Bolt of Blue

Last week, we found out that Tim Wheeler from Ash was going to perform at Spaceland with Matt Sharp. Of course, we had to be there.

It was quite the fun night. Josh Homme was there with Brody Armstrong to check out opening band Millionaire. They were so loud in such a small place I thought my head was going to explode. Once we got earplugs, all was well and the band was pretty good. Very rock but had good beats and an insane lead singer in the Craig Vines mold.

Geoff Martyn also performed for like an hour. This caused the whole set times to be off and Tim and Matt got on stage much later than expected.

Mark was there. And I attacked him. No. I didn’t. But I did talk with him about the new Ash album. He said they were 3 weeks away from completing it and it was coming along really well. He also said they would be back in the States as soon as February for a proper tour. Tim showed up as we were chatting and it was so nice to see him again. At that point, some bloke comes up and introduces himself to me. It’s Ben Lee. I’m like uh, right. I know who you are. I’m seeing you next week open for Phantom Planet. He told me not to expect much from him and he hoped he would not disappoint. Later on in the evening, he was nice enough to let me have a sip from his beer after I had the worst tasting flavor of corn nuts I’ve ever had the misfortune to try. I also got to tell him how much I loved his cover of The Reflex he did with Kylie. Ben was really sweet to chat with.

Tim and Matt performed some songs together acoustically. Tim starting things off with a few old and new Ash songs. He then retreated to let Matt take over for a while, coming back to do a rad rendition of Burn Baby Burn. Tim teased me after that I was rocking out when it was acoustic, but I said I can’t help it! I’m sorry, but that song makes me dance, acoustic or otherwise. Finally met their manager Tav who showed off his huge new tattoo and told us we had to come to London to see Ash sometime. Played a round of guessing Star Wars tattoos with Mark, who surprisingly guessed ours correctly after some hints. Also, finally got a photo with Mark though I look stupid. I also look stupid in our group shot with Tim. I’m a nerd. All in all, it was a laid-back and fun little evening in Silverlake.

I saw the Phantom Menace at 12:01 am this morning. I was a part of the group waiting in line outside of the Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for 6 weeks. Was it worth it? Frankly, yes. Just to see this movie with this group of people who’ve become like a family this past month and a half. Just to see this movie sitting next to a 4 year old who laughed and clapped and loved it (Timmy, you were the coolest guy in line!).

I knew there would be people who would hate this movie. How can a movie live up to the countless expectations of most of the people in this country? It can only be what it was. An overall fun and amazing experience. I had grumblings about lack of character development and not enough of the Queen and Obi-Wan, who both rocked! And the ending sequence of the film really picked up and felt like the same old magic of the first three movies. Darth Maul was the perfect villain. As was Darth Sidious.

I don’t think this film will bomb. Too many people are curious. And by the end of the film, I wanted to know more. I had so many questions that were left unanswered. This movie was made for little kids who are going to love this. And this movie set up the next two. I liked it, loved parts of it, was disappointed by other parts of it, but I definitely want to see it again, if only to watch Ewan McGregor in action. He was awesome and he did not disappoint at all. I know I’m biased but really, he was beyond cool in this. He should have been it in more or rather, the movie should have focused on him more. Obi-Wan that is. Obi-Wan is such an intriguing character but you don’t get enough of him in this… This was such visual eye candy. I know I missed a lot the first time around.

This was an incredible experience for me. Not the movie. But the line. Waiting in line for 6 weeks on and off, when I had time to put in hours. I made friendships I know will continue. I made connections with people I will cherish and carry with me. I never expected that. I never expected that I would gain as much as I have from this whole adventure. And I would do it all over it again. Without a doubt.