Rock Ignition Episode VI

Come and hang out with Dirty Royal on Friday night for the last Rock Ignition show at Amsterdam.  As per usual, the music is good and the entrance is free.

Check out the Facebook event for more information.  Hope to see you there!

Rock Ignition Episode V

Hey guys, its the beginning of another month and that means it's time for another Rock Ignition Show.  Join Dirty Royal live @ Amsterdam for Rock Ignition Episode V:

Entrance is free, the company is good and the music is awesome.  Check out the Facebook event for more info.

Rock Ignition Episode IV

Wondering what to do this Friday?  Come and check out the next installment of Dirty Royal's Rock Ignition parties at Amsterdam.  Entrance is free and the music is awesome!!

Check out the Facebook event here:)

Rock Ignition Episode III

If you're looking for something to do tomorrow night, come down to Amsterdam for another super awesome Dirty Royal show:

There is no cover charge and I'm not just being biased when I say that these guys are really, really good.  You won't be disappointed.  Check out the Facebook event here and the Dirty Royal page here.

Things I Love #39

Its been a pretty slow week for me so I'm afraid I don't have too many things to share on this week's Things I Love.  Unless you have a strange desire to read journal articles on the diaspora and the difference between exile and migrant writing?  No?  Are you sure?  Okay then, moving along:

Humans of Durban is a photo collection inspired by Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York blog.  It's a pretty nifty way to see all the different people that make up my home town.  Check out their Facebook page here.

Iceland is one of my dream destinations.  I love how it looks so raw and unfinished.  A real work in progress.  Killian Schoenberger has some breathtaking landscape pictures of Iceland that make me want to go tomorrow!!

Dirty Royal played another gig at Amsterdam on Friday night.  Here are some photos:

So rumour has it that there is a Fables movie in the works.  Not too sure what to think about that to be honest.  I only discovered Fables last year when my friend Clare kindly lent me some of hers and i'd be devasted to see it done poorly.  Same goes for the rumours about the HBO adaptation of American Gods!!

I love these photos of Hunter S. Thompson just sitting around.  He is one of my favourites.

PowerUp Collage makes art from upcycled comic boooks and it's fantastically cool!  One thing that has always endeared me to comics are the awesome sound effects so I'd love to own a few of these.

Please, please, please can someone send me these Stars Wars Light Up Lightsabre sunglasses?  Too cool and if Hot Topic didn't require me to sell a limb to afford their international shipping, I'd buy them this instant!!

source

Excel is the bane of my existence.  Seriously, when people at work come and ask me for help with their spreadsheet or worse, to create an Excel template, I want to hide under my desk.  That's why I find this Excel artwork by Tatsuo Horiuchi so impressive.

I love these pictures of Rain Frogs on Buzzfeed.  I feel like they capture the way I've been feeling this week perfectly!!

I am in love with these birds illustrated on vintage envelopes by Mark Powell.  Just gorgeous.

And finally, here are 8 seconds of pug awesomeness.  You're welcome:

 

Seen anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments:)

Dirty Royal @ Amsterdam

Looking for something to do tomorrow night?  Dirty Royal is live at Amsterdam Bar for their third birthday.  Come and say hi:)

Check out the event details here.

Dirty Royal @ LIVE - The Venue Tomorrow Night

Dirty Royal is playing at LIVE - The Venue tomorrow night.  If you are in Durban you should totally come and watch.  Check out the Facebook event for more details and while you're there, give their page a like.  You won't be disappointed.

Dirty Royal @ Splashy...Some Very Delayed Photos

So, I mentioned awhile back the Jason's band Dirty Royal was playing at Splashy this year.  Well, Splashy came and went and the show was super awesome.  In fact the whole night was awesome.  Anyway, I meant to post these photos from the show the week after Splashy but then you know, life, essays and stuff.  Better late than never right?  My proper camera died about 2 minutes in so I had to make do with my phone.  We were right up close to the stage and although I thought I got an awesome video of the second and last songs, it’s too distorted and full of background noises (aka me screaming enthusiastically) to be worth watching.

It’s been interesting to return to the band wife role – carrying guitar cases and holding cigarettes and assorted other things not wanted while on stage.  That said, watching Jason on stage has always been one of my very favourite things to do so I'm not complaining in the slightest:) There are some shows in the pipeline for the next few months and if you are in the Durban area, you should come and check them out.  In the meantime, go and check out their Facebook page to stay updated.

How We Survive is What Makes Us Who We Are

From the official Rise Against Instagram

That is a line from one of my favourite Rise Against songs.  One of the songs that I was lucky enough to see live last week Friday night at RAMfest.   Can I just jump the gun here and say what a totally awesome show it was?  All the bands were outstanding, the turnout was great and the vibe was awesome.  RAMfest, you HAVE to come back to Durban next year.  And please bring someone equally awesome!

Anyway, moving along.  We missed most of Lowprofile's set because we got there just a little bit late.  They were still playing when we arrived but between standing in the queue, greeting friends and getting drinks, they kind of got lost in the noise.  Speaking of friends, Collette and her new husband made Durban RAMfest the end of their honeymoon which made the whole evening even more awesome.  I don't get to go to many concerts with Colli anymore because she lives so far away so it was super cool to have them both there.

Pestroy was the next band up and even though I don't know them that well, they were incredibly good.  Apparently they have been around for 15 years now and their experience and confidence showed. The performance was tight and you could see they were feeding off the enthusiasm of the crowd.  I forgot my proper camera at home but here is a blurry iPhone photo of Pestroy in action:

Next up was Bring Me The Horizon.  Again, I was sure what to expect from these guys but they are so, so good!  I had been listening to them on SoundCloud occasionally to try and acquaint myself with there stuff before the show but it didn't prepare my for how they sound live.  They are very heavy and honestly, I think they sound better live.  Oli Sykes also has some AMAZING tattoos.  Seriously.  Alas I was too far away to get a proper look at them.  Random aside about BMTH?  They are named after the last line in Pirates of the Caribbean where Captain Jack Sparrow says "Now, bring me that horizon."

The Bring Me The Horizon set list was:

Shadow Moses
Chelsea Smile
Alligator Blood
Fuck
It Never Ends
The Sadness Will Never End
Diamonds Aren't Forever
Blessed with a Curse
Antivist

There was about an hours wait between BMTH and Rise Against and we used that time to try and get as close to the stage as possible.  One of the hazards of being short is that no matter how close you manage to get to the stage, there is still someone taller in front of you!  I was determined to at least stay in the front for one song to experience the atmosphere which was growing by the minute.  When Rise Against eventually came on, I had a perfect view of Tim McIlrath from between two shoulders.  Here is photographic proof:

The crowd went off for that first song and the mosh pit was absolutely insane.  I had to move further back after the first song because it was just too much and I wasn't wearing the right shoes to tangle with the bigger guys.  Note to self:  never, ever wear flats to a punk show ever again...what were you thinking???  Anyway, once we moved further back, I had an excellent view of the stage and could enjoy the show without fear of mangled feet.

I don't have an exact set list for Rise Against but here is what I think I remember hearing:

Chamber the Cartridge
Life Less Frightening 
Collapse (Post-Amerika)
Re-Education (Through Labor)
The Dirt Whispered
Help Is on the Way
The Good Left Undone
Long Forgotten Sons
Prayer of the Refugee
Survive
Satellite

Ready to Fall 

Acoustic:
Hero of War 
Swing Life Away

Encore:
Make It Stop (September’s Children)
Give It All
Savior

There are so may of my favourite songs in this setlist it's unbelievable!!  I couldn't have asked for better!  I spent the whole night, shouting their lyrics back at them, jumping around like a mad person and just generally loving life.  I also managed to get an awesome video of Swing Life away which I unfortunately couldn't upload here.   

For more photos, you can check out the Durban RAMfest event page on Facebook.  There are some really great pictures.  Where any of you there or at any of the other shows?  Let me know what you thought.

1 Month (-1 day) To Go!!!!

So yesterday it was officially one month to go until Ramfest.  I can start counting down in days now instead of in months or weeks.  Awesome!

I mentioned in my last post that As I Lay Dying had to pull out because they had double booked themselves.  At that time the Ramfest organisers were looking for a replacement international band.  Sadly it was announced the other day that there would be no replacement for As I Lay Dying.  I must admit that I was a little put out about that but when I look at the ticket prices and what we are still getting for our money, I can't really complain.  One of the annoyances of living in South Africa, and especially in Durban, is the lack of good and reasonably priced international acts.  To give you some idea, if we had wanted to see the Red Hot Chilli Peppers two weeks ago, we'd have to have laid out upwards of R 2000 for travel and tickets.  Sucks right?  Most big acts bypass Durban because we have a reputation for not supporting shows so I am truly grateful that Ramfest are still bringing good music to Durban despite that.  The Facebook event for the show has around a thousand RSVPs so I'm feeling rather hopeful too.

Now, on to more exciting things, there is finally a line-up for the Durban show:

22h00 - RISE AGAINST (USA)

20h30 - BRING ME THE HORIZON (UK)

19h00 - PESTROY (JHB)

18h00- LOWPROFILE (DBN)

I was hoping for different SA Bands (aka Fokofpolisiekar or Beast maybe) but in the end I don't really mind who is playing as long as the end result is Rise Against.  Here's a taster or the local bands:

Lowprofile

Lowprofile is a melodic punk rock band from Durban formed in 2003.  No gimmicks, no eyeliner, just heartfelt and honest, full-blast melodic punk rock (from the band's website).

Pestroy

Pestroy have been spreading the word and fighting the good fight for Fifteen years now, and remain one of the main pillars in the South African alternative music scene and “Kings of the Underground” (from the band's myspace)

You can check out the official Ramfest website here and buy tickets for the Durban show here.