Periphery/Maylene/Dillinger Concert
Went to the Hi-Fi last night to see Dillinger Escape Plan play, with Periphery and Maylene & the Sons of Disaster supporting.
Periphery kicked off, I've been listening to their album a lot the past week or two, as a result I was pretty much going to the concert for them more than Dillinger (as I've seen Dillinger play before). I was not disappointed, from the moment the curtains drew and Jake Bowen flips his guitar over and implores us for weed with a sign made out of duct tape: "Need Weed". The played an amazing set - I was worried that the magic that is their music might be nothing more than some amazing mixing on the album (which you need to go buy right now, btw). This fear was quashed as soon as they exploded into their first song (I honestly can't remember which they played first). When they started playing Light as their second song I was lost in a frenzy of neck spasms. True story. The only thing that made me sad about their set was the distinct lack of a crowd - being the opening band of course a lot of people are going to be stupid and come late to see Dillinger, but there was a lot of people just standing around and not giving an amazing band the support they deserve. Hopefully next time they come to Australia they're greeting with a far more energetic crowd.
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster are a band I listened to a little a couple of weeks ago (to get a feel for them). I have to admit, I didn't really like their albums much, but they played a pretty engaging set. The mosh was pretty full-on all the way throughout too - though I didn't join them, saving myself for Dillinger and stuffs 
Maylene trudged off the stage and the wait for Dillinger began. Their soundcheck took a while, as did Maylene's, so they ended up starting about 20 minutes late. By the time the curtains opened to Dillinger, with Jeff Tuttle predictably perched on an amp stack, the crowd was pretty pumped. They opened with Panasonic Youth, and within 3 minutes I was drenched in sweat and totally ballistic. I'm not even going to bother trying to paint the picture of a Dillinger set in words, it's something you need to experience to believe. Needless to say, it's probably one of the most energetic, chaotic, unpredictable shows you'll ever see.
Greg was in top form, spending more time singing while leaning into the crowd than on stage. Having been in the mosh, I was thankfully not in the particular area that Greg decided to dive into several times. He is one big dude, I'm not sure how I'd do having 90kg of muscle and lungs landing on me. At the end he crowd surfed over me, and that was intense enough.
Ben Weinman's frenetic guitaring was truly a sight to behold. That guy is just a machine. I was near him most of the set and it was just insane watching him go up and down the fretboard like some kind of possessed lunatic. I actually had no idea, but Ben plays the piano now... They played Mouth of Ghosts and he switched to piano for that song, I have no idea if he composed the original piano stuff on that song, but he played it nonetheless. Unfortunately as soon as they begun the song they discovered there was something majorly wrong with the piano ... It sounded bizarre the whole song ... Was a little disappointing.
Billy Rymer is just unbelievable. Playing stuff from the earlier albums (Sugar Coated Sour, 43% Burnt, The Mullet Burden, When Good Dogs Do Bad Things) to the more recent stuff on Miss Machine and Ire Works, along with his own frenzied percussion on Option Paralysis. He covered the work of two drumming predecessors with ease, making it look like he could do it in his sleep.
The crowd was a lot of fun, with plenty of burly drunk 30-somethings throwing their weight around and crushing me into a pulp. On more than one occasion, some retard behind me grabbed a scruff of hair at the back of my head and rammed my head forwards, ripped it backwards, rammed it forwards, in some kind of weird attempt to make me headbang. Besides the fact that this kinda hurt and I can't really move my neck properly right now, I was quite offended! I was headbanging uncontrollably most of the night! Dumbass drunks.
The set ended with Ben Weinman slamming his guitar into the drum-kit repetitively, and Greg grabbed a piece of said drumkit and started throwing it around the stage. Band exits. Just another Dillinger set.
But wait! Just before the curtains close, Greg comes back out, grabs a mic and thanks us for being such an awesome crowd. Damn straight.
Study…
Well, after some deliberation I have decided to get back on the horse, so to speak, with my tertiary study. Through the miracle of the interwebs and an organization called Open Universities Australia (OUA), I've been studying a degree for the past 8 years on and off.
The undergraduate course I'm studying - one Bachelor of Technology (majoring in Computing Studies), is only supposed to take 3 years fulltime. Unfortunately my study-ethic was pretty terrible when I was younger, so I'm currently only about half way through. To be fair, I did start studying when I was 13 and I guess I just never took my studies too seriously; lack of maturity and focus etc etc. You understand, right? Right?...
Well, anyway. I've picked up two units to study this Study Period (the OUA equivalent of a semester - except they cram 4 in one year for max profitz), which is going to be interesting because apparently this workload is equivalent to a standard fulltime uni workload. As it happens, I'm also working full-time right now, so the next few months will definitely not leave me for want of stimulation or entertainment.
The two units I'm studying are CPT223 - Scripting Language Programming and CPT373 - Web Development Technologies. My fulltime job pretty much completely consists of writing rich AJAX web application stuff in PHP/JS, so I'm hoping these units won't pose too much of a threat. That being said though, I haven't worked with Python or Perl at all, ever. I have worked with other scripting languages however, such as Small and LUA. I've also had relatively little exposure to .NET, although again I worked on decent sized project that consisted of a C# web service backend and VB/C# .NET frontend applications.
Supposedly, a unit should be given at least 10 hours of study a week. So if I'm doing 2 units, 20 hours - I'm theoretically going to need to study about 3 hours a day to keep up with the pace. Given that I'm working 8 hours a day, I'm somewhat banking on the hope that because I'm already pretty familiar with the technologies and principles being covered in these units, my workload should be around half to 2/3 of what it should normally be. I think I can swing 1.5 - 2 hours a day on study, no sweat.
Even if this doesn't end up being the case, my employment arrangement is in reality a 80% salary deal, although I'm currently working a full 5 days there as there's a fair bit going on. If my study load became too heavy, there is the possibility that I could scale back a bit to 4 days a week, or even 4.5 days a week (work 5 days every second week).
Study begins in earnest on 1st June! Wish me luck!
iPad dealbreaker…
So. I was entertaining the notion of buying an iPad at some point shortly after they come out in Australia. Buying one would ensure two things happen. First, I would be able to parade it around and demonstrate what an awesome early-adopter I am. Second, I would then know for sure whether or not the iPad was worth purchasing, or if it isn't. Seriously, that's how good Apple is at marketing, they build product images that completely blur the line between the rational - "I want to buy this because it serves a functional purpose that will enhance my day to day life in some way", and the emotional - "LOOK AT THE CURVES ON THAT SUCKER! I HAVE TO OWN ONE SO OTHER PEOPLE WILL SEE HOW TRENDY AND CUTTING EDGE I AM". Kudos to the scheming geniuses locked away in the Apple HQ of Cupertino, California.
However! After reading about the iPad 3G launch, a rather crucial detail caught my attention that I hadn't thought about at all before. Only the 3G version will have proper GPS functionality available. What? No. I don't like this at all.
I was never planning on purchasing a 3G model. I would really rather not be paying for two data plans when I'm not even close to using the data bundled into my phone contract. My plan was actually to wait until I can jailbreak my iPad and my iPhone, then run one of those awesome MiFi apps you can get on the iPhone to tether my phone to the iPad. This would essentially be 3G connectivity anyway, since I always have my phone with me. Power drain doesn't really concern me, I wouldn't be using my iPad a huge amount out and about. Further, if I'm carrying the iPad around, chances are I'll have a little case for it. If I have a case, I could be carrying around a little extra battery for the iPhone to juice it up if I'm out more than I usually am on any given day.
Sure, I already own an iPhone 3GS that has GPS functionality. This isn't good enough though. If I'm going to fork out the money for a device that doesn't really solve any needs, rather it just creates new ones and fulfills them, then I expect this evolutionary device to be future-proofed. What if I want to wire it into my car? What if I want to check-in to my local cafe using Foursquare while I catch up on the latest news I'm reading on the iPad already? What if I'm just using the device and suddenly have a need to find out where the hell I am on Google Maps?
"But Sam!", I hear you saying, "You can just whip out your trusty iPhone!". Sure, this is true. Coming back to a point I made earlier though, the iPad is a sensation more than it is a necessity. I don't need an iPad. I can read news articles fine on my iPhone. I haven't tried Kindle on the iPhone, but I'm pretty sure I could read a book fine on the iPhone too. My iPhone is a phone, which I could not live without. If I'm going to fork out the money for an iPad, I expect it to be as convenient as humanly possible. Otherwise, I'm just paying 700$ for a high-tech paperweight.
At this point I'm not considering an iPad at all, until I see where the unofficial app developer community goes with it. Ideally, there will need to be an app on the iPad that tricks the iPad OS into thinking it has a GPS sensor (much like there's an app that tricks the iPhone OS into thinking it is connected to WiFi when it's connected to 3G), when the GPS sensor is asked to geolocate, it would connect to my WiFI-tethered iPhone and use the phones GPS sensor to get this information. This, hand-in-hand with the MiFi app I mentioned earlier, would be a complete solution to my woes. I'd then be able to buy a WiFi iPad and have all the same functionality that is offered with the iPad 3G variant, at less cost.
Anything less than this and I'm not going to purchase an iPad. That is all.
Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis
Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
After listening to Dillinger Escape Plan's latest album, Option Paralysis, on repeat for the past week, I felt it necessary to write my own little review of it. Here goes.
Yeah. They still got it.
Seriously. This album kills. There seems to be some comments made by some *real* reviewers that feel Dillinger hasn't really expanded much musically. That has to be the dumbest thing I've heard. From the brutal crescendo in the second half of "Good Neighbour", to the explosive intro from "Crystal Mornings", to the piano/synth driven "Widower", to the pop-friendly "Parasitic Twins", and then back to crazy headbang-able goodness on "Chinese Whispers" - this is not a rehash of previous Dillinger material.
Really though, when has Dillinger ever sounded like previous-Dillinger? They exploded on the scene with Calculating Infinity, which was pure jazz/metal-genre-crossover-wankery, then proceeded to release Miss Machine 5 years later, which contained blatant pop songs like "Unretrofied" with works of musical voodoo like "Panasonic Youth". 3 years later, Ire Works is released; again with radio friendly ditties like "Black Bubblegum" and "Milk Lizard" sharing the same track list as scorching metal magic like "Party Smasher". Clearly, this is a band that doesn't give a shit what their fans or critics have to say about their style or direction.
Anyway, I digress. Option Paralysis is another genre-defying masterpiece delivered by a band who makes their ridiculous blend of jazz, metal, punk and pop look so easy a child with no limbs, eyes or ears could do it. Sadly, exploding onto the scene and setting the stage with Farewell, Mona Lisa is going to scare most people away. That's fine, they can listen to their Lady GaGa and continue to tell all their friends how their musical tastes span "kinda just like anything really".
Ben Weinman continues to outdo himself when it comes to guitar work on Dillinger albums, this album is definitely no exception. The new drummer Billy Rymer is some kind of acoustic DEMON who looked like 17 when I saw him playing with Dillinger live the February of last year. Honestly, I can't help but wonder if Billy is Chris Pennie's evil clone that just didn't grow as old or bald.
Of special note on this album is Greg Puciato, who I now refer to as Greg Patton. Yes, I just likened Greg Puciato to the one and only Mike Patton. You only need to listen all the way through Option Paralysis once to understand why. His range of screams is impressive yes, but it's when he breaks into soft crooning and falsetto vocals (sometimes in the same breath like in Room Full of Eyes, that moment is my all-time fav on this album) that you truly understand how impressive his vocal skills have become.
Great album. Buy it, kgo.
Seeing these guys live at the end of May. I am preparing my mind, body and soul to get TOTALLY DESTROYED in the mosh supporting one of my all-time favourite bands. Cannot wait!
DILLINGER ESCAPE AWESOME
So, one of my all-time favourite bands, the almighty Dillinger Escape Plan, is releasing a new album titled "Option Paralysis". It's set to be released near the end of this month.
I've known about it for a couple of months, saw a couple of cool little vids on their Youtube channel. The soundbites of their tracking sessions sounded BRUTAL, I was already pumped after the little teasers they posted. Now they have a full track from the new album released - "Farewell, Mono Lisa". It sounds FANTASTIC, kind of like a blend between their Miss Machine and Ire Works stuff. After hearing some of Greg Puciato's clean vocals in his work with Spylacopa, I was really looking forward to hearing more of it with DEP. Looks like my wish was granted.
Cannot wait for this album to come out!
Time. Where art thou?
Rant time.
I wake up at 6:00am. Perhaps by some people's standards this isn't terribly early, but for a geek it's a pretty respectable hour to emerge from your bedroom coherent (well ... if you call bleary eyed staggering to the shower such a thing). I shower, walk around aimlessly trying to shake the cobwebs out of my caffeine-deprived brain, sometimes have some food, then it's out the door. I recently moved to the city so now I walk into work, as it's 2.5km away. Takes me about 30 minutes at a brisk walking pace. I need to be into work around 7am so I depart my humble abode @ 6:30ish.
I currently work a couple of different jobs and balance some contract work on the side. I do a couple of hours for one of the groups I work for in the morning, usually 7-9. Then it's off to my main job 'till 5:30pm. Luckily the two different companies I work for happen to be on the same street. Awesome right?
5:30pm rolls up, I walk home. Get home by 6:00pm. Now that contract work I mentioned before is fairly hefty, by rights I should be spending about 3 hours a day working on this stuff at home also. If I did that, I'd be working until 9:00pm. Now, to not wake up wanting to slit wrists, I should be going to bed by around 10:00pm right? Okay so, that leaves an hour free a day. Awesome. I didn't even factor dinner in there, which usually takes 30 mins if you cook it yourself (although I'm lucky as I have awesome housemates who cook dinner alot of nights).
And of course I've deliberately left out social outings here too. Anytime I decide to go out (even Fridays), I end up feeling the effects of the missed valuable sleep time.
In the words of oiled-up CGI-enhanced Gerard Butler ... THIS IS MADNESS. I can't keep this up!
The last couple of weeks I have actually had to put my main job on hold (it's on a contracting basis, even though it's fulltime, so I have that luxury thankfully) to prioritize the contract work as it has a fairly important massive deadline rolling up end of this month. I picked this work up last year and this deadline represents most of the remainder of the project, so getting it out of the way should be a huge load off my shoulders.
Despite all this though, I will admit I have a habit of not doing the contract work in the evenings when I should be, and I've cut my main job to half days more than a couple of times lately... I've just been so bloody TIRED. I'm still quite proud of where I am right now though. It wasn't that long ago that I shirked work obligations a lot.
Soundwave 2010
Well. It's Sunday evening and I've just about recovered from Soundwave 2010 yesterday.
I went with my younger brother and one of his mates. It's fast becoming a ritual that my little brother and I hit the festivals up together, as we share a similar music taste and it's a great .. you know ... "brother bonding session". I look forward to 2013, when he'll be of legal drinking age so we can knock back a couple of brews while we experience some great artists doing their thing, but I digress.
We got to the venue (RNA Showgrounds in the Valley) just about on-time, breezing through the queue to get in. Our luck abruptly ended there though, as I forgot to take some money out of an ATM on the way and we were slapped in the face with a 20 minute ATM queue just inside the Showgrounds.
With that done, we set off to Stage 5&6 for our first stint - watching the end of Adelle and then Rolo Tomassi. I didn't try hard enough to look Adelle up before going, if I had I would have done my best to get there on time, as the tail end of the set gave me a really good impression. Pretty sure they were totally off their faces, but I guess you need to be when you're a relatively unknown band opening for a major festival like Soundwave. The highlight of Adelle was definetely the guitarist making out with his guitar while he was playing. Good times.
Rolo Tomassi blew my mind, I had listened to them a bit before and my impression (which I used to sell to my bro) was that they are basically a synth driven Dillinger Escape Plan. They did not fall short of my expectations - amazing energy on stage and some pretty insane talent coming out of a group that looks to be in their early-early twenties. A couple of trashy little clips from my iPhone as follows, though these don't do a very impressive act any justice at all.
After this we moved on to Baroness in Stage 4. I'd never listened to Baroness before and didn't know what to expect. I was given a great introduction to a band I plan on adding to my library very soon. The mosh in Baroness went off, I got pushed into the circle pit by some kid and spent about 15 seconds in there before deciding I didn't want to wreck myself before I got to see Meshuggah. After this my little bro and his mate ran off into the mosh up the front and I followed like a sheep. The mosh up the front was crazy but lots and lots of fun.
After Baroness we left stage 4 in search of some foods. 18$ for 2 shitty little chicken wraps later, my brother and I were satiated, with me feeling a little ripped off and wanting to kill something. Oh well. Sustenance is sustenance right?
From here I had the terrible decision to make as to whether I'd watch ISIS play or see the Eagles of Death Metal. I've been pretty huge on EODM lately and have never found ISIS quite as engaging as other post-metal acts, so I opted for the sweet serenading of Jesse Hughes. The mix was pretty bad to begin with, which was pretty surprising seeing as they were playing the main stage... After the first song I could actually hear Jesse Hughes singing, which was good. They played a great set.
From EODM I went and caught the last couple of songs of Clutch back at Stage 4. I got to hear Electric Worry so I was happy with that. After hearing it though I kinda wished I caught their whole set, they're definitely a band I haven't given enough listen-time.
Once Clutch was over my little brothers friend conned us into catching Anvil, who were on Stage 4 right after Clutch. I was there for most of their set (ducked out for some water).... I think they're great musicians but I wasn't huge on their sound as a band. The drummer was off the chain, the bassist had great stage presence, and the guitarist was just a great frontman... Just all together they didn't impress me that much as they did individually as musicians.
Anyway. After Anvil came the band I pretty much bought my ticket for .... MESHUGGAH. We were up the front for Anvil so of course we stayed while they set up the stage for the shugz. I don't know what was going on, but they took about 10 minutes longer than they should have doing their sound-check... Either that or Anvil ended late. I dunno, but Meshuggah came out about 10 minutes after they were scheduled to start. No matter, it was well and truly worth the slightly extended wait. They played a crazy set. We were right up the front in the mosh and loving every second of it. The mosh was at its peak when they started playing Future Breed Machine. By that point security was pulling crowd surfers off us like some kind of human conveyor-belt. Good times.
The best part was that being right up the front (just behind the poor sucker pressed up against the fencing) and right in the middle, we could see Jens headbanging with his signature "I'LL EAT YOUR GUTS FOR BREAKFAST"-face, as pictured below:
After Meshuggah I was pretty wrecked, so we just chilled and listened to Anthrax and Trivium do their thing on Stage 4.
From there we went back to the main stage and sat in the grandstands while Jimmy Eat World played their ... music. Look I dunno, I didn't mind their ending song - their single "The Middle". The rest of it all sounded pretty much the same. I also got the distinct feeling the frontman didn't really have a clue what he was doing. Then again, they were playing between Jane's Addiction and Faith No More, which is a pretty daunting bill. They were probably also feeling the wrath from the crowd that their band name didn't begin with "My" and end with "Chemical Romance". Oh well.
Faith No More played a fantastic closing set. Mike Patton is as awesome as I hoped he would be live. By the end of the night he had "Brisvegas" feeling "Bristastic", "Brissexy", "Brisfabulous" and "Brisalicious". Though I'm not sure why he was telling us all to go hit up http://www.chatroulette.com, but he was very specific about it - repeating the web address 3 or 4 times. The definite highlight of the FnM set was Mike grabbing the cameras at the front of the stage a couple of different times; the first time to since right into the lens during Epic (I'm sure you can guess which part he was singing while he did this), the second time he felt the need to show us all his junk after waving the camera around like a man possessed. Mike's vocals were absolutely top form, as was to be expected I suppose!
All in all, a crazy day with lots of great performances. I'd say overall, Meshuggah was the most fun due to the crazy mosh and the fact that I was 5 meters away from MESHUGGAH. Rolo Tomassi played the best set as far as entertainment coming FROM the stage goes, they're definitely a band to keep an eye on.
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