In a thought which is completely unrelated to the rest of this blog, it is always a conscious decision for me not to start sentences with "So." I feel like I do it too much. And every blog I write I type "So" as soon as I begin, then delete it go without it. Maybe it's just me. Now on to the story.
One of the most wonderful things happened to me the other night. I was down in Munich for a Haim and Phoenix show. I was actually there for Haim because I was extremely disappointed in Phoenix's new album. Luckily for me they played mostly songs from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (about half of the set) and only like 2 songs off the new album, one of them being Entertainment, which is actually a great song. Anyway point being, I was there for Haim and they did not disappoint. Those girls really rocked it, which was kind of surprising considering the level of poppiness there is in their album.
Aside from the show being all around fantastic, I had been dreaming about meeting Haim for a while now. I was even home talking to a friend about this about a month ago and what I should say if I get to meet them (you can read about that here). Then at the concert I was texting my sister somewhat joking about it, never thinking it would happen. But in the back of my mind, I thought I might try. I managed to be up front for their performance, but moved out of the crowd for Phoenix. This was done chiefly for 2 reasons: reason the first being I didn't want to be squished in with a bunch of screaming 14 year olds, and reason the second being I wanted to see if maybe Haim would come out to watch the set. So I stationed myself in a spot with a great view of the stage, plenty of space, and in direct line of sight to the backstage entrance. About half of the show had passed, and then I noticed Este, the oldest of the sisters, walking out towards the bathroom. I figured she was headed to the bathroom so I'd catch her on the way back and say hi. Which is exactly what I did. But on the way back she had somewhere picked up Danielle, the middle sister. And then the following conversation (more or less) ensued:
Michael: You guys were fucking awesome
Este: Awww, thanks so much
Michael: Yeah I'm really glad I could make the show
Este: (shining her phone in my face for more light) Wait, have we met?
Michael: Umm, no, but I'm a Jew and I'm from L.A., so maybe?
Este: That's it, we can tell our own. Where in L.A.?
Michael: Actually Orange County, but I went to UCLA so I was living there for a while.
Este: Me too! (chit chat about when we graduated, etc ensues) So what are you doing here?
Michael: I work for a German company so I spend about half my time here, but I actually live in Singapore.
Este: Oh cool
Michael: Yeah I actually have tickets to see you guys in January
Este: Oh yeah, at Laneway! Well (stops to think for a second), we're there all weekend, so if you want to hang out...
Michael: Yeah, definitely
Este: Do you have a phone?
And then the magic happened. She gave me her number and said to text her and that we'd hang out when they come to Singapore. I should also mentioned that Alana, the youngest sister, came up at one point and we said our hellos too. So my plan is working. That plan being to meet them, fall in love, and marry one of them - preferably Danielle.
Without knowing anything about them personally, they check off some of the big items on my list: Jewish, attractive, musician, from California. Not all of these things are required, but they are all worth extra points. So I guess we wait and see what happens!
I think it's also worth mentioning that the first girl who ever rejected me liked the status I posted on Facebook about meeting Haim and getting their number (that may not be completely accurate, but it was the first that mattered). Maybe this makes me a horrible person, but it gives me a small sense of superiority when this person likes my statuses, especially awesome ones such as that. I bear this person absolutely no ill will, after all this happened over 15 years ago and we don't talk at all, but can't help feeling this way. Oh well. I'm ok with it.
Now to share some completely unrelated music with you. I am a huge fan of Fink, a British singer-songwritery guy. Gold flows from his hands and mouth. And he just released the most incredible thing ever, which is a recording of a concert he did with the Royal Councertgebouw Orchestra for the Queen of the Netherlands. If you've heard Fink before, just the idea of him playing with an orchestra should excite you. And now it has happened. And it is gorgeous. I was actually quite concerned that I had missed this album, as the concert apparently happened in 2012. But luckily it only came out last month so I have not been missing this album in my life for too long.
I'll be honest, I haven't listened to the whole album. In fact I only listened to half of one song on Spotify before going to buy it. I did listen to a couple more, but only because one of my favourite tracks was coming up soon. Since I bought it I can listen anytime, like during my drive to Munich tomorrow when I can't listen to Spotify, so I moved on to other things in Spotify.
That track that I continued to listen for is the orchestra version of Yesterday Was Hard on All of Us, from his most recent album Perfect Darkness. The original is amazing and by far the best on the album, and the orchestra version is just incredible.
One of the most wonderful things happened to me the other night. I was down in Munich for a Haim and Phoenix show. I was actually there for Haim because I was extremely disappointed in Phoenix's new album. Luckily for me they played mostly songs from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (about half of the set) and only like 2 songs off the new album, one of them being Entertainment, which is actually a great song. Anyway point being, I was there for Haim and they did not disappoint. Those girls really rocked it, which was kind of surprising considering the level of poppiness there is in their album.
Aside from the show being all around fantastic, I had been dreaming about meeting Haim for a while now. I was even home talking to a friend about this about a month ago and what I should say if I get to meet them (you can read about that here). Then at the concert I was texting my sister somewhat joking about it, never thinking it would happen. But in the back of my mind, I thought I might try. I managed to be up front for their performance, but moved out of the crowd for Phoenix. This was done chiefly for 2 reasons: reason the first being I didn't want to be squished in with a bunch of screaming 14 year olds, and reason the second being I wanted to see if maybe Haim would come out to watch the set. So I stationed myself in a spot with a great view of the stage, plenty of space, and in direct line of sight to the backstage entrance. About half of the show had passed, and then I noticed Este, the oldest of the sisters, walking out towards the bathroom. I figured she was headed to the bathroom so I'd catch her on the way back and say hi. Which is exactly what I did. But on the way back she had somewhere picked up Danielle, the middle sister. And then the following conversation (more or less) ensued:
Michael: You guys were fucking awesome
Este: Awww, thanks so much
Michael: Yeah I'm really glad I could make the show
Este: (shining her phone in my face for more light) Wait, have we met?
Michael: Umm, no, but I'm a Jew and I'm from L.A., so maybe?
Este: That's it, we can tell our own. Where in L.A.?
Michael: Actually Orange County, but I went to UCLA so I was living there for a while.
Este: Me too! (chit chat about when we graduated, etc ensues) So what are you doing here?
Michael: I work for a German company so I spend about half my time here, but I actually live in Singapore.
Este: Oh cool
Michael: Yeah I actually have tickets to see you guys in January
Este: Oh yeah, at Laneway! Well (stops to think for a second), we're there all weekend, so if you want to hang out...
Michael: Yeah, definitely
Este: Do you have a phone?
And then the magic happened. She gave me her number and said to text her and that we'd hang out when they come to Singapore. I should also mentioned that Alana, the youngest sister, came up at one point and we said our hellos too. So my plan is working. That plan being to meet them, fall in love, and marry one of them - preferably Danielle.
Without knowing anything about them personally, they check off some of the big items on my list: Jewish, attractive, musician, from California. Not all of these things are required, but they are all worth extra points. So I guess we wait and see what happens!
I think it's also worth mentioning that the first girl who ever rejected me liked the status I posted on Facebook about meeting Haim and getting their number (that may not be completely accurate, but it was the first that mattered). Maybe this makes me a horrible person, but it gives me a small sense of superiority when this person likes my statuses, especially awesome ones such as that. I bear this person absolutely no ill will, after all this happened over 15 years ago and we don't talk at all, but can't help feeling this way. Oh well. I'm ok with it.
Now to share some completely unrelated music with you. I am a huge fan of Fink, a British singer-songwritery guy. Gold flows from his hands and mouth. And he just released the most incredible thing ever, which is a recording of a concert he did with the Royal Councertgebouw Orchestra for the Queen of the Netherlands. If you've heard Fink before, just the idea of him playing with an orchestra should excite you. And now it has happened. And it is gorgeous. I was actually quite concerned that I had missed this album, as the concert apparently happened in 2012. But luckily it only came out last month so I have not been missing this album in my life for too long.
I'll be honest, I haven't listened to the whole album. In fact I only listened to half of one song on Spotify before going to buy it. I did listen to a couple more, but only because one of my favourite tracks was coming up soon. Since I bought it I can listen anytime, like during my drive to Munich tomorrow when I can't listen to Spotify, so I moved on to other things in Spotify.
That track that I continued to listen for is the orchestra version of Yesterday Was Hard on All of Us, from his most recent album Perfect Darkness. The original is amazing and by far the best on the album, and the orchestra version is just incredible.
Seriously, though. Ridiculous. I wish I could have been there. And the album ends with a 10 minute version of Sort of Revolution, another amazing song by Fink. I haven't heard that track yet, but I am very excited. Go buy this album.
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