The Middle East @ Factory Theatre 6th of June

The Middle East were... fine. That's really all I have to say about it. I usually write really long essays about concerts, but I can't think of anything worth while except "Yeah, it was pretty good".

It seems sort of silly though, that you'd leave your most popular song (Blood) till encore just to guarantee you got one. But other than that I was substantially entertained.

P.S. The support bands were also pretty good. The website tells me they were called Grand Salvo and Emma Russack.

My baby shot me down

Is it worth it?

I haven't figured out if it's worth buying tickets to Soundwave Revolution for the soul purpose of seeing Hole play live. Other then that I'm not fussed about seeing anyone else, except maybe Sisters of Mercy, but even then not really. Theres some totally un-ironic hair metal I may be able to psych myself up for as well Dashboard Confessional who I recall were actually ok. Oh and Primus are playing too, who i'd see for sure.

Someone needs to explain to me the difference between soundwave and soundwave revolution though, assuming I do decided to blow $166.30 on one band that would totally be worth the money.

Dandy Warhols, Enmore, 29th of May 2011

Source

(This is delayed by a week because I couldn't log into blogspot so excuse my sketchy memory).

It's difficult to really put into words how amazing the Dandy Warhol's were last Friday, I could just type: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it could sum up everything better then I'm about to.

The first song I ever heard by the Dandy Warhols was "We Used to be Friends" (the theme song to Veronica Mars) back in 2006. I started High school that year and consequently found myself loosing contact with people I used to be friends with, I was already obsessed with the song (in ways only a 12 year old girl can be) and was convinced the song had some deep profound meaning in my life. It didn't, it was just a catchy song, with a chorus that could blatantly apply to any loss of friendship (or you know... the stuff covered in DiG). But it was still an excellent song, and once I got over myself I bought '13 Tales from Urban Bohemia' . Albums like '13 Tales' probably make it very difficult to catagorise a band like the Dandy's genre-wise because it's a whole mash up of songs that don't sound like they have anything to do with each other, my friend who accompanied me to the concert described '13 Tales' as a "mind-fuck in a good way" and I couldn't have put it in better words. This whole "mind-fuck" business and mish-mash of songs and genres I imagine, would make it really fun to play in a band like the Dandy Warhols. There seems to be no restriction in only writing songs that fit an archetype established early in ones career so the ability to constantly be progressing and changing is more natural then contrived-- this is obvious when you consider that they've been around for 17 years or so and show no signs of stopping (their new album is out early next year).

For the time being, just seeing and hearing them play is enough to make you realise how unique they really are-- there's no real fixed set list as shown by the spontaneous decision to play 'Kim Deal' after an audience member requested it, and almost every song is played with the same enthusiasm and energy, as when it was first released. Except for perhaps 'Bohemian Like You' which understandably may feel over done knowing it's the one song everyone in the audience knows off by heart, it sounded more reluctantly played then any of their other songs-- but it's not a Dandy's concert if you leave it out. It didn't matter, every other song they played had the audience on a such a high, whether they were jumping about, attentively watching/listening/singing along or literally getting high. It was music that truly filled the room, I imagine it wouldn't have mattered if you were seated right at the back or standing at the front-- there's something so exciting about their music that just experiencing it live (and in a venue like the Enmore) makes nobody feel like they're missing out. The wall of noise they create in their more phsyc-pop/rock songs* is easy to get lost in, and as one audience member stated "that was like being born again". But even when 3/4 of the band leave briefly and singer Courtney Taylor is left to perform an "acoustic" version of 'Everyday Should Be a Holiday' the mood doesn't change as the audience more then happily fill in the gaps... the Dandy Warhol's had everyone in that room in the palm of their hand.

Considering the Sydney concert was one of the last shows of their Australian tour they played for almost 3 hours, which is damn impressive but sort of expected when you consider how many albums they have (that's 9). There was also a special guest appearance by the Vines, who accompanied the Dandy's on-stage towards the end of the night to 'jam' (cue more psych-pop/rock and "mind fucks"). Though it was a lengthy concert nobody would dare have moved (except if you were epileptic because the amount of strobe lighting was insane)-- after all theres something so comfortable about a gig that everyone can feel is really really good.

Also I caught one of Pete's plectrums!

*I could have just made that word up.

I tumble

givemeyoureyesineedsunshine

I haven't relocated, I still plan to write my long essays on nothing and everything. But for the days I can't formulate a coherent sentence my tumblr is a go-to.

Coming up soon on when in wonderland... the Dandy Warhols concert.

How nice it would be...

...to own Frida Giannini's record collection.

image via SoHaute

It's Record Store Day today, which I didn't realise until I ended up at the Vintage Record at two o'clock and the guy at the counter announced it. Also, I think he thought I was Swedish because he asked where I was from, which has happened before (then they usually start speaking Swedish to me). But how about that for good timing? (going to a record shop) especially considering it was a spontaneous decision, I'm not so secretly very proud of myself.

So I celebrated with 3 purchases:

image via wikipedia

Television: Adventure

image via Reino de Mondongo

Faces: Long Player

image via brightestyoungthings

Cyndi Lauper: She's so Unusual

Super profound indie song lyric

A while ago I started to become interested in interior design, sparked by the Selby and the world of interiors feature on Hamish Bowles, and became convinced I should change my room.

For a teenager, changing ones room is like moving into adulthood, trying to prove to people that you have mature and civilised taste-- making this "BEDROOM MAKEOVER ZOMG!!!" really cliché and a bit sickening. I've never tried to impress people with a contrived taste, but at 17-- the bedroom you've had since you were 7 does start to represent the phases you wish you could forget (why the 'Hello Kitty' bin? why Marie Antoinette style knick knacks? why the heap of dress up hats?) and so, after much deliberation, I've been promised an eventual "bedroom makeover" sometime by the end of this year.

I'm stuck with the same furniture, which is a pretty standard mahogany dresser and wardrobe, and a bed that represents my Marie Antoinette phase (but is actually pretty standard and plain too-- its white), I don't mind the furniture in my room. So at the least I'll have my room repainted, which is fine (my room is currently a dusty-purple colour, chosen when I was 7).

I just realised how spoilt I'm starting to sound, and I apologise. If you've come this far through the blog, well done-- at least I feel better having somewhat justified my annoying tone. Not to mention, you don't care about what my room looks like-- especially considering i'm not going to show any pictures. Also, i'm getting off track-- this is what I wanted to post:

Images via design to inspire.

Is this house not the perfect combination of shabby, clutter, fancy, eclectic and minimal? How does that even work?, those words shouldn't go together so perfectly to describe something. It is the house of my dreams for that reason however. Also, it incorporates my favourite colour, grey ("it's not a colour it's a shade!" blah blah) into almost every room. I've decided I want my house to look like this, when I get my own house. And that's why I decided to post these photos here, to cement them in the interweb, so one day I will rediscover this blog, laugh about my attitude towards my fairly nice room and decide my house should look like my 17 year old dream home. And if that's not enough post-modern nostalgia for you, then I don't know what is.