Recensie: HEMA de musical - de worst musical ever

Nu de koningin gister heeft aangekondigd afstand van de troon te doen is het een mooi moment voor een recensie van HEMA de musical. (lees verder en je snapt het verband)

Al maanden lang hing deze poster aan het theater om het spektakel aan te kondigen.Misschien had die ondertitel mij moeten vertellen niet te veel te verwachten. Ik vond de woordgrap echter zo leuk gevonden dat mijn verwachtingen als een raket de lucht in schoten. Bovendien werden er dansende rookworsten en tompoezen beloofd. Al met al verwachte ik dus totaal geniale willekeurigheid.

Helaas werden mijn verwachtingen niet waargemaakt. De meer dan twee uur durende (!!!) show was wat mij betreft inderdaad de worst musical ever. Het verhaal ging over Maxima die undercover ging als stagaire bij de HEMA in het jaar 2001 om de "echte Nederlander" te leren kennen. Bij de HEMA werkte een gescheiden bedrijfsleider, zwangere moslima (broodafdeling), ordinaire blondine en haar oma (gordijnen), homo (fotoservice), andere homo met rode broek (decoratie), en een getrouwde vrouw (klantenservice). In de twee uur dat we daar zaten ging het over relaties die ontstonden en verbroken werden en barste de cast regelmatig uit in een liedje. Deze liedjes waren nieuwe teksten op bestaande melodieën. Zo werd het een sport om te raden hoe het oorspronkelijke nummer heette, o.a. Leipe Mocro Flavor, Het is zo Stil in mij en Tonight van West Side Story kwamen voorbij. De danspasjes waren "silly" en de samenzang vaak slecht verstaanbaar (het effect van vijf mensen unisono te laten zingen) en lang niet altijd zuiver. Maar hoewel de samenzang in een duet tussen de mevrouw van de klantenservice en haar man niet helemaal het gewenste niveau had, bleven beiden wel hun platte accent volhouden. Moet er ook goede zang verwacht worden bij iets wat aangekondigd is al "de worst musical ever"? vroeg ik me af. Misschien was het ook wel de bedoeling. En dit is eigenlijk de vraag die bij mij achterbleef toen na het laatste liedje iedereen in het publiek opstond om uitzinnig te klappen. Hadden zij niet door hoe slecht de show was, of had ik de clue gemist? 

In mijn geval heb ik niet het gevoel dat ik veel gemist zou hebben als ik niet was gegaan. En dat is dan ook mijn eindoordeel. 

Wel wil ik nog even een shoutout doen naar die lange figurant in het worstenpak. Wat mij betreft was jij het hoogtepunt van de show! Oh, en de figuranten uit HEMA winkels uit de omgeving natuurlijk. Dat zij daar in zilveren engelenkostuums met hun armen stonden te flappen terwijl er "Midden in de winternacht ging de HEMA open" werd gezongen was toch wel het toppunt van genântheid. Heerlijk.

Wat: Hema de musical

Waar: Grolsch zaal, Wilminktheater, Enschede

Wanneer: 22 januari 2013

Recensie: Introdans - Hartslag

Nooit eerder ben ik naar een Moderne Dansvoorstelling geweest. "Ik vind het mooier dan het Zwanenmeer" zei ik tegen een vriendin. "Maar het Zwanenmeer is ook echt klassiek", zei ze, "dit is modern." Ze heeft er duidelijk meer verstand van dan ik.

De voorstelling Hartslag van dansgezelschap Introdans bestond uit vier stukken.

Fugaz, een choreografie van Cayetano Soto was de eerste. Deze ode aan de choreograaf zijn overleden vader werd gedanst door vier danseressen en twee dansers. Twee koppels en twee solisten. De danseressen waren gekleed in huidskleurige pakjes en de mannen in zwarte kledij. Het stuk begon met twee solo's, waarna de dansers vanuit de zaal op het podium sprongen en de koppeldansen begonnen. Ik heb me zitten verbazen over de enorme flexibiliteit van de dansers en danseressen. Het stuk was een aaneenstrengeling van snelle bewegingen met weinig rust tussendoor. Ik vond het prachtig! Als ik een puntje van kritiek heb is het dat af en toe een rustpunt in de bewegingen fijn was geweest.

Het tweede stuk voor de pauze was Por Vos Muero van de Spaanse choreograaf Nacho Duato. Op renaissance muziek werd door de twaalf dansers (zes mannen, zes vrouwen) in kostuum gedanst. De dansers droegen een kort pofbroekje met daarboven een hemd en de vrouwen droegen lange jurken. Op het podium hingen twee rode gordijnen waardoor de sfeer van een paleiszaal werd gewekt. Door deze aankleding kwam mijn associatie met het Zwanenmeer bovendrijven vermoed ik, daar speelt zich ook een bedrijf in het kasteel af. Al was de aankleding daarvan een stuk ouderwetser, overdadig en wat stijf. Maar ook dat hoorde zo verzekerde mijn vriendin me. Terug naar Introdans waar ik de wat subtielere aankleding beter kon waarderen. Por Vos Muero is een speelse choreografie die vol zit met gekke bewegingen en grapjes. Zo maakte een danser een lange neus naar een ander, eindigte een danseres in een pose op de grond geflankeerd door twee dansers met ieder een been in de lucht en was er een leuk stuk waarbij er gebruik werd gemaakt van maskers. Ook in de zaal was af en toe zacht gelach te horen. Heel leuk om zoveel orginaliteit in de choreografie te zien.

Na de pauze werd er afgetrapt met een duet dat wederom gechoreografeerd was door Nacho Duato. Dit stuk, gedanst op Spaanse muziek, ontving het luidste applaus tot dan toe. Opnieuw verbaaste ik me over de flexibiliteit. En dan voornamelijk over de lenige rug van de danser, ik kreeg al rugpijn als ik keek naar de vele golfbewegingen die hij maakte.

De voorstelling eindigte met Boléro. Een werk van Thierry Malandain op het stuk Boléro van Ravel. Uiteraard had ik het thema van dit muziekstuk de rest van de avond in mijn hoofd. Het stuk werd gedanst door alle dansers, gekleed in huidskleurige balletpakjes, in een rechthoek waarvan de hoeken met schermen waren afgezet. De dansers begonnen op hun rug liggend en kruisten hun armen precies tegelijkertijd. Deze beweging werd zo mooi synchroon uitgevoerd. Ik geloof dat ik nog nooit een dansoptreden heb gezien waarbij de bewegingen zo synchroon werden uitgevoerd. (Om eerlijk te zijn verbaasde ik me er zelfs over bij het Zwanenmeer dat zoveel niet synchroon was) In de loop van het 16 minuten durende werk werd de synchroniteit helaas iets minder (het precies tegelijkertijd uitvoeren van bewegingen voegt echt iets toe. De beweging wordt er zo veel krachtiger van!), maar dit zal met vermoeidheid te maken hebben. Desalniettemin was het een boeiend stuk om naar te kijken. 

Na afloop kregen de dansers een staande ovatie. En terecht. Ze bogen meermaals. Ook terecht. Ik wist niet dat we zulke goede dansgezelschappen in Nederland hebben. Dit is wel een niveautje hoger dan So You Think You Can Dance! Introdans is zeker een gezelschap om nog eens heen te gaan. 

Voorstelling: Hartslag

Door: Introdans

Waar: Grolsch zaal, Wilminktheater te Enschede.

Wanneer: 17 januari 2013

Double the trouble part 2

Recently I've started watching Awkward. It's a nice series to watch while I'm waiting for the next episode of New Girl to come out. In short: It's about this Girl Jenna who becomes really interesting to her schoolmates after she had an accident which people mistake for a suicide attempt. But actually this is only what the first few episodes are about. After that the show focuses on Jenna's relationship with the popular armpit-sniffer Matty mcKibben. Anyway, she has this really awkward guidance counselor which she has to see and before I looked up the show I was convinced that she was played by Samantha Who's Christina Applegate. The resemblance is striking!

                          Left: Christina Applegate              Right: Desi Lydic (counselor on Awkward.)

Anyway, you should check this show out it's really funny and entertaining. Plus the episodes are only twenty minutes long, so you'll go through the seasons really fast!

Bands I listen to: Ewert and the two Dragons

When I was visiting Estonia in May I saw posters announcing a concert of Ewert and the two Dragons. They looked cool. "Are they good?", I asked my hostsister. "I think you would like them", she answered. Later on she let me listen their song "Good Man Down" on youtube. Yes, I liked them. I liked them so much, I brought their cd back with me to Holland.

Then I discovered that they would perform on some free festivals in Holland. Sadly enough I wouldn't be able to make it to any of those because I had to be at places on those dates. A few days ago they announced that they would do some more shows in The Netherlands in November. I was so happy! Today I bought my tickets to see them in Utrecht on November 24th. I can't wait!




I always wonder if this song is a response to Jolene by Dolly Parton.

Ewert and the two dragons will be performing at:

Festival De Affaire, Nijmegen, July 14th
Lowlands, Biddinghuizen, August 19th
Noorderzon festival, Groningen, August 21st
Effenaar, Eindhoven, November 18th
Ekko, Utrecht, November 24th
Merleyn, Nijmegen, November 25th
Paradiso, Amsterdam, November 27th
Rotown, Rotterdam, November 28th
Asteriks, Leeuwarden, November 30th

Boots

I just sumbled upon the PERFECT boots in the H&M sale.

They are exactly the kind of boots I wanted and sadly enough they only go 'till size 40. So my size 41 feet won't fit into them. SUCK.  (Btw, they were from the Girl With The Drago Tattoo collection)

I googled a bit on leather boots and although those are quite okay I can't find a pair as perfect as the above.

Anyone know a store where they sell boots like this?

Books I like, books I love: Divergent

Do you know that empty feeling you can have after you finished a book you really liked? If you're lucky the book is one of a series and you can run to the library to get the second part. But what if you have finished the whole series? After I had finished reading the The Hunger Games trilogy I had that sad feeling and the best way to get over it is find another great series to read. That isn't as easy as it sounds though. Since I'm not the kind of girl for whom a simple love-triangle is enough the YAL-genre often disappoints me (anyone tried the Hush Hush series? Man those sucked!). I want to read a good story too. So it took a while till I found a new series that I'm psyched about.  Now that I've found it I would like to share it with you guys (whoever you are): It's the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth.

Divergent #1 - Insurgent #2- Detergent #3 (joke of the author)

Since I'm too lazy to write a summary myself I'll just give you the one Veronica Roth posted on her own blog:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is.

Of course the books has its flaws: Veronica Roth is not an amazing writer; her sentences are very short and plain and especially in the beginning this annoyed me a bit. Still, I liked it very much. I stayed up till 1.30 a.m. to finish the book. I didn't want to put it away and go to sleep. This only happens when I really like a book. I wish I could start reading Insurgent right now, but the library doesn't have it yet. Sad panda.

Places to Visit #1

I'm back. Back to blogging I mean. I've been back from my trip to Nepal (awesome) and India (meh) since about three months now. Today I was making holiday plans and Facebook spamming one of my friends with all of the cool places I still wanted to visit. I've decided to give my friend some rest and post the newest addition to my I Freaking NEED to go there! - list here. 

The Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland. The pictures will explain it all.

It's not a natural spring. If you want to read what it is exactly then go here.

Admission is 35 - 40 euros, depending on when you visit. 

I think I'll have to move to Berlin

To Kreuzberg to be precise. That was the neigbourhood where the festival took place, it's supposed to be kind of the alternative, hip neighbourhood. I really liked it there. My mom told me that when she visited Berlin for the last time (in the 80s or 90s probably) there were still lots of squatters (used a dictionary, hope this is the right word) there. 

Must-make picture when in Berlin.

I was so tired from my night in the Eurolines bus that the only thing I wanted to do was sleep. And it was really hot that day. The hat provided some shadow.

A really extensive exposition about the rise and fall of the Nazi regime. I didn't make it to the end though. It was simply to hot out in the sun.

Had to make this picture for my friend who is a huge chili pepper fan.

Friday night we found this street musician. He was quite good an covered some Jamie Cullum songs (instant love of course!) so we watched hime for about two hours together with some strangers and drank cider. It was still a warm evening. Great night.

Harry Potter lego. How awesome is that? 

Awesome!

There were so many demonstrations in Berlin! Didn't get what they were for. Lots of police though.

The famous words: "Ich bin ein Berliner"

So funny! Found this in the Stasi museum. This man sent in his disguises for approvel. Is it me or are they really bad?

Kreuzberg <3

Pretty huh?

I love it how there is always something going on in Berlin :)

Double the trouble

Is it me or do Charlie/Ivy (Kaylee DeFer) from Gossip Girl and Rachel (Danneel Harris) from One Tree Hill look a lot alike? Look at those noses! Jeez, I already thought I recognized Charlie from somewhere.

By the way: What did you think of the Gossip Girl season finale?

I found it kind of weak. Making someone pregnant again? Sounds like the writers are having a serious lack of inspiration...

Seasons of love

I saw Rent the other day. What a wonderful song this is. 

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes

How do you measure

A year in the life?

How about love?

How about love?

How about love? Measure in love

Seasons of love. Seasons of love.

My indietracks top five.

Yes another post about Indietracks and it won't be the last one either. I'm sorry, I can't help it, but it just was such a great place to be! All five bands were really, really great, but here we go: my personal top five.

5. Withered Hand

When? Sunday July 31st, 2011.

Where? Outdoor stage.

Withered Hand 

Withered Hands is a Scottish singer-songwriter, still he performed with a band which included drums, cello, banjo and guitar (which he played himself), surprisingly enough no-one was playing bass in this band (except for one song), but I guess the cello kind of took over the function of the bass. When the singer talked it was in a high-pitched voice which sounded a bit pinched, but when he sung it didn't bother me at all. The music he makes is a kind of folk, very soothing and relaxing to listen too. But when the drums kicked in in some songs it became more danceable and sometimes reminded me a bit of Mumford & Sons. Anyway, I bought the Good News cd (and got it signed. Even by the banjo player who only was in the band for the day (didn't know that, oops)) so needless to say I liked it!

4. Edwyn Collins

When? Saturday July 30th, 2011

Where? A completely filled Indoor Stage

Edwyn Collins kind of was the "big name" who was performing at Indietracks. Still, I hadn't heard of him, but I guess he was kind of before my time since his big hit "Girl Like You" was in 1994 when I was only two years old. The man is kind of old now and in 2005 he had a stroke so he limps a bit, but there sure is nothing wrong with his voice! It really is too bad that most people only know Girl Like You because he has many more great songs which are very danceable too! I really enjoyed the performance and may I add that the guitarist on the left wasn't bad to look at either? ;)

3. The Hidden Cameras

When? Saturday July 30th, 2011

Where? A little acoustic performance at the outdoor stage and the real thing later that evening at the indoor stage.

At their second performance the lead singer dressed-up a bit more

Our friendly neighbour had told us that he was really looking forward to The Hidden Cameras who were supposed to the heighlight of the day. However when they wanted to start their performance at 19:40 at the outdoor stage there were some problems with the electricity. So they improvised a few songs acoustically. It was so great! A lot of people had gone away already, but with the about twohundred people that were left we stood close to the stage to hear the singer, the guitar, the cello, the flute, the drummer who had found maracas and the bassist who was singing the harmonies while the keybord player was filming the whole happening with his iPhone. It was magical. (Here's a Video)

Later that everning they got a second chance at the  Indoor Stage with working electrics. Great great great performance! They were so energetic! Teaching weird little dances to the audience and jumping around.

So.Much.Fun.

To be honest though I did like the acoustic version of their music better. And it's not music I will listen to at home, too much "pa pa pa pa" (if you have listened to them you'll get what I mean). But that doesn't take away the fact that it's a great live band and if I will ever get the chance to see them again (preferebly in Holland) I'll definitely go!

2. Herman Dune

When? Sunday July 31st, 2011

Where? Outdoor Stage.

*pictures will follow* 

Not much too say. Nice indiepop. Great performance. Danced a lot. Bought a t-shirt (even though that meant that we didn't have enough money to take the bus the next day. That says something huh? About the band I mean, not about the irresponsible way I handle money).

1. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names

When? Friday July 29th, 2011

Where? Outdoor Stage.

Actually Herman Dune and Suburban Kids With Biblical Names could be the other way around as well. But I had to put one on top. The performance started with the singer forgetting the lyrics to the first song three times in a row, I'm still not sure whether that was an act or not. But after that the performance was one big energetic flow of cool music with nice synthesizer melodies (not unlike Two Door Cinema Club), the blonde girl should stick to playing those melodies though, because the harmonies she sung weren't always on key... I forgot about my blisters and danced for the whole set. Now that's a good performance.  (I didn't make any videos myself, but here's one. The sound's a bit crappy)

Indietracks festival guide.

I had fun colouring the things I saw at Indietracks in my festival guide.

I made up a whole system: 

Yellow means I didn't really like it (or in case of Oxo Foxo, I just couldn't hear it)
Orange means that it was quite okay.

Red means that it was cool. And if it's red and has blue around it it's in my top five..

I'll post more about my top five later!

An impression of Indietracks festival

Past weekend I was visiting the lovely Indietracks festival in England. I had a brilliant time and this certainly won't be the last time I visit this festival. I'll be back! Expect a post on all the awesome bands I discovered there soon. Also, the festival gave me a great oportunity to try out the new camera I got for my birthday (a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70) and especially its panorama funtion. I'm quite statisfied with the quality of the pictures it makes :)

Still standing

What my living room looked like the day after my 19th birthday. 

Delete Delete

For the second time within a year the hard disc of my laptop has crashed and I have lost all my photo's, music and documents. The first time my hard disc crashed (half a year ago) I already lost all the footage I had collected for my Cardboard Cut-Out video. Suck. Edward is still standing in my room though, so one time (when I'm a better singer), I might decide to make the video again. For now I have to say goodbye to this project and to all my pictures :( Anyone music recommendations? I have to start my iTunes library from scratch so if you know a great band, let me know!

The Dutchies among us might remember this song.

GESLAAGD

I passed all my final exams! I didn't even have any insufficients! AWESOME.

Now I have total freedom to figure out what to after the summer! I was thinking of going to Nepal. Or I might attend the Holi festival in India. I really want to experience that once...

For now I can pick a gift for my exams. I was thinking of getting custom made earplugs to protect my hearing when going to concerts and festivals, since I would like to keep my hearing and the last pair I owned I lost at Pinkpop (I couldn't get them out of my ears anymore and had to go to First Aid. Let me tell you, the doctors had a hard time trying not to laugh). But then again I wouldn't mind owning a nice pair of Dr. Martens either, especially since they are supposed to walk great, so they would be an improvement on my Vans for the next festival...

Pinkpop 2011: Review

After a lot of thinking I have decided on my top 5 for pinkpop festival. It was hard to decide, and not because all bands were so great that I couldn't decide who were the best, it was hard because I feel that there actually weren't a lot of bands who were top five worthy (I was actually dissapointed in Lifehouse, all their material sounds the same, and I left early at Band Of Horses because it was too hot in the tent and they couldn't hold my attention). And of some of the bands that probably were top five worthy I didn't attend the show because I just couldn't stand on my feet anymore. (My friends told me Deadmau5 was awesome, it really sucks I missed out on him!) I HATE vans! Mental note: find better shoes before you go to Indietracks!

So here it goes, my top five:

5. Two Door Cinema Club
This is one of the bands who actually isn't top five worthy based on their performance, but I had a lot of fun at their concert and they make great music so it still is in my top five. And it was the only performance where I got to stand in the area closest to the stage. The main problem with them is that they don't perform, they go on stage, play their songs, sound great (exactly like the cd!), but there is no energy or connection with the audience. They could just as well have been playing the cd, we were dancing with our backs facing the stage anyway...

4. Kaiser Chiefs
Now here is a band Two Door Cinema Club could learn from! Yes, they have been playing almost every festival for the past few years, but it's not hard to understand why! What a performance! So much energy! Their singer really knows how to entertain a crowd, throwing his tambourine in the air and twice jumping of the stage to run through the audience.

3. Wolfmother
I watched them all the way from the back because we just returned from Justin Nozuka (who was okay by the way, I liked the songs he played with the band, the rest was a bit boring. And he kept doing these weird dances) and were kind of starving. But even from there you could witness the party that was going on! I felt like I was back in time and seeing an oldschool rock concert, sweaty people, bear, crowdsurfing and a lot of hair!

2. Selah Sue
I had really been looking forward to this concert all day and it was really really great! It was in the tent stage which was filled completely, it seemed like all tall people had gathered at this concert, it was impossible to see the stage and because this was the only stage without screens I only saw little glimpses of Selah Sue. But man can she sing! I wish I had her voice! (and her hair) We danced our asses off! The only negative comment I have is that she played FyahFyah acoustic which was a shame, I like the album version better, more danceable.

1. Foo Fighters
I never listened to the Foo Fighters, but after seeing them live I will start listening to them! Selah Sue had been holding the number one spot for the entire weekend 'till the Foo Fighters came a long. Let me tell you: they wiped the floor with BOTH Coldplay (who showed up 20 minutes late) and Kings Of Leon. It was the best performance I have ever seen! You could just feel (and see) that they enjoyed being up there just as much as we enjoyed watching them. They didn't have fireworks, or confetti, or laser beams like Coldplay, but they didn't need any of this to give an amazing show! After one and a half hour Dave Grohl announced that he just wasn't fucking done yet, so they continued to play for another 30 minutes (hah, take that Coldplay!) and that it rained a bit bothered no-one. Especially not when Dave Grohl pointed out that this was the first time in his life that he had seen a rainbow at a rock-concert! The cameraman seemed to think that the band only consisted out of Dave Grohl and the dummer though, it would have been nice if he had filmed the others as well from time to time.

Not in this list but I would still like to mention: Simple plan, I only saw a small part of their performance but it was very energetic and looked like a lot of fun, and Tim Knol, he is awesome. I defenitely want a Tim Knol is vet t-shirt! Oh and can I just say that the pinkpop crowd was the least musically talented crowd I have ever seen? They couldn't even clap their hands at the right time!

Little Boots

I NEED these boots in my life! (Wait, I've said this before... something about a bag)

Seriously, I thiks they're amazing! They should be Dr. Martens and I have been searching the entire web for those, but I can't find them! 

The girl in the picture is Ladyhawke by the way and using the term "Ladyhawke + Boots" in Google does not work, besides that I'm probably one of the few looking for those boots, there is another artist with a similar style called "Little Boots".  So I'll get one thousand hits of musicians which I don't even really like. But maybe I just have to give it another listen. Anyway, if you want to know more about this New Zealand singer (or just check out more pictures of her cool style) then just go to het last.fm page.

Songs On Repeat #1

Do you have it too? Songs which you listen to a lot for a few days? I thought I might share some of mine. At the moment it is this one: Fyah Fyah by Selah Sue. It takes a surprising turn at 2:40 and I like it.



So, what are you listening to at the moment?

This is gonna be the fifth time I'm dying my hair red. Can it now please turn out the right shade of red? Like that of A Fine Frenzy for instance.

Btw: I saw her live at Paradiso last year. She's great :)