Second additional D.N.A Taipei concert!

It's official now.. a 4th concert date has been added to the D.N.A Taipei concert on Thursday 24 September 2009 and tickets will go on sale this Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 5:55PM

here we go again.. round 4! I'm seriously sick and tired of having to fight for tickets

The Longest Night

I had a hunch that it would happen again, and it did.

Tickets for the 25 September 2009 D.N.A Taipei concert went on sale yesterday at 5:55pm. Not surprisingly, ERA's crappy system couldn't cope with the enormous demand and within 10 minutes the entire rock zone area was sold out! *gasp* Just like last week, ERA had reboot their system twice, at 9:00PM and 11:00PM.

My friend in Taipei who Q-ed for hours for our tickets at the ticket counter could not get any good tickets either as by the time she got to the counter, the only seats left were really far from the stage. It seems a fan who was first in the Q could only manage to get tickets for the NT$2880 section !! WTF.

I later found out that ERA had pre-printed tickets before they officially went on sale and these were snapped up by internal buyers (!!!) so by the time tickets went on sale officially, almost all the good seats were gone *sob*

Ashin announced during GMA red carpet today that there are no tickets left for the Taipei concerts and Stone mentioned that they're working on adding a 4th concert *shudders*

This Is The First Time

Keane are playing Singapore this 13 August 2009 as part of their Perfect Symmetry Tour and it will be their first ever gig down under. Tickets are available to purchase here

I remember the first time I heard Keane. It was a few years back and I swore I thought it was a new Travis single LOLz! Eventually I found out that it was "Somewhere Only We Know" by a new band called Keane. I went out and bought a copy of 'Hopes And Fears'. It was alright, not mind-blowing (I have a preference for guitar based rock bands) but a good listen. I had forgotten all about them soon after till I heard "Somewhere Only We Know" featured in the trailer of that Keanu Reeves flick 'The Lake House'

Don't think I'll be attending this - if only they'd play here...

More D.N.A

A couple of things happened in Mayday world the past week, other than the mad rush for the Taiwan D.N.A concert tickets - Release of the DNA song on radio on 15 June 2009 followed by the MV, which you can view in full here.

I kinda thought the MV was a spoiler for fans who have yet to attend the DNA concert.. and whatever happened to the dancing footage?

And what else is new.. well, there's a new song by Gary Cao written by Ashin titled 愛轉動. Have yet to hear it, so I'm not sure if it's any good. There's also a new CM with Ashin and Ding Dang

War of the DNA tickets

The last few days have been really busy hence my absence here. I had gone off to fight in the war for the DNA tickets

Tickets for the 26-27 September 2009 D.N.A concert in Taipei went on sale at 5:55PM on Wednesday 17 June 2009. Massive hordes of Mayday fans swarmed to various ticket channel in a crazed bid to purchase concert tickets. ERA ticket, the online ticketing channel couldn't cope with the demand. Their system failed and they had to reset it several times, leaving many ticketless fans high and dry.

It was really heart wrenching as I watched my rock zone Row 6 tickets slipped away when Era could not process my booking, despite countless hours of repeated attempts *cries*


By midnight, more than 90% of tickets for both shows were snapped up. And by noon yesterday, all tickets for both shows were completely SOLD OUT!!! All in in less than a day. WTF.

Due to the overly overwhelming response, a third concert will now be added on Friday 25 September 2009. Tickets will go on sale on Friday 26 June 2009. Looks like another war is going to happen

168 remastered and revisited

Mayday's No. 168 Concert DVD [五月天 第168場演唱會 DVD]

I knew I wouldn't have been able to resist not buying this. Comtemplated buying this when I first read news bout this being released on DVD - picked it in a heartbeat when I saw it in the store. I actually picked this up a few weeks ago and waited out for the arrival of the BD player to play it. Not that it would have made a difference since this isn't blu-ray.

It reads '全新 Mastering Live DVD' on the cover. I wasn't expecting too much since the concert itself is so old and the previous release on VCD wasn't the best. It's been awhile since I last watched the VCD version but I vividly remember a brief part in the beginning which had pixilated picture [which is not uncommon in VCDs] I'm ruling out possibility of the VCD being scratched. No chance of that happening to anything that I buy brand new as I am very anal about my music collection xP

Anyhow, I watched a couple of tracks of the DVD and it's not too shabby at all. And it sounds good too.

Astro Boy movie

I'm curious about the upcoming Astro Boy movie due for release in late October this year. I couldn't believe when I saw Nicolas Cage's name on the cast list as Dr Tenma's voice. Yikes! I hope he doesn't ruin the movie.

It was good though to see Matt Lucas' name on the cast list. I'll always remember him as the bloke from The Bluetones' b-side "Armageddon (Outta Here) Featuring Matt Lucas" which features a dialogue that purportedly took place in a hall of residence with 3 students smoking pot late in the night, much to their geeky neighbour's annoyance. Brilliant stuff. Wickedly funny.

BD player won't play HOE DVD

Got a Sharp BD player and new TV yesterday which looks pretty amazing. Everything was all fine and dandy till I popped in my Leehom 蓋世英雄 Heroes of Earth concert Live In Taipei DVD in the BD player (wish I had bought the blu-ray version). It was the only DVD I own that was 'HDTV ready'. Lo and behold, menu loaded and it was working until I played the actual concert content. Then it froze. Restarted the damn thing couple of times to no avail.

I wouldn't have been so upset if dad had not told me that his other DVDs worked just fine, including those so-called crappy Made In China ones. I later tried to play my Mayday DVD and that worked too. Thank goodness! I cannot imagine if those couldn't play.

Puzzled by this, I went to a blu-ray forum to find out why wouldn't that DVD (which has since been condemned by dad) play on the BD player. Afterall, it worked fine when I played it on an ordinary DVD player. From what I gather, it appears that problem is not uncommon, but seems to occur mostly on a certain other brand of BD players. Some forumers blamed it on faulty DVD lens (the BD player has separate lens for blu-ray and DVD) or scratches on the DVD, both of which do not apply in my case.

Peko-chan

I bought this when I was in HK. Peko-chan milk candy by Fujiya confectioners of Japan.

They are also available here, but only in paper box packaging. The only reason why I bought it is for the metal tin packaging.

I have another one from a long long time ago. I have no recollection of where it came from though I think it was my dad who bought it for me on one of his business trip to Tokyo. Looks like packaging and design has changed very little over the years.

I housed part of my coin collection in my old Milky tin case [I have a coin and stamp collection from my school days - I'm such a dork xP] Look what I found inside: old Malaya 1 cent coins from 1939. I wonder if they're worth anything?

D.N.A goes Macau

Just as I had thought, Mayday's D.N.A 2009-2010 world tour will be making a stop at Macau, tentatively scheduled for this year's Boxing Day (i.e. 26 December 2009). Looks like I'm gonna be spending Christmas in Macau ;)

● 2009/12/26 Macau
Venue: The Venetian Macau

D.N.A Taiwan updates

Latest update on the D.N.A 2009-1010 World Tour is that the proposed 8 August 2009 concert at Kaohsiung is now cancelled.

The two Taipei concerts have now changed to 26 and 27 September 2009. Tickets for the Taipei concerts will go on sale on 17 June 2009 and can be purchased through iMayday or Era Ticket online.

● 2009/07/03、04 Shanghai, China
Time: 7:45pm
Venue: Hongkou Football Stadium

● 2009/07/11 Beijing, China
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Capital Indoor Stadium

● 2009/08/08 Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Venue: Hanshin Arena

● 2009/08/28、29 Singapore
Time: 8:00pm
Venue: Indoor Stadium

● 2009/09/26、27 Taipei, Taiwan
Venue: Taipei Arena

Jisan Valley Rock Festival 2009

I remember how I used to look forward to all the music festivals during summer. They were great fun, and I'd get to see all my favourite bands in a single weekend.

Enough of reminiscing, Oasis are set to return to Korea next month to play at Jisan Valley Rock Festival. Sigh. If only Korea was nearer then I'd be able to make a trip there. I wanna see Weezer (I love them - they are one of the very few American bands that I like) and Starsailor!

Why aren't there any decent rock festivals in this country or region? Guess I'll have to wait for next year's Bangkok Rock Festival... (though the Bangkok Rock Fest pales in comparison to Jisan Valley Rock Fest' line-up cos they don't have as many foreign bands in their line-up)

Xfm's Best British Songs Of All Time

As voted by XFM's listeners, the top 100 best British songs of all time.

Top 3 songs are by Oasis. Amazing.

1. Oasis - Live Forever
2. Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger
3. Oasis - Wonderwall
4. The Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection
5. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
6. The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
7. The Who - My Generation
8. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
9. The Clash - London Calling
10. Oasis - Champagne Supernova
11. The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
12. Muse - Knights Of Cydonia
13. Pulp - Common People
14. The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
15. Blur - Song 2
16. The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
17. The Jam - A Town Called Malice
18. The Beatles - Hey Jude
19. The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil
20. The Stone Roses - Fool's Gold
21. Blur - Parklife
22. David Bowie - Life On Mars
23. The Smiths - This Charming Man
24. The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
25. Radiohead - Paranoid Android
26. The Jam - Going Underground
27. Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
28. Radiohead - Creep
29. Muse - Plug In Baby
30. Elbow - One Day Like This
31. The Beatles - Come Together
32. The Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black
33. The Who - Baba O'Riley
34. Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness
35. Muse - Time Is Running Out
36. Coldplay - Yellow
37. Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life
38. New Order - Blue Monday
39. John Lennon - Instant Karma!
40. Muse - Hysteria
41. Oasis - Supersonic
42. The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now
43. Snow Patrol - Run
44. The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
45. David Bowie - "Heroes"
46. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
47. Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
48. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
49. David Bowie - Jean Genie
50. The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into The Sun
51. Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love
52. Stereophonics - Dakota
53. The Jam - That's Entertainment
54. Oasis - Cigarettes And Alcohol
55. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
56. Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
57. The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
58. Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK
59. Muse - Starlight
60. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
61. Oasis - The Masterplan
62. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
63. Muse - Feeling Good
64. The Specials - Ghost Town
65. Ash - Girl From Mars
66. The Stone Roses - She Bangs The Drums
67. The Who - Who Are You
68. Oasis - Slide Away
69. The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
70. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
71. Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down
72. Oasis - Rock 'N' Roll Star
73. The Jam - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
74. Primal Scream - Rocks
75. Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love With Someone...
76. Ocean Colour Scene - The Riverboat Song
77. Primal Scream - Loaded
78. The Beatles - Revolution
79. The Cure - Close To Me
80. The Kinks - Lola
81. Feeder - Just A Day
82. Coldplay - Clocks
83. David Bowie - Space Oddity
84. The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work
85. Blur - The Universal
86. Feeder - Buck Rogers
87. The Rolling Stones - (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
88. The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever
89. Radiohead - Karma Police
90. Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall Part 2
91. The Stone Roses - Made Of Stone
92. Blur - Country House
93. Stereophonics - Pick A Part That’s New
94. The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar
95. Radiohead - High And Dry
96. The Jam - Eton Rifles
97. The Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday
98. The Stone Roses - Waterfall
99. Paul Weller - You Do Something To Me
100. The Kinks - You Really Got Me

Free Oasis gig

Oasis are back in their homeground after months of touring around the globe to kick start their summer gigs around the UK and Europe. Kicking off first at their hometown playing Manchester's Heaton Park last night to a crowd of 70,000 fans

That gig turned out to be a major boo boo. Due to technical difficulties, they had to abandon the stage twice during performance and kept the fans waiting for almost an hour while technicians rushed to resolve the problem.

At the end of gig, Liam apologised (*gasp* I didn't know the word "sorry" exists in his vocabulary XP) and reportedly told the crowd: "This is a free gig now. Everyone will get a refund." I'm guessing this must have been a spontaneous offer from Liam, without consulting the rest of band or their management cos Noel later quoted "Kind of regret offering you your money back now. Apply for it back if you wanna be a cunt, we do our best for you." HAHAHA You should've thought of that before you offered to refund 70,000 tickets!

Rising gods of the East

I'm not a fan of kpop and I've never liked DBSK [동방신기]

I came to know a few days back that DBSK and Mayday are both staging concert in Beijing on the exact same day [11 July 2009]. Upon reading that, my assumption was that Mayday's concert would outsell DBSK's without a doubt in Beijing, as Mayday have a really solid massive fanbase in China.

But judging from the venue.. DBSK are performing at Workers Stadium whereas Mayday are gonna be at Capital Indoor Stadium. The former is a large outdoor venue, and the latter is a much smaller indoor venue (from what I found at wiki). I'm not jumping to conclusions, but maybe DBSK have got a bigger fanbase in Beijing or they booked the venue before Mayday.

五月天 vs 동방신기

who would you rather see?

Pretty Pricey

The members' only shop for Pretty Green, the clothing line launched by Oasis' Liam Gallagher is now open.

Due to phenomenal worldwide demand, many fans weren't able to access the online store (Took me a couple of tries before I could get in) I'm wondering how many fans actually bought anything considering how expensive the items are. Not everyone is as rich as Liam and can afford to pay £245 for a parka. And not only are the items grossly overpriced, the entire catalogue look unimpressive as well. They look no more than just ordinary tees, scarfs, hats, polo tees with the Pretty Green logo on them!

Bag it up? No thanks I'll pass

this tee costs £40 !

Blur's Midlife.. crisis?

This weekend Blur will be performing together (hooray Graham's back!) at Hyde Park for the first time in years. Aww I wish I could be there.. I last saw them live many years ago. Too long ago! I hope they'd extend their current tour to Asia, though I don't recall them ever touring this part of the world.

In conjunction with their comeback, they are releasing a new Best of album titled "Midlife: A Beginner's Guide To Blur" due out on 15 June 2009, featuring 25 songs. A Beginner's Guide To Blur? Are they hoping to garner new fans??

Sadly Country House is not on the tracklisting along with a couple of my other favourite Blur songs: End Of A Century, On Your Own. Why was Country House left out? That was the song that sparked that mega battle of the bands Oasis vs Blur at that time. Weren't they planning on doing a new version of that song for the upcoming gigs?

Anyhow, with or without Country House, I think I'll be passing on this as I already own most of my favourite Blur songs on CDs.

Emoticon buns

I saw these at a bakery the other day. These are the real deal, not the squeezable plastic ones, which until recently were quite popular. I didn't buy any but I took the snapshot below cos they look so cute

放肆

I love this song to bits ♥ It's now my current ringtone on my mobile --> download here

It's new a Mayday song that they wrote for '盖世群音', a band competition in China organised by Pepsi. Is that where they got their new shimmering guitars? They performed this during the D.N.A tour and it sounds as good live as the studio version!

that's the shimmering guitar in Pepsi's logo colour

Not sure if this will be released commercially - I really hope it does!