bookmark_borderSkunk Anansie

skunkanansie

A long time ago, in a blue football stadium, I saw Skunk Anansie support a certain 80s rock band (ohh ok, it was Bon Jovi, now shush). The day wasn’t a great one, the weather was crap, the PA system poor and the entire day was largely forgetable. At the time Skunk Anansie were about as popular as they got, and I can remember how disappointed I was coming away from that gig.

Last night, reformed and with a Greatest Hits package to push, they appeared in Glasgow and OH MY GOD they really delivered. It took a couple of songs to get going but it’s easily the most energetic performance I’ve seen for a while, and the crowd reacted in kind.

It’s fair to say that the lead singer Skin, is pretty out there, but she really was enjoying herself and the reaction from the crowd and soon the energy was flowing back and forth. Somehow, amongst all her bouncing around, and one epic crowd surf from the stage to the end of the main standing area and back, she continued to deliver with that stunning voice of hers.

It’s obvious that this is a band that is well versed in performing live, with very few rough edges on show, and part of me felt that they really should’ve been somewhere larger but given that usually means the horrid big red shed (S.E.C.C.) I’m certainly glad they didn’t. One thing that the O2 Academy always delivers, if the band manage to generate it, is atmosphere in spades. Accused of being the loudest audience of the tour so far, the grin that broke across the faces of the band as we raised the roof once more was a genuine sign that they too were having fun.

And that’s the one thing I wasn’t expecting. I was expecting it to be loud, vicious at times, hauntingly beautiful at others, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so much damn fun. If this band get their next album right, and some of the new songs* on their Greatest Hits package suggest they aren’t going too far wrong, then we could have another great rock band back on the scene. Welcome back, Skunk Anansie!

* note to record labels: parking new tracks on a Greatest Hits compilation album isn’t going to make us buy the album.

bookmark_borderFashion

“I mean, look at him”

“Who?”

“That guy, with the tan jacket”

“What about him?”

“Well I know I’m not the most fashionable guy, but even I wouldn’t wear THAT”

“What? A tan jacket??”

“No, ohh can’t you see from there? Ahhh wait a minute, wait until that woman moves the buggy… wait…”

“OH MY GOD!”

“See, told you.”

“But why? I mean… why? That’s just SO wrong. Do you think she dressed him and forgot he was a guy?”

“Hey, at least they match his jacket.. and they’re clean, they certainly don’t look like they’ve ever seen a building site that’s for sure.”

“You’re right there, cleanest pair of work boots I’ve ever seen!!”

“Still doesn’t explain why he’s got his trousers tucked into them though…”

bookmark_borderBlack Ink Only

Ohh the wonder, the unbridled joy that is filling in a mortgage application.

For starters I’m having to fill in a paper form, PAPER AND PEN, and with it being a joint mortgage I’m having to fill in everything twice. Sort of…

You see the real bug bear with these things, is the lack of distinct instruction. Some parts of the form, personal details, employment details and whatnot, are split into two columns, one for me and one for Louise. Yet the ‘address’ section requires me to write out our address twice, as does the contact details, age of property, rooms etc etc. In the past, on other forms of a financial nature, I’ve put “see spouse” only to have the form returned as incomplete.

And what of the myriad of questions about being self-employed, dependants and so on. The initial instruction says EVERY question should be answered, but there is no indication of optional questions. So I tick “NO” when asked about dependants but the question after it which asks “Are any dependants over 18” doesn’t have any indication that we don’t need to answer it depending on our answer to the previous question (if you know that I mean). Now it’s obvious to you me, we have no dependants so by definition we can’t have any that are over 18, but I’ve dealt with the anally-retentive, detail obsessed morons who process this kind of paperwork before and I’m not taking any risks.

So, resigned to my fate, I start filling in the form, completing the easy stuff before delving into our paperwork to retrieve current mortgage details, account numbers and so on. So far so good. I turn the page and am confronted with one column into which I need to put details of the property we are wanting to get the mortgage for… except we are re-mortgaging and.. well obviously all the details are the same as the previous page (on which, remember, they are listed twice) but I write them out a third time anyway.

And so it continues, details of existing financial commitments, details of jobs, previous jobs, previous abodes, dog’s name, whether we have a goldfish named “goldie” and so on and on and on and on… I know that a lot of the information is needed and that checks have to be made and yadda yadda yadda… but OHH MY GOD they could make the forms a little easier to complete.

Now, what the hell is my national insurance number…

bookmark_borderAnd then it was Monday

Today’s challenge, to see how productive I can be having had three hours sleep. Well, otherwise it’d just be another boring Monday, right? Why couldn’t I sleep? It’s all zed’s fault (well her and a splitting headache that developed about 10 mins after I’d gone to bed).

I feel sorry for Monday sometimes. Gets an awful lot of bad press.

Anyway, this week starts slow and doesn’t really kick in until Wednesday evening and the Faithless gig in the Big Red Shed (SECC). I wasn’t massively impressed by their last album but I’m assured that they are an excellent live band, and considering the support is Mylo well, it’s like two bands for the price of one. A new favourite, and possibly my album of the year, coupled with an old pro. Should be good, right?

Thursday night and I’ll be tuning in for Peel Night on Radio 1. If I can get BlogMatrix to work I’ll be recording it as well, especially as it runs from 7pm-1am. Not exactly a one listen show methinks.

Friday night and the annual “drag me along and then have to drag me home” night – otherwise known as our company Christmas party – rolls around. This year we are in the Hilton in Glasgow. Hope it’s up to scratch, as the last two years at the Radisson have been excellent. Right now, sitting here at my desk, trying to stay awake (and wondering why no bugger thought to buy coffee, honestly, what’s the point of having a nice coffee machine if THERE ISN’T ANY COFFEE AND OH MY GOD I NEED CAFFEINE!!!!! Ahem… sorry… where was I? Ohh yes, the Xmas party…) I can see the night far enough, especially as it’s a different venue and I’ve already been forewarned about the price of drinks there. Still, I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Anyway, how rude of me, how was YOUR weekend?