Two gigs, one window and I'm out of noodles

Ugh. I didn’t sleep well last night. I had to sleep on the couch. I had to get one of the windows in my room replaced. Inconveniently, it’s a high window that my desk sits under. I had to move my desk and my chest of drawers and cover everything up with sheets. I had to get this window replaced because my parents wanted to replace all the older windows in our house. The older windows are the kind that open with metal curved handles or that you have to pull up… woo, 1920s. Actually, windows in the 1920s probably looked a hell of a lot more majestic than modern windows. No doubt they’d open with double doors to the outside and have pretty framing.

Anyway, since they made a mess last time they replaced the glass feature windows at the front of our house and the windows in my brother’s and parents’ rooms, we didn’t trust them to keep my room clean. Sucks.

I had to unplug my computer and other things (my record player 😢) from the power, as well as the internet to the whole house. I came home from work at about 8:00pm and they still weren’t finished. They had to replace our front glass door too, but I don’t understand how it could have taken so long. I left the house at 7:00am before they even got there, I had a full day at work and even arrived early and left late, and plus my two-hour-long commute there and back, and they were still not finished.

Needless to say, they’re still not finished with my window. /angry

I’ve been so busy moving stuff in and out of my room that I haven’t had much time to post, so a few things have happened that I haven’t written anything about. We did connect the internet again at home, but now it has problems connecting. I’m now at work having breakfast and listening to Bob Evans… it is better than staying at home, that’s for sure. Sadly, the noodles in my soup are nearly gone. :(

Last Thursday I went to Select Music’s birthday celebration. Select Music is an Australian agency that manages a bunch of Australian artists. They celebrated their seventh birthday with four gigs across various venues across the city, with $20 gaining you access to all. I only went to two of the venues in the same building (the Oxford Art Factory), but I had a great time. I heard a bunch of bands I hadn’t heard of before, and some that I did. I wanted to see Bob Evans the most - having seen him last year, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to hear him play live again. I was happy to hear him play his hilarious song Ode to my Car.

On Friday I went to see Art of Sleeping who were supported by Anabelle Kay and All The Colours. It was free, and to be honest I’m glad it was because I didn’t have as great a time I thought I would. The music was clear and crisp and the sound check was done well, but it was incredibly loud for my liking. Since it was a free show, I felt that a lot of people were there just to drink and chat. There were a lot of people just chatting and not paying attention to the music. As a show-goer myself, the main reason I go to shows is for the music.

Anabelle Kay has an amazing voice. I think she was wonderful on Friday. She has such a high vocal range and she really makes the stage hers. I can’t quite remember but I think she did a cover of a song, though I couldn’t quite pick the song I knew it wasn’t an original piece. She was enjoyable to listen to. At times, because of the sound, her voice was quite piercing.

I went to the show with James and we bought some food from the bar. I had a burger and fries and he had a steak sub kind of thing… I don’t quite remember, but we did enjoy the food. :)

I didn’t like that although the show started at 6:00pm, there were really long gaps for the DJs to play music, and the acts didn’t even play for that long. That was a bit disappointing.

All The Colours were loud, but they were loads of fun. I remember the first few songs having a similar bass line and sounding like rip-offs of songs I’d already heard, but other than that, the band’s music was fresh and new. They were groomed well, and they put on a fun show. This was pretty much the first time I was not in the front row of a show, and I still enjoyed the music. I guess being ill and having a headache wasn’t really helping, because I could have enjoyed it more than I did. The most memorable part of All The Colours’ set was their cover of She’s So Heavy by the Beatles.

James popped outside after their set because he wasn’t feeling well. I waited a while for Art of Sleeping, but to be honest they were probably not worth the wait. It was nearly 10:00pm and I wanted to leave, so I stayed for a bunch of songs and left when it got too boring. I guess it could have been improved if my mood was better, but the atmosphere wasn’t really one that I liked either. I think I’ve been to far too many relaxed gigs at this stage… :P

I tried to take photos during the night, but the lighting was insufficient and practically atrocious. Horrible colours, stupid patterned lights… yeah, totally not good for photography.

I guess it could have been a better night, or I could have felt better… but there you go.

Sadly, I’ve been packing. I’m going on a family trip this Saturday, and I’ll be gone for three weeks. I’m going to Indonesia to visit family. My cousin’s getting married as well - I don’t know how to describe it, but I suppose that as his cousin I’ll be one of the flower girls or something. My aunt (who is his mother) made a dress for me to wear. It’s blue like my other cousins’ dresses.

I suppose I should be excited, but I’m not, really. I haven’t been in a good mood what with this cleaning and window business. I haven’t been to visit my family in Indonesia since 2007, and usually, I don’t have a great time there. The list is endless, but it starts with the people staring at me, right through to the toilets and the lifestyle.

If there’s anything I miss, it’s probably the meatball soup the street vendors sell. 😢

It’s sad, I know, but I’m not looking forward to this trip. Just when I think I’ve got a break and finished my exams… sigh.

Okay, I just went to look for an image for this post… maybe it won’t be so bad.

Lesson of the day: bakso is meatballs in Indonesian. /eee