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A quick post, with more detail to follow later.

Last night we went to go see The Black Hotels and The Parlotones.

The Black Hotels played first, threw in some new songs along with the old in their 30 minute set, they’re really tight now with the new line-up.  Then Parlotones came up, and as always, they were 110% awesome. They played two new songs, and according to Kahn the new album should be out before the end of the year, they start recording in June/July.

One thing’s for sure, I’m really not cut out of late mid-week evenings anymore!

More details and pictures to be posted over the weekend.

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Woooheeee, the last couple of days have been quite busy! Last week Thursday was my birthday, and this means loot! I got some good pressies, including a Jack Skellington wallet, money, Iron Man on Blu-ray, and from my dear wife, tickets to go watch The Parlotones Unplugged.

Let us talk about The Parlotones gig. We went to the show at the Barnyard in Alberton. We started with dinner at the Boma, which was quite good. Then we moved onto the show. The Parlotones were to be supported by One Sock Thief and Perez. Now, I’m a big One Sock Thief fan, so that’s good. Perez I don’t mind, but they’re not in my top 10, so to speak. However, it came to pass that Perez didn’t perform, and were instead replaced by The Black Hotels. Readers of my blog will know that I’m a huuuuuge fan of The Black Hotels, so this was a great bonus, making my birthday pressie extra special!

Added to all this, we finally managed to get our mitts on One Sock Thief’s debut album, which was officially available for purchase at the show. We bought the first CD, and we got all the members to sign it as well.

After the show, we managed to chat to the guys from One Sock Thief, who we are an good speaking terms. We also had a discussion with John from The Black Hotels, who said that the reason Perez didn’t play, was due to them breaking up (again). He stated that it was “complicated”. However, Nic from Perez is now the official fifth member of The Parlotones, and he performed with them on Sunday. It’s quite evident that he’s been rehearsing with them a lot, as he didn’t come off as a fifth wheel or anything.

Ah, on the gaming front. I purchased Sacred 2: Fallen Angel for the PC with my birthday money. I haven’t played a hack-n-slash game in some time, so it’s quite a lot of fun to get back into that mode!

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This weekend past was the summer beer fest at Stonehaven on the Vaal. First time attending. The reason for going, was to go see The Black Hotels, One Sock Thief and The Parlotones. We haven’t been out to see bands for months, so this was a great opportunity for us to get to see three of our favourite local bands.

First up was The Black Hotels. They’ve undergone some restructioning, the previous drummer has left the band, he’s been replaced, and they also now have a member on keyboards. Overall, the sound’s still pretty much the same, dare I say even better. They played some new material that really got me itching for a new album. Sadly a new album won’t be coming out anytime soon, due to the new lineup..

Then came One Sock Thief, and even though the crowd wasn’t really appreciative, they put on a great show. Their debut album’s just around the corner, and it was great hearing some of the songs performed live. This is a must purchase as soon as it hits the stores!

After a long wait, due to the lead singer from The Parlotones having to come from the airport (he was in the US for promotional purposes), they came on stage, and totally stole the show. They really are one of the premier bands in the South African music scene, and it’s very plain to see why when you see them perform. Be it for in a  small pub, or a huge outside concert, they give 110%. Khan was as energetic as ever, considering that he must be suffering from jetlag! I really hope they’re working on a new album, we need more of this band, stat!

There were other bands as well, but most of them were cover bands, which is something that I have a low tolerance for these days, considering all the talent that’s out there for new, original music.

All in all though, it was a great day out, with some great music. Roll on summer, which means more bands touring!

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