An open letter to a band

Dear The Living End

1998 was a long time ago now. I was still in school. I worked at McDonald's. I lived at home.

Now, I've finished school, moved into a much better job, moved out of home and am getting married. 1998 seems like so long ago. But, as I sat on the 5.31pm Central to Emu Plains limited stops service, something magical happened.

I used to love The Living End passionatley. I would listen to your albums over and over and over again. I would always rush out to buy the new albums as they came out, and I went to see you live more than 20 times. But, as I am sure you know yourself, things change; and my tastes in music have ebbed and flowed over the ten years (yes, it is almost ten years) since I first heard the sweet sounds of your band. Don't get me wrong, I think that all your albums have been great. I will admit that they are probably not as memorable or 'classic' as your first, but they have all had a decent flogging in my neck of the woods.

However, tonight - using the magic of the 'shuffle songs' feature - my iPod reminded me of just how fantastic you are. It took me back to a night when as a 17 year old I studiously waited until just the right moment to record Live at the Wireless. Fly Away was the song it chose. A song that was never a Living End stalwart, but the live performance on this occasion had everything that I loved about the band. The tempo was probably almost double that of the recorded version. The drumming was fast, frantic and furious. The guitar fills in between vocal lines were tight and sweet. The bass was drubbing, and the vocals were raw and to the point. All of a sudden so many memories came back to me. I remember listening to this song many times when I thought the world was against me as a 17 year old. I remember thinking 'should I stay or fly away'. I remember smiling in awe of the pure talent that the song captured.

Sitting there on the dirty, lonely train, after a tough day and week at work, this moment of solitude with a band I loved was something special. It made a shiver run down my spine. I love when that happens.

If that wasn't enough, just two songs later my wise iPod chose to play a live version of Prisoner of Society from the Channel V bus in 2005. This was a psychotic gig with thousands of people screaming along, invading the stage and just being MENTAL!!!! Again I had a shiver run down my spine.

While I might not listen to as much TLE as I used to, we had something special and always will :)

So thanks. It is amazing just how powerful an effect a piece of music can have on you.

bad religion and strung out 7 Nov 07

Went to see bad religion and strung out at the hordern

Second or third time I have seen Strung Out, after seeing them at Livid in 2003, and then again at the Gaelic Club a year or two ago. But it was the first time I have seen Bad Religion, and I am not sure when was the last time they were in Australia , but I wonder if they will ever come again. So, it was a must see show.

I have to say straight up that Strung Out were disappointing again. I am really starting to think they are more of a studio band than anything else. On record they are tight as, and the vocals are included in this. Live, the band is also tight as, but the vocals are really, really bad. I gave them the benefit of the doubt after seeing them before, thinking that perhaps it was the end of a tour, and his voiced was overworked, but after three times I can now say that I am unimporessed. They are such a good studio band, but no good live for me. They did play a good mix of stuff, old and new, but the vocals ruined it for me.

Bad Religion on the other hand were absolutley fantastic. They played stacks of new stuff, and plenty of older stuff too. This gig made me realise that I really need to get into the old stuff more. I know some of the bigger songs, but they played a lot that i dont know. The songs that I did know were awesome. The sound quality, vocal harmonies and drumming were all first class, and the crowd was right into it. All in all it was an awesome bloody show, and I will be there for sure if we are lucky enough for them to come back again. Hopefully the next show wont be on a Wednesday.