Best Story Contest
Update From the Management: Election 2008
We figured it might be a little easier to just create a poll and do it that way. http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/362517
I have a story, although its rather a pathetic one, but as I can’t sing very well and I’m not in to lying, its my only chance of getting my hands on a copy of JOAT, so here goes.
I was fortunate enough to see Jack Johnson at London’s Hyde Park on Wednesday the 2nd of July 2008.
As soon as I saw the tickets were available I jumped at the chance with Visa Card in hand and for some inexplicable reason bought the maximum amount for an individual, 6. It didn’t take too much persuading for my wife to come and 2 of my best friends, but I was stuck with 2 tickets up until a week before the show. Fortunately managed to persuade 2 of my other friends to part with £35.00 each to come along. They had heard of him, but said they wouldn’t recognise any songs. This was a bit difficult as I know how difficult it can be to hear new songs live for the first time.
Anyway the day came and we jumped on the Train (in very wet and rainy conditions) it had been raining all week, in fact it has rained all this summer and Hyde Park is an outdoor venue. So spirits were a bit low on the train as we headed for Central London. As we walked out of the Hyde Park Tube, the rain stopped, the clouds cleared and we had the most beautiful summers evening, the best conditions to visit a Jack concert in my book, not quite Kokua but as near as England can get.
Anyway to liven up proceedings I bet with the 2 friends, who didn’t know Jack’s stuff, that they would know at lease 5 songs during the show and they took me up on my offer of beers for the winner.
As it was they knew 8 & 9 songs respectively and I had a cheap and merry evening.
As a result they have both become big Jack fans and even asked to borrow some of my Ben Harper and Donovan Frankenreiter albums.
So a great show was had by all. I was so excited by the gig that I was going to get tickets to the following weekends show at Watergate Bay in Cornwall (one of England’s best surfing areas), but couldn’t get tickets, which was a good thing as the concert was cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions (that’s the sort of summer we have had). However it sounds like I missed Jack surfing, which would have been an absolute treat.
Sorry its a pretty boring story, but us Brits have to feed off small morsels where Jack’s concerned.
Phil Garnham
Shane D.R. Melvin (Edit)
Howdy! Name’s Shane, though everyone calls me Melvin
This past summer, I hitchiked with my 12-string guitar, playin guitar the whole way ^_^.
From Saint John New Brunswick along the coast to Bath Maine, where i stayed at mom’s for a few days, then continued to new york city! When I got there I met up with my friend
Chris(tina) Doka. Whom I had spent the previous new years with (just as friends).
So we did the usual rock band-ing and hanging around her home, bugging her brother and going out on the town a bit. We went to serendipity (some famous restaraunt as im told) and the museum of natural history, then took 2 days and went to washington! Anyway, while in New York we went to Coney Island for the Siren Festival (08′) and thats where I saw The Annuals live for the first time ( http://www.myspace.com/annuals ) and sorta fell in love with thier music. It was kinda just what I needed, I felt completly able to connect with thier songs and lyrics.
Like you really would have had to have been there, the energy was beyond electrifying, and not just from the crowd, like the players were ALL incredible….it felt like a whole bunch of ozzy ozbournes with instrumental TALENT were up there! I couldn’t believe it! And it was too awesome =)
After that I spent another couple days there and got on a bus back to mom’s in Bath Maine. And after staying there about a week I started on my way home. So I came North-West, towards ontario…Crossed the boarder and got to Niagra Falls, and visited my cousin and headed back home to Port Elgin.This story isn’t as good without the sappy love thing thats gonna inspire me with songs and whatnot…so here goes…
I’v known Chris for 6 years, we’v met twice but talk on msn regularly. We met on a video-game (it was like a 1 in a 128573198 chance that we met >..<… Have a good day and thanks for readingShane-Melvin (age: 19)
