Concert beds

so... this is the inside of the famous amsterdam concert hall.... last month we went to a piano concert. as you can see, there are no chairs!! of course, normally there are chairs, but this was a special occasion. normally, the musicians are on the stage that you can see underneath the organ, but this time they were placed more or less between the audience. and yes, the audience brought their own mats, and some even brought blankets and pillows. the idea was to fully immerse yourself in the music. this was a piece for 4 pianos (and a little bit of organ, but they could have left that out for me personally). the piece is called "canto ostinato" by simeon ten holt, i guess here you can listen to some of the music (if you dont know it, i urge you to check it out!!). bluntly said, its repetitive piano music (4 pianos, as i said), and i really love it (although i know several people who cannot stand the repetitiveness of the music. i think its really wonderful, and lying down like that really fits this kind of music).

when i discovered about this concert, most tickets were sold out already. only places on a chair were still available!! luckily, they were quite a bit cheaper than the "sleeping" places (and no need to bring your own mat!) (20 euros vs 35, thats quite a difference). so.... me, tim and my sister got tickets and we went. we had great seats! not only could we see the musicians very well, we also had plenty opportunity to observe all those lying down. it was a great experience, and i think in the end we were a bit more comfortable on a chair than lying down... :) (listening to music like that at home is different from doing so in public..!!). it was fun to see some people (almost?) falling asleep, and others turning around seemingly uncomfortable.... :)

Boston symphony

last week i got a nice surprise! someone had 1 extra ticket for a concert in the symphony hall. since tim was (and is) still in the netherlands, the decision was easy... :) i was not dressed for the occassion so i rushed home only to change and run out the door again. in cold, rainy weather... (right now its finally really nice weather!!). it was not supercrowded, and bag check (which they always do) was done with much more scrutiny than before; they looked at every item in my bag. 

me and tim had been to concerts a few times before, but we never sat on the balcony like i did this time, front row, and almost entirely in the center! its pretty, but i do have to say that i like the amsterdam concert hall better. the stage is also much bigger (first time here i was surprised by how tiny it was). i continue to be amazed by people who just walk during the concert, or get up as soon as a piece has ended. can nobody ever wait till the break??!! i feel this is something you dont see in the netherlands. for one because its weird, and 2 because its a waste of money to miss a part of the concert... ;) (the same happens in cinemas, people constantly get up and walk during the movie. its a bit distracting sometimes and even after 3 years i think its very weird behavior).

anyways... the boston symphony has a nice program, called 20under40, meaning that if you are under 40, you can go to many of the concerts for only 20 dollars (i think it is an anonymous donor who pays the difference)! that makes an evening at the symphony not that crazily more expensive than a ticket for the movies. still... its mostly old(er) people at the symphony... :)

Cat Power!

last night we went to a concert of cat power in the house of blues in boston!! i like her music and she just released a new cd.

we arrived early, too early.the only good thing about that was that we got a spot in the very front! but then the wait started; the band playing before the real concert was so terribly awful, it would have been better if there had been just silence. only at 10 cat power decided to show herself (the concert started at 8....grrrr). she came with a cup of tea (someone else had already put a chair and what seemed a bottle of liquor on the stage, but she didnt touch either during the concert), and lots of incense that she kept burning during the concert (beeeggghhh). it was (mostly) a good concert, i really liked it, and it was nice to be at the very front, for once, not having to stand on tiptoes as most of the world is taller than me. unfortunately, at some point we were afraid we would not catch the last subway train (we dont even know when the last is, i always assume its around midnight, but i just looked it up, its actually at 12.30), so we left while she was just finishing up.... :(

taking pictures was very difficult, as you can see, even when in the front. buuuhhh!

Tim's ladies...

this is a photo tim took yesterday at the entrance of the TD garden, just before the lady gaga concert. i like it much better than mine, theres so much to see! those 2 young girls with too short skirts and too high heels. it was rather chilly last night, so they probably arrived in coats that they are now giving to daddy who is dropping them off. their mom is just behind him; when the girls got rid of all their non-necessary items, she took a picture. perhaps its now on their facebook-page; "just before the concert!"

to us, as simple dutchies, its really striking to see all those girls, young, old(er) or super young, dressed like this when going out (for me its especially the extremely high heels that are remarkable). it is not an exception; it rather seems the rule! at least here in boston...

i imagine a similar scene after the concert, when they were picked up again, handing out coats, taking pictures, but now most likely very tired and perhaps without shoes.... cute, no?

Lady Fiasco

yesterday i saw large trucks with "monster tour lady gaga" on it. i asked my friend google what it meant, and i found out that today lady gaga was giving a concert in the TD garden. since the TD garden is in north station, where i take the orange line, i packed my camera this morning as i hoped to finally photograph "people going to the TD garden". ~19.000 people fit into the TD garden, so whenever there is an event, its hard to miss when you are in/around the station. tim left work a little later than me, so i was alone at north station, with my big camera, much too heavy bag, and an enormous amount of shyness!! :(( buuuh.. there were sooo many, very interestingly dressed girls (and some guys), much more interesting than these legs i recently posted. that was just child's play. seriously. but i did not dare... i felt so out of place, so obviously an outsider just there to take pictures. it was very crowded, and there were so many policemen and security guards... then tim finally came (usually then i better dare taking pics), but no.. still not... then he took some, and i was jealous, but they were all unsharp (ha! i thought... (how mean!)). finally i took the one above, but i took some time (as thats one of the things i finally learned; if i do take a pic; dont take it hastily...). and yep, immediately a policeman came telling me that i could not just stand there and had to move on. so, that was it. no extreme lady gagas for me..... :(

US Morcheeba

we just got back from a morcheeba concert!! i like them since quite a long time and have all their cds, probably know the lyrics to quite some songs (thats rare for me), and listened to their cds many, many times in the lab where i did my PhD (not everyone was happy with that....). then friday i discovered they were coming to boston!! just on time, there were still tickets... :)

so we went and i liked it a lot! i went once before to see them; with my friend in budapest (an excellent reason to visit her!!). then they had another lead singer, which was good, but currently their true and only lead singer is back again; skye. her voice is amazing!! cool... i heard all those songs so often, but never life... and even though some songs are 15 years old... never boring! (but perhaps a little to tim....)

i took some pics; it was quite difficult, by far not enough light and i wasnt very close to the stage. im not sure this was the best one, but its sooo late now and im tired!! her dress was amazing, it was pink/red and the cape was constantly flowing around her. she said she made it herself....
for some really coooool photos: here (wish i had been so close to the stage!)