Jack Dagnallz (that's how they say 'Daniel's' on Epic Meal Time, therefore, that's how I say it). They played a longer set than when I saw them at the King's Arms, which was good. The set included the single To Russia (go and download it for free now!), and Diamonds. Because of the layout of the Wine Cellar, I had a better view of the band and could watch the drummer, who is actually pretty pro. Turns out that the whole band are siblings, which is pretty cool. I wish my brother could play an instrument! They're a good looking family too. Oh yeah, the bass player remembered his strap this time haha.

The Neo-Kalashnikovs links:
Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | Bandcamp

Myth Of Democracy were next. I thought that this venue suited them perfectly, seeing as they're a folk punk band. The front man had just been recently married, and it was nice to see a man embracing marriage rather than viewing it as a prison sentence, as we are always shown in popular films/TV. They played a set of reasonable length. I'm a nub and don't really know any of their songs, but the name of their album is Humans Piss Me Off, which I think is a pretty cool title, and is coming out soon. "I swear we'll play something happy soon!" was one of the quotes from the front man, as the large majority of Myth Of Democracy's tracks are political (if you didn't guess by the name), with a critical outlook on the Western World.

Myth Of Democracy links:
Facebook | ReverbNation

The Wine Cellar is a pretty cool venue. It would definitely suit an unplugged set. There are a number of couches for people to sit on as well. I guess this venue is quite intimate, as it is reasonably small and the band don't play on any elevated flooring. There were quite a few older people at this gig (i.e. middle aged), which was quite interesting as generally people in their 20s or 30s make up the majority of the crowd of the gigs I go to. The sound for this gig was quite good. The drums were perfect, however I think the guitar and vocals could have been turned up a bit more.

In conclusion, both of these talented bands put on a good show at a venue which suited them. Hopefully we see some album releases from them both soon!

Gig Report: The Sisters Of Mercy @ The Powerstation

On Wednesday the 22nd of February I attended goth rockers, The Sisters Of Mercy's first ever show in New Zealand. It was held at the Powerstation, which is actually a really good venue. This night was a big night for famous international bands, as System Of A Down and Roger Waters were also playing. I could have gone to SOAD as my friend had a spare ticket, but I decided on The Sisters Of Mercy. I have only been a fan of The Sisters Of Mercy for about a month, but I have really gotten into them and I would now consider them to be one of my favourite bands. I wish I had gotten into them earlier!

I arrived at the Powerstation at around 8ish pm. There were a reasonable amount of people there. I don't think it was sold out, but definitely enough to fill the venue to a reasonable capacity. I went straight to the merch stand to check out what they had. The vendor was really friendly, probably one of the most friendly vendors I've ever come across. Apparently he worked for Nine Inch Nails back in The Downward Spiral era! (I was wearing my NIN shirt and NIN are my all time favourite band, if you didn't know). I was actually impressed with the merchandise they had to offer, as they had shirts for women and the prices weren't overly ridiculous; $40 for a shirt, which isn't too bad considering they all seem to be $50 these days. My one gripe would be that they didn't have tour dates on the back of any of the shirts. I ended up buying a shirt that references the song Lucretia My Reflection and a wristband. I kinda wish I bought another shirt but there's only so much that money scabbed from Studylink can buy.

Anyway! The opening act appeared on stage at around 8.30 pm. I don't actually know what the proper name for this act was (feel free to enlighten me), but it was a man called Craig who played a solo acoustic set. I thought he was quite good. He was saying how he only just started to play again as he broke his leg and lost inspiration to play guitar for a year. One of his songs was about how the Devil doesn't play drums, but plays guitar. I didn't particularly appreciate this (as I'm a drummer) and now I think about it, wouldn't Satan be able to play anything and everything? Another song topic was about how he treated a previous girlfriend badly (not sure if it's actually about him but I'm assuming so). I thought that it was pretty brave and honest to admit this (if it is non-fiction). Maybe my ex, the Russian Nightmare, could take a leaf out of his book haha.

After Craig had finished, the waiting game began. Sisters came on at about 9.30ish. I had a pretty good standing position - three people from the front. The stage was cloaked in a thick layer of fog, courtesy of the fog machines. They opened with Ribbons, which I was pretty stoked about as it's one of my favourite songs of theirs. Next came Detonation Boulevard, another track from 1990's Vision Thing. I read a review saying that the mix wasn't very good and Andrew Eldritch's voice was buried deep in it, but I thought the sound was fine; I could hear him fine. The live act for The Sisters Of Mercy consists of Mr. Eldritch on vocals, and Chris Catalyst and Ben Christo on guitars. 'Doktor Avalanche' is the software resposible for the keys, drums and bass(?). I think the show would have been way cooler if all of the instruments were performed live. They should employ me to play drums!

They played a mix of songs I knew and didn't know. Being a new fan, I didn't know absolutely everything, unfortunately. But they did perform well known tracks, such as More and Lucretia My Reflection. Eldritch's vocals sounded sexy as (I'd totally do him) and Chris Catalyst was an enthusiastic guitar player (I couldn't really see the other one). The lighting was cool too. There was a nice blood red, which suited the goth rock sound.

The fog machine ended up being quite annoying. It was way over used. Some people have said that this is to prevent people from getting a 'good' look at Eldritch. If this is the case, I don't see why he would feel ashamed about anybody being able to see him. I could actually see him pretty well from where I was standing. He spent quite a lot of time on my side of the stage, which was cool. I found it amusing how he would always have a cigarette in his hand, mostly because the Powerstation is probably a smoke-free area. He doesn't give a fuck though >:D.

The crowd interaction was pretty poor. The only thing that Eldritch said to the crowd the whole time (other than 'thank you') was how they had been in NZ for a week and they had had 'a lovely time', which was said right at the end. They did two encores, which was good (and needed) as their non-encore set was only a little bit longer than an hour. 

Other than my two gripes of the fog machine and lack of crowd interaction, I had a really good time and I'm glad I went. I was dancing pretty much the whole time. I hope that I get another chance to see The Sisters Of Mercy in the future (I will know all of the songs!). The Powerstation is actually a really good venue too: good sound, not too big and not too small in size, and good placement of the bar.

Setlist:

• Ribbons
• Detonation Boulevard
• First, Last & Always
• Crash & Burn
• Logic
• This Corrosion
• No Time To Cry
• Gift That Shines
• On The Wire
• Arms
• Dominion/Mother Russia
• Summer
• Alice
• Anaconda
• More
• Flood
• Something Fast
• Vision Thing
• Lucretia My Reflection
• Instrumental
• Temple Of Love

PS. I got one of Chris Catalyst's picks! It's just a green Dunlop one that you could buy from any instrument store, but it will always be special to me and I shall treasure it forever! I also beat a midget, who looked like Greg Proops, at picking it up too. He didn't seem too annoyed that I won this race, as he smiled at me in my triumph.

PPS. A pretty goth guy started to talk to me as I was waiting to be picked up. But of course, my ride arrived just as we were starting to get into the roll of conversation. I should have got his number... I'm such a noob!  If you happen to be reading this and happened to have gone to The Sisters Of Mercy and your name is John and you remember talking to a girl called Julia with a NIN t-shirt, PM me! (Ahh I'm so sad).

If you're unfamiliar with The Sisters Of Mercy, be sure to check them out! Especially if you're into your goth rock. You can get a 'five in one' pack of their albums for $20, bargain!

The Sisters Of Mercy - More

Andrew Eldritch is fkn hot in this video! (Just so you know)

Gig Report: DEAD | Mean Girls | god bows to math @ The Basement

On Saturday the 18th of February, I attended Australian band DEAD's Auckland show at the Basement, which was the first time I had been there. It was an all ages show, but surprisingly there weren't many people there. It literally is a basement. There's a small bar/sitting area connected to the basement area, which is where the bands play. The bar area is pretty cool looking, as there's some pretty decent looking art sprayed on to the walls, which gives you something to look at. However, it is small and there aren't many seats, so if heaps of people were there, it could be a bit cramped.

I wasn't the biggest fan of this venue. Being from Christchurch, I didn't rate it as very earthquake friendly; i.e. I wouldn't wanna be in there during one. To be blunt, the sound in this venue was crap. I felt sorry for the bands. I was left confused as to whether this was an actual venue for bands to play live, or something you would hire out, as I'm pretty sure all of the sound equipment belonged to members of the performing bands. There was no sound person either. The mixer belonged to God Bows To Math and there were only two microphones, which were used for vocals and they were a bit dodgy. It was really hard to hear the vocals for all of the bands and one of the mics fucked out for the lead vocalist of DEAD during their performance. It made me wish I was further into my training at MAINZ so I could have helped them out.

Anyway, three-piece god bows to ath were the first band to perform. I would probably categorize them as alternative hard punkish rock. They had a left handed drummer, which was pretty cool and the second night in a row in which I had seen one. He was quite talented too, really good at rudiments/fills. The vocals were hard to hear unfortunately, but the vocalist used a mix of clean and growling vocals. I thought god bows to math were good and I would like to see them live again, at a decent venue with decent sound, such as the King's Arms.

god bows to math links:
Official Site | Facebook | Bandcamp
You can download a few of their albums for free from their Bandcamp page. They're actually pretty good and have some amusing song titles such as How To Beat Your Dad At Chess and NZ Post.


Next up were two-piece Mean Girls. They were also an alternative hard punkish rock band, but a bit heavier than God Bows To Math. Their band consisted of a drummer and a bassist. The drummer was really good; he could play really fast and was pro at rudiments. He had quite a small kit (as in not very many toms and cymbals) and an interesting hi-hat, I know there's a particular name for it but I can't recall it right now. The bass player was also the vocalist, and like the previous band, it was really hard to hear the vocals. He played distorted bass in a way in which it sounded like both an electric guitar and a bass (well distorted bass tends to do that...). But I thought it was interesting and I had never seen a two-piece like that before.

Mean Girls links:
Facebook | Bandcamp
They have two songs available for free download on their Bandcamp page.

The third and final band to perform were DEAD. They are from Melbourne and also a two-piece; the same make up as Mean Girls. I would place DEAD in the sludge punk genre. The bass player, who is also the vocalist a la Mean Girls, played bass as though it was a guitar. It was distorted and produced a sound that sounded like an electric guitar/bass hybrid (like Mean Girls once again. However, I think DEAD had a more electric guitary sound). The drummer for this band was also talented and he helped out on backing vocals. The lead vocals were growl-esque (I guess you'd call them yelling, sorta Rise Against style but more raw). Like the previous bands, the sound wasn't the greatest. It was hard to hear the vocals and the mic that the lead vocalist was using stopped working. Luckily this was solved as the drummer's vocal mic was working fine, so they swapped.

DEAD links:
Official site | Facebook
You can download a live set they did for a radio show for free from their official site.

In conclusion, I don't think this venue did the bands justice. The sound was terrible and it was hard to hear the vocals. There wasn't a very good turn out of people either, which was surprising considering DEAD are an international band and the gig was advertised on Undertheradar. However, the bands persevered without complaining and performed as best they could, which I salute them for. If it were me, I would have been pretty annoyed. I hope to see all of these bands live again at a better venue. Check them out if you're into your hard punk rock.

PS. Sorry for taking ages to finally upload this!

Gig Report: Mothra | Big Punch | Rule Of Thieves @ The King's Arms

On Friday the 17th, I returned once again to the King's Arms to watch some local bands. Headlining were prog rockers, Mothra, accompanied by fellow Auckland acts UU., Rule Of Thieves, and Big Punch. As usual, I was running late, so I missed out on seeing UU. (which I'm actually really annoyed about) and arrived part way through Rule Of Thieves' set (glad I didn't fully miss them!).

Rule Of Thieves remind me a lot of Deftones, which is certainly not a bad thing. They are an alternative metal band with a nu metal influence (the good stuff) and surprisingly, there aren't too many bands of this genre lurking around in NZ at the moment. Well... there probably are, I just haven't seen very many of them, as the dominating metal scene in NZ is death metal (in my opinion anyway). Rule Of Thieves are a six-piece, making use of a keyboard, which is always interesting to see in a metal band. The vocals are a mix of clean and growls, and the vocalist is a cutie too. They have an album coming out sometime this year, which I'm looking forward to. I might even pay for it. If you're a fan of bands such as Deftones, A Perfect Circle, early Linkin Park, and other alternative metal from the early 00's, then definitely check out Rule Of Thieves. But anyway, from what I saw of them, they were really good and I recommend them. Hopefully their album will be out soon and they will go on tour to promote it.

Rule Of Thieves links:
Official Website | Facebook | Bandcamp
They have a free E.P., titled Silhouettes, available for download, so check that out. (The track Champage is so delightfully Deftones-esque!).

Next up was Mothra. Kinda weird how they played third when they were the headliners. They did this last time I saw them too. Oh well, they're talented as, so they can do whatever they want. Mothra are a three-piece progressive/experimental instrumental rock/metal band. They sound very Tool-esque and I would even go as far to say that I enjoy them more than Tool. They are an instrumental band and it's hard to decide whether vocals would add to their awesomeness or detract from it. The bass is chunky, the guitar effects are cool, and the drums are solid. They all complement each other and you can tell that each musician knows their shit about their weapon of choice. The drummer is amazing (drums are they only instrument I can properly comment about). He makes good use of double kick (i.e. doesn't over use it) and can pump out some awesome tom fills. He's not too bad looking either to add icing to the cake. Needless to say, Mothra put on a great show and they have a very professional manner in my opinion. They even have a band banner! My one gripe about instrumental bands is that it is made harder to remember the titles of the songs. I did catch one name though, which was The Beginning, which has a video coming out for it soon I believe.

Anyway, check Mothra out, especially if you are a Tool fan or a fan of prog rock/metal. Surprisingly, the only music they have out on the internet is a live demo on their Bandcamp page and a few live videos. However, they have an E.P. coming out sometime this year, which is pretty exciting.

Mothra links:
Official Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter

The last but not least band to perform were Big Punch, which was another three-piece instrumental band. I think I would classify Big Punch as alternative hard rock. I think their music could be very fitting on Dragon Ball Z *massive grin*. These guys were pretty talented too. The bass player was the fastest slap-bass player I have seen! I was impressed. He looked a bit like Matt off Nip/Tuck lol. The drummer was pretty pro too, and left handed! You don't see very many left handed drummers. For their last song, the front man for Prowler got up and did impromptu vocals for them. Sounded pretty good for him never hearing the song before.

Big Punch have two free tracks available for download on their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/BIGPUNCHBAND

I decided to wear my Tool shirt to this gig and some weird guy started talking to me and making bad Tool puns. Like I went to get a drink of water and he said "I notice you're drinking water, it's like that song Sober" and "Speaking of Stinkfist, this next band are called Big Punch"... Pretty funny now but at the time I was face palming inside my head. However, the guitarist from Mothra, who's a hottie (I believe his name is Hugh), said "nice shirt". Perhaps I should have talked to him. I'm such a chicken when it comes to initiating conversation, especially with attractive people. Although what am I gonna say? "Hi, I'm Julia. DTF?".

In conclusion, this was a really good gig and I'm glad I went, as there was another gig happening at the Whammy Bar that I was tempted by. All of the bands were talented and hopefully we see some more releases from them this year! Especially from Mothra!

Gig Report: Prowler | The MurderChord | The Neo-Kalashnikovs | Myth Of Democracy @ The King's Arms

Last night (being the 10th of February) I attended a gig at the Auckland King's Arms where Prowler, The MurderChord, The Neo-Kalashnikovs, and Myth Of Democracy played. They were all rock/punk bands. It was $5 entry, which I think was a pretty good price to see four decent bands.

First up was Myth Of Democracy. They are a folk punk band, reminded me a lot of Florida band Against Me!. They were a two-piece but I think the front man is the only 'official' member. So there were drums and semi-acoustic guitar. Their songs are reasonably political (as you can probably guess from the band name) but they are enjoyable, i.e. the political-ness isn't shoved down your throat.

They have three free songs available on their Facebook page:
Myth of Democracy FB Page

Next up was The Neo-Kalashnikovs, which according to the Facebook event page for this gig, are melodic/new grunge/intellectual rock. I would agree with this description and if you're into softer alternative rock, I would recommend you check them out. I thought they sounded pretty Cure-esque and then when I was looking at their FB page I saw that they actually covered The Cure's Other Voices. I'm actually a bit embarrassed that I didn't realize this during the gig. I definitely need to brush up on my Cure knowledge! Anyway, they are a female fronted three-piece. Female fronted bands are always a positive in my book (just because the rock/metal/punk scene is a male dominated one). I felt sorry for the bass player as he forgot his guitar strap, so had to rest it on his leg the whole time. I felt as though The Neo-Kalashnikovs didn't play for very long. I think it was only like four or five songs.

You can download two of The Neo-Kalashnikovs' singles from their Bandcamp page for free:
http://theneokalashnikovs.bandcamp.com/

The third band to perform was The MurderChord. They were probably my favourite. They were a two-piece, consisting of a drummer and a keyboardist. I thought this was an interesting combination, one which you don't see often either. They describe themselves as 'SwingStopPunkRock', which is pretty accurate. Their songs are upbeat but retain a punk element, you can definitely dance to them though. The song topics are quite humourous too. Subjects include: puppy poo, the rising price of food, alcohol, and high heels. I thought the keyboard tone that was used was cool (I don't know anything about keyboards), kinda makes me wish I could play keyboard. The vocalist sings with quite an obvious New Zealand accent, which surprisingly isn't annoying. He isn't too bad looking either (reminds me a bit of someone who I sort of have a crush on at the moment)...

Anyway, check them out:
http://www.themurderchord.co.nz/

Unfortunately there are no free downloads but their albums are cheap. I would buy them but I have absolutely no money at the moment.

The MurderChord - I like Scotch

Give 'em a 'like' on FB too: http://www.facebook.com/theMurd3rchord

The fourth and final band to perform was Prowler, who describe themselves as 'hardcore punk rock n' roll'. I was a bit drunk a this point so I didn't particularly have my critiquing ears on, but I enjoyed them. I think one of the annoying things with these hardcore bands are the vocals but I thought that Prowler's vocals were good and you were able to enjoy and understand them. Don't really have anything else to say about them haha. Well I liked them.

They have three free songs available for download on their Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/prowlerpunkrock

In conclusion, I had an enjoyable night. All the of bands were good and the $5 cover charge was a bargain. If you're in to punk/rock, give these bands a listen - you might find something you like. 

Gig Report: Loaded Victim | King Coal @ The Dux Live

The other night (being the 7th of Feb), I attended my first gig at the Dux Live in Christchurch. I was hoping I would get the chance to go to a gig during my brief visit to my hometown over Waitangi weekend. It was free entry, which is always a bonus, and I was keen on checking out the Dux Live, as it opened after I left Christchurch. The bands playing were a little bit of a mix. American acoustic act, Addie, played first (who I missed); followed by stoner metal band, King Coal; and then finally followed by Loaded Victim, who categorize themselves as aggressive rock, which I guess fits them well. I would also consider them to be alternative metal.

Anyway, I arrived part way through King Coal's set (think it was just after the first song as they introduced themselves soon after I got there). They were the band I came to see as stoner rock/metal is my favourite genre at the moment. I thought they were really good, better than I expected too, to be honest. I thought the vocals were good (and sounded a bit sexy hahaha) and their drummer was good too (these are the only things I can make a semi-decent judgement on). He made use of one of my favourite drumming techniques too! The drag. I would suggest you keep an eye on King Coal, as I believe they have the potential to become a big part of the stoner rock community. Hopefully they will play at a future Stonerfest!

You can download King Coal's E.P. for free from their Last.fm page:

http://www.last.fm/music/King+Coal/Demo+2011

Loaded Victim were next and they were good too. I was expecting them to be metalcore-esque, basing my judgement on their name (sounds pretty metalcore-y haha) but they were more alternative metal/hard rock, as I mentioned earlier. Goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover. I thought this band was quite 'tight' (musician term for sounding good/skilled/pro). Their drummer was really, really good, I think he was probably the most talented musician in the band. Was cool to watch too. The vocalist had a really good voice. Reminds me a little bit of Jon Toogood mixed with someone else... I also think these guys have a lot of potential as well, especially as their genre is a bit more 'radio friendly' than stoner metal. I hope to see them become one of The Rock radio station's favourites one day!

Check them out too. They have three free downloadable songs on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/loadedvictim

I think the Dux Live is quite a decent venue, it's nicer than Hornby's 'The Venue'. The bar is nice and big and you are able to order food if you like. There is an upstairs part too with some arm chairs, which looked nice. The stage was a bit small but I think this will be okay for local bands. The sound was good too. There is also a decent outside area for the smokers, however they had the door open to this area, which made it so there was pretty much no separation. This only bothered me because the smell of nicotine was wafting into the venue. Some days I don't mind it, other days I do. That night was one of the days where the smell was giving me a bit of a headache. A little bit odd when I think about it as last Saturday I went to my friends' house, where they smoke inside and I didn't have any problems with it (I didn't even get asthma! Usually I do from houses where the people smoke inside).

Anyway, the Dux Live is a decent venue and hopefully it will add more life to the limited night/gigging scene in Christchurch. King Coal and Loaded Victim are both great bands, I recommend them and I hope to see them play live again in the near future!

The Breastfeeding Controversy

Recently a television advert which featured All Blacks star Piri Weepu was pulled from airing because he was feeding his baby with a bottle. Breastfeeding advocates claimed that advertisers shouldn't be encouraging bottle feeding as breastfeeding is still stigmatised in our society for some reason. I think this is an interesting argument and there are good points for both sides of the argument, which I will talk about.

I'll talk about breastfeeding/breasts first. Many people claim that 'breast is best' and research has been done to show that breast milk contains more nutrients and is more beneficial to the development of children. In our society it is considered offensive to breastfeed in public, which is ridiculous. Firstly, breasts aren't actually sexual organs and the purpose of women having them is to feed their babies. Our society has sexualised breasts to the point where people actually think that they are a sexual organ and should only be used for sexual related purposes. Therefore, it is offensive to expose boob in public as it is a sexual object. It actually isn't illegal for women to be topless in public. As a matter of fact, there was a bit of a controversy in 2010 (I think) about women sunbathing topless on the beach. Men are allowed to walk around/sunbath topless, even if their breasts surpass the size of those of women, so why can't women? Yet another double standard concerning gender. I guess people need to be educated on the actual purpose of breasts. I'm not saying people aren't allowed to be aroused by breasts, but get over the sexual aspect of them in public and save the erection for private time.

Because of the taboo of exposing the female breast in public, many people thinking that public breastfeeding shouldn't be allowed. But why not? It's not illegal and babies do need to be fed. And it's not like women are whipping out their boobs for attention. Feeding a baby isn't sexual (although some weirdos probably think so) and is one of the most natural things in the world. We don't consider a dog feeding her puppies to be disgusting, so why should that be thought about humans? Breastfeeding is beneficial to both mother and child as it helps strengthen their bond. These breastfeeding advocates do have a point in saying that there are a lack of breastfeeding images and I agree with them in saying we need more. Perhaps this will help people get over the sexual aspect of breasts and accept mothers who should be able to breastfeed their child where ever they want.

On the other hand, it is silly how this advert got pulled. Firstly, how do we even know what type of milk was in this bottle? Breast pumps do exist. Some women aren't able to breastfeed for a variety of reasons (but would like to) so have to use formula. While research might say 'breast is best', formula still contains the essential nutrients for a developing child and they will end up perfectly normal. We could argue that breastfeeding can be damaging if you breastfeed past infancy. I'm sure most people would have seen on TV those weird children who still want to be breastfed at 10 years old. Also, maybe if we had an abundance of breastfeeding images, the women who have to bottle feed would feel upset and that they are not doing the 'right thing' by their child.  

My second point on this side of the argument is that there are not many images of fathers with babies, so I believe this should be encouraged. A figure such as Piri Weepu is a fantastic choice for this sort of advert. He is a professional rugby player, one of the most 'manly' professions out there (especially in NZ, as we are a rugby worshipping nation). Placing him in an ad with his new baby shows that you are still a 'real man' if you care about your child and help out with child rearing. Many men think that it is a woman's 'job' to do all of the child rearing, but it isn't! Kids need their dads! Trust me, I come from a broken home. And apparently men who help out with the child rearing get more sex from their partners! (So helping out has plenty of benefits!). Another point is that Mr. Weepu doesn't have breasts that produce milk, so how can he possibly breastfeed?

In conclusion, I don't believe that this ad should have been pulled. While there are a lack of images of women breastfeeding, there is also a lack of images of fathers feeding their babies. I do think breastfeeding in public should be encouraged and that people need to get over seeing boobs in public, they are not genitals! However, bottle feeding should not be discouraged and made to be a social stigma, as breastfeeding is not possible 100% of the time. In the end it's the mother's personal choice and everyone else should accept that. Generally parents want what is best for their children.

Tara Playing in the Snow!

I finally got around to editing and uploading a video of Tara playing in the snow in July. My mum filmed this on her iPhone on the 25_07_11 and Tara was four months old.

Anyway, enjoy the cuteness! (I hope the music gives you a nostalgia boner).

PS. Here's a cute photo of Tara in the snow on 16_08_11:

Product Review: Chi Chi Eye Palette

I bought a palette of Chi Chi eye shadow about a year ago and hadn't really given it a good use until now, as recently eye shadow has become my new obsession. The palette I own contains six colours: black, grey, dark purple, light purple, mauve, and a peachy colour. I quite like the packaging for this product, as you can slide out the piece of plastic the palette is on, where underneath there is a mirror and a double tipped applicator brush.

At first I was a bit disappointed with this eye shadow as it didn't seem to stay on for a long period of time nor was very thick (I wear slightly heavy eye makeup), which was due to the brush it came with. I find that the brush only puts on a light coat, which doesn't stay on your skin very well. I now use a... well I'm not sure what it's actually called... a small makeup pad on a stick? Well that, and it works much better than the brush. The makeup pad allows you to put on a thicker coat and shape it better too.

Anyway, Chi Chi eye shadow does the job and there are heaps of colours/other palettes to choose from. The colours look nice too, especially the dark purple. However, I wouldn't consider this eye shadow to be a long lasting one. It's good to wear for a few hours but will start to come off, in particularly in creases, and especially if you're doing more 'active' activities, such as dancing in da club (lawl) or if it's hot; i.e. sweat is this eye shadow's nemesis. If you're gonna go out for a night on the town, I would suggest you take it with you as you're most likely going to need to touch it up. I wore the black on a night out on the Auckland town recently (the time I stayed out till 3am on the day of Big Day Out) and I looked like a mess at the end of the night. I didn't really get the chance to fix up my make up. A lot of it had faded off. However, yesterday I wore the grey and it stayed on quite well. But all I did yesterday was drive my dad to the airport and then do some shopping. So I would suggest Chi Chi for 'day wear' and maybe a slightly 'better' brand for 'night wear' (I used Rimmel black last weekend and it stayed on fine).

The texture of Chi Chi eye shadow is good. It's neither thick nor crumbly. It's not irritating on the skin either. It comes off easily with makeup remover and you can get most of it off with plain water too. The colours are also a little bit glittery, so this is a bonus if you want a bit of extra sparkle or whatever. I would consider this to  be a 'thin' eye shadow, so you need to do a few layers if you want a 'heavy' look. You also need to be careful if you need to itch near your eyes, as it can rub off quite easily.

In conclusion, I would probably give Chi Chi eye shadow a 7/10 rating. It does what it's supposed to do but is prone to fading, especially after a long period of time (as most makeup does). You can also get eye shadow from most other brands for the same price, which is ~$17, however you get six colours per Chi Chi eye palette, rather than the usual four. Give Chi Chi a try if no one else has the colours you want and don't mind going to the bathroom every couple of hours to do a touch up, or if it's on sale. You can buy Chi Chi cosmetics from Farmers. Chi Chi doesn't test on animals! *thumbs up*

Here is what the palette I own looks like on me:

Chi Chi Black Eye Shadow. Was dressed up as a zombie for a party.

Chi Chi Grey Eyeshadow

Chi Chi Dark Purple Eye Shadow

Chi Chi Light Purple Eye Shadow

Chi Chi Mauve Eye Shadow

Chi Chi Peach Eye Shadow

Filthy Animals?

Last night an incident occurred in my household where Kory (my three year old brother) urinated on a piece of furniture (I think it was in a draw... lol). A pretty retarded thing to do and he claims to not know why he did it (he's not 100% toilet trained oddly enough). Naturally, it would make any mother rage and his mother was no exception. In her anger one of the things my step-mum said was that "only dogs wee on furniture! We are not doggies, we are boys and girls, we wee in the toilet!". I took a bit of offense to this as, as you know, doggies are my friends and in all my experience, I don't think any of my dogs have pissed on any of our furniture. It's always been the floor if they're not toilet trained, and once they are, it's always outside and very rarely there would be the odd whoopsie, and that could usually be justified (staying inside for eight hours straight without a human mustn't be easy for a dog). 

However, we used to have a Persian cat called Charlie, who would pee everywhere! She even peed on my mum's laptop once! Every time it rained, we would have to be prepared with a wet cloth and the pet stain remover. She refused to go to the toilet outside in the cold and wet. We ended up giving her away to new owners who could pay more attention to her. I feel sorta bad for not being able to give her the attention she craved, but on the other hand, she was pretty fucking annoying. Each time you'd enter the kitchen, she expected to be fed, even if she was given food less than an hour ago. She had the most annoying 'feed me' meow too. If you ever see me in real life, I will do an impression for you. I hope she's doing alright now and she is less annoying for her new owners. Therefore, if my step-mum said that cats are the ones who piss on furniture, I would have agreed.

Charlie. Cute but Annoying

Anyway, back to my main point. Are animals really that disgusting? Are humans so much more superior in hygiene? I don't think so. Of course there are exceptions to each. Some of the things non-human animals do can be pretty gross. Dogs do some pretty disgusting things, such as eat cat poo, roll in duck poo/other gross substances, and eat their own vomit. The reason why they do these things is because cat poo smells meaty and they think that rolling in things will make them smell nice... Well not a to a human anyway. (I have a friend who's studying to be a vet nurse). On the other hand, humans do some pretty gross stuff too, such as intentionally spreading disease and many, many disgusting sexual acts, such as shitting, pissing and vomiting on each other, and violating children/animals/women/men (i.e. everything). But many animals are hygienic for creatures who are 'uncivilized'. They wash themselves regularly, bury their poo, don't pee where they sleep, and don't intentionally infect others with pathogens. I would consider those the basics of hygiene. 

My step-mum doesn't like dogs. However, she was attacked by a Rottweiler a couple of years ago. This would make almost anyone anti-canine. But we need to bare in mind that there are waaaaaay more dogs who don't attack people than those that do. I think many people forget this when ever there is news of a dog attack. And let us not forget that there are far more humans who brutalize dogs and don't get any punishment. Anyway, digressing a bit. My step-mum didn't like dogs before the Rottweiler incident anyway (in fact I don't think she likes any animals...), so in her lack of knowledge she would think dogs are disgusting and piss anywhere and everywhere. But in reality, once you toilet train a dog, they will generally pee in the same area every time. I observed this when we were toilet training Tara. When she was a baby, she would just pee anywhere when we took her outside. But now she always goes on the grass. She knows this is the toilet and she can even take herself out there because she can fit through the cat flap.

In conclusion, humans can be just as disgusting as non-human animals. Also, it seems that it is quicker and easier to train a Cocker Spaniel puppy to pee in the correct place in comparison to a human child.

No puppy pee on this furniture!

Product Review: Lucas' Papaw Ointment

I never really thought about reviewing products, in particularly health and beauty products, until the other day. I thought that it might be a good idea as I'm just a regular person who doesn't know too much about these sort of products nor can afford the expensive brands. While that might sound a bit discouraging, I am focusing on the outcome/effects of these products and think that people similar to me might get something out of me talking about the stuff I use on my body (might save them a bit of money haha), plus the opinion of someone who's not biased and trying to impress some company. I hope that makes sense.

Anyway, Lucas' Papaw Ointment. Probably one of the best things I have ever used on my dry lips. After Christmas I had a pretty bad case of dry lips, they were cracked in the corners. I had run out of lip balm and other similar products that help stop dry lips. So my mum gave me her papaw oinment to use. Within a few days I had noticed a difference, the cracks had started to heal; and within a week my lips had pretty much returned to normal. A similar situation happened last week: the right corner of my lips had cracked again. I applied the papaw ointment and they have now fully healed. In my experience, it usually takes a reasonable amount of time for corner cracked lips to heal, the reason being that you re-open the wound every time you open your mouth. Therefore, I was impressed how quickly this product worked.

According to the official website (http://lucaspawpawointment.com), Lucas' Papaw Ointment can be applied to the following:

• Abscesses Boils 
• Bruises
• Burns
• Carbuncles
• Chafings
• Cuts 
• Cysts
• Dry and Cracked skin on hands and feet
• Gravel rash
• Heat rash
• Insect stings
• Mosquito bites
• Open wounds
• Pimples
• Scalds
• Sunburn 
• Swelling associated with injury
• Splinters and thorns 
• Tinea 
• Whitlow 

That's quite a few things. I've only tried it on cuts (i.e. cracked lips) and chapped lips, which it worked beautifully on. I'm interested in trying it on some of these other things to see if it works as well as it did on my lips (I'll let you know if it does).

The official website also states: 

"Lucas Papaw Ointment is made in Australia from pure papaws.

Papaw or Papaya we all know as a delicious fruit, but the beneficial qualities of Papaw greatly aid the skin.

Lucas Papaw Ointment cleans away infectious wastes. Papaw contains Papain which helps clean wounds.

The base used in Lucas Papaw ointment is certified to be free of carcinogens.

The ointment is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration."

Another pro about this product is that it isn't sticky. So once you apply it, where ever you placed it won't feel all sticky, you also won't have sticky residue on your fingers. I point this out because quite a few ointments are quite sticky and you pretty much have to wash you hands after putting it on (Bepanthen is a good example of an annoyingly 'sticky' ointment, that doesn't even work that well to tell the truth). It is also quite a light ointment and you won't feel as though you have a whole tub of it on your face or make it look obvious that your lips are dry as fuck.

It also does an okay job at giving your lips a bit of temporary shine:

In conclusion, I would recommend Lucas' Papaw Ointment. It's effective, fast acting and doesn't have a disgusting texture. I actually can't think of anything bad about it. Would be nice if you could get it in a lip balm form, but a tube is all good. If you suffer from dry lips and are prone to getting cracks in the corners, I would suggest you purchase some of this stuff. It's about $10-15 and you can get it from pharmacies and from Farmers.

Big Day Out 2012

Last Friday I partook in attending the Big Day Out, which has been a tradition of mine since 2005. Unfortunately this would be the last year that New Zealand would host the Big Day Out, apparently there has been a decline in ticket sales to not make it worth their while to have it here anymore. This year's line up wasn't full of star-studded names, which left many people disappointed. Kanye West was pulled from the Auckland show (much to my happiness), which according to a poll I read the other day, left quite a few people upset (much to my surprise). Kanye West was meant to be the headliner. How he can headline over grunge legends Soundgarden, I have no idea. He's still playing in all of the Australian shows apart from Perth and Adelaide. Anyway, enough about Kanye.

I arrived at BDO at 12.30pm, just in time to see Cut Off Your Hands on the Converse Stage. Was a little disappointed I missed Parkway Drive because I wanted to check them out but I needed to sleep in a little bit as I was out until 3am. Probably not the best idea but I think it was worth it. Cut Off Your Hands were good. They have a bit of a Joy Division influence going on there, which I love. I would like to buy their new album at some point. After they had finished I bought an American hot dog at the ridiculous price of $6 and headed over to the main stand to listen to Regurgitator. I didn't pay too much attention to them, but they sounded alright from what I heard, reminded me a bit of The Beastie Boys. The Living End were next on the main stage and I went a bit closer to get a better view. Just as they started playing, the weather suddenly changed to a downpour of rain. I was unimpressed with this and prayed that it would clear up, remembering how horrid it was at last year's BDO getting soaked. The Living End are one of those bands who are better live in my opinion. I've seen them a few times at music festivals in New Zealand. The highlight of their set would have been when Jon Toogood joined them on stage to perform Nirvana's Breed. Apart from Jon's mic not working at first, it was awesome! My one gripe about The Living End's performance is that they didn't play What's On Your Radio? (I like that song; catchy as) or Wake Up (I like the drums in that song).

Cut Off Your Hands

The Living End

The Living End feat. Jon Toogood

 After The Living End had finished, one of my favourite and one of NZ's best metal bands began on the Skate Stage. Beastwars! The weather had finally cleared up and became hot once again. I was pretty excited to see Beastwars as I had only seen them once before back in Christchurch and this time I knew all of their songs off their self titled album they released last year. They opened with Damn The Sky and the sound fucked out at first, with Matt's (the vocalist) mic not working properly, making the speakers crackle. Fortunately this was fixed reasonably quickly. I think Matt is a pretty good frontman, he gets right into it. Other tracks they performed included Lake Of Fire, Mihi, Call Out The Dead, Red God, Empire and two new tracks which I don't know the name of.

Beastwars

Cavalera Conspiracy played after Beastwars on the main stage. They are a metal band from Brazil, with the front man and drummer being the Cavalera brothers and former members of Sepultura and Soulfly. I hadn't heard these guys before and I thought they were pretty good. The lead guitarist was quite good looking too (his name is Marc Rizzo). Unfortunately I didn't catch any of the song titles because Max Cavalera would introduce them all as "this song is called rawr-rawr-RAAAAWWWWRRRR!" in true death metal style. It kinda grinds my gears when bands do this - I want to know what the song is called!

Cavalera Conspiracy

After Cavalera Conspiracy had finished, I headed back over to the Skate Stage to watch Cairo Knife Fight. I was looking forward to seeing these guys perform as they are a two-piece, where the drummer is also the vocalist (like myself). It was interesting the way they performed. Nick Gaffaney would play the base drum beat and then loop it so he could do other things, such as play synth, perform vocals and play extra drums over the top of the looped drums. Aaron Tokona (the guitarist) said that Soundgarden "better not be stink!" to which Nick Gaffaney replied "you could get fined for saying that. You won't be invited back next year". Lol. Oh and on a side note, my mate Tony designed Cairo Knife Fight's website n' shiz. Yeah that's right.

Cairo Knife Fight

Once Cairo Knife Fight had finished, I headed over to the Converse Stage to watch Californian band, Best Coast. They're a female fronted indie rock band. I would describe their songs as 'cute' and 'girlie' and not in a lame way either, I think a lot of girls would be able to relate to them (myself included). Their songs are quite catchy too. Quite refreshing to hear non-slutty/happyish songs from a female perspective. I'd like to buy their album at some point. I'd also recommend people check them out too; their music videos are quite cool too.

Best Coast

I then went over to the Boiler Room after Best Coast, although it's not a room anymore. The massive, sweaty tent known as the Supertop has now disappeared and the 'Boiler Room' is now just a regular stage outside. I think this was better as it was pretty much a sauna in the original Boiler Room. However, the 'vibe' inside of the old Boiler Room was pretty cool and the lighting looked good too. Anyway, Battles were playing here. I fell asleep for about half of their set as I was pretty tired (not bored). They were pretty good from what I heard but I was a bit confused because I thought they had a vocalist (the only Battles song I've heard is The Line off the Eclipse soundtrack, which has vocals). Their set was primarily instrumental and the last few songs had vocals but they were pre-recorded.

Next up were My Chemical Romance on the Main Stage. MCR was one of the bands I was looking most forward too, as they are one of my favourite bands. Quite a few people think I'm mega lame for liking them but I don't really care. I'm not gonna feel guilty for liking a band that is actually decent and the only reason that it is 'uncool' to like MCR is because of the now dead (?) emo subculture (MCR aren't even emocore anyway, more alternative rock in my opinion). Anyway, I was also looking forward to seeing MCR perform because their last album Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys was really good, possibly my favourite album of theirs. And thirdly, last time they played at BDO in 2007, I thought they were pretty average. This may have been due to guitarist Frank Iero being ill and not being able to play that show. So I was hoping to see an improvement. And there was. MCR's performance this year was a fucktonne better than that of 2007. My one shallow complaint would be that Gerard Way has blonde hair again (black or red hair ftw). MCR's crowd interaction was great and they had a pretty good set list, which included tracks from all four of their albums (would have liked to hear a few more songs from Danger Days but oh well). I heard someone say "I didn't realize they were this heavy!". Haha. Well they're not that heavy but it just shows that there a few misconceptions about MCR out there, people don't want to give them a chance because of the 'emo' label attached to them. 

MCR setlist:

Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)

I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Planetary (GO!)

Mama

Helena

Our Lady Of Sorrows 

Teenagers 

Famous Last Words 

Welcome To The Black Parade

Destroya

Kids From Yesterday

My Chemical Romance

Gerard Way

After My Chemical Romance had finished, I went over to the Converse Stage to watch The Adults, which is a side project of Shihad's Jon Toogood and features Julia Deans of Fur Patrol. I didn't pay too much attention to them, but they seemed alright, quite chill. I also finally caught sight of my friend Tony and his girlfriend, Alex, who had sprained her ankle the previous night and was walking with a crutch. That would have sucked so much. If that was me, I would have spent the whole day paranoid that someone would accidently stand on my foot. Was good to see it didn't get in the way of her having a good time. We went to get some food. I got some noodles this time. They were $6 and much better value than the American hot dog of the same price. We then headed over to the main stand to watch Kasabian. I only know like two Kasabian songs and I think I should learn more because they sounded really good.

Kasabian

After Kasabian had finished playing, the 45 minute wait for Soundgarden began. We were reunited with Tony's other two friends, Mike and Bob (we all went out the night before, so I was acquainted with them). Tony, Mike and I moved a bit closed to the stage. Bob stayed with Alex because he felt bad ditching her (she said we could). Some Mexican-esque band called Mariachi El Bronx played on the Skate Stage during this waiting period. I didn't really pay attention to them. Around 9pm, Soundgarden took the stage! I think we had a pretty good view. It was the closest I'd ever been to a headlining band at BDO. Soundgarden sounded awesome, as expected. Chris Cornell's voice was top notch and I was surprised they played Jesus Christ Pose, as the vocals are quite high in that song (I didn't think he could still sing like that). I think there were a few problems with his guitar but I didn't notice anything. As expected, Soundgarden played a 'greatest hits' setlist, which is what we all wanted anyway.

Soundgarden Setlist:

Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Spoonman
Let Me Drown
Jesus Christ Pose
Outshined
Rusty Cage
Blow Up the Outside World
The Day I Tried to Live
My Wave
Ugly Truth
Fell on Black Days
Drawing Flies
Ty Cobb
Black Hole Sun
Room a Thousand Years Wide
Slaves & Bulldozers

Soundgarden

Soundgarden

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds were next to play, but over on the Converse Stage. It took a little while to get there as everyone was trying to leave the main stadium. We were meant to meet back up with Alex and Bob but we couldn't find them, so Tony went to look for them and we lost him too. Noel Gallagher was quite enjoyable. Played Oasis' Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger (which was the last ever song to be played at BDO). After they had finished Mike and I tried to look for the others but didn't have much luck. Eventually we were all reunited and bused into town at the ridiculous price of $10! Should've been $5 or under. The original plan was to have a drink when we got back to town but I don't think anyone could be bothered. Mike, Bob and I had Burger King. They went back to their respective hotels and I went home.

In conclusion, it was an enjoyable Big Day Out. I had a really good time, despite the non-hype surrounding it. I was busy the whole day and there were no significant timetable clashes for me to have a cry about. Having less people there was good because it meant less people to push you around and what not. I thought the absence of the 'D barrier' was good too. It meant people were able to get reasonably close to bands without being all squashed in. The way they changed the stages (i.e. only one main stage, one Converse stage, and the placement of the Skate Stage) worked well, better than how they previously had it in my opinion. Rest in peace Big Day Out. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see some amazing bands over the last eight years. I hope to see you reincarnated as something bigger and better in the future!

To see more/bigger versions of the (average) photos I took visit: 

www.flickr.com/photos/killajules