I woke up on Saturday, and started cleaning up. One hting I have noticed about the intensive schedule is that it does not leave a lot of time or energy for home maintenance. So, there's a nice bit of dust and crumbs on the floor, and it needed to be taken care of. Did some laundry, got all my stuff together.
It was Sam's vaccination day, so I wanted to get her to the vet by 11:00 or so. I got there, and I got another speech about how I should get her the very expensive but optional FIP vaccination. Since she's not exposed to other cats, I don't think it's necessary, plus, it's really expensive. Anyways, it was into the humidifier box with her, and off to the vet.
Get back home around 12:00, and hurry to eat some lunch, because I had decided that come hell or high water, I would be going to the orphanage this week, because I have been cancelling going almost every week for four months. Every week, a group of foreign teachers volunteers to hang out with girls at the orphanage for an hour. I didn't realize it was only for an hour. I actually didn't know that it was all girls, either. They were young too. I didn't really do much, just stood around. I was the new guy, and pretty intimidating, I think. We made sock puppets, so at least I have a great souvenir!
I headed to Holly's Coffee after the orphanage gang dispersed, and I actually managed to mark five tests in about an hour and a half, a new record. I think that in the future I will do all of my marking out of the house, where there are fewer distraction. Then I headed to Gimbap Nara for some dinner, and then off to the other coffee shop, Cafe Provence, to meet my new friends before the concert. I gave the mistress a few CDs (Hawksley Workman, Gordon Lightfoot, Fionn Regan and Iron and Wine), and then we headed out.
The concert was an incredible experience. Firstly, as you know, if you read this blog, I don't get out with young Koreans too often, so just that was a great treat. These two guys are really funny. And they're both music nerds too, so we had a lot of fun at the concert.
The concert started with two local acts, who played three songs each. When the stage was being set, the music playing was "Rosanna" by Toto (I think) which was really inappropriate for the style of music. Anyways, these six kids come out (drums, two guitars, keys, bass and vocals), and they look totally high school, and I'm not really expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, it wasn't my favourite music in the world, but it was surprisingly well rehearsed. The best part was the lead guitarist, who looked like a Korean Ziggy Stardust, and wore really tight pants that showcased his chicken legs very well. But he stood with his feet about two feet apart, and only moved once during the whole set. So yeah, what he lacked in talent he definitely made up for in charisma. haha. The vocalist was pretty good. They were all pretty good, but I couldn't stop watching the kid to see if he moved. I started taking notes during their set... let's see if there's anything more to add... nope.
Second local act looks like Limp Bizkit, and they unfortunately try to sound like Limp Bizkit mixed with the worst screaming punk in the world. Rap rock is not my thing, and I found it hard even to get into the instrumentation (which was out of tune).
First headliner is "Newk". They take the stage after more Rosanna over the PA and some "Felt the rains down in Africa". They take the stage and there is instant debate about whether the bassist is a man or a woman. The hair says woman... I make a comment about how the pink shirt really isn't a factor in Korea, the dudes laugh. We go in for a closer look... thin moustache, it's a man. The band is tight, it's funny though, I feel like I'm watching the scene in Wayne's World where they go to an Alice Cooper concert and he's playing "Feed my Frankenstein". The music has the same feel. The singer is amazing, but the overuse of pinch harmonics on the guitar makes me feel like I'm on an 80s metal binge. Which would be cool if that was what I was in the mood for... and if the rest of the music felt like 80s metal. Newk has a girl drummer, and we all comment later about how cool that is... I'm tempted to make a comment about how she could probably bench me, and that that's hot, but then I'd have to explain too much. Oh, language barrier.
The lead singer made a comment about how many children there are, and I looked around... there were maybe 50 or 60 people there, and probably 15 of then were under ten. Then, there's the high school crowd out to see their friends in the openers. There was one girl who was pretty punked out, wearing strategically cut black stockings, but they looked terrible, because her legs were too skinny to pull them tight. It was pretty funny, actually. The rest of the crowd was mostly parents who didn't seem too impressed by the music. There was a dad and a baby in the seat next to me, and the dad was holding the little guy and making little dance moves with his arms, while other kids fought in front of them using glowsticks as light sabers. The band was good, with Tom Cochrane-esque riffing and a Maiden feel to the closer. They play four songs.
Carrie by Toto is piped in as the band leaves the stage. Hilariously inappropriate.
Band 2, otherwise known as "Jekyll" takes the stage looking like a post-apocalyptic nightmare. They have the windtunnel hair, the lead singer is wearing a super frilled out tux that is all black (capri pants) with red and white tips on the lapels and frills. The lead guitarist is wearing what can only be described as hot pants. attached with thin laces to these hot pants are patchwork chaps held together by stitching that runs through shoelace holes. These chaps/leggings are held on so that there is about two inches of exposed bare thigh. Really, it's so hot I can barely stand it. No wait, its just bizarre. And His shirt matches. And the bassist is wearing a tattered half shirt. Apparently in the future you have to assemble your clothes from the scraps that you find on the ground. Man, life's hard when you're an irradiated vampire, I guess.
Me and the dudes decide that now is a good time to take a break.
As they start, the lead singer yells "ARE YOU FUCKING READY?" at the top of his lungs. I can't help but think "Dude, it's Gwangju, and you're playing to high school kids, parents and babies. Is that really necessary?", followed by "Wait, do you even know what that means?" Their first song after we return from our break is Oasis-esque, but I really can't concntrate on anything but the pants. Way too much costume-related effort. At least they didn't seem to sacrifice practice time to go shopping, they sound well rehearsed. But it's still not my thing. During their set, this adorable little boy wearing a black coat tied closed with an orange sash starts dancing around the floor in front of the stage. It's so cute it hurts. The singer ends each song by screaming "THANK YOU!" before anyone has time to realize that the song is over.
They leave the stage, and "Faith" by George Michaels begins to play. Again, not really fitting with the mood of the night.
The third band, "Africa", takes the stage, and they look awesome. They're some forty-somethings, with a young bassist. The lead guitarist just looks like a metal-head, the rhythm player looks like a Korean Slash (Slashee as he is known here) and the drummer is wearing a wife beater that says "The critics loved Moby Dick, but the typesetters hated it". The band looks like how I have seen Crazy Horse in photos. I have a good feeling, so do the dudes, so we get up and head to the stage. When they start playing, I pull out my earplugs, because I can instantly tell that this is a band worth some ear damage. They get some nice blues-rock riffing going, and then this little firecracker of a Korean Janis Joplin walks out, and she starts WAILING! I mean, wailing HARD! She was awesome. They were so good that I didn't write any notes, because I was too busy rocking out stageside. Also, since I really stand out from the other people at the stage (high schoolers and my two twenty-something Korean comrades), I get sung to and vamped to by the singer all set. w00t! They even covered Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin. And they did it well.
They were awesome. Preview: they were the only band that sold out their CDs that night.
The next band, Syndicate, was by far the most entertaining, but not for their music. They were such a mismash of styles. The rhythm guitar player looked like Paul McCartney circa "Meet the Beatles" had had a baby with Moe from the Three Stooges, and together with the bass player, formed the non-mobile half of the stage. They just stood there and looked bored most of the set, which was too bad, because the rest of the bend was so entertaining. The lead guitarist was wearing super tight acid-wash jeans and a tight black T with the sleeves rolled in. They start a rhythm going, and I instantly think "Judas Priest style metal". Totally unexpected and totally awesome. They're going for a few seconds, but there's no lead singer to be seen, so I'm wondering who'll take the mic. Then BOOM! This guy walks on, stage left, dressed in full Rob Halford gear - leather vest, leather pants, black T, Corey Hart shades and riding gloves - comes out. Problem: he's a 45 year old chubby Korean dude with feathered hair. It was pretty funny. He did a good job, and I was rocking out with them. The lead guitarist was ridiculous with tremolo picking, and it was fun to watch, for sure.
The last band was called "What" and featured the rhythm guitarist from Africa on lead vocals. I liked Africa better, but these guys were alright. I found out later that the Slashee lookalike was actually a retired Korean baseball player who I was told was "a little bit famous".
After the show was over, I took the guys out to see the Jordan Emmans band play at the Speakeasy. They didn't seem to be hurting at all for my having left, so that was good. In fact they were sounding really good. They did Jordan's new song, called "Ice Princess", a break-up song, of course. It's really good. It's like nine minutes or something, and I think it's the best thing he's written. I actually felt a little stalkerish, standing at the back and singing along with everything. haha.
My contacts started to bug me, so I decided to call it a night. Luckily, the guys reminded me of our lunch date the the next day. I would have forgotten to set my alarm, I think.
The next morning I got up and got ready a little early so I could have a stress free visit with the guys and the mistress. I was ready when they called at 11:30, and they were waiting for me on the street when I came out of my building with rice cake ice cream, which was better than I expected.
They took me to a restaurant that had been recommended by a friend. It was really nice, very woodsy, which was fitting, ebcause the translation of the name was "arbor town". They serve "Well Beeng" food, which basically means organic. But it wasn't too expensive, surprisingly. Anyways, we laughed some more, and it was just a really fun time. Mistress brought her son, and he was super cute and fun too.
They invited me back to the cafe afterwards, and I said sure. I had to grab some stuff form my apartment, because I wasn't sure if this was a hanging out invite or a walk with us invite, so I wanted to have some work ready in case I got some free time. It turned out to be a hanging out invite, which was awesome. I helped them open the cafe, and we sat and listened to music. Mistress introduced me to Han Daesoo, who basically sounded like a Korean Tom Waits. (cue me downloading obscene amounts of Tom Waits). Also, I noticed an ad for the movie "Science of Sleep", which I really want to see, so I asked if it was playing in Gwangju, and they told me that yes, it was an ad for the movie playing at a specialty theater that only played art films. So, awesome! All the movies I wanted to see recently, they seem to play at this little theater. So I am le happy.
I noticed an old vinyl copy of Led Zeppelin 4 sitting behind the counter, so I asked if I could see it. It looked like an original Korean pressing! I was in awe of it, honestly! Oddly, it was missing Misty Mountain Hop, so I couldn't help but wonder why that song would have been left off. I know that albums at the time had to pass censors, so I wonder what could have been so objectionable (especially with Stairway on it, considering all the Christian Hysteria in America over the apparent messages on the recording when you play it backwards).
Anyways, next thing I knew I was passed a guitar, and me and the guys were playing Zeppelin riffs back and forth to eachother. It was like high school! I couldn't believe how many of the riffs came back to me so quickly... although it was pretty apparent that I don't play them too often anymore. It was so much fun, but I had to go, because I had an evening jamming appointment with my friend Darren.
I got home, made myself an experimental (and delicious) stirfry with tomatoes, broccoli and tofu, and some sesame oil. mm
Anyways, Darren showed up a couple of hours later and we got down to jamming. The last few times have been unproductive, but fun anyways, more "experimental", now that we both have our loopers set up. Last time we chose some songs, so our mission was to come to this practice with music for eachother.
Holy crap, it was great. I was honestly a little bit giddy. Every time we get together, Darren impresses me a little bit more. We were getting some really good harmonies going (good enough to get excited about, but still needing some practice). We have quite a little set forming, with a lot of harmony, which is really exciting. It seems to be coming a lot more naturally to me now, which I think may be due to the fact that I'm playing a lot more now, and trying out harmonies. Just practice, I guess.
And that was my weekend. Pretty awesome, no?
Then, back to work today, where it was very tiring, but fun. I've won over some of the hard students, which I am really proud of. I rewarded myself with a new pair of work shoes, which I needed desperately. They're a new pair of brogues to replace the ones that I wore through in university. You can't understand how happy I am about leather with strategic holes in it.
Too excited.
Bye!
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