WHAT A WEEK

As part of the Free For Arts Festival the amzing James Moffat put on MUTE a night full of perfomances of many varieties.This is the footage tell me what you think if you think ewt.



Old post that i forgot about written just after soup kitchen.......

So much mint stuff happened this week, the city was a throbbing with culture and art juiceies.With both the Abandon Normal Devices Festival and the Free For Arts festival running simultaneously it was a week to be reckoned with. Free For Arts so the return of the Sydney Street picture box run by the great Alice Baldwin, something I well wanted to get involved in but actually couldn’t move that night for a terrible man flu had took hold. Plus I couldn’t get my video ready in time. I plan to have it in the link as soon as it’s up and running. That very day I was meant to be driving home to get material because I was meant to be performing the night after at Soup Kitchen for MUTE ran by the great James Moffat.I didn’t go home and through fear of feeling like a total pussy I played a shorter set of new material. I was feeling apprehensive but the num grogginess helped my nerves loads. I ended up deciding to just do three peices.Trees, hands and doyleys, I’ve still yet to see the video. James put together a compilation of all the performers involved in it tats really good.
Interesting, some guy had made a sonic version of the hydron collider and preceded to present his findings in a formal way.Wich was a nice breather of what could have been taken to those wondering from the busy street outside as the most tremendous show of pretence ever. With rowdy revellers thumping down stairs to find a group of people in the dark watching two people scratch pottery balloons for half an hour. Ed Butler did a mind-blowing performance that was a cross between a sound collage to a film and a crazed working men club singer .It kind of reminded me of that amazing seen from Little Voice were Michael Cane gets up on stage to sing ‘its over’ whilst weeping. Amazingly powerful vocals almost Tom Waits-esque.

Shrink
Shrink was bizarre when I first heard about it as an email from a friend from a foundation Feonna Hadcroft .I didn’t know how many people off my course were involved in it .The setting for this piece orchestrated by international artist Lawrence Malstaf.Those taking part are trapped between two sheets of plastic while air is gradually sucked out, leaving them breathing through a tube. The idea was to get people to consider both protection and the threat to survival and that it did seeing my friend in such a fragile state was frightening ever since your little you get told not to play around with plastic bags let alone get in a massive one.
tv coverage :http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11480812
photos :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tombus65/sets/72157624982936231/
http://www.freeforartsfestival.co.uk/

http://www.andfestival.org.uk/

GROTTO

Been helping out down at Islington Mill at one 69 a studio http://one69a.com.
Its screen printing studio thats mint check it out.We've been working on setting up a shop ore christmas called GROTTO.
GROTTO is a pop-up artists' shop in the Northern Quarter. Pop in to get the best unique Christmas presents! From cards and wrapping paper to paintings, prints and sculptures. With prices from 50p to £1300 we have something for everyone!Its in the old mooch gallery 88 oldham street just past 3 quid or less shop.We made some flags and took em down to the switching on of the christmas lights people kept complaining they couldn't see the fireworks.Fireworks are shit and the flag wasn't even a metre across.Get a grip.The advertising was pretty effective people came in saying theyd seen us and wanted to know what it were about.I'm selling christmas cards and luxury crackers for all your twee needs.Its gonna have live printing and bands on more to come soon...
GROTTO
GROTTO
GROTTO
GROTTO
http://www.grotto-shop.com/





photos curtosy of http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manchester-United-Kingdom/Grotto/154387297938083 like it gwan

DESTROYER OF WORLDS

Speant the evening making cardboard robots with tom.














I DESTROYED HIM

FACIAL BUSINESS DEMO

choppin wood's first 5 track demo facial business, we should be selling em at shows for 2 quid.

Chopping Wood from sean lyness on Vimeo.

video by sean malachy

NEW HOUSE NEW SPOUSE

Courtesy of

'Matthew Britton'

I said, when the lady in the bubble asked me my name. I was stood at the box office hurriedly trying to think of something convincing to say, over thought it and confused myself in to a stuttering mess. The lady in booth shuffled then stared blankly at me.Oh 'Daniel Watson' I said with a smile 'he's comin later on’. Handed to me was freedom in the form of a ticket. I walked up the stairs of the Academy on to second floor. What greeted me was the nostalgic smell of sweat that I haven’t smelt in a long a while. I haven’t been to any metal gigs in ages, haven’t been put off by how shit and unoriginal it was getting. Why did I ever lose the faith the first band Kvelertak came over a bit like try hards with having synchronized mosh parts between beatdowns.After listening to their recordings you can see why, there a party band. To use that in its broadest sense and a mint one at that, with mint little blast bits in that Andrew W.K would sneer at and wonder why he’s more like a party pussy.The clarity of what was going on live was a different story, it was just like a wall of constant intelligible sound were you could get a glimpse of what was going on stage. Sound men that can't be bothered to do their jobs are an oily cog in a once gleaming machine. From what I could make out live they are a conglomeration of bands like cancer bats that really capitalized on the whole drinking, blues riffs, partying idea and removed smoking weed and monging.However its done it always seems to feel like its missing something for me and I could never be posi about it. Gaza hadn't been on the stage five minutes until the lead singer said something stupid about how they had ...'George Bush '; we had Tony Blair to try identify us in some way. Maybe he wasn't aware that it isn't something that is going to make motivate movement in an English crowd. With a name like Gaza I just expected a little more depth not something that would dribble out the mouth of a socialist worker supporter. Still there brand of grind core with open chugged stompy bits managed to keep my intention but I was left feeling disappointed throughout. A lot of people had come to watch Kylesa there one of those bands with very little stage presence. For what they lacked in charisma they made for in weight. In the words friend 'they were heavvvvy....’With two drummers and dominating riffage they played a barrage of intensity. It wasn't till a drum solo that strayed into popular song scapegoat that got them the full attention of the crowd. They were easily the best band of the night. When Converge finally arrived on stage opening with concubine. An odd choice considering they were playing songs off Jane Dow (an album) that gave them a whole lot of fans that this glad clearly lacked. It was surprising turn out of long hair and beards instead of fringes and flat peeks. More generalising can be said when describing Converge's repertoire they are a band that span genres, do it well and have been doing for over 20 years. It’s hard to not appreciate there ability to knock out albums and dictate the style in which metal and hardcore are going before any other band do. These veterans of innovation don't just give us studio perfection. They still go nuts like a band 3 quarters a band there age. With Jacob Brannon stomping people out stood at floor height to his weighty hoof. He repeatedly lashed out at the crowd grabbing at him continually kicking people in the head. He lost his anorak at one point, kicked some more people then it floated back on stage. I was a bit disappointed they dint play 'saddest day' but hits from No Heroes and You Fail Me (both albums) were a plenty. After the show, stood outside letting it all sink in. There was a man selling fake Converge merch.The prices went down from '5 pound an item' to 'five pound for any three items’. No one bought anything they looked so cheap and purely printed, still my mate managed to fish them out of the bin. That’s why I'm sat here now in my free bright orange fake converge t-shirt feeling mint. Thanks Mathew Britton and Ric Long,
thanks

MALDIBES

POLITE NOTICE

Found this in Didsbury park i took aload of photos of people staring at it, unfortunatly my phone sercum to terrible heat around two weeks ago.More terror in polite notes, more ordinary catsatrophies soon.

WHOLE TOUR AND NOTHING BUT THE TOUR

This was originally from a message to joanna when she asked how was tour, i wrote a review





















We played the u.k first with BAYS who were fucking mint everynight.Sheffield was mint, played outside, our bass players brother cut his head open whilst he was playing with his band.We stopped outside at a service station and cooked meat.Played a sweet show in Kingston,said goodbye to Bays, stayed at this kind girls house made her room smell like everyones feet, got up to early for the ferry but got a earlier one.We drove straight to belgiam the show looked like it was gonna suck, and hardly anyone came but the people who were there were ace.The drummer from lanlocked got drunk for the first time ever he was trousered.The next day we went to Lille me and a the bassist got lost for hours and we ran out of weed.A dead sound guy put us up who couldnt speak a word of english.Only one of us could speak fench but he fed us weed, coffee and biscuits.We got showers aswell so good!!We then drove to willebrook, we got there well early and invented a stupid game called ouchwitz that occupied us for abit.Then we played wembely singles its a soccer game were you just play to score for yourself.The americans were shite at it.That night we stopped in the venue, we found the merits of douval .We had a lengthly debate about whether we should stop in holland at a coffee shop.Some of us are straight edge so they couldnt really see the point to go to a city out of the way to buy weed, which is understandable.Then some one suggested we go to Antwerp which was on the way.Since the gig in Aschaffenberg was cancelled we had a day off to drive most of the way to poland.Next day we went our singer past after been there 20 mins.The people were so nice there we then decided to form a band called The Kings of Chill and move to Holland, is gonna be the best band ever.We bought so much weed.We called in at Hanover for tea, so two japenese girls fight whilst i ate my burger.On the way out we had an argument were we should sleep.We decided since the last night outside without tents was so good we should do it again.We drove to phil got tired and stopped near a train crossing in the middle of a forrest in Bradenburg, we saw the biggest ant hill ever decded to move were we were sleeping further away.Me Parky and Ric speant ages making a fire out of damp wood.Smoked this party spliff that we got from the coffee shop and pazzed.All night before i went to sleep i could here mosquitoes buzzin round my head.We all zipped up so we just ha air holes.I got bit on the face six times, parky got bit on the lip, an ric got bit on hi face but they dint show up on his ginger skin.We got woke up to rain it was miserable.Wet we started driving to Poznan.Which was so pozzie, we drove for hours and hours and all we saw were 24 hour night clubs (whore houses) and novelty garden furniture shops at the side of the road.When we got to city it was totally different they had this cool currency that made you super rich, cause everything was so cheap.The show was mental loads of kids were there and thee were stage dives and other mint hardcore stuff.This mentally handicapped filmed our set and pretended to sing all our songs even the ones we havnt recorded.We travelled to leibzig the next day and played a squat.You walked through a dark apartment block to tiled garden were we played in a weird stone building.Everything was propper uneven and it was really hard to walk around.It was packed and people were singing our songs and throwing confety, so weird.We got stupid high that night and smoked nearly all da weed we bought a day previous.We played Augsberg the next day and the promoter put us on shit loads of vegan burgers that were actually really good.I ate 5, he put us up too and give us pop to drink.He played us some really mint band one called I not Dance which are well worth checking out. He fed us in the morning to propper nice guy.He then went to watch us at the next show in Ulm.We got really drunk as it was the last night and were stopping in the venue the higlights were: wathcing the american lads who'd hardly drunk before rage to slipknot like they were 13 again.Phil smashing his knee after slipping on some spilt beer on the pogo stick.His knee then swelling up into a big angry ball.Ric nearly punching me for annoying him.Watching phil and ric passed out .Getting beat at a game of skate off a guy who drove 350 kilometers to watch us.Putting Danny Pegg on the p.a when everyone was trying to sleep.The next day we packed up and drove to Aschaffenburg were we were meant to be playing Together at a five a side game of football.Non of us could be assed accept phil whos knee looked like it was dislocated.We had a massive meal and set of for the ferry at Calle.And non of us got layed can you beleive that.



















































photos from phil, nate and michael