!}I KILLED MY DINNER WITH KARATE[.

It's another rainy morning, which I like, so much better than a sunny day. Makes me feel calm and safe. Like you can hide yourself in the gloomy air. Yesterday I had a wonderful evening seeing Joanna Newsom perform with her band as well as Mr. Roy Harper who had the pleasure of opening the night with his brilliant guitar playing and storytelling way of singing, took the audience into his wonderful world of stories about war, the sun and the moon, and he and his woman. Mr. Harper looks like such a kind, warm, gentle person. A very charming man and I loved his facial expressions. You can see he plays with love and is passionate about his art. Joanna and her band were wonderful as well. Joanna seems very free spirited and came on stage with such enthusiasm. Like Mr. Harper she too plays with so much love and devotion. I loved how when just after she appeared and she finished her last sentence she immediately and quite unexpectedly started her first song of the evening which left me with no time to inhale another fresh breath of air before the start of the song. So the entire song my mouth was left open astonished by the beauty that had all of a sudden filled the space. It was truly magical and very very special. The band added so much, giving it a kind of theatrical feel sometimes sounding almost like those old radio plays you used to hear on the radio where a story is being told and sound comes in to enrich the words. Each song started with just Joanna on harp or piano and then as the song progressed ('cause you know, most of her songs are pretty long, like a journey) the other instruments joined in and brought the song even more to life. But I really loved how they kept the songs dynamic, going from parts with lots of instruments to quieter moments with just Joanna and the harp/piano. I also loved how during some songs three of the musicians used their hands to make clapping sounds and to me the banjo is always a welcome addition. Nothing but love for the banjo! ;) It was unlike any other concerts I've been to, 'cause usually I stand and look up at the stage whereas now I was seated with the result that the stage was on eye level, making for a competely different perception from what I'm used to. The sound was perfect, so clear, flawless. And you could notice people sitting in awe and some carefully drying those tears running down their cheeks. I'm now looking forward to seeing Jónsi even more. I've heard a lot of great things about him as well so on Thursday I'm in for another night full of magic. And its not even my birthday

No pictures from the concert. I think you weren't allowed to or maybe not allowed to flash, but this was so special I didn't want to ruin anything for the people sitting next to me by taking pictures all the time and making clicking camera sounds. So here's a non-related image instead ;)

By Toyin for Dazed & Confused


Via The Fashionisto

^#C.R.A.Z.Y. AKA MY LIFE SO FAR)_

LOVE this film. Only the second time I've seen it, this time it was even better and I could relate to the main character Zac even more than I did the first time. Especially because of the transformation I feel I've been going through, particularly the first months of this year. Zac and I we're so much alike and (almost) everything he goes through I've been going through at a certain point in my life or am going through right now. I made a post when I saw it first time. You can find that one here. Never cried so much during one film :D And I mean, I never cry during films

Still some of the best couple of minutes ever captured on film, or at least, that's what I think



I'm seeing Joanna Newsom tonight.

Joanna Newsom - Baby Birch from Jason Hendrickson on Vimeo.

It's gonna be surreal

By Christoph Pirnbacher


Rainy Sundays are the best

Tokyo Police Club I LOVE you guys, why did you have to cancel on me?! Champ is a winner!!! I've missed Dave Monks' voice and your fast-paced upbeat tunes. His voice has the ability to really get to me good

>&SHIPS WITH HOLES WILL SINK~.

I wasn't sure whether I would go and see We Were Promised Jetpacks, but I went and I'm glad I did! :D Can't believe these guys aren't more well known 'cause they're excellent live. They even gave me a glimpse of what it would be like seeing a band like Explosions In The Sky or This Will Destroy You live 'cause they started their set with a very long intro until finally Adam Thompson's voice broke through giving the build up a climax of emotional resonance. The gig was in the Oude Zaal of the Melkweg which is a rather small venue, but not as small and cosy as Bitterzoet or upstairs in Paradiso. So the place never felt like it was packed even though there were still quite a lot of people. In Bitterzoet or upstairs in Paradiso the crowd would have been more tight, filling every inch of space. Now you could feel the music surrounding you, but not so much the warmth of the audience which for me adds a lot to the atmosphere. I was a bit disappointed they played Quiet Little Voices as the second track of the evening 'cause at that point most people still had to get their wake-up call and were just gazing with little movement. There were however some really cool dudes at the other side of the stage, of course, I always happen to stand at the wrong side, or most of the time at least. One guy even started crowdsurfing making him the man of the evening, seriously, dude should go to every gig and light the place up. That was a good example of cool. Normally antics like that are only performed when the entire crowd is one big wild mess, but this dude just didn't care and started his own party. Props to him! Eventually some guys started a mosh pit, or at least an attempt, not too many people joined them. But that's how it should have been. We Were Promised Jetpacks are Japandroids/Good Shoes-crowd deserving easily breaking into long heavy solos. Hopefully they will attend some festivals this summer and the people seeing them respond to their music more enthusiastically than last night. Don't get me wrong, lots of people responded with great enthusiasm, but I am mainly referring to the people completely at the front, first row, who were just standing looking up, leaning against the stage as if they were gazing out the window. Awful. You come all this way, pay 12 euros to see a band you obviously love, 'cause else you don't show up early and take up a spot at the front RIGHT??, and all you do is stand there watching, even when the music is so energetic. Doesn't it spark a bit of that fire inside of you, is there no physical reaction at all? Anyway, I had a faily good evening, almost didn't take any pictures 'cause most of the time I was really in awe of the quality. And so many people were yelling the lyrics to the songs, even me, with my tiny little voice and having a bit of a cold! :) They play in Groningen on May 5th for free! But it's way too far from where I live. I'll probably be in Amsterdam or selling junk out on the street which can be nice as well but probably not as fun as seeing We Were Promised Jetpacks ;)

_$REGRET>+

Oh how I regret not having checked out Silversun Pickups before, 'cause last night they were playing in Amsterdam's Melkweg and if I had known how amazing they are as I do know now I would have so been there! I've only listened to their latest release Swoon so far, but based on that one I can already tell they're more than average and I'll be listening to them a lot in the next couple of days, 'cause I really like what I hear. It might not be a Dead Man's Bones or The xx kind of moment just yet, but who knows, it might be. I'm just not calling it yet. But I'm really liking these guys a lot. A LOT. I feel an obsession coming...

Here's their video for Panic Switch



Katherine Squier. She's only one year younger than me...















Visit her official website
She also has a Flickr

<>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

?(ABOUT TO LEAVE_+

I don't know why I'm so excited about this gig, but I am. Leaving in 3 minutes. It's going to be good!!! :DDD

>)MR. STROKES+"

I'm super excited about seeing Julian Casablancas tonight, just the thought of seeing one fifth of The Strokes! I mean, it's not like they're really legendary or something, but they're definitely one of the most successful and well known bands out there, I mean they're pretty huge! And I feel like they've been in the music industry for like forever. So I feel pretty special 'bout hearing the voice of The Strokes sing live for me tonight. Who knows, he might play some Strokes tunes! I can already imagine the crowd going wild when that would happen. I'll take my camera with me to take some pictures, but I won't be surprised if I get so caught up in the music and hardly find time to shoot, his songs are too catchy! Also, who's in Amsterdam tonight is Mr. Devendra Banhart. I would have loved to see him as well, but both Julian and he are playing at the same time. I'm sure though that one day I'll see Devendra, but for now I'm all 'bout Julian Casablancas!!!!! Can't wait! :-DDD

Can't believe it but there are still tickets available (!) so anyone who wants to join me, you still can!!

@*A TRIUMPH FOR MEW"+

Saw Mew last night and I even took some pictures, more so than I usually do. Most of the time I take zero actually. But my recent photography workshop meetings have inspired me to take more pictures and keep playing with the depth of field and which subject to put the focus on. So that was kind of my assignment and the kind of pictures I wanted to take. Well, a couple of them turned out okay. The thing is, I never look at what I've photographed when I'm at a concert. I just click and then click again, without looking at what I captured. I do this to not get disappointed when a picture doesn't work out and prevent me from getting too caught up with trying to get the right picture. First and foremost I'm there to see the band play not to be a photographer. So I want to enjoy the music as well and therefore I try to not take too many pictures. But last night I balanced it out quite well. Some pictures could have been nicer would Jonas Bjerre, lead singer of the band, not have held his microphone in front of his face so much, but I'm already happy to have taken some really clear pictures without any blur. I also used my lomography camera three times I think. But with that one it's even more of a mystery of whether the pictures turned out okay or not, especially considering I've already wasted two film stocks! Now let's go to the actual concert and leave the photographs aside. It was one of the best gigs I've been to this year. Passion Pit take note, this is how you do a concert, 'cause those guys got a lot to learn. What immediately struck me was Mew's professionality. They have a lot of experience which isn't strange for a band who already put out so many albums, recently having released album number five! And that experience can be very well heard. At certain moments I felt a bit Phoenix-esque even though both bands are pretty different. I guess at the core however, they're kind of similar both making rock music with a strong pop sound added to it. Maybe it was also the great light show which reminded me of the Phoenix concert I went to earlier this year. Whatever it was, I was reminded of them, that being a very good thing. But Mew is definitely a band of their own with Jonas' vocals being a great part of that. I don't know how he does it. I can't believe he really sounds like this and his voice was so clear, it sounded perfect. I wonder how his speaking voice sounds. His voice is one of the most unique ones I've heard. It's high, but not in a girly way, not at all. But I love listening to it and live he sounded just as good as when listening to him in mp3 format. They played some songs from their new record while also playing some from their earlier ones. So far I only listened to their latest release as well as their first album A Triumph For Man, the other three I've started listening to only yesterday actually. So last night I didn't know every song, but the energy of the band and that of the audience made that I could fully enjoy those songs as well without having the feeling of not fitting in. Instead of Mew I could have seen another band last night in Paradiso called Miike Snow. But because they're fairly new I chose the more experienced band with a larger fanbase. I did this because I expected the Mew audience to be way more enthusiastic than those people at Miike Snow who might have been a bit reluctant to dance and fully let go considering Miike Snow is still such a new and fairly unknown band. I doubt there's anyone who already proclaims them as their favourite band. With Mew it's a different thing which showed, 'cause I saw some people walking around in the band's merchandise. So I knew a lot of people were going to fully enjoy this and it wasn't a surprise to me that the concert eventually had been sold out. From what I experienced last night I can say I really enjoy the Mew crowd. You could see it was filled with some die hard fans and not only those cool and hip looking people for whom going to a concert also means to be looked at. I like it when you see some people not caring about the clothes they wear 'cause it shows all the more they're here mainly for the music. Because it was sold out the place was packed which made that I could feel the energy of the audience really well. Some people jumped and really went wild others danced and enjoyed the gig but without the crazy arms. At the start however, the concert almost got completely ruined as there was this guy who just took up my spot out of nowhere. I thought he wanted to pass me so I gave him some room but instead he just stayed and basically took my spot. I just could feel the waterfall of tears inside me pouring down. I felt so hurt. How could you do that to me?! I was so into the concert after the first song, so full of surprise with the awesomeness of Mew and then this shitty guy just decides to take over my spot. I was so taken by surprise that I couldn't even say anything about it. I just could not understand why anyone would do that. It was just cruel. But I managed to put it all aside and some minutes later I was completely enjoying the concert again. But whoever this kid was, not cool to just take over my spot like that! But like I said it was one of the best concerts I saw this year. Great atmosphere, great sound, fun light show and visuals. I couldn't have imagined it any better. Mew might not be one of those bands I would totally go crazy for but they're definitely a great band to see live. When they return I would definitely like to see them again which isn't something I can say about some of the bands/artists that I like even more. They're really one of those bands who bring a whole new experience to their music when playing live. I can't wait for this month to be over and December 4th to come. Could Julian Casablancas be even better? Considering his album and how much I love it, I'd say yes. But we'll see. Anyway, I'm so excited for that night, it's gonna be fun.









In some minutes I'll go take a shower and then get back into the metro to retake all those pictures I took with my lomography camera but which didn't work out. Plus, there's a place I've wanted to visit for a long time so I'll be going there today. And tonight my third photography workshop! It's gonna be a fun day. Hope not too much rain :(