tegan and sara

I'm going to see Tegan & Sara in Sydney on Thursday night. I liked their music before (I have friends who've liked them for ages), but in the last month I've been looking a bit more carefully at their lyrics. I'm quite intrigued by their songwriting. This song, 'I Was Married' is from their 2007 album The Con. The lyrics are included over a slideshow of concert stills. There are so many live videos on Youtube, I'm starting to wonder if cameras will be allowed. Not that I plan to take bootleg video ~ the sound quality is always total crap ~ but it would be a cool to get a couple of photos.



I also really like the lyrics (added below the video) in this song, 'Relief Next to Me', from the same album. I think this will sound good live.



Relief Next to Me

I miss you now
I guess like I should have missed you then
My body moves
Like curtains waving in and out of wind,
In and out of windows
I can't untangle, I can't untangle
What I feel and what would matter most
I can't get close and I,
I can't get close
And now there's just no point,
In reaching out for me
In the dark,
I'm just no good at giving relief
In the dark,
It won't be easy to find relief
And I'm not proud
That nothing will seem easy about me
But I promise this
I won't go my whole life
Telling you I don't need
But I promise this
I won't go my whole life
Telling you I don't need


I'll tell you now
I guess like I should have told you then
The thunder moves
Like damn drawers slamming in my frame
Slamming in my framework
I can't untangle, I can't untangle
What I know and what should matter most
I can't get close and I,
I can't get close
And now there's just no point,
In reaching out for you
In the dark,
I'm just no good at giving relief
In the dark,
It won't be easy to find relief
And I'm not proud
That nothing will seem easy about me
But I promise this
I won't go my whole life
Telling you I don't need

three days and counting

...till I leave for 18 days in Japan.

I'm so excited! I have a glorious JR railpass which takes me pretty much anywhere I want to go by bullet train (so smooth, so quiet, so much more comfy than a plane while being nearly as fast). I've contacted people all over the place to catch up with. There are about three people I haven't found yet (the email addresses I had for them were mobile phone addresses, which have changed over the last four years) but I have people on the case in Japan, and will hopefully still get to see them while I'm there.

I'm going to just three live shows while I'm there - one is Carole King/Mary J Blige/Fergie, one is an indies band I like a lot (KING), and one is a band I've never seen before (that link's for you Roofshadow, in case you're curious what the boys are up to lately) but which features the guitarist and the drummer from my second favourite indies band ever, Plastic, which unfortunately broke up in July. They're just playing support (that is, they aren't new members, just fill-ins). I'll just be glad to see them play, especially 'my' drummer boy, Tsuki. The one other band I was hoping to see isn't playing while I'm there...sad.

I also plan to go to at least one place I've never been before and do at least one thing I've never done before. I just haven't quite figured out what those will be just yet. Suggestions welcome. (Ai, where did you see those fun monkeys??)

soundbite

Bernard Fanning, lead singer of Powderfinger, to his bandmates at the Silverchair/Powderfinger concert in Canberra on Tuesday night:

Man, this is such a beautiful crowd! I swear I've fallen in love twelve times already.

Right back atcha, Bernie!

she wins again!

DVD + tickets
to see Brisbane
band Small
Mercies live
= my latest
contest winnings.

Yah me!

concert tickets i've bought recently

Alice Cooper

July 19, Canberra

5th row

Old school shock rock and lots of fun. Great crowd, too!

Side note: Eric Carr is drumming on this tour, but had to return to the US to play with KISS before the tour reached Canberra. Shame, because he's an awesome drummer.

Powderfinger + Silverchair

September 11, Canberra

General Admission

My birthday (Sep 7) present to myself. Two awesome rock bands and the chance to look at Daniel Johns for two hours. I may break under the weight of all this glee.

Carole King, Mary J Blige, Fergie

November 13, Tokyo

6th row

I can't believe I finally I get to visit the 伝奇的な (legendary) Budokan and I have to sit through Fergie in order to do it. Really looking forward to the other two.

The Police

January 28, Adelaide

12th row

Speaking of legends, the Police were my second ever concert and I've pretty much been waiting ever since to see them again. This ticket cost me the Earth...observe my blatant not-caringness.

some things are so hard to let go of

There are about five indies rock bands I used to follow when I lived in Japan. When I went back on holiday I always tried to see their shows, but it's been over three years since I've seen any of them live. One band, Sclatch, broke up a while back. Of the other four, two are far more precious to me than the others: KING & Plastic. Over the last year I have listened to their music less, because it makes me feel sad how much time has passed since I've been there. You have to understand, I supported these bands. I wished fervently for their success. I translated their lyrics. They mean as much to me as my Japanese friends, as much as the few students I still keep in touch with, as much as the city I lived in. Their music is wonderful, but it also has a lot of meaning for me beyond the words and tunes. I still know the crowd moves (a little Japanese phenomenon) that go with each song.





















Last year I made a plan to go to Japan this July. Somewhere around March I knew it wasn't going to happen. Then, a few days ago, I found out about a sale that would allow me to fly return to Japan for AUD$750. But I had to book for later in the year, because I needed time to save for accommodation and spending money. The dates can't be changed.

And today I confirmed that Plastic are breaking up on July 15.

So now half of me is so happy to be going to Japan again, and the other half is grieving for the missed opportunity to see Plastic on stage one more time. :( The worst thing is that no matter what they go on to do, all that wonderful music gets left behind. I thought it was sad when Hibiki left and they went from five members to four. But this is way beyond.

I realise that there are only about four people who read this blog who are really going to get what this means to me. For everyone else I'm going to come back tomorrow and tell you about the trip to Melbourne, which is a much happier story.