Take That @ Wembley Stadium on 4 Jul 09

Very spectacular show. The costumes, dancing, the guys putting on make-up so they transformed into clowns. Songs from The Circus album really shine in the stadium. I never thought Jason Orange was hot, let alone had a great arse XD I wish I was in the unreserved area downstairs but that would mean I have to queue up much earlier. So mad at myself for splashing out on a hugely priced ticket in seats further away when Ticketmaster released much cheaper tickets that were closer to the stage. Ending the night with Rule The World left me feeling emotional.

The support acts were Gary Go and Lady Gaga. Gary Go is hardly a Gary Barlow wannabe and I don't know where critics got this idea to compare the two. I think Gary Go is more of a soft rock type artist on the lines of Coldplay. Seriously not even close to what Gary Barlow did in his solo work. Lady Gaga was surprisingly good at warming up the crowd. I know a lot of people hate her and TT fans were furious she didn't turn up in the previous TT shows to act as support but seriously her quirky nature does seem acceptable here. She even did a crazy Yoshiki on the piano while playing a slower ver of Poker Face before going into the normal dance version most fans recognise.

Franz Ferdinand @ Roundhouse on Jul 6 09

This is the short review I submitted to XFM's website. a more detailed report will come later

I've heard samples from Passion Pit's Myspace page and wasn't expecting much before the gig but for 30 mins on the actual night I was introduced to jumpy music with a high pitch male singer. I actually don't have much of a problem with a guy singing at high notes as I have listened to a few singers who have a similar range as the Passion Pit's vocalist. They surprised me with their upbeat electronica style music on Monday night.

For a shorter set than usual I thought Franz Ferdinand put on a great show. A change in their song order was definitely a surprise but it was quite nice to see an old b-side like Shopping For Blood make a reappearance after a long absence. The band managed to perform with a great deal of enthusiasm in Roundhouse and I enjoyed every minute of this gig as I watched by the barrier. I was in awe of the stage charisma and charm of Alex Kapranos but also the energy of his fellow bandmates Nicholas McCarthy, Paul Thomson and Bob Hardy. Rock on guys.

Normally I'd check with what genre s/he is into before going off recommending music. But if they're not into metal because of understandable reasons such as it's only noise, too much screaming etc then I'd probably point them in the symphonic metal direction because that's how I broke my personal belief on metal being all about the loudness when it can be pretty breathtaking. I would recommend female fronted metal in particular.

I won't go too deep in the MJ death as I think everyone is sick of it kind of ranted on my twitter and fb about those who are moaning but reading this reminded me of the impact hide's death had on his die hard fans...

Thurs and Fri were my days off from work and both involved a lot of sun, as well as going out to London. Then Sat involved heavy rain, thunder and lightning in the evening after a great deal of sunny spells. Not sure if those attending Glastonbury were affected by the weather change.

( watching Franz @ Glastonbury on me tv :) )

The Take continues to be brutally realistic in many ways. The last part is this coming Wednesday. Uncertain if I can stomach enough of the craziness from this mini series. However I'm going to check out Tom Hardy's other work. I just found out he and the actress playing Maggie were the doomed couple in the latest Wuthering Heights adaptation. No wonder those two were on fire (not in a nice way either) in The Take.

List 10 of your favorite characters from different fandoms, and ask people to spot patterns in your choices, and if they're so inclined, to draw conclusions about you based on the patterns they've spotted.

1) Kino Makoto (Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon)
2) Shinomori Aoshi (Rurouni Kenshin)
3) Sakurazuka Seishirou (Tokyo Babylon, X)
4) Niki Sanders (Heroes)
5) Masahashi Ando (Heroes)
6) Buffy Summers (Buffy)
7) Gwen Cooper (Torchwood)
8) Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy)
9) Sam Winchester (Supernatural)
10) T-Bag (Prison Break)

There's more but I tried to think of characters I felt I had deeper thoughts on.

Can't limit to one song but my top favourites are

Man In The Mirror
Bad
Beat It
Billie Jean
Thriller
Dirty Diana
Remember The Time
Leave Me Alone
Speed Demon
Scream
Smooth Criminal

If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

Indeeeeed :D!!

Yoshiki's Eternal Melody or any albums by Josh Groban

I managed to tape the last Island 50 documentary showing clips of all the recent shows at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Half an hour in length usually means they'll show you one song from each band or musician. So they showed Keane's Everybody's Changing and I didn't see myself amongst the audience, even though I was near the front. Maybe my hand got caught.

Some clips of Keane @ SBE last May :)
Keane arriving on stage and starting off with Lovers Are Losing
Under Pressure
My Shadow
Crystall Ball
Everybody's Changing then Again And Again
Somewhere Only We Know fans singing LOUDLY XP same song but with zoom up on Richard because Richard is <3
Keane signing after the SBE gig So jealous I couldn't wait up to see them but then it would have been a riot either way since they were in a rush.

Still want to win gig tickets or meet and greet opportunities. So sad it's not happening right now :/ need to stop mentioning this concern on my twitter!!

I tried to search for Download 2009 clips with Dir en grey's set but haven't found that many so far.

Rock Sound magazine interviewing Die Die introduced himself in English. He has a nice smile :)
On the main stage
Obscure
Thrash Hits TV interviewing Die and Kaoru A qu about pandas popped out of nowhere o_O

( music babble )

I have only won

- £10 from the National Lottery over 10 years ago
- An acoustic guitar from a radio station
- Two free seat tickets for a gig (but of course as it was free the seats weren't that good but better than nothing)

Incoherent post alert

( the rumour of an old Life On Mars character returning )

( heroes cast spoiler for vol 5 )

OMG how nice does the 2010 Nightwish calendar look? Tempted to get it *_* I bought a NW baseball shirt not too long ago from the Nightwish shop. They didn't have small or large size so I gambled and ordered the medium size. It ended up fitting just fine. The sleeves are tight though I imagine that's how the design is. Definitely want to wear this shirt when I go to a Nightwish gig of course.

Really want to free gig tickets in the meantime. Not having much luck!! >_>

I hope I get a refund from paying the Naoko photoshoot. Shame she cancelled again. I remember she cancelled her attendance at another event last year but managed to go to The Hub 2 so that made me think oh so she's not as busy as I thought. I decided to use the autograph voucher I originally reserved for her on another autograph by Philip Glenister so I got him to sign a photo and my copy of Cult Times feb 2008 issue.

( cont... )

Disappointed Mori Naoko didn't show up at Collectormania 15 and it looks like she's not coming in tomorrow either. I demand a refund now Showmasters :'(

Oh well let's see what happens tomorrow then... hopefully Burn Gorman and Philip Glenister are still attending.

I want season 5 now, Kripke!!

Can't post a huge reaction. So much happening to even put into proper words, right?

( Sam: You poisoned me. Ruby: No it wasn't the blood. It was you...and your choices. )