The Blog of G

• RT @TNeenan: Haven't seen much publicity for this new Bill Hicks film. Did all the people tasked with advertising it kill themselves? #
• jeebus I burnt the tip of my finger and it hurts like a motherfucker when I type, going to be quiet for a while #
• ooh Arlo Guthrie touring ireland in august, playing the national concert hall! #
• Les Claypool at Jam in the Dam http://bit.ly/bUT3Ak #
• Finally getting round to the media centre PC's OS upgrade, bye bye XP, roll on Win 7 #
• "Win 7 is a very hands off install, most of it done and I've barely touched the mouse or keyboard" I said, tempting fate #
• oooh setup is preparing your computer for first use #win7installistoeasy #
• hmmm username and computer name, tis the nerve centre of the home entertainment so let's make it interesting #
• hmmm username and computer name, tis the nerve centre of the home entertainment so let's make it interesting #win7installistoeasy #
• @ellybabes and thats why I get to do the naming schema :p #
• @icedcoffee Lol #
• Jeebus it didn't even ask me for the network details? just home/work/public and it did the rest! I'm stunned #win7installistoeasy #
• so the base install is easy enough but it's the first boot before it gets even remotely complicated #win7installistoeasy #
• but it's not complicated it's just setting my prefs and I'm up and running sweet #win7installistoeasy #
• @thechrisd Not sure about the decent bit but I've upgraded to win 7 finally, now just gotta work out where everything has moved to #
• new it was too good to be true, anyone any idea's why media player in win 7 won't import my music collection, or delete the demo tracks? #
• @cloudsteph smuggling mobile phones? disgraceful :p in reply to cloudsteph #
• 18 updates for office on install so far, I wonder will this be the last of them or will these need an update to fix the updates as well #
• @ellybabes tis office 03 #win7 in reply to ellybabes #
• Seriously? another 36 fresh updates as a result of the last 18, I'm scared to think how many more will be required after this lot wtf? #win7 #
• Downloading 36 updates… ye take 1 down pass it around, Downloading 35 updates… #win7 #
• @kenguest maybe, but I'd never learn to use an entire OS or hack the 360 to be a "Myth extender" in that lenght of time in reply to kenguest #
• Weird, can find all my music on C: and add it to the Media Center library on the extender but can't do the same on the pc itself :S #win7 #
• Still waiting on those bloomin updates to install #win7 #
• dear flying spaghetti monster, please make my #win7 updates install faster #
• @ellybabes it seems to be some for both #Win7 #Office03 in reply to ellybabes #
• RT @f1fanatic_co_uk: RT @CroftyF1: It's true, Randy Mandy is indeed Sebastian's new chassis. <– lolz Vettel's at it again #
• woo-hoo finally installing the last of that batch of updates. next up, are any more needed? #win7 #
• woohoo, just passed surreal and now catching fast on ridiculous 4 more previously unlisted updates after the previous 36 #win7 #
• "The station reported that family members said Coleman suffered head injuries during a fall." http://bit.ly/9IoZYvhttp://bit.ly/9fpzpI #

Back in January, I wrote a two posts about a festival myself and Elly were planning on attending at the end of March, The Jam in the Dam and I even admitted that the reason I wanted to go so much was because of one act, Les Claypool, former lead singer and bassist for Primus, without question my favourite band of all time.

Since leaving Primus his music has become more and more interesting (and further from the mainstream) with each album, as he explores the far reaches of his musical influences and his (and his bands) musical abilities.

In the end we only went to one of the three nights. Because of the way the festival is run this meant that we could still take in most of the other acts as well. What a great idea two stages and they change the running order of the bands each night of the concert so if you really want to see all the bands you can catch them all over the three days.

For me, seeing Les was the primary objective of the entire trip and he really didn’t disappoint. While a part of me wishes there had been more classic Primus in the set, it was great to hear the newer material live and it brought the material to life for me in the way that a recording simply can’t. The set followed an almost Jazz like format of theme and variations on almost every track.

The band were astounding in their virtuosity and I cannot find the words to describe the performance other than to say that I have seen many great musicians and Virtuosos play live (Vai, Satriani, Ray Charles, Moving Hearts, Springsteen, Jimmy Cliff, Van Morrison, David Byrne, Stu Hamm, Arlo Guthrie and lots lots more) but Les Claypool and the 3 other members of his band blew me away, taking me on a musical Rollercoaster, I can honestly say, no single band has ever done for me in one concert before.

The closest comparable gig in my memory was the Fleadh Mor in 1993 and even then it takes the full range of bands over two days to equal the journey through a single set.

Apart from the music there was a very cool moment towards the end of the set. A fan simply placed their own Bass on the front of the stage, like an offering to the Gods How he managed to get a Bass into the Gig I don’t know but god loves a trier and on this occasion said fan was rewarded.

Not just having his instrument signed by one of the greatest Bassists of all times, not only having it played by one of the greatest Bassists of all time, but also getting slagged off from the stage because on a cold March evening he managed to get a bass into a hot concert venue and have it (only) slightly out of tune. All in good humour and proving that just because your incredible at something it doesn’t mean you have to be an ass about it, there are a lot of second rate popsters that could learn from Les and not just about music.

As for the rest of the evening, I wanted to see The New Mastersounds and Umphreys Magee, but as Les played first everything that came after was an anticlimax and tiredness set in rather quickly, I can’t help but think that if Les had been playing later, both myself and Elly would have lasted longer.

That said we did catch some of the groove stylings of The New Mastersounds and part of Umphreys Magee’s set and on any other night they would have been great gigs, but on the 22nd march 2010 everyone was outclassed and outperformed by the legendary Les Claypool.

To give you a flavour of the gig here’s some video’s from others that attended…

First up a compilation of some of the performers

And what was (for me) the most memorable track of the gig, Hendershot by Les Claypool, check out the “Surf Cello” in particular. Personally I just love the oddly lurching groove to this track

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-14 http://bit.ly/aCJzio #
• @kieranmurphy Great news, congrats. So when's the opening? in reply to kieranmurphy #
• @conoro your mentions of @boxee have me curious, where could I find out more? in reply to conoro #
• RT @shortword: @anthonymcg yeah they should have a set of these: http://tweetphoto.com/23221823 <– reminded me of http://bit.ly/cUu5sx #
• @mneylon just saw the news now, congrats in reply to mneylon #

• @ellybabes Bagsy driving, ah sensible german drivers and unrestricted Autobahn how I love thee in reply to ellybabes #
• oh look @ellybabes someone wearing your t-shirt! http://bit.ly/b9HiIk and they're an even bigger Hamilton fan than you LOL #
• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-07 http://bit.ly/9J0eeM #
• The Eagle, I mean, @grannymar has landed #
• woo hoo pre beardyman beer in da porterhouse, anyone fancy joining me? #
• Beardyman in the Button Club… Awesome, That is all #
• 28 years ago today was one of the saddest days in F1 History, I choose to remember one of Gilles best days http://bit.ly/97FsqZ #F1 #
• Win 7, to 64 bit or not to 64 bit that is the question? My inner geek says more is better, but is there any real benefit apart from ram? #
• peeps of the interwebs (ie peeps I don't know) say go 64 bit if possible, but I'd rather have an opinion from someone I know… anyone? #
• @aventure Thanks in reply to aventure #
• Right, decision made, my inner geek is looking forward to the extra bits #
• Busy few days coming up http://bit.ly/aOrZw4 #
• .@aventure hehee, it's largely to do with my lack of coding knowledge, I know I can streamline it to load faster just don't know how to, yet #
• I think it's sad when people follow you just so you'll follow them back, I think it's pitiful when they do it for the second time (1/2) #
• And it's really a cry for attention when they do it the third time, even more so when they've already got over 97,000 followers (2/2) #
• Ladies getting their picture taken in the front Garden, on a sunny may morning, in Santa Hats WTF??? #
• Hunky Dory's ad campaign banned, Child rapists, thieving bankers and property developers walk free #Fail #
• Seriously how can I be logged out for inactivity 20 seconds after starting the login process? Online Banking #Fail #
• @niamhsmith yup, got in on the second attempt but wtf like? in reply to niamhsmith #
• @donegangardens Sorry not something I've ever even tasted to be honest, sorrel that is in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @forbairt prolly someone with problems, sorry issues in reply to forbairt #
• @gamgob Hitler's dead, so not really a part of modern Irish life in reply to gamgob #
• @DoneganGardens chive Soup? in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @DoneganGardens huh? I'm confused, did you mean Chives taste like sorrel? in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @DoneganGardens ah much confusion on both sides then, I found a link for Sorrel soup for ye anyway http://bit.ly/de4Spa in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @smccarron so what's it gonna be this time? British, German, Italian or Japanese? in reply to smccarron #
• Anyone know a good web based phone backup option for Nokia smartphones? #lazyweb #
• @seanear1ey yup looks like it alright, is it wrong that I've never looked at the manufacturers website for my phone? in reply to seanear1ey #
• @seanear1ey Nah, I'm likin' the android option for my next upgrade in reply to seanear1ey #
• @smccarron Really? Which one? in reply to smccarron #
• I cracked the screen on my phone, anyone know anywhere that will repair out of warranty Nokia phones in Dublin? #Lazyweb #

• @ellybabes Bagsy driving, ah sensible german drivers and unrestricted Autobahn how I love thee in reply to ellybabes #
• oh look @ellybabes someone wearing your t-shirt! http://bit.ly/b9HiIk and they're an even bigger Hamilton fan than you LOL #
• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-07 http://bit.ly/9J0eeM #
• The Eagle, I mean, @grannymar has landed #
• woo hoo pre beardyman beer in da porterhouse, anyone fancy joining me? #
• Beardyman in the Button Club… Awesome, That is all #
• 28 years ago today was one of the saddest days in F1 History, I choose to remember one of Gilles best days http://bit.ly/97FsqZ #F1 #
• Win 7, to 64 bit or not to 64 bit that is the question? My inner geek says more is better, but is there any real benefit apart from ram? #
• peeps of the interwebs (ie peeps I don't know) say go 64 bit if possible, but I'd rather have an opinion from someone I know… anyone? #
• @aventure Thanks in reply to aventure #
• Right, decision made, my inner geek is looking forward to the extra bits #
• Busy few days coming up http://bit.ly/aOrZw4 #
• .@aventure hehee, it's largely to do with my lack of coding knowledge, I know I can streamline it to load faster just don't know how to, yet #
• I think it's sad when people follow you just so you'll follow them back, I think it's pitiful when they do it for the second time (1/2) #
• And it's really a cry for attention when they do it the third time, even more so when they've already got over 97,000 followers (2/2) #
• Ladies getting their picture taken in the front Garden, on a sunny may morning, in Santa Hats WTF??? #
• Hunky Dory's ad campaign banned, Child rapists, thieving bankers and property developers walk free #Fail #
• Seriously how can I be logged out for inactivity 20 seconds after starting the login process? Online Banking #Fail #
• @niamhsmith yup, got in on the second attempt but wtf like? in reply to niamhsmith #
• @donegangardens Sorry not something I've ever even tasted to be honest, sorrel that is in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @forbairt prolly someone with problems, sorry issues in reply to forbairt #
• @gamgob Hitler's dead, so not really a part of modern Irish life in reply to gamgob #
• @DoneganGardens chive Soup? in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @DoneganGardens huh? I'm confused, did you mean Chives taste like sorrel? in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @DoneganGardens ah much confusion on both sides then, I found a link for Sorrel soup for ye anyway http://bit.ly/de4Spa in reply to DoneganGardens #
• @smccarron so what's it gonna be this time? British, German, Italian or Japanese? in reply to smccarron #
• Anyone know a good web based phone backup option for Nokia smartphones? #lazyweb #
• @seanear1ey yup looks like it alright, is it wrong that I've never looked at the manufacturers website for my phone? in reply to seanear1ey #
• @seanear1ey Nah, I'm likin' the android option for my next upgrade in reply to seanear1ey #
• @smccarron Really? Which one? in reply to smccarron #
• I cracked the screen on my phone, anyone know anywhere that will repair out of warranty Nokia phones in Dublin? #Lazyweb #