Planning Ahead, Live Concerts Ahead

 

Have two concerts in September lined up. Technical Metal Freak Kitchen and a week later Urasawa Naoki's Folk Rock Music & Drawing.

The Urasawa Naoki gig will be particularly cool as my wife bought me a VIP front row ticket as a 40th Anniversary gift for the Osaka event. I do have Urasawa's I LOVE YOU and MANNON CDs. The track I like best though is the Manben Ballad that is the ending theme of his wonderful Manben Neo Manga Study TV series.

I have met and talked a little with Mattias Eklundh a few times in the last 2 years, attended his Osaka Guitar Camp, and seen him perform a few tracks, but this will be the first time to see him and his band live on stage.

The above MUSIC+COMIC was a quick off the cuff thing did yesterday afternoon. The music was one take each for each played part. Drums, ambient pedal tone synth, rhythm and lead guitars. Maybe that instrument arrangement is one of my things? For things like this I just don't care to put bass in them. Just seems kind of happy to me, and I was when I did it. I put a version on Bandcamp , Music And Drawing.here.

I worry about booking things like these concerts so far ahead in recent years, as I don't know if I will be able to attend. Had to book and pay the Freak Kitchen concert 5 months in advance, and a Hotel room as well.

It was 10 years ago I first collapsed and was rushed off to Emergency in an Ambulance. That time it was just Kidney Stones, and I have changed lifestyle since then, cut out some foods, and drink a liter of water a day.

Wasn't the only time though, and something could happen again. Nothing anyone can do about things like that though.

But going to these concerts, the first in maybe 30 years, is because it will probably just get too difficult in the years ahead. I also love these bands and events and they are a rare opportunity. The kind of thing that most likely wouldn't happen in Australia.

Social Media seems to have gotten even worse, where these blog posts now get more views than anything I post on Bluesky, X or Facebook. Stopped posting to Mastodon completely, and now rarely check there. Have Instagram, but rarely post there, but see what our kids post. It seems so bizarre to me that so many Brits and Mericans treat Bluesky as the way to fight fascism in their own countries, but the majorities in both places voted for that! They must think a 💓 actually has any worth 😱! 95% of what other people post is of no interest to me...

Started Star Trek Enterprise on Netflix. Watched some of this in 2001 or so when we went back to Australia. Remember almost nothing of it other than the main characters. I see many thought the opening theme song was cheesy, but I think it is wonderfully hopeful. So different from todays Fascist USA where they are closing down preventable disease control and NASA to give tax breaks to the billionaires. I dislike intensely all the dystopian and desperately depressing (like BLACK MIRROR, the BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA remake) TV stuff around too. Star Trek Enterprise is wonderful for being hopeful.

We can be found at ArtAndTechnology