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Jul 18, 2021 16:01:32 GMT -5
Post by anaix3l on Jul 18, 2021 16:01:32 GMT -5
I think that makes a lot of sense.
I personally just got stuck on "one, while I can". Everything's so unsure and the autumn, the future in general looks so grim that I just want one show this summer really badly. Who knows, might be the last show I ever get to see...
Short sighted? Probably. Thing is, throughout the history of humanity, we've benefited greatly from focusing on surpassing the "now" problems. Sure, circumstances have changed, there are no more sabertooth tigers to avoid becoming dinner for. You still can't override instincts that resulted from two million years of evolution in just a few decades.
I've talked to the promoter. There was a line in the fine print on the ticket for the Innsbruck show that caught my attention, saying no expenses will be reimbursed in case of a cancellation. Now... going to concerts in other countries and dealing with all the postponements has forced me to learn a few things about legislation across the EU when it comes to stuff like this. So my instant reaction was I can't get my ticket money back if it's cancelled?! This isn't even legal?! Hmm, or did I misread that? Don't count on my German too much, lol. The promoter says "expenses" refers to travel costs, accommodation, but the cost of the ticket is reimbursed in case it's cancelled. Also told me that, while they are aware of the risk of not being allowed to hold this event with everything being so volatile at the moment, they still hope it will have the green light because it's small and during the summer time.
I don't know. It's a wait and see at this point. If this also falls through, I'm not getting any other tickets.
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Jul 18, 2021 18:38:54 GMT -5
Post by ap on Jul 18, 2021 18:38:54 GMT -5
Fingers crossed that you get your Kreator show.
As I'm sure you're well aware, promoters in general aren't the most morally upright bunch, and will likely say whatever you want to hear, as long as they're holding your cash. That fine print sounds pretty ambiguous and potentially sketchy.
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Jul 19, 2021 3:29:33 GMT -5
Post by anaix3l on Jul 19, 2021 3:29:33 GMT -5
I am aware of it. But I don't think it's something else I need to worry about in this case. It's simply not legal to keep the ticket money if the event is cancelled. They know it, I know it, they know I (and most likely others buying a ticket) know it.
Also, some promoters have been super okay. Not among those who dominate the market though.
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Post by anaix3l on Jul 19, 2021 8:36:27 GMT -5
I watched the premiere… also available on Apple Music now! Wonder when they will announce the album… I guess they just did www.ironmaiden.com/
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Jul 19, 2021 9:12:26 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by redvers76 on Jul 19, 2021 9:12:26 GMT -5
I watched the premiere… also available on Apple Music now! Wonder when they will announce the album… I guess they just did www.ironmaiden.com/Indeed they did! Pre orders start on Wednesday !
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Jul 21, 2021 16:21:50 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by redvers76 on Jul 21, 2021 16:21:50 GMT -5
I… went up another band on the “what is your age band?” questions on websites 😭
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Post by anaix3l on Jul 22, 2021 11:44:28 GMT -5
I know how that feels, but still... happy belated birthday!
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Jul 22, 2021 13:45:46 GMT -5
Post by redvers76 on Jul 22, 2021 13:45:46 GMT -5
I know how that feels, but still... happy belated birthday! You now in the 18-24 band?
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Post by anaix3l on Jul 27, 2021 5:00:30 GMT -5
I'm booking my trip to Austria.
Mike Howe, the singer of Metal Church, died yesterday. He was only 55. And I thought he looked healthy (and sounded absolutely amazing) when I got to see them in 2019.
I was happy with the setlist - it included Gods of Second Chance among other gems! But there were still a few faves that were left out. Most notably, Anthem to the Estranged.
And off their latest album, Revolution Underway, which I believe they never played live.
So you get a sharper knife And commence to cut away...
I hoped I'd get to see them again. Death is the only thing that's final, you know?
I'm upset about it. And somehow numb. And with so many old thoughts coming back.
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When Lemmy died in 2015, it felt like I was left with so many nevers. I got to see Motörhead both times they came to Bucharest and one time in Paris, aided by the fact that I happened to be there at the time anyway to speak at a conference. But when I left Le Zénith on that rainy November night, I didn't think for one moment it would be the last time I see them. I'm not blind or stupid. I could see how Lemmy looked, I could see how bad his hand was shaking when he reached for the plastic cup in the mic holder in between two songs that night in Paris. But they weren't cancelling tours anymore, so what I made of it was what I wanted to make of it. I wanted it to be an indication he was getting better, so I chose to take it as such. I was sure there would be more. I was wrong.
I was never going to hear Motörhead play Orgasmatron live. Or We Are Motörhead. Or Shoot Out All of Your Lights. Or Don't Need Religion. Or so, so many other songs... 40 years and 22 albums is a lot of songs. And so many nevers. The dead can never be brought back to life.
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I saw my first concert at the age of 24. The environment I grew up in wasn't really helpful there. We had religious brainwashing classes that taught us rock music was the root of all evil. And it wasn't the kind of music people I grew up among listened to.
I get that a lot of people here have fond memories of the Aerosmith from before the times they became a mainstream phenomenon, but for me it was the fact that they got too big to be ignored by mainstream radio even in Romania that changed everything. They opened the door to something completely new. At 16 and not even having heard about the internet at the time, there wasn't much I could do to discover more from them, more of the same. At least MTV loved them so they were on a lot. But that was it for a couple of years. It was still enough to stick as an obsession through my first years of uni when I didn't even have a TV anymore, still no internet, only a mostly broken radio and a computer bought for roughly the equivalent of $20 from metro on the big opening day of their first store Brașov, when everything carried a 40% discount. That computer was obviously not fit for playing music I didn't know where I could get from anyway. I do remember calling the radio one time and getting them to play Amazing, hehe...
Over the course of the next three years, some things changed. I got to discover more Aerosmith, more other bands. And I got to learn about concerts. Laugh all you want, but I had no idea concerts and touring were a thing until I came across a guy online... and he had some over 150 Metallica concerts. This was in 2005 before everyone and their pet pigs recorded entire shows on phones. And it was again a case of a band being too big not to stumble on it. I can understand the nostalgia some people may have about times when shows weren't as big and exhausting, with as many people around who only know the hits, with ticket prices obscenely high and all that. And I can understand feeling left behind by a band that you love growing a lot and not really connecting with the new material the same way. To a certain extent, I'm experiencing that with Insomnium. But I also know that the essential condition for liking a song is to hear it in the first place. And there are always people out there who would love the music if they had a chance of hearing it.
I started getting that idea. I wondered what it would be like if maybe, one day... I'd get to see a concert too? There weren't many options at the time in Romania. But Alice Cooper was announced to come play a festival in 2007. It felt perfect. But I didn't go because I couldn't convince anyone else to come. For some reason, I foolishly thought I couldn't go alone. Now I regret it, it's one Alice show I missed. It was a moment in time never to be repeated again. A year later, Whitesnake were announced to come at the same festival. I thought I'd go with another girl, but, on the day of the show, she told me she'd work late and arrive late at the show. Yeah, no. I had already bought a ticket, I wasn't going to fuck up my experience just because someone else doesn't have the spine to stand up to her boss when it came to overtime. Then again, that's why she had a job and I didn't.
Anyway, I went alone. And nobody ate me, not even mosquitoes. At the concert, that is. I got stapled by a stray dog on the way back home. Bucharest had a huge problem there until they killed a Japanese businessman... nothing like risking a diplomatic incident to light fire under some asses and get the damn dogs off the streets. They had killed other people before, but nobody the authorities cared about. Anyway, I was pretty upset about the fact that a great fun night (I had left the show thinking "so, Ana, when are we doing this again?") ended like that and thought it would be yet another reason to get used by everyone (family and friends) who had a problem with this idea of mine of going to concerts.
My second show was Motörhead a year later. They were playing a more mainstream festival with two stages, the info about which stage they'd play was a bit ambiguous. So I arrived there early so I could have that clear and make sure I'm at the barrier in front of the right stage. The other two people who got there early were two older biker dudes and they were super nice. They said it's cool for them to see younger people get into this kind of music and they like to see us have a good concert experience. Which I definitely did. The setlist started with Iron Fist, which was the song I most wanted to hear that night. The biker guys next to me asked Phil to throw me a pick... I didn't even know you could ask for picks at shows, that was when I found out. There was no going back after that night. I still remember cooling my hot face against a cold pillar at the underground station afterwards. My excitement telling everyone about the show. I already loved Motörhead, but I was completely nuts after that night. And then even more so after seeing them again two years later. I cried then. Just like I cried in 2010 when I got to see Aerosmith for the very first time.
I got to see a lot of shows since, even though money was tight at first and that meant redirecting money from food and bills to concert tickets for about three years. Zero regrets about that, I'd do it all over again. I also missed some shows. I missed out on seeing Elton John when he came to Bucharest. I still regret it, but it was one of those big expensive shows I didn't have a chance to afford. Even with my delay bills, eat once every two weeks, maybe sell a couple of things I didn't really need strategy, there was no way I could gather much over half the price of a ticket. I didn't get to see Heaven & Hell. I had a ticket for Sonisphere, where they were supposed to play, but then they pulled out of all festivals and Dio died about six weeks later. It was the once chance I ever had and it got taken away from me. I missed out on seeing Twisted Sister. Shortly before they retired, they were supposed to play the last day of a festival here, I had a ticket, but the promoter did something shitty and, since the mayor didn't like him anyway, she was more than happy to screw him over. That entire last festival day got cancelled.
Then Aerosmith did it once more. They announced the 2017 tour and that basically put me in the "travel abroad on your own for the first time ever or miss out on seeing them for what may be the last time". I chose the first option. And that just created a precedent. Got the ball rolling, however you want to put it.
That's how I got to see Metal Church, who were never going to be able to come to Romania. How I finally got to see Saxon headlining their own shows. How I finally got to see Insomnium or Kreator play decent venues. How I got to see some absolutely fantastic Alice shows. And many more...
For a little while, I thought I could catch up. If I'm calculated and tough, smart about my options, I could make it work and sneak in quite a few shows. Make up for starting so late. For not having money a decade ago. For not that many shows happening in Romania. While my body could still take it, it was supposed to be all up to me. Until it wasn't anymore...
For the past 16 months, I've kept having this thought. This time is lost and we're never getting it back. It's sixteen months of lost chances. Sixteen months of so many nevers. While our bodies degrade and some die. Some horrifyingly early. Alexi Laiho was only a couple of years older than me. So it could be me too... I have had that thought, yes. It's this feeling of running out of time, of forever lost chances.
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I'm going to Austria. Before all Hell breaks loose again. I need this. Badly.
For the book reading and the Kreator show. Which is still supposed to happen and I'm willing to take a chance for. I'm looking at the numbers and I'm trying to make sense of what's happening and, while I know everything is uncertain... there are only 3 weeks left until the concert. And the way things currently are, there is no indication they could worsen to the point authorities in Austria would decide to ban events like the Innsbruck concert. They have tightened some restrictions and may be willing to push that further, but so far, it has all been in the direction of access rules and sanctions if not respected and not in the direction of shutting down things. Which, at this point, they're reluctant to do because they may not be able to afford it. They have wonderful healthcare that has allowed them to get through the pandemic better than most, but it won't stay as wonderful when they're running out of money to support it.
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Post by AeroCooper on Jul 28, 2021 15:42:46 GMT -5
I had to take the batteries out of the carbon monoxide alarm. The constant beeping was giving me a headache and making me feel sleepy and nauseous as heck.
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Jul 28, 2021 16:21:59 GMT -5
Post by ap on Jul 28, 2021 16:21:59 GMT -5
I'm booking my trip to Austria. Mike Howe, the singer of Metal Church, died yesterday. He was only 55. And I thought he looked healthy (and sounded absolutely amazing) when I got to see them in 2019. I never saw him perform. The only time I saw Metal Church was in 1986, opening for Metallica on the Master Of Puppets tour. That was still David Wayne, 1st album era. They were great. Like the band Riot a few years earlier, I thought they were destined for greater success than they ever achieved.
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Post by anaix3l on Aug 3, 2021 6:06:46 GMT -5
I'm loving the new header image with Brad and Joe!
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Post by AeroCooper on Aug 4, 2021 6:15:08 GMT -5
I know I'm going to Hell, but at least I've got a full scholarship.
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Post by anaix3l on Aug 4, 2021 10:53:33 GMT -5
I wish there was a Hell for some people to go to. (re: news like this or this)
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Post by redvers76 on Aug 4, 2021 14:11:10 GMT -5
I wish there was a Hell for some people to go to. (re: news like this or this) they preach it to everyone else, it is what they deserve… Sadly the general population doesn’t see the hypocrisy for what it is - admission that religion is a con!
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