HELP YOURSELF, DON'T SAY A THING AT ALL

Several weeks ago now, I had the privilege of seeing Black Rebel Motorcycle Club for the second (or third?...shoot now i can't remember) time in my life. Either way, it was simply fantastic! Aaron, Tommy, and I started our drove up together. We stopped by a record shop that Aaron's best friend works at. It was amazing. The record shop is so clean and organized, and has a massive collection! There is a whole section of player equipment, and an entire room just for 45's! We purchased the new Black Keys vinyl (which comes with a cd included) along with a BRMC 7in, and Radiohead 7in, a Cream vinyl, and one of Elton John's that had a pretty cool cover. I also bought a self-contained record player system, with an 8 track player! It wasn't very much, so I was excited. I don't have any 8 tracks, but I do have vinyls and that's all I need ^_^We met up with some friends of our who were up for the show as well, but they had just ate and we were starving so we ditched them and went to TGIF and took goofy pictures.

The show was soon to start, so we headed back. A couple blocks from the venue tommy spotted the bass player of BRMC! We headed toward him and asked if we grab a quick snap with him. Cheesy, but so worth it...hehe. Also, we had decided to wear all black in honor of the show and the band's name. I mentioned this during our debut photoshoot to which came the response...I just thought that's how people dress these days...hehe. Tommy is sporting new Le Grand Cru wear...woot woot! So tommy and I stand by him and Aaron starts snapping like the paparazzi! I think I had at least 10 pics in sequence. Too bad I don't know how to do those gif pics that are moving or you'd see it take place. Oh well, here's the first one:
We walked into the show and the venue was decently sized, but still small which was nice. We were able to get directly to the front, which was nice. A local band opened, and I decided to leave and attempt to get my camera into the show. I talked to BRMC's merch guy and he said the band wouldn't have a problem with it, so as I walked to the security guards with my camera, I prayed that they wouldn't give me trouble, and sure enough, I was in with the camera in no time :D (A side note on the merch: BRMC designed a new poster for each show on this tour, you can view them on their myspace here. I thought it was amazing, but a bit overpriced. I did get a cool tote bag though)

The second opening band was from the UK, The Duke Spirit. I had just read an article on them in Nylon Magazine. They were good, but I thought they got a bit monotonous.
The entire show was SO LOUD. I had earplugs in the entire time. I guess we were right in the front, but I have never been to a show that loud before, and I have been to some pretty loud shows. So in between bands was a nice break. Here are Seth and Jay resting:
Then BRMC set up and we were in awe at the stack of amps they had. Insane. I don't know much about amps, but everyone else with me were speechless. See for yourself:
BRMC played for 2 hours without stopping. It was brilliant. It was amazing. We were exhausted FOR them. I don't know how they kept playing. I wish I could have heard more piano, but what I did hear was amazing. The bass player and the guitarist both sang, switching between lead and backup vocals. They even switched bass and guitar for a couple songs. Plenty of harmonica (one was even miked so no need to stand up to the mike stand). I'm sure tommy could tell you more of the musical techniques, but I was fully in awe. And wonderfully happy. This was my first show with my digital. I wish I could have moved about a bit more, but here's a taste of what we saw. If you ever get a chance, catch the in concert. They are truly one of the best bands making music these days. So much heart and soul breathed into both music and lyrics. An experience you surely shouldn't miss. Talented gents. Thanks for a great show! And thanks to the friends who shared it with me.

YEEEEEEEEEEEE

GO, listen to MATES OF STATE, be HAPPY.

(they have their album up on myspace...i'm SO happy i could hear it before i left)

:D :D :D

Plaid Guilds

Friends from out of town and evenings with nothing to do in a small town can create quite fun in fact. Tonight we had the perfect combination of crepes, conversation, and of course....mad libs! Here's a sample of our nights creations (for more check out NO THEFT's blog here):

Good Tunes!

I'm sitting here wearing my new "MATES OF STATE" purple tee that I got for my birthday! (WOOOO...thanks tommy) and thinking about how sad I am that I won't be in the country when their new cd comes out on the 20th. SOOO...I think YOU should go get the cd on that day and listen to it, since I can't. Enjoy it. A lot. And I'll be jealous/happy for you ^_^

There is nothing like good tunes. Good music can do a whole lot of good to the world. So go listen today to whatever your heart fancies. It'll make you feel fantastic. Trust me! If you need suggestions let me know...

Today, I've been listening to Nuisance, by John Reuben and Relient K. It's one of those out of the ordinary style of music I listen to, but I still like so much songs.

05.06.08

Today I am 24. wow.
In no way do I feel wiser.
In fact, I feel all the more keenly my need for wisdom.
And the strength to not run from it when it finds me.

I welcome the years. I look forward to their rewards.
I pray to be faithful in cultivating them.
So I may have a full harvest to reap.

I am thankful for my friends.
I wish to be a better friend.

Today I am 24.
I am glad to be where I have been.
I look forward to what lies ahead.

I'm so happy to be 24 ^_^

"For I know the plans I have for you..."
"He who is faithful will do it"
"He who began a good work in you...will complete it"

ROCHESTER, NY

Last weekend my sister and I flew to Rochester, NY to visit Lexi and John. What is significant about this particular trip, is that when I say we flew, I mean Ivana flew, and I sat in the plane. CRAZY! Ivana just got her private pilot license, and is currently working on her IFR rating. CRAZY! I was so excited. So we left friday morning early so we could beat the storm coming in. This is our plane getting pre-flight checkups before we flew:

It took us about four hours with a quick stop-over in ohio. We got to see an airforce plane fly by us, and also one of those airforce helicopters that the back drops out and everyone jumps out of? yeah, i'm lame, i don't know the names of them. but it was crazy cool.

When we got there we were really tired, flying takes a lot out of you, but John took us for a drive-around RIT, the big art school in Rochester, and then we ate at the Pita Pit...which is like a subway with pitas....way better...subway. Later we picked Lexi up from work and decided to go eat at Taco Johns. AMAZING mexican food. I'm still craving it. The place was decorated with these really cool murals too.

While we were eating, a GTI drove up and tried to do a terrible parallel parking job. I turned to watch only because it was so beautiful (the car) but the people got embarrased and waved at me and then drove to a different spot...hehe. When we left I made sure to get a picture with the car....white rims even! SEXY. i said it.

After that we got icecream which was made fresh daily and walked on the pier at the beach (Lake Erie is it? or Ontario). Apparently there used to be a ferry to toronto that took you directly across the lake, but they got bought out, so they are trying to get a new boat to start it up again.

The next day, we checked went to the darkroom sale the community darkroom was hosting, and then to the public market to eat empanadas.
The market was much like any public market in any foreign country. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. There were street musicians, vegetables, meat, crepes, cheese shops, so many people, so many wonderful sounds. I just loved watching the people and hearing everything around me. It made me wonder where they all were from and what they were going to cook with their groceries. :D We were going to have a barbeque later with ours.

We decided to go visit the George Eastman House. He is the guy who invented film and started the company KODAK. The house (or mansion I should really say) is now a museum. We only had two hours and it was really barely enough time. If you are ever in the area, go see it, trust me, it's worth it. The place is HUGE, and has beautiful gardens, and a gallery, and I love film, so I love George Eastman. I learned a lot and it was very interesting to me. Sometimes museums can bore me quickly, but this one was spectacular. Perhaps because it was something to do with photography. ;)

We were pretty much exhausted after that so we went home to grill some hotdogs and corn on the cob. With uno and dominos, it was a wonderful ending to our evening. Lexi and John live on 17 acres or something? So they get a lot of wildlife around the house. We saw a whole herd of deer, several wild turkeys, and lone goose that sits around their house all day. They've named him George. We think he is in a contemplative stage in his life. We finished off our games with a pot of flowering tea. I was so excited to see the flower bloom in the hot water. It was everything I expected it to be :D hehehe.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the grocery store. There was this mecca of all grocery stores, called wegmans. IT'S HUGE! They have EVERYTHING. At least the one we went to (It's the first one they ever opened). And I mean everything. From international food, to professional beauty products, to a tea bar in the center of the store. Half of the store is a deli, with the best and most foods I've ever seen. Every grocery store should be like this. My favorite part was the section of kosher food for passover...hehe.

The next morning we got bagels and this place that makes it's own flavored cream cheese and bagels. I was quite impressed....except that I left my polaroid camera there. We flew home after that. It was so interesting to see Berrien from the airplane. Everything seems so much closer together when you are up in the sky. I had lots of fun. There are probably many more interesting details I've forgotten, but ask me sometime and I'll probably remember :) Thanks Lexi and John for having us!