Download Festival 2013 (A victory for the socially awkward)

My First Festival

In just over two weeks I will be departing Lincolnshire in the company of my dear friend Lellibo for that great celebration of all things rock and metal, Download Festival 2013.

http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/news

I’m rather excited. I’ve never been to a music festival before. I’ve never been interested in that sort of thing. I was not a normal teenager or student; now I’m getting on a bit I am interested in music (if you hadn’t noticed). I have no idea what to take, although I have been trying to find out. The Download website is quite helpful and when I contacted the organisers with questions they were answered promptly. I also found a festival survival guide written by a veteran of Download, especially for people going to Download for the first time. There’s a link to it on the Download website.

http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/info

I’m going to meet up with an old friend I haven’t seen in a few years, and two new friends that I’ve yet to have a chance to meet up with. I hope to also meet new people. I don’t find it particularly easy to make new friends or even acquaintances, but I want to try. As well as a celebration of my 30th birthday this trip is also going to be a celebration of how far I’ve come this year. I still have trouble dealing with people (and occasionally leaving the house – people are scary) but I managed to go to London and meet a large group of strangers, and to go to a concert in Nottingham on my own, so this will help me prove to myself that I can do this stuff.

This morning I’ve been going through the line-up and stage times, trying to work out which bands I definitely want to see. There are quite a few. If I get my timing right I should be able to see most of them. Bands I have no intention of missing include HIM, Korn, Motorhead, Young Guns, 30 Seconds to Mars, Stone Sour and Sacred Mother Tongue. There are a few that I would like to see but I don’t mind if I miss a bit of their set getting between stages: Down, Papa Roach, 3 Doors Down, Turisas, Iron Maiden, QOTSA, Alice in Chains, Rammstein and Limp Bizkit. The rest of the time I’ll just catch whoever I like the sound of.

http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/line-up/all

I did a quick calculation and worked out that it might be expensive for the weekend (we’ve got 5 night camping tickets) but even if I only see those 16 bands, that’s £12.81 per band with free accommodation plus £20 towards petrol. You can’t get concert tickets, accommodation and train tickets for that; such good value for money! Now I just need to get some spending money together 😀

I’m planning to write about my experiences, and have purchased myself a notebook to write everything down in while I’m at the festival. I’m on the cadge for a camera to borrow so I can take some decent pictures. While I am getting one of the lockers and will be able to charge my phone, I want to save the battery for emergences, for example when I inevitably get lost, confused or forget my medication and need rescuing by my friends who I’m going to issue with spare inhalers for me.

So for the duration of Download I will be offline.

When I get home I plan to sleep, shower and start writing about it. Not necessarily in that order. It might take a couple of days for the band reviews to get published but they will be. In addition to band reviews I intend to write a general commentary on the festival as a whole, and a discussion of my reactions to it. I’m wandering how I will react to all the people, the constant stimulation and general atmosphere. I don’t generally do well in loud crowded places for more than a couple of hours at a time (it’s a wonder I survive concerts).

If anyone has any survival tips for the festival I’d appreciate the advice (or if any of my friends/relatives want to contribute to the 30th birthday spending fund – you know where I am).

Bye for now,

Rose

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Review:’LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS’

http://open.spotify.com/album/2P1mjsH61jGlUtdi7EJSks

I’ve finally managed to hear 30 Seconds to Mars’s new album, LLF+D. Several of my friends are
Echelon and have been raving about it.

Jared Leto has covered huge universal topics with this new album. We all have our love, lusts, faith and dreams.

This new album reminds me a lot of their first, self-titled, album, yet is clearly an evolution in their sound, with some of the anthemic sounds that can be heard on third album ‘This is War’. It also feels like I’m looking into Mr Leto’s soul, especially when listening to ‘City of Angels’.

A mix of upbeat and contemplative tracks, skilled song writing, passionate singing to match the lyrics, and a mix of electronic effects and musical talent from Shannon and Tomo, make this album a good addition to the band’s catalogue of work.

I found it an enjoyable, relaxing listen, although I had to listen to it a few times to really get to grips with the lyrics. My personal favourite is ‘Northern Lights’.

And now I’m going to listen to it again and go back to sleep.

Bye,

Rose

Review: ‘Etiquette & Espionage’ by Gail Carriger

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Finishing School Book the First
2013
Atom

Fourteen years old and not at all ladylike, thats Sophronia Angelina Temminnick. She’s the youngest of the Temminnick girls and a terrible bother to her mother. After an incident involving a dumb waiter and a trifle, Sophronia is packed off to finishing school.

But Madam Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality is not quite what she expects. After an eventful journey she arrives to find a werewolf waiting and no obvious way aboard.

Making several new friends and learning to be ladylike, Sophronia becomes embroiled in a plot which sees her clambering around engine rooms, confronting thieves and setting fire to her mother’s gazebo. She also learns how to curtsey properly and to dance.

Set several decades before the author’s previous series, ‘The Alexia Tarrabotti Series’ and featuring characters from that series as children, this book is an admirable addition to her body of work and suitable for YA readers. The characters are interesting, well-rounded and develop as the novel progresses. The plot is engaging and mystery elements intriguing.

I enjoyed Gail Carriger’s earlier books and would recommend this new series. Now I just need to get the next book in the series.

Bye

Rose

Review: ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’

In the latest instalment of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, ‘Into Darkness’,  Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) and his crew are sent to observe a planet but not interfere. There’s a volcano, Spock (Zachary Quinto) has a plan. It works, but Kirk loses his ship and Spock is reassigned.

A terrorist attack changes everything; reunited, the crew of the Enterprise are sent to catch the terrorist, Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch). It’s not going to be as easy as they think and the weapons they have been given to do the job hold a terrible secret; there are much deeper game in play. However it turns out none of the characters nor the Federation will be the same again.

The film explores what it means to be human, the moralities of war and peace.

It is a great film, the acting is superb and the story entertaining. I saw it in 2D and it was an incredible experience. Go see it!

Rose

[Edit: I found an interview with Benedict Cumberbatch about the film on youtube

http://youtu.be/_a1jsMga9fg ]

Review: “Atheism: Genetics to Geology and Much More Science” by Maurice de Bona Jr.

I offered to review this book because the title suggested it would be of interest to someone of my education and background. I was wrong. Within the first twenty pages I became frustrated by the author’s polemic, ignorance of the subjects, scientific and historical, on which he was commenting, disjointed arguments and outdated assumptions in statements such as ‘’Under monotheism, man shifted from a maternally structured society to a paternally structured society’’ and ‘’There was a time religious men feared science.’’

Among the basic mistakes the author makes is to suggest that matter can’t be created or destroyed only change form, and that ‘Electricity, for example, is a faster moving, less consolidated form of matter than the matter that comprises a rock.’ He is wrong, it is energy which is neither made nor destroyed but merely changes form. It’s called the conservation of energy. Electricity is the movement of electrons through a substance and rocks are made up of atoms in a crystal structure.

The author makes contradictory statements as well as blatantly incorrect ones. He also displays latent racism and sexism on occasion. Examples:
(1) ‘The average European cranial capacity is 90 cubic inches. The Hottentot natives have a capacity of about 65 cubic inches. Some Hindus have capacities as low as 45 cubic inches. This approaches the capacity of gorillas.’
(2) ‘Women, in general, have a greater sensitivity to emotions, such as love, than men. They are less capable of separating love and sex than men. Many women convince themselves that sex without love is impossible.’
He has a terrible habit of dumbing down his prose, assuming all readers will be as historically uneducated as well as scientifically ignorant, and that all atheists have the same beliefs as he does, despite claiming that he doesn’t.
I looked at the sources the author provided. Only four were less than ten years old, many much, much older. With such outdated attitudes I am not surprised he had had to find outdated sources to back his assertions.
The author clearly has a problem with religion but his sweeping generalisations about the nature of religion and the religious, and his ham-fisted attempts at scientific refutation of some religious beliefs does nobody any good. His tract may provide those with no education some basic, if inaccurate, knowledge, but anyone with even a basic education will be frustrated with this book.

Don’t bother with it.

It took me a good couple of months to read and I had to force myself to finish it. I wanted to punch the author after about ten pages. The spelling is atrocious (even if one takes Americanisms into account) he’s bombastic and insulting. Sorry I got really riled by this book. If you believe in something poorly disguised insults to your intelligence and education will not convince a person to take someone’s arguments seriously. if you are already an atheist or agnostic poorly constructed sources will do nothing to strengthen your resolve. Scientific arguments for evolution and the obvious great age of the Universe are strong enough that the this sort of pamphlet are no longer necessary.

Rant over, sorry again,

Rose

Review: Dr. Who ‘The Name of the Doctor’, aired 7pm Saturday 18th May 2013

The ultimate episode of this series of Dr Who, in the lead up to the 50th anniversary in November, was written by Steven Moffat and produced by Marcus Wilson. The Doctor’s big secret, his name, is at the core of this episode. The storyline brings together the major characters of this, and previous, series to do what a time traveller should never do: go to their tomb.

I’m not going to spoil the story for anyone who didn’t watch it tonight by telling you what happened but I have to say, I did feel it didn’t have a strong structure – a beginning, middle and end – and is instead a prologue to the 50th Anniversary episode in November. It was unsatisfying, and Moffat can write better.

Next up, a review of ‘Star Trek: Into darkness’ and that ebook I’ve been reviewing for Book Inc.? Yeah, I finally got that read. The review will be here a.s.a.p. After I’ve had my tea, that is.

Bye, for now,

Rose

Worlds Without End: Women of Genre Fiction Challenge – I’m going to give it a go

I quite like SciFi/Fantasy books, I’ve read a lot of them, so when I found out about ‘Worlds Without End’ I decided to go and have a look at their website:

https://www.worldswithoutend.com/

One of their ‘challenges’ is the Women of Genre Fiction challenge in which participants have to read and review twelve books from their list of women authors. The books have to be by women authors you’ve never read before. I’m going to give it a go. The first I am reading will reading is ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’ by Ann Radcliffe.

For more information on the challenge please go to:

https://www.worldswithoutend.com/authors_wogf.asp

Bye

Rose

One band I like, One band I think are a bit bad mannered and Two bands I’m not fussed by.

Yes, it’s another round up of the bands that follow my Twitter account. Aren’t you lucky devils?

So the first band on my list are Demise, a band from the West Midlands that formed in 2008. They describe themselves as a ‘heavy band’ and say they sound like Pantera, Down, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Label Society.

Band Members:

  • Mick Hatton – Vocals
  • Craig Williamson – Lead Guitar
  • Leigh Gittus – Rhythm Guitar
  • Don Whitehouse – Bass Guitar
  • Richie Rogers –  Drums

They have several tracks available a:

I listened to ‘The Contender’.

Opinion

I’m not incredibly impressed, but as I’ve said multiple times I prefer clean vocals to shouting and screaming. I know other people like that sort of thing and if you do they might be to your taste. Either way, don’t let my personal preferences prevent you from at least giving them a listen.

 

Next on my list is an American band called Stellar Revival. I have somewhat limited internet access so it was about a week between them following me and me being able to get online and listen to their music. By the time I had a chance to they had unfollowed me. As a result I haven’t listened to their music, but if you want to, their website is:

http://www.stellarrevival.com

Third on my list is another American band, or as they describe themselves an ‘industrial-metal/shock rock performance art act’ from Portland, Oregon.

Members

  • Cody – Vocals
  • Freeman Manfree – Guitar
  • Brick – Drums
  • The Human – Keys/Sequencing
  • Unlucky Eddy – Bass
  • Enygma – Hype and Shenanigans

 

Their website is:

Their facebook page has a quite comprehensive ‘About’ page, but here’s a small sample just to give you an idea

‘Amerakin Overdose is an Industrial- Metal / Shock Rock performance art act from Portland, OR. Known for hypnotic dance beats and horror style theatrics, blended with heavy driven metal riffs, the band brings a very user friendly sound that promotes accidental cardio via involuntary movement of your head, feet and body. The combination of heavy dance music mixed with onstage antics are a freak show in action, a nonstop visual and auditory stimulate from the first note to the last. True to the band motto; they “Get Shit Done”.’

Apart from the bad grammar and slightly off spelling, I find their expression of intent slightly obnoxious.

I listened to three of their songs after downloading them from reverb nation.

Opinion

Er, no, just, no.

Seriously, that’s what I’ve got written in my notebook.

I see what they’re trying to do, it’s very much in the ‘Slipknot’ mould but it’s just not my thing.

 

Finally, because they’re the last in my notebook, a band whose music I actually liked, A New Tomorrow.

From London and formed in June 2009, they describe their music as modern rock.

Members

  • Alessio Garavello – Vocals/Guitars
  • Andrea Lonardi – Bass Guitar
  • Dan Panza – Guitars
  • Tim Hall – Drums

This quartet have a comprehensive website:

Main Home

and their music is available on iTunes, Spotify etc. They also have a few tracks on sound cloud

Opinion

I listened to the tracks this band have on Spotify, their EP ‘Incandescent’ and the single ‘Believe’. On first listen I preferred ‘Love Utopia’ and ‘What they can’t steal from you’ because I found the lyrics of ‘Brighter than the sun’ and ‘Believe’ to be a little repetitive. On listening a second time I found that I actually quite liked all of them; the songs are enjoyable with a positive feeling about them.

Alesso Garavello’s singing is not necessarily to my taste, his voice is a little too high pitched at times, but still good. Occasionally (especially in ‘Love Utopia’) he sounds like someone has got his balls in a vice.

The guitars are not mind blowing, although they certainly seem competent enough, and Tim Hall is a steady and skilled drummer.

In other words, they’re okay, not quite as heavy as I usually like but still appealing. And they get extra points for spelling my name correctly when they answered a Tweet. I didn’t actually mean for them to answer it, I was just commenting on the music when I listened to it. But still, kudos for that.

 

And that’s the round up for this week.

Bye

Rose