Cazzfest 2008 - Angels and Demons Collide

Its almost that time of the year when I turn another year older, but who is counting?(shuttttuppp). Since the devil's mother was ironically born on Christmas Day (nicknamed all sort of horrible things like "Nightmare on Christmas Day" and "Carols by Candlelight), the bash is taking place almost a month after. Due to Cazzfest 2007's great success - who could forget, oh wait, that would be me - I have decided to make this an annual event and will host the next one on January 19, 2008.

This time around the planning is a whole lot easier since I know what went wrong (getting motherless drunk, spending a ridiculous amount of money) and what went right (wonderful group of people there, bands etc). And now Im introducing a theme party to go with it, first one being the appropriately named "Angels vs Demons" theme. Guess who I will be coming dressed up as? Dont even need to dress up, lol.

Since money is a bit tight, Im probably not going to have as many bands as last time. So far I have Torment confirmed and I am so excited that they will be playing at my party. I really dig their music. Im still waiting to hear from another band, but no matter what, its bound to be a HELL of a party!!!

Once again, its an open event so please invite all your friends. Just let me know before-hand approximately how many people are coming so I can calculate numbers for drinks and snacks. All details are in facebook, under Cazzfest 2008.

I am soooooo excited, I cant wait!!!!
State your legions, NOW!

Broken Bones

Damn.

I struggled to get up this morning - first sign that last night was a damn good night. Rough, but damn good. Damn.

It was sort of a last minute decision to go to Zeplins in the end, because no one wanted to go except Ferdi, me and Shadley. But we thought, fuckit, it's The Narrow! We couldnt stay away. We would have gotten there early and paid R10 less for the entrance, but Ferdi decided to miss the turn-off and take us on a scenic route with pretty houses all lighted up with Christmas decorations. The bugger drove us around for over 40 minutes, having no clue where he was. We still got there early in terms of band starting times, but we still missed out on the cheaper entrance (less money for booze).

We first went to get some food in this dodgy aread. Its so dodgy that most fast food places were already closed. The boys wanted KFC, I wanted Steers since I dont eat chicken, but refused to go there on my own. Yes, I admit I was a big sissy. So I went with them to KFC and ordered me some chipsssss. Turns out this KFC was more dodgy than it looked, it had no chicken hamburgers or foldovers left, much to Ferdi's disappointment. So he had to settle for some chicken pieces and 10 chips (I counted them).

Once we were done we went to Zeplins, there was no queue so we didnt have to freeze for long outside and went straight to the bar. Shadley and I have now gotten into this habit of getting two Heinekens in one go (quite to my detriment as it all went straight to my head almost immediately). We went to the stage area and saw that the Straatligkinders were on stage. We had no desire to see them so we went back to the front bar and watched Mudvayne and NIN videos.

When we were sure that that band was done, we found a spot somewhere in the middle of the crowd and waited while Inersha set up. This time I phoned Berny while Inersha played so she could have a listen. I really need to get this chick back into the gig scene (mostly so I can watch Shad rip off Fred in front of her, loooool).

Five Heinekens later I was ready for The Narrow. I pushed my way right to the front and had the perfect spot right under Hanu's nose. I could even touch his feet, which made Shadley so jealous. Hahaha. At least I took a pic of his feet for him.


This night was better than the previous as the crowd went wild. I suffered more injuries this time as I was pushed against the stage everytime the mosh pit got crazy. I even received a punch to the head. Had I not used to stage as support, I probably would have gone down like a ton of bricks. Despite it all, my reflexes were on top form - some chick decided to use my jeans as support when she was about to fall (if only she knew how easy it is to get out of my jeans). She pushed down and as soon as I felt the tiniest cold breeze, I grabbed on for dear life and pushed them right back up. Phew! Disaster averted!

By the looks of it, Ferdi and Shad suffered more injuries too, and we left immediately after The Narrow ended, feeling worn out but highly satisfied with another good performance. Ferdi and I had the munchies again (I only had chips, remember? And Ferdi, well, he is fat) so we went to Hatfield and prayed something would be open. This time I managed to get my Steers. We sat there and chatted for a while and eventually went home. I couldnt stay awake, I was literally worn out.

Waking up this morning was a major task, I couldnt even lift my head, my neck hurt so much. But once that was done, I had to deal with a sore back that threatened to break into tiny little pieces. Had we not been invited to a braai at Shawn's house, I probably wouldnt have surfaced at all. But I made the effort. I really didnt want to drink but since Ferdi was playing barman, he spiked all my drinks and made me feel even worse. All I want to do now is pass out and die...Monday tomorrow, ugh. Its going to be a long week!

Best f"ing mosh pit ever

Last night was epic. It sure ended with a bang! It was so good that we are going to see The Narrow again tonight at Zeplins, if all goes well. What a night it was!

It started off badly, as people started to cancel on me left, right and centre. I was so miff that I didnt even want to go in the end, especially since my partner in crime, Berny, couldnt make it either. How could I possible jol without her? But after a "fuckit, lets just have fun" sms from Shadley, I was geared for a good night.

I waited at home alone with a sick Rooney while Ferdi went to fetch Uli and Shad, and Weasel returned with mom from the hospital after visiting dad. We were running a bit late but arrived just in time to see 16Stitch setting up on stage. The place was packed, which is understandable considering the top class bands that were playing there that night.

We couldnt really find a good spot to watch the band, and the bars were packed with people wanting to get drinks. It looked like Tempos was short-staffed. After 2 songs I couldnt handle it anymore, so Shad and I went to the inner bar to try and get some drinks. It seemed like mission impossible. Only one barmaid who had no sense of direction as she served random people in no specific order. My mood was beginning to worsen.

Shadley had clear instructions for that evening: to keep me away from the male species that night, except from Andrew from 16Stitch (sigh, he's gorgeous as ever). And he did a superb job except for the five minutes that he left me alone at the bar while he went to the toilet. In those few minutes I had already made friends with the guys next to me and I flirted unashamedly. One guy insisted I smile and wanted to give me a lift over the counter so I could serve drinks behind the bar. Another just randomly started to talk to me. Conversation went something like this:

Random guy: "You look angry. What's wrong?"

Me: "I need a drink, that's what's wrong"

RG: "Looks like you need a hug. Want a hug?"

Pause...

Me: "No, I need a drink"

RG: "You sure?"

Me: (almost did an Andy from Little Britain impersonation). "Yeah, I'm sure".

Shame, he was very sweet and cute, but I was a girl on a mission that night, and that was to get my drinks! After 20 minutes I blew a fuse and swore at the barman, I think I scared him. And now with Ferdi at my side I finally got some service. I wasnt prepared to queue again so I ordered in bulk. Armed with drinks I went to watch what was left of 16Stitch's performance. One song. Dammit.

I caught up with Andrew afterwards and had a short chat with him. After all these years he still remembers me. What an awesome guy. It was very surprising that they didnt get to play at Woodstock. Thank goodness I didnt go. The Inersha boys arrived in time for their set after 16Stitch, said hello to them and got my spot ready in front of the stage. Kerran looked strange with his blonde hair, not sure if it suits him. Shadley laughed when I got a hug from Fred - Berny is going to be so jealous (dont worry Berns, I know he is your dibs).

My mood improved a whole deal as we rocked to Inersha. They had a couple of new songs that were kickass. Hope to see more of them. Fred threw a couple of Inersha DVDs at the crowd but I was always out of reach, so I approached him afterwards and scored me one too, heheh.

Finally the moment we had all been waiting for had arrived - The Narrow on stage at Tempos again. We had the perfect spot right in front, though we knew things would get deadly once the mosh pit got under way. I didnt care, it was the freaking Narrow forfreaksakes!!!!

Now, throughout the years I have bought all their CDs, but, and this is a big but, you havent truely experienced the magic that is the Narrow until you see them perform live. They have amazing stage presence and will have the crowd rocking and begging for more. Something that you just cant capture on a CD.

When they walked on stage the crowd went wild. Hanu looked like he had spent seven years in Tibet. That beard of his freaked me out (Ferdi wants one). His brother Emile (sigh), cute as ever too. Drummer Lias looked like Jesus Christ and Jow looked normal without his dreadlocks. Sure, they might have changed their appearance ages ago, but I hadnt seen them in over a year. Berny gave me instructions to stare at Deon (her dibs too) for her, so while I was singing along to their tunes, our eyes met, I pretended I was Berny and gave him a big smile, which was immediately returned. Snap, bang, I was Caz again and set my eyes on Emile again. Lol.

This was Shadley's first mosh pit and the goofy smile on his face meant that he was having a ball. Every now and then he would get swept into the throes of the pit, and would eventually surface, a bit roughened at the edges. Ferdi, of course, was in his element as everyone dropped like dominoes the minute he dived in there. It was funny to watch. I didnt escape unscathed either. As the mosh pit got bigger and bigger I got sucked in and was headbutted by a chick in front of me, and another hit me hard on the cheekbone. But it was all good, I just carried on as normal. I was proud that Uli remained in front with me for most of the performance. We will make a rocker out of her yet. Both Uli and Shad get the thumbs up.

They played all the favourites, like "Travellers", "Lonely Lonely" (damn we went wild), "Push up the Level", "The Banded" as well as the "newer" ones like "20 Questions" and "Shoot the DJ". The crowd didnt let up for one minute, the band had us enthralled the whole time. Before I knew it they finished their set and walked off the stage. But we didnt let them get away that easily and immediately chanted "WE WANT MORE". Ten seconds later they were back on stage (a bit rehearsed, if you ask me) and ended off with one of my personal favourites "Promised the World".

So it definitely ended on a high note after the disastrous day I had. Trembling and sweaty, I moved closer to the stage and called Emile over. I asked him for his guitar pick and immediately he placed it in my hands (such soft hands. Snap out of it, Caz!). I smiled at him and walked away, looking at my new precious. It was purple, my favourite colour. Sigh.

We left soon after that, since we were all exhausted and injured. Not that that is going to stop us from more torture tonight! PUSH UP THE LEVEL!!!

The end of an era?

I think I have outgrown clubs, and by that I mean the trendy dance clubs filled with teeny-boppers dressed to impress, all glittery and sparkling. I certainly did that to death during the good ol' days of Bourbon Street and Hurricanes. Sigh, how time has flown. Just this week I took a trip down memory lane with some of my good mates from "those days". We used to get up to so much mischief and walked into the club as if we owned the place. One might think that we actually did, since we were there so often. I cant believe how much we have grown up since then, I realised just how much, last night.

After pre-cocktails with Ingrid and Sonja at the Blue Goose we followed Ferdi, Shadley and Michelle to Manhattans. I had only been there once before, quite recently actually and its amazing how drunk I had to have been that night to actually enjoy it. Last night was a different story. I made a promise to myself not to drink too much as I wanted to look alive for tonight's big event (The Narrow at Tempos!!!). So I took it slow.

When we arrived, Inki, Sonja and I went to the ladies bar and each had a complimentary Brutal Fruit Peach cocktail (very yummy). We couldnt find the others so we walked to the dancefloor and stayed there most of the night. But I just couldnt find the beat, mostly because I hate dance music. I can only tolerate so much. And being practically sober, I just couldnt enjoy it. Its sad, I know, but recent circumstances did not allow me to have a good time.

I did have one teeny tiny highlight that evening where my old self almost came to the fore. While I was looking around for the others, I saw a Collin Farrell look-alike in my midst. I would have followed him (he was that hot) but Im not a stalker...yet. Haha.

Sonja and Inki left just before 11 since they were going to Pretoria. We eventually found the others and after a drink, we went home. It felt good to be home early for a change, but I feel that last night was a bit of a downer. Sure, its always good to spend time with my friends, but Im not sure Manhattans is the place to go. Maybe its just me, and my crap mood of late, but if I have to go there again, it will have to involve more alcohol, lol.

But at least I have something to look forward to tonight. Not only am I seeing my sidekick Berny again (damn its been long), we are also going to what I think is going to be the gig of the year - The Narrow, 16Stitch, Inersha and more at Tempos. I havent seen the first two in over a year! Its crazy! Now THAT is my kind of scene, where I feel at home :)

Tempestual Times

If one more person tells me to get a grip and be positive, Im going to push them from the 18th floor of my office building, and then maybe I will give them a toothy grin. A bit extreme? Hell no. Im stuck in a rut and I cant help feeling miserable. Let me get on with it and eventually I will be back to my old cheerful self. I hope.

Thinking I could get my licence after 10 days's worth of nail-biting driving lessons was a tall order, and damn, did I work hard to get there. I spent all my hard earned cash to get what I should have gotten 10 years ago. (10 years ago? Daaaamn). I know most people dont pass first time, but I strive to succeed in everything I do, first time. I tried, really hard. But my nerves got the better of me, even after overdosing on rescue remedy drops (boy did I feel drunk afterwards! lol). I excelled in the yard, getting all my parking right, but as soon as we went out on the road, I just lost control. I caught a red robot and couldnt stop in time - going over the white line is an immediate fail. Shame, the examiner really did want to pass me (yeah right) but there was no way he could do so since I committed a "traffic violation".

Oh well, so Im back to square one, and hope that my instructor can organise me another booking before the end of the year - before I lose hope and everything that I learnt. I went home feeling sorry for myself and almost kicked the dog, when I really should have been kicking myself. The rest of the week passed me by while I was in a trance, thinking of what could have been.

One might think its silly of me to be depressed over something so trivial, but with everything that's been going on lately, this is the cherry on top of the yukky sundae. I needed something to cheer me up, some bit of good news, anything! In fact, Im still waiting. Not even the sun is present to put me in a good mood.

I did manage to drown my sorrows temporarily on Friday night at Shadleys. Too quick though. Way too quick. Way too many drunken conversations. Waking up with a serious hangover the next day was not pretty - I was bed-ridden for the rest of the weekend, except for Saturday night when we went to Stones and Winstons Pub. But I wasnt myself and did not have fun. How boring.

I lay in bed watching the first season of Little Britain. Occassionally it got a few giggles for me (it is hilariously funny, really) but mostly I just sat and watched idly like the guy in the wheelchair who loves Monster Trucks. I hope season 2 and 3, which Im about to get at lunch today, will brighten the mood a tad more.

Now will someone please give me a dose of good news already!!!