Tour dates for Alkaline Trio and Hot Water Music in the UK:

09-13-03 Portsmouth @ Pyramids GB
09-15-03 Bristol @ Anson Rooms
09-16-03 Wulfrun Hall @ Wolverhampton
09-17-03 Sheffield @ Leadmill
09-19-03 London @ Astoria
09-20-03 London @ Astoria

Sheffield it is. I’ve missed Hot Water Music too many times now, I’m not missing them again.

Pitchforkmedia.com is one of those sites that’s on my ‘daily visit’ list. They update regularly, review a reasonable range of new material, and usually get the scoop on any relevant news. But you have to wonder about their reviewing style at times. Take this one for example:

“…but even You Are Dignified, the new tone-frisbee from one of the most enduring loud jumble-rock bands, reeks of, you know, screen doors and skeeter carcasses.”

Like, er, eh? The next paragraph starts out just as badly:

“The acoustic-equals-porchiness stigma is, reckon, a result of the weird arc fabricated by the prominence of Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, an arc that runs through Guthrie’s populist sloganry…”

Erm? That doesn’t even make sense? I think Buddyhead got it right when they said this about Pitchfork:

“Ever wonder what happens to the 46,986 kids who graduate as journalism majors every year and can’t find paying jobs? They write reviews here and still think they’re being graded on them.”.

Buddyhead rules.

I’ve actually tried to start writing about this like five times now. So much went down and it was such a good weekend I’m stuck for somewhere to start :)

I headed over to Blackpool on the Friday evening to meet up with the gang at a pub and to receive some kind of instruction as to how everything was going to go down on the Saturday. We sorted a few things out, ate some food, and I proceeded to get hosed on Stella (as usual). I think I also managed to wreck some shit near Jim’s house on the way back from the pub. Evil beer, sorry about that Jim.

Saturday was the actual day of the wedding, and after shaking the cobwebs from my head we checked in to the De Vere White’s hotel in Blackpool (which was about as hot as it was phat. No air conditioning, what’s that about?!) where I showered up and donned the suit that I’d sweat for the rest of the day in.
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Brandtson’s UK tour dates:

JUL 24 - London, UK @ The Garage w/ The Weakerthans
JUL 25 - Cardiff, UK @ Oz Bar
JUL 26 - Norwich, Uk @ Ferryboat
JUL 27 - Middlesbrough, UK @ Acklam Hotel
JUL 28 - Liverpool, UK @ Slaughterhouse
JUL 29 - Bournemouth, UK @ Mr. Smiths
JUL 30 - Kingston (London), UK @ The Peel, 16+

(See http://www.deepelm.com/dates.html for more details).

If only I could make that date on the 24th in London :/