Big Day Out @ Sydney Showgrounds

What I remember (in 2024)

Got there in order to see Fur, the opening band of the day, on the main stage (2 stages set up side by side).

Missed Warumpi Band, but was back for Jebediah on the same stage.  

Living End straight after on the stage next to it then back for Soulfly.  Stayed for 1/2 their set

Over to smaller stages for 2nd half of Not From There.

Regurgitator back on the main stages.

Caught the back half of Antenna, before seeing Sparklehorse.  This was in a tent, and I saw them just to get out of the sun, but the set was beautiful.  Really gentle, moving music.  Not what I would normally listen to, but I was enthralled.

Ash on the other small stage, then back to the main arena for Korn, then Marylin Manson, who was amazing, dressed in Naziesque uniforn, burning books and being controversial.  His show was a spectacle.

Finished the (big) day at the smaller stage watching TISM rip it up.

The Crap Facts

This is my 159th concert.

Sydney Showgrounds are the 41st venue I've seen a concert in.

Homebush is the 32nd city I've seen a concert in.

This is my 154th concert in New South Wales.

This is my 156th concert in Australia.
This is my 5th Fur concert.
This is my 5th Jebediah concert.
This is my 6th Living End concert.
Soulfly are the 210th band I've seen.
This is my 2nd Not From There concert.
Not From There are the 300th time I've seen an Australian band.

This is my 6th Regurgitator concert.
Antenna are the 211th band I've seen.
Sparklehorse are the 212th band I've seen.
Ash are the 213th band I've seen.
Korn are the 214th band I've seen.
Marilyn Manson are the 215th I've seen.
Marylin Manson are the 450th time I've seen a band.

This is my 4th TISM concert.

Unwritten Law, Game Over & Loki @ Iron Duke

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with Roberta.

The Iron Duke was packed, and Unwritten Law played a crazy show.  It was sweating from the ceiling.  I easily lost 5 kilos that night.  Fantastic dhow.

The Crap Facts

This is my 158th concert.

This is my 2nd concert at Iron Duke.

This is my 2nd concert in Zetland.

This is my 153rd concert in New South Wales.

This is my 155th concert in Australia.
Loki are the 208th band I've seen.
Game Over are the 209th band I've seen.
Game Over are the 200th different band I've seen in New South Wales.

This is my 3rd Unwritten Law concert.

Vans Warped Tour @ Kierle Park

What I remember (in 2024)

Went on my own.

It was hot and dry. Kierle Park ended up a dustbowl.

Was watching Pennywise from in front of the sound desk, next to Psycho Miko from Suicidals. Jumped into the circle pit with him when Pennywise demanded the crowd do circle work all the away around the mixing desk. It was wild.

Pennywise had a security guard sing Black Flag's Gimme Gimme Gimme on stage with them.

Scott Risso from Unwritten Law, wearing a cricket helmet, encouraged the crowd to throw shit at him. And they did! He got pelted to the point you could barely see the stage for the rubbish being thrown.

The Crap Facts

This is my 157th concert.

This is my 2nd concert at Kierle Park.

This is my 3rd concert in Manly.

This is my 152nd concert in New South Wales.

This is my 154th concert in Australia.
Less Than Jake are the 205th band I've seen.
This is my 2nd Area 7 concert.
This is my 2nd Suicidal Tendencies concert.
This is my 5th Porkers concert.
Cherry Poppin Daddies are the 206th band I've seen.
This is my 2nd Pennywise concert.
Deftones are the 207th band I've seen.
Deftones are the 100th time I've seen an American band.

This is my 9th Frenzal Rhomb concert.
This is my 2nd Unwritten Law concert.

Mudhoney & Rocket From The Crypt @ The Metro

What I remember (in 2024)

Went on my own.

Thought Rocket From The Crypt were amazing.  Then Mudhoney came out and blew them away.  Great double line up.

The Crap Facts

This is my 156th concert.

This is my 30th concert at The Metro.

This is my 35th concert in Sydney.

This is my 151st concert in New South Wales.

This is my 153rd concert in Australia.

This is my 2nd Rocket From The Crypt concert.
This is my 2nd Mudhoney concert.

Homebake @ The Domain

Frenzal Rhomb Setlist

 

The Crap Facts

This is my 155th concert.

This is my 2nd concert at The Domain.

This is my 34th concert in Sydney.

This is my 150th concert in New South Wales.

This is my 152nd concert in Australia.
The Feelers are the 204th band I've seen.
This is my 2nd Something For Kate concert.

This is my 4th Fini Scad concert.
This is my 8th Frenzal Rhomb concert.
This is my 2nd Nancy Vandal concert.
This is my 2nd Mavis' concert.
This is my 5th Screamfeeder concert.
This is my 4th Jebediah concert.
Jebediah are the 50th different band I've seen in 1998.

This is my 2nd Sidewinder concert.
This is my 3rd Ratcat concert.
Ratcat are the 50th different band I've seen in Sydney.

This is my 5th Living End concert.
This is my 3rd TISM concert.

TISM are the 400th time I've seen a band in New South Wales.

Sprung Monkey & Nitocris @ The Zoo

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with Jason.

Nitocris wouldn't play until people moved closer to the stage.  People inched forward song by song.

The Crap Facts

This is my 154th concert.

This is my 21st concert at The Zoo.

This is my 21st concert in Long Jetty.

This is my 149th concert in New South Wales.

This is my 151st concert in Australia.
This is my 5th Nitocris concert.

Nitocris are the 50th time I've seen a band in 1998.

This is my 3rd Sprung Monkey concert.

Superjesus, Local H & Violeteen @ Central Coast Leagues

What I remember (in 2024)

Went with K & Jason.

Local H had their roadies sitting on stage playing cards, with one of them joining in on a 2nd guitar on a few songs.

The Crap Facts

This is my 153rd concert.

This is my 5th concert at Central Coast Leagues.

This is my 5th concert in Gosford.

This is my 148th concert in New South Wales.

This is my 150th concert in Australia.
Violeteen are the 203rd band I've seen.
This is my 2nd Local H concert.

Local H are the 400th time I've seen a band in Australia.

This is my 3rd Superjesus concert.

Living End & Area 7 @ The Metro

The Crap Facts

This is my 152nd concert.

This is my 29th concert at The Metro.

This is my 33rd concert in Sydney.

This is my 147th concert in New South Wales.

This is my 149th concert in Australia.
Area 7 are the 202nd band I've seen.

Area 7 are the 50th different band I've seen at The Metro.
This is my 4th Living End concert.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Bateau Bay, Australia

I woke up at 11.30 am Hong Kong time (4.30 am London) to be served breakfast. Although I slept well last night, I was awoken twice because of turbulence.

We arrived at the new Hong Kong Airport at 1.30 pm. I disembarked and went straight to my gate, where my flight left at seven pm. I sat in the waiting room, writing in my diary and reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I didn’t sleep more than an hour, but I felt great when I woke up.

It then seemed to take forever before we boarded. I am on one of those new planes that have a television in the back of every seat. I also have two seats to myself as the plane is only half full, which you would think is conducive to sleep. However, I stayed awake the whole trip. I watched Mercury Rising, then Godzilla on the inflight movie channel, before moving on to write more in my diary. There is also an on-board computer which monitors where you are on a map and can be displayed on the tv right in front of you. While it kept me amused, it made it feel like forever before we got home.

Wednesday 7 October 1998

It is now 4.53 am Sydney time, and we only have 953 kilometers to go (or an hour, 27 minutes). We’re just about to cross the New South Wales/Queensland border. I spend my time seeing familiar sights and reflecting on an amazing last five months. So close to home!

London, England to Hong Kong, Hong Kong

This was it! I was continuously woken from 5.30 am as people wished me farewell before heading off to work.

I didn’t go anywhere this morning, just procrastinated about packing everything. It was only me and Luvo in the house until two pm, when he left after we’d had some lunch.

Finally, it came time for me to head to the station, but not without some drama. I closed the door behind me and then realized I didn’t know where my passport was (dickhead!). I frantically unpacked everything on the front step – but to no avail. My only hope was for a next-door neighbor to be home, and see if I can get in a back window. Fortunately, someone was and they supervised me jump the back fence. The back door was locked, as was the spare room, but the window near the fridge was open, so I climbed in. What a relief! I found the passport on the floor of the spare room and left in a hurry, pledging to call my first born after the neighbor.

I only waited five minutes at Streatham Hill for a train, and another was waiting for me at Victoria. A change at South Kensington was my last before the Heathrow Terminal.

I checked in with plenty of time to spare and wasn’t questioned about the excess three kilos on my baggage. I did, however, have my day pack checked in a random search. It’s one of those situations where you know you’ve done nothing wrong, but you can’t stop sweating and being nervous.

I had a good seat at the back of the plane with plenty of leg room and a chair that leant way back. I sat next to a guy, Dave from Leicester, who was a shoe manufacturer heading to Hong Kong on business. I watched The Truman Show, before a good night’s sleep.

London, England

At nine am Reggae decided that the whole house should be awake, much to no one’s delight.

I struggled to get up, but managed a shower before Brett and Simone came around. The three of us, with Reggae and Bert, went back to yesterday’s café for another plate of fat. It was good to catch up with Brett before I head home tomorrow, even though it was only for an hour. While members of the house went their own way for the day, I caught the train to Hammersmith to meet with Kern, Luvo, Johnny, Karla and Jen for lunch at a pub on the Thames. I thought I was doing badly being 20 minutes late, but I had to wait another 40 minutes for the others to arrive.

We had a Sunday roast at this pub and then headed to another, Salvation, to watch Liverpool and Chelsea on TV.

After the game, Johnny and Kern went back to their new place (they moved in yesterday), while Luvo and I made the trek back to Streatham Hill.

We got home at seven pm and Bert had made dinner for everyone, with some leftovers for us.

The night was spent in, as all of the Castle had had a big weekend, and was overflowing with people. I can’t believe I’m going home tomorrow. It depresses me in some ways, but I’m excited in others. I can’t wait to surprise mum and Kelly.

London, England

I arrived in Victoria Station at eight am, and it’s cold for the second day in a row. I caught the train down to the Castle and manage to wake up most of the household, who’ve had a big night last night.

Kern, Lisa, Cousin Suze and I head out for a fry-up breakfast at a café just around the corner. Most people were up by the time we got back, and if not, I made sure it was time they were.

The day was a pretty lazy one, with not much happening until two pm, when Luvo, Creany, Kel, Dan (Creany & Kel’s friend) and I went up to Camden to go through the markets again. I wish I had heaps of money, because I would’ve spent a fortune here again.

We walked down to Benno & Jane’s as they are having a house warming party tonight. We picked up some dinner and beers on the way, as the Hawaiian party kicked off at eight pm. The house was packed with about 60 people in their small 2-bedroom flat that they share with at Kiwi, Quinton. The party was great – the place was literally jumping, and I met a ton of new people.

Me, Camden, London, England

Me & Luvo, Camden, London, England

Johnny, Me, Simon, Luvo & Karla, Camden, London, England

Kern, Camden, London, England

Benno, Camden, London, England

Karla & Me, Camden, London, England

It wasn’t until 4.30 am that we decided to go home (and we left a dozen people there). Luke, Karla, Luvo and I caught a cab back to Streatham Hill, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Edinburgh, Scotland to London, England

I left my backpack at the hostel to do a day’s sightseeing before heading back to London. First stop was the bus station to book on the 10.30 pm bus tonight. No problems there.

I went to the tourist office in order to plan my day. I started by getting on the Edinburgh Tour Bus, which takes you around the city allowing you to get off whenever, to look around. The bus started at the Walter Scott Monument, which couldn’t be seen due to restoration works (Scotland’s contribution to the growing European Scaffolding Plague). The bus went down to Prince Street (the main shopping street), and then into the old town.

My first stop was Edinburgh Castle. This 12th century castle is situated on an extinct volcano and gives great views over the city. There are numerous old buildings within the castle, and the free audio guide gave many insights into Edinburgh and the Castle’s history. Today the sight is used as headquarters for the Scottish Army, and also houses Scotland’s Crown Jewels.

After two hours in the castle, I got back on the bus, which headed down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace. This palace is used by the Queen when she visits Scotland. I walked around the outside of the grounds as it was too expensive to go in.

I got back on the bus and stayed with it as it drove around the new town, before stopping again in Princes Street. I got off here to go to the National Gallery. This gallery was filled with a variety of paintings by Scottish artists.

After walking around the gallery for a while I opted to wander around the streets, just looking around, it was 5.30 pm and most shops and sights were closed. I sat in Princes Street Gardens for a while, writing in my diary, before going for a baked potato for dinner.

I then went back to the Tron Hostel to get my stuff, before going to the bus station. The bus was half an hour late getting into Edinburgh, and was packed. I was squashed into my seat and tried desperately, to get some sleep, but was kept awake by pissed Newcastle supporters who didn’t shut up until they were threatened with removal by the bus driver. This was when we were in Leeds at 3.30 am, at which time everyone was ready to kill them. I slept on and off the rest of the way to London.

Glasgow, Scotland to Edinburgh, Scotland

This morning I checked out of the hostel and took my backpack up to the youth hostel where the bus picks up in the afternoon.

I walked through Kelvingrove Park to the museum. There was a small guided tour through the museum, which was basically an elderly volunteer telling us which paintings she did and did not like. Once that was complete, I had a look around for myself. There were paintings there by Monet, De Gas, De Goya, Whistler and Velazquez to name a few. Other areas of the museum had a dinosaur display, South Pacific art and an Armory, which had a full-size Storm Trooper suit.

After the museum I had enough time to grab some lunch before heading back to the hostel for the bus to pick us up.

It took only an hour to get to Edinburgh and we were dropped off at the Belford Hostel, an old converted church, just on the edge of the city. We ended up staying at the Tron Hostel in the old town, before kicking on to a couple of pubs in the Grassmarket area. There was me, Adam, Andy, Yvonne, Kathy, Catherine, Carol from Ireland, and Rick and Eve from New Zealand. It ended up being a really good night, that wrapped up at two am.

Glasgow, Scotland

Finally, it rains in Scotland! After a week of great weather, Glasgow turns on the weather I had been expecting. It rained constantly all day, but I was inside for most of it.

The girls and I started off the day walking to the tourist info to decide what do.

My first stop after that was St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life & Art. My reason for this was to see Dali’s Christ of St. John of the Cross, a controversial, but most intriguing, painting of the crucifixion. Controversial because it is a rare perspective of looking at Christ from above, and not the traditional frontal view of his death. I love me some Dali, and this painting was no exception.

The museum also had displays covering many religions (i.e., Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, etc.) and their role in Scotland. There was even a painting from the Aboriginal Dreamtime.

Behind the museum is the Glasgow Cathedral. This church was built in 1238, and has numerous small chapels, which were full of art students trying to copy the gothic style, and also the tombs of St. Mungo.

After lunch I met up with Kathy and we did a tour of the city’s chambers, located in George’s Square. The City Hall was built in 1880 and houses offices of Glasgow’s Lord Provost (Mayor), local council meeting rooms, dining/function room, and two, three-floor marble staircases. The tour gave us a brief history of the building and a run-down of how the local council works.

This took and an hour, and gave us enough time to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art afterwards. This was four floors of some great works, but the two pieces that stood out for me were by an artist who had done these 3D paintings. The first one was in a triangular shape of a building, which looked all fresh and new in the afternoon shadows, but when you looked at it from another angle, the building looked like it was in a state of ruin. The other painting was of three hallways, which moved when you did. Very trippy, but amazing! I’d love to know how it was done.

With it still raining, another night in was on the cards, so I go some take-away, went back to the hostel and watched a couple of UEFA Cup games.