Home for the Holidays

After a very stressful and emotional month of December I decided that being home for the holidays was perhaps the best thing I could think of for my fragile state. For some reason or another I was against the idea until a few sweet people urged me and convinced me that it was exactly what I wanted to do.
I decided that since there was a little over a week before I would arrive at home and nobody knew I would then surprise my family. I told my brothers and my Auntie Jenny who had emailed me the details of my arrival and that it would be a surprise.
Finishing up work on the 20th, going to the dentist to get my tooth pulled that evening and then spending a really nice early Christmas with Michiel on the 21st, I flew out on the early morning of the 22nd back to Vancouver.
A uneventful flight (with little or no sleep) I arrived in Vancouver and decided rather than risk my brother not being home I would contact my dear friend Jennifer and see if she was up for having me over; She was. I took the bus to her place. I had a shower and changed and then headed with her up and down her part of Main Street to look for last min gift items. Came back had a few drinks and then crashed asleep by 21:30 after being awake the better part of 24 hours.
In the morning I decided to head over to the Island and get up to my parents. I caught the ferry caught a bus and got into Victoria. I had called my little brother and left a message with his roomie Matt that I would be arriving around 2:30 and he could meet me if he wanted. I arrived and no Eric, so I decided to head up to the city to deal with some things I needed to get. I walked up Douglas across and zigzagged towards Lens and Shutter where I wanted to get some prints made and promptly running into Eric on the street on his way to meet me, late as usual.
We hung out a little, he had a errand to run and I had another errand to Roots to make so we split up and met up again later for coffee. After that he headed home and I had a few hours to waste before the bus. I called my friend Aaron and had a nice catch up and then decided to grab something to eat and ran into Matt who was working at the Noodle Box, it is such a small place! The sweetheart bought me dinner and I headed back to the bus station. I arrived in Mill Bay, called a taxi and had him drop me off at the driveway. I knocked on the door and after some time my mom answered with a look of disbelief on her face and her jaw hanging open, then my dad came from the den and he immediately said I wondered if there was something going on, Stella’s parents had emailed Christmas wishes and had hoped that they would enjoy it even more that I was coming home. Oh well my parents thought it was a miscommunication and they were surprised and I got to be home with my lovely family and friends for the first time in 4 years.
Christmas Eve at my parent’s house was always an open house with family friends dropping by for mulled wine and food. This year was different for the first time in about 30 years because the Pope’s were not there, but the Tillie’s were, Eric’s friend Keith was with us for the holidays and Blair dropped by with his parents. I had picked up older brother Chris earlier and Sarah brought over a very WIRED Alice and we all had some nice visits.
Christmas Morning was again slightly different, in the past I would often be up and jetlagged so I would take the dog out in the forest and enjoy the early morning. But our family home was very quiet this year for many reasons; Grandma had passed on earlier this year the dog in summer and Sylvia in November. So I got up and made coffee and read a book until more people got up. I remember as kids, barely sleeping and “sneaking” into the living room to check out the stockings; and sometimes even going back to bed to wait until the real morning. This year was funny because we were all getting up having coffee and such and then my Dad had to put his foot down and demand that we either go and get our stockings or the tradition would stop….
Breakfast and more lounging some Footie on the telly and then presents. I was really spoilt this year, it was just so nice to be there for the event. Afterwards I headed up to some family friends for a visit and catch-up and then came home to the preparations for the Family dinner where 17 were expected that is really amazing in fact we were only missing 7-8 Although I am not sure how that might have fit in my Mom’s Kitchen/ Dining room.
I like to think that I have a very special family, we all get along, we all like each other, there is no strange in fighting or anything just pure enjoyment when we are together.
It was My family and Keith (6) The Morgans (5) The Waelti and Campbell’s and Bruce (4) and my Uncle Frank and Auntie Jenny. After way to much food a some good laughs we swapped more presents and eventually most of them headed to their homes, After Eric treated us to some fireworks.
Chris, Eric and Keith had to leave early in the morning; I took my time getting ready and headed down to Victoria for some Boxing day madness. It was not as bad as the Hague on a regular Saturday so I did not really mind. I actually ran into Keith and Eric again downtown while I stood in line for the Lululemon shop and made a plan to hook up later.
Where I actually then ran into Ryen and really old and \dear friend from high school on the street again a small small city. I got Kelly her Holey Soles and Helen her Lululemon things and headed home again for the last dinner I would have with my parents until at least June.
I am now on the Ferry on my way back to Vancouver to hang out with my Brother Chris as he has the night off and spend a few days with him and Freya before heading back the NL on Friday.
I can only say that it was wonderful to be home to see my family and a few friends and know that it is possible to go home for the Holidays.

The not quite X-Mas tour 2005

This weekend was quite busy with another two concerts from Marillion here in Holland and a visit from our dear friend Kelly Fox. It was with some anticipation and excitement that I booked off the Friday and got up early to pick up Kelly from the airport who had flown in to visit with us and see the shows from the US.
I had last seen Kelly on tour over a year ago when I was out living my dream on the road with the band, and we had a couple of busy but nice catch up days in DC and Philadelphia.
After a little chilling at home we drove to Tilburg to 013 had some dinner and got ready for the show, Michiel and I had photo passes and Kelly was being looked after by our friend Henk who was in a very Friday mood.
It was really nice to be in the photo pit as the last time was the convention weekend in March in the UK and that had a distinctly different vibe to it.
The set list was a varied mix of old and new, quite refreshing actually, even though Marbles was my favorite tour since I can remember.. it was nice to hear some of the old favorites that don't get played very often.
h and Pete were in very fine form, bouncing off the stage and the vibes from the audience, it must be all that Redbull Pete has been drinking.. maybe it does give you wings. h just seemed to really be enjoying himself and was very much into the audience. After the show in Tilburg I got a quick catch up with Quinner who I really had not seen since the tour and we quickly saw Mark and made a date to meet the next day for dinner in keeping with tradition.
I'll write more about the gigs later, photos are all from Tilburg as I have not finished editing the rest from Utrecht and I need to get out of the house and go shopping with Kelly before all the shops close early for Sint.






THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!!!!

Destiny

I just got a great link to a website of quotes... this one caught my eye for many reasons.

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today

The Little Prince

It is with the heart that one see's rightly

What is essential is invisible to the eye.

I found this quote in a book called Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman, from the story The Little Prince. Both are worth a read.

Trend setter

Now I like to think that I have a fairly unique taste in clothing and fashion sense. I am not saying I am the most stylish person out there but that I have a fairly unique way of dressing as well as keeping my eyes on what's out there.
Often I have noticed that the trends in Europe are at least one year behind those of North America. I am not sure why that is as generally Europe is known for his Haut Couture and trend setting ways. I just don't see it.
For example, the Poncho. Now I am a fan but 2 years ago not a poncho was to be seen here in Europe but when I was on tour last year in the US on my happy free day in New York city I found not one but two ponchos at Macys that I love and adore they were on sale to, telling me that the trend had already come and gone and the next was about to start. Then months after being back in the NL all of a sudden the poncho trend hit, everyone was all of a sudden wearing ponchos, children, women grannies.

I would like to make the same observation about Holey Soles, these are crazy holey rubber clogs have taken over the West Coast of Canada. In fact my friend Gudrun had been in Victoria before me last year and had asked me to bring her some because they looked like they might be very comfortable and looked really cute to. Indeed when I arrived in Canada I quickly noticed that many people were outfitted with some crazy colour of Holey Soles on their feet with testimonials such as I have 4 pairs, I live in mine, I never wear anything else and mostly with looks of contentment on their already laid back west coast faces.
I ended up bringing Guddi a pair of beautiful red ones and myself none... which I regretted since I trying hers on and quickly realized that I too could be converted to believe in these crazy clogs.

A few weeks ago I saw a very small article about the latest trends to hit holland and what do you know? There they were in all the technicolour glory under the new European marketing name Crocs! If you are looking for a little loving for your feet and don't mind standing out in a crowd then get yourself down to your nearest sporting good store and pick up a pair... You won't regret it!

More Dangerous than Bin Laden

I pulled this little tid bit from the local Metro daily newspaper a few days ago on my way to work. Sorry I can't seem to find a URL to the actual poll.

"According to a opinion by the Canadian National Post, over 73% of all Canadians have a negative opinion of George W. Bush. While t least 38% believe he is more dangerous than Osama Bin Laden"

Brilliant!!! I wish they had asked me...

Can you tell I am motivated this Friday afternoon?

Busy weekend ahead. My friend Nishant turned 30 yesterday and today is his party I think to celebrate that the sky did not fall on him... or something equally drastic.

Sat is helping my friend Nadzyra renovate her new flat and Sat dinner with more friends.

Just the way I like it.

The Butterfly

My friend Sylvia died this morning around 4:30 am at my parents home in, B.C. Canada where she has been part of our family and lives for the the past 9 years. She had been fighting cancer for the past 18 months.
Apparently my father had said when she first came to live in our house that in many cultures it was considered good luck to bring a healer into your home, and so she came to live with us and became a integral part of our lives. I can't describe exactly what she has brought to us in the way of companionship, friendship, joy, laughter, tears, healing, enthusiasm, cooking, life and light. She was a special person who touched everyone she ever met and always in a good way.

My mother told me that she had been suffering quite a bit the last few days and riding a roller coaster of good and bad for months. I am very happy to hear that she seemed to find peace in the last few hours before she passed away with her daughters at her side in the house she called home. I am blessed to have known her and had her part of my life, I'll miss you Sylvia!
Her memorial service will be held this Sunday November 2oth, which happens to also be her Birthday. I wish I could be there for my family during this time, but I am sure that the turn out will be more than significant as she was beloved by all.

Music in My Head

Although that is actually how I seem to live my life... this was actually a small Music Festival in Den Haag being held at the Paard. The line up was pretty good and the company even better.
Friday started out with wanting to see Clap your Hands and say Yeah!, however the lineup to the second stage was so long we decided to go to the main stage and wait for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club who were great! I have no idea where they were from although I guess the US, but I really enjoyed the music. Next up at the big hall was Elbow. They had a fiddle player and a great band. I liked the bass player who sang and I liked their vibe. After we went up and met some friends at the Fiddler & Firkin pub and shut it down.
Saturday was a little slower day most of us who were trying to regenerate some brain cells. I cooked dinner for my friends and we headed back to the Paard for day two of the Music in my Head. We arrived a little late and went up to the main stage to see what was happening. The Frames from Dublin, I noticed a large number of Irish people in the crowd getting very into it. Near the end of their set we went over and checked out Absentee on the second stage. They were pretty good, and well add the keyboard toy you blow on and the bass player in the grizzly bear hat and it was a good show and the crowd was really into it. We went back to main stage to see Roisin Murphy, who was the singer for Moloko. I was really looking forward to her show, but somehow was quite disappointed as it seemed that aside from her fantastic outfits and headwear, she was on autopilot. In saying that though her band was one of the tightest bands I have ever seen, they must have been all studio musicians who decided to come out for a little European tour. I saw Moloko at Pink Pop several years ago and thought the energy that came across there was 10 times better than this one.
After again we were off to the Fiddler to meet some friends. This time deciding not to close the place down we left to get some sleep and be ready for our collective Sundays.

My sister

A great many years ago I was told by my then boyfriend Jens that I had to meet a girl he knew because she reminded him so much of me. Being a curious person I went along to be introduced and not seeing the obvious both of us decided that we had enough in common to perhaps strike a friendship, later that day someone came into the pub who knew Stella and said "hey Stella I did not know you had a sister" from then on it has been just like that anytime we are togeather.
She has visited me in Vancouver when she was traveling the world and I was on one of my trips home, and of course we hung out while I was living in Germany and she was back finishing her university degree. Even her parents have visited and became good friends with mine.
Over the years more and more people seem to believe that we were sisters so we concocted a story about how I was the younger (by one year) half sister from Canada, we would tell people that we had the same Dad and different Mom's and years later we found out about each other. It just stuck and many people believed it too.
The photo was taken over 10 years ago.... but not that much has changed in either of us.About 4-5 years ago she had moved to Hamburg to be with her partner and I somehow did not make the time to see her very often and we lost touch a little.
This past Dec she gave birth to Little Noah and as I had not yet seen her little boy or her for ages I decided enough was enough and I booked a ticket to Hamburg for last weekend.
I arrived Friday morning very early at Schiphol for my flight, and had a few hours to kill waiting for the plane. Like any good consumer I went shopping to try and kill the time, I even found a bottle of Dalwhinnie 1989 year old single malt. It was from the year I graduated High School so it makes it even more special to remind me of the last16 years.
After arriving and finally sorting out a bus to get me downtown I made my way to her house where we had a chance to chat before Noah woke from his nap, after we got him fed and ready and prepaired to go out. We first had lunch at a nice little cafe then walked around the corner and had a coffee where the coffee shop owner asked her if her sister was in town visiting.
We sat in the sun and really got caught up on what has been happening in our lives, I find it always amazing that with some friends you don't always have to see them or be near them to stay close we both mentioned that it did not seem as long as it was and were amazed at how much had happened in our lives over the past years.
Then we started walking through the park in Hamburg all the while chatting and looking at the beautiful colours and enjoying the warmest fall day I can remember. This park (which I cannot remember the name of) is really amazing and beautiful and big, it has a wide variety of plants, water, and paths to keep you occupied for hours on end, not to mention museams, gardens and things to see and do.
Little Noah was a Buddha like child sleeping most of the time or lying on his tummy in supported cobra pose (yoga speak) and getting all exited whenever a dog was near as well as being so sweet and checking over his shoulder to make sure I was still there and smiling a lot. What a doll. Her and I walked around and chatted for the better part of 6 hours, about everything you might imagine. But it started getting dark and we needed to head back to get Noah home.
After I left her place I walked quickly down into the shops to see if I might find my dream boots... The shop Stella pointed out had them a size to small and in Banana colour which is not really my thing so I headed to the train station and made my way to Bremen.
After a slight mix-up and another train to Bremen North I met with Guddi and Silke at their manager's house where he was celebrating his birthday. It is strange where people have their priority's. He is the exact same age as her and I and already 3 kids, house cars etc etc.. so strange to imagine that it could have been either one of us.
On Sat we took Anna (the dog) and headed into town to window shop and walk about in the beautiful weather. After "some" deliberation Guddi got a new piercing.. heehee wasn't that right Guddi-Girl? and just really hung out and relaxed.
On Sunday I wanted to go and wish a happy birthday to my German Mom, Sybille but her and Hans had gone on a trip somewhere so we took Anna out and went for a walk to the Harbour and then got me to the train just in time to catch it. I made it back to Hamburg, caught the bus the the airport and had a few hours to kill there before heading back to Holland. A whirlwind visit with my dearest friends, and a very relaxing one as well, no parties, no stress just girlfriend time made for a nice weekend.
This time not so much with a heavy heart I landed in Schiphol and headed back to the Hague.

Buck 65

Last Monday night Jacco and I went to Amsterdam to see Buck 56 a little known Canadian band making waves in the indy scene the worl over they were playing at the Paradiso small zaal and after a great catch up, dinner and a few pints of the G stuff we headed over to the gig. There was only one person waiting on the doors Matt from the UK who was most enthusiastic about the gig and told us all the about the show he had scene in Rotterdam the week before. but that soon changed as we all climbed to the top of the old chapel. The mainly student and stoner crowd seemed well into it and ready for the show. It made me wonder because there was only two mics and a turn table on stage. I had heard that he had his girlfriend come up and sing with him some of the time but it was unexpected that there was no band to be seen.

He came on stage with what I thought to be a Dutch Navy uniform and began to scratch and rap.. really quite funny stuff and the crowd was well into it but after an hour I thought I had seen enough and so had Jacco so we headed home with the thoughts that although it was not a bad way to spend 10 euros it was not that new and special, and that most likely we had seen it all before. Still it was a great chance for me to take photos and have them published on line for the first time at On Stage.nl last week and get to spend the evening out with my friend Jacco which is always a good time.
This week's concert is Jasper Steverlinck who was or is the singer for Arid, a nice Jeff Buckly like Belgium band who I first saw open for the Counting Crows at the Paradiso a few years ago and who is playing at the Paard in Den Haag which is always nice cause then you can be home at a decent time.

My Mom

My wonderful Mom was born on this day in Victoria B.C. in 1945 to Barbara (ne. Wolley) and Hans Waelti, she was born under the zodiac sign scorpio and the chinese astro sign rooster. She is the second oldest of 5 siblings and today she turned 60, which is amazing when I think about it, to me neither she nor my father seem or act "old", they both have such a good outlook on life along with thier youthful appearances and other than when I go home it seems her and Dad have shrunk some in size, but I suppose that is just gravity baby.
This weekend they had a small birthday party for her, only 18 of her closest family and friends came... I am sure it was wonderful as events in my family home are, warm and full of people to talk to not to mention the endless flow of wine and good humour.

I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU MOMMY, I LOVE YOU!!

That's my baby brother and Dad...

The Tao Of Sith

Don't you know that the Empire Always strikes back?

I am fairly certain I have mentioned it before but if you in anyway like either Star Wars or just amazing writing style, then check out this blog... The Darth Side

Lord Vader has missed his calling.... I have wasted so much time (at work) in the last days exchanging this brilliant prose via MSN with a friend of mine.. Laughing out loud inappropriately in my own open office plan (I am sure he fared no better) it is terribly distracting and yet I feel myself not being able to put the dark lord away, I am inexplicably pulled back to him ....... just a wee taste.....

Wait a moment. Do you even know the difference between the light side and dark side of the Force?

It must be understood that the Force is, above all, singular. The so-called "sides" arise from differing matters of perspective. (If you study the way of the Sith you will find that many of the truths we cling to depend entirely on one's point of view.)The opposite of the singular Force is the all-encompassing void of death. Time began with the Force, and will end in desolation. This is the way of things, and an inevitable consequence of the flow of events from the past into the future.
Without the inertia of the fall toward the abyss, the Force would have nowhere to go.For in the chaotic tumble toward doom the stuff of the worlds enact loops of complexity that change the grade from life to death, introducing valleys, peaks and cycles. Between creation and destruction comes a flutter of improbability, a brief sonnet of meaning against the noise of time.

Life!It is the causal contagion that ties every ounce of us together through the network of the Force, our actions resonating against our almost-actions and our non-actions in a web of fleeting possibility that spans this galaxy and beyond. The beat of a child's heart detonates supernovae, the beat of a bug's wing tilts the orbit of worlds.

We are all connected.

Great Saturdays

Don't you love it when you just have a great weekend, that you have the feeling that you have "done" something nice and perhaps cultural and got to know new friends along the way.
My weekend started out on Friday a little stressed and tired. I had a busy week and a few late nights. But after a nice relaxing evening and some much needed sleep I was fresh and ready to go to Amsterdam with a friend and enjoy a whole day out and about on the town.
Sadly it was not all fantastic because I seemed to have lost my discount rail card and got fined a hefty sum for it. But Anyway we got to Amsterdam and started the cultural experience with Foam. This gallery is mostly photographic exhibits of many diverse subjects. One was the World Press Photos from the beginning of the organization. As you can well imagine many of those photos are harsh and hard to take in as most are dealing with war, famine, strife, cultural clashes and other such harsh subjects, although I did see one about football which I guess when you think about it could also be related to war, strife and cultural clashes. But the other part of the exhibit that was upstairs was actually quite informative and interesting.
The next part of the gallery was Tian An Men square photos, exhibits and multi-media. Actually quite interesting. I like the photo of the guy walking his pet cabbage in the square, because apparently you are not allowed to have pets on the square and so many kids over there are trying to rebel against the system without getting arrested.
The next part of the gallery was connected to the World Press Photos - Things as they were. Also quite a mix of interesting articles, photographs and magazine clippings and covers. I quite liked the article and video about the Kennedy assassination, still very much a conspiracy! I love the use of the space in the building.
After a nice lunch on bagels we walked towards what I thought was the right direction of the Amsterdam History museum, in the end I caused a few detours but we made it. I wanted to go there because of the Seamans Tattoo exhibit I read about. But in those detours we got to window shop and enjoy the fantastic weather that was upon us. In my opinion the Tattoo part was a big disappointment with the exception of the actual tattoos of lost sailors kept in formaldehyde to help identify them if they were ever found dead.
The rest of the museum was quite amazing with many different areas to learn about the history of Amsterdam. I particularly like the areas concerning the people of Amsterdam and the area regarding the second world war and the occupation of Holland.
Dinner at Wagamammas and a couple of Guniness at Tig Bara, more drinks, talk and great company until the wee hours....
A great weekend indeed.

Space is colder than the air in the mountains where I come from

Someone mentioned a while ago that I do not have a photo of myself on my blog, hmm and you know what? They were right. I guess I know what I look like and if anyone really wanted to know they might search my log name and might just find one or two out there amongst the other photos that I have taken that are scattered along this beautiful wide web.. I must admit for all of Blogger's great points the one thing I just cannot be arsed to figure out or download to my computer is their photo software so that I can add it to my profile, I was thrilled when they finally added the ability to add photos to the actual blogs. Besides this photo is as good as it gets. Well almost as good, my very talented friend Paul from Victoria took it and several several years ago after applying his other amazing talent of cutting hair. If anyone is in the need to get their hair cut and styled by a pro in Victoria, B.C. then talk to me.

On a toally different note I was cruising one of my favorite blogs www.matthewgood.net and decided to check out his wife's blog which is usually highly entertaining. http://jennifergood.net/ one of her entries from a few weeks ago make me really wonder what exactly she might have been thinking as she was walking home from Wendy's with food for her hubby. Someone had written words from several songs written by her husband on the sidewalk leading to their apartment and the walls surrounding it. Now as creative as that may seem can you even begin to imagine what that might feel like?

I am a HUGE fan of Mr. Good's lyrics/music and integrity, he writes in a way that touches me in my everyday life, his CD's have been on heavy rotation in my somewhat dusty and large collection of CD's and multimedia since I first bought them. I find that I can always find one I am in the mood to listen to, I always find solace and comfort in his songs blah blah blah, I could wax on and on about his songwriting and musical talents. Hell even in my last post I think I mentioned one of them. So anyway it was just an observation, and I might have also stopped and looked at the lyrics and followed them to the apartment and maybe even taken a photo because I would have connected to them in some way. I can imagine that Jennifer might have felt like looking over her shoulder or checking the street before she leaves the apartment. I am not sure how I would feel in that situation, being not married to a rock star or celebrity but I can imagine that it might just freak you out just a little.

My guess is that someone wanted to show Matt just how much his music means and it does not seem sinister nor nefarious, but what do I know.

Sioen

Been a busy few weeks again. Not that I am complaining. It's just the way I like it. My friend Martin invited me along to a gig at the Paard last night. This is the same person who has introduced me to VHS or Beta and Dredg live plus many many other new bands and artists, so I tend to trust his instinct when it comes to music.

We got there as the opening act was half way through. Had a few beers and waited. The band consits of the usual bass, drums, guitar, piano and somehow typically Belgian a violin.
Sioen is the last name of the singer/songwriter Frederik, who once they were finally set up and ready to go sat at a piano front and centre stage it started with just him and yes the violin player for two songs. He does not have a mind-blowing voice but is charismatic and can sing sweetly enough to not let it be an issue. They are all quite talented and according to Martin even tighter now as a band since the first time he saw them over a year or so ago. The songs were well written and presented flicking between sweet pop and somehow Deux influenced chords and style.
All in all, a really nice way to spend a Thursday night and 12 euros. Well plus 15 if you add the new CD I bought from them, Ease Your Mind which is really quite good after only one listen again this morning.
Other CD purchaces this month include:
The New Pornographers Twin Cinema, talent oozing as usual.
Matthew Good's newest In A Coma, which is a complilation of his career in a great package of 2 CD's and a DVD. CD one has 2 new songs one of which might have some of the catchiest lyrics yet "Oh be joyful, cause that shit spreads".
CD two is 9 acoustic versions of his songs from the past 10 years and two of his little EP releases, one (Loser Anthems) of which has some of my favorite Matt songs on it. Oddly enough I had not had the chance to sit down and watch the DVD yet but I am sure to be impressed as I have only seen maybe 2 of his Videos not being exposed to many Canadian Music station on television here, that also being something to look forward to.
And on my stereo now is David Grays latest Life in Slow Motion, which at first listen is really nice and typically David Gray which is certainly not a bad thing.

Up coming gigs: Buck 65 at the Paradiso in Oct and Jasper Steverlinck The singer from Arid in November again in the Paard, and being very tempted by the 2 day Music in my Head festival at the Paard which has quite a good line-up. Other than that nothing else of the top of my head. Although I am sure to get provoked by Martin at some point and be introduced to yet another new musical experience. Cheers mate!

Bon Jovi

Last Friday night I had tickets to see Bon Jovi in concert, only one of 3 shows in the world to promote his new CD and it was the first time since 1986 that I had seen them when they were on their Slippery When Wet world tour.
It was kind of fun to be singing along to the songs that I knew, and not so fun to be there for the songs I didn't. But all in all not a terrible way to spend a Friday night, especially after a great shopping spree and dinner at my favorite Irish Pub before hand.
Anyway there were a few songs from the extensive repertoire that were not played but in the end it was a listening party for the new album Have a nice Day so I guess they were obliged to play some of the new tracks. Which to be honest are not really my thing any more.
The one thing I can say after seeing more than one nostalgic blast from the past in the last few years is that they have aged well at least from the 20 meters back where I was standing.
I am not what one might call a fan, certainly not compared to come of the people that were there on Friday night, I even saw hair there that made me think back (and cringe) what mine might have looked like in 1986... Ladies that much hair spray is not good for the enviroment let alone your hair. But speaking of hair, the question that has been niggling away since Friday is....
WHAT HAPPED TO BON JOVI'S CHEST HAIR? Did some stylist come along when he was trying to break into the movies and say, you know Jon the ladies would really love it if you took it all off and became as smooth as a babies bottom, forget that macho stuff from the 80's lets heat up that wax....



















Oh well does it really matter, thankfully his leather cod pieces went away with time as well as he is in dam fine shape for his age.

dredg

Last week I went to a concert at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on the recommendation of my friend Martin, who had a few months before gone to see this band and had been blown away by them.
I had already heard the music and was a little concerned that it might be a little to proggy sounding for me.
But first I must mention the opening band Miss. Antartica who I thought were quite good, they reminded me of a nice Placebo. No one else who was there with us thought they were any good but I guess that is what makes the world go round, the simple fact that we are different.
The singer of Dredg has one of those very high voices like he might have taken classical training and then to watch him on stage was like someone had torn a page from the Jim Morrison book of stage craft. And dam near impossible to take photos of cause he is constantly moving with an energy that that of an autistic child.

The rest of the band (guitar, bass and drummer & keys) were all intense guys in their own right and seemed to be set apart from one another. There was no interaction between any of them on stage aside from the guitar player facing the drummer once in a while but he could have easily been listening to his amp, they did their parts and that was that. The singer also played a slide guitar set on a table, he teased the strings with different objects such as a drum stick and what looked like a knife. But this allowing him to not at all interact with the audience.
The show was quite good there is no denying their talents, and entertainment value was high. At the very end of their set they have their 2 roadies come on and start disassembling the stage as they are playing. The drums get taken away, the bass guitar and then the guitar and the singers mic when all their is left is the drummer (without drums) playing his piano with single minded intensity.
I think it is good to get a taste of new music once in awhile and I am glad I went on a Tuesday night to see them. I will probably not again but not because they were bad but because they did not grab me like they could have.
The opening band was a Dutch one that is worth mentioning. They reminded me of a nicer Placebo, and I thought they had something to bring to the club as well.

Coolest brother ever!

Check this out. My brother made this for me from one of my own photos... If I could just figgure out how to upload it to my profile all the time. Sweet.

Usedom (Uznam): 27-28. 08. 2005

It is always nice going to the Sea U Site parties. You can almost be sure that everyone will be a great mood, your friends will come from all over an you get to see a corner of the former DDR (GDR) that you might not ever see otherwise.
Now If I am not mistaken I have attending 6 Sea U Site parties in 7 years, sadly only missing last years 2nd Ruegen Island party due to unforeseen circumstances.
2 x KÜHLUNGSBORN
1 x NEUSTRELITZ
1 x RÜGEN
1 x SCHWEINRICH
and this time USEDOM .... even more photos click here.
The last few years my dear friend Jacco has come along and we have had a grand time, singing and being silly in the car or commenting on all the beautiful people.
My plan was to sleep a night in Bremen at Guddi's and after shopping for food, packing the van we would be on our way Sat morning. We did not bad and were on the road by 12:40. The drive takes quite a few hours in an older VW bus like hers, but we had Anna to keep us alert and awake by her non-stop (for 6+ hours) squeaking and barking. Thank the gods I have ear plugs!
Just after Rostock at a rest stop we met with Gunner, Toby and a friend from Hamburg in their VW bus and we decided to caravan to the Island Usedom together, but not before I embarked on a highly dangerous guerilla mission into a mini-mall for bananas.
Just as we crossed the blue bridge to the island, Jens called to let us know that the police had already blocked the entrance and that we should find a place to park near Peenemuende and take a walk on the beach and wait for further updates. We pulled into a small parking lot about 2 km from the entrance with many other people and decided to have a look around.
According to http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Peenemuende this was during WW2, an extremely important site for the testing of the V1 & V2 rockets, after the war according to agreements the Soviets said they destroyed the whole area, but this many years later the forest that surrounds the old site is quite beautiful and quiet all the way down to the beautiful beach. Go through the link for more info, it is really quite fascinating.

The police I think were being quite reasonable, but not knowing what to do with the many hundreds of people who just kept showing up and invading their little island.
Guddi and I after exploring the beach, meeting with a few others walked back to our parking spot to meet with Jacco who had just taken a tour of the whole Island and had ended up in Swinemünde at the Polish border, because apparently there is more than one blue bridge on Usedom.

We then sat and chatted with the Hamburg boys while they Feasted on Fleisch (BBQ’d) and drank some wine. Guddi went to bed and Jacco and I headed to the party place with the boys, our sleeping bags and a airmattrass with the idea how nice it would be to sleep under the stars.
The movie theater was open and the bar, and then later some music was coming through the trees, we sat on the beach and had some drinks, and not to much later fell asleep under the stars which was great until I woke up.
I was not being able to feel my right side of my chin, it was as if I had been to the dentist the night before and had some dental work done, as we made our way back towards the bus I got bit by a mosquito under my eye and it started to swell up until I felt I could see my upper cheek Waah, for a short while I was a very unhappy girl. But we got back to the bus and made coffee and breakfast and gave Dirk his Birthday presents, he was so happy with his two pairs of sunglasses that you could not help but smile along with him.

After freshening up Jacco, Guddi and I headed back to the party area and spent some time on the beach first just watching the beautiful scenery, chatting with friends as they came and went and then watched the police helicopter circle over head almost the whole afternoon, what a waste of police resources! We were discussing how one might catagorize the kind of techno music that is played at these parties because people often ask me what kind of music it is. Guddi came up with MFT (Mädchen Freundlich Techno) which I thought was a really great way to describe it, Girl Friendly Techno music.

At some point a U site person came along and asked everyone on the beach to come to the dance floor and “Greet” the police of course to stay calm and friendly during the time they are here. So we packed our things and headed over to the wonderful little meadow where the dance floor was built and waited. The theme song for this event was appropriately the Beastie Boys: Fight for your Right (to Party), the whole dance floor was hopping and jumping and generally in a great mood.

Sven told me there was a girl from Canada there and brought her over to meet me. She was not only from the West Coast but from Cortez Island. How small is the world really. I forgot her name (sorry) but it was nice meet someone who maybe has some idea why I love both countries so much. And she had a great eye for fashion and recognised Guddi's "Holy Souls". Peace on West Coast girl, good luck with your life in HH!

When the police finally arrived I had the feeling that it was more an excuse for the Police chief to have his squad practicing with their riot gear than anything really serious, they were not even carrying weapons, they took ages suiting up and then walked in a somewhat orderly fashion over and behind the DJ stand and apparently had a discussion. I was up on the top of a dyke so I could take some photos but could not really see them through the trees it all seemed very civilized. Having been once before at a Sea U Site party where both the police and crowd got a little too aggressive I wanted to keep my distance “just in case”.
But it seemed they were discussing terms, and with full agreement of everyone there we were allowed to keep dancing until 7pm and must leave the property before 10am on the Monday morning. So off went the police, dogs and chief back to their vans and we continued to dance and have great fun until 7pm. When it was over. I wanted to go back for more drinks and something warmer to put on, so Jacco, myself, Dirk and Sven all walked back to the cars to pick up supplies so we could be nice and cozy on the beach later, as per tradition.
The usual suspects where at the party Sandra, Jens, Matthias, Andre, Marco, Jenny and a surprise to me, Irene; who I know I have not seen since at least last years Fusion.
Anyway we headed back towards the party with drinks in hand and met back with Guddi and a few others and headed towards the beach for more drinks under the stars and good company.
After some time I had the inability to keep my eyes open and headed off to sleep, sadly I would have loved to have stayed up longer and enjoyed the environment but I just could not. At some point in the night I woke up to find two more people in the tent with me, Sandra and an unknown sleeping bag and body. Quite funny.
When morning came I made my way back to the parking place to have coffee and get ready to go.
The rest of the Guddi and HH boys were all going for a swim in the ocean before heading back, but Jacco and I decided that because of the 8+ hour ride ahead of us we better get going as soon as possible. Guddi made us a wonderful breakfast and we basically said our goodbyes. I actually don't remember feeling quite so sad at saying goodbye at a party like that before, it was just all so nice and cozy and I wish it could have lasted longer. Oh well until the next years Fusion at the latest.
This site has even more great photos and links to the NDR News website and other great links.

Lowlands

I arrived back in the NL last Thursday and uneventful but long and hot flight. with one day to rest and making up with my cat before we headed north to the Lowlands Festival. This is one of the better summer festivals in Holland, with 3 days of a massive line-up with acts for almost everyone’s taste. I must admit I was not really in a "I have to see as many bands as possible" mood and the jet-lag was making me pretty tired. I regret not seeing a few of the bands that played, but did see a few that inspired me to stay and watch the whole thing.

On Friday I wanted to see Juliette and the Licks, but I had just gotten to the press tent and did not want to walk to the other end of the festival just then. So in fact the first band I wanted to see was The Doves who had cancelled, and the band that replaced them I don’t recall what they were called, next was the Kaiser Chiefs who were a typical Brit-rock band from the UK, good fun and nice to see even though the singer had hurt his ankle he still gave a pretty good performance. Up next was The Bravery who were another Brit-pop band. Franz Ferdinand was the last one we saw on Friday, in fact they were quite fun and enthusiastic to watch for a wee band from Glasgow. After which I decided to skip both The Prodigy and Royksopp as much as I wanted to see them I could barely keep my eyes open and we still needed to drive over an hour to get home.

Saturday was a find day at the lowlands festival, warm and sunny and just the right temperature to make people want to drink more beer. The festival seemed to have picked up a notch from the day before, more people in strange outfits, some great tee-shirts and a few entertaining things along the way between the stages. One thing that really caught my eye was the Silent Disco, people were really into it, and great fun to watch. We got there just as Apocalyptica was beginning so I missed them again, but I was quite excited because Death from above 1979 was playing on one of the smaller tents, this band I have only just gotten into on the prompting from my younger brother. They were great fun to watch not only because they are Canadian but because they only have two guys playing in the band, which is quite fun and full of great energy. After which my most anticipated band was Arcade Fire, another Canadian band making waves all over the place right now. I stayed to the end to watch them, they were FANTASTIC, right up to the drummer climbing to the top of the speakers with his drum, I am sure the security loved it; I am know the crowd did. Sadly Vive la Fete was playing at the same time and I made the decision to skip them. After was a bit of a wait for me, I skipped the Pixies and was waiting for Marilyn Manson, as usual a huge show with loads of lights and effects and larger than life Marilyn with all the stage fun to go with it. Then it was time to head back for a nights sleep

Sunday was a slow start, but arriving in time for Morcheeba narrowly missing Korn. Morcheeba was not what I expected because there was a new girl singing, apparently the singer no longer wants to tour so they have brought in another woman to sing on tour. She did a pretty good band, but it was not quite the same. Then I wanted to see The Dresden Dolls, who also had cancelled so we went instead to see Sons and Daughters who were ok, needing some energy on stage, but I can imagine they were quite nervous to be playing. All the photographers headed over to Queens of the Stone Age, but we decided to go and find some food and ended up in front of a tent with perhaps the most energetic band at the festival, even more so than Arcade Fire. Cheb Balowski (sorry the link was all I could find) was givin’ it all and the over stuffed tent was taking it all with enthusiasm. The music sounded like it had Polka, North African, French and Gypsy music all squished in, I could not tell how many people were on stage but there were a lot, I cannot recommend enough GO AND SEE THIS BAND if you like music that you can’t help but dance, jump and cheer along to. After they ended we decided sitting in the Sun and drinking a Witbeer was a great option while we waited for Heather Nova. Which was also worth the wait, and who drew an astonishingly large crowd. She was photogenic, sweet and played really well and I was happy that I caught a chance to see her play live. After that I had no desire to see anything else and call it a nice and early night as we both had to work the next morning.

A few things that were quite funny by the festival, the large screens near all the stages, which showed some silly filmed things like “Pimp my Tent” & “Low Land People” shot from a camera on a stick walking through the crowds. There was also a cooking show of what nice dinners people on the camping place were cooking, filming people brushing their teeth and washing their faces in the communal washrooms. I loved the portable Dance floor and DJ’s that was driving around in one of those little 3 wheeled vehicles. I would say it was a job really well done, even Mr. Jan Smeets seemed to be having a great time when we saw him backstage, and he should know running Pink Pop all these years.