Monthly Blog

Here's what I've been up to, seen, listened to, etc this past month

June '25

Gigs (This is a mammoth one!)

My June has been PACKED with gigs, even arguably to a fault. I've definitely done too much this month, I'm completely burnt out and in much need of alone time. However, the gigs themselves have been fun, and a nice variety too.

This month started off with one of my all time fave artists, MJ Lenderman, at the Electric Ballroom, London. The first few songs were a battle with two morons talking through every song, but thankfully a hero in front of them told them to shut up and they sulked off haha! Loads of great tunes played, particular highlights being the big Knockin' singalong, and a banging encore too.

I returned to the Electric Ballroom the week after to see emo-punk icons, Cap'n Jazz, for an super sweaty and very fun show. I went with of of my best friends, who I don't get to see too often anymore, and who I've had many a sweaty gig with, was v special for me. Also a very funny band, shout-out Tim for putting a mic stand down his trousers and struggling to get it out again, needing the help of stage crew to get it out again haha.

I made the trip down to Southampton for the next show, Fleshwater, at The Joiners. Now, every show I've seen at The Joiners hasn't been amazing, pretty much always due to a terrible crowd, so I was a little worried of a repeat experience again, but decided I couldn't miss seeing Fleshwater in such a small venue, and I'm so glad I went! Fleshwater were incredible, super loud, so so good, fun and engaging crowd too.

Next up was Outbreak festival, for it's first year in London. Had lots of fun there with many friends, however in the future I think i'll head up to Manchester. Although London was fun and the bands were great, the hardcore ethos was lost in the big-scale-sligtly-corporate vibe. Having said that, my fave sets of the day came from Feeble Little Horse, Turnstile, and Superheaven (wowwowwow they were so good). Below is a picture from Danny Brown's set, which was also great even if I was lost looking for my pals.

As if two trips in as many weeks to the Electric Ballroom wasn't enough then BAM IM BACK AGAIN FOR ROUND THREE. This time to see julie. Great noisy set, but I felt very old haha. It was a very young crowd, which overall, is a great thing to see kids going mental to great music, I felt super self-concious, and a bit confused watching circle pits even in between songs. Julie still fantastic though, 'Through Your Window', and 'Lochness' in particular were standouts.

The next couple of shows I saw took place, both same weekend and, at the same venue, the stunning Royal Albert Hall, in London. Both these shows are up there with my fave shows of all time. First up was Bob Weir & Wolf Bros backed by the London Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Those who know me know how much of a Grateful Dead nut i am, and I truly NEVER thought I'd get to see any of the members playing live. Our seats got upgraded from way up in the gods to right next to the stage on the rausing circle, and I sat next to a super nice dude from San Francisco who was great to chat to. Bob and the Orchestra were spectacular, I was really hoping for Terrapin Station and we got it! The full version no less. Plus the version of 'Days Between' was beautiful, actually kinda got emotional. The night was capped off with a rockin' 'One More Saturday Night'. PERFECT.

So by now the burnout from the amount of travel to and from London I was doing was setting in, but that still had no effect on my excitement for Wilco, a band that I have been completely obssesed with the past couple of years. Funnily enough I once again got an upgraded ticket at the door, this time to a seat in one of the super fancy loggia boxes. However, after seeing how small and squished in it was inside with the other guests, I decided to go back up to my solo spot in the standing gallery at the very top arches. This turned out to be a great choice as I could sing and "dance" as much as I wanted as hardly anyone else was up there. Highlights from the set included 'Spiders (Kidmsoke)', and the closer that I was begging for 'I Got You (End of a Century)' 10/10/10/10 show, loved it!

The biggest show of the lot was next, as I went to see the mighty Iron Maiden at the 75,000 cap London Stadium. One of the first ever CDs I bought was Iron Maiden, so this was a wonderful full circle moment for me. No suprise - they were incredible. Fire, costume changes, sparks, two giant Eddie's walking around the stage: sometimes it's nice to have a bit of theatre.

I ended the month seeing another one of my favourite bands, Deftones, with Weezer supporting. This show is a bit of a dud for me, as while both Weezer and especially Deftones were amazing and I still enjoyed it, I had completely burnt-out by this point, and was also fighting a brutal stomach ache. To make matters worse I was stood in a terrible spot on the far side of the stage so couldn't see anything. This paired with the naff sound kinda led to a bit of a meh experience. So please play indoors next time Deftones, cause I wannna hear ya

this has been a PSA courtesy of 'don't do too much Ty, you know you burn-out when you do, also its like 32c, are u mad?

Music

A mix of usual and new faves have been soundtracking my month. Grateful Dead, Wilco, Iron Maiden, and Turnstile have all been in rotation. Plus, after seeing them at Outbreak fest, I've been diving into They Are Gutting A Body of Water's back-catalog. That audiotree session in particualr is soooo good. Red House Painters are another new fave, slowly getting to know their discog.

Books

I haven't read a single page! I'm determined to finish Dune though asap.

Films

This month was a weird blend of Horror and Star Wars. Went to the Cinema to watch 28 Years Later which I thought was pretty meh. Star Wars has been the big one this month, came across the 4k77,80,83 project, and loved seeing the OG trilogy films in their original unedited glory. After those I found fan edited theatrical versions of the prequel trilogy too (praise to puppet yoda), also 'Revenge of the Sith' really does get better the more it ages.

TV

I haven't watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer since I was a kid, but after trying to find something to watch one night, I stuck it on and now IM IN. Super fun goofy show, it's refreshing to watch a show that doesn't take itself too seriously but is still quality characters n stories. This month I also finally finished the Mandalorian and have been watching through the Tales Of... Star Wars mini series. I swear I'm not that big a Star Wars fan haha, but something just clicked.

Games

It's been a big month for the ol gaming, as my Nintendo Switch 2 arrived. I've seen some negative nellies saying it aint anythin' special, but they can shut their chops, I'm loving it. Obv been binging Mario Kart World, love the free roam mode, and I'm having so much fun with all the new tracks and the knockout tournament too. Cannot wait to put in many many more hours.

Everything else / what's on my mind

hoooo-weeeee it's been bloomin hot. I cope terribly in the heat, and to say I'm sleep deprived would be an understatement. Gimme that rain pleeassse!

Also I absolutely love working on this site and writing these blogs. I am a complete noob with HTML, but it's been really fun working it out and fixing stuff when I break it.

I used to do a lot of writing years ago, and it's something that I didn't realise I missed so much. It's fun being able to fart out my thoughts and talk about what I've been doing without the pressure of waiting for the likes to come in. I'm legit just doing this as a kind of diary just for me to look back on. so fanks neocities i lub ooo