.^NOTHING BEATS A PAIR OF GOOD SHOES*(

Last night was just as I expected and hoped for. One of those typical indie rock gigs with lots of teenagers and early twenty year olds (?) at the front jumping, pushing, and moshing away. I got my ticket for 5 euros through someone I contacted via Last.fm, 'cause he had a ticket left even though the gig wasn't sold out yet. But regular tickets were 10 euros and that's excluding extra costs. The thing was that a record shop in Amsterdam was selling tickets with a 50% discount, so instead of 10 euros they sold them for 5. I went to the shop on Friday but the reduced tickets were already gone. 10 euros was still alright for this kind of gig, but knowing I could have had tickets for 5 euros had I found out about those reduced ones earlier, having to pay 10 euros no longer felt right. So when this guy offered a ticket for any price that he was okay with I suggested paying him 5 euros for it just as much as in that record store. He agreed to it and we decided to meet up at Paradiso before the show would start. So last night I received the ticket from a girl who I guess is his girlfriend or just a friend and then went inside. However, Florence + The Machine were there last night as well and when I went in that one had apparently just finished. The first seconds it was semi-crowded the way it's like when you about to see a concert with not many people inside just yet. So I took off my coat without any rush, but then when I wanted to hand it over to the guys at the cloakroom the place had become packed with people who just came out from the big venue hall downstairs. And when I finally got to the desk of the cloakroom this guy told me it was already full and I had to try the one upstairs. It was already some minutes before 10 pm by this time and Good Shoes were going to start at 10 pm so I was getting a little worried the guys would start without me! Some girls in front of me had just arrived as well and were also standing on the stairs to the way up waiting with their coats in their hands while being completely surrounded by all these people who had just watched Florence and were now trying to pick up their coats. I started to think I would never make it in time and it was already past 10. When I finally got to the cloakroom upstairs I handed over my coat and got straight up to the small concert hall upstairs. When I got there I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the gig had not started yet! :DD It was like they had waited for me. I was so happy. Once I was there it didn't take long before the guys took on the stage. At first I was standing a bit in the back, something like row no. 4. There were these two guys standing in front of me a bit taller than I am and their shoulders being quite big :p So I didn't feel like going to great pains in order to get more to the front and instead waited for the moment which I was sure would come that all the people at the front would start to push each other creating a small moshpit. When Good Shoes started playing their first song the people at the front kept awfully quiet making me wonder if this is what it was going to be like all night with people just looking on. I already started to dance a bit and soon figured out that would people be standing still all night I wouldn't care and would go wild all by myself, not holding back. I felt able to throw my own party without the need of anyone else to get me pumped up. Some people close to my left obviously felt the same 'cause they too started moving to the music. Then once song two or three kicked in people at the front woke up and the little moshpit I was hoping for came into existence and before I knew it I was standing at the front :D which allowed me to take better pictures! Good Shoes played a lot of their songs both from the new as well as the old album. Their songs are quite short so they can play lots of them on one night. The kids at the front especially got wild when they played songs from the first album like The Photos On My Wall, Morden, and of course the brilliant We Are Not The Same which has an intro to die for. Several kids crowd surfed including the singer of the band himself Rhys Jones and two kids felt the need to get on stage and hug him. Rhys was wearing this really cool T-shirt which had an image of Goofy on it and by the end had gotten all sweaty. The band seemed to enjoy themselves and appeared happy that the crowd eventually got really into it arms up yelling the words to the songs heads banging around wild, acting like a bunch of wild animals set loose. All this made for a pretty nice and very satisfying evening for me. It was like Japandroids, but when comparing the two Japandroids comes out as the one that's far more superior, although last night was quite good as well. But Good Shoes is one of those typical bands that are just for fun and nothing more. I can go crazy about them, but I know they're not anywhere near the quality of Bloc Party, Wolf Parade or Foals. They're just for good times and in that Good Shoes definitely succeeds. So last night I got another injection of indie rock gig adrenaline, just what I needed. I love those kind of gigs and wish I could go to one every night. For this month there's only one more left and that's gonna be The Drums who will be in Amsterdam on Friday. This will be a completely different affair, I don't expect any moshing, but definitely some people will be dancing or at least I will be and judging from this video it's gonna be fun and definitely something else. Just look at the guy shaking that tambourine. Hilarious. Gotta love 'em already :DD


cute cute cute

Good Shoes



















Guess they have a lot of fans/visitors. Just after the announcement which was on for only two days or just one even, Fashion Gone Rogue has already reached the amount of money needed to keep on existing! So that wasn't something to worry about

,*GIMME SPOON+\

On Tuesday it was all about These New Puritans, The xx and especially Japandroids, but tonight it's all about White Rabbits and Spoon! Been listening to Transference this morning and am particularly fond of track number 7 called Trouble Comes Running, hope they play it tonight! :D

It's gonna be cool

Written In Reverse from Spoon on Vimeo.

I have not been posting much on Florence + The Machine, but truth is that their album Lungs is one of my favourite albums of 2009. If I had made a top 10 list of albums from last year there's a good chance it would have been in there somewhere in the upper ranks. So for this morning I'd like to share the video for Drumming Song. I love Florence, my favourite red headed girl this moment :D

Florence + The Machine - Drumming Song from piximory on Vimeo.

She looks quite spectacular don't you think?

And a live performance

Florence & The Machine - Raise It Up (Acoustic) from PaulersA on Vimeo.

That voice, that voice!!! Florence + The Machine will be in Amsterdam on Monday, why didn't I buy myself a ticket?!!!

Also, I, to my own surprise, really digg the new Hot Chip album One Life Stand. It's great from beginning to end, I truly love every song on there. It's very fast paced and upbeat and I love the voice of the singer. I used to not really like them that much 'cause I kind of disliked their video for Ready For The Floor. I checked out their previous album and it was good, but I just couldn't get that video out of my head. But now with this new one I can't ignore it, I love this album. Lots!


And because I love them SO MUCH, live performance of a new track by Japandroids titled Art Czars


HERE'S YOUR MONEY BACK, HERE IS YOUR PUNK ROCK BACK!!!!!!

I found my new boots! Gone all the way to Rotterdam to get myself a pair :D
Search is over.

By Andreas Sjödin


Via The Fashionisto

Cleaning up my room and watching some Twin Peaks, that's what my afternoon will look like

)#YOUNG HEARTS SPARK FIRE%^

This was good, this was SO good, well at least Japandroids! But first These New Puritans. I was so surprised how little people seemed to know them. I guess people listening to The xx don't listen to These New Puritans?! I even overheard someone saying in response to Jack (vocals) saying this was going to be their last song, something in the realm of 'hopefully last song ever' (!!!) I was standing front row and I had the feeling I was the only one who knew any of the songs. Or at least, one of the few, 'cause I couldn't really tell whether there were people behind me who knew them. It wasn't that crowded either which came as a surprise. Because These New Puritans are already quite an established act I expected a lot of people to be there early as they could have easily be headlining the gig instead of supporting. I expected some fans. To me seeing them play with The xx felt like going to two gigs instead of one, but I guess not everyone felt that way so the audience treated them like any other support act, meaning standing looking at the stage without any movement saving all of their energy for the main act. Whereas The xx have one album out These New Puritans have already finished their second, which in my opinion is as great as their first, even more dark and experimental just the way I like it, so to see them support The xx is kind of strange. Of course, The xx is way more popular and are one of those hypes who have gained popularity very quickly. But Puritans were just as good especially George Barnett, the drummer who's also a professional fashion model, yep ;) He played with so much energy, I loved it and I was standing straight in front of him. The bad thing though is that it's been quite a long time ago since I went to a gig the last time and I notice that every time I find myself having trouble with my camera again. I remember at the Julian Casablancas concert there was something I could have done to make my pictures even better, but that was afterwards and because I didn't have any gig coming on soon at that time I forgot what exactly it was I could have done better. So last night felt like I had to start all over again. So I couldn't get my camera right, not until there was a bit more light. During The xx it didn't work out either so I eventually gave up entirely and just focused on the music. When I saw The xx last year for the first time I already noticed that they aren't exactly a band that's interesting to see live. Back then I was so nervous and excited that I thought perhaps the reason for me not getting into it completely was that I was just a bit too overexcited so I couldn't really handle it. But now I know that's not entirely true. I feel the problem with them is that their music is too soft. However, it would work fine on a night out in a club, like doing a DJ set or something. 'Cause I felt like really dancing as if standing in a club, the way you do with friends, and not in this concert kind of setting where you stand in front of the stage. A big difference from last time is that they decorated their songs with some new sounds, added things. They've made them a bit more beat heavy so to speak which is one of the reasons I felt they might be better doing a DJ set than playing a live gig like this. At the same time I have the feeling when seeing The xx it's better not to stand all the way at the front?? I have a feeling there's a very big difference in experiencing the concert from the front row compared to standing a couple of rows further at the back. I might be wrong, 'cause honestly I wouldn't know as both times that I've seen them I was standing all the way up front so basically I just can't tell. But something tells me the performance is better when you get a really good overview of the stage. All in all they were still quite alright. They only played for one hour which is short but it was okay. The light show complimented the song nicely and they brought in a lot of bass which I like. At times though a bit too much perhaps. I just wished the audience danced more 'cause I had a feeling a lot of people were just standing motionless as if not feeling the music. I was pretty glad the concert didn't last too long, they were already half an hour late, 'cause after The xx I had to make my way up to the room upstairs where Japandroids were going to play! I was most excited about seeing them last night so I had to be there. I was so annoyed at first 'cause everyone seemed to stay and hang around even though The xx were done. Problem was they played the remix of the Florence + The Machine cover remixed by The xx so it kind of felt like the concert wasn't over yet which was also because the big lights didn't come on immediately and it was still kind of dark. But normally a lot of people seem to make their way to the exit quite fast, but this time noone seemed to move. And I kept thinking aren't these people aware of the amazingness that is about to happen in some minutes upstairs???!!! I felt like getting mad 'cause I wanted to go upstairs so badly to see my beloved Japandroids play! And not one soul seemed to understand the importance of it and let this boy walk through. Eventually I made it, got to the stairs and then climbed my way up and I happened to be just in time 'cause as I was walking in I overheard Brian (who plays guitar) doing an introduction saying something like 'Hi we're Japandroids we're so glad to be playing in Amsterdam', you know, the usual talk. So I believe I was in time just for the first song. And as the song started playing I could see a small moshpit come to life so I instantly knew this was going to be a great couple of minutes!!! :D As always you have the bar crowd, those people who seem to come to the concert more to enjoy their beer than the music. And last night there were many of them, as well as the kind of people who just stand watching as if waiting for the bus that never seems to arrive. The first seconds I was a bit in the distance but already moving way more than the people around me so it didn't take very long before I also got to the front. Normally I wouldn't just move to the front passing all the people who have been their earlier than me, taking up their spot. But in the little room the rules are different. I just know those people at the back dont really care, they are there to drink beer and watch as if at the cinema looking at a screen from their cinema seats. So I can just pass them without feeling bad about it. So that's what I did and I went WILD!!! Thank you audience, or at least the group of kids at the front. I felt like such a teenager :D I even wore teenager clothes, meaning a pair of jeans a T-shirt and Converse All Stars or Chuck Taylors, whatever you want to call them :)) This was the outfit I used to wear, before I came to really care about style and fashion and taking things to a whole new level. But it was the perfect outfit for me to just lose all sense of control. Aaaaaaaaah it was SOO GOOD!!!! This is how I like them. I felt like Bloc Party at Lowlands, Klaxons and the Wolf Parade gig. It was unreal. Everyone there at the front was as crazy as I was shaking their heads moving around jumping pushing each other. It's every boy's dream, or at least it should be!! Ooooo and they were so good. So much energy. They play so well. They really are in control of their instruments and it's only the two of them. Brian on guitar, David on Drums, nothing else. It was fucking epic. Even some of the songs I didn't know or that I knew but had not taken much time to listen to yet got me completely crazy. I loved every second. Some people started stage diving, one girl at the front started to scream hysterically which made me laugh when the boys started the first notes of, apparently, one of her favourite Japandroids' tracks, brilliant! It so felt like a private party. As much as I like These New Puritans and The xx, those two were nothing compared to as what took place upstairs. It was unbelievably good. I was shouting all the words of the songs, hands up like everyone else. Acting like fools. I love it though every time there is a break you see everyone around you who some seconds ago was as crazy as you are just coming onto their own again being all quiet but then as soon as the music starts playing again they completely lose it and we all seem like a bunch of kids who drank too much. I wish I could go to a gig like this every night of my life. Those I like the most! Hopefully they return to Amsterdam soon or play somewhere else in this country. I would not want to miss it for the world!

Don't ask me how I did it but I managed to take some pretty okay pictures during the Japandroids gig. They could have been a bit clearer I guess, a bit more light, but they're still pretty fine. Oooo the awesomeness of last night. I'll remember this for months to come :DD

Japandroids



















And a video, not made by me


Thanks to jacquestourneur

These New Puritans






No pictures of The xx, only mental pictures ;)

But there's a video


Also by jacquestourneur

And for fun, George Barnett as a model












Kid's no joke, he's serious model. He walked shows for people like Roberto Cavalli and even my dear Mr. Slimane has shot his picture!

Via The Fashion Spot and Livejournal

I'm still on a search for those Dr. martens boots :(( Might have to go all the way to Rotterdam today to get my pair