Giddy for Gigs..

Stoked that I will be witnessing these two gems over in Deutschland in the coming weeks. Narrowly missing Defeater last time out made me killer disappointed at myself and I’m thrilled the second chance to see this mob has come around so quickly. Hopefully Munich will provide a tasty atmosphere for defeater to cut loose, hammer out some tracks of emotionally raw energy, tied in with their tightness as a band and as musicians (especially the drumming). The story telling, literature orientated style of defeater has been an eye opening revelation to my music sensibilities and I cannot wait to finally hear their unique brand live. I'm also queitly hoping an acoustic appears on the guitar rack, when I walk in (that will be the cue for a few vocal loosening bevs). Defeater isn’t the only outfit I will be wildly picking up the change, harvesting the bananas and/or cranking up the windmill to (if you don’t know those moves, keep enjoying your Aussie Hip hop), as Code orange kids, a rough as all get out styled chaotic hardcore band from Pennsylvania U.S.A, will be opening with some rhythmic chord bashing to which I plan on landing on a few Krauts heads to.

Sorry I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, as preceding the impending Munich riots, I will be indulging in the beauty and ambience of God is an Astronaut on the 4th of july in the nations capital. I have been a fan of post rock for many years and leapt at the opportunity to see a band as highly acclaimed and regraded in the genre as they are. I just hope my head doesn’t explode when the opening flickers of fragile hit. I can already foretell the feeling of giddness due to the euphoria pushing up through my stomach, before eventually relenting and settling in my brain on the first tones of the tele penetrating the room. Hmm I’d better make sure to eat light. I always get this feeling of giddiness and unease when I listen to that song and I look forward to feeling of it being played before my very eyes. Ahhh all to do now is just let the good times arrive and the let worries depart.

^^best attempt at latte art (suppose to be a dick)

After gaining greater mobility in my recently repaired shoulder, I decided to try my hand at becoming a barista to greater my employability on my travels abroad at the end of the month. For someone strangling their finances 1 month before a big trip I decided to give a family friend (whom I had never been acquainted with), to see if he could teach me the ways of the bean roasters. Mum had told me that he was a credentialed barista (little did I care the cost was in the right bracket), but it turned out that I had landed a one on one session with an internationally renowned coffee judge, whom spends between 3-4 months a year overseas critiquing the different blends from all continents of the globe. After reading through a few basics in the textbook we shared a coffee (which I partially spilt on my leg and managed to conceal with a notebook) and spoke of my prior knowledge of coffee (nothing). I watched him create the first extraction (extracting the coffee from the beans), which looked easy enough (I tried the shot in which my eyes pointed outward as I gasped for water, damn those senseless Italians!). I followed with my own version of an extraction, which proved to include way to many beans and basically jammed the machine. I spent the next half an hour trying to create a consistently acceptable brew and when Justin thought I could progress I moved onto the milk, which I was little more fluent at. The intricate processes that lead to a cup of coffee involves an amount of concentration and precision in actions, and even then I found small stuff ups to greatly alter the outcome of the cups taste, texture and palatability. Justin had to rush off after giving me the basics and I was granted full access to the machines and ingredients, which I managed to practice on for an additional 2 and a half hours (I felt bad about all the quality coffees I poured down the drain).

Before Justin left I was introduced to a former student of his Cindy, whom had returned to brush up on her skills. She was a kind Asian woman, in whom I predicted to be in her mid 30’s. She told me of her struggles early on with the course, but to her credit she was producing some fine looking beverages 3 months on. She was clearly strong and driven and possessed this perpetual happiness that couldn’t help but be infectious. Cindy broadcasts this raring appreciation for her life and others, that I imagine probably stems from previous experiences of adversity and hardship in her years growing up. She told me how she was returning to China in the coming months, and dreams to open a cafe over there, where she can hone her talents with coffee in her home country. I felt inspired by Cindy and hope that her dreams become a reality for her one day.

After 2 bags of coffee beans, 6 cartoons of milk and a very arduous clean up I called it a day. I hit the street and started for the station with my white t-shirt brown, my chinos ironically smelling of cappuccino and a mind as buzzed as a man who had just taste tested around 60 or so coffees.