Due to having to hand in my project tomorrow, I spent today working like mad, though the last few weeks have all been utterly evil work-wise, and included several eighteen-hour sessions. Today, having stayed up til 1 working last night, I got up at 7 and worked incessantly til 8pm - not even actually bothering to go to work, so devotional (well, afraid of not finishing on time) was I! Then I went to see Creech + others, for purposes of:

1. The free CD they said they were giving away.
2. Having a farewell drink with us mate Fiona, who's going on holiday to Brisbane tomorrow and so not coming to my final gig and metal night.
3. Hopefully being able to convince some of the people I saw on Friday that I'm not a complete muppet.
4. And you know, vooooodka! Roooooock! Creeeeeech! Getting to wear my too-offensive-for-everyday-purposes Creech shirt!

The venue was WEIRD. While possibly not quite in the middle of nowhere, it was certainly on the outskirts of nowhere. In the pubby bit, there was a small stage, suggesting it was a lively noisy place, but I'd never been a pub with such an unsettlingly absent atmosphere: there was large-screen TV with the Olympics on, but this was pretty much drowned about by a generator whirring. To get to the toilet, you had to walk through a yard, and it didn't look like there'd ever been a coat peg or hand drying mechanism. The actual venuey bit was cosy, although eerily silent and dead when the background music stopped.

Twas a weird night in general. The first band, a whiny (but good) indieish outfit drew an ok crowd for a first band . . . but then half of them disappeared before the second (a fairly good rock 'n' roll kinda group), and by the time Creech appeared, there were no more than ten people left. This didn't seem to faze either band or audience too much - they played a load of encores and we were vocal about our appreciation - and hey, at least there were ample free CDs to go round. But where was everyone? Clearly, Melbournians conserve their energies for the weekend. (Though I probably shouldn't be surprised, considering how late you can feasibly stay out here.)

The only vaguely extraordinary thing was that I stole a lighter that was left lying on the stage. Because I felt like it, although solely for the thrill of the theft rather than the prize, as I don't smoke, and the pulling possibilities afforded by the ability to answer, "Have you got a light?" in the affirmative don't seem worth making either setting fire to myself or spilling lighter fluid everywhere and passing out while driving inevitable. Especially since I've generally little interest in pulling, and especially not stupid or desperate people who smoke but don't carry lighters with them. And that was strange, as I've never suffered from kleptomania before. Sorry, whoever's-lighter-it-was!