I've been home a few days now and I'm feeling a bit more settled. Been up to a couple of things so thought I'd just write those up.
Dry the River at The Deaf Institute
As I mentioned on Tuesday, I was due to see Dry the River at The Deaf Institute that night. I first saw these guys play as support for Johnny Flynn last year and it was an instant like for me. Unfortunately at that gig I missed out on getting any sort of EP so have had to settle for youtube videos and the like to listen to their tunes. Whilst I was away during one of my very rare full internet access sessions I saw that they would be touring. As part of my new living like I want attitude I decided to buy a ticket for their Manchester date. I've been quite eager to see more of them since the gig last year so I was really looking forward to the gig. If you read my last entry I was struck by a bit of a random headfuck and couldn't quite shake it. It left me in a fairly anxious state as I wandered around town before the gig. Which is never pleasant. But I took myself for the walk to The Deaf Institute regardless. I've missed too many gigs due to headfucks before and I'm planning on ever doing so again. Now I've never been in The Deaf Institute for a gig before. I've been in for lunches before uni lectures and even went there as part of a night out once but a gig was a new one for me. If you've never been The Deaf Institute is a pretty neat place to go to. The gig was upstairs in the music hall which I really wish I'd gotten photos of. Like I said I've never been to a gig there before but it's an awesome venue. Pretty small but manages to be three tiered just within the music hall. There's a standard standing area in front of the stage and next to the bar, then there's an amphitheatre-esque seating area at the back and to the left of the stage is a balcony which looked to have some comfy seats behind its glass panels. So you've got a choice of how you want to experience the upcoming gig. I went for the seating at the back. There were two supports, Air Cav and Worship. I quite enjoyed Air Cav but Worship weren't really my style. Then it was time for Dry the River. Now the last time I saw them they were a support act themselves so only did a few songs, most of which were their slower songs. This time having a longer set they got to perform some of their faster tunes and did some impressive rocking out on their instruments. The intimacy of a smaller venue was really nice especially when they did the first half of 'Weights and Measures' acoustically and some of the crowd sang along. I think it must be so touching as an artist to hear your fans singing your lyrics back to you in such a way. Plus 'Weights and Measures' is one of my favourites of theirs. My other favourite is 'Bible Belt' which I'm including a video of here. I'm quite a fan of songs that switch from slow to mid pace half way through. Overall I really enjoyed Dry the River and I can't wait for their album to come out, which I think they said would be in the new year. I suggest maybe checking them out for yourself starting with the below video. I hope you like.
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes - a date with Becky Butters
If you don't know Becky Butters, you probably should. She's my best girl. Guaranteed to make me laugh til it hurts any time I see her. Originally we were supposed to go watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 on Monday when I got home but something came up so we rescheduled for Wednesday. I didn't notice until it was nearly time to go out that HP wasn't showing but we met up anyways and decided we might as well just go watch something. This was both a good and bad idea. When you haven't seen your best mate in 2 months, things are going to get loud and silly. Which is great unless you decide to go to the cinema. Now if you're even remotely aware of the film you probably know it isn't a comedy. However we managed to joke and laugh at nearly every thing that came up. I feel so sorry for anyone who was in that screening because we must have just ruined it. Or maybe we enhanced their experience. It certainly did mine. I really actually enjoyed the film despite all my witty quips throughout it. Tom Felton was suitably bastard like. James Franco was just James Franco. The highlights were obviously the starring apes, the lead of which is called Caeser and was 'played' by that great ape actor Andy Serkis. The apes rising was just fantastic and the bridge scene is possibly one of my favourites in cinematic history. Not since the Ents went to war have I cheered the triumph of nature over man. I was rejoicing heartily at certain scenes and wishing death upon my fellow humans. However I must admit I don't know if the experience would have been as good if I hadn't been with Becky. If you like your animals more than you like your humans then definitely see the film. If you haven't already. I know I'm considerably late to the game with recent film releases.
Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
I completely missed out on getting a ticket for Miss Marling's upcoming tour thanks to being in Portugal. I am still bitter. However I picked up her new album on Tuesday before going to The Deaf Institute. It was pretty annoying to carry the cd around knowing I wouldn't be able to listen to it until I got home. What with being away I'd heard nothing of her new material so as I do anytime one of my favourites releases something new I was pretty nervous. I always fear they'll go in a direction I don't enjoy. But with Laura Marling her music just seems to be progressing nicely. I always have trouble defining the genres of the artists I like but maybe that's a reflection on music itself these days. With 'A Creature I Don't Know' Miss Marling has stepped further away from her debut album and shifted to the side of her second album. She's no longer just a girl with a guitar. She's becoming more comfortable with the support of a full band and is taking to experimenting with her music I'd say. There are definite country music vibes with some of the tracks. They may not be as easy to follow (and in my case sing along to) as the songs from her first two albums but I think 'A Creature I Don't Know' is a great example of how artists mature. She is after all a precious 21 with 3 albums under her belt already. I'm loving following her career so far and she remains one of my favourite artists. I'm just so angry that I won't get to see her on the upcoming tour. Damn Portugal.
So that's mostly it. Tonight I went for a curry with my friend Ben. We've been friends for years but I suspect we'll probably become better friends now he lives in perfectly accessible Fallowfield. Afterwards we went to a pub and due to some awkward seating the split in the back of my dress ripped until the bottom of my bottom was revealed. Thankfully I had a scarf in my bag to fashion into an underskirt. I'm never not carrying scarves in my bag in the future. It was a really nice evening though and I'm looking forward to many more in the months to come.
Right well that's all for now. Can't decide whether to have a lazy day tomorrow or keep up with the keep busy mentality to prevent excessive broodage and possibly relapse. I do have a library book to return.
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