Underoath Concert

Charlie went to his first rock show and he was totally blown away! We (Sleuth, Dean and I) watched some local bands perform when we got there and I was instantly hooked. I always thought that live music was the suck but when you’re there and your heart is pumping along to the music and there is sweat flying all over the stage you just have to shut up, appreciate and let the music move you. The venue, Bell’s Sundowner, was very intimate so the music was in-your-face live! We almost sacrificed Sleuth to the ancient powers of rock by nearly throwing him into the bonfire they had going there but, as per his usual self, the man was too slippery.

When Underøath came on stage the crowd just went animalistic and you could just feel the awesome vibes oozing from everyone. When they played To Whom It May Concern I knew that this is what I came for. They played quite a number of my favourite tunes like Writing on the Walls, which I sang so loud the girl next to me gave me a perplexed look; they played Desperate Times, Desperate Measures and when they played You’re Ever So Inviting everyone just lost the last of the marbles they had to spare. After we all screamed loud enough to get the band back for two more songs some madman decided to get on the stage and jump into the crowd but he fell on an unsuspecting girl :( The band was nice enough to stop playing and Spencer (the lead singer) asked if people were okay before they carried on again. Spencer (who has a very Captain Jack Sparrow madness to him) kept spitting water into the crowd, which I thought was awesome and I got some on my face :) Only at a rock concert can one get excited about being spat on. We were quite close to the stage and Tim (lead guitar) touched my hand for a nanosecond and that stoked me out like crazy. James (rhythm guitar) is the only chilled dude in Underøath, he was playing pretty close to me and where all the other members were going mad onstage he was just super mellow. Aaron (drums/clean vocals) was quite far back on the stage and I couldn’t hear him all that well but it’s all good. I never had a drop of alcohol but when I left I was drunk on rock.




I really enjoyed the concert and my only regret was that Underøath didn’t play Too Bright To See Too Loud Hear, I can just imagine the crowd clapping and chanting, “Good God! Can You still get us home...?” I would have died and went home, straight to Heaven.




Shout out @ Dean: Goodbuddy, thank you for orchestrating the event. Much respect to you :)

Defining My Great Line

I’ve heard it said that the years you spend at university are the ones that mould your character and define how you will live your life in the ‘real’ world. For me, personally, it seems to be true. The last three years have been the most turbulent in my relatively short stay on this planet. I’ve been lonely, sad and heartbroken. I’ve fallen in love only to think that it might not have been love, after all, I’ve tried to find out where I fit into society and I’ve lived outside of society when I felt I didn’t belong. I’ve known joy that made my heart soar, I’ve had laughs with good friends and I’ve accumulated, what seems to me, vast amounts of knowledge. The most concise way in which I can summarize the last three years is: life happens.

In an interview, Christopher Dudley from the band, Underøath said about their album, Define the Great Line, “[Y]ou just have to find that line and that way to live your life". I can’t agree more. I think I’ve come to a point where I’ve found that line, I know how I want to live my life and now I have to step up to the plate. My life is a tad bit strange but that’s what makes me love it something fierce. Like Odd Thomas, I’m something of an oddity and that is the quality that keeps me on my toes – my life is exciting enough to keep me alert and quiet enough to make me feel serene.

Tonight I’m going to see Underøath with Dean and Sleuth and as you can imagine it’s all rather exciting. Hopefully “[a]t the end of the road [I]'ll find what [I]'ve been longing for ”. The camera on my cellphone is pretty sucky but I’ll take pics anyway and post them on Monday or something :)

Remember: life happens ;)

Answering This Calling

And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, here am I. – Exodus 3: 4

I’ve been hearing the call to start my journey home and like Niggle I’ve been procrastinating and loafing about with the silly notion in my head that it can be put off. If I was to be president of South Africa for one day [the 19th of October for example ;)] I’m pretty sure the country would suffer irreparable damage that would make people think the current administration to be divine ministers of justice.

The scariest thing I do on a daily basis is say to God, “Thy will be done.” As Narnians point out, “Aslan is not a tame lion.” One never knows what He might do to you. He starts out by fixing the leak in your roof and if you don’t stop Him, He starts fixing all sorts of things you never knew were broken and because He sees the bigger picture He breaks all sorts of things in order to make space for new ones. I’m scared of this and I don’t like it one single bit – like my destructive habits.

God worked discreetly, and in the ways that pleased Him. It had pleased Him that the Children of Israel should sweat and strain under the Egyptian yoke for generations. It had pleased Him to send Joseph into slavery, his fine coat of many colors ripped rudely from his back. It pleased Him to allow visitation of a hundred plagues on hapless Job, and it pleased Him to allow His only Son to be hung up on a tree with a bad joke written over His head. – The Stand, Stephen King

I imagine that Joseph learned the lessons of humility and forgiveness thoroughly in his time as a slave, in jail and then seeing his brothers again. Joseph was not perfect and God, through hardships, raised him up pretty damn close to the standard. But Jesus was (and is) perfect, so perfect in fact that He came down from Heaven to be the sacrifice for our sins by suffering unspeakable agonies on Calvary. Peter Kreeft repeatedly points out that Jesus came to set the standard for us and that His suffering was not an exception to the ‘rules’ of Christianity. If Christianity requires that you give your life for people who spit at you, you give your life without complaint. Thus, every time I say to God, “Thy will be done.” I say it with fear and trembling. What I’m really saying in my heart of hearts is, “Thy will be done” if it does not include pain, suffering, sacrifice, humiliation and a host of other unpleasant things. But count me in on the milk and honey parts, I’ll roll with that. I’m being silly, there is no place in the universe where God allows people into His kingdom without having faced the trial of living in this universe where you might get stabbed, hugged, shot, kissed, pelted with rocks or showered with love. With so many other people with the same free will you have about just about anything might happen. All one has to do is to keep on walking the narrow path that leads home.

With great consideration I’ll choose the path to follow
I’ll pick up my sadness, madness and new-found gladness
And together we’ll walk down that winding path
Singing our tuneless song into the sunset - Young Man Going West

I’ve been feeling overwhelmingly sad at the meanness, spitefulness, pettiness, bickering and stupidity of human beings of late and so I dedicate this post to all the wonderful people I come across in my life. Thank you for touching my heart.

Dean (bestbuddy): No worries about life, let’s stay chilly and enjoy the ride because the best is yet to come. On the 26th we’ll go see Underøath and totally party it up :)

Sleuth: You’re my rock k1d. Respekt!

Anouk: I don’t like that I get to see so little of you :( You make me laugh with your stories about Hermie and Emo Guy. The fact that you talk more than me still perplexes me :?

Leigh (most beloved of friends): If you weren’t already taken I’d marry you. If I was limited to just one friend at varsity it would be you. I’m keeping you in my life forever and there’s nothing you can do about it, you great big lunatic.

Lydia: Even though you’re a girl you’re my boy.

M’jackknife: Hola ntwana!

Tshepiso: Hey bro’ :) I miss you dawg. I hope your gynaecology studies are going well, you great big perv ;)

Sinqobile (lil’ girl): Hugs all the way from Jozi to Cape Town.

Catharine (Katie): Sometimes you and Raycene weird me out but it’s all good.

Raycene: You’re a mad person who asks me too many questions for which I have no answers :) You’re like a younger sibling on crazy pills.

Zay: I’ll bring the movies I promised you. Please don’t bash me ;)

Lulama: When are we going to the pub so you can buy me a beer?

To the semi-sweet sipping peeps of ol’ school: Graqa, T-Bash and Lee – I miss you okes :)

Through the Eyes of the Observer

I wrote this poem two years ago and now it reminds me of Randall Flagg from Stephen King's The Stand and of my goodbuddy Super Sleuth :)

Young, silent observer
In social circles he stands reserved
He is part of all, but not
Jotting down notes with his elegant flowing mind script
Always adding to his intelligence supreme
Like a journalist in a war zone he can do nothing
Nothing but record the terrors
Taking note of human errors
Always adding to his heavily guarded vault of infinite intelligence
Observe is all he can do
It is no fault of his
He seems without feeling
Emotionally void
Grey-eyed ghost
Hands stuffed in pockets of faded blue jeans
He scours rodent-inhabited streets
To add to his already extensive library of thought
His presence paradox, phantom but not
His lips dry like the arid Kalahari from the lack of use
In the shroud of city death the grey-eyed phantom stands
Unseen, listening, jotting down and storing in a box
That might one-day spill all the secrets of life under a cranium saw

“Why do you just stand there?” I dare to ask
No reply
Just a penetrating silver glare

Blood begins to fall from a wounded sky
Drops fall like crimson jewels
He stares at the bleeding sky, emotions from the dawn of time finally stirred
Platinum tears hit the blacktop with unheard plops
He falls to the ground on his knees, arms skinny and limp at his sides
“Father, why?”
He asks in a parched tone

"The Lord said, ‘I was ready to answer my people’s prayers, but they did not pray. I was ready for them to find me, but they did not even try. The nation did not pray to me, even though I was always ready to answer ‘Here I am, I will help you’."

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung. The sun is shining, birds are singing and the grand theme of the day is rebirth. People are refreshed from hibernating in winter and they’re rocking their summer threads – I’ve been seeing short skirts and legs that go on for kilometers this morning – and steaming cups of java have been replaced by cans of Coke :)

Winter is always hard on my skinny frame so I’m quite happy that it’s over. I feel like a new dude; it’s like I’ve died, decomposed and been reborn in the compost heap of my former self as something bursting with God-given life.

I wish all you lunatics out there sunny days of glory :)

P.S. This post is dedicated to Tamsin Mackay, former editor of PC Format.