Imogen Heap

Yesterday evening I went to see Imogen Heap at the Melkweg, Amsterdam, together with (another) friend. The concert was AWESOME SAUCE, as my friend would say. When I listened to Imogen's latest album ellipse on my laptop I found it a bit boring, but she had given fans the possibility to vote on her website on which numbers you wanted her to play live. So she played a selection of 12 songs "customs tailored for you Amsterdam" which I really enjoyed. Also she was funny, she could have persued a carreer in comedy, in between songs she was telling funny little stories about where she had gotten her inspiration from, "so this song is about a guy which I liked, except for the last verse, that's about a serial killer". Lol.
Later on in the show she divided the audience up into three groups and made us sing the words Just For Now over and over again so that we functioned as her sampler (which she called her parrot).

Just For Now

For the song Earth she brought a Dutch (well she obviously had Asian roots) girl on stage who studies at the University of Amsterdam and plays the cello amazingly well. She had auditioned through youtube or so.

Earth

And when her computer unplanned had to restart she asked the audience whether they had questions for her to fill up the time and this American woman screamed in the most horrible accent I have ever heard "COME BACK TO ATLANTA!". Geez, if I would sound like her I would never open my mouth again, she sounded SO ugly!

But okay, one of the coolest parts of the show was when Imogen took her keytar, put on sunglasses and gave away a solo on it. The best part of it is that a friend of mine has EXACTLY the same keytar, I'm SO going to steal it from him! Only after yesterday I have realized how many sick things you can do with those things, hide & seek is performed with the help of this keytar for example.



 Some video's which nice people have put on youtube:

Come here Boy

 

London Calling

Yesterday I went to London Calling, a festival which is held twice a year in Paradiso, Amsterdam, together with a friend. It was really cool, although I was glad that I had brought earplugs because the music was way too loud.

I had wild plans to stay there uptill 5 o' clock in the morning when the afterparty would be finished, but in the end we were home at five past one. After having seen warpaint my friend and I were both a bit silent because the concert had just been so intense. They were really, really good. If you ever get the chance to see them you should defenitely go! It's just one of those bands you have to experience live..

So after this concert we went up to the balcony to watch on the big screen what was happening in the small concert hall (this hall was too small for everyone and it was 200% full), Beach Fossils was playing there. Judging from the screen it must have been a great party, I enjoyed the music and I think I might start listening to it, but back then I just didn't feel like jumping and partying. Still too impressed by warpaint and a bit tired.

Then Tame Impala played in the big concert hall and we watched from the balcony, but I did not enjoy it. The sound was just way to loud (even with earplugs!) and the music was too much rock for me (psychedelic rock is not really my thing). I leaned with my head in my hands and felt like sleeping.
So after having seen Tame Impala we went home.

We have also seen Yuck (I did not enjoy them, their music was just very loud and the sound quality was very bad), Good Shoes (they were allright) and Lulu and the Lampshades. They were so cute and funny! They used all kind of weird instruments like a typewriter, some kind of harp, bowls and a xylophone. And in the end they performed Cups (see my last post). They make some kind of cute folk music. I'm fan!

Lulu and the Lampshades:

Good Shoes:

Yuck:

The drummer and the bassist looked really cool

Warpaint:

Tame Impala: Picture taken from the balcony

Lulu and the Lampshades

THIS. IS. SO. COOL.



I'm going to see them live tommorow. London Calling, Paradiso.
Lalalalala.

So You Think You Are Popular?

This is SO unfair.
Raquel and Chico were just sent home from So You Think You Can Dance after having danced a great tango, having received great comments from the judges and just having danced great performances over the past couple of weeks. I was stunned! This show is propragating to find the best dancer of the Netherlands and Belgium and the best dancers just got eliminated. It makes me want to boycot the show or sign up for a Twitter account (I hate Twitter) just to be able to post all over the internet how much I DISAGREE.
I think there is something seriously wrong with the concept of the show if the best dancers do not make it to the top. I think tonight was just a big failure for the show and that it opened the eyes for a lot of people (including the judges) to what this show really is: just one big popularity contest. This sucks, because contrary to shows like Idols, the candidats go to this show to improve their dancing, not just to become famous. I can go on for ages, but basically I'm just very dissapointed in the show. I liked to believe that this show was different, that it was about real talent. ...

I know that this is not my best speech, but it's late okay? And this just could not wait till tomorrow

Their tango:

Supa Dupa Fly

I don't recall ever having been a fan of Missy Elliott, not that I have heard much of her music. But ever since I've seen this audition on So You Think You Can Dance I have wanted to listen to Missy Elliott, lots of Missy Elliott. Haven't really gotten around to doing it yet though, but it's on my iPod now so the plans are there.

Sunday a new episode of SYTYCD, who's watching?

Hey DJ! We're the kids from the radio!

Last week I went to see Go Back To The Zoo at Paradiso together with two friends. We already bought our tickets in May, at that time I did not know yet that I would see them play at Lowlands festival as well. At Lowlands I thought they were okay, but in Paradiso I enjoyed seeing them very much. The only downside to their performance was that it lasted for only an hour, which is VERY short in my opinion.

They played in the "kleine zaal", the small concert hall of Paradiso, which is very small. My friends and me were standing right in front of the stage which means that if we would have had a good camera we could have made amazing photographs, but we didn't so you'll have to with those and the videos with crappy sound. They are good to show the athmosphere though. And I have never really understood those people who go to concerts and then stand still for the entire concert while they are filming and taking pictures, how can you enjoy it then? Isn't a concert much more fun when you are dancing, singing along and jumping around?

Beam Me Up (check the guy who's crowdsurfing at the end ;) )

The Voice

After three seasons of Idols I was so done with talentshows. I never watched any of the three seasons of Popstars (although I have to admit that I did watch Popstars - The Rivals in which they formed a girl group and a boy band, but that was back when I was twelf so I should be forgiven). I did not watch X-factor, which was on for three seasons too, neither did I watch Holland's Got Talent.

But two weeks ago my father and I were watching De Wereld Draait Door in which the judges of the new talentshow "The Voice" came to talk about the concept of the show. It was supposed to be an entirenly new concept, all the candidates would be already preselected before appearing in front of the judges which would make sure that they could sing. Then the judges would sit with their back towards the person who is auditioning in order to judge entirenly on the voice and not on the appearance of the candidate. Once they like a voice they will push a button and their chair will turn around, if more than one judge pushes the button the candidate can pick with which judge he or she wants to team up.



The judges of this show are: Jeroen van der Boem, Angela Groothuizen, Nick & Simon and Van Velzen. And it seemed to me that Van Velzen is far-out the most popular judge, because almost each time a candidate gets given the chance to choose between judges he or she will end up with Van Velzen. So last night I watched some videos of the judges on Youtube and I can say that I fully understand the choice of the candidates for Van Velzen. He's the only one making kind of OK music in my opinion.

See for yourself:

Van Velzen. I find him a very funny guy by the way, being so small and all.


Jeroen van der Boom. My brother showed me a video of the original Spanish version of this song, but I don't remembered what it was called.


Nick & Simon. My name being Rosanna people have sung this song a lot for me, nevertheless I had never taken the time to watch the original. Now that I have I can say I find it hilarious, I mean come on, doesn't this sound like circus music to you?


A very old song of Angela Groothuizen.

I like the concept although I do think it has some flaws. Every judge can select 11 candidates for their team in five audition days. But if you have never heard those voices before because someone else did the preselection, how can you know that you pick the best singers? After all you haven't heard everything yet, after you have picked your 11 candidates there might come in someone with a extraordinary voice. That would suck right?

Anyway, since two weeks ago Friday night equals watching The Voice for me and my dad. Because in contrary to shows like Idols and X-factor the candidates in this show can actually sing, and that's a huge improvement!

Have you watched The Voice?