Work Worries
We have a new MD.
Unfortunately it's someone who I don't think likes me very much.
Oh it never ends, does it?
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
I'm really really really bored today.
It's warm but overcast.
We had a magnificent thunderstorm last night, the likes I haven't seen since I lived in Canada. Ottawa had August thunderstorms with amazing rolling clouds.
The one in London last night was more like a wall of gray with lightning striking constantly for an hour. During the height of the storm it rained heavily. I lost my mobile phone signal and my Sky tv signal. I watched the storm instead.
It started after 9pm, so it was just starting to get dark. I watched the storm pass and suddenly ligthtning and thunder struck simultaneously (and so LOUDLY) and hit the school next door and scared the shit of me. I found myself clutching my curtains and peering over the top of them to see if the building was on fire.
Eventually, I got my telly back and managed to catch the end of Cutting It (OMG- I can't believe Ally is dead but she's the lead...?!) and I was so grateful for the O.C. (OMG I can't believe Caleb is dead!)
Oh and I went to the gym and had a pumping session on the cross-trainer listening to the Hard House compilation David made me for my birthday so I'm not a total telly whore.
It's warm but overcast.
We had a magnificent thunderstorm last night, the likes I haven't seen since I lived in Canada. Ottawa had August thunderstorms with amazing rolling clouds.
The one in London last night was more like a wall of gray with lightning striking constantly for an hour. During the height of the storm it rained heavily. I lost my mobile phone signal and my Sky tv signal. I watched the storm instead.
It started after 9pm, so it was just starting to get dark. I watched the storm pass and suddenly ligthtning and thunder struck simultaneously (and so LOUDLY) and hit the school next door and scared the shit of me. I found myself clutching my curtains and peering over the top of them to see if the building was on fire.
Eventually, I got my telly back and managed to catch the end of Cutting It (OMG- I can't believe Ally is dead but she's the lead...?!) and I was so grateful for the O.C. (OMG I can't believe Caleb is dead!)
Oh and I went to the gym and had a pumping session on the cross-trainer listening to the Hard House compilation David made me for my birthday so I'm not a total telly whore.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Monday, June 27, 2005
Destroy All Evidence!
Friday night resulted in yet another legendary work drinks.
I have learned that, if you're going to get off with one of the guys from the digital department, leave the venue. I had to scream and shout this morning to make sure that the pictures stopped making the 'rounds. How fucking immature. Generally, I like my workmates but it's often like being in kindergarden in these parts.
*sigh*
Friday night resulted in yet another legendary work drinks.
I have learned that, if you're going to get off with one of the guys from the digital department, leave the venue. I had to scream and shout this morning to make sure that the pictures stopped making the 'rounds. How fucking immature. Generally, I like my workmates but it's often like being in kindergarden in these parts.
*sigh*
Friday, June 24, 2005
David, I Hope You Can Swim
Welsh David is at the Glastonbury Festival as we speak.After a week of scorching heat and 30 C weather, the West Country is having terrible storms.Here is the NME report.
I hope he took his wellies and hasn't drowned.
Glastonbury earlier today
Welsh David is at the Glastonbury Festival as we speak.After a week of scorching heat and 30 C weather, the West Country is having terrible storms.Here is the NME report.
I hope he took his wellies and hasn't drowned.
Glastonbury earlier today
I forgot to mention Popstarz' 10th Birthday two Friday's ago.
Popstarz is our spiritual home, in a way, although I miss it's hayday at the Leisure Lounge in Holborn back in the late 90s. It's been at the Scala in King's Cross for the last 5 years.
My first visit was in May 1998, and it was actually celebrating it's 3rd Birthday at the time. I was freaked out by the size of the Leisure Lounge and all the trendy indie kids. There were stages like catwalks were people danced, and the red chill out room at the back that seemed to only play Air's Moon Safari. At least that's how I remember it.
In 1999 I think I probably went nearly every single Friday for most of that year. It was a the Complex in Angel (now a shopping centre and the Islington Carling Academy) at that time. It had a great deal of stairs and a wicked Big Beatz room!
The club went throught a bit of rough patch, what with indie music utterly sucking for the first couple of years of this decade but lately it's been kicking ass again and I've been enjoying it very much. The 2-4-1 drinks before 11 helps too.
So the 10th birthday...W David, Albert, Stuart, Steve W, Peter, canadian David, Sophie, Michell, Dominic, Anthony&Chris....and so many more. Electric 6 did a live PA and had to play Gay Bar for about 10 minutes as the crowd went wild and then the balloons fell from the ceiling and everyone danced manically.
I spent a lot of time in the toilet talking to people, and then running off to dance. I pretended I didn't know Albert when he took his top off and climbed the lighting rig.
It was a great night and I'm sure we're all wondering if Popstarz will make it to its 20th Birthday!
Popstarz is our spiritual home, in a way, although I miss it's hayday at the Leisure Lounge in Holborn back in the late 90s. It's been at the Scala in King's Cross for the last 5 years.
My first visit was in May 1998, and it was actually celebrating it's 3rd Birthday at the time. I was freaked out by the size of the Leisure Lounge and all the trendy indie kids. There were stages like catwalks were people danced, and the red chill out room at the back that seemed to only play Air's Moon Safari. At least that's how I remember it.
In 1999 I think I probably went nearly every single Friday for most of that year. It was a the Complex in Angel (now a shopping centre and the Islington Carling Academy) at that time. It had a great deal of stairs and a wicked Big Beatz room!
The club went throught a bit of rough patch, what with indie music utterly sucking for the first couple of years of this decade but lately it's been kicking ass again and I've been enjoying it very much. The 2-4-1 drinks before 11 helps too.
So the 10th birthday...W David, Albert, Stuart, Steve W, Peter, canadian David, Sophie, Michell, Dominic, Anthony&Chris....and so many more. Electric 6 did a live PA and had to play Gay Bar for about 10 minutes as the crowd went wild and then the balloons fell from the ceiling and everyone danced manically.
I spent a lot of time in the toilet talking to people, and then running off to dance. I pretended I didn't know Albert when he took his top off and climbed the lighting rig.
It was a great night and I'm sure we're all wondering if Popstarz will make it to its 20th Birthday!
Thursday, June 23, 2005
U2- Twickenham rugby Stadium 18/06/2005
Lucky for me, Welsh David works for Universal Records, who bought out Island Records, who signed U2 and gave me his second ticket to see them.
We had seats on the West side of the stadium. This was truly a blessing as it was 30C and we were in the shade and not having to stand with thousands of people either (the Stadium seats 70,000!)
Twickenham Rugby stadium is only permitted one gig a year, so it felt like a bit of an honour to be there despite the number of people attending (and the other 70K attending the next night!) TRS looks like the sort of place were in the '70s they would have filmed movies set in the future. David dubbed it "Retro Futuristic architecture."
We sat in the industry section surrounded by Universal people, who all seemed to be a great bunch.
We had to suffer through Athlete, who between them couldn't form a whole person with any charisma what-so-ever.
We also have to put up with ridiculous queues for the bars which lacked a)juice b)alcopops c) singles and d) ice. It was-of course- stupidly overpriced. They also ran out of vodka half-way through the show so David and I ended up drinking double Bacardis and lemonade, which were vile.
U2 themselves made up for all of this. It was a fabulously uplifting show. Bono has more X-factor than any performer I have ever seen on stage, and Edge, Adam and Larry aren't far behind.
Hearing 70,000 people sing-a-long with arms in the air to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" gave me goosebumps. Bono kept his "Save The World" ranting to a minimum, which was both a relief yet disappointing.
As we were in one of the longest days of the year, the sun didn't set til after 9pm and the first half of the show was in broad daylight but slowly the light dimmed large screen that was blank slowly came to life and brought a whole new dimension to the show. It was like a bit of Vegas or Blackpool had been brought to "sexy London" (as Bono called it.)
During "One" the band asked people to pull out their mobile phones to light up the stadium. It a beautiful sight. It looked like a starry night. One is still my favourite song, and U2 still perform it with passion.
It was a very energetic gig, but it wasn't taxing. The only sadness in it was thinking that there aren't any bands younger than U2 that have the same charisma, talent and influence. Is stadium rock coming to an end?
SET-LIST
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Cry / Electric Co.
Elevation
New Year's Day
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
All I Want is You
City of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own
Love and Peace
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running to Standstill
Pride in the Name of Love
Where the Streets have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Yahweh
Vertigo
ps. After the show we took a comfy car into town to grab some dinner. As we were going past Knightsbridge towards Hype Park thousands and thousands of women (and some men!) where speed walking past in bras. The bras weren't quite normal. They had been decorated, some with feathers, beads, lettering and even fairly lights. It was the 2005 Moonwalk for breast cancer research. It was truly a marvelous sight and topped off a magical evening.
Lucky for me, Welsh David works for Universal Records, who bought out Island Records, who signed U2 and gave me his second ticket to see them.
We had seats on the West side of the stadium. This was truly a blessing as it was 30C and we were in the shade and not having to stand with thousands of people either (the Stadium seats 70,000!)
Twickenham Rugby stadium is only permitted one gig a year, so it felt like a bit of an honour to be there despite the number of people attending (and the other 70K attending the next night!) TRS looks like the sort of place were in the '70s they would have filmed movies set in the future. David dubbed it "Retro Futuristic architecture."
We sat in the industry section surrounded by Universal people, who all seemed to be a great bunch.
We had to suffer through Athlete, who between them couldn't form a whole person with any charisma what-so-ever.
We also have to put up with ridiculous queues for the bars which lacked a)juice b)alcopops c) singles and d) ice. It was-of course- stupidly overpriced. They also ran out of vodka half-way through the show so David and I ended up drinking double Bacardis and lemonade, which were vile.
U2 themselves made up for all of this. It was a fabulously uplifting show. Bono has more X-factor than any performer I have ever seen on stage, and Edge, Adam and Larry aren't far behind.
Hearing 70,000 people sing-a-long with arms in the air to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" gave me goosebumps. Bono kept his "Save The World" ranting to a minimum, which was both a relief yet disappointing.
As we were in one of the longest days of the year, the sun didn't set til after 9pm and the first half of the show was in broad daylight but slowly the light dimmed large screen that was blank slowly came to life and brought a whole new dimension to the show. It was like a bit of Vegas or Blackpool had been brought to "sexy London" (as Bono called it.)
During "One" the band asked people to pull out their mobile phones to light up the stadium. It a beautiful sight. It looked like a starry night. One is still my favourite song, and U2 still perform it with passion.
It was a very energetic gig, but it wasn't taxing. The only sadness in it was thinking that there aren't any bands younger than U2 that have the same charisma, talent and influence. Is stadium rock coming to an end?
SET-LIST
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Cry / Electric Co.
Elevation
New Year's Day
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
All I Want is You
City of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own
Love and Peace
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running to Standstill
Pride in the Name of Love
Where the Streets have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Yahweh
Vertigo
ps. After the show we took a comfy car into town to grab some dinner. As we were going past Knightsbridge towards Hype Park thousands and thousands of women (and some men!) where speed walking past in bras. The bras weren't quite normal. They had been decorated, some with feathers, beads, lettering and even fairly lights. It was the 2005 Moonwalk for breast cancer research. It was truly a marvelous sight and topped off a magical evening.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Friday, June 17, 2005
width="238" height="196" alt="Sophia Petrillo" border="1">target="_blank">Which Golden Girl Are You?
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
I'm An Alcoholic (cont'd)
Thursday was Vanessa's birthday, and she celebrated it at the gorgeous Prince Regent pub in Marlyebone.
I was reacquainted with Emmett, Claire and Meagan. I also met Vanessa's fabulous Auntie Helen-imagine a middle class Marianne Faithful! And of course, the lovely swedish/brazilian Mariana.
We drank champagne and tequila. We also decided to have a mushroom feast before they make them illegal (fucking bastards!)
They had to really push and shove to get us out of the pub at closing time, and when they did I tripped up on the street like the alcoholic I am becoming.
Thursday was Vanessa's birthday, and she celebrated it at the gorgeous Prince Regent pub in Marlyebone.
I was reacquainted with Emmett, Claire and Meagan. I also met Vanessa's fabulous Auntie Helen-imagine a middle class Marianne Faithful! And of course, the lovely swedish/brazilian Mariana.
We drank champagne and tequila. We also decided to have a mushroom feast before they make them illegal (fucking bastards!)
They had to really push and shove to get us out of the pub at closing time, and when they did I tripped up on the street like the alcoholic I am becoming.
Monday, June 13, 2005
I am on my way to alcoholism.
There's a wirlwind of birthdays/Tears gigs that have kepted me well watered. Or vodkaed.
Firstly, the Tears played a "small" show at HMV last Monday to mark the release of their gorgeous little album. 400 people or so showed up, and I had a few drunks with one of the forum members after.
Then on Wednesday Andreea, Freddie, Emiliano and myself went to the Tears' Xfm Session gig at the Islington Carling Academy. We got there at 7:30 but the band didn't get started until 2 hours after that. Half the audience was well pissed by then as there was nothing else to do in the meantime but drink.
It made for a rowdy and memorable evening The band played beautifully and furiously. There were a lot of bastards in the audience, as the tickets were free from radio station contests, so some of the punters I think were expecting suede. They were disappointed, but I think they should have been very impressed by the new band.
The band handled it all very well. Brett is rather witty and as I've mentioned before, rather scary. He told the people at the back who were talking during a very intense song to fuck off (and got a rousing cheer from the rest of the audience.) Bernard threatened to hit a man with his guitar for throwing gum at him.
Freddie and I later met the bastard on the bus home. He claimed he chucked the gum in response to Bernard spraying the audience with red wine. Well, whatever, it's a gig. Bands tend to throw liquid at the audience. We get over it.
Highlights of the night were The Asylum, Refugees, and Song for the Migrant worker. I also did meet several lovely people there.
There's a wirlwind of birthdays/Tears gigs that have kepted me well watered. Or vodkaed.
Firstly, the Tears played a "small" show at HMV last Monday to mark the release of their gorgeous little album. 400 people or so showed up, and I had a few drunks with one of the forum members after.
Then on Wednesday Andreea, Freddie, Emiliano and myself went to the Tears' Xfm Session gig at the Islington Carling Academy. We got there at 7:30 but the band didn't get started until 2 hours after that. Half the audience was well pissed by then as there was nothing else to do in the meantime but drink.
It made for a rowdy and memorable evening The band played beautifully and furiously. There were a lot of bastards in the audience, as the tickets were free from radio station contests, so some of the punters I think were expecting suede. They were disappointed, but I think they should have been very impressed by the new band.
The band handled it all very well. Brett is rather witty and as I've mentioned before, rather scary. He told the people at the back who were talking during a very intense song to fuck off (and got a rousing cheer from the rest of the audience.) Bernard threatened to hit a man with his guitar for throwing gum at him.
Freddie and I later met the bastard on the bus home. He claimed he chucked the gum in response to Bernard spraying the audience with red wine. Well, whatever, it's a gig. Bands tend to throw liquid at the audience. We get over it.
Highlights of the night were The Asylum, Refugees, and Song for the Migrant worker. I also did meet several lovely people there.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
I have been doing lots of stuff lately.
Just can't be arsed to post about it.
Quick overview: been to the pitcher&piano/crown and two, Popstarz, Girls Aloud GIG (fabutastic!), Wig Out (gargh ,full of annoying queens), Marvellous at Crash (good bits/bad bits), drinks/dinner in Winchmore Hill with Andreea, Good Mixer on Saturday (flirty barman, not cute though), finally got my hands on Here Come The Tears CD and got it signed after seeing live performance at HMV, went to Doctors, had blood test and now have bruise. Boo-hoo.
Just can't be arsed to post about it.
Quick overview: been to the pitcher&piano/crown and two, Popstarz, Girls Aloud GIG (fabutastic!), Wig Out (gargh ,full of annoying queens), Marvellous at Crash (good bits/bad bits), drinks/dinner in Winchmore Hill with Andreea, Good Mixer on Saturday (flirty barman, not cute though), finally got my hands on Here Come The Tears CD and got it signed after seeing live performance at HMV, went to Doctors, had blood test and now have bruise. Boo-hoo.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Thursday, June 02, 2005
NME in Positive Review of Non-Foo Fighters, Non-Coldplay, Non-Pete Doherty Album Shocker
8/10 for Here Come The Tears
8/10 for Here Come The Tears
