I haven't gone to a concert in such a long time and have been longing, no, yearning for it off late. Each concert, for me, is a ritual - it cleanses me off all my earthly attachments for a few hours and gives me a fresh start at life's burdens for when I return. The energy of the pit can be rejuvenating, it is an out of body and mind experience for me. For a while now, the concert landscape has been a veritable desert. But, an oasis of shows have lined up for the year and have put a spring in my step.
January 16th: Cradle of Filth, Satyricon @ The Palladium, Worcester, MA
I haven't been excited about a Cradle of Filth album in a while (the last two were a little too Gothic/electronic for me) but the latest one "Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder" had me jumping on my feet all excited. It's an aural orgy of razor sharp melodies over a bed of blistering drums bound together with crunching rhythms. Harmonious guitar solos are an exciting addition to the Filth song structure. And what are Filth songs without the atmosphere and keyboards? Not to be worried, the atmosphere of haunting keys sets the tone for every song in this album. This album is not as hard edged as earlier opuses such as Dusk and Her Embrace, Midian, Cruelty and the Beast but is more than compensated for with melody.
I am a huge fan of Nordic black metal of which Satyricon are pioneers. I confess I haven't had time to listen to their latest album, The Age of Nero but their earlier albums have really struck a chord with my inner insanity. I intend to spin The Age of Nero a few times in my mp3 player before January 16th.
January 30th: AC/DC @ The FedEx Forum, Memphis
Second row floor tickets! For those about to rock, we salute you! I am so excited about this gig that words fail me.
February 22nd: B.B. King and Buddy Guy @ The House of Blues, Boston, MA
The giants of the blues together! What else can I say but "The thrill is.." ON.
March 6th: Destruction, Krisiun @ The Palladium, Worcester, MA
Thrash metal titans Destruction and fast, furious, blistering death metal maniacs Krisiun (is there something in the water down in Brazil?) are going to amp up the intensity till the insanity blows away the building rafter by rafter. I am re-considering being anywhere near the pit at this concert.
April 10th: Kreator, Exodus, Belphegor @ The Palladium, Worcester, MA
THRASH till death! That is the theme for this orgy of bone crunching riffs and supersonic solos destined to snap your neck. Whiplash is on the menu and is being force fed to everyone. You won't see me complaining!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Home.......
"When you go home it always looks the same, smells the same and feels the same. You realize that what's changed is you." -- I came across this poignant thought in the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". There are many wonderful situations, circumstances and people that I am sure you'll connect with on an emotional level in this movie.
About home, I always feel exactly like this when I go back home - everything is exactly where it was when I left. Sure, a few things have been moved around, some things have been added and some are missing but there all mostly there and where they've always been. Yet, I feel different - an eerie feeling of being a stranger in your own home. When I used to live there, my immediate habitat had an air of my individuality. Ever since I flew the coup, even though most of the things I left behind are still there I find the essence of my past habitation and the warmth of the comfort I had in my immediate surroundings missing. Every corner of the house, every thing in the house down to the towels and sheets evoke memories of my past. But even though I sleep in the same bed that I slept in for 22 years and use sheets and pillows that I recognize from 6 years ago, I essentially live out of a suitcase (symbolic of a guy just passing through) and don't spend enough time in the house (and in the country) to make it all my own again. And this, in my opinion, makes me feel strangely unfamiliar in my own home and why my past visits have not left me with memories that evoke the same emotional response as pillows and sheets from 6 years ago - I just don't have the time to make it all my own again, to stamp my individuality on the ways of the house.
And yes, I will always call it home. It is, as they say, where the heart is.
About home, I always feel exactly like this when I go back home - everything is exactly where it was when I left. Sure, a few things have been moved around, some things have been added and some are missing but there all mostly there and where they've always been. Yet, I feel different - an eerie feeling of being a stranger in your own home. When I used to live there, my immediate habitat had an air of my individuality. Ever since I flew the coup, even though most of the things I left behind are still there I find the essence of my past habitation and the warmth of the comfort I had in my immediate surroundings missing. Every corner of the house, every thing in the house down to the towels and sheets evoke memories of my past. But even though I sleep in the same bed that I slept in for 22 years and use sheets and pillows that I recognize from 6 years ago, I essentially live out of a suitcase (symbolic of a guy just passing through) and don't spend enough time in the house (and in the country) to make it all my own again. And this, in my opinion, makes me feel strangely unfamiliar in my own home and why my past visits have not left me with memories that evoke the same emotional response as pillows and sheets from 6 years ago - I just don't have the time to make it all my own again, to stamp my individuality on the ways of the house.
And yes, I will always call it home. It is, as they say, where the heart is.
Friday, January 02, 2009
2009....
is here. I've a feeling that 2009 is going to be a big year for me. Top on the list of priorities that I just have to accomplish if I am to avoid spending time on a certain couch and paying exorbitantly, I might add, for it is for me to get peace - peace of mind and being, within and without, make peace with myself, my life (past and present) and with all the people in it.
The only other thing that is on this list concerns something I am guilty of and I must admit, quite ashamed of - not keeping in touch with people that matter to me. I pledge to them and to myself that I will do a better job this year.
May your God go with you and 2009 bring you what you desire.
The only other thing that is on this list concerns something I am guilty of and I must admit, quite ashamed of - not keeping in touch with people that matter to me. I pledge to them and to myself that I will do a better job this year.
May your God go with you and 2009 bring you what you desire.
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