Posts Tagged ‘ghetto’
I love all of you
Annie & I saying bye to Marie on Oxford St after we saw The Wahas play at Spectrum on a Wednesday night.
Seeing Galija play at a Serbian venue in Canley Heights with Jasmina, Nikola, my sister and her friends. I was sick and didn’t have a good time but the music was beautiful. & I had Kitty Power on my side!
More photos from our lazy day at Stanwell Park.
Hyde Park day.
Adventures in Liverpool with Jasmina & Nikola.
UPDATE!
Some things I’ve been up to since I last remembered to update…and with my memory, I bet I’ll forget about a bunch of things:
- Hung out with my friend Anni from Albury-Wodonga. I’ve known Anni longer than I’ve known most people, yet we’ve only actually seen each other in person twice. We (plus her boyfriend Dan) hung around Hyde Park a bit before they had to head back to the airport.
- Went to Drazen’s Slava which was…uncomfortable. I really dislike his parents and the people they know. Jasmina, Nikola and I left soon after, hung around Black Rose for a while before Nikola had to go to work, then Jasmina and I went to her place and watched Family Guy for a while.
- Hung around a park near my house in the early hours of the day a few times.
- Hung out with Morgan in Hyde Park & went to Big Day Out with Morgan, Mark and Nina (and some of their friends), which was a lot of fun, minus the intense heat. We saw bits and pieces of Tzu, The Grates, Lupe Fiasco, The Ting Tings and some band inside Lilyworld, but the bands we actually saw were Pendulum, Simian Mobile Disco, Hot Chip and The Prodigy. Pendulum and Hot Chip were both really good but Simian Mobile Disco and The Prodigy were fucking amazing!!! During The Prodigy someone broke a giant glow-stick in half and started pouring it all over everyone…for like a minute it was the most fun thing ever but then it started to burn our skin and we had to frantically look around for water to wash it off. I sustained many little injuries on the day…some of which I’m still recovering from, a week later! But it was a really good day and I don’t even mind that we missed Neil Young, because The Prodigy were so insanely good and perfect for how I was feeling.
- Saw The Prodigy at the Hordern Pavilion with Jasmina, Nikola and Nenad which was once again, totally fucking amazing. I could actually focus on the music this time which was great. They are just….so, so, so good! I got a sweet Prodigy bag! At the end, as the crowd was leaving one of the songs playing was that Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You song and everyone was singing along. It was pretty great! Also, The Prodigy ended with Out of Space and cut off the sound right at the end to leave just the crowd singing! Was awesome.
- Spent three consecutive days in The Ghetto. Day 1 was spent hanging around Liverpool with Jasmina and Nikola, then playing pool in Bonnyrigg (and being patriotic because it was the Bonnyrigg Serbian Club!), then after Nikola went to work, going to my place to eat, then back to Liverpool where we hung out with Nenad, Drazen and Milan (Nenad’s brother) in Memorial Avenue…then Drazen went home and we went up to Nenad’s to watch Resident Evil & How I Met Your Mother. Day 2 was Nenad’s Slava which was mostly just a lot of hanging around Nenad’s room looking up hilarious, horrible ‘music’ video clips from Former Yugoslavia. So bad yet so fucking funny! And completely, completely inappropriate. Day 3 was Nenad’s 20th birthday. We spent the night drinking at his place (well…I wasn’t drinking but I was so sober, I felt completely out of it!) which was a lot of fun until someone who shall not be named got too drunk and too loud and we got kicked out of the apartment by Nenad’s scary mother. But before that happened, lots of all-male nudity and bonding managed to happen… (More photos here.)
10th December
This is me attacking the Birthday Boy.
Wednesday
Wednesday was my friend Drazen’s 20th birthday. It was also the day my Canadian cousin Vlado’s older brother Zoran came to Australia. There are three brothers, the sons of my dad’s brother, and Zoran was the only one I hadn’t seen since I was a baby and therefore too young to remember him. He’s about 30 now and he’s an artisteeee. It could be the age difference, or maybe just a personality clash, but I got along with Vlado much, much better. They’ve both gone to New Zealand now. They slept over at our place before my dad drove them to the airport in the morning. So I hung out with them during the day before heading over to Liverpool in the evening to see Drazen for his birthday.
I met up with Nenad at his place in the fucking ghetto (seriously, that area of Liverpool makes me feel like I’m stuck in one of those tales-of-inner-city-American-life movies), then we walked over to Black Rose where we met up with Nikola and Jasmina. Drazen’s family was having dinner and his annoying-beyond-words brother came outside to have a cigarette and insisted on sitting with us and questioning us like a teacher on what we’re doing. He made a snide remark about me being an Arts student. I didn’t make any comments but seriously…he’s one person that really shouldn’t pass judgment on others. Anyway. We ended up having a few drinks at Legends….which has been cleaned up and is now called Macquarie Hotel and is a shiny gambling hellhole really. Sasa, Mark George and Bodin joined us also. Then off to this little barbeque area behind Drazen’s building to smoke. Sasa left, we convinced Mark George to smoke weed, Bodin still refused (and refused to let me dress him up in tight jeans) & Nikola and I ‘officially’ started talking again! Fun times. Then we drove around a bit, ended up in some park in Carramar, Bodin and Mark George left, and we drove down to a lake in Lansvale. It was actually quite nice considering its location. Really quiet and peaceful and completely unexpected…I mean, a lake!
It was a good night.
Westie Wednesday
Wednesday
(Nenad & Nikola with Nenad’s lightbox / Nikola & Sasa / Art, feat. Jasmina)
First, I went to the dentist and got FOUR teeth fixed. Which cost, oh, only $460. One tooth was so fucked up that no matter how much of the numbing stuff he injected me with, I still felt the pain when he started drilling. The next day my mouth was so sore from the needle jabs to my gums. The four teeth took so long, I started to get really bored and restless towards the end. Was really glad to leave!
Then later on I went to an exhibition of works by design students at Lidcombe TAFE which featured the work of my friend Nenad. Jasmina, Nikola, Mark George & I drove there. I almost got into a bitch fight with Mark George in the car when he said that Arts is a pointless degree but I chose to ignore him instead. Some people are just not worth arguing with. When we got to Lidcombe TAFE, we met up with Nenad, Nenad’s brother Milan, Sasa and a really amusing dude whose name I forget. Free beer, Latin dancers, lots of work to look at, coming up with various ways to embarrass Nenad, etc. It was amusing and I sort of started talking to Nikola again which was really nice because I sort of miss hanging out with him. Plus, I rarely see my friends-from-the-ghetto these days so it was kind of nice overall. I dubbed the day Westie Wednesday. We were delayed in heading back because Nenad had to give a cheque to the DJ, then finding the way to Newtown where they were dropping me off was difficult, so there was a lot of driving involved, but luckily we’d swapped Mark George with Nenad!
In Newtown, I met up with Zig at The Vanguard where we were supposed to see Tim Freedman play – I was supposed to be reviewing for Faster Louder. As though I didn’t despise The Vanguard enough already, I get there and the awful old bitch at the desk says she doesn’t see my name anywhere on any list, and does not care for the printed out email I show her from Faster Louder. She was so unpleasant. Faster Louder have since said they’ll email them telling them they were very unprofessional! I wasn’t too heartbroken because I really hate that venue, but I heard a few minutes of Tim playing and it was just so fucking lovely, I wish I’d been there. Instead, Zig and I went to Newtown Thai II for dinner which was very good, then wandered down King St, caught a train to Central, hung around waiting for Zig’s bus, then both headed home. Eddy Avenue at night is a really scary place to be.
+ My rather awful review of Circlesquare’s Songs About Dancing and Drugs is up on The Dwarf: have a look.
It’s Friday, I’m in love
Last Friday
I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned. Having to bite down, for three minutes, on some weird rubber device with fluoride (I think) on it is incredibly uncomfortable.
In the evening, Annie and I went to the city. I was wearing these stockings that have a rip in them that looks pretty good but then I was playing around with it and it ripped a little too much. I got paranoid about the stockings just coming apart so we had to find a new pair somewhere. 7-11 comes in so handy sometimes. There were some really weird noises in the sky as we walked to Kings Cross; we couldn’t figure out if it was thunder, fireworks or bombs. Anyway, so we got to Candy’s and in a hilarious incident with the security guards, got our precious vodka taken away (but they were nice enough to give it back to us later). Then we got free entry thanks to Darren. (I later found out Outrun put me on the guest-list – awww.) Inside we met up with my friends-from-the-ghetto Jasmina, Nenad and Drazen who had surprisingly decided to come along that night. Drazen and Nenad bought me a lot of drinks and let me drink theirs too which was nice.
A band called Yen played a really long set. They were pretty good. Kind of mellow and interesting. Sujin and Marie joined us also. Towards the end of Yen’s set, Annie and I went outside for a bit…to…get medicated…and then we went back to Candy’s and saw Outrun play. AND THEY WERE REALLY FUCKING AMAZING. The only downside was the length of their set – nowhere near long enough. But they were so, so good, especially considering that chatting to Josh beforehand, I found out he’d had three hours of sleep! So, rather impressive. I fucking love this band! After their set, we stayed around for a while drinking and dancing and being amused by Drazen’s antics. Was fun!
The night ended with an hours-long gutter party, with my friends-from-the-ghetto leaving Annie and I…I don’t think they appreciate the beauty of gutter parties. One day they will learn! It was a really good night but I had a killlllller hangover the next day.
This Friday
Last night ended really early but for some reason, it felt like we’d been out forever. I guess we did a lot in a short amount of time.
First, Annie & I went to see Ohana play at Spectrum and they were so good! That was the first time I’d seen them play live and I was as impressed as I was when I first heard them on FBi. I need to discover more bands like them (suggestions, anyone?).
Then we went down to the Oxford Art Factory to see The Vignettes play and they were, as always, heaps of fun and completely incredible. There was a little fan club happening at the front of the stage and they were adorable. After they played, we talked to Natalie and Aaron for a bit, from The Revolution Artist Services, about music and TEETH and other good stuff. They’re both so lovely, and I was completely jealous hearing that Aaron has seen Nirvana live! There’s some good stuff being planned between The Revolution Artist Services and TEETH so…stay tuned!
Then back to Spectrum to see Die! Die! Die!, a fucking brilliant band that I absolutely love seeing live because it is always complete insanity and sweat, bruises, spilled drinks, loss of inhibitions, etc. They always put on such a good show!!!!!!! They need to come to Sydney more often. I very rarely see people lose their minds that much at smaller gigs and it’s amazing! Ran into Taps, Andrew and Myers there too which was cool.
After that neither of us could stop talking about how amazing it was and so we regretted going back to OAF where The Protectors were playing because it kind of ruined the good vibes a bit. Seriously…just because you look interesting doesn’t mean you should be a band. Also, looking like the lovechild of Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger doesn’t mean you are either of them.
Then we had to leave early because Annie’s sister was offering us both lifts home if we came back not too late, and since we both hate the amount taxi drivers charge, and since yesterday ended with me having 85c to my name, we took up the offer.
How I survived with no money: bottle of vodka left over from last week + Annie buying me drinks (thanks dude!) + my father’s spare change jar for Spectrum entry & train ticket. Whoooo!
(Photos by ANNIE LY.)
So police think they have the authority to kill a minority
Last night I went to one of the best gigs I’ve been to in a long time. Sydney music…seriously, it’s fucking incredible.
Leesy, Jo & I are from the WEST SIDE.
Zig & I are obvs raging lesbians.
I like to stalk Annie.
Annie & I headed to the city on a train that seemed to be headed to Eternal Damnation. The lightning and thunder and dark dark sky were all pretty frightening, especially when stuck on a really old train. But we made it out alive except that when we got to Central, it started raining like a motherfucker out of nowhere and we had to hang around waiting for the rain to calm down. When it eventually did we made the uphill trek to the Hopetoun (where we met up with Zig) and by the time we got there, were pretty much soaked. Fuck this weather! It’s the worst when it’s hot AND raining.
First, The Vignettes played and they were awesome, as always! As someone later said “he’s a great little guitar player, isn’t he?” They’re so much fun to watch and their music is great. Go down to your local JB Hi-Fi and grab a copy of their EP Out of Home, On Our Own. I assume Red Eye should also have some copies. It’s really good. Or come to their next gig and you could get a copy for free! I did the mailing list rounds for them after they played and gave away a bunch of copies of the EP.
Then Leesy, Jo and two of their friends whose names I’ve unfortunately forgotten rocked up. Leesy brought her grillz, yo! Her ghetto alter-ego is Rude Boy and last night she wrote a new song on the back of Feels Like Friday #8. I feel so honoured to have been part of the process! BALLZ DEEP!
Chaingang played next and they were really, really good! The singer’s stage presence is just amazing. I’d seen them once or twice before but I was never as impressed as last night. Despite the ridiculous heat inside the venue (seriously Hopetoun, some air-conditioning would be nice. Or a fan at least!), they put on an incredible show. I’m so excited to hear their future recordings.
Then the headlining act of the night – The Wahas. It’s no secret that I love this band and think they’re pretty much the best band in Australia at the moment. They just get better with every gig they play. This was their first headlining gig and it coincided with their End of the HSC celebrations. And it was fucking amazing! Seriously, this was the best gig I’ve ever seen them play. They were INCREDIBLE. The set was a nice mixture of new and old songs, with the highlight being “Cheap Stuff” (that ending is brilliant) and the fact that they played “Loads” (I think it’s called) made me happy. Just…wow, they were so, so good! If you haven’t seen this band yet, WHAT THE HELL MAN?!
After the gig, we hung around outside the Hopetoun being ghetto for a while and then we all headed home. The rain before just made me really unwilling to do anything afterwards except take a long warm shower and sleep.
On the way home, Annie and I got stuck in Merrylands. When the train doors opened at the station, a guy ran out yelling “HELP! HELP!”. The train had to stop until the guards and drivers figured out what was going on. All we knew was that some guy was bleeding all over the place, claiming to have been attacked in the last carriage. There was a lot of confusion, paranoia on my part, boredom and annoyance at the mystery of what happened. Annie and I befriended a girl on our carriage who was coming home from work, and two kids outside the train who had come from the last carriage but hadn’t heard anything happening. One of them thought I was someone who went to her school and then it turned out we knew some of the same people. The Serbian community in the south-west is rather small…
After quite a while, the ambulance and police arrived. The police ran through the train, looking like they were desperately trying to put on an image of importance but seeming rather incompetent. They ran straight for every Samoan kid on the train, demanding to see their tickets, asking them questions. They completely ignored us. We could have murdered someone and they wouldn’t have asked us a thing. Apparently girls aren’t violent. Oh and it could be all this N.W.A I’ve been listening to, but – racial profiling, anyone? It couldn’t have possibly been the white girl and her Vietnamese friends, nor could they have possibly seen a thing; let’s harass the Samoan kids, they must be the violent ones. If they figured we didn’t hurt anyone, that’s annoying but sort of understandable, but the fact that they didn’t ask us a thing, nor check our tickets like they did with those kids is just fucked up.
All photos by ANNIE LY, except the one I took as I was stalking ANNIE LY…
Fucking with me cos I’m a teenager, with a little bit of gold and a pager
Coming straight outta Compton is the latest compilation tribute album to the “world’s most dangerous group” N.W.A….
I’m writing a review for The Dwarf instead of writing my essay.
