Hello everyone. My last post was merely a link, so I thought I'd do a longer one. I actually began writing this last night under a different title, but gave up. The title change comes as a result of the song I am listening to at the minute - alas, it's the Stereophonics' version. It's not that it's bad - in fact, it's quite good - but I've grown to prefer the version you hear in The Office (or even Ricky Gervais's version, because you know you'll get a good laugh out of it). Speaking of The Office, I can't believe I didn't realise how good it was until it was almost over. Ah well, I have the DVD of Season 1 now, so that's more than a bonus. "It's like the early part of this decade all over again", said the Dirty Vicar once he saw my last post - which was my first since before Xmas, as a matter of fact. Since then, student life has been and gone (yes, you can now call me a graduate) and I'm trying to find a job. And I've seen countless films, and become a regular contributor to a "Teachers" fansite (To any "Teachers" fans on this list, who are you? There's a lot to like about the show on top of The Boy with the Arab Strap) and...been to three more concerts/festivals. The first one of these was the One Big Weekend here in Derry, and it was fantastic. Got to hear Keane for the first time, and see Franz Ferdinand and Ash at their best. Avril Lavigne wasn't quite at her best, but was still good. (Kelis doesn't do much for me, unfortunately.) Then came the Future Kings of Spain, and then Graham Coxon (both in Belfast's Limelight.) And then...Oxegen. You knew with the line-up that you were going to have a great time if you went there - unfortunately David Bowie's injury made the Darkness headliners by default. (You'll have already guessed, I'm sure, that I'm not a fan of theirs.) Never mind - for me The Divine Comedy, Ash, Franz Ferdinand (come on, Peter Miller, they are not bad), Keane, PJ Harvey, and lesser known acts such as Cathy Davey and Saucy Monky (have any of you heard of them? I hadn't until they supported Tim Burgess last year.) made the weekend memorable. But Belle & Sebastian's set was ahead of them all. I'd no idea they were playing, even, until very close to the festival itself. Since I'm feeling quite lazy now, how this gig was for me can be summed up in a paragraph from the article about Oxegen that I wrote for a magazine: "As I relocated to the Green Room at about 11.30 p.m. for Belle & Sebastian, I had no idea what a reception the band was in for. It appears that there are more Belle & Sebastian fans in Ireland than I thought. Changing record labels, along with apparently securing the service of some talented new violinists who Id previously never seen, has really made a difference. That difference was visible in this extremely lively and even friendly set, demonstrated when leading man Stuart Murdoch invited a girl from the audience to dance to two of the songs on stage. The band gave great performances of songs such as The Boy with the Arab Strap (also known as the theme from the popular TV show Teachers), Legal Man, Sleep the Clock Around, Step Into my Office, Baby, Im A Cuckoo, and more. Stuart was a real livewire, and Sarah Martin just showed what a versatile musical performer she is. How she has compensated for the loss of Isobel Campbell." Other songs that I remember they performed were: I Fought in a War The Model You Don't Send Me I'm sure there's more, but honestly, I can't remember. Simply talking about this reminds me of what DV posted about earlier - "the early part of this decade". And in a way, seeing B & S at Oxegen brought me back to December 2001 (yes, I remember the month) and that fantastic B & S gig at the Mandela Hall, which wasn't long before that Xmas. Makes me wish they'd do something like that again in these parts, later in the year... Now, I hope those of you that were able to see them in London (and that includes James, plus Sam Walton and a few others who posted recently) had just as great a time. What I also didn't mention was just how good an album DCW is. Actually, it's close to great. It took time to grow on me, but don't all albums? Big shouts to Amy Skelton, DV, James and any of the Irish Sinister posse that I haven't mentioned. And although I defended Franz Ferdinand earlier, rest assured that I don't intend to vote for them regarding the Mercury Music Prize. Take care all Psi ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! 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