Friday 11 March 2016

Welcome to the Masquerade

"We've got the fire, who's got the matches 
Take a look around at the sea of masks 
and come one come all, welcome to the grand ball 
Where the strong run for cover and the weak stand tall 

I'm not one to scatter ashes 
But there's some things that melt the plastic 
Try and dig down deeper if you can 

I'm not afraid 
I'm not ashamed 
I'm not to blame 
Welcome to the masquerade" 


Welcome to the Masquerade - Thousand Foot Krutch 

Tonight, after emptying two bottles of beer, I wanted a slightly different drink. Usually I progress from beer to vodka with little hesitation, but tonight, alas, my alcohol shelf was void of vodka. In fact, it currently holds a bottle of tequila, a 3 litre goon sack of cheap red wine (left by a guest and something I will one day turn into sangria), and two of those pre-mixed shots you buy when you want to have a really good, and a really bad, night. So, tequila it was, I guess. A long time ago a friend told me about this great drink someone had mixed for her: tequila and lemonade. It was a different but nice, she'd said. And I thought tonight was the best night to try that. I started with ice and a shot of tequila and topped up the glass with soda water. I tried it and shuddered. A wedge of lemon would fix that. But still, no good. Then I added some cucumber to try make it refreshing. Still bitter. Try some L&P suggested the flatmate. This improved it slightly. What about salt, suggested this same, trying to helpful flatmate. It changed the flavour no doubt, but at the of the day, my drink still tasted like tequila. 

It's the masquerade; the big, false idea of a masquerade working. 

Because sometimes there is nowhere to hide. 

I saw Thousand Foot Krutch play at Kings Arms late last year. I bought tickets for me and my bestie after humming and humphing for months about whether to go; the opening act was The Latest Fallout and I am a fangirl of their work and their lead singer. Eventually, in need of a good time, I bought tickets and went along to one of the sweetest gigs Kings Arms have ever offered. It was pumping. It was a bunch of fans laying it all on the line for this sweet rock band. Since then I've been a fan, both of their style and of their song lyrics, and especially of Welcome to the Masquerade. 

I like songs that remind you that sometimes everything is not okay. 

That sometimes you're supposed to be scared, supposed to be ashamed, supposed to make a mistake and be the one to blame. 

And sometimes you hide your feelings, shut your eyes and gulp down your disgusting tequila concoction, because it's the best you've got, and the best you can do. 

Or at least until you can get to the bottle shop to get something better.