A quick note on my personal life. Kent County Council did this thing were they picked a couple of disabled people and had them work for a day in two of their offices (basically they've had a slap on the wrist because their hiring diversity is shit), I got picked to work in the library depot in King's Hill. They had me discharge books that had came back from schools, putting together training packs and rewinding books on tape that came back from OAPs. A photographer came to take pictures of me for KCCs hiring diversity literature, he had me smiling with a pile of books which I didn't have a problem with but he also had me pretend to read this kids book about going to work, I intentionally looked as pissed off as I could so they wouldn't be able to use the picture, I'm not going to help reinforce the idea that all disabled people are simpletons. I've been told that I could be contacted if a position opens up (hopefully somewhere closer to home). Also hopefully I'll be accepted to volunteer at the new police station in Brompton, which could actually lead to paid employment, things are finally looking up on the job front.
Thursday: I was walking to the Underground in Victoria station when a foreign guy came up to me and asked "Are you seeing Goo-ril-la Biscuits tonight" he wanted to know what tube station he needed, what time the show started and how much it was going to be on the door, I told him and he went on his way. Went straight up to Camden to get a ticket for Your Demise, I thought the show was two weeks away, it's actually next Friday, that's going to be a challenge what with my new sleeve work getting started a few days before, at least it will stop me going to the Tap. Went down to Soho, got the new Gallows and Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip seven inches then went to Sister Ray and got albums by The Birthday Party and Dinosaur Jr. for cheap. Got something to eat at the Vegan Thai place off Soho Square, then after much dicking around I waited outside the Mean Fiddler and read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov until doors opened.
Honour Among Thieves: I had a think about how I would describe Honour Among Thieves if someone asked, the best I could come up with was if Parkway Drive weren't terrible. They're good but I wouldn't buy their stuff, I saw their bass player throw himself into a wall to get psyched up before they went onstage. The singer kept going into the audience like last time, at one point he climbed up the PA stack and went over the balcony and screamed from up there "I'm staying up here and prenting this is a normal show with people at the bar not giving a shit" their American guitarist (I didn't even realise he was American 'til I heard him speak) offered the singer "a whole quid if you stage dive right nowor have it this way, do it and I won't punch you in the balls." "Yeah, it's a rock and a hard place init mate."
The Sleeping: They announced they only got asked to play this show two hours before the doors opened. They were kind of like a cross between Every Time I Die and Isis (with spacey guitar breaks and everything) which pissed off all the Hardcore kids because they couldn't show off in front of their mates because of the lack of beatdowns. I turned around and just saw a wall of faces with distained looks, fuck these people, they're so obsessed with what Hardcore should be they don't think of the potential this music has. There were only a few of us down front who actually liked the band a girl and her boyfriend left because the singer kept drenching us with sweat every time he banged his head. I was nearly temped to buy some of their stuff.
Gorilla Biscuits: I've been to a lot of reunion shows for Hardcore bands from the eighties, sometimes they are lazy affairs with bands who have turned into fat slobs that haven't even bothered to practice (Dead Kennedys, Discharge) but there was a prominent feeling of joy to tonight's performance and their playing was a tight as a nun's chuff, I was surprised that it was mostly original members (even Walter), I don't think the drummer was an original member but they had everyone else. During the first song I got covered with more beer than I would at an Anarcho Punk show, I was getting crush at the front so I went off to the side to take pictures, after I did Civ kept coming down to the front where I was to let people sing into the mic, I went to the toilet to wash all the beer off my head and went down to the other side of the stage to watch in comfort. They played all the stuff from the album and EP and even Better Than You from the New York City Hardcore comp and a few songs from Civ's solo record (well most of GB played on it anyway), one guy requested Can't Wait One Minute More by singing the chorus at Civ "We might play that if you're lucky" "I'll give you the number to my hotel room." They did play it much later with Walter singing that part that Lou from Sick Of It All does. "You know those nights were you're just having fun and you don't give a shit, this is one of those nights" someone yelled for Quicksand and Walter played a riff of one of their songs. I made my way back up front in the hope of singing along to Hold Your Ground (I didn't, when Civ came near me some cunt of a crowd surfer landed on my head). Civ dedicated Cats And Dogs to the Straight Edge kids, I wouldn't have thought that any of the guys in GB are still Edge, Walter owns a bar now so he definitely isn't. They encored with covers of New York Crew by Judge (strange most of GBs songs are against violence then they play a song about picking fights with people because they aren't from your scene) and As One by Warzone. They finished with Start Today with Walter playing harmonica at the end. As far as reunion shows go this was about as good as when I saw Negative Approach, it was only ruined by the cunts at the show.
The Victoria line was down so I had to take the Northern line to Embankment then get the Circle And District line to Victoria, got tofu and rice at the Japanese place and got on my train. Walked home from Rochester, as I was walking towards the bridge I saw this short stocky guy with glasses hanging around on the bridge, he saw me and stared waddling towards me, as he went passed me I saw it wasn't a guy at all, it was Heffer, I haven't seen her since the last time I was allowed in the Manor, what the fuck was she doing near my home town near one in the morning.
Thursday: I was walking to the Underground in Victoria station when a foreign guy came up to me and asked "Are you seeing Goo-ril-la Biscuits tonight" he wanted to know what tube station he needed, what time the show started and how much it was going to be on the door, I told him and he went on his way. Went straight up to Camden to get a ticket for Your Demise, I thought the show was two weeks away, it's actually next Friday, that's going to be a challenge what with my new sleeve work getting started a few days before, at least it will stop me going to the Tap. Went down to Soho, got the new Gallows and Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip seven inches then went to Sister Ray and got albums by The Birthday Party and Dinosaur Jr. for cheap. Got something to eat at the Vegan Thai place off Soho Square, then after much dicking around I waited outside the Mean Fiddler and read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov until doors opened.
Honour Among Thieves: I had a think about how I would describe Honour Among Thieves if someone asked, the best I could come up with was if Parkway Drive weren't terrible. They're good but I wouldn't buy their stuff, I saw their bass player throw himself into a wall to get psyched up before they went onstage. The singer kept going into the audience like last time, at one point he climbed up the PA stack and went over the balcony and screamed from up there "I'm staying up here and prenting this is a normal show with people at the bar not giving a shit" their American guitarist (I didn't even realise he was American 'til I heard him speak) offered the singer "a whole quid if you stage dive right nowor have it this way, do it and I won't punch you in the balls." "Yeah, it's a rock and a hard place init mate."
The Sleeping: They announced they only got asked to play this show two hours before the doors opened. They were kind of like a cross between Every Time I Die and Isis (with spacey guitar breaks and everything) which pissed off all the Hardcore kids because they couldn't show off in front of their mates because of the lack of beatdowns. I turned around and just saw a wall of faces with distained looks, fuck these people, they're so obsessed with what Hardcore should be they don't think of the potential this music has. There were only a few of us down front who actually liked the band a girl and her boyfriend left because the singer kept drenching us with sweat every time he banged his head. I was nearly temped to buy some of their stuff.
Gorilla Biscuits: I've been to a lot of reunion shows for Hardcore bands from the eighties, sometimes they are lazy affairs with bands who have turned into fat slobs that haven't even bothered to practice (Dead Kennedys, Discharge) but there was a prominent feeling of joy to tonight's performance and their playing was a tight as a nun's chuff, I was surprised that it was mostly original members (even Walter), I don't think the drummer was an original member but they had everyone else. During the first song I got covered with more beer than I would at an Anarcho Punk show, I was getting crush at the front so I went off to the side to take pictures, after I did Civ kept coming down to the front where I was to let people sing into the mic, I went to the toilet to wash all the beer off my head and went down to the other side of the stage to watch in comfort. They played all the stuff from the album and EP and even Better Than You from the New York City Hardcore comp and a few songs from Civ's solo record (well most of GB played on it anyway), one guy requested Can't Wait One Minute More by singing the chorus at Civ "We might play that if you're lucky" "I'll give you the number to my hotel room." They did play it much later with Walter singing that part that Lou from Sick Of It All does. "You know those nights were you're just having fun and you don't give a shit, this is one of those nights" someone yelled for Quicksand and Walter played a riff of one of their songs. I made my way back up front in the hope of singing along to Hold Your Ground (I didn't, when Civ came near me some cunt of a crowd surfer landed on my head). Civ dedicated Cats And Dogs to the Straight Edge kids, I wouldn't have thought that any of the guys in GB are still Edge, Walter owns a bar now so he definitely isn't. They encored with covers of New York Crew by Judge (strange most of GBs songs are against violence then they play a song about picking fights with people because they aren't from your scene) and As One by Warzone. They finished with Start Today with Walter playing harmonica at the end. As far as reunion shows go this was about as good as when I saw Negative Approach, it was only ruined by the cunts at the show.
The Victoria line was down so I had to take the Northern line to Embankment then get the Circle And District line to Victoria, got tofu and rice at the Japanese place and got on my train. Walked home from Rochester, as I was walking towards the bridge I saw this short stocky guy with glasses hanging around on the bridge, he saw me and stared waddling towards me, as he went passed me I saw it wasn't a guy at all, it was Heffer, I haven't seen her since the last time I was allowed in the Manor, what the fuck was she doing near my home town near one in the morning.