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More photographs from Glasgowbury 2007!
Duke Special (waiting to go on stage)
Duke Special
Triggerman
Desert Hearts
Swanee River
The Beat Poets
And So I Watch You From Afar
Skruff
The Black Tokens
Shauna and Grace
more port-a-loos next year?
All the photographs can be seen on my Flickr account.
Girls give me spots. Fact! Over the weekend a grew two new spots on my chin. I think it happened a few weeks ago too… to a slightly lesser degree. I didn’t have a spot on my left arm either which, if its actually a a spot rather than a pink mark that fades them pressed, is spot number 5. So nothing major, but spots all the same. Worse than the spots, is my lack of judging the right moment for, just about anything. But lets not go into that.
Almost worse than all that is the simple rule; never cry infront of a girl - holy shit why did I think Garden State would be a good idea. Thankfully my rubbing my eyes was taken as me being tired. It was 3am so that was believable. Maybe Good Will Hunting isn’t such a good choice for a future similar situation, I think it’ll be 8mm, Fight Club, Natural Born Killers, or Crash from now on.
I think the reason I wasn’t so tired when I got up on Saturday morning was that I was genuinely excited about going to Glasgowbury. The Bus left at 10:30am - I managed 30mins sleep on the hour or so journey. Arriving at about 12noon I pretended to help some friends set up their tents by placing some pegs in the ground. Once the tents were up we chilled out inside with a beer; missing the few couple of bands.
Small But Massive stage
Once we got to the stages I took a second to look around. I was impressed. It was going to be a good day. I got stuck in.
Coda
General Fiasco
The Jane Bradfords
Superfreakz
The Black Tokens
Paul Casey
Cat Malojian
Oppenheimer
Swannee River
In Case of Fire
The Beat Poets
And So I Watch You From Afar
Mojo Fury
Delorentos
The Delawares
Henry McCullough
Fighting With Wire
It was a truly awesome day, filled with great music, great bands and great people. Earlier in the day I had been toying with the idea of camping out for the night; lots of tents, though I didn’t have a sleeping bag. As I got very tired, developed quite a headache and the temperature dropped to ‘baltic’ degrees I was grateful for the bus back to Belfast.
This is a great Festival and is only going to get bigger and better! Glasgowbury ‘08 is sounding great already. I have a feeling I may have to camp for that one, but I will be prepared!
This year, bigger than ever, the Glasgowbury Festival is being held at Eagles Rock in Draperstown, Co. Derry. Now with 3 stages and 40 bands and an ever bigger attendance than last years 1000 (unconfirmed). Having been told by a few people that last Glasgowbury was one of the best festivals ever I have been looking forward to it for a whole year.
With two of the biggest bands from NI right now Duke Special and Oppenheimer headling, there is a multitude of great up-coming talent in the form of In Case of Fire, MojoFury, Robyn G Shiels, The Delawares, And So I Watch You From Afar, Cat Malojian, The Beat Poets and shit loads more!
For those who don’t know, the Glasgowbury Festival was started seven years ago by Paddy Glasgow as a showcase for local acts. Since then it has just kept growing, with much more growth in it still.
So, yes, this is tomorrow and should be a good one!
What craziness. An awesomely fun-filled birthday weekend that was.
Saturday night was spent in Lavery’s Bunker enjoying the music as part of the Curfew Festival which ran from Friday until Sunday.
It was after this that the fun really started. Having slept on a friend’s sofa, I awoke and left the house at 6:30am. On my walk home I met a girl who was locked out of her house, she asked to borrow my phone to insert her sim card so that she could call the people in the house to get inside. There was a party going on. I was invited in and led towards the whiskey.
After 2 hrs two police officers came into the room (for the second time that night as I discovered). as we were calmly watching Smallville (which I don’t like). One of these police officers was very mean and was dying to make an arrest. This was not helped by the fact that one of the kids who owned the house was being a complete wanker by constantly swearing at said police officer. Eventually they left, though as I just couldn’t understand this kids mentality and reasons for “not giving a fuck” about getting arrested as he almost was. I insisted on asking him. After a few minutes of arguing he kicked me out of his house citing not wanting to be told how to live his life in his own house. I left the house before he physically pushed me down the stairs. If I never see him again I will be very glad.
Later I called to my Grandparents house where I received 6 bottles of beer and an awesome cake.
For the first time in quite a long time the weather was brilliantly sunny, so I sat on the grass and drank beer and watched the woodlice under the plant pots on the wall.
After dinner I headed to Lavery’s Bunker for the final night of Curfew. The lineup tonight was Heliopause, Pixie Saytar and the Sunshine Three, Trues and Red Pony - a more chilled out night than the previous two. I did drink more than I normally would at a gig, only due to the fact it was my birthday. Having said that - I still got a few decent shots.
Pixie Saytar and DeadMeat of Saint Dudes, backstage.
Pixie on stage
Heliopause
After the I went with Chris and Kristine back to mine where things got crazy. Judge for yourself:
It was lots of fun.
I love everyone :)
In this country, the 12th July brings with it a lot of tension. In the last few years the Orange Order Parades have passed relatively peacefully, but if you are out when the parades are going by, it feels like the slightest thing could set any one of them off.
The government, and the Orange Order, is trying to make out that the parades are now a tourist attraction, rebranding it ‘Orangefest’. It is far from any “family-friendly pageant” and little in the way of a “kaleidoscope of culture and colour”. For me, it is an aggressive parade of angry music, following along a trail throughout the city in an attempt to cause friction between communities. The streets are lined with those of the same culture, out to watch, cheer and drink a lot of alcohol.
For it seems this is the only country and time of the year when drinking in the streets by those of all ages is permitted. Yes there is police presence, even with a group of 16-18 year olds walk by with boxes of beer in a shopping trolley. It is the addition of all the alcohol being consumed that makes the streets at this time very intimidating if you wish to go somewhere rather than stand still as the paraders go by.
I stayed at my grand-parents house, like last year, so that I could get some photographs as the parade passed Balmoral Avenue. At the time I went out, it was raining on and off, so I borrowed an umbrella. This was consequently stolen from my bag within 10mins. On a few occasions I had comments in my direction as to why I was going the opposite direction to the parade, and in effect away from the meeting (read: drinking) point at Barnett Demesne. Then there is the fact that every man woman and child who has lined the streets is wearing some variant of red, white and blue, generally a football top, or carrying a union jack or ulster flag, often draped across their backs.
The adults may say that there is peace, but the youths don’t listen. They enjoy a good fight, especially under the influence of alcohol. So when the streets are lined with hundreds of them you don’t put one foot out of line. It really doesn’t make for much family orientated fun, especially families of other cultures, or tourists for that matter.
What signal does it really send to the rest of the world, that people of one culture are allowed to casually drink in the streets, on this one day of the year?
I didn’t stay out for long due to the above reasons. I went back to the house for some coffee.
Later that afternoon - The Bill Cosby BBQ
The Bill Cosby BBQ is an annual tradition, now in its third year, acting as a distraction from the most historically & notoriously unpleasant of days in the Northern Irish calendar - instead focussing on the wonder that is Bill Cosby, through the inventive means of mass-quoting, sweater & jello appreciation and - naturally - mass consumption of burgers and beer.
Complete with a life-size effigy to the man himself, the party continued onto the beach
It was a truly memorable night.
I awoke to find myself on a sofa.
Some cleaning was in order
Followed by some coffee from a kettle which refused to boil.
Myself, Dave and Phil, proceeded to catch the train back to Belfast, after that is, we discovered Narnia and took the longest shortcut through Crawfordsburn Country Park.
We found some ponies (i think), then a herd(?) of horses came running towards us from a field in the distance
Eventually we did make it home. I’m pleased I managed to keep my camera in tact through such drunkenness on the beach. Until next year…
So it’s my Birthday tomorrow. I will be a grand old age of 22. I’m getting old. I’m going to get some wine and drink it all.
And so it’s that time of year again. It is indeed nearing the Twelfth of July; Marching Season is fully upon us. I am in no way politically minded. In fact, I fucking hate politics. But this is Northern Ireland/Ireland and it’s not going to go away too quickly. Although things are getting a hell of a lot better, and if I dare to say it, a little more peaceful, as I read somewhere recently, the trouble these days is mostly with the youth of the nation. The ignorant youths around this country who insist on trying to carry on something from their past generations when they know very little about how it all really is.
It’s all about the way you were brought up. I was brought up to be indifferent to it all, and I am very pleased about that. I was brought up with politics rarely spoken in the house. Although in some areas I know I am pretty ignorant, I am glad that I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other. I just feel its about time we all just learn to get along. Of course it is easy to say. Point being, these days, there is a lot of diversity in this country. In many parts, people are learning to get along with each other. We just have to try getting through to the youths. It could take time…
Thankfully this week will be quite short, 3 days of work, 5 days off work. Yes, 5 days, ‘cos Sunday is my BIRTHDAY! I’m going to be twenty two! I’m not much looking forward to it. I feel it’s all downhill from here. Definitely no longer a child now. Nope, most certainly an adult. And its bloody scary. I don’t want to get old. I got ID’d going into a bar last Monday. It is a pain in the ass, and I did say to the bouncer as I handed him my ID, “You’ve ID’d me before, I’m 21, could you please remember!”, though I also like looking young. OK so it probably isn’t really anything to be that proud of. I should probably have a little more facial hair, maybe I shouldn’t have such a high-pitched laugh at times - but fuck it, I am comfortable in myself and I like my own immaturity, sometimes, and just don’t care. I don’t want to get older…
This weekend hasn’t been that exciting, not half as exciting as just about everyone one of the last weekends of the last few weeks, cos I know that my posts lately have included me saying somewhere how good my weekend was. Friday was spent drinking with some friends, though also in my own world (head) much of the time too. Saturday I spent with my family, as they are off to Florida for two weeks. I could say I’m jealous, but I’m not in the slightest ‘cos in 47 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes and 43 seconds I’m heading to the states myself for 3 whole weeks!
Well, this is possibly the most I have written here in while, and possibly the first time I’ve written anything slightly political, it won’t happen again, not for a while anyway. So here are the photos.
12th July Parades, Belfast 2006
Also, I updated my Myspace profile yesterday with a few of my favourite live photos. Check em out by going to my Myspace and clicking on my profile pic.
Don’t forget, I update my Flickr often with lots of new photos!
Favourite lyrics of late:
And start giving me something,
A love that is longer than a day
- Rufus Wainwright - Movies of Myself
But why’d you have to break all my heart
I could have ripped apart and thrown into the river
Wonder if there’s hearts that will deliver
- Rufus Wainwright - 14th Street
I fell in love again
all things go, all things go
drove to Chicago
all things know, all things know
we sold our clothes to the state
I don’t mind, I don’t mind
I made a lot of mistakes
in my mind, in my mind
- Sufjan Stevens - Chigago
Here we go again. Another fantabulous week of mild arty-fartyness mixed with lots of alcohol and a few too many cigarettes…
I hate to have any mention of them here, and I would love for it to be the last (though I fear they will just do a lot of stupid stuff in the next few years that will warrant a good rant). Yes, the Spice Girls (arrgh it pains me to say it) have got back together. Take That was bad enough, even though their new songs are (barely) tolerable. This of course means they are gonna start playing old Spice Girls songs on the radio! Like they did today. Help me!
This post is a little later than planned. Down to a little mid-week drinking. Lets get started.
Tuesday kicked it all off with a gig in Auntie Annies featuring Boathouse and Cars in Walls (what a name!)
Wednesday came quickly. I had been looking forward to this for quite a while, as my good friend Camel was the director of this wonderful production of the Vagina Monologues.
Geoff Gatt presenting Camel, with flowers at the end of the show:
On this the third and final performance, there was an auction of various vagina inspired artwork by local artists, entitled VaginART. One of my photographs was also auctioned and I was very pleased when it helped to raise £80 for the Rape Crisis Centre in Belfast.
Thursday of last week was the launch of The Delawares debut E.P. The release of the five-track CD of greatness entitled ‘The Space Between Us brought in as many people as is necessary to fill the Empire Music Hall of its full capacity. It was a lot of fun, which much dancing and craziness. All captured.
The following day I was informed of an article about The Delawares in The Irish News. Accompanying the article was a photograph taken by me. This would be nice had they asked me, credited me, even better, paid me. Even if they had have asked the band. But no. None of the above. Instead they took the photograph from the band’s Myspace, which had my name beside it, and cropped the photograph. Am I happy? Would you be happy?
The end of a great week. The beginning of a better weekend. Friday: wine. Fun!
Saturday. The Maritime Festival. I headed to the grounds of the Odyssey where there were stalls and marquees with food and stuff for kids. On the other side of the river, at Clarendon Dock there was live music and more food, an outdoor bar, and lots of people. I was more interested, however, in getting Custom House Square where sound-checks were taking place when I arrived for BBC Blast Festival, featuring 8 local bands, including Oppenheimer, The Jane Bradfords and Angelfall. I spend the afternoon and evening with Angelfall.
It was here that I met Moochin Photoman aka John Baucher and almost got away with pocketing his lens cap ;) Heres a pic of John spotting some Everyday Orange.
After the gig. We went to the Pavilion for F*Rock in the Pavilion which featured Lauren Guillery and The Claws.
Sunday, I was back at the Pavilion. For a gig with Amy McGarrigle, Sines and The Dregs. Unfortunately I haven’t retrieved my camera from my parents house since then, so no more photos yet.
So far this week has been spent hungover and tired. But its half over!!
More soon!