I Got No Money
Most of my money has been going towards concerts and gigs lately. Upon hearing that Anberlin were coming to Sydney, I pounced on tickets about five minutes after they went on sale. It’s great that James will be coming with me this time. He wasn’t too keen on spending a lot of money on VIP tickets, so I won’t be meeting the band or anything. :( They are one of the few more famous international bands I love. They are wonderful and I’ve loved them since 2007, when James introduced their music to me. After all these years I’ve missed their shows, I can’t wait to see them in September.
Of course, I don’t turn down the opportunity for a free concert either. So when I heard that my favourite band, Hey Geronimo, were having a free show this week, I put it into my calendar straight away because I wasn’t going to miss it.
I met Thea and Edo before going to the show. They are both from Indonesia. I know Thea through fanlistings/fansites, and we met years ago. We’ve been keeping in touch through Twitter, email and text messaging and she came to visit Sydney this week (where Edo currently lives). It was lovely to finally meet. :D The three of us ate at Wagaya, a Japanese restaurant that is often dubbed as the initiator of touch screens for ordering.
That night, Hey Geronimo were gorgeous and amazing as usual. They played a new song, played their oldies, played the Dan Kelly Song as promised, and even threw in a cover of Weezer’s Buddy Holly, which had me flipping my recently-cut hair by nodding, the same way I did when I saw Weezer in January.
It was, however, upsetting to discover that bassist Greg had left the band. Speaking with Pete, I was at least glad to hear that it was on good terms. I’ll miss his vocals in I Got No Money and his enthusiastic performances. Replacing him is Billy, who looks a little like Ross and dare I say, pretty cute too. :) I took photos on the night; here are a few. Billy is the guy in the first photo.
Usually at music venues when I’m waiting around, I don’t buy drinks. I usually do that when I’m with friends, but I go to most gigs alone. Last time I was at Star City I bought a plate of pasta and ate on my own. It felt weird because everyone else was with their friends or family, and it was a bit of a fancy place. I spent some time walking around the casino. There were heaps of games like the ones on pocket fruity but the ones that caught my eye were the fruit slot machines. I don’t know what it is about them but something about the fruit and the colours and the spinning reels really intrigues me. I am a little amused that they are just called “fruit machines” in British English.
Various other things that have intrigued me at music venues include noir-style or retro-style photo booths. They seem to be popular in quite a few venues. Dylan and I have taken photos in a couple of them, and they come out in a long strip, all portrait-oriented.
It’s often nice when music venues have places to eat nearby, or at least sell some snacks inside. I don’t often go to bars and pubs (at least to hang out) but sometimes I wonder why some places don’t offer a few nibbles. Hey Geronimo played at Beach Road Hotel in Bondi. While it may be hours from home, I really like TruckStop, their Japanese-American fusion eatery. They make great hot chips, buns with meat of your choice, gyoza, and even have edamame.
I love edamame. Now that is something I have money for. /drool
Comments on this post
Coryl
I definitely shouldn’t be spending as much money as I have been this past year. I don’t have a job, so I’m relying on government loans to pay for my living and schooling (which is kind of depressing, but I can deal with it). I went an saw my favourite band live in Detroit back in December, and that cost me a pretty penny; I went to a theme park in Ohio twice–once in October, and again in June; and this weekend, I’m off on a camping trip up north with a group of friends.
It isn’t like I don’t know where my money goes, of course. My dad set up a spreadsheet for me in Excel for my budget, and I track everything I spend and plan out my expenses. As long as I have enough money for rent, food, and my phone bill, everything is good.
When it comes to spending my money, I usually justify it based on the quality of the memories that will be made. For example, the concert went to in December, it wasn’t too expensive, but transportation made it quite an expense. The thing is, it was my absolute favourite band. When I got there, it ended up being very, very small crowd (they’re from Finland, so I guess they aren’t as popular in North America); they only had a couple security guards and no barriers in front of the stage. I got to high five the lead singer while he was on stage. That, to me, made the cost worth it.
I kind of wish I had more access to gigs in my city, but there aren’t many places to go aside from dingy little 19+ bars/venues. However, it’s probably better that I don’t have access, because that’d be a very easy way for me to spend a lot of money.
We call them slot machines here. Calling them “fruit machines” seems a bit silly to me, since the focus is really on the slot aspect and not the fruit… At least, that’s how I think of it.
There is always money for edamame. Always.
Amy
Hey, at least you’re spending your cash on something you like and for everlasting memories!
I’ve spent mine on trips to expos and on lots of food!!! It’s being used up FAST!! It’s so easy to spend and so hard to earn TT_TT
Glad you had a lot of fun and got to see your favourite bands ^^
We call them fruit machines because most of the slot machines in England had fruit pictures on them and they didn’t always have the pully handle thing. I dunno, I guess the round wheels don’t really look like slots to us as ‘slots’ kinda means a small slit. The English language is baffling anyway.
Kelly
that is okay you spent your money on something you love to do. You took some amazing photo from the concert.
Cat
Concerts can really add up! I used to go to them a lot with my husband, and the total cost was pretty high each year. We stopped for a while to save money, and now it’s a little hard for me to get back into it, heh. That’s awesome that you got Anberlin tickets though! I like their music too :)
I’m glad the Hey Geronimo show was good, though it’s too bad about the bassist. His replacement does look cute though ;) I usually don’t buy anything at music venues too, except maybe a drink if it’s at a bar. At the non-bar venues, I feel like the food is always overpriced!
Cassie
So much of my money goes on gigs but I’m perfectly happy with that. Live music is what makes me happy – and happiness is ridiculously important, y’know? Glad you had a good time – and those are some fantastic photos you took
Thea
It is sooooo nice to finally meet youuuuuuuu 😝
My sister and I would love to attend every concert of our favorite artists (we have a handful, and it seems that this year almost all of them are coming to Jakarta).
But cheapest tickets are mostly IDR 500k and you won’t see anything decent. The next good thing is at about IDR 1.000k/person and my parents will definitely not be spending IDR 2.000k for us every time there’s a concert.
I’d leave a longer comment, but my doctor forbids me to stare at any screen for any long periods :<
Hope to see you again soon! xx
Michelle
Oh money. My husband and I are going on our honeymoon in less than a few days and we are worried about money but I think we’ll be fine. Yeah for free concerts and concerts in general!
That Japanese restaurant sounds yummy though I have yet to go to one.