Ween @ The Forum, Melbourne - 6th March 2008  #
Friday, 07 Mar 2008 11:20AM
I'm deaf. Not completely deaf, but my hearing is negatively effected. My tinnitus is reminding me I'm an idiot. I forgot earplugs and the morons at The Forum don't sell them. Perhaps I could sue?

Anyway...

Ween were brilliant. Fantastic. Awesome.

Does every darn song have to end in a huge rock ending? Yes. Yes it does.

Does every song have to have a five minute jam-band-jam in the middle? Oh yes, most definitely. Whatever it was that Gene was doing back stage, I'm sure it was beyond important.

Does the venue need to rumble and shake in the demand for an encore? Does the last song have to have the crowd singing louder than the band? So loud and enthusiastically that the band has trouble singing around their smiles?

Is the band Ween? Then yes.

Is a crowd of late 20s better than a crowd of teenagers? Absolutely.

Is the smoking ban the best thing to happen to gigs ever? Yes.

The didn't play Buckingham Green, or Gabrielle, or I Can't Put My Finger On It, or Buenas Tardes Amigo, or Mutilated Lips or a million other songs. But they did play for two and a half hours almost solid.

They did play a good deal of the new album, and an excellent selection of tracks from their solid back catalog. Voodoo Lady and Golden Eel were my personal favourites, after the jaw dropping final encore The Blarney Stone with incredible enthusiastic crowd singing.

Two and a half hours at a concert have never felt so short.

Meanwhile, I'm now the proud owner of a t-shirt that says "bludgeon yer eye."

Couldn't be happier.


Free train travel extended  #
Friday, 07 Mar 2008 10:54AM
All Melbourne trains will be free [The Age] if you arrive at your destination before 7am. The trial has been extended to the whole network.

On my line, there are four trains I can catch that will arrive at my station before 7am (assuming they're not late). They are the 5:01, 5:31, 6:01 and 6:16 which gets to my station at 6:52.

In theory I could get up early, get to the city, have breakfast/coffee relax and then get to work about 7:30, then leave early, but it just won't happen.

Not to mention I'd have to get up about 5:30am to make this work.

Screw that.