July 17, 2003
Travels In Corporeality by James B.L. Hollands
i) Love Is A Dangerous Angel - The Costa Duarada
"Never ever sterilise stethyscopes by boiling them, even if your intentions are good" Donald S.Passman.
Phrase of day one was " Ask Keith ". Keith appeared to be the only operative within Heathrow Airport capable of getting me out of the country - it´s virtually impossible to travel without a credit card nowadays...but if that position should ever present itself to you, ask Keith. It works.
After some taxi driver cunt dumps us twenty minutes from our flat, we arrive, do stuff and hit Sonar. It´s the hottest June in Barcelona for fifty years. The Sonar Complex is in Hoxton, we´re staying in a cross between Beirut and Chelsea. The Runts have commandeered a building site behind our flat, and the sound of firecrackers beats a tattoo for the next three days. We-are-young-and-we-bring-war.
Sonar is gentle, an outdoor complex, one indoor tent, a few stages, some big white building. Not too busy, just right. Outside they´re playing acid and Clipse. We arrive too late for the Mute presentation so hang waiting for Paddy´s mate Tony to magically appear, as working a mobile is impossible. ( Hallo Motorola! Hallo 02! ) There he is. Tony´s mate Shaz tells us about some thing happening that night on Avenue Diagonal - blastbeats from people who weren´t invited to play Sonar, or who couldn´t afford to pay to play, which is the rumour.
At the Wrong Festival some industrial retards are angle-grinding a cow´s skull. Go on, impress me, suck its fucking eyeball out you wankers. They don´t, I´m rock gig bored until one of the bands, or someone in the audience, whatever, drops pepper spray or mace or tear gas into the crowd. It´s an aesthetic first for me. It clears the club except for some grindcore kids and yours truly, who by this time is on vodka and running towards the stage through the choking, tear-streaming crowd
" Give it some fuckin WELLY you faggot SLAAAAGS".
Erm...DJ Rupture´s set was great, surf for him, leave then me n Pad stay up all night. Tony looks disgusted the next day at the empty bottle of brandy, but it tasted great and now I can slur in fifteen different languages.