So I have things I'd like to talk about which involve how scarily fat I'm getting, how my flatmate cannot commit to a plan of action, how amazing Patrick Wolf was, how freaking warm it is here and how Scottish law results in inward opening windows which render theoretical bug screens impossible, but BASICALLY:

*INSERT DRUNKEN RAMBLINGS HERE*

Who went to see Bell X1 (who were so, so good live and who precisely two people on my friends list will have heard of) last night, got drunk, ended up getting about three and a half hours sleep and now has to go to work?

*RAISES HAND*

Woo!

EDIT: Whose work uniform is still kinda wet? Yeah, that'd be me too...

I've just gotten back from seeing 65daysofstatic in the wonderfully named King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (that never fails to amuse me) and it was fucking brilliant. My flatmate came with me and, knowing that she'd never heard them before, I asked her opinion afterwards. Prior to this, I, of course, had flailed around about layering and noise and music that hits you over the head, but in a good fucking way. 'The rock was a bit too metal and the electro was a bit too Prodigy. I prefer my electro etheral.'

And that right there, ladies and gents, is the fundamental difference in our tastes in music.

Nine Inch Nails are touring again this summer. Yay! For Europe, this means they're mostly doing festivals. Not so much yay. I'm trying to work out a way of seeing them that won't be ridiculously expensive and so far, it's not going very well.

They're only playing one date in Scotland, and it's for T in the Park. The day they're playing is the only day that's sold out. DAMN YOU, SCOTLAND!

They're playing in Manchester, which would be ideal and not too tricky to get to (3 and a half hours on the train isn't much). But getting back seems pretty hopeless and staying overnight would be expensive.

They're playing at Oxegen in Ireland, but it's a) expensive (€99.50 + €6.35 booking fee!) and b) lots of effort.

So, yeah, maybe no NIN for me this summer *sniff*

(In better news, Patrick Wolf is playing Glasgow in May!)

At the moment, I'm not particularly well off money-wise. I'm making less money than I made at Boots, and I barely made enough there to keep myself going. So, when I go out for the night, I expect it to be good. Last night? Not so much.

The flatmate and I went to QMU at Glasgow University to see Bat For Lashes. We arrived, at a reasonable time only to find a massive queue snaking down the road as two security guards searched every single person who entered the building. And what weapons exactly are Bat For Lashes fans likely to bring with them to the riot they're planning for after the gig? Once in the building, I had to waste more time filling out a form applying for 'temporary membership' because the Union is technically a private members club, so if you're not a student you shouldn't be there. Quite frankly, don't hold gigs in your Union if you're not equipped to take in non-students. Pissed me off right royal. Then, during the gig, Scottish people kept yelling 'Natasha Can' at any an every quiet moment, because her name is Natasha Khan and screaming that out is apparently an hilarious pun. Whatever. The gig was alright, not really my thing, but good. So we finally make our way home (just after ten because the Union has a curfew of fucking 10.15!) only to have a bus driver try to close the doors on me as I got on the bus and then yell at me in front of everyone. Oh, I'm sorry, was there some memo I missed saying that every single person waiting for the bus should stick their arm out (this was his main angry point)? Other drivers seem to think that one person does the job.

Man, it was fucking weird. I'm never going to QMU again, and I'm very wary of getting a bus at night again since I'm pretty sure last time we were coming home from a gig a bus driver yelled at us. Bah!

I've just gotten back from seeing Colin Murphy and he was fucking hilarious. It's part of the Glasgow Comedy Festival and I booked tickets a few weeks ago. When they arrived they were A16 and A17 which prompted much 'OMG, I do not want to sit in the front row at a comedy gig!1!' exclaiming. Luckily, the venue was more relaxed and pub-like, resulting in a lack of assigned seating. Which was good because there was a lot of interaction with the people sat at the front. Since I hate any situation which makes me feel even slightly uncomfortable or embarassed, it was very good indeed that we were not sat there.

The place was teeming with Irish people ('natch) which made queuing (?queueing) at the bar interesting and nostalgia-filled as person after person asked for a pint of Heineken <3

And, like I said, hilarious. My flatmate had never heard of him before but she really enjoyed it (which was a relief because I worry when I make her spend money on something she might not like). Plus, I got to go on the Subway and, as mentioned before, I do love the Subway.

The flatmate and I went to see Howling Bells yesterday and it is the only time that I have ever watched a live band and thought that the listening to the CD would probably be exactly the same. Very odd indeed.

The main reason of this post is an upload. I bought NME for the first time in ages the other week because it had a CD of covers of The Cure. For the record, NME is still shit and if anything, has gotten worse. Happily, the CD is pretty decent.

01. The Cure - Introduction
02. Mystery Jets & Esser - In Between Days
03. Lostprophets - Boys Don't Cry
04. Marmaduke Duke - Friday I'm In Love
05. Dinosaur Jr. - Just Like Heaven
06. The Big Pink - Love Song
07. Editors - Lullaby
08. British Sea Power - A Forest
09. The Dandy Warhols - Primary
10. The Get Up Kids - Close To Me
11. The Futureheads - The Lovecats
12. Art Brut - Catch
13. Metronomy - Fascination Street
14. Alkaline Trio - Cut Here
15. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - In Between Days

Download the zip and the cover art =)

EDIT: Happy belated Birthday, skyekissed!

Having done the maths on my current financial situation (which, happily, should be okay this month and next but will be completely fucked if I don't get another job at some point in March), I'm running through the list of upcoming gigs in Glasgow. My flatmate's in a bit of a bad place at the moment and she's been complaining that we never do anything. So god damnit, we're going to some fucking concerts whether or not we should spend the money on them. Here's my list of possibles:

• Howling Bells
  
• Colin Murphy
  
• Ed Byrne
  
• Mono
  
• Eagles of Death Metal
  
• IAMX
  
• 65daysofstatic
  
• Art Brut
  
• Alec Empire
  
• MSTRKRFT
  
• Yann Tiersen
  
• Holy Fuck
  
• Andrew Bird
  
• George Thorogood & The Destroyers

I'm pretty sure we'll be going to see Howling Bells, and I just booked tickets for Colin Murphy (<3). I think George Thorogood & The Destroyers will sadly be out of our price range. And prioritising, I think I'd definitely want to see IAMX, 65days of static and MSTRKRFT.

What are your thoughts, oh music-loving friends list? Is there someone on there that's amazing live - so amazing I should go buy tickets right fucking now?

Friday went swimmingly, I pleased to report. I managed to get myself to the festival with relative ease, rocking up at about 3pm. I'd agonised that morning over what to wear, which is always tricky when going to a festival and had settled on a skirt and t-shirt with a small backpack containing sunglasses, book for the journey, and hoodie in case of rain. And fuck me the heat was unreal. If I'd worn anything else I think I would have collapsed from heat exhaustion!

( I'm cutting now because there will be pictures and discussions of who I saw and what they played. )

In summary, there were a lot of shit bands but I managed to avoid most of them. Funeral for a Friend were suprisingly good, as were Cold War Kids. Nine Inch Nails continue to nail their colours to my heart and Smashing Pumpkins could do much better, but were still pretty damned good.

I am behind on LJ and e-mails and millions of other things besides. I shall catch up eventually, I'm sure!

Having finally sat down in an attempt to organise all the things I'm supposed to do over the next few weeks, I got my hands on the Friday lineup for Leeds which I'm half-excited about and half-worried about because I really shouldn't be taking the day off. Anyway, here's who's playing. People in bold are people I definitely want to see (depending on time clashes, natch), while italics are maybes. If you see someone on there that I've not marked that you think I should see, TELL ME! I may as well make the most of it when I'm there.

Friday 24th August

Main Stage
Smashing Pumpkins
Nine Inch Nails
Lostprophets
Fall Out Boy
Funeral For A Friend
The Used
Billy Talent
Hello Goodbye
Gym Class Heroes

Radio One / NME Stage
Klaxons
LCD Soundsystem
CSS
Jamie T
Devendra Banhart
Special Guest
Cold War Kids
The Maccabees
The Sunshine Underground
New Young Pony Club
Hadouken
Pull Tiger Tail
Late Of The Pier

The Carling Stage
The Hold Steady
Peter, Bjorn and John
Seasick Steve
Charlotte Hatherley
Kate Nash
Little Ones
Kubickek!
Operator Please
I Was A Cub Scout
Stalkers
Maps
Make Model

Radio 1 Lock Up Stage
New Found Glory
Turbonegro
Gallows
Dwarves
From Autumn To Ashes
The Cancer Bats
The Casualties
Ignite
Municipal Waste
Sonic Boom Six
The Ghost Of A Thousand
The Alternative Stage

Okay, there aren't actually many people I want to see at all. But seeing as I bought the ticket solely for Smashing Pumpkins and was then overjoyed to discover that Nine Inch Nails were playing too, it's all good.

"Our Cold Beer Amnesty is back once again at Carling Weekend: Reading & Leeds Festival to make sure you never give your mates a warm beer again! Once again, you'll be able to swap ANY can of unopened warm beer for an ice cold Carling - free of charge!"

*L* That's brilliant. Hurrah for cold beer!

I am back from Ireland, obviously. Generally unscathed, apart from a cold picked up somewhere along the way. Who knew that the human nose could produce so much snot? I've been meaning to make this post for several days, but I've been huddled in my bed, surrounded by tissues, watching Due South. But today, my friends, today is the day!

( Lorraine's Fun Times in Ireland - Not Dial-Up Friendly )

It was great to be home. I really do feel much better having been back, despite the cold. Of course, the journey back to York took eleven hours, which is an absolute bitch, but these are the sacrifices you make ;)

In fact, I've already arranged another trip back to Ireland, but this time I'm going to Cork for a weekend of heaving drinking and partying with some friends from my last University. Yay!

Just got back from the Nine Inch Nails concert and oh my god. I might not be able to hear properly again, but it's completely worth it.

We got there about half way through the support act, Ladytron, who I've always liked (well, more specifically, I'm obsessed with their song Seventeen, to the point where I never get around to listening to the rest of the album). They were good, but they had absolutely no stage presence. It was like they spent so long planning what to wear, that when they finally got on stage it was an anticlimax. Shame, really.

And then there was Nine Inch Nails. Who fucking rocked. Visually, the whole thing was quite impressive - lots of smoke and lots of interesting lighting. Musically... well, it was everything I'd hoped for and more. I called kayim a couple of times to make her listen to what she was missing out on (by the way, I hope you could actually hear the music. If not, sorry!). I can't pick any particular bit that was my favourite because every single bit of it was amazing. Trent Reznor telling us that he knew we could sing along better than that because he'd heard English football chants does rate fairly high on the 'bestest bits' though *g* The guy I went with has actually never listened to any of their music, but he's been converted now. Which makes me feel proud.

I bought a t-shirt, which I suspect is miles too big for me but I don't care because OMG, I'VE JUST SEEN NINE INCH NAILS. Rock the fuck on!

EDIT: Is it just me or does the 'ecstatic' mood icon actually seem to represent 'pissed off and about to murder someone' rather than 'so happy I might explode'?

EDIT 2: Actually, the t-shirt is quite a decent fit. Hurrah!