Fucking hell!

Excuse my French. There are a number of reasons for it. For example, last week I turned 36. Fucking hell. When did that happen? After work, (on a sunday, on my birthday. Fucking hell.) I went to Dove Pro Wrestling. I've blogged before about Dove Pro, the only other time I have been, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This time up, it was held in a kind of events hall and I'd wondered if I would enjoy it. It all seemed a bit too 'official' and well, wrestling-like to me, and I have no interest in wrestling generally. I shouldn't have worried. We got there late, just before the final bout, and I was surprised to see how many people were there and what a mix. Once again the music was great, a lot of dub, reggae and ska, and when the two local lads came out, one to the Dead Kennedy's - Holiday in Cambodia, you realise this is no place for hairspray and cock rock.

Next came the visiting fighters from Tokyo and everyone gets introduced by the MC.Before he's done though the guys from Hiroshima throw a punch, the drum and bass kicks in and within seconds, all 4 fighters are outside of the ring wading through crowds and chairs, apparently, taking no precautions about either. Fucking hell! My heart rate went through the roof at that. For the next 40 minutes I could be heard repeating the same thing every couple of minutes at the sight of some back breaking dive or nose splitting head kick. Two moments stood out. First, one of the local boys being laid out on a table on the floor and the Tokyo fighter climbing to the top of the ropes and then back flipping onto the prone guy, snapping the table in half. FUCKING HELL! Secondly, and bizarrely, one of the guys from Tokyo bringing out a load of fluorescent lightbulbs that were taped together as some kind of weapon, only to be holding it to his chest when his opponent ran straight into him. Chest to chest. SMASH! FUUUUUUCKING HELL! Glass everywhere and then a series of throws to the ground. A lot of very bloodied (real) backs. You should see me if I get a splinter.

Since I last went they seem to have taken things to new and, well, mental heights. What a weird hobby? But, again, brilliant entertainment. Highly recommended, it's underground Hiroshima culture at it's best.

Oh, and what is it with the wrestling grannies? Actually, it would be a bit unfair to call them grannies, but almost as entertaining as the fighting was watching some of the audience (female, over 40s) getting so worked up by it. Fantastic.

Wrestling aside, I have recently discovered Sub Swara. You could lazily describe them as Dub Step, but there's a lot more to them than that. Brilliant bass led music with an amazing mix of live and electronic percussion and Ragga influenced vocals. The production on their new album Coup d'Yah is superb. First time I heard it....fucking hell. If you like a bit of a heavy bassline check it out.

A question

If you were to visit a prostitute in Japan, after you're all done, do you think the young lady would say 'Otsukare samma deshita' to you?

I bet they would.

If anyone can shed any light on this, the comments section is open :)

New Track - Long Time Rocker

I've been posting this up in a few places around the net and even played it out on Saturday so why I haven't put it on my own blog until now I'm not sure. Here it is though. Windcheater fans (hello John and Derek) might have noticed that this 'new' track has exactly the same name as a slightly older track. This version did start out as a remix, or reworking, or whatever you want to call it but is so far removed from the original version I did plan on giving it another name. When I put it up on my MySpace though I didn't want to call it Work In Progress or anything so stuck with the older one. The previous version won't be seeing the light of day now anyway.

I digress, as my English teacher Mrs Welford used to say. You can hear it on my MySpace page, with all the sonic quality that the MySpace players provide. Comments, both cruel and kind are most welcome.

Campeones!

Never mind Spain's 44 year wait or England's 42 years of hurt, what about my 35 years of never getting to watch a major final that I have some connection with eh?

Finally, in the very early hours of Monday morning I got to experience one of my football dreams. The one about being a professional footballer unfortunately looks like it might need to be shelved.

Incase you don't know, Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the final of Euro2008 and thanks to my Dad deciding to go and wait on tables over 40 years ago from A Coruna in Galicia I was able to watch one of my teams win something.

I've only ever really liked one sport, probably in part due to my Dad's nationality (he didn't exactly have much of a passion for Rugby and Cricket) , but also just cos it's so bloody good. Despite the ridiculous money that sloshes around in it, the scandals, the sometime violence and the gamesmanship it still, usually, retains it's essence once the game is underway. It's the one true world sport, the game of the people, the beautiful game, insert next football cliche here. It's simplicity and skill are what I think people like. You can play football on your own, with a couple of people, without posts (Jumpers for goalposts....), without a ball even. And it's all at your feet. In the past I have read American pundits scorn football because you use your feet. Complete idiocy. Hand eye coordination is easier guys. That's why people get so excited when a player threads a ball through to a team mate, dribbles past 2 or 3 opponents or looks up and pings a ball perfectly to another player. That's why one goal is so special and why they are celebrated so wildly.

I'm going on I know but waking up on Sunday I felt like a kid, rushing out to buy a Spain shirt and then wanting to walk around in it, and I am still grinning when I think about it. For once Germany didn't wreck my dreams and, bias aside, by far the best team in the tournament won.

Now if only England could win something....

wait for that blog post! Or rather, don't hold your breath. It could be quite a while yet.