There's nothing quite like the blinding lights that curtains cast aside
I have to go to bed REALLY SOON so that I can get up early enough for the flight to California (which I'll go into below), and I have a bit of a headache right now, so I need to keep this short:
--Saturday night was the Okkervil River concert, and it was awesome. It was my first time at Toad's Place, and I certainly didn't mind it there; I haven't been to too many venues like that, but I did find it to be a little bit on the seedy side, given that they've been around for a long time and they're coasting on their reputation at this point. The acoustics weren't exactly the greatest either, and because I went alone and didn't know anyone else there, my social anxiety kicked in big time and I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. :/ That being said, though, the music was nothing short of excellent, and I had a great time.
I was quite impressed with the first band, Future Islands; they're kind of a post-punk-y synthpop band on Dan Deacon's label that I would've normally passed up, but a lot of the stuff they played was catchy and well-done. It certainly helped that the lead singer was very energetic and off-the-wall (stalking the stage, getting sweaty after the first song, scaring the hell out of the people in the front row by getting in their faces, etc.), not to mention a great vocalist (a passionate baritone voice with a hint of "evil alien overlord" to keep things interesting XD). Next up was Titus Andronicus, a lo-fi punk band I can best describe as "The Sex Pistols meets The Replacements meets Neutral Milk Hotel meets Civil War battle anthems." ^_^; They were definitely the loudest and most anthemic band of the three, but for some reason I couldn't quite get into their music as much. That's not to say I won't check them out, though.
Okkervil River definitely had the best performance of the night; it was so great to finally see one of my favorite bands live, and to hear songs I love done in a new way! I ended up liking some of the new stuff they played, and they threw in a couple of surprises too, like "John Allyn Smith Sails" and "No Key, No Plan." You could tell the band put all of their energy into it, and were really enjoying themselves and getting the crowd moving. Not much else I can say, except I really enjoyed myself. :D
Here are some pictures from the concert, and some videos:
Titus Andronicus, "No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future"
Titus Andronicus, "Richard II" (this one's pretty catchy, NGL)
Titus Andronicus, "Four Score and Seven"
Okkervil River, "No Key, No Plan"
Okkervil River, "Lost Coastlines" (you could tell the band has a great rapport with the audience)
Okkervil River, "A Stone"
Okkervil River, "Wake and Be Fine"
Okkervil River, "Unless It's Kicks" (I love how Will Sheff puts a call to the audience to put their hands up right into the song)
--We went to my dad's mom's house on Sunday to celebrate her birthday, which is next Saturday the 11th. We celebrated with great take-out pizza and some pretty awesome cupcakes my parents bought in a pastry shop in Wallingford which they want to take me and my sister to because it's apparently really good. XD For my birthday, she gave me shortbread cookies as a gift -- she knows what I like, LOL :B And apparently some woodpeckers built a nest in the apple tree in her backyard, so I managed to get a glimpse of some baby woodpeckers in their nest. Pretty cool, no? ~_^
--And today I got my birthday present from my parents -- a Teavana tea set. I for one am not complaining. \o/
--So as I mentioned before, I'm going to California (San Jose, to be exact) tomorrow/today with my mom and sister to visit my aunt and cousin for the weekend. My cousin is graduating high school on Thursday and will be going to college in Boston in the fall, and I'm really proud of her! I'm not that enthused about the airplane rides (6 hours from DC to San Francisco --> YUCK DNW D:), and family sometimes irritates me, but it'll be a nice change of pace and I'll try to make the most of it. Here's the itinerary as I know it right now:
Wednesday: Flight, get settled at aunt's house
Thursday: Cousin's graduation
Friday: San Francisco!
Saturday: ??????? (probably hanging out in San Jose)
Sunday: Flight back home
Unfortunately, I'm going to have limited Internet access while I'm there. I'll still try to keep up on everything as much as I can, but it won't be easy. In the meantime, if you want to get in touch with me for any reason, e-mail me (mecteol -AT- gmail -DOT- com) or contact me through Twitter or Facebook. (And if you want my cell phone number, let me know and I'll PM it to you.) So consider this a mini-pseudo-hiatus until I get back Sunday evening EDT. I hope to have some good stories when I get back. 8D
Hope everyone else is feeling well!
Originally posted at http://quadruplify.dreamwidth.org/123019.html || Comments on original post:
--Saturday night was the Okkervil River concert, and it was awesome. It was my first time at Toad's Place, and I certainly didn't mind it there; I haven't been to too many venues like that, but I did find it to be a little bit on the seedy side, given that they've been around for a long time and they're coasting on their reputation at this point. The acoustics weren't exactly the greatest either, and because I went alone and didn't know anyone else there, my social anxiety kicked in big time and I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. :/ That being said, though, the music was nothing short of excellent, and I had a great time.
I was quite impressed with the first band, Future Islands; they're kind of a post-punk-y synthpop band on Dan Deacon's label that I would've normally passed up, but a lot of the stuff they played was catchy and well-done. It certainly helped that the lead singer was very energetic and off-the-wall (stalking the stage, getting sweaty after the first song, scaring the hell out of the people in the front row by getting in their faces, etc.), not to mention a great vocalist (a passionate baritone voice with a hint of "evil alien overlord" to keep things interesting XD). Next up was Titus Andronicus, a lo-fi punk band I can best describe as "The Sex Pistols meets The Replacements meets Neutral Milk Hotel meets Civil War battle anthems." ^_^; They were definitely the loudest and most anthemic band of the three, but for some reason I couldn't quite get into their music as much. That's not to say I won't check them out, though.
Okkervil River definitely had the best performance of the night; it was so great to finally see one of my favorite bands live, and to hear songs I love done in a new way! I ended up liking some of the new stuff they played, and they threw in a couple of surprises too, like "John Allyn Smith Sails" and "No Key, No Plan." You could tell the band put all of their energy into it, and were really enjoying themselves and getting the crowd moving. Not much else I can say, except I really enjoyed myself. :D
Here are some pictures from the concert, and some videos:
Titus Andronicus, "No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future"
Titus Andronicus, "Richard II" (this one's pretty catchy, NGL)
Titus Andronicus, "Four Score and Seven"
Okkervil River, "No Key, No Plan"
Okkervil River, "Lost Coastlines" (you could tell the band has a great rapport with the audience)
Okkervil River, "A Stone"
Okkervil River, "Wake and Be Fine"
Okkervil River, "Unless It's Kicks" (I love how Will Sheff puts a call to the audience to put their hands up right into the song)
--We went to my dad's mom's house on Sunday to celebrate her birthday, which is next Saturday the 11th. We celebrated with great take-out pizza and some pretty awesome cupcakes my parents bought in a pastry shop in Wallingford which they want to take me and my sister to because it's apparently really good. XD For my birthday, she gave me shortbread cookies as a gift -- she knows what I like, LOL :B And apparently some woodpeckers built a nest in the apple tree in her backyard, so I managed to get a glimpse of some baby woodpeckers in their nest. Pretty cool, no? ~_^
--And today I got my birthday present from my parents -- a Teavana tea set. I for one am not complaining. \o/
--So as I mentioned before, I'm going to California (San Jose, to be exact) tomorrow/today with my mom and sister to visit my aunt and cousin for the weekend. My cousin is graduating high school on Thursday and will be going to college in Boston in the fall, and I'm really proud of her! I'm not that enthused about the airplane rides (6 hours from DC to San Francisco --> YUCK DNW D:), and family sometimes irritates me, but it'll be a nice change of pace and I'll try to make the most of it. Here's the itinerary as I know it right now:
Wednesday: Flight, get settled at aunt's house
Thursday: Cousin's graduation
Friday: San Francisco!
Saturday: ??????? (probably hanging out in San Jose)
Sunday: Flight back home
Unfortunately, I'm going to have limited Internet access while I'm there. I'll still try to keep up on everything as much as I can, but it won't be easy. In the meantime, if you want to get in touch with me for any reason, e-mail me (mecteol -AT- gmail -DOT- com) or contact me through Twitter or Facebook. (And if you want my cell phone number, let me know and I'll PM it to you.) So consider this a mini-pseudo-hiatus until I get back Sunday evening EDT. I hope to have some good stories when I get back. 8D
Hope everyone else is feeling well!
Originally posted at http://quadruplify.dreamwidth.org/123019.html || Comments on original post: