Infected Mushroom at The Metro

Holy shitballs.
What a fucking kickass concert. No, seriously, it was fucking amazing.
Infected Mushroom are a fucking god-like band. Such an amazing sound. The guitar goes so well with the dance music, and the live drummer is a kickass addition. Of course, the live vocals really impress, and the fact that you have an MC just amps the crowd up as it is. And what would it be without the keyboardist? So yeah, a fucking great band.
I've published a photo set on flickr for your perusal (I'm still not sure of the best way to distribute links to flickr... I think if you're a member (Yahoo! members use their Yahoo! ID) you don't need the guest pass(es) that I have been publishing... anyway):
*EDIT* Turns out you don't need the guest passes to view publURL:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jademonkee/sets/72157600078883036/
Check it out, it will compliment my post.
So. The night started early for me, as I just met Leanne after work at about 5:30pm. We went and bought Linden's present... hold on, before I can go any further I have to start listening to Infected Mushroom... that's better.
So we went over to JB to find one of the CDs that I had in mind for Lil. Ended up getting her a Lee "Scratch" Perry album (I wanted to get her one that was related to The Great Escape). I recognised two songs on the album that he played at the concert, so I figured it was a good album to get.
After that Lilly and I went to that cheap little sushi place on Pitt St and bought dinner (a sushi box, gyoza and a bento box). Tasty. We then sat around for a bit as we were both a bit tired (although I was simultaneously - and almost contradictorily - pumped for the concert). At about 7:45pm we headed over to Retro to meet Linden etc.
The "etc" were Tristan, Boggle, Drew + a work friend of his (see first photo), two of Linden's friends from Scotland... I think that was all who were there when we arrived...? Time saw the arrival of Ross, Monique, Jess, and several other people I don't really know.
Time flew.
I drank.
Boggle wasn't going to, but we insisted that he did (and just sleep in his car).
About 10pm maybe I received the call from the two Mike's saying that they were nearby. They wanted to know the details of the parking that Boggle had found for only $9 (only thing was that you had to be out by 6am). But midway through the call, MKP said he'd call me back.
A little while later, I received a call from Mickey saying that he'd gotten himself bogged... how one manages to do this in the city was beyond me, but they were only around the corner from me, so I went to go see them.
-interlude-
Infected Mushroom are awesome... listening to Ratio Shmatio. Awesome.
-end interlude-
In my infinite wisdom, on the trip over I saw a packing pallet, and grabbed it to help 'un-bog' them.
But how did he manage to bog the car in the city? Well, there were several cars parked on a nature strip under the Anzac Bridge, so he decided to join them. Only thing was that where he drove up was very deep, very soft mud. So he stuck fast. Front wheels over the gutter, car hanging into the street. Luckily enough it was a v quiet lane way, so he wasn't disrupting traffic. As I arrived there, a big Islander was walking by, so we asked his help to push the car up fully onto the nature strip (it was only the part near the gutter that was muddy). It was no trouble to get it up and over the mud. We decided to leave it there to a) deal with later, and b) take the chance that the mud would have dried a bit by the time we returned.
So. Problem solved. Or at least put off until later.
So MKP, Mickey and I walked back up to Retro (after storing the packing pallet near the car as we would be needing it later). Unfortunately for the two Michaels, they'd arrived late enough for them to be subject to the $10 cover charge, and as I (and the rest) wanted to stay a little longer, they came in and had a few drinks with us. There was a woman there giving out "buy one, get one free" drink cards, so that was alright (but the two Mike's didn't sign up for them... fools). Stayed there for some unknown amount of time (I was a little drunk), and eventually moved to the dance floor. But time had gotten the better of us, and it was getting time to leave (after all, we had a concert to go to). And the music on the floor was only shitty RnB anyway (it turns out that it was the other levels that were playing retro...). So, we were on our way to Infected Mushroom! Yay!
We were due to meet Alex, Ally and Alex's new girl Hannah there, but first things first, Mickey had to sell Renata's ticket. Renata was supposed to come with us, and because they were playing at the Metro it was assumed that they would be finished by midnight... but on Thursday we found out that Infected Mushroom wouldn't even be playing until 1:30am, and as Renata had to teach (was it teach? that doesn't seem right) the next morning, she had to bail... shame. She rules. So Mike had to sell her ticket. He just waited around the entry booth for about half an hour (while MKP was waiting outside for his girl... I thought he was going to bring her in, but no, he was just saying hi. If I'd realised this I would have gone out to meet her). Just after Mick had sold his ticket I received a call from Alex saying that he was outside havin' a smoke. So I waited a wee bit near the stairs to meet up with him. He was his usual over-indulged self - as was expected for an event like this - but it was cool to see him... and he brought his camera (as did I), so we got some group photos... nice (he also took some video footage of the concert, which I'm keen to see). Ally was with him, and so was Hannah. It was nice to meet Hannah, and she seems very sweet (I was touched that she gave me a hug upon being introduced). I'd like to have dinner with her and the family sometime soon.
So we each bought a Red Bull and a bottle of water and headed into The Metro concert area to see what it was like and to wait for Infected Mushroom to start. The setup was surprisingly good! No lasers though.... and lasers still rule. It was packed, but still not terrible, and probably just as packed as Home was when I saw them there. Mick had brought the gear (only one each tonight... I'm a little scared of excess these days), and we decided to drop around 12:45am, to be ready for the 1:30am start. Mike wasn't doing any, as he's unable to these days... which was a shame coz he'd been up since 4am that morning doing army training... so he was buggered. The visualisations were crappy 3d animations, but seemed to suit the psychedelic atmosphere (harking to that period of 3d psychedelic art from the early 90s). So we waited. And waited. And I went to meet Boardman with Alex, couldn't find him, and waited again. A few minutes before the show (the band had already walked onto stage and were setting up) the DJ played a remix of Born Slippy Nuxx, so I (and Mike, and Mick, and Leanne, and no doubt Alex) were fucken stoked. What a fucken great psych up. It was then that I sent that photo post below. It was only a few minutes after that that the band started - and blew me away. Fucking holy fucking shit. Fucking awesome. Fuck yeah. And in contrast to the last time I saw them (uuurgh....), the drugs were very slight, and only enhanced the experience a little - which is what I was looking for.
But yes. Fucking amazing. They played a better setlist than last time too! I think they played every song that I wanted to hear - like Muse Breaks RMX, Cities of the Future, Meduzz, IM The Supervisor, Converting Vegetarians, I Wish, Now is the Time... that's all I can be sure of... But yes. A fucking perfect set - and Amit Duvdevani has some serious stage presence. Oh my God, I can't forget Erez Netz, the guitarist... wow. He can psych and audience up alright. Just look at the photos. Amazing.
So yes. A flawless set.
Afterward, MKP went straight home coz he was buggered (he was up at 4am that morning, remember), Alex did too, as he felt a bit sick, so Mike, Lilly and I walked to the car... we passed Town Hall just as we saw the bus carrying MKP drive off... sorry Mike... hope you got home ok/slept well.
So we walked back to the car to tackle the near insurmountable task of un-bogging the car.
The plan was to break two slats off of the packing crate, put them (nail down) under the wheels to form a bridge over the mud and gutter, and then just drive right over.
The execution of this plan, most surprisingly, was flawless. Removing the slats from the packing crate was easy as pie (or is it π... I never know.); just a matter of kicking them out. We lined them up with the rear tires first time, and backed over them without any adjustments. We then lined them up for the front tires and backed over them without any adjustments. We even lowered the car from the gutter without scraping or banging. Fucking flawless. First time. We left the car just sitting where it was for about 10 minutes, revelling in our victory. The security guard came over and we had a chat to her about the whole (non) ordeal, and about homeless people in the area, for about 5 minutes. Then we drove off to Meadowbank station to pick up Leanne's car. We had a party on the way thanks to MKP's house CD. Fuck yeah. It was awesome. We went off (which was surprising, coz we were feeling a little tired before then - which is why we were heading home rather than going out afterward). It was awesome. Fucken awesome. You are a fun motherfucker, Mickey.
We got to Meadowbank station, and Leanne hopped in her car, and Mike and I drove back to his house seperate from Leanne. We stopped for cigarettes, Tally-Ho's and fuel (we had bud to smoke), but still got back before Leanne (so she wasn't waiting for us awkwardly). She was also having a party in her car (to Underworld). Fucken awesome. You're the coolest chick I know, Lilly.
-interlude 2-
Man. I've been writing for some time! IM The Supervisor just ended, so I've stuck on Converting Vegetarians, Disc 2 to follow it.
-end interlude 2-
So Mike and I had a smoke, and Lilly a passive one, and we just fucked around listening to music until about 6am maybe. We then went to bed.
What a fucking wonderful evening.
Fuck yes. Infected Mushroom fucking rule. As a testament my thoughts on this matter, I just ordered the limited edition version of their new album. Only like AU$22 delivered! Thank you US Dollar!! Actually, if you are interested, you can pick up their seminal albums Converting Vegetarians (2CD) and IM The Supervisor along with the new one, Vicious Delicious and the single Becoming Insane for a mere US$50, (which is a very reasonable AU$60 because of the dollar at the moment), and the shipping for me was only US$3.xx, so it shouldn't be too much more for this pack. SO FUCKING GET IT!!
The next day, Lilly and I woke up at maybe 1pm? We were craving Christina's Gourmet Pizza, so we went upstairs and woke up The Mickster. He informed us that Christina's didn't open until 5pm... we couldn't possibly wait that long. So by about 3:30pm we were at Chargrill Charlie's in Wahroonga for some fucking awesome chicken burgers. Holy shit. So gaddamn tasty. They hit the spot. Yum yum yum. I want one now.
So we went back to Mickey's ate them, and went downstairs to watch a Warp music video DVD (Actually, check out some of the videos on that last website - some are awesome... only thing is that they are only previews). After that, we headed home. We didn't achieve much there, or the next day... so this post shall end very soon.
My PC is still broken, and this weekend I'm going up to the Hunter, so it won't be fixed until maybe next weekend. Bummer. I'm using the laptop at the moment. We created a wireless network with Leanne's Mac, so at least it's wire-free Internet, but it's also mouse free, and that's kinda annoying...
Anyway.
It was a fucking awesome weekend. Yay!

Listening to: Infected Mushroom - Converting Vegetarians, Disc 2 - The Other Side. Fuck yeah.