Command Line Ninja

So last weekend was the ATP Weekend One festival curated by The Dirty Three. If you know me, you know I’m fanatical about the Dirty Three. They are by far the best live band I’ve ever seen (even tops the amazing Tom Waits live I think), and you can’t really describe what it is like, the energy just has to be seen (and heard). So the idea of a three day festival at a seaside resort where The Dirty Three pick all the bands is completely mind blowing to me. I found out about the festival after all the two and three room berths were booked up (you buy a hotel room and that gets you into all the music) and was distraught I might not get to go. My cousin Kat managed to find a ticket through her friend Shannon and secured me a room with one of her flatmates. I got the news over Christmas and have been waiting ever since. The festival delivered on the anticipation and expectations, it was amazing!

First up on Friday (after a 5 hour journey) were aging punk legends ‘The Only Ones’ who played their first gig in 25 years and the Dirty Three followed with a great gig. The music went on into the wee hours and sadly had to sleep though Josh Pearson’s set, who clearly had the best beard at a very hairy festival.

Our daily routines was to wake up, have some morning time to lounge at the beach or chill out. Then cook a big lunch (there was no time for dinner) and then from 2pm to 2am there was solid good music to see spread over three different stages. Over the three days I saw 17 gigs. I’ve never packed in so much music as last weekend.

I was especially looking forward to the first ever live show by Grinderman (Nick Cave, Warren Ellis (Dirty Three) and two other Bad Seeds in a rough, hard, gritty, bluesy/punky? band). Nick Cave learnt guitar for this band and he looked a bit awkward performing with it (even got Warren to tune it at one point). However he rocked out, and both of their shows were excellent. I’m usually a pretty reserved concert goer (read beard stroker) but I was a bit frustrated to be near the front and not surrounded by bouncing fans, because I was prepared to shrug off my inhibited wallflower ways and do some serious jumping up and down. Perhaps it is just a phase I’m going though, I just need to rock, but Grinderman is doing it for me right now. Live show 2pm at HMV on Oxford Street this Wednesday, I’ll be there, just have to figure out something with work!

The company was great ( an Australian, a Scot, an Irish lad, and a Canadian) and they were fantastic cooks; it was a vegetarian feast every lunch. The festival was at Butlins (cheesy family holiday resort, something the British do that we don’t really back home) and the grounds were pretty good for a festival. You had your own beds and a kitchenette and on the TV ATP and the Dirty Three each had their own TV channels programmed with loads of good stuff (movies/shorts/music etc… I have so many movies to watch now). We all got along really well and had a great time. In fact everyone at the festival (except those bastards who talked during gigs) was pretty awesome. I was surrounded by music nerds, and it was a place where thousands (six thousand people were there) of people had similar tastes in music to me. At a taping of a BBC grammar game show my old flatmate Ceri once said of the audience “these are my people”, and I would have to say the Dirty Three ATP crowd were my people.

Musical highlights included, Nick Cave (solo), Grinderman, The Dirty Three, Einstürzende Neubauten, Thee Silver Mount Zion, Low, Magnolia Electric Company, Psarantonis (amazing, you could see where Warren Ellis got some of his moves) Mantana Roberts, Cat Power and many others.

I made it back safe and sound (mostly) from our Nepal adventure. The trek was awesome. Completely different from what I was expecting but it was fantastic. Posts and pictures to follow. I’m off to the Dirty Three curated 3 day ATP festival at a cheesy British theme park (Butlins) tomorrow. Very stoked to catch three days of The Dirty Three and their friends, especially Grinderman!

I’m about to ask for money… So don’t feel compelled to contribute, you can even reply and mock me if you wish

In 1999 my cousin Kat spent three months teaching English in a small Nepalese village called Langdi. Recently she found out that the school building had partially collapsed 18 months ago and was no longer usable. She wanted to help raise funds for rebuilding the school and deliver the money directly to the village when we visit in April. Several Nepalese ex-pats are fundraising and the plan is to rebuild the school. Any money raised over and above the construction costs will go to books for the school. The upside of this is that all the money will go directly to the school with no overhead, but the downside is that there is no tax benefit and you have to trust me

If you want to contribute email me and let me know how much you would like to give. In Canada you can email me the money and I can put it in my Canadian account (I’ll be converting it to rupees anyway), or give cash/cheques to my parents.

Less than a week and we will be off, I will try to post an item or two from Nepal, if it is possible. Have a great easter!

This is the village:

And here are some of the kids:

Another St paddy’s day done. I managed to go out on the lash with Steph and three Irish friends. Started out watching Ireland getting robbed in the dying seconds of the Six Nations rugby tournament. Spent the afternoon in O’Neils (foul chain pub – but Irish and was good craic for St Patrick’s day), Thai for dinner at Jasmine next door (very good Thai on Goldhawk Road) and then finished the night at the Goldhawk (lovely pub at the bottom of our street).   It was an excellent day, and spent entirely within five minutes walking distance.
Britishism: on the lash – going out drinking
Irishism: craic ~ good times