HIM @ Festival Hall, Melbourne

Last night was one night that I will remember for the rest of my life. Last night I finally got the chance to see one of, if not, my favourite band in the world, Finnish rock group HIM. Before I get to my review of the concert, I would like to share with you the story that brought me to this special night.When I was 16 I was stumbling through JB Hi-Fi and I came across Greatest Love Songs Vol 666, and I’m not sure what made it stand out to me, but along with the interesting album work, the import only version and a cheap price tag of $15 I bought it along with a few other albums that day and went home not knowing what would happen.About a week passed by and I eventually put the CD into my stereo, and from that moment I was totally hooked on their sound. About a year passed by and Bam Margera started to get big in Australia, and it seemed that over the space of a few months I was no longer listening to an underground band, as all my friends were starting to get into HIM due to the exposure from Bam.At the time I was running a local promotions company, doing gigs in my local town and my friends said that I should organise a HIM tour of Australia as a joke. So I emailed their manager Seppo, not ever expecting a reply, but I did in fact get a reply from Jim Morewood, their manager outside of the USA and for three weeks we chatted about possible shows. Due to my young age (17 at the time) and inexperience with large promotions, Jim decided to go with someone else with more experience. I was not upset though, because this just meant that I would get to see my favourite band.The next year they were coming to Aus with support of their Dark Light album. I was excited, I was pumped, I was ready. Then two weeks before the concert I lost my job and crashed my car and couldn’t go, I had missed out on the band.So there I was, two years later, and from the minute the band walked on stage my heart was pumping. Festival Hall was full, unfortunately full of young people who didn’t seem to be die hard fans of the band. Regardless, the atmosphere was CRAZY!While Ville could hardly be understood while speaking, minus a few audible jokes here and there, their stage presence was great. As usual he smoked more cigarettes in their one and a half hour set than I do in a year, Lindt’s guitar solos were sot on and vibrant, and Gas was dominant on the drums, driving each and every song with strong and solid beats.Hit after Hit was churned out, playing the usuals like Wicked Game, Buried Alive By Love, Soul on Fire, Razorblade Kiss and showing off a few songs from Venus Doom. Finishing their encore with The Sacrament (my favourite song by the group) and an instrumental, they left the stage making me want more.Would I go see them again? In a heartbeat. Not the best show I’ve seen (Rage wins that one) but one of the most memorable 

Ipod Touch

 Ahhh Christmas, the time for family, the time to celebrate the birth of little baby Jesus, and more importantly the chance to get some cool gadgets as presents to review. Welcome the new Ipod Touch

I was skeptical of this device right from the get-go. Let’s be honest, touch screen devices are rarely decent let alone as brilliant at Apple are making this toy out to be. Reviews tended to slam the device,  which after using the device for a good 4 weeks now (had it just before Christmas as an early present) I’d say it’s a little unfair as all of them seem to compare it directly to the iPhone, and this clearly is a media device, not a phone

So basically it’s a touch screen, widescreen video playing, internet surfing, organising, music blasting machine that is a true delight to use.

Let’s start with the basics, Music. Same as the other ipods, you can go through your music by viewing playlists, songs, albums or artists, and while playing the song, the album art will be displayed fullscreen on the ipod, with your normal play buttons and volume. In the top right corner you will find a track listing button, which will flip the album over and you can rate your song, and choose another song off the album. Place the ipod sideways, it opens up coverflow, which allows you to look at your library. Double tap the album of your choice and you will be presented with the tracklisting and off you go. This works extremely well, and seems to create a good experience for the listener, with easy access to rating their favourite songs.

Video play is gorgeous, and with a screen that is wide enough to actually make out people faces, and is a true delight to watch. The colours on the ipod touch screen are amazing!

Contacts and Calendars can all be synced with the software of your choice on your computer (Address Book and Ical for me) and keeping organised has never been so easy!

The real shock was the functionality of the Safari Web Browser! Just hook up to a WiFi network and you are surfing the web. Double tap the screen to zoom in or use one of the simple gestures to resize the picture to your liking. Much like music, put the ipod on it’s side to change the viewing perspective. I’ve gotten so used to this browser I’ve even done my online banking on it a few times

Yes it has no google maps, and no it doesn’t have ALL the features that the Iphone does, but it shouldn’t! It is an Ipod not an Iphone, and as an Ipod it is certainly better than previous versions. Once the size increases (currently only 8 or 16gb) the Ipod touch will be flawless.

And if you want those awesome Iphone apps plus others (such as IM clients for MSN, Yahoo etc) it can all be done so you can have the functionality of an Iphone, minus the phone . More on Jailbreaking Later