Tonight we’re gonna make love. You know how I know? It’s Wednesday, and Wednesday is the night that we usually make lurve.
Wait…uh, what? Sorry, just that song makes me laugh (it just came on…shuffle mode…never mind). If you don’t know the song in question, well, you should. Anyway, that has nothing to do with the content of this blog post, but it is Wednesday.
This, however, does:
Yes, that is a genuine ticket to see Queens of the Stone Age (arguably the best band around today :P) live at the Guildhall in Southampton. How did a humble, bald cancer patient come to be in possession of such a coveted and valuable item, I hear you cry. Well, it’s a long (er, kind of) story, that all revolves around those two words: “cancer patient” (not humble and bald >_>).
Indeed, believe it or not, if you’re a “young person” and get cancer, you get to “make a wish” (sorry Mum and Dad, you’ll have to do with your cheap Saga car insurance). So besides the pain, the chemotherapy, the nausea, the diarrhoea, the hospital visits, the surgery and the physio, there is actually a perk to getting cancer. You can probably see where I’m going with this, but I’ll continue, otherwise I’ll be berated for not writing a long enough blog post.
Anyway, along with the nurses and doctors etc. in Piam Brown, there’s a “social worker” called Trish (I hope that’s right). The reason “social worker” is in inverted commas is that she’s actually a ringleader in the Russian Mafiya, and just uses this social worker guise to avoid suspicion. The reason I make such bold claims? Well, you can guess what my wish was (to see QOTSA in concert), and a few weeks after those words had left my lips a concert of theirs suddenly appeared in Southampton. If that wasn’t suspicious enough, the concert was sold out, as you might expect – and yet, after an enigmatic “I’ll see what I can do,” and the unexplained disappearance of a known ticket tout, I was told a few days before the concert that she’d managed to get hold of a ticket. Coincidence?
If anything other than the words “I think not!” are running through your head, then you need to reconsider. Because unfounded conspiracy theories such as mine (actually, scratch that, especially mine) are always right. Full stop (or “Period.” as some of you Americans say (you know who you are). We Brits tend to avoid this, because ending an emphatic statement with the word “menstruation” tends to detract from the effect.).
Other people that should be mentioned are the people that work at CLIC Haven, which is a charity house run by the childrens’ cancer charity CLIC (oh yeah, donate, damnit!) right next to the hospital. It’s been a real godsend over the past 9 months, and they agreed to let my dad (I know, bringing my dad to a rock concert…oh well, it could have been worse. It could have been Mum. Or even my sister, heaven forbid…) and I stay the night there. Without them we’d have had to find some accommodation somewhere else, and it would have been a real hassle, not to mention expensive.
Anyway, when we arrived, we got a cab straight to the Guildhall, negotiated the supposedly wheelchair friendly steps and amused onlookers with mohawks, picked up our tickets and headed for the nearest KFC. I think I heard a faint sonic boom as the food disappeared down my dad’s gullet. Back to the Guildhall, where the supporting act, called “In Case of Fire” (imagine the confusion as my mum tried to find out who it was over the phone) pummelled our eardrums, and then the main act arrived on stage and blew us all away with (and I’m not exaggerating; I’ve seen a lot of their gigs recorded) I think the best live performance I’ve heard them do, or at least the best one for a while. The only downside, other than the fact I wasn’t playing drums for them, was that we were sat at the back, albeit on a raised platform. We got a good view over everyone’s heads, but we were around 15 or 16 metres from the stage at least, so we didn’t get an up-close view of the band, nor could we take any decent photos (partly due to the measly 18-55mm lens we have *hint*). We did, however, get an up-close view of the band the day after in the airport. We were waiting for our flight, and who should queue up for boarding right next to us but Josh Homme and co.
I think I may base my choice of university on how many QOTSA gigs are performed near there per year.
That is legend!!! I’m so glad you got to go. 😀 😀 😀
It is defo Business Time!
haha
keep it moose real
xxx
Awww man!! That is the coolest think in the universe! I can’t belive you actually spoke to them! xxxx Er..t**
Adam, sounds like you had an AWESOME time! You’ll probably be horrified to know that I am not familiar with any music by QOTSA. Oops… Sorry!
Still can’t imagine Uncle Tim at a rock concert… was there some ‘head jig-age’ going on? Bet he stuck out like a sore thumb! LOL!
Before I poke too much fun, I must admit I am very impressed that your Dad even went to a Rock concert, that is much more than my Dad would ever do! When ‘Big Alice’ listens to such music, (in fact most music) he gets out the famous line, using his finest and most emphatic Gloucestershire accent… ‘sounds like a cat pissing on a hot tin roof our Dave’. LOL! So, good on Uncle Tim for actually going! Are there any good one liners your Dad came up with on your trip?! There must be at least one… please share! LOL!
Anyway, I am really glad you had a great time! Please keep entertaining us all with more blog posts! Talk soon!
David
forgot to ask you earlier – did they sing ‘make it wit chu’? Wish you’d asked Josh why they play that strange musical interlude after that track…
p.s. will this inspire you to compose some more songs?
hey my ears are still ringing. sounds like everyone is talking swedish.
F.U.N.E.X.4.T???
O.I.8.M!
(C 2 Ronnies talk Swedish)
Am now a fan of QotSA and big fan of KFC!
Tim, I wasn’t surprised about your love of QOTSA, but KFC?! Really??! LOL! Some things never change.
By the way, how’s the belly shaping up? Keep on with the KFC and you’ll be in direct competition with Big Alice in no time! LOL
David
P.S. – Dad looks like he’s just entered his third trimester. 😉
Hey! I get a mention in ur blog!! So pleased it all worked out. Guess what you still haven’t used ur real ‘wish’. How’s about a new camera?!?
The words cloud and silver lining spring to mind. I cannot imagine how amazing it must have been. Every time you watch them perform on TV from now on you’ll just think how it cannot compare at all to the atmosphere of the real thing.
xxx
PS you should have had MacDonalds
Hello! My name is Ellouise and I always chat to your mum when she comes into Red Ape and she gets you jeans and today she had to take them back because you don’t like buttons. Today she bought a t-shirt that said ‘life is what you make it’ on the back and I think she always looks so funky.
She told me about you and I though I would say hi. I think your blog is brilliant. It must be quite cool to chat all the time about what you are thinking and feeling – imagine if this was happening to someone years and years ago and you had to write letters. I hope you have a nice day today. xx oo
If Trish is a ringleader in the Russian Mafiya then Jan is an alien from Mars! Glad you had a good time. Vicky xxx
I have to admit that I have never heard of the band, but then I am in your Mum and Dad’s age bracket. I can hear you gasp as you thought I was a lot younger!! So pleased you had a good time.
If you get a room at PB next week, please keep it warm for us.
love
Judie (Mama TT)xx
Ps TRISHA IS FAIRY GODMOTHER!
I think Mama Moose & Mama TT are fallen Angels!!
Mama TT
xx
Hello Fallen angels, is TT a hells angel all geared up for the TT races, and Mamma moose for the wacky races? This world needs angels, Fallen or otherwise so unfold your flappers and rise to the occasion.
Bob
So, I see that QOTSA don’t exactly play quietly. So just in case, I will SHOUT. TIM, ME THINKS THAT THAT RING GING SOUND IN YOUR EARS IS THE NORMAL RESPONSE AFTER A GOOD QOTSA NIGHT OUT YA? IN THEIR VIDEOS I CAN SEE THE AMPS TURNED UP TO 11. COR! GLAD IT WAS A GOOD SHOW ADAM – WE’ll LOOK OUT FOR SHOWS IN NEW ENGLAND (1Q/2Q08 looks to be Europe and down under) AND SEE IF WE CAN GET YOU OVER 2 SEE THEM HERE O K
Us Mums are not really fallen angels – despite our naughty jokes! We are there for our incredible children, who are such an inspiration. The treatment is nearly over and perhaps we can all re-charge our very run-down batteries. Mama Moose you are doing a wonderful job and Adam is very lucky to have Mum like you (although, like me, I think you are going a bit mad a times – we can always go to the Priory together).
Lots of love to you all – Mama TT xxxx
ROCK OWL POWER! xxx
Ask dad if he’s found out how to erase voice mails on the answering machine yet. He’ll know what I’m talking about…
Hey – great to hear you enjoyed QOTSA. I’ve even listened to their stuff – at moderate volume of course!
So what are you planning next?
Great to know your getting out. Rock concerts, cameras, KFC (by the way all things you can thank US truly for. And don’t get me started on weird Britishisms neither. Inverted commas?!?! Glass houses my friend…) Still, seems like stuffs finally looking up. And I second that idea of sis about writing songs. Might wanna skip the diarrhea this time though. Although if that’s your true muse, fly with it (not literally though–I recently learned that in some slums without sanitation they have people who throw out bags of feces and call them “flying toilets” or “scud missles.” Just an FYI. Might be inspiration…)
You cannot call “Rock concerts” an invention. They’re just people playing music to an audience.
Americans did not invent the camera. “The first camera that was small and portable enough to be practical for photography was built by Johann Zahn in 1685” – Wikipedia.
I suppose we can thank you Americans for contributing immensely to the rate of obesity worldwide :P.
Inverted commas are what they’re called. Because they’re commas, just inverted. See the logic?
As you would say, have a nice day =].
After reading bout an hour of your blog this evening,I must say it really is quite amusing (having met your oldies) it’s like a txt version of the Osbornes, especially the picture I had in my head of the concert trip. Been to a few concerts myself and can’t picture my dad standing next to me when I was watching Metallica with about 2000 carrier bags of p**s blocking out the awesome light show.
P.s Can you ask your Mum not to Txt me asking if I’ve got a shotgun re the chickens as my kids sometimes read my message’s and it’ll take sometime to convince them I haven’t got one!!
Must be away for more treatment bout now.
Hope all is going well,see if you can blag some more tickets…..