Hi everyone, I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. I have a bad cough and just don't feel like going out or doing anything remotely strenuous. If things don't improve I might have to give work a miss tomorrow, which is a pain coz I've been out of the office for a couple of days on a course and also coz I'm supposed to be selling tickets for our Summer Party (which is this Friday) and it's not exactly helpful that there'll be locked in my cupboard where no-one can get them. I started to feel unwell last night at the Pleasure Unit at Bethnal Green. It was an all-dayer organised by our sister/rival (delete to taste) forum Bowlie, and/but (ditto) there were lots of sinisters there, including Dimitra Daisy, Dirty Vicar, Rener, Paul Healy, Annie Tremp and Stefano. The venue was incredibly hot and although I enjoyed the two bands I'd really gone to see (Language of Flowers and Wintergreen) and chatting to the aforementioned people the rest of it was a bit crap really...there was a Blondie tribute band called Brunettie (I kid you not) and I can only recall one song played by the djs which made me inclined to check out the band in question (A Certain Smile, which I have been unable to find on google). Dimitra gave me a little booklet of Friends of the Heroes writing which has been lifting my spirits somewhat on this damp and dreary afternoon, but I can't help thinking about something that has been making me sick with worry over the past week, for which, read on. I'm really worried about a friend of mine called Ruth who was supposed to be accompanying me to the Somerset House gig last Sunday. At about four o'clock that afternoon I receieved a text message from her to say that she was unable to come as she was in hospital under observation. I tried to ring her back but was unable to as her phone was by then switched off (you're not supposed to have mobiles switched on in hospital anyway) and as I don't know anyone else who knows her - we met via Idelberry's Corduroy Smoke yahoo group - I have been unable to find out any more info. I tried calling at her house on Monday and yesterday but there was nobody in. I can only hope that she has recovered now and that I'll hear from her soon....arrghhhh. I totally agree with what Emma Cooper said about gigs in US bars. Making gigs over 21 only is an incredibly stupid thing to do. Fortunately the main venue here in Oxford has a more enlightened attitude, with quite a few gigs which are 16+ or even 14+, which start really early (which means they can slot in a club nite afterwards). I understand large numbers of people don't have a lot of time for Your Cover's Blown, seeing it as some kind of sell-out or whatever, but I really like it. Even if you don't like the style of the song, he lyrics are still up there (the 'houses' and 'mouses' couplet notwithstanding). I've had it on repeat on the stereo and have been humming it everywhere. Legal Man was *as big* a departure from the band's previous work, but I don't recall that causing so much fuss (although that might be just my bad memory, maybe a trawl through the archives is in order). Mark. _________________________________________________________________ Stay in touch with absent friends - get MSN Messenger http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+