Before setting out to the HCP May EB, I dropped by SM Bicutan and bought tapes of The Darkness' album "Permission to Land" and Hoobastank's album "The Reason."

Am I glad I did just that.

"Permission to Land" is a fantastic album, perfect for those times when you simply want to feel good and listen to some gratuitous rock to wash the blues away. All of the tracks are excellent; there isn't one that breaks the album or feels out of place. I had so much fun moshing inside my car, cranking my head unit to 13, cracking Justin Hawkins-style falsettos, doing air guitar in traffic...and generally just being a glam-rock-infused fool.

When they have a concert tour here I'm going to go get tickets. I just can't have enough of The Darkness' glam rock silliness.

Hoobastank meanwhile has matured with their sophomore outing. "The Reason" has more varied and harder-edged music compared to their debut album, and they come off all the better for it. Their first single "The Reason" is deceptively whiny as the rest of the album is signature Hoobastank rock, some years wiser. Nice to see the guys improving.
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Got to the Fort parking area at around 2:30. I thought it was going to be a sunny EB, but the sky had other plans come 3:30. Rain came hard and fast, and the strong winds threatened to scrap any umbrellas that dared to open the wrong way. When enough people had arrived, President Jun rallied all of us to the nearby Gonuts Donuts store for shelter and for the EB agenda.

Even though my feet were sore from standing up for hours, my shirt and jeans got wet from the rain and I got really chilled from the winds, it was still a fun EB.

At least the rain gave me yet another chance to sample the wet traction of my Bridgestone Turanza GR-80 rubber. Still amazing, it is.