Because it’s chock full of public holidays, at least for me. Last Monday was Labour Day in Western Australia, where we celebrate the standardization of the eight-hour working day by… having a day off. Makes perfect sense to me! Next week doesn’t technically contain a public holiday, but because we’re going to Rock-it we scammed Monday and Tuesday off. The week after has Good Friday, followed by Easter Monday and voila! Four short working weeks (including one three day week) in a row.

We weren’t going to bother to go to Rock-it, but my best mate is down in Perth from where she has been living in Katherine (think Northern Territory, 300kms from Darwin – about as far away from civilisation as you can get) and live music has become somewhat of a novelty for her. I heard it’s sold out, but we got our tickets weeks ago so there won’t be any shenanigans like with the Big Day Out.

Speaking of the Big Day Out, I’ve had a few comments on that blog entry from a different audience to my usual one… like commenter Luke, I also think Slipknot and System of a Down “fukin kiked ass!!!” and I also am grateful they even bothered to turn up in Perth, the most isolated capital city in the world. I hope the same commenter also caught Hatebreed on the small stage out the back because hearing 3000-odd people chanting the lyrics to I will be heard in unison was an awe-inspiring experience:

Now is the time for me to rise to my feet
Wipe your spit from my face
Wipe these tears from my eyes

Hatebreed are a brilliantly brutal band, and in fact out of my three main reasons for going to the BDO this year, I can’t pick which was best.

Other commenters on that post expressed less flattering impressions of the event, but I’ll say this: it wasn’t badly organised, but it was oversold by 5-10 thousand tickets, in my humble opinion. Hopefully next year they will have an even bigger lineup and hold two shows in Perth – I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I didn’t have any trouble finding a (surprisingly clean) toilet without a long wait, and while security did hold people back from the Slipknot moshpit early on (I know because it was happening right behind me) that was only to stem a sudden rush, and they did open it back up later when people calmed down a bit. On the whole it was great, and even at the price I paid, well worth it.