<>THE JULIAN SHOW_)

Pffff I just came back from seeing Julian. It was a bit wild, but not in that great positive way actually. Not the kind of I went wild and lost it, I was completely in it type. Unfortunately. It was wild in the way that the concert was kind of inconsistent and rather short. The main problem was that, I don't remember exactly but I think it was the third song, Julian just walked into the audience and then up on the balcony while all these security people started to nervously follow him and the crowd went crazy trying to get hold of Mr. Casablancas. All nice and all but that's not what I come for. I come for the music, to hear Julian sing, to see him perform live, not to touch his hand. I don't really care about touching him. I mean, he's great, I love The Strokes and his solo material is brilliant, love that stuff. But he's just a normal person to me who just happens to be the lead singer of a very popular band. On the train back I started to wonder if there's anyone I would really like to touch and adore in that way like some people do and the answer is no. I mean, if I see Gus Van Sant I'd love to tell him how much I love his films and how much he inspires me, but I don't need to touch him and go like AAAAAAH Gus I love you let's take a picture together!!! Not at all. We would just have a normal conversation. So that kind of ruined it a bit. Another let down was that he sang every song from the album, if I remember correctly, except for Tourist which so happens to be one of my favourite songs and I was really waiting for that one. Instead he did like two or three new songs and You Only Live Once but a completely different version than the original song and I didn't quite like this über slow version. There were a lot of good things as well though. Of course, it's still Julian Casablancas, you can expect some quality. His voice sounded great just as on the mp3s, however, I think I'm starting to find that a bit of a downer, because it makes you feel like he hardly sings live. He does of course, but it could have been just the CD that was playing. I had to think about the Kings Of Convenience gig, two guys who play on their acoustic guitars so you can really hear their voices clearly without loud music accompanying it. Or perhaps it was just a bit unreal having Julian really sing for me as I was standing there. Another good thing is that I took a lot of pictures and some turned out rather nicely. Next time I'll put my camera on a different mode though, because on the way home I realized how to use the movement mode without the pictures turning too dark. So next time I'll know what to do. But I'm still very pleased with the result. I did way better than during the Patrick Watson gig but that's because I was standing real close to the stage and eventually ended up front row thanks to Julian walking into the crowd and climbing on the balcony. That's the only good thing to come out of that. While all these boys and girls were screaming at the top of their lungs and were trying to touch him I made sure that when he would return to the stage I was standing center front row :) So I was very well positioned. Something I wasn't all too pleased with either was that people didn't really dance. They were moving, which was great, but you felt some reservation as there were almost no arms up in the air, at least not anywhere near to where I was standing. So when I held up my arms in the air at one point it almost made me feel uncomfortable as if that would be way too enthusiastic or something. At the moment I couldn't care less of course, come on, he was doing Left & Right In The Dark, I love that song, probably the catchiest one on the album. I just had to go all out and didn't care less 'bout what anyone would think, just the way life is supposed to be. A bit of a shame as well that there wasn't too much space to move my arms, so I couldn't really dance the way I wanted to. But overall, it always seems I'm more of a dancer than most people :DD so maybe that's just the problem. I feel like I'm more complaining than sending out praise, but it's just how I felt. That's what I mean with saying that it felt inconsistent. It was like bits and pieces, the gig didn't seem like a tight whole. It was like all these different experiences combined into one or soemthing. I felt it was more show than good solid performance, a bit chaotic. Maybe it's because it's Julian Casablancas and his band, instead of The Strokes, which is also Julian and his band, but all the other members are as much a part of the group as he is whereas here it's really the Julian show. I don't think anyone in the crowd tonight cared about the musicians Mr. Casablancas brought along. I still enjoyed it, though next time I would like for a more calmer concert or one that is just more solid, has more weight, like Bloc Party during the Lowlands Festival. This was just too much ooooh Julian we love you!!!! 'Cause I don't think I've ever seen so many people using flash when taking pictures. I guess I should have known the moment I walked in the room as the first row was already filled with teenagers, 16/17 year olds, most of them girls. Right now I'm not quite sure what to think of it all, am a bit underwhelmed. I need some sleep and I have to admit I regret it just a bit that I didn't buy a ticket to see Julian Plenti this Sunday. That one's sold out already and I would have liked to see him as well :(























Still got a lot to learn though, far from perfect...

PS: I think the same guy who made small video clips during the gig of The xx was here as well, so hopefully there are some with me in it. Always fun to have video footage of me during a concert :))

Don't have to go to school tomorrow, day off. I can sleep! Plus, I'm finally going to see Moon, yes, after all this time...

And here the very cool video for Yeasayer's Ambling Alp that was released some days ago

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp from Spy Films on Vimeo.

I love them more with every second

!:FINALLY, BRIGHT STAR"}

Tonight I'll finally be able to watch Jane Campion's Bright Star at the cinema!! I've been waiting a long time for this ever since I watched a wonderful clip of Abbie Cornish falling into this field of grass and purple flowers. It went like this:

We watch Cornish from behind the flowers, her side turned towards us...


...she then looks up briefly at the sky...


...while eventually letting herself fall into the flowers. I'd call this a perfect Kodak moment, even though I use Canon ;)


Ever since that clip I've been avoiding the trailer, looking away, only my ears being able to hear the lovely music and some lines of dialogue near the end :) This will be one of those movies I just want to take pictures of while it plays. I expect a lot of dreamy shots, a bit like Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. Just the thought of it already makes me melt and it's freezing outside. Plus I have heard it's a very slow film which in my opinion will only make it better. Gives me time to dwell and ponder :))

For some reason my ears have been craving for Animal Collective these last couple of days with the result that my Ipod has these kids on repeat!!!! Because I happen to listen to music A LOT I'm able to obsess over a new discovery like Dead Man's Bones while in the meantime still enjoying re-listens of Kings Of Convenience's Riot On An Empty Street and now getting addicted to Animal Collective. It's my first ever Animal Collective obsession, don't know what took me so long! I've always liked them because their music is like this big soundscape with so many sounds fighting to get my attention. And even though most people will probably call their latest Merriweather Post Pavilion a summer album, I've noticed I'm much more in the mood for it right now that it starts to get dark and very cold again. I just seem to connect to it way more. Apart from Merriweather I've been listening to Strawberry Jam a lot too which is the first AC album I listened to. Here's their video for Summertime Clothes:

~:SUNDAY NIGHT VIDEOS+_

Someone made video recordings of almost every song the Kings played on Sunday night. I've chosen to post two of them here. Both being my highlights of the evening:

Stay Out Of Trouble. When the guys on the bass and the viola started playing I lost it for a second



Know-How. My favourite KoC song



And here some videos of The xx from Saturday night!

Intro + Crystalised. I'm in this video and I mean, I'm REALLY in this video. Camera is all up in my face! :p You can see me around the 3:33 mark if you like to



I don't know what camera this kid is using, but he has documented it well. Really nice and very professional looking!



Last video

&#SHEER SIMPLICITY*)

I just got home from watching Kings Of Convenience and dare I say, best gig ever? ! It was perfect even when they didn't play two songs I wish they would have played (Failure + I Don't Know What I Can save You From). Perhaps it was also because it took longer than two hours! TWO HOURS!!! Over two hours with Kings Of Convenience! Can I get a A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. AMAZING!!!!! They were funny, especially Erlend who's so endearing. He must be such a fun and sweet person. He had so much fun on stage. Both guys seemed so comfortable. And the sound, fantastic, such quality. They play together as if they're one person. Their voices, the guitars, so clear! I loved it when everytime they ended a song you could hear the sound of one of the guys scratching the guitar little stuff like that. Indicating that these microphones captured even the slightest breath of air. The audience was great. Apart from every now and then the sound of some plastic beer glasses tipping over it was dead silent. They co-operated well. But it already occured to me this night was going to be very special 'cause when me and my mum arrived (long time ago since I went to a gig with company) it was already crowded with even some people sitting on the floor. Yes, SITTING! These kids were all fanboys and girls. This is an audience not only an artist dreams of having but me as well 'cause you know these people are going to be enthusiastic. You don't have those people who are standing as if they're waiting for the train to arrive. I mean, of course you always have them and I'm sure there were some of them here as well but at least I didn't notice it. Because I was with my mum I didn't stand in the middle of the crowd but somewhere at the side where you stand on this higher platform and therefore have a good overview of the crowd. This was actually really nice and it gave me a much better look of how the crowd responded as a whole. When you're standing at the front or in the middle you only feel the responses of the people closely around you and if you happen to stand around all these waiting for the bus type of people it gives you the idea that the entire crowd is like this. Now that we were standing at the side I could have a much better view of how the audience responded as a whole. So you see some heads bopping up and down which is nice and gets me in the mood. The people around us were real cool with some girls sometimes singing along to the songs. At times this might be annoyong but here it wasn't, mostly because these girls had pitch perfect voices. Because the gig was over two hours long they were able to create a really nice atmosphere. Best part for me was when they welcomed their violanist and bassist on stage. As soon as they started playing I lost it. Or almost, 'cause I didn't shed any tears, but I came close to it. It struck me so hard. I was completely overwhelmed. It was so unexpected. It touched me real deep. That first song they played the four of them together almost was too much for me. After that song I got used to hearing the addition of both instruments so I could breathe normally again however being still very touched every now and then. Like I mentioned before they were also very funny. Early on Erlend made a comment about our Dutch coffee which according to him is the worst of all countires! :)) 'Cause he said that he loved playing in Amsterdam 'cause they always play in Paradiso and have become used to the space. He said that in other cities most of the time they would go and play at different venues ever time they visited a country. But one thing he said they should change at the Paradiso is that Douwe Egberts coffee machine! :D Douwe Egberts is a well known brand of coffee here in The Netherlands and like every brand they always make it seem like their product is the best one. So it's fun to hear Erlend speaking about how bad this brand of coffee is. I'm not a regular coffee drinker so I wouldn't know but I think it might be true. They also had a picture taking moment, because they get very annoyed by the clicking sound of some of the cameras. So they gave the audience the chance to take a picture with flash and all. He also told a story of birds in the forest and more of those random things. And at the end after they came back on stage he did a very funny song involving Justin Timberlake, a solo without Eirik playing along. I don't think I've ever been to such an entertaining concert. It just was perfect in so many ways. Everything just fell into place. It's definitely one of the most memorable concerts I've been to, even one of the most memorable nights I had. So if you ever have the chance to see these two guys live don't hesitate one bit. It was pure magic. An experience no word could fully manage to describe. And they performed Know How!!! My favourite song by them! I looked up some setlists before going but didn't really read them. I just took a quick look to see how many new songs they would play and how many old ones. Those lists didn't include Know How which I could understand because the song features Leslie Feist singing my favourite part at the end. So I didn't expect them to play it at all. So when they started playing it I filled up with joy. Those are the best moments. Those are the little treats that makes a night like this even better. That's why I didn't even mind they didn't perform Failure or I Don't Know What I Can Save You From. But this leaves me with enough reason to see them again when they will return to Amsterdam in the future. Can't wait :D

!>ALL 11 SONGS + 1^(

Yes I was nervous. NERVOUS!!! I know, crazy right? But just a little bit. Like when I'm about to see a new Gus Van Sant movie or, for example, I know I will be gasping for air when I will watch the new Haneke Das Weiße Band just because I know it has been received so well and it's Haneke I love him, you can always expect some controversial stuff from this guy, so I can't wait. I don't know what happened, well I do, I clearly do, but I ended up completely at the front. I didn't mean to and actually didn't even plan on standing front row. The thing is, we had to wait upstairs after already having waited outside for something like 40 minutes (!) not cool Paradiso, not cool - but anyway, considering what I got in return of course it was worth it :D So I was waiting upstairs just leaning against some doors of the entrance to the place where the gig was going to take place. I thought that the doors next to me were the once that were going to be opened but then all of a sudden the doors I was leaning against were the first to open so I was the first to go inside which is so weird 'cause you walk into this empty room and I didn't quite realize yet that this was it. In my mind I know there was some corner where I was wondering should I walk towards the stage already? Luckily my legs didn't hesitate one bit and immediately walked towards the stage. Some guy almost managed to take my place as suddenly he came running passed me and took hold of one of the best spots. But he was about the only one running so there was still enough space. All I had to do was go stand next to him to his right which was actually the best place if you wanted to stand at the front. This was center front, a spot crazy fans would die for. I have to say standing completely at the front makes me feel a little awkward and somewhat naked. It's like I don't have anyone around to hang on to. But it was okay. First up was Holly Miranda and me being the fashionisto of late, first thing I noticed were her shoes which were incredible. They were these black boots that looked totally worn out. Such gems. Like she found them somewhere hidden in a dusty corner of her grandpa's wardrobe. Lovely boots. The guy she was performing with wore some cool boots as well but they could not compare with hers. But so much for fashion, on to the music. I didn't have time to listen to Miss Miranda before the show so I had no idea what to expect. I thought she was just some singer songwriter. Girl with guitar, that kind. But I was pretty wrong. Her songs were almost all accompanied by some really nice intermezzo kind of thingy where they went heavy on guitars. A bit WOMEN-esque actually. I loved it. I was amazed. And girl has a really nice voice as well. And then, yes, it was time for the almighty The xx! Anticipation was high which I could already feel standing in line outside. I came right on time and there were already a few people waiting. Before leaving the house I already felt so excited and so fortunate as if I was this contest winner who received the opportunity to see The xx. It just felt that special knowing they're like the next big thing. I remember before Vampire Weekend was going to break out onto the scene big time there was this gig they were about to do and people on the internet were saying that the people attending the gig should really cherish it 'cause it would officially be the last time Vampire Weekend would play at such a small venue. After it didn't take long before these guys really blew up and were touring all festivals. This is what might happen with The xx. This was already the last time these kids were playing at the small space of Paradiso. Next time they will doing Paradiso's big concert hall and from that moment there's no return to small venues. So I've been one of the lucky ones to have been allowed to experience these kids in a small scale setting. Before they came on stage pieces of paper with their setlist were stuck on the floor. From where I was standing I could easily read the papers and found out they were about to play the entire album (!) plus their cover of the song Teardrops by Womack and Womack. The entire album! All 11 songs! A dream. If they ever manage to get passed recording a second album and their music will still be popular by then people will crave for them performing songs from their debut like I do with a band like Bloc Party. And here I was tonight, getting a full album showcase. And I was experiencing it as if I was standing in the middle of it all. So I was a bit paralyzed in the beginning. When you look forward to something like this ever since you realized this album of them is the next big fanatastic thing it can all be a bit overwhelming and unreal. It was so much at the same time. You hear the music you've come to be so familiar with and at the same time you watch these people play these songs live. It's revealed to you which instruments make up these songs, the chords, tabs, all that stuff. Near the end I felt I got a bit more loose, but still it was quite unreal. But I enjoyed every second. With some songs the bass was so loud, everything started to vibrate, I could feel it going through my entire body. Kind of like when I'm at home, but just a bit stronger. 'Cause I do play my music loud and it often happens that I notice some objects vibrating :) So they played every song, all of them. Their voices, just as good as on the record and even better 'cause you know, it's live! It's a shame I was feeling sooo tired. It's because I went to school in the morning, having to wake up real early and I had to wait quite a long time for the train to arrive when I went back home in the afternoon. But I'm always really tired after class. All the drawing and painting sucks the life out of me. And when I get home I'm not the type that's easily able to just take a nap. Instead I continued with the painting I started in class while listening to my music. So as I'm writing this my eye lids almost start to close. This gig was so special and amazing that I decided to take the time to take a picture! :D And it's not blurry! So I'll post it. Lots of people were taking pictures though. I guess they were all the reporter type or fanatic bloggers. The 16th of February they will be back in Paradiso, this time in the big concert hall. I just bought my ticket! :DD Yes I'm crazy for The xx, how can I not be?

My picture of The xx (or actually two out of the four members)



Tomorrow night Kings Of Convenience!!!!! Could my life be any better??!!

>#DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE_/

I'm listening to the new Kings Of Convenience album Declaration Of Dependence. I'm just two songs in so can't tell yet if it's a good album or a really good album. But I know it's at least good. These kings can do no wrong.

Ash Stymest is one of my favourite models because he got this cool style of his own and he's one of those people who can smoking look really bad, but in a good bad way you know. Good=bad=cool. Anna Selezneva is in this shoot as well. I've posted some pictures of her before in the past. She's immaculate looking. She and ugly have nothing in common.
They're photographed by Karim Sadli who's becoming one of my favourite fashion photographers.








More pictures here

I'm gonna shave my head a bit again. I'm in need of a bit of an edge. I don't think I'll be changing my hair colour anytime soon anyway. I wanted my hair to grow and then change the colour but it's taking so long for it to grow. Don't want to wait anymore and do nothing.

>.HOME CINEMA~+

Again I haven't gone to the cinema as I was planning to. Don't know what's wrong with me lately. Maybe next week I'll manage or tomorrow. I have watched some movies on my laptop at home, though. One of them being L.A. Confidential. Yup, I never saw that one before until last night. It's a very good film, solid, with good performances by all actors especially Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe although Crowe's character is a bit too much. Really, he's expected to kill someone over a woman? I don't care how much of a weak he has to protect women and stuff, but killing another man just because the guy made love to the woman Crowe's character has fallen for? Plus, Kim Basinger won an Oscar for her performance. Receiving a nomination already seems to me a bit too much. Yes she's very mesmerizing and alluring. There's a constant mystery surrounding her but I have a feeling that's just the natural Kim Basinger effect. That's something that's already there, she was born with it and it just so happens that it's very useful for the part she plays here. But winning an Oscar?! I don't know. What bothers me as well is that she creates this mystery, but then it turns out that her character doesn't have a hidden agenda at all so she's not at all that mysterious. She only makes herself appear that way. Some months ago I saw her in The Burning Plain and if she receives an Oscar nomination for that one I could totally udnerstand and wouldn't disagree a bit. Her performance is very powerful in that one. She appears to be completely vulnerable and you expect her to fall apart any moment. She really is that woman trying to escape her boring everyday home life by hooking up with another man. Though she is afraid to get caught and she might not feel real guilt towards her family she does seem to find it real hard to cheat on her family like that.
Sorry for giving away all this info, but I just had to explain :)
Perhaps there just weren't that many other great performances by Supporting Actresses that year.

I think I'm buying myself a ticket to see Dirty Projectors this Sunday...

New Kings Of Convenience video. My mum and I will be seeing them in a couple of weeks!




After having seen them live at Lowlands I'm even more excited for their next album and to my surprise there will be a new one already January 2010! Above you see the cover artwork for the new album titled Contra and a link to their website where you find a tracklist among other things

*%PAT PAT IS COMING+_

Tickets can be bought from June 27th! He'll perform for me and all those other Mr. Wolf lovers on September 28th in Paradiso! It's gonna be the best thing ever! Can't wait, already so excited!!! :D

Also Kings Of Convenience on 11 October and who knows I might go and see Peter Bjorn and John the day after 'cause they'll be coming to Paradiso as well. Only problem is that they perform at 11.30 pm, so I'll need a place to sleep. Perhaps I can go and couchsurf!

AND Grizzly Bear November 9th in Melkweg. Such a good year in music :)))