It's been yet another rather chaotic few weeks for me and the increasing number of voices in my head. I've taken in some fun and games, said some goodbyes and finally got some scheduled family time in.
It had been a long while since seeing messrs Christine and Nigel and I had begun to long for a bit of a motherly hug. So spending a weekend at home which comprised of fish, chips, Sky TV, the said Mum and Dad, illegal downloading, Brooke Hobson and Michael Lund was most welcome.
I made sure I was a part of Jimmy Eat World's Leeds date at the O2 Academy, which was totally awesome. They didn't, however, (in the words of Alonzo Harris in Training Day) 'have shit' on Gallows at The Well on Wednesday 24th.
Being the hip and punctual pairing, me and Andy Fairweather made it down early (ish) to catch 'Dead Swans' do some Brighton-hardcore stuff which was nowhere near my cup of tea, but I was fascinated enough watching their onstage ADHD-esque energy and the swelling crowd kicking the Paloma Faith out of each over.
We were still in the bar when Gallows entered the stage. We quickly downed our drinks, said our 'goodbyes' and 'good-lucks' and mazed through the packed out minuscule function room to the impending mayhem.
I timed my first crowd-surf to perfection, being airborn just as the opening cries of "MAYDAY, MAY-DAY" filled the room during 'Abandon Ship'. Soon enough however, I was dumped on the speaker at the bassists feet and finally managed to struggle to my own.
Despite my relative skill in the crowd surf, I have noticed that I can no longer hack circle pits, going down within seconds in my last 3 attempts. Whether it's my complete lack of agility, poor planning, or slippery floors, I can't last longer than around 6 seconds before I am buried beneath a sweaty mound of human mass.
It was a special gig. Andy lost his beloved Cancer Bats t shirt in the excitement, but was more than compensated for by small stage invasion, a chat with the bassist (fundamentally about how they played ping pong with Rage Against the Machine) and the purchase of 4 t-shirts between us.
It was nice to see that the student protests were relatively calm in Leeds. I know of one girl who was arrested for grafitti-ing (albeit in easily removed snow paint) on Broadcasting Place but it looked like it was dick head-free in the main. I did, however, feel sick to my stomach when I read about the innocent Motorhead fan being murdered to death after their gig at the 02 Academy.
Speaking of which, I've been allocated a very much Manchester-themed December at the 02 with Cast, James and Courteeners gigs to facilitate and enjoy.
Hogwarts got awfully festive on Friday night. After watching the footage from last year's infamous 235 (Hyde Park Road) Halloween Party, the snow started to fall heavily which left no other option to hold Holly Andrews (along with the late arriving Alan, her sister Laura and boyf Joe) captive, light lots of candles and drink and sing the night away.
My personal highlight was pretty obv:
Reuben - Christmas is Awesome (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH2umxtA_sc)
After 4 hours sleep, I managed to sneak back downstairs into Adam's flat and finally got tickets to see Blink-182 tickets for next Summer. If you need a job doing...
Sunday saw me mainly lying in bed watching two incredible films. Firstly I watched A Town Called Panic (Panique au Village), where animated plastic toys are hilarious and French. Think Cravendale Milk meets A Series of Unfortunate Events via brief excursion to Amsterdam.
A Town Called Panic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY55bTlZJEE)
Secondly, Scott Pilgrim vs The World blew my mind. I liked it so much that I'm in a bit of a dark place right now, not really accepting that life isn't like that. Edgar Wright and Michael Cera continue to make me rethink a few basic principles.
So. Things coming up: seeing best-good-friend-slice Reid in a couple of weeks, seeing Pulled Apart By horses, Simian Mobile Disco and fwiends, work Christmas parties (University employment still sucks by the way) and probably more Christmas music.
I will leave you with this amazing song. It is dedicated to James Styler, as it's his birthday today. Yey.
JJ72 - Snow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QNYj61wMRI)
x
P.S. I can't make the links work and I really need a wee.
About Me
- Simon Nigel Danger Wood
- Born at the age of 4 in a woodcutter’s cottage in the Black Forest sometime next year, I’m a student at Leeds Met University studying Project Management. Despite the absolute lack of creative freedom, it’s alright and I’m quite good at it I suppose. Leeds Met is often referred to as ‘the other one’ in relation to its more distinguished cousin but I like to think it’s not important. We are all students of Leeds. I’m not an absolute ‘rah’ and I’m not a complete ‘spaz-tard’ – I’m very happily sandwiched in-between, all warm and snug. Anywho. I digress. I enjoy many things in life, from the humble Jaffa Cake and social intoxication to music and my attempts of being a ‘lad’. The idea of blogging has long been wandering aimlessly in my less-than-average sized head. During my previous life jumping when Yorkshire Water clapped, I put together a monthly newsletter which people seemed to like. So. Possessing a half decent grasp of the written word and the occasional tendency to be a bit of a douche, I thought ‘blogging’ could be a hoot. Enjoy. P.S. I must credit the late John Peel who I based my whole ‘born at the age of four...’ intro. Kudos, John. Kudos.
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