Teodor Revolution by Mikael Altemark; CC By 2.0.

Yesterday night mostly featured Psapp at Cargo. I was expecting to have a great time, and they didn't disappoint: it was easily the best live show by a *tronica band I've seen. (Though, that's not really a fair comparison: all of their music is readily re-arrangable for a live band, particularly their more recent tracks.) Energetic, accomplished, quirky, etc. etc. Kazoos? With squeaky lobsters duct-taped to the side? Oh yes. Plus, closing on Everybody Wants To Be A Cat was a fun touch.

Meanwhile, back in a different genre, Pure Reason Revolution have just released their new album, Amor Vincit Omnia. Apparently, at some point in the three years since The Dark Third they decided that their largely guitar-based nü prog sound could be improved by, well, replacing it entirely with synth bass and some more synths and heavily processed downtuned guitars. To my surprise, it works pretty well: it's not what I was expecting, and it feels a bit overproduced, but they haven't got rid of the vocal harmonies, and the songs are still interesting. That said, for a band who go in for Latin titles and general pretentiousness, they should really have learned to pronounce all three words of Deus Ex Machina. It should be interesting to see if and how they adapt older songs to their new style live.

Which brings me to a question: dear readers, is anyone interested in seeing them play at Dingwalls on Tuesday? I have come to have a spare ticket, and it would be nice for it to be used. If so, let me know via whatever means you feel is the most appropriate.

I'm going to the Cambridge Folk Festival this coming long weekend (Thursday 31st July–Sunday 3rd August). The person I was camping with is probably not going to make it, having just had an operation; does anyone want her ticket? The face value is a hundred British pounds; she'll take substantially less. Let me know by the medium of your choice if you're interested!

Hrm. I fed “65trucksoftreerobots” to wordplay, and it generated 64590 anagrams. I don't regard “64585. BTU COT O'ER TRESS FORK” as a reasonable answer.

Giggity giggity. Posting 15daysoftickets and then using eBay has gained me a ticket to 65daysofstatic on Monday. Happy face! Also, I seem to be going to Truck. Woo.

Does anyone want a ticket to see Porcupine Tree on Thursday 26th April (that's first week, for those of you who measure time in those terms) at the Forum in London? I bought it for designergall having told her that it was the 21st because I am a muppet. It's £17.50, or £20 if you like paying booking fees.

Finally, you should all go listen to Robot Goes Here. The album's excellent (and I seem to have bought it for about £1.50 thanks to my eMusic subscription). Imagine Atom And His Package, but with a singer who can even slightly sing, and more refined music. A certain Mr Taylor remarked that “this is quite new rave! This is VERY new rave!”. I'm not sure whether this is a good thing. I am, however, sure that laptop geek-punk songs about the environment and humans failing the Turing Test are good things.

I am, in the words of Ratz, a "tit", and totally failed to actually buy a ticket for 65daysofstatic at the Zodiac on 16th April. I don't suppose anyone knows of a spare?

(or, I enjoy live music.)

Hello, dear friends and acquaintances. I like going to gigs. There are a number of gigs in the near future which I would like to attend; I like company! Let me know if you're going to any of these, or if you want me to get you a ticket when I get mine (thus avoiding a double dose of booking fees!).

• 65daysofstatic are playing at the Zodiac in Oxford on 16th April, and at Koko in Camden on 20th May. I fear that the latter is too close to exams, though. I would like to draw your attention to the video for Don't Go Down to Sorrow. I particularly enjoy the literal 5/4 switch.
• Explosions in the Sky are playing at the Astoria on 19th April.
• According to their myspace page, Kill Hannah are playing the Zodiac on 20th April. The Zodiac's listings disagrees! In any case, I can't make it. They are also playing at the Islington Academy on Saturday 21st.
• Porcupine Tree are playing at the Forum in London on 26th April. I have braved their myspace page, and have found a trackful of samples from the forthcoming album Fear of a Blank Planet. It sounds like it might be fun! It's coming out in April.

I think I am done now. I am sure that there are gigs I have missed.

Just before I go to bed pre-exam: does anyone want, or know someone who wants, a ticket to see Tool in London on Tuesday 13^th June (as in, this coming Tuesday)? If so, let me know!

So I bought myself a pair of tickets to see Tool at the Hammersmith Apollo on 2006-06-13. Yes.

The astute reader will note that there is only one of me, and that as a result one of those tickets is spare. I bought two because I'm sure I can find a second person, and hence have someone with whom to go. Who wants to be that person? I won't say it's first come, first served, because there are a few people who I need to speak to who get first refusal, but hey.

Also, new Tool album.

So I was listening to music on shuffle. And, as I usually do when Mew's Fox Cub, Apocalypso or Special come on, I turned shuffle off until I'd listened all the way from Fox Cub to The Zookeeper's Boy, because they flow together so nicely. And then I turned shuffle back on during The Zookeeper's Boy, as I usually do, and mpd neatly segued from it into Coheed and Cambria's Ten Speed.

If you have both Zookeeper and Ten Speed on an appropriate medium, play them consecutively and see what I mean.

If and when I do a radio show or club set, I must remember this.

Edit:

And then it bloody well spoilt it by choosing Yellowcard. Shame on you, mpd, SHAME ON YOU (to paraphrase Theo de Raadt).

Hmm, also, I should make a livejournal client that understands Markdown.