The air was thick with the smell of burnt rubber, the individual responsible for it was currently downing her 30th shot of the night in the back bar. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of that space. Burping competitions and burnouts were hardly how she wanted their meeting to go.
It wasn’t a date, they weren’t on a date. Nothing so boring as that, this was a liaison, a meeting of common minds and interests. You didn’t date. Not this century. They weren’t the dating types.
Looking around the booths she thought she saw the one she was meeting, a flash of orange out the corner of her eye. Alas no. It was him. Talking about his country house again. He was always going on about the house in England he’d renovated and was now taking couples through. Nothing ever happened with him. Maybe the occasional murder in a neighbouring town, but he never really worried. His mate, no, his associate, his chum Barnaby would sort those things out. He preferred to quaff some brandy.
She wondered if she should have a drink, calm her nerves. After so long chatting online, private messages, even, when she’d had too many red wines with her older sister some cheeky snapchats sent she was still nervous meeting in public. Meeting together, for this.
Maybe, she thought it was in the restaurant that she’d find their meeting place. Walking through the gaming area X was there and his younger brother XI. Their younger sibling was probably sharing a yard glass out in the back bar. She wondered if she could do something for them, but, if they were her, she mused there was nothing she could do.
In the restaurant there were two Americans, at least that’s what she thought at first, one loud and brash guy and someone with so much bling she was for a moment dazzled. They were deep in conversation about network rights or something boorish. She shifted her coat around as she passed them.
She walked past them out into the courtyard, a rising worry taking hold. Maybe they’d got their schedules mixed up. Maybe they’d timeshifted the wrong thing.
Out in the courtyard, under an umbrella she saw a smoke trailing away from a lone figure. She was wearing a hat, perhaps against the cold, she wasn’t sure.
Her body, a casual shape of brush marks and curves, it was even more luxurious in real life.
She smiled at her as she sat down, the two of them together at last.
She complimented her on her own outfit.
They’d said something hard wearing, for their date that wasn’t a date.
You didn’t really date like this.
“Are you ready?” Her opposite number asked as she stubbed out what was mostly just a butt into the container on the table.
She nodded. They’d talked about this, not being a date. But they were going to make it memorable.
“Any problems?” She asked nodding to her coat.
No one suspected a thing as she walked through the pub. They’d all mocked them, tried to get in on the action.
“Well, let’s do this.” She grinned and withdrew the semi-automatic from her coat. “Hand in hand?” She asked with a grin.
--//
There were ratings spilling all over the floor as she tossed a grenade into the back bar. Her friend had brought it along just in case. She was glad of it. She didn’t want to go in there.
Stepping outside the pub she was buzzing, her friend had already lit up as their ride pulled up. The big B.
She looked to her friend as they both looked to the big B.
Should we? She looked to her friend.
Her friend laughed. The big B looked nervous.
That expression was the last he had as his contract was terminated.
They’d manage their own. They didn’t need an agent.
They didn’t need anyone.
SBS
Eurovision 2013 Malmö
I watched (and tweeted along with) the SBS broadcast of the Eurovision semi-finals and the final of Eurovision 2013 from Malmö, Sweden. There were two songs / groups that I really liked.
But first, some observations;
The semi-finals were much more interesting to watch than the grand final. The semi-final was where the odd acts turned up and they weren’t voted through to the grand final.
Only the boring ballads made it through, with a few exceptions. The Greek “Alcohol is Free” ska-ish song made it through. These guys were a little out of the ordinary, though not exactly Lordi.
My favourites out of the semi-finals and Eurovision Malmö 2013 as a whole were Who See from Montenegro with “Igranka” and PeR from Latvia with “Here We Go”.
“Here We Go” was a pop band styled song, it was in English. The leads were both in the most sparkly jackets, one in purplely silver and another in black. The primary lead who was wearing the silver sparkly jacket also wasn’t wearing anything else underneath and the only the top button buttoned up. He claimed to be the first person in Eurovision to stage dive. PeR also had an iPad guitar. Which is a great use of tech in a song. It’s only after watching their official video (all the acts have an ‘official video’ and also their performance - both are on Eurovision’s YouTube channel) that I understand its intention. The iPad is the drum kit, except during their actual performance it’s in a guitar shaped holder. Which is interesting. They also had a keytar. Also of note between the official video and their Eurovision performance the band went from 3 members to 4. With the secondary lead guy (who was playing the iPad drums in the official video) now being the secondary lead vocalist.
What I like about PeR is that they seemed to be really trying to have a good time, and get everyone else into it. At one point the lead singer says “Let’s forget about the contest, and let’s all feel like we’re at a live festival.” and then tries some audience interaction stuff like ‘make some noise’, ‘say woo!’, ‘now scream!’.
They also had some dubstep in their song, mixed in with (faked) slow motion. Watching (again) the official original clip for this song the dubstep in there seemed to give the secondary lead vocalist a chance to beatbox. It’s not all that clear that he’s doing that in the clip, but in one of the SBS interviews (done between songs) he does show off some beatboxing.
In their actual performance it shows a nice piece of theatre with the strobe lighting and their attempt at slow motion the dubstep adds to the performance.
These guys should have got beyond the semi-final because they were not taking it too seriously. Although interestingly they have attempted to represent Latvia in Eurvision 3 different times.
Who See’s “Igranka” is just odd, it was a rap with dubstep featured two astronauts and a cybernetic lady and also a lot of very heavy dubstep in the middle. It was unlike anything else in Eurovision. I can only assume they were rapping/singing in Montenegrin or possibly Serbian. It sounds Slavic.
The camera work really helped this song, there were a lot of crash zooms, dutch angles and some other odd squashing effects on the image.
I think Who See’s “Igranka” was the most unique of Eurovision 2013 Malmö. It exposed viewers to a different type of music, a style that wasn’t heard again at all throughout Eurovision this year.
Looking at their official film clip is an also odd, though it has been well produced and directed. Unlike PeR’s which appears to be their performance in front of a crowd to get on Eurovision.
The clip for “Igranka” has a lot of ideas in it including; bouncy breasted ladies, guys in NBC suits carrying ominous cases with what looks like drills in them, a party with everyone in weird costumes with masks on, ninjas, a boxing fight between scantily clad women wearing welding goggles and sweaty men using angle grinders.
I think “Igranka” should have won Eurovision, or at the very least gotten through to the finals. This was like Lordi; unique and different, borderline strange and very Eurovision.
But first, some observations;
- Dubstep was very much something present in most of the songs. Even in Cezar’s pop-opera number “It’s My Life” it was present.
- Ballads. Ugh. Eurovision is when the weird, strange and odd performances should come out and a lot of these ballads were just boring ballads with some flames, fire and glitter.
- Drums. Lots of these. The winner Denmark’s “Only Tear Drops” had lots of drums, as did Ireland’s “Only Love Survives”, there were more than these two, even more so in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals were much more interesting to watch than the grand final. The semi-final was where the odd acts turned up and they weren’t voted through to the grand final.
Only the boring ballads made it through, with a few exceptions. The Greek “Alcohol is Free” ska-ish song made it through. These guys were a little out of the ordinary, though not exactly Lordi.
My favourites out of the semi-finals and Eurovision Malmö 2013 as a whole were Who See from Montenegro with “Igranka” and PeR from Latvia with “Here We Go”.
“Here We Go” was a pop band styled song, it was in English. The leads were both in the most sparkly jackets, one in purplely silver and another in black. The primary lead who was wearing the silver sparkly jacket also wasn’t wearing anything else underneath and the only the top button buttoned up. He claimed to be the first person in Eurovision to stage dive. PeR also had an iPad guitar. Which is a great use of tech in a song. It’s only after watching their official video (all the acts have an ‘official video’ and also their performance - both are on Eurovision’s YouTube channel) that I understand its intention. The iPad is the drum kit, except during their actual performance it’s in a guitar shaped holder. Which is interesting. They also had a keytar. Also of note between the official video and their Eurovision performance the band went from 3 members to 4. With the secondary lead guy (who was playing the iPad drums in the official video) now being the secondary lead vocalist.
What I like about PeR is that they seemed to be really trying to have a good time, and get everyone else into it. At one point the lead singer says “Let’s forget about the contest, and let’s all feel like we’re at a live festival.” and then tries some audience interaction stuff like ‘make some noise’, ‘say woo!’, ‘now scream!’.
They also had some dubstep in their song, mixed in with (faked) slow motion. Watching (again) the official original clip for this song the dubstep in there seemed to give the secondary lead vocalist a chance to beatbox. It’s not all that clear that he’s doing that in the clip, but in one of the SBS interviews (done between songs) he does show off some beatboxing.
In their actual performance it shows a nice piece of theatre with the strobe lighting and their attempt at slow motion the dubstep adds to the performance.
These guys should have got beyond the semi-final because they were not taking it too seriously. Although interestingly they have attempted to represent Latvia in Eurvision 3 different times.
Who See’s “Igranka” is just odd, it was a rap with dubstep featured two astronauts and a cybernetic lady and also a lot of very heavy dubstep in the middle. It was unlike anything else in Eurovision. I can only assume they were rapping/singing in Montenegrin or possibly Serbian. It sounds Slavic.
The camera work really helped this song, there were a lot of crash zooms, dutch angles and some other odd squashing effects on the image.
I think Who See’s “Igranka” was the most unique of Eurovision 2013 Malmö. It exposed viewers to a different type of music, a style that wasn’t heard again at all throughout Eurovision this year.
Looking at their official film clip is an also odd, though it has been well produced and directed. Unlike PeR’s which appears to be their performance in front of a crowd to get on Eurovision.
The clip for “Igranka” has a lot of ideas in it including; bouncy breasted ladies, guys in NBC suits carrying ominous cases with what looks like drills in them, a party with everyone in weird costumes with masks on, ninjas, a boxing fight between scantily clad women wearing welding goggles and sweaty men using angle grinders.
I think “Igranka” should have won Eurovision, or at the very least gotten through to the finals. This was like Lordi; unique and different, borderline strange and very Eurovision.