Some people seem to like living in their own little realities...


- posted by Destral at 1:53 PM

Shit eating, monkey fucking, mother fuckers indeed!


- posted by Destral at 8:44 PM

If anyone knows a 16 foot tall person named Zee Boy let me know. I need to jumping headbutt him in the nuts.
=)


- posted by Destral at 8:31 PM

Ah yes here it is. The SGTW recap. Following the feature presentation stick around for other local news.

Thursday 6/27
Mother took me to the airport at 9:30 pm. Flight took off on time at 11:59pm.

Friday 6/28
In flight was sort of boring. The plane was rather warm and the inflight meal was crap warmed over. But the in flight movie was a decent one I haven't seen--I Am Sam. We got to Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto 20 minutes early but we had to wait for the gate to clear before proceeding. Had to stop by the border/customs guy to see why I was in Canada, in which I said I was on vacation to see a music event. He asked if I was referring to Poison, which incidentally Aaron, Chris, and the rest of the group also got asked when they arrived. Jumped in a cab and had a 25 minute drive to the hotel/ghetto that is the Alexandra Hotel. Cost me $39, which is better then the 45 minute and $49 ride the other guys had. When I arrived the rest of the guys slowly got up and showered. Aaron, Chris, Kristyn, and myself shared a room and Dan shared the room next to us with Scott.

We decided to just cruise Queen Street and check out most of the little shops and hopefully find a clean place to eat. We stopped in this little place and all had chicken sandwhiches which, while not bad, were oddly hard to down. We continued down the street and went into a few places, including this leather store which turned out to be a gay leather store....go figure it was Aaron's idea. They had an interesting german helmet with the spikey deal on top. Then we stopped in a little 80's record store that had some cool stuff, including some Communards stuff that Scott got. More walking ensued, and we stopped inside Miss Behav'n which was an adult boutique. They had a live parrot flying around, which was mildy disturbing. They asked us where we were from and gave one of the typical reactions when we stated we were all from Vegas. Apparently the perception everyone has of Las Vegas is that we are just some huge party mecca, with drinking, gambling, and lots of sex. The 2 girls there invited us to this fetish party Sunday night which we declined because of SGTW. Chris and I thought this giant fist thing was great, and they had this slapper thing that made a funky 'boing' sound. Aaron was a little pansy and couldn't even hit people hard enough with it to make it do the sound.

After we left and crossed the street to head back the other direction, we heard someone call out my name. Realizing it was Lynda, most of us stopped...except Kristyn who sort of grabbed Chris by the arm and took off down the street. She actually ran. We stood talking with Lynda (alright no more links for people's names, it's too much!) for awhile and realized Chris/Kristyn were not coming back and they weren't just down the street. So we spent the rest of the afternoon going in more shops with Lynda. We hit up a few vintage clothing stores, some comic/collectible type stores, a smoothie place (which had shitty Jamba Juice clones), and a few other places. It was really muggy in Toronto. It was pushing 80 with over 80% humidity. It wasn't quite as bad as the dry heat here in Vegas, but it was bad enough.

Around 4ish we split from Lynda and went back to the hotel to take it easy before heading over to Palais Royale. Chris/Kristyn apparently had been in the room the entire time and when we got back Kristyn wanted to go to a few shops so she left with Chris. When they got back we all got ready and tried getting cabs to get to Palais Royale. Doors were supposed to open at 6pm with Die Roboter starting at 7pm, so we left around 5:30. Chris brought bad luck with him into every cab. Aaron, Scott, and I got there in about 10 minutes and Lynda was a few people ahead of us. We said hi briefly and went around the corner to wait for the others. They eventually got there, probably 25 minutes later hehe. We waited outside until almost 7, when they proceeded handing out wristbands for people who were going to drink. The guy was cool and gave Lynda, Scott, and myself all drinking bands even though we weren't of legal age. At about 10 after 7 they let people in and directed us downstairs to pickup our badges. We checked out a few of the vendors and got burgers outside (which we still aren't sure what they were made of). That was a mistake and a waste of $10. Later in the evening Chris and I had these Cranberry Juice and Vodkas which were $5. I think more of us would have had beers had they not been horribly expensive ($7 a bottle or something).

Sometime around 7:30 I think Die Roboter started. None of us were that interested so we sort of stayed back for them. But they were pretty good and they actually had some stuff going on the 2 side screens. Inside the Palais Royale there was no AC, so it was really hot in there. The few fans they had did nothing, and the supposedly cool air from the lake did jack shit too.

After Die Roboter and about a 10 minute setup, Melotron went on. I was only familiar with a few Melotron songs but they had alot of energy (as all the bands ended up having) and put on a good show. Their frontman was very Dave Gahan-like, doing mini-spins and kicks. We all took up position right up front just to the right of the stage with myself being anchored dead center. There was this crazy german guy who stood next to me who was humping the stage, me, and the girl next to him. I elbowed him a few times and attempted to push back but he had at least a foot and 50lbs on me. He also kept trying to grab the Melotron guy's balls...strange but he got what he deserved later during T.O.Y.

For T.O.Y. a few of us dropped to the side to check out some of the stuff that was about. Aaron was talking with this girl who stood where I had been for Melotron. Apparently she got fed up with the humping german freak and pinched his balls. Like I said, he got what he deserved. T.O.Y. played some stuff on their upcoming albulm, some of their T.O.Y. material, and a few Evil's T.O.Y. stuff. They were pretty good, but not as good as Melotron. They played Do Dreams Bleed and Space Radio which I liked.

Beborn Beton was next so I fought my way back up next to Aaron, and by fight I mean simply walked up there. People are surprisingly polite and curteous at the shows. Anyhow Beborn Beton by far put on the best show of the night in my opinion. The lead singer, Stefan Nestchio kept kneeling right in front of me and screaming in my face, which was cool enough but mildly irritating after the first 5 or 6 times (heh). Their set consisted entirely (I think) of stuff from their new America only greatest hits releast Tales from Another World. I particularly enjoyed when they did the 2 Mantrap songs and Poison. Being on no sleep whatsoever, having done alot of bouncing and screaming for Beborn Beton, and not having a real interest in seeing Covenant we dropped out once again.

From what I had heard Covenant is boring live, but they were actually pretty decent. I just can't get into most of their stuff though. It's repetitious and boring. Although the crowd really got into them.

At about 2:30am or so we split out following Covenant and went this Coffee Time near the venue and had donuts and such. Toronto is much different from Vegas. They are an actual city, and everything closes early. We were lucky that this place was open. Got back to the hotel around 3 or so, talked for a little bit while some of us showered, and passed out sometime prior to 4. Throughout the night I managed to pickup I think 7 shirts and a mug from various vendors.

Saturday 6/29

1:30 pm rolled around when I finally woke up. Sure it was alot of well needed sleep, but we had planned on doing things and being up at 10am. Damn. So our plans of checking out the Hockey Hall of Fame, going to Eaton Centre, and then going to Hard Rock to eat before heading over to Palais Royale were scrapped. We slowly got ready and just went to Hard Rock at about 2:30. It was refreshing to have a real meal. Chris was hung up on getting alcohol the entire time in Toronto, so he ordered a Hurricane and gave Aaron a drink. The look on Aaron's face and the way he pushed it away was classic. I bought a few pins over at their little shop before the food came out. Around 4 or so we split up and some of us returned to the hotel while others checked out Eaton Center briefly. We figured Friday night was just slow because it was the first night, so we planned on arriving at 6pm again for the show. So we headed out and got there about 6.

As it happened for most of the weekend, Lynda was right there, at the end of the line. Chris, Kristyn, and Dan were in the 2nd taxi and had not arrived yet but Aaron still thought it best to go back a ways to wait. I'd had enough of the childishness and stayed with Lynda. We talked about how her Niagra Falls trip/tour was postponed until Sunday because someone threw rocks at the bus and broke a window or 2. Unfortunately Lynda never did make it to Niagra Falls over the weekend. But she did get her hair cut. Evidently she through out the word Vegas alot and she was treated like a rock star or something. Interesting. Anyhow, we stood outside for almost an hour. I guess the security didn't want to let anyone in before 7 again. But this time the 3 of us who were under 19 did not recieve drinking bands.

I caught back up with Aaron and the others just prior to Cosmicity going on. We ended up camping out center stage the entire night. We all got a few waters, put them on the stage, and held our ground. It was fine for the first 3 bands because we could sit down inbetween. But following Psyche we knew that wasn't going to happen again. Cosmicity is a quirky little US band. They are funny and put on a good performance though. I particularly enjoyed their songs Technology, Defeat, and I Want You. They passed out CD's and stickers during their performance. Scott got one of the CD's for eating some nasty Harry Potter jelly beans. Dan tried desperately to get a sticker, one even hit him in the forehead and then hit me in the nose before I picked it up. The Cosmicity guy handed Dan the last sticker though, and later handed Kristyn a stack of these other ones which she disperesed amongst us.

The 80's Canadian band The Spoons were up after Cosmicity. Granted they weren't at all bad, but they were just out of place. The lead singer really played his guitar well but the female bassist freaked me out. The lead singer kept trying to relate to the crowd by throwing in references to Kraftwerk and talking about some of the shared influences he had with some of the bands. They seemed to play a rather long set, which was disappointing as Cosmicity played a rather short one. =(

Pysche followed shortly after. Damn they kicked ass...up until the lead singer took off his shirt. It was sort of comical seeing him with his shirt off while singing. It was great watching them do Sex Dwarf and Sanctuary. They had alot of energy though. He rolled about on the ground, groping himself, and doing a bunch of erratic dance movements. Later on he made another appearance, but more on that when it is more appropriate.

I think it was just after Psyche that DJ Lazarus made his little appearance and talked about the event. He thanked everyone, blah blah blah, and made a few comments. He pointed out the excitement of all the Americans in the front and made a comment about how the Toronto crowd stands at the back with arms crossed (which a few of us thought he was poking fun of them). He made a few more comments about Mesh and And One coming up next, and got off the stage. At this point word spread that cameras of any kind were not allowed for Mesh and And One. Looking back I wish I had pictures of them, but I realize it would have been too much of a distraction from my enjoyment of the two bands.

After the stage light guy dicked around with the lights, taunting the crowd almost, Mesh finally came out. By this time Lynda had worked her way up behind me and punched me. It was a weak little punch, so I thought it was Aaron. Aaron hits like a 3 year old girl with arms. Mesh opened with Firely, which I'm not to sure about. Firefly has a little intro to it, so that is the only explanation I see on why they opened with it. They played alot of stuff from Who Watches Over Me overall. They hit alot of my favorites from the albulm, including Leave You Nothing, Friends Like These, and I Can't Imagine How It Hurts. They even played Let Them Crush Us from the Leave You Nothing single. That song and People Like Me were both excellent. Alot of energy. Overall Mesh played a really strong set and the sound was outstanding. But they had almost no crowd interaction. After Melotron and Psyche I was really pumped about seeing Mark get into it with the fans, but it was as if he was afraid we all had the plague. It's also kind of lame how bands have preplanned encores now. Mesh exited after It Scares Me, but all of us had seen the set list in front of us, so we knew there were two more songs. Speaking of set lists, Mark pranced around with the Spoons setlist stuck to his shoe the entire time prior to them coming back on stage for the encore.

The wait for And One didn't seem quite as long as it did for Mesh, but at that point legs were ready to fall off already. But when Steve took the stage the place exploded. I dont know if it was good or bad, but they played alot of their angrier dancy stuff as opposed to some of the poppier comical songs. Either way I would have been happy. Steve split most of the singing with Chris, while the third guy (whose name I do not know) was forced to stay in the back behind his keyboard. There was alot of running around, gyrating, simulated sex acts, screaming, more gyrating, and lots of energy throughout the entire set. At one point Steve attempted to crowd surf by jumping right at Chris. I dont think people were quite ready for him, and Chris almost fell over. But alas he went a few people back and then to the front over me, at which point Aaron's weakness showed and Steve sort of flopped onto stage (almost breaking my arm over the little box thing). Later he did it again, and Chris was about the only person who caught him even though Steve stood there getting everyone prepared for it. They played alot of crowd favorites like Get You Closer, Sometimes, Panzermensch, Techno Man and Metalhammer. Towards the end Steve's mic stopped working so he stole Chris' and bounced around. It was kind of amusing. Everytime they left the stage they were lured back on stage by the crowd. Sometime in the mess the Psyche guy came out and sang sometime. I think they did 4 or 5 encores. It got to the point where it was like shut the fuck up people, I can't stand anymore. By far And One had the greatest performance of Synthpop Goes the World. Sometime around 3 I think they finally finished, and we stumbled back to the Coffee Time.

Aaron and I wanted to go to the 7-11 that was up Queen street on the way back to the hotel. Everyone seemed ok with this, but after stopping at Coffee Time they were like fuck it. That sort of pissed Aaron and I off, and we were left to take a Taxi by ourselves to the 7-11. But of course we had the dumbest african american taxi driver in Canada. We told him go up Queen to the 7-11. As we approach the 7-11 we both inform him to turn in at the 7-11. He passes the 7-11. What the goddamn hell. It wasn't even worth it so we just tell him to go up and take a left on Ryerson. Apparently most taxi drivers in Toronto don't have any clue where anything is. One of them didn't even know where Palais Royale or Lake Shore Blvd is. Lake Shore is like one of the main streets in the city and Palais Royale is a rather well known place in the city. Same events happened at the hotel as Friday, conversing, showering, etc. This time we actually called the front desk to get a wake up call at 9:30 so we could get out and do some stuff before the last night of events. Passing out occured around 4am.


Sunday 6/30

As scheduled we got the call at 9:30am and we slowly staggered out of bed and got ready. Next to seeing the bands at SGTW, the next priority on my trip was going to the Hockey Hall of Fame. With Saturday's oversleeping it sort of fucked everything up. We also all wanted to go to Casa Loma. But since I was more fixated on going to the Hockey Hall of Fame, I decided to go it alone and we planned on meeting up at a Popeyes that was near the Hard Rock at 3.

I got to the HHoF around 11ish and scoped some stuff out. The very first thing I saw was a Darren Pang goalie mask from like 1989. From what I had seen on the little map layouts I thought the place was alot larger, but there was still a shitload of stuff. They had a rather large Wayne Gretzy exhibit setup at the entrance. It had a little goal setup with a puck representing all of his goals, a little case with all his family's achievements, all his historical stuff, that sort of thing. There was alot of neat things inside. They had halls for all of the international events, a wing for women's hockey, a little setup for the Canadian Olympic teams that won gold in Salt Lake (including the loonie that was at center ice--which I of course touched), a hall for all the legends of hockey, a spot with all the television stuff, and a bunch of other stuff. I sat down and watched a bit of the Redwings 96-98 DVD that they were showing in the little theatre. They also had some cool interactive stuff. You could put on a few pieces of goalie gear and get in front of a goal and have foam pucks shot at you. You could also shoot rubber pucks at a simulated goal and do a little skills competition.

Up a flight of stairs they had the grand hall. Here they store all of the main trophies. I had figured the Stanley cup would not be on display at this time since the Redwings just won and all the players get a day with the cup. But to my surprise it was the first thing I saw as I entered the room. They had a nice little wall setup with all the legends of hockey on it with a little rampway and podium setup with the Stanely Cup in front of it. Behind the wall were a bunch of the other trophies and in front there were a few of the other main ones, including the Conn Smythe and Art Ross. Off to the side they had a small vault room in which they stored the original stanley cup bowl, the engraved name plates, and some of the other old parts of the cup. Also to my surprise they didn't have the Stanley Cup encased. Everyone was allowed to go up and look at it, touch it, get their pictures taken, or whatever. So of course I got my picture taken with it (hopefully it comes out ok).

It was after 2pm by now, so I headed over to the gift shop to pick up some stuff. I got a few HHoF shirts, a Red Wings Stanley Cup shirt, a Red Wings Stanley Cup mug, a Steve Yzerman bobblehead, and a few HHoF keychains. I wasn't quite sure how far the HHoF was away from Eaton Centre and the Popeyes so I started walking (they are both on Yonge Street). After about 5 minutes I saw a large boat in the distance and noticed Lake Shore Blvd. Fuck me. I turned around and walked the other way. About 25 minutes later I got to the Popeyes. Just what I didn't want to do...walk fricking 2 miles or whatever.

I was a few minutes early but I got my food anyways and grabbed a few tables for us. On schedule the group arrived and we ate. It happened to be Gay Pride week, the Brazil just won the World Cup, and Canada Day was the next day. So just on the corner the street was closed off for the Gay Pride Parade. Curious as we are, we stopped by and tried to catch a glimpse of it. Kristyn was about the only one who saw anything, as she jumped up on Chris' shoulders. Supposedly there were over 800,000 people who were at the parade. Half of which were wearing Brazil colors or flags. We still had some time to burn so we went into Eaton Centre for a little bit more while Kristyn picked something up. I also stopped in Roots to get a lanyard for Kyle before we returned to the hotel.

This time we figured doors would not open until 7, so we didn't split until after 6:30. Sunday was definetly casual day. With all the humidity and impressions already being made, most people dressed down a bit. Dan was in shorts and a t-shirt. Of course when we got there Lynda was there at the end of the line. I dont really remember what happened that much. In comparison to the other nights, most of us were not that interested in the lineup. We all wanted to catch New Clear Sky, and a few of us were curious in seeing Assemblage 23. With the exception of New Clear Sky, I was indifferent. Aaron and I stood up front/left to see New Clear Sky who started first. They played a really quick set, although I dont think they really had the support of the crowd. People seemed to really only know Vast, which is a shame because the lead singer has a good voice.

Next up was Red Flag, and the lead singer came out with a small pair of black wings. It was kind of odd, but they were pretty good. Just prior to them finishing Lynda and I split and went to the McDonalds across the street. We ate and talked a bit and headed back. She had an apple pie that she was eating as we crossed the bridge back to the venue. There were quite a few bugs out, unlike Vegas, and I pointed out the fact that a bee was hovering over her shoulder. Of course there were also 3 moths flying around. In any event she took off and left the pie and then only saw 1 moth. It was quite amusing to say the least, and she blames me for her leaving her pie. She still doesn't believe there was a bee there. Poor Lynda (teehee).

When we got back Cleen/Clear Vision was about to go on. Basically it's just Daniel Meyer of Haujobb fame. I really didn't pay much attention to it, but again like all the bands prior to him, there was alot of energy and everyone got into it. The same went for Assemblage 23 after him. I'm getting really sick of writing this shit now. Icon of Coil was really dancy (dur dur). They tried their hardest to upshow And One, by repeatedly coming back on stage. But alas they just couldn't. And One owns them. Chris really got into dancing though. He looked like he was going to pass out. He was dancing near this old mad chix0r. I was waiting for them to ram heads or something. Dan danced too. As Icon of Coil wrapped up DJ Lazarus walked by us and we talked with him for a few minutes. Supposedly the event is losing $60,000 or something. We're not quite sure where and who is out $60k, but after reading some of the stuff on the SGTW yahoo group I think he's been throwing that out to everyone trying to gain more respect or something (don't ask me).

3am rolled around and we split. Somewhere within that day I had gotten a few more shirts and picked up the 2 Virtual Server CD's. Of course the night would not be complete without a stop at the Coffee Time. We stayed there for a long while actually, and didn't get to the hotel until just before 4. I wasn't sure if I should sleep or not. I had to be up by 7:30 because I wanted to leave for the airport by 8:15. So after some debate on whether or not to all stay up, we decided to just take a chance and get a 7:30 wake up. But just before we crashed for the night Chris took some sunscreen and pretended like he jerked off on Scott. He got that shit all over Scott's neck and back. Scott was quite pissed off, but goddamn if that wasn't funny. We all had this wierd homoerotic tendency this weekend. Every morning the discussions revolved around someone jerking off on someone else's face or Chris prancing around.

Monday 7/1

Eventually I got my 3 hours of sleep and actually did get up when the phone rang (thank god). I had shoved all the shit I bought into my backpack and the rest in the carryon I brought. I let Aaron know I was splitting, and grabbed a cab to the airport. I had saved $50 because my fare over originally was 39, Aaron's was 49, and I wanted to play it safe. But of course the ride was all of 15 minutes and only $22. So I could have gotten one of the Red Flag shirts I had wanted. Damn it anyhow. I went through all the customs bullshit, but the security guy took my fucking pencil. He pretended like he didn't know what the hell it was and then tried to justify it by saying the twisting crap might be something odd. I think he just wanted my pen/pencil. Cocksucker. Plane boarded on time and I was supposed to be seated in a middle seat. But the 2 people next to me were brothers so they let me sit in the aisle. The one guy only spoke german, and his brother translated for him. We talked about Vegas a bit and he told some wierd stories of him being arrested in North Carolina. Ice Age was the movie, which is good since I hadn't seen it. I declined the in flight meal but the flight attendant showered me with pretzels. She kept giving me bags of them and I tried to tell her I didn't want them. Oh well. The flight went extremely fast and we arrived early, which is a bit strange since normally the flights back this direction take longer because of wind currents. All while I was on the plane the rest of the crew was still out and about in Toronto. From my understanding Kristyn ended up taking everyone through all of the shops we had went into with Lynda...and later Lynda inadvertantly ran into them at the airport too. =(

Overall the trip was goddamn fantastic. It was well worth the money I spent on the trip. I could write alot more about it, but I think I've written enough. Perhaps when I get my pictures developed I'll write a bit more.

-----------------------------

And now back to our local news....

I didn't even realize it was the 4th of July tomorow. I mean I knew it was coming, just blanked that it was tomorow. The bossman said no one should come in tomorow to work, so I guess I have the day off. Would have liked to get a few more hours, but eh I could use the day off. I'm still pooped from the trip. Aaron took off the whole week from work too.

Last night we kicked it at his place playing some Xbox with the whole group (SGTW crowd + Levi + Ben + the girl). Fuzion Frenzy is the shit. I can't wait until I get an Xbox of my own. Aaron's grandma spit on Kiakha, which is funny as hell except for the fact she actually spit on Kiakha. As I walked in I think Aaron's mom caught Josh talking on the phone making some drug deal. His whole outlook on life and the use of drugs is very scewed. According to him 98% of the world takes drugs. Not just recreational shit like marijuana though, apparently 50% of people are hardcore heroin/crack addicts. Everyone at his job is on drugs. Riiigghhttt. While we played Fuzion Frenzy one of his friends came in and was yelling something about "it's fucking star wars there, you have fucking star wars, blah blah blah". Kristyn also had gotten her Toronto pictures developed. They weren't as bad as she thinks. It really is funny the resemblance Mark from Mesh has with Fred Durst. I found someone's pictures today. They had alot of good pictures from Mesh and a few shots of And One. If anyone wants to see them let me know and I'll throw up a link.

The Redwings resigned Chris Chelios to a 2 year contract today. That is so money right there. Redwings baby. I think another back to back championship will be in order come next June.

That is enough goddamn writing now.


- posted by Destral at 7:06 PM

I'm part way through in the novel recap of the Toronto events. But I'm heading over to Aaron's in a few minutes for some Xbox action so I'll finish writing/posting it tomorow.

Rawr!
=)


- posted by Destral at 7:24 PM

My favorite NHL goaltender just signed a 3 year contract with the Redwings. I am very happy right now.

I swear a Toronto/SGTW recap will be coming soon!
=/


- posted by Destral at 2:58 PM

Just got home from Toronto/SGTW. I'll have a full recap later or tomorow or sometime soon. Just too goddamned tired to do so now.


- posted by Destral at 1:30 PM


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