Me First & The Gimme Gimmes & Yidcore @ Manning Bar

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with Reggae, Barnesy & Jill.

We had dinner somewhere in Surry Hills beforehand, near Greag & Jill's.

Yidcore was pretty crazy, but Me First well exceeded expectations.  I had roped the other 3 into coming, but they had a blast as well.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 256th concert.

Manning Bar is the 68th venue I've seen a concert in.
This is my 2nd concert in University Of Sydney.
This is my 179th concert in New South Wales.
This is my 182nd concert in Australia.
Yidcore are the 312th band I've seen.
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes are the 313th band I've seen.

Melbourne, VIC

What I remember (in 2024)
Flew to Melbourne on 11 January with Reggae, Robbie and Linda, to spend 2 nights with the Kerns and the Marshes.

Had a day touring some wineries (Stone Creek & Yarra Valley are 2 that I remember).  Was an absolute cracking day.  That night we celebrated Tawnie's birthday and got to meet Lucas & Nikki's newborn son, Daniel.

The next day we drove out to Warburton and spent the day being tourists out there.

It was just great being all together.  It had been 7-8 years since I'd seen Luke.

Robbie, Me, TK, Tawnie, Linda & Reggae

Robbie, Linda, TK, Tawnie, Reggae & Me

Robbie, Tawnie, TK, Reggae & Linda, Warburton, Victoria

Australia vs India @ SCG

Australia 463 & 7/401 dec defeated India 532 & 210 by 122 runs

Day 4 of 5 End Of Day

Australia 2nd innings 282/4 (MEK Hussey 87*, A Symonds 14*, 83 ov)

Crowd: 20,301

Australia

Phil Jaques, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Brad Hogg Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark

India

Wasim Jaffer, Raul Dravid, Venkata Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Singh, Ishant Sharma

Me @ The Bradman Bar, Member's Stand SCG

THE Sachin Tendulkar @ SCG

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with Craig's mate.  He was supposed to come as well, but dropped out that morning.

We sat in the Member's Stand.

The Australian crowd continued it's hate against Harbajan Singh.  I think this was the test he had a run in with Andrew Symonds.

After the lunch break, I went to where the dressing rooms were.  Everyone wanted to see the Aussies and no one was near the Indian room.  That's how I got this awesome picture of Sachin Tendulkar.  Also got one of Ishant Sharma.  Big lad.  And boy was he bowling fast that day.

Central Coast Mariners vs Melbourne Victory @ Bluetongue Stadium

Melbourne 5 (Adrian Cacares 4, Danny Allsopp 23, 62, Archie Thompson 45, Kevin Muscat 45) defeated Central Coast 2 (Mile Jedinak 32, John Aloisi 63)

Crowd: 18,686

Central Coast

Matthew Trott, Andrew Clark, Andre Gumprecht, Alex Wilkinson, Bradley Porter, Mile Jedinak (Nigel Boogaard 90), Tom Pondeljak, Sasho Petrovski, John Aloisi, Damian Brown (Paul O'Grady 46), Tony Vidmar (Matthew Simon 46)

Melbourne

Michael Theoklitos, Rodrigo Vargas, Sebastian Ryall, Matthew Kemp, Kevin Muscat, Leigh Broxham, Daniel Vasilevski, Nick Ward, Adrian Caceres (Joseph Keenan 67), Daniel Allsopp, Archie Thompson (Kaz Patafta 90)

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with Dad, K & J.

Sat in the stand facing west.  Pretty good turn out for New Years Eve

Charlotte, NC

Flew back to Charlotte on November 14 to spend 3 days with A's family.

Henry Rollins @ House Of Blues

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with A & Dave.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 255th concert.

This is my 26th concert at House Of Blues.
This is my 61st concert in Las Vegas.
This is my 61st concert in Nevada.
This is my 66th concert in the USA.
This is my 5th Henry Rollins concert.

Danzig & Horror Pops @ House of Blues

The Crap Facts:

This is my 254th concert.

This is my 25th concert at House Of Blues.
This is my 60th concert in Las Vegas.
This is my 60th concert in Nevada.
This is my 65th concert in the USA.
Horror Pops are the 311th band I've seen.
This is my 4th Danzig concert.
Danzig are the 100th time I've seen a band in Las Vegas.

Vegoose @ Sam Boyd Stadium

What I remember (in 2024)

Was given ticket by fellow Concierge, after finding a large amount of commissions not being paid.

Went on my own straight from work at Lake Las Vegas.  Was going to meet with Mike, but I don't have a phone, and we never passed each other.

Tonnes of people dressed up, as it was 4 days before Halloween.  All bands I saw today, I'd never seen before.

Gogol Bordello were a super fun way to kick off the day.  

Mastodon were dressed spookily for Halloween, and put a great show on.  

Public Enemy & Cypress Hill were the only 2 rap acts of the day, and they put them on at the same time.  Public Enemy won out, and I don't regret my choice.  911 Is A Joke was the best.

I did go and check out the Shins, but wasn't really into it, and left after a song or 2.

Queens out on an excellent, rocking show.

The Stooges was definitely what I was there to see.  Holy Shit, they were awesome!  Iggy expelled more energy on stage for an hour, than I have my entire life.  He invited the crowd onto the stage for one of the final songs.  These guys are 30 years past their prime, I can't begin to imagine how good they would have been then, because tonight they were awesome.

Daft Punk were great, especially for me.  Not what I'd generally listen to, but the duo did a great job getting an exhausted crowd dancing.

I ended up with a migraine and have no idea how I drove home.  Wish I had gone the following day as well.

The Crap Facts

This is my 253rd concert.

Sam Boyd Stadium is the 67th venue I've seen a concert.
This is my 59th concert in Las Vegas.
This is my 59th concert in Nevada.
This is my 64th concert in the USA.
Gogol Bordello are the 305th band I've seen.
Gogol Bordello are the 100th time I've seen a band in the USA.

Mastodon are the 306th band I've seen.
Public Enemy are the 307th band I've seen.
Public Enemy are the 200th time I've seen an American band.
Queens Of The Stone Age are the 308th band I've seen.
The Stooges are the 309th band I've seen.
Daft Punk are the 310th band I've seen.

Jay Leno & Lifehouse @ Venetian Hotel

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with A, Miller & Rhonda.  This was a private event to do with the car convention Miller was in town for.  Show was in the Venetian's ballroom.

Lifehouse played half a dozen songs, before Jay Leno came out and did a set.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 252nd concert.

The Venetian is the 66th venue I've seen a concert.
This is my 58th concert in Las Vegas.
This is my 58th concert in Nevada.
This is my 63rd concert in the USA.
Lifehouse are the 304th band I've seen.

Smashing Pumpkins @ The Pearl

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with Dave, and met up with Anthony & Chris from Loews.

I wanted to like Smashing Pumpkins, but I'm just not into them as a whole.  Bullet With Butterfly Wings & Cherub Rock were highlights, but otherwise....

The Crap Facts:

This is my 251st concert.

This is my 3rd concert at The Pearl.

This is my 57th concert in Las Vegas.
This is my 57th concert in Nevada.
This is my 62nd concert in the USA.
This is my 3rd Smashing Pumpkins concert.

Kings Of Leon & Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The Joint

What I remember (in 2024)

Went on my own.

Both bands were fantastic.  Great to see BRMC again after seeing them just 3 months prior.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 250th concert.

This is my 19th concert at The Joint.
This is my 56th concert in Las Vegas.
This is my 56th concert in Nevada.
This is my 61st concert in the USA.
This is my 2nd Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert.
This is my 2nd Kings of Leon concert.

Spamalot @ Wynn Hotel

What I remember (in 2024)

Just as funny the 2nd time.  THis may have been the time that A & I were almost on the floor laughing, but the young couple sitting next to us was having none of it.  They left before the show was half over, without so much as cracking a smile.

Austin, TX

What I remember (in 2024) 

On the 16th A&I flew down to Austin, TX with Creany, Katy & Reggae, all of who had been staying with us, to celebrate Saffa's 30th birthday.  We spent the weekend at his in-laws house on Lake Travis.  Just a great weekend of catching up.  Our first night was spent at Iguana Grill, a local Mexican joint overlooking the lake, for margaritas and general catch ups.  Saturday was spent out on a boat in the lake.  My first time in a freshwater lake.  Weird feeling!  Saturday night was a big night in 6th Avenue.  Pretty sure Saffa had a great time.

Me, Creany, Reggae, Katy, Saffa & Gretchen, Lake Travis, Austin, TX

At Iguana Grill, Lake Travis, Austin, TX

Creany, Saffa, Gretchen, Kay, Me, A & Reggae, Lake Travis, Austin, TX

Mystere @ Treasure Island

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with the Creans.

Vancouver, BC

What I remember (in 2024)

On 27 July, A & I flew to Vancouver, as she had a work meeting there.  We stayed on a high floor at the Marriott downtown.  We flew back on the 31st.

We went to Capilano Bridge on the Saturday, and the Cleveland Dam, on the north side of Vancouver.  Sunday we saw the Creans.  While the girls went out, Creany and I went and saw the Simpsons Movie.

On the Monday, we rented bikes and rode around the massive Stanley Park.

View from our hotel, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Capilano Bridge, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Capilano Bridge, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Capilano Bridge, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC, Canada