Last night was lovely. Nice audience, good atmosphere and Fanfarlo playing wonderfully. I love Simon's voice and at times he does really remind me of Alec Ounsworth. If only I could hear that guy sing live, that would be great! Cathy Lucas, the only woman in the band looked adorable. They all dressed up pretty nicely, very colourful. I especially liked the socks. Good to know I'm not the only one wearing them that way sometimes :) See, I'm not that crazy as some of you might think! I overheard someone saying that they must have come from the fashion show that was happening downstairs. This was the first time, by the way, I had to enter from a door on the right side of the building instead of the main entrance. I guess that fashion show was a pretty big thing. I had listened to their album Reservoir a couple of times before going. I remember at first being a bit hesitant. I had only watched their video for The Walls Are Coming Down, and true, that one sounds like a Beirut song. I can't help thinking about Elephant Gun when I hear it. But it's not a bad thing really. However, the rest of the album is more Arcade Fire-ish at times, with Simon sounding like Mr. Ounsworth especially when he sings the lines 'See you at the Surrey Roundabout, standing in the street' and 'But we can still afford to not make sense at all' from the song Drowning Men. So people should stop comparing them to Mr. Zach Condon & Co. 'cause the two are very different. Sometimes I really like to see a band like Wolf Parade or Bloc Party where you jump and go wild and there are times I prefer seeing a band like Bon Iver. Fanfarlo fits nicely in the middle. They're very pop and make happy upbeat songs, but without being too happy :) Sometimes they come with a good portion of guitar that makes you bounce your head as if you're at a rock concert and almost has you jumping, while most of the time you just stand moving nicely, swaying a bit from left to right. I have to applaud the audience for being so cool. People were moving with me, it wasn't a waiting for the bus to arrive kind of audience, thankfully! Sometimes I worry a bit that that might be the case especially when the gig is upstairs in the small room, instead of downstairs in the big one. 'Cause you notice it way more with a small audience than a big one. But last night was perfectly balanced. I enjoyed it lots. Would have liked to have someone with me instead of it just being me and my camera. Hopefully next time! :) You should check out their album if you haven't done so yet, 'cause it's really good!
Some of the pictures turned out much too dark 'cause I didn't use the right shutter speed :( But thankfully I've been able to safe some of the pictures by doing some post-production! Better luck next time ;)
For other pictures from recent gigs I went to visit this Flickr account of mine
This guy with YouTube account Fransle38 already uploaded some YouTube videos of last night! Things like this go fast in the times we live in...
I'm posting the videos of my three favourite songs
I'm A Pilot
Drowning Men
Comets
I've quickly fallen in love with Stornoway. Here's their video for Zorbing, love Brian Briggs' voice
It's very low-budget :D Verrrrrrrrrryyy
I feel like doing nothing today and I'm perfectly fine with that
Have been listening to Fanfarlo this morning, trying to decide whether or not I should see them when they'll be performing in Amsterdam this Tuesday. It would be a good way to practice my concert photography skills! Tickets are still available and right now I have a good feeling I might be there on Tuesday. It would be my first gig in 2010! Some say they sound a lot like Beirut, but I feel that's true for only some of their songs, for most part they sound completely different to me. Simon's voice does sound like Alec Ounsworth's voice quite often though. That's a very good thing!
Here they are doing a Black Cab Session that goes in- and outside the cab! :)
Also been listening to Feist. Lately I've been putting them headphones on again, very pleasant! And yes, after the recent deaths of Vic Chesnutt, Brittany Murphy and Eric Rohmer, Jay Reatard's life on earth has also come to and :(
Looks so good, am surprised though that the crowd still looks pretty calm
And while most people woke up early this morning going to university or to their jobs and some dealing with having their lives shattered because of a disastrous earthquake I was lying in bed, headphones on and being silly taking pictures of myself. It's a strange world.
Aaaaaaw, innocence :D
I know I know I should shave but I don't feel like it ;) At times I give pretty good face and I have to say I look best when I make silly faces :p I wouldn't mind waking up next to me in the morning :D I still can't believe I'm 23!! And as always I feel I have a million different faces. I start to think my face works better on video than photographs And why these pictures? Because this blog is about me, so I better make an appearance myself every now and then, don't you think?
Here's to randomness and boredom, hooray!
Have to pick something up at my parents' place so I probably just spend the afternoon/evening there. One of my favourite TV shows will be on TV tonight (Wie Is De Mol?) so it will be fun to again watch it on an actual TV screen this week instead of my laptop. Hopefully I start writing again and I might make at least one collage :D
Need to decide when to watch Where The Wild Things Are! I so wish I had a suit like Max, pleasssssssseee someone make me one!! :((( I'd go wear it all day and night
What an excellent night, I'm so glad I went. Owen Pallett aka Fanal Fantasy was magical. I was completely drawn into his performance. At first he said he was a bit sick and because during the first two songs it was hard hearing his vocals because the music was so loud I was afraid he would not sound 100% and would hold back a little. But soon it became clear that when Mr. Pallett feels slightly ill this doesn't necessarily mean this has an immediate negative effect on his voice. He sounded just as perfect as on the record or in my case on the mp3s ;) He referred to the light show several times cause it made him confused of where he was especially because he did not feel to well. But it must be said that the lighting was really good and in my opinion added a lot to the performance. I had never been in this venue before and was very surprised of how small it was. It made for a very intimate setting. Marissa Nadler and Nick Talbot of Gravenhurst were really good as well, but I'm not sure why they were supporting Pallett. Their music is much more moody and sad sounding than his. For some reason when I see Owen I always have to think about Patrick Wolf. Not sure why. Perhaps because they performed together and seem to be good friends. I took a polaroid picture of Owen, a really bad one :D It makes it appear I was standing really far away from him when that wasn't at all the case. But it was definitely too far away to take a clear polaroid picture of him. So next time I'm at a concert taking a polaroid picture I'll make sure I'm more at the front. I'll scan it tomorrow if I don't forget to. That was a really cool thing, by the way, 'cause this really was a not too much physical movement type of gig. No moshpit or wild dancing. I even kept my bag with me. So I could have quietly taken a lot of pictures although I did not take any other pictures than that polaroid. I just didn't want to disturb myself. I was enjoying it way too much. When you are able to see Final Fantasy go. He's just very relaxed and really is able to connect with the audience. He made several mistakes and when that happened he just laughed them off. He was being very casual about it and he should. It was one of the best gigs I've seen this year high up there with those gigs from Beirut, Franz Ferdinand and Metric which says a lot. I didn't expect I would like it THIS much. I definitely love him more right now. I was completely under his spell.
Alma Har'el is the person who made my favourite Beirut video for their song Elephant Gun which is probably one of my favourite videos in general as well. Here's the great news, the two have collaborated once again this time for Beirut's new song The Concubine from their Holland EP and features Zach Condon as a cowboy! Watch the video below. I'm already in love with the amazing light in every image. It's all kinds of amazing this video. Just watch!!! I'm not overreacting :D
For more info on Alma Har'el and more screencaptures visit her great looking website. For a bigger HQ version of the video, which I recommend you go watch, go straight to here.
Metric was WILD!! I went all Wolf Parade kind of crazy. I was full of sweat and my hair was a mess! Kind of unexpected. I guess I noticed before going that their songs were very good for banging your head and jumping, 'cause their songs have a good build up leading to a nice rock out climax. But I didn't expect this at all. So next time if they're here again I'll be at the gig at 8 pm when the doors open so I can stand at the front instead of behind two lame girls who just stand unmoving looking up at the stage as if they're waiting for the F^CKING bus to arrive. I'm sorry but I can not stand those people. There are things you can sit on and they're called seats and you find them upstairs at the balcony! Go there and join those who really come to WATCH the show, to look, and see it happen while sitting in silence. Leave the space downstairs for those like me who just want to go wild and dance to the music coming from the speakers. Emily Haines, wow, she's a goddess. Sometimes she kind of looks like Madonna. She has great on stage persona and those people who were standing next to me later on in the line to get their jackets need to just go and shit themselves or something telling each other how they're not really into people who go wild on the stage, thus having lots of energy and showing the crowd that they can have a good time and enjoy playing for all the people who came to see them. Next time read the memo, this is not a gig for you. Please STAY AWAY. But again, I was surprised. This was insane. It was so good. Their music is perfect. This gig comes second to Wolf Parade based on how crazy I go at a concert. Of course not everyone was as stiff as those two girls in front of me. I was surrounded by some other people who knew how to go wild on the music as well. So that was real nice and made me not feel bad for one single moment for not standing at the front row. 'Cause there you'll always find the diehards. Those people who go crazy like me. But oh they were good. The sound was perfect. Emily's voice sounds just as clear as on the CDs (read: downloaded mp3s). The rest of the band, Emily's three guys were great as well. One of the guys on guitar even sang a bit and has a really good voice. Songs like Stadium Love which is a nice track, but not one that seems to really standout was turned into one of the highlights. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I mean, Beirut yesterday was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G as well and I had waited to see them for quite a long time. But sometimes I just want to rock out and go to a gig were you can jump at almost every song and just dance to the beat and lose yourself in the crowd. So it was a nice balance. Metric, wow, such a revelation. When they play again I'll be the first to buy tickets. It's something I would not want to miss. Such a great night. I could do this every day :))
They started with Nantes having me close to tears :) It was amazing. I could feel it in my stomach, in my chest. I was stunned, speechless. They played every song I wanted them to play. Postcards From Italy, Elephant Gun, My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille and many many more. It was a joy to watch, especially at the end where they played songs by other artists, I felt I had arrived at a wedding party or was in some kind of small bar somewhere hidden in Mexico. Zach is fun and his voice is golden. Who can not love this guy?! One song he played alone on his ukulele. He makes it seem so effortless, like he doesn't even need to try. When his mouth opens and he accompanies himself on his ukulele there can only be perfection. Not one error. Flawless. This man can do no wrong in my book. I watched in admiration. A long time ago since I saw Paradiso this crowded. They overwhelmed me with each song. I was in trance, completely taken over, and could not help but smile. Aaaaaaaaaaaaa
Pictures not taken by me
Tonight Metric, such a busy musical start of the week! Lucky me :D
Metric + Deerhunter + Women!! (Yes, finally Women live, after two times not going!) I'm gonna see all three of them. Women will be support act of Deerhunter in Paradiso, which made me decide to go. Metric's latest album is so nice that I have to see these guys and girl live! They'll be playing in Melkweg the day after I'll be watching Beirut! I don't want to regret not going, you know. So I'll go. Have to. + Bought a new pair of black boots. Again. Though it's hard to find a check shirt. They only have stripes stripes and even more stripes! :(
I was supposed to go to bed but then read the name Bishop Allen somewhere on my screen which wasn't the first time so I thought maybe they did a Takeaway Show which then could be my first real introduction to this band. I haven't found any yet, but I did find two by Final Fantasy which is Owen Pallett who plays the violin and his band, but in the Takeaway Show it's just him. I watched the two videos and then saw something on the right that caught my eye. In the middle of some French words I noticed the word Beirut. So I started to read the text and it said something about Owen singing on a song from The Flying Club Cup. This song is Cliquot. Thinking that every song on the album was sung by Zach Condon, Mr. Beirut himself, this caught me by surprise. So I started listening to the song and indeed, yes, this song is sung by Owen! Oh my. Never knew, never had a clue. But on the Last.fm page of the song there was this YouTube video of a girl doing a cover version of the song. So I went to check it out. Then I decided to watch a cover version of Nantes, another song by Beirut. And then another cover. This eventually led to a Daft Hands version of the song Nantes which is some guys writing lyrics on their fingers and then moving them whenever the words from the lyrics are heard in the song. Reading the comments this was not the original idea. The original idea came from someone else who did a Daft Hands version of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by Daft Punk, hence the name Daft Hands. I will post the video here and after posting it I will finally go to bed and sleep. But I just had to share this video 'cause it's f*cking amazing! Simple, yet brilliant. The end is just wow, so fast, I love the movements and the combinations of words making another word! Fun fun fun.
So this is the effect the internet most of the time has on me. One click leads to another and before I know it I find myself hours in front of the computer screen when I was supposed to be doing something else. It's a major distraction.
LOVES Music, Cinema, Fashion, Art, Writing, Photography, Drawing, Acting, His Skateboard, His Tambourine, His Polaroid Camera! <...> GUS Van Sant I Want To Be In Your Movies! + In Alexis Dos Santos + Cam Archer Ones Too :) <...> WANTS To Move To Utrecht
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