10 October 2007
Kevin Rudd and the Death Penalty
Yet another mistake by the otherwise competent yet vision-less Labor leader. He better not fuck up again. As much as I can’t stand him, we NEED to win this time. I feel sorry for Robert McLelland for stating the proper position and then being humiliated by Kevin Rudd. Kevin Rudd is still the person for the moment but he better be careful. The death penalty is never acceptable and any astute politician would have gauged that the Australian population agrees, regardless of whether “terrorism” was involved. We’re not Neanderthals like the Americans.
4 October 2007
Tori Amos American Doll Posse Sydney Concerts; Pip, Clyde and Dark Energy; Synchronicities
Tori Amos did 3 concerts at the Sydney Opera House in her 2007 American Doll Posse tour. I saw 2 of them: the 1st (Pip) and 3rd (Clyde).
I had a number of synchronicities / life lessons surround these experiences.
1) On the day of the Pip concert I had a massive fight with my ex, almost ending our friendship but with him ending up coming to the concert. He left after the first song which “happened” to be a nasty, powerful, gut-pumping version of “Cruel”. I wasn’t so dodgy as to interpret it as being about him; it was about me. “I can be cruel / I don’t know why / Why can’t my balloon stay up / In a perfectly windy sky?”. My depression and what a cunt I can be.
2) I ended two long-term friendships in the weeks leading up to the concerts. One my ex who I’ve known for 12 years, another a close friend I’ve known for 7. During this period I learnt that the true meaning of “Caught A Lite Sneeze” was about the inability or unwillingness of people to ditch relationships that are no longer useful or workable. I also had to consider whether my relationship with my ex, which is probably the most meaningful relationship in my life outside of my family, was still viable.
3) In the week leading up to the 1st concert I had a strained dialogue with my sister (who I consider to be the 2nd most intelligent person I’ve met after me - don‘t slam me for that, I know) involving feminine intelligence. My ex also pulled me up for a couple of sexist comments. I consider myself to be an arch-feminist.
4) This may just be paranoia or self-absorption but I am pretty sure Tori looked at me for a period of time that wasn’t brief towards the end of the concert. I had an empty seat next to me, stand out physically, was virtually dancing in my seat and realised I was raising my eyes to the ceiling as if in prayer while singing along to “God”. I’ve noticed DJs use me as a barometer in the past because I have an excellent sense of rhythm and dance and totally lose myself. I was close to the front.
After the Pip concert, which my frontal lobes barely remember because of the valium, scotches and ecstasy I imbibed to deal with the fight with my ex, I had a horrible depression settle on me. I knew I needed to see Tori again to rectify how I had disrespected her. Pip stirred dark energy in me that I’m not strong enough yet to confront. I knew that if I went to see the 3rd concert it’d be Clyde. She’s the one that sees the potential in everyone, even when they don’t see it themselves. I identify with her most closely out of the American Doll Posse. I knew she’d heal what Pip had antagonised.
At 10am on the day of the last concert, one of my ex’s clients told him that he’d bought a ticket each for them to that night’s concert. My ex and I went into overdrive, hit eBay etc. My face, body and voice closely resemble my ex’s so we pretended I was a cousin from the country, resulting in my securing (through the client) the very last standing ticket to Tori Amos’ very last concert in Australia.
5) In between the two concerts I had a magic mushroom (psilocybin) trip by myself. Towards the beginning of the trip I was lying on the floor and found myself re-enacting some specific head movements that Tori was doing in Pip character. They were jerky head/neck movements, as if trying to hear something that you know is going to be disturbing that you really need to hear. Very rarely during trips do I try to escape from the darkness inside me. I think that if you bear with it, stay with the pain, you are rewarded more than amply once you emerge from psychically painful themes during trips. But I was trying to escape from the dark energy. I didn’t want to feel sadness, anxiety or anger. I was shit-scared for once. The head-jerking would disappear once I stopped withdrawing my energy and allowed it to flow from my core around my navel and just below my navel into my head and ears. Obviously Tori could not have been actually experiencing this during the concert but I am convinced that I tapped into what she was trying to communicate. We’re always trying to be happy, positive, etc. There’s a place for the dark.
At the Clyde concert I stood behind the stalls in the Opera House, was able to move around, was by myself, etc, so decided to commune directly with Tori and pretend there was no-one else there. People moved away from me. I danced. I bawled my eyes out in the following songs:
Bouncing Off Clouds
Caught A Lite Sneeze
Cloud On My Tongue
Digital Ghost
Spark
I know, bizarre choices to cry in. Especially the “Bouncing Off Clouds” which was the opener.
There’s more I have to say so I’ll probably update this post later but WOW! Best 2 concerts of my life and I have to give maximum credit to the band, especially the drummer Matt Chamberlain. He pounded my guts out, especially in the Pip show which was a total rock-fest. Everyone knows that Tori is a piano genius but not that many people seem to realise she can do rock/swing/jazz at the absolute A-grade level eg “Talula”, “In the Springtime of his Voodoo”, “Little Amsterdam”.
Cruel
1st Concert Set List
3rd Concert Set List
I had a number of synchronicities / life lessons surround these experiences.
1) On the day of the Pip concert I had a massive fight with my ex, almost ending our friendship but with him ending up coming to the concert. He left after the first song which “happened” to be a nasty, powerful, gut-pumping version of “Cruel”. I wasn’t so dodgy as to interpret it as being about him; it was about me. “I can be cruel / I don’t know why / Why can’t my balloon stay up / In a perfectly windy sky?”. My depression and what a cunt I can be.
2) I ended two long-term friendships in the weeks leading up to the concerts. One my ex who I’ve known for 12 years, another a close friend I’ve known for 7. During this period I learnt that the true meaning of “Caught A Lite Sneeze” was about the inability or unwillingness of people to ditch relationships that are no longer useful or workable. I also had to consider whether my relationship with my ex, which is probably the most meaningful relationship in my life outside of my family, was still viable.
3) In the week leading up to the 1st concert I had a strained dialogue with my sister (who I consider to be the 2nd most intelligent person I’ve met after me - don‘t slam me for that, I know) involving feminine intelligence. My ex also pulled me up for a couple of sexist comments. I consider myself to be an arch-feminist.
4) This may just be paranoia or self-absorption but I am pretty sure Tori looked at me for a period of time that wasn’t brief towards the end of the concert. I had an empty seat next to me, stand out physically, was virtually dancing in my seat and realised I was raising my eyes to the ceiling as if in prayer while singing along to “God”. I’ve noticed DJs use me as a barometer in the past because I have an excellent sense of rhythm and dance and totally lose myself. I was close to the front.
After the Pip concert, which my frontal lobes barely remember because of the valium, scotches and ecstasy I imbibed to deal with the fight with my ex, I had a horrible depression settle on me. I knew I needed to see Tori again to rectify how I had disrespected her. Pip stirred dark energy in me that I’m not strong enough yet to confront. I knew that if I went to see the 3rd concert it’d be Clyde. She’s the one that sees the potential in everyone, even when they don’t see it themselves. I identify with her most closely out of the American Doll Posse. I knew she’d heal what Pip had antagonised.
At 10am on the day of the last concert, one of my ex’s clients told him that he’d bought a ticket each for them to that night’s concert. My ex and I went into overdrive, hit eBay etc. My face, body and voice closely resemble my ex’s so we pretended I was a cousin from the country, resulting in my securing (through the client) the very last standing ticket to Tori Amos’ very last concert in Australia.
5) In between the two concerts I had a magic mushroom (psilocybin) trip by myself. Towards the beginning of the trip I was lying on the floor and found myself re-enacting some specific head movements that Tori was doing in Pip character. They were jerky head/neck movements, as if trying to hear something that you know is going to be disturbing that you really need to hear. Very rarely during trips do I try to escape from the darkness inside me. I think that if you bear with it, stay with the pain, you are rewarded more than amply once you emerge from psychically painful themes during trips. But I was trying to escape from the dark energy. I didn’t want to feel sadness, anxiety or anger. I was shit-scared for once. The head-jerking would disappear once I stopped withdrawing my energy and allowed it to flow from my core around my navel and just below my navel into my head and ears. Obviously Tori could not have been actually experiencing this during the concert but I am convinced that I tapped into what she was trying to communicate. We’re always trying to be happy, positive, etc. There’s a place for the dark.
At the Clyde concert I stood behind the stalls in the Opera House, was able to move around, was by myself, etc, so decided to commune directly with Tori and pretend there was no-one else there. People moved away from me. I danced. I bawled my eyes out in the following songs:
Bouncing Off Clouds
Caught A Lite Sneeze
Cloud On My Tongue
Digital Ghost
Spark
I know, bizarre choices to cry in. Especially the “Bouncing Off Clouds” which was the opener.
There’s more I have to say so I’ll probably update this post later but WOW! Best 2 concerts of my life and I have to give maximum credit to the band, especially the drummer Matt Chamberlain. He pounded my guts out, especially in the Pip show which was a total rock-fest. Everyone knows that Tori is a piano genius but not that many people seem to realise she can do rock/swing/jazz at the absolute A-grade level eg “Talula”, “In the Springtime of his Voodoo”, “Little Amsterdam”.
Cruel
1st Concert Set List
3rd Concert Set List
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
