Curling, a Parade, etc

This past week has been mighty eventful. Let's see... there was trivia on Tuesday, a Tegan and Sara concert on Wednesday, a conference call on Thursday (not exciting), finishing season 1 of Veronica Mars on Friday, failed attempt at curling, a walk to the Jefferson Memorial, and dinner and a movie with Suz, Steph/Greg, and Stan Saturday, successful attempt at curling, Chinese New Year Parade, and Nat'l Museum of Crime and Punishment with Stan and Carla on Sunday. Need I even mention that Jeff was involved in all but the conference call?

Trivia went well - we got fifth place! Now onto the more interesting stuff. Jeff had bought me tickets to see Tegan and Sara for my birthday and now the time was upon us! We headed to the Warner Theatre after eating at Chopt which was yummy. They had assigned seating and we were on the balcony. The opening acts were Steel Train, an all-guy band that I really liked, and Holly Miranda, a band with a chick lead singer who had an amazing voice but thanks to me being tired the mellowness of that act nearly put me to sleep.


Steel Train


Holly Miranda

Then Tegan and Sara came out. They started off playing a lot from Sainthood, then started interspersing it with older stuff. They played a lot of songs I really like, including "Hell," "Nineteen," and "The Con." I was only disappointed that they didn't play "Take Me Anywhere," but that's okay. They are amazing live. They do a lot of funny bantering, and interact a lot with the crowd. After leaving the stage they came back on without their band for an acoustic set which included the popular "Living Room" which I didn't know I knew, but I did. Basically, I loved it.


Tegan and Sara

One weird thing did happen at that concert - Erica clone was there! She's this girl who goes to W&M and looks exactly like my friend Erica and she was standing really close to us. Bizarre. Skipping to Saturday... Jeff and I tried to go to the Capital Curling Expo but there was a three hour wait for curling. Instead we wandered towards the mall, finding a big giant map in a square...


Jeff is totally inside the Capital Building here.

Next we decided to wander towards the monuments, after looking at an imposing-from-afar building which turned out to be the EPA. We walked by the Washington Monument and then I realised I had possibly never been to the Jefferson Memorial, so we walked there. We walked by the water where the cherry trees are and noticed a lot of storm damage, including to a great big lovely elm that is apparently well-known. We noticed there's paddle-boating you can do so that might be something to remember (though Carla says you can do it for cheaper elsewhere). Anyway, we made it to the monument and admired how tall Thomas Jefferson was.



It was a nice day and we walked a lot. From there we walked to the Smithsonian Metro and met the people mentioned above for dinner at the Arlington Diner, which was mediocre or less but cheap. Then we went to Greg and Steph's apartment and watched Away We Go (review to come), which Jeff and I really liked.

On to Sunday! We made a second stab at the Capital Curling Expo and this time were some of the first people there. Jeff, Stan, and I gave it a go, though it was fake ice and no sweeping.


Stan curling

Basically it was a little taste and I learned a lot of things, including that you can go curling for real in Laurel, MD, which I'd really like to try. Next we ate at Subway, then went to the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown, which was pretty cool.


Lion Dancers

Next we went to the Museum of Crime and Punishment which I got into for free with my Smithsonian badge. It was decent but not the best museum I've been to.


Jeff on a police motorcycle

Today I got a haircut at Bang Salon on U Street. It's fabulous and was inspired by a girl I saw at the Tegan and Sara show. Now here's hoping this week is great as well!

Chasing Arrows at The Point

Friday night, after seeing (500) Days of Summer at the Kimball with Zach, I met up with my friend Suz, who is currently living in Newport News, to go see a Chasing Arrows show. Suz is friends with these guys (they're from NN) and in fact she lived with Joe (the drummer) and Nate (lead guitarist) for a few months. I had met Joe on several occasions before, and Nate once, briefly. First we went to Taco Bell, then we got gas and headed over to Gloucester Point. It was really close by, in fact, only about 15 minutes via the Colonial Parkway. I had a little trouble finding the venue, The Point, because it was disguised as a different name (Olivia's) since it was a restaurant by day. We got there and sat at the merch table and I met the rest of the guys: Graham (lead singer), Walter (guitarist/keyboardist), and Tate (bassist).

above: L-R - Nate, Graham, Walter, a tiny bit of Joe, and Tate

I stole some of their fries and then they started playing. We were sitting right in front of the stage and I really should have accepted the offer to borrow earplugs from Joe. Oh well. You live and learn. They played 3 sets, so we were there for about 5 hours in total (woah). The bar was really smoky so my eyes got irritated.

above: Nate, Graham, a little of Joe, a little of Walter

Despite those complaints, it was totally worth it. They were great, and I ended up buying a CD (actually guys IOU $10 - soon, I promise). They had some great covers, like "Inside Out", "Hurt", a couple Foo Fighters songs, "Dani California", and other songs that I love.

Graham, Walter, and Tate

Also their original stuff was good, too. I like that they occasionally throw in some keyboard action. Overall they sound quite good. I like their album that I bought.

Nate, Graham, Joe, Walter

More about the overall experience of the concert: there was this skanky girl dancing up on a bunch of guys, and at one point she got in front of the stage, pulled up her shirt a little, and was pointing down her pants. Classy. There was also a guy really trashed, trying to dance seductively I suppose, but his beer gut was just not that attractive... ha ha. Suz and I were called cute or attractive or hot by a number of gentlemen (or some not so much), and at one point Graham actually pinched my cheek. I thought, is this for real? Like, really happening? It was. A girl walked in at one point with this atrociously furred white boots (Suz: how many animals had to die for those ugly boots?). I was told my dancing was too scandalous for this conservative bar, in what may or may not have been an epic fail attempt at flirting. Basically, it was a lot of fun and highly amusing but there were indeed a few really trashy people there. But every once in a while it's fun to watch people like that, no?

Brand New and Thrice at the Norva

Here begins my review of the Brand New/Thrice concert at the Norva in Norfolk, VA. Unfortunately the pictures uploaded backwards so I'll just show those right now...

Brand New's Jesse Lacey on vocals plus check out the tambourine

Brand New performing "Archers Bows Have Broken"

Brand New's Jesse Lacey and drummer Brian Lane

Brand New

Thrice

When Will, Kristin, Jeff Black, and I arrived at the Norva, the opening band (Crime in Stereo I think but I can't quite recall) was on. For the first time I didn't have to get those godawful black permanent marker Xs on my hands which not only smell all night but then refuse to come off later... for several days. Thankfully I'm 21 now! Xs no more! It was pretty crowded and we decided to move to the balcony. We stood at the side that faces the stage (and therefore is furthest from it) and got decent spots with just a couple standing in front of Kristin and I at the railing. I kept my thought beams pointed at them, telling them to GTFO, hoping it would work.

So Crime(s?) in Stereo was/were fine. I wasn't totally into them but they weren't at all bad. The balcony which I have never been to turns out to be a sweet spot because it's less crowded, you can see much better, and they have cleaner bathrooms.

Thrice came on after a record-breaking 15 minute set-up delay (wow! who would have guessed?). They did a really sweet cover of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" and had a few other good songs. I certainly didn't like all of their songs, though... oh well. I was mostly there for Brand New.

Brand New took way more time to set up... as the main act usually does (though my bro claims they were co-headlining with Thrice). My mental energies must have paid off, because the couple in front of us left and so Kristin and I rushed in to fill the space at the railing. Awesomely, we had something to lean against and it made for excellent pictures because you could steady the camera (also I took some pretty decent video clips which maybe I'll get the energy to embed one day after uploading them...). So then Brand New came on. For one thing, they had really cool, dynamic lighting that was different for every song. It went with the music, too, seeming to respond to it all on its own (hooray for the lighting tech!). On some songs they had a pretty backdrop on the screen, or short film clips or pictures. In addition to the visual coolness, they were also incredibly good. They play extremely well live (it sounds a lot like the album but with an added oomph of live energy - just the way I like it) and beyond that their setlist was phenomenal. They played all my favorite songs by them, songs from their last 3 albums (and since many bands just play their newest stuff, this was a great mixture). They played such things as Archers Bows Have Broken, Limousine, Jesus, Degausser, Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't, The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows, Sic Transit Gloria, Play Crack the Sky, and stuff off their new album, Daisy, which I hadn't really heard yet.

Basically Brand New is awesome. See them live. Especially if you were like me and were obsessed with Deja Entendu when you were in high school. YES!!!

Tonight I'm gonna rock you tonight

WOOO I have no idea what to write a post about. Awesome. Bear with me.

I know fairly few people read this but nevertheless I wanted to alert you to the fact that Doctor Who Seasons 1-4 (2005-7) are on sale for $32 each new on Amazon! GO FORTH AND BUY! Indeed I was going to splurge on them, then thought I am getting ready to move to DC, this is a bad idea... then I cam up with a genius plan. I am notorious in my family for not writing a Christmas list (gosh, isn't that annoying?). Most of the time I legitimately cannot think of a damn thing to ask for (because usually if I want something I buy it). But this year I have a few ideas. And this was one of them. So I called up my mom, and said "I actually know something you could get me for Christmas" and she was like "buy it now and send it to the house." Yeah! So I'm getting seasons 1-3 for Christmas. EXCITING!

In other news, Google Wave is out as a preview! I've been excited for it. I got an invite and am on it now. So far, though, I haven't quite figured it out but I think a good part of it is that a) it's still buggy and b) it's the kind of thing that works better if you have more friends using it, much like Facebook. I think once it's all ironed out and I have people on there I need to collaborate with on, say, projects, plans, trips, etc., it will be pretty cool. I'm trying to build a map of stuff near my new apartment, but it seems like right now you can't actually add a gadget to a wave. As of this point I still have 2 invites left, so hit me up (though bear in mind I've advertised this on a Facebook status which at this point gets much more traffic).

Tonight I'm going to see Brand New and Thrice at the Norva, and potentially stay with Suz, Stan, and Carla afterwards! It's been quite a while since I've been to a concert that wasn't a free one at school. You can bet there'll be a blog about it!

Carbon Leaf with Sleeperstar, 28 August 2009

This was the first AMP event of the year, the welcome back concert on campus. They brought Carbon Leaf and Sleeperstar to Lake Matoaka. I like Carbon Leaf, plus it was free for students, so I decided I'd go. It was at 8, and I left at about 7:45 with my friend from freshman year, Amallie, who I hadn't seen since we were sophomores. When we got there Sleeperstar had already started playing. I hadn't minded getting there late since I only cared about Carbon Leaf. We sat in chairs at first but then I suggested we stand so we could get a decent spot. Sleeperstar soon played a version of "Such Great Heights" and it rocked, and I suddenly realized I was really enjoying them and had been before. They were pretty dancy, and not overly loud. It began pouring, really coming down, and I was glad I had brought a raincoat. The stage was under a cover so rain didn't stop anything. They played a song called "Texas Rain" which seemed appropriate. We were dancing and everybody was really into it and it was extremely fun. Eventually Sleeperstar went offstage didn't come back despite everyone calling for one more song. But then they had to set up for Carbon Leaf. I actually only know two Carbon Leaf songs. Their new stuff sounds a lot different. They were really loud and I guess I was standing next to the speaker that the guitar was coming through because pretty much all I could hear was distortion. I went to the bathroom and then went to the Sleeperstar merch tent, where I met the band. They were super friendly and nice and I bought a CD and a poster which I shoved down my shirt, hoping it wouldn't get ruined. I went back to up near the front but got progressively more headachy because I could feel the loudness squeezing in my head. After I heard "Life Less Ordinary" I had to move to the back of the amphitheater because I couldn't take it anymore. After they played "The Boxer" which was the last song before the encore I made my way back to the dorm. I wasn't as into Carbon Leaf as I expected but it was cool to hear the two songs I knew. The rain poured the entire time which you would think, for an outdoor concert, would make it miserable. But actually it just became ridiculously fun. The Sleeperstar part was probably the best concert I've been to. The Carbon Leaf part was just so-so. And my poster didn't get totally ruined! Score.