onthebeatntrack

SO, I promised a follow up and a follow up I shall give … even if it is 7 days after the event. Like any activity requiring any input from me I have undertaken the old ‘EVR’ equation – that’s Effort vs Reward. Don’t worry, it’s pretty straightforward and requires absolutely no maths knowledge at all. All that you need to do is just consider both the amount of effort and commitment likely to be required and then what benefits are likely to be a product of aforementioned effort. If Reward gets sufficient points on the scoreboard I’ll usually muster up the motivation to press on BUT if Effort even looks remotely like a genuine – or even possible – contender I’ll sit the round out. And I’m not lazy – I just economically choose my battles. Pretty smart, huh? Luckily for you, today’s result favours Reward and whilst the prize may not be totally massive, neither is the Effort because I do enjoy sharing my humble thoughts and words with you all … although my brain is currently functioning with a 10 second delay due to a nasty little hangover having its way with my person today.

“Sooo, Good Vibrations 2010 … how was it? Did the ‘not rebound’ line up live up to expectations?” Well, yes and a no. Shut up, I’m not being non-committal – ok, we can change it to ‘mostly yes and a little no’. There were some definite winners – the Gossip were standouts (Love Long Distance was AWESOME!), Kid Cudi had a nice little party vibe happening (Enter Galactic and Make Her Say both crowd pleasers for at least one member of the crowd – MOI!) and Busta Rhymes played a hip hop and happening crowd friendly set that included Touch It and I Know What You Want – but sadly only a snippet of my favourite Light Your Ass On Fire. He even dropped in his verse from the Pussycat Dolls’ Dontcha – when I have my r’n’b party Dontcha will totally be the opening track on my playlist … there’ll be some serious GRRRRINDN’ that night playas! Ohhhh yeeaaaah!

“And what about Salt n Pepa – I heard that your Facebook status said that they quote ‘sucked balls’ unquote. Is that true?” Whoaaa AND didn’t I cop some flak for that?! I was labeled ‘the biggest hater’ and even told that in fact, perhaps I was the one that sucks balls – actually, I’m pretty sure there was no ‘perhaps’ included with that insult. Yes, so my comments were probably a little hasty and even a little fickle because the first half of their set was actually really good. I was marveling in Pepa’s still technically good physique and I was totally bumpin n grrrindin all over the shop like some kind of wannabe Nacho Pop as choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon – would I have earned a Mary Murphy trademark scream? I guess we’ll never know. THEN, half way through their set, they decided it would be a good idea to spend around 20 minutes of their less than 1 hour slot doing a DJ Set – honestly, they didn’t even need to be on the stage. And please, if you’re going to do some kind of tribute while you get your no-longer-as-available-as-it-once-was breath back, then pah-lease AT LEAST reprezent fo’ yo’ people! I mean tell me the relevance to S’n’P (and Spinderalla – she was the one presumably pressing play) of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit!? Honestly, if I hear that song ONE MORE TIME at a festival by anyone calling themselves a DJ, I’m going to arrange for Naomi Campbell to throw a mobile phone at them … I AM THAT SERIOUS! I know that the kids and bogans alike love it but like stepping on an ant it’s just an easy kill. Plus, they didn’t play two of their better known tracks – Brick vs Giddy Up and None Of Your Business, so it’s not like they were short on material. And there ends my critique.

And while there was no Paper Romance on offer to get my heart a flutter, the day was a good one and lots of fun was had by all and they all lived happily ever after. The end.

MORE LIVE MUSIC NEWS … It’s a big couple of weeks of live music for me – Lupe FINALLY came on down to the Zoo on Friday night. He is just plain old awesome – the man can perform! His live shows have been some of the most fun I’ve ever had the pleasure of having at a gig – it’s impossible to not to bust a move and grin like the Chesire Cat after a few goes on a bucket bong. He makes me soooo happy. I love him – there, I’ve said it – and it’s deep and it’s real. The new material that he played from his upcoming album LASERS sounds a little electronic and might require a bit of investment. As much as I’d love another dose of the instantly infectious old school hip hop of his first album Food & Liquor, I will make the journey with him as he takes us to less familiar territory. Shining Down was the first track released from LASERS and has proved a grower and well worth the investment so my hope remains intact. The Zoo was actually a good venue – if you overlook the fact that we spent 30 minutes of our first hour lining up for drinks only to be told that they had run out of beer … with two plus hours to go. OMG, you’re right, AS IF we can overlook that NIGHTMARE! They did manage to source more beer THANK GOD so we made sure that their efforts were not in vain. Of course, alcohol isn’t essential in order to have a good time but as someone very wise recently said to me “you don’t need matches to start a fire either, but BY GOD does it help”. Oh touché.

AND EVEN MORE LIVE MUSIC NEWS … AND I’m going to see George Michael on Wednesday night AND I can’t wait! I expect Freedom to be awesome, As to be tear inducingly epic and Amazing to be, well, AMAZING! Let’s see what he’s got …

PS. Now I’m a TWIT (terer) …  yes, I’ve also recently joined Twitter. Don’t worry though, it’s not so I can tell the world every time I pick my nose or scratch my ass, I’m just going to post some of my favourite music clips and, of course, my blog updates. The profile is onthebeatntrack (see what I’ve done there … genius!) so add me if you’re on it. If you’re not a Twit yourself, then you can still see my posts to the right hand side over there so check the clips if you want.