đugust is a strange month in this industry. Many practitioners dedicate the whole month to the Edinburgh Festivals, or it is the unofficial break before the September - December Christmas rush.
I was in the latter camp this year, in that I didn't go to Edinburgh, and instead went to the massive Sziget festival in Budapest. So on the career front it was a relatively quiet month.
Immediately on my return (like, after literally two and a half hours sleep), I was back on the North Coast promoting the sites up there for the National Trust, and I had a few other shifts doing different things in between. The good thing about promo is that it's not too commital, so I can work it around gigs and acting jobs. The bad thing about promo is that it's not too committal, so it can be hard in quiet months. #Actorslife!
I did a few auditions, but as usual, I'll be divulging no details unless I book parts. It's not a tease/fishing for good will - the likelihood that I get the part is at best about 1 in 5, and it's disheartening explaining to people why I didn't get [such and such] role? One was an open audition, and conducted as a cold read, and you know how I feel about those!
I was in the latter camp this year, in that I didn't go to Edinburgh, and instead went to the massive Sziget festival in Budapest. So on the career front it was a relatively quiet month.
Immediately on my return (like, after literally two and a half hours sleep), I was back on the North Coast promoting the sites up there for the National Trust, and I had a few other shifts doing different things in between. The good thing about promo is that it's not too commital, so I can work it around gigs and acting jobs. The bad thing about promo is that it's not too committal, so it can be hard in quiet months. #Actorslife!
I did a few auditions, but as usual, I'll be divulging no details unless I book parts. It's not a tease/fishing for good will - the likelihood that I get the part is at best about 1 in 5, and it's disheartening explaining to people why I didn't get [such and such] role? One was an open audition, and conducted as a cold read, and you know how I feel about those!
Entertainment Wise
- Rick and Morty is back! Television is very crowded field right now, but Rick and Morty has struck a real chord with audiences in the a-a-a-a-g-e since Season 2 finished. Being on Netflix has made it accessible and visible to millions of people, which it fully deserves. It's obsidian dark, but it tackles some heavy domestic issues, through the prism of multi-verse adventuring, and it is genuinely laugh out loud funny. A massive feat.
- Sziget. Is. Huge. But even with a lineup that big, there wasn't that many acts that I had heard of before. That made the World music stage an adventure, but the Main Stage a bit of a chore. Some standout performances were Wiz Khalifa, whose hits I didn't know I knew, but I did: the kicker, leading the crowd in an impromptu karaoke of Smells Like Teen Spirit. The guy knew how to entertain a crowd, and did it with aplomb.
The Naked and Famous were a band I was aware of, but not too familiar with, but they were my highlight of the festival - not bad for a band starting at a quarter to midnight.
Kasabian were disappointing live, and Interpol, a band whose popularity has baffled me for ten years. They played through their album Turn Out the Bright Lights, which I have heard extensively, so I went to see if the penny would drop with me. I am still of the opinion that the Emperor has no clothes. - Dick Valentine of Electric Six played in Bogan's Bar, Omagh, and it was a legendary gig. He played mostly solo stuff, armed with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and a biting wit, but he did a set with local band Smell the Glove, where they accompanied him through some of Electric Six's biggest hits. He was a great performer and was happy to be approached by the audience. Hopefully Omagh can get more acts like this.
Dick Valentine (left), playing with Smell the Glove in Bogan's Bar Omagh. August 2017
My top albums this month on lastfm. pic.twitter.com/fnNeU2CiH7— James McAnespy (@jamesimcanespy) August 31, 2017