faith/fate

finally it was the day of the Rise And Fall release show. I’ve been looking forward to this since the day it got announced. I arrived a bit late, so I missed Sex Drive. from what I’ve heard, they were pretty good. something in the vein of Pissed Jeans. first band I saw then was Hessian. I’m glad I finally got to see them. there are a lot of young bands around, but Hessian is one of the few I actually like. either that, or I’m missing out on a bunch of cool bands. Dead Swans were next. it was kinda disappointing. don’t get me wrong, they didn’t play a bad show or anything. there just wasn’t any reaction of the audience. there was a big open space in front of the stage, which didn’t help at all. they mostly played songs of their new album, Anxiety And Everything Else. worth mentioning that Theo from Last Witness did guest-vocals during Southern Blue. pretty rad! second to last band, Iron Age! first off, big thank you to guys in Rise And Fall to convince these guys to fly over, and play a one-time reunion. it was mind blowing. I think they almost played everything that’s on The Sleeping Eye, and that happens to be my favorite Iron Age release. then for the major bummer of the evening; I only saw 15 minutes of Rise And Fall. I had to catch the last train, and there was no other way to get home. anyway, the five songs I saw were amazing. I already said it once, but Rise And Fall will never disappoint I guess. I just hope the next time I get to see their full set! as for purchases: I scored Faith with the release show sleeve, limited to only 80. besides that I also bought Rise And Fall’s Deceiver 7”, and the Ceremony - Zoo 12”.

the long march

thanks to Kristof, who gave me a ride, I managed go see Henry Rollins tonight. I admire Henry Rollins, in so many ways, for so many things. it’s impossible to tell how glad I am I finally saw one his spoken words. he came on stage tonight, and started talking for the full 2 hours and 40 minutes. not a “hey, how are you all doing?”. no, straight to the point. the next almost 3 hours were like a whirlwind of words. story, after story, after story. going from when he was playing a show with Black Flag where a girl lost her eye, to traveling to Vietnam to hear their side of the American war (as they like to call it), only to end up with an old man named Kha who likes to make fun of John McCain. he can tell a bunch of serious things, but then suddenly tell something hilarious (but still all very true). this man sees and experiences so much, it’s crazy. needless to say, time flew by. those 3 hours merely felt like 30 minutes. I just want to sit down, and listen for days to all the things he has to say.