Concert Addiction
In my 19 years of existence I have come to realize that the one thing I truly enjoy is a good live concert. To hear artists unleash my favorite tunes almost sends me into semi-delirium. It's just an escape, a way of letting go - good live music is priceless. Matchbox Twenty is the the concert I enjoyed the most, not because they were awesome live, but because I love their music. I knew every song and sung along all night long. Robbie Williams comes a close second. Besides enjoying his music, he knows how to get his crowd going. Iron Maiden rocked Dubai out. Ali can tell you more but we were in the first friggin' row and they just blew us away. Eddie, Maiden's mascot, walked in half way through and that was especially special in addition to the friggin Maiden tank which came on later.
My first ever concert was Bryan Adams. It was seventh grade and knowing his ballads made you cool then. Obviously, going to his concert was a must, and it was definitely worth the cool factor. His music is sing-along personified.
Ali, yet again, inspired me to go watch The Scorpions - the German rock legends that sing the Guitar-Hero-classic "Rock You Like A Hurricane". They, though, rocked us more like a rugged storm than anything else. I also saw Jethro Tull, a contemporary rock band, and Remo, an Indian singer, with Ali. Our stint together of watching concerts was only beginning. Dubai Desert Rock 2005 hit us next. We freaked out over the banshee-like band, The Darkness, and got squeezed to death during Machinehead. We laughed at the fake-Dubai-goths who hustled up in front when Within Temptation came on and laughed even more at a couple of local Dubai bands - Nerve Cell and Juliana Down. I remember one of those local Dubai guitarist tried breaking his guitar after "oh-too-cool" a performance, but the stage people stopped him. Dubai Desert Rock 2006 gave us a Testament to some classic and diverse rock. Junkyard Groove, an Indian band, was the first band to perform and they made me real proud of the music that was coming out of my conutry. Reel Big Fish, a random contemporary band, amused us because of this one visibly fat guy who sat on the stage sipping a drink, expressionless and bored, throughout the concert. They are now, three years later, taking over Harendra's life. Three Doors Down were at DDR 2006 too and that concert will largely be remembered for the on/off stage love affair that existed between their lead singer and my great friend/big three-doors-down-fan Tejas. Stone Sour were pretty awesome too. Corey Taylor is friggin solid. Megadeth headlined DDR 2006 - I don't remember much about them, I kinda slept through most of that. I honestly was exhausted.
There is one condition that needs to fulfilled in order for me to enjoy a concert - I need to know at least some of their music. I would have enjoyed The Prodigy, Mastadon, At The Gates and In Flames if I knew their music. I doubt I would ever have enjoyed Lauren Harris though. Anyway, there have only been two exceptions to that condition to date - Sepultura and Naturally Seven. Sepultura is a heavy-rock Brazilian band that I had never really listened to. But they were so energetic and powerful live, that I will never forget how they sweeped me into their world for a good hour. Naturally Seven opened for Michael Buble in Austin and their a capella talents just bedazzled us into a burst of appreciation. Buble, himself, was quite the entertainer. I saw Matchbox Twenty, Alanis Morrisette and Mutemath the day after Buble in Houston and Bon Jovi and Daughtry a month later in April in Dallas. Chris Daughtry had a bad throat so that kinda messed up his performance. Maroon 5 and Simple Plan were next in line in May. The former kicked ass and the latter weren't as bad as I thought they would be. Oh and I helped organize and watched Penn Masala peform at our univerisity in March too. Spring 2008 was truly a concert-filled semester.
I don't know if this is coincidence, but I always try catching a concert when I travel. I saw Keane in Bangkok and "Bedshaped", their greatest song, did officially send me into a delirium. I was super-lucky to catch Metallica in Madrid and this past winter '09 and I got squashed at an Arctic Monkeys concert in Wellington, New Zealand. It's awesome observing different crowds. From Spaniards singing Metallica songs with the weirdest accents/word-formations to the ridiculous knowledge that some Thai people possess about Keane, concerts are truly memorable in some way or the other. One real bad experience was when I tried to watch a concert intoxicated. I was buzzed and it seemed all okay until my bladder betrayed me. Friggin' alcohol triggers the bladder to the extent you just cannot hold it in, especially when your standing in the first row, constantly hitting the railing. I think the Metallica concert is the biggest one I have been too - nearly 40,000 people gathered to witness the metal legends. James Hetfield was brilliant.
On the other hand, Rap concerts don't work - not because I don't enjoy rap, but because there have to be "live" instruments at a "live" concert, not some DJ booth that generates all them louder-than-loud beats. I rather stick to my headphones-rap rather than some loud and obnoxious c-rap. Flo Rida was pretty pathetic. It was all about him ripping his shirt off, shagging champagne onto the largely naive audience, screaming rather than rapping and making a fool of himself. Cherish, who performed at the same show as Flo Rida, were even more disgraceful. They were hot, but a bunch of pretty girls singing their only "good"/popular song in a ridiculous fashion isn't really a turn-on or a source of entertainment.
I saw The Killers this last Tuesday and Coldplay back this last November. Coldplay were awesome, as expected.
>The Killers were umm, mehh. Mr Brightside, (my and many of my friends' high-school song) was good - that's about it though. They could have done so much more with their stuff. It was a good concert, but not great. Nickelback are coming to Texas soon but we felt guilty buying tickets to yet another concert, how much ever I was so ready to. Anyway, next time.
All this concert-watching has put me on the cover of one documentary - Global Metal. Oh and I also play a 0.76 second cameo in it. That's where the picture is from, try spotting me. So yes, the one thing I truly, truly enjoy with all my heart is a live concert. I will keep watching them as long as I can afford to watch them. You should try it too.
P.S. Have you been counting how many concerts I have watched? 40, if you were curious :).
New Zeal + New Zealand
Yes. I haven't blogged in a while. Apologies. I should be consistent. Yes. It's not that difficult. I know. But it's the will that struggles. Excuses, excuses, but let's sincerely hope that this is a new zeal.
I went to New Zealand this winter break! Yes, very cool indeed. My roommate is from New Zealand and I stayed with him and his family for a great five weeks. If they ever do come across this, I sincerely thank them for taking me in. It was an amazing vacation and we did a lot of cool things which you might not want me to rave and rant about. So, I'm gonna make a compromise and talk about just one thing - Bungee Jumping.
We reached "Gravity Canyon". It was somewhere in the middle of nowhere in this city/town-like place in the North Island called Taihape. An 87-meter tall bridge stood in front of us. People were spreading their arms apart and jumping off this bridge with a bungee attached to their feet. Some screamed and yelled and others were too cool for all that. They bounced and bobbled in mid-air and it almost seemed too crazy to be true. Yes, I was scared. But my heart wasn't beating as fast as I thought it would. 87 meters is a long way down, but it seemed safe. The people before me didn't bust their ankles nor did they land head first into the shallow water, killing themselves. That seemed to be comforting enough.
I was sitting somewhere on the bridge, all strapped up, ready to fall under the force of gravity. I looked down. It was a long long way down. I know Dad's scared of heights, but it didn't pass on to me. For some reason, I was more excited than scared and I was loving it. To me, it was my first ever moral victory. I was actually being half-brave, right? The safety officer gave me last minute instructions and did her last minute safety checks. Everything was fine. I stepped up to the jump board.
"Three, two, one...bungee!" she said.
I took a deep breath, spread my arms wide open, smiled and without a second thought, jumped into the open. The three seconds of free fall went away just like that. I then dangled and bounced in mid-air, spinning too many times, and still somehow enjoyed the extreme nature of what I had just done. I then lay their hanging; upside down with blood rushing to my head, yet embracing this truly unique opportunity, unquestionably happy that it had all gone well. I was lowered slowly and the fifty-seconds long experience was over, all too fast. My heart must have obviously been beating way too fast to process anything. Sometimes excessive adrenalin washes everything away, even something you want to remember. The free fall is not even a blur, it's just a feeling I really want to go back to. Not because I loved it or hated it, but because I don't remember it. It just went by too fast. The feeling of accomplishing this relatively daring act seemed to overwhelm the experience itself. I felt bloody good about myself, but on retrospection I feel slightly incomplete. I want to do it again. I need to do it again. And the next time I do it, I'm going to make it a point to remember the air thrashing against my face, the blood bubbling through my veins and the sheer joy of the thrill erupting in my head, or whatever it actually feels like.
I have videos and pictures but they don't translate anything. It's one of those unexplainable feelings that you have to experience to understand. I feel that even the greatest writer cannot explain the thrill, because it's only when the reader resonates with the writing does the piece of writing seem beautiful. If you've bungee jumped, you might be able to relate to this. If you haven't, you must, and then come and read it again. Technology has made something so ridiculously extreme, possible, and in that, almost trivial. Embrace it before it's too late.
P.S. I am going to upload the video on YouTube and will post the link up here when it's processed. I keep looking at it, trying to remember what exactly I must have felt when I was falling. It doesn't really help though.
The Truth Behind Movies
Most things in movies don't make sense. I guess that's the point of movies though - transcending into the unreal. Right. Life's not a movie how much ever we want it to be so why the hell do we love 'em so much? "entertainment" haha.
It's 4 in the morning and I am pretty intoxicated. Excuse the emotions.
P.S. My first iPhone post! Cool, eh?
Mumbai & India: A Passionate Discourse
BEFORE YOU WATCH:
Wait for it. Give the guy a little time to move into his passionate discourse and I'm sure you will keep listening, especially if you're an Indian.
AFTER YOU WATCH:
Do I support what he has to say? I don't know.
Does he have a point? I think so.
Is he being slightly hypocritical (because well he is only talking too)? Maybe
Does he speak well? Hell yeah.
P.S. I did not know how to react to this. My only reaction was that I wanted more people to hear him out and see how they react.
Food for Thought
So,
Do you want to save the world, make a difference, have an impact?
Or
Live your life?
I bet you are gonna say "both" - "Making an impact is my way of living life" or "I will live life for a bit and make a difference for a bit, you know, find the 'balance'."
Me? I'm still deciding. Or, I don't know.
P.S. This is not a cry to ask people to comment on my blog. It's just something that struck me, ironically, amidst all the "studying" that I am supposedly doing. So, it genuinely is meant to be food for thought amidst all your "studying".
BOMBay?
Every Indian blogger is going to or is already blogging about the tragic scenes in Mumbai. There is enough said and there are enough opinions fluttering around for me to add another. The government is being criticized, the terrorists are being feared even more, the people are uniting under the umbrella of devastation and everyone is wondering what the hell can we do to stop these bastards?
It's scary how a person can be convinced to kill, brutally. Obviously, that person has a strong conviction that what he is doing is the right thing. "Revenge is right." "It's for the greater good. Right?" WRONG. I just wonder what echos in their heads. Are these terrorists freaks? Are they brainwashed? Are they working for money? Are their families being held ransom? What the hell is driving them to do such crazy, mindless things? I'm a human too. I know what it feels like to feel anger, hatred, love and the other countless emotions. Yes, I've been brought up in a good household and have been provided with all the "luxuries" of life. But how much shit can they have gone through, and how much have they been brainwashed to kill? They mindlessly murder and enjoy the success - it's sickening.
Human capacity is at times, unbelievable, especially when the world gets a devastating reminder. Be it 9/11, the London bombings or the countless attacks in India, it is beyond me how someone can live with themselves after killing. I'm naive, unexposed, unharmed - no doubt and I'm glad. I guess it's beyond me to truly understand what it takes to kill and what goes on behind it. I'm glad that I'm not going to kill.
But what do we do about these killers? Hunt them down and kill them? Slightly hypocritical? So, we should NOT kill them? But, how can we live with that? "Kill them bastards!" Right? Should we take things into our own hands? Or no wait, let the goverment handle it, right? But the government sucks balls, what can they really do about it?
We naive, helpless, almost insignificant people light candles, pray, get worried, console those that have lost, get upset, change our status on FaceBook showing that we are praying. But, how much of this praying and lighting candles is going to actually make a difference? Yes, it might lift the ones that have been hurt, but is it going to stop them from getting hurt again?
So, what should we do? Join the army? Start our own armed anti-terrorist organization? Vote? Oh some would say we should do small things to make a small difference and the small differences will eventually sum up to become something bigger. It's all easily said and done, but how big is this "bigger thing"?
I'm not being a skeptic nor am I trying to prove a point. Honestly, I don't have a purpose behind this post. I don't even want this to make sense to you. It's just something that's spinning in my head. I want to throw it out there and see who my mind resonates with.
P.S. It's a mad world. Listen to: Gary Jules - Mad World
Consumed By Time
I was in Portland, Oregan, away on work, for a whopping 5 days and only came back to Austin yesterday afternoon. It's about 6ish in the morning here in Austin and I have a presentation to give in exactly 6 hours on "same-sex marriages" (oh, the wonders of the free world). I have 2 mini-papers due tomorrow which I haven't really started. Right after my presentation today, we are heading down to Houston to catch the Coldplay concert. I have a mock interview on Thursday and then I am essentially free.
The house needs to be cleaned, the bills need to be paid and I need to communicate with my fellow Malpanis. My New Zealand visa has come through and I can't wait to hit the place under down under this winter. I still need to buy a bed, an iron and an iron-board. 4 out of 6 lights in of our little chandelier have gone bust and need to be replaced. There is a dire need to get groceries sorted out as there is literally no food at home. With Friday/Saturday comes a great desire to "party", get crunk and release everything that needs to be released. With Sunday comes a ton of meetings and the epiphany that I have a bunch of tests coming up that I haven't studied for.
Amidst all this, I really don't know why I'm blogging right now. There is no substance to this post and it has no real objective. It's about me and my life. But, that's the brilliance of having a blog. I can write absolutely anything and getaway with it.
P.S. Haha.
Sporty Depression
Arsenal lost to Stoke. Texas lost to Tech. Something like that can be so annoyingly depressing. Those loses essentially mean that I cannot visit any sports websites, besides maybe, cricinfo. But still, it's so so depressing.
It's kinda fascinating how something as pointless as a soccer game or football game can affect your life so much. Currently the entire of UT is drowned in this droop, this painful low, that could have easily gone the other way. If we had maybe made that interception with a minute to go, the general mood of the entire University of Texas right now would be quite different.
Recently, like the whole wide world, life's been a little crazy to say the least. Constructive, no doubt, but tiring too. It leaves you desiring timeless time, when you can just lie down and enjoy the nothingness of life. Someday.
I'm saying all this now, but I know I would be complaining even if I had nothing to do. It all comes back the the brilliant balance of life. Too bad it's always imbalanced.
P.S. Que tal?
Oh Lord.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmgFVpQJJhY&hl=en&fs=1]
A South Indian "Thriller" umm...imitation?
Crazy.
Enjoy.
P.S. Life's too busy to blog. Sucks :( Goli Maar!