Just came back from two wonderful weekends that involved more reunions than anticipated. When I was in the US last month I went to see a Lucius show in Washington D.C. and found out that the band was coming to Europe. I absolutely love their new album, Wildewoman (more on that below), but I also know one of the singers from Jewy stuff in high school. This made it the perfect chance to not only see music that I love, but also see a friend I haven't seen in years. And of course a great chance to not spend my weekends in my tiny little town. So with that in mind, I headed to Paris last weekend and Utrecht this weekend for their Saturday night shows.
I thought I'd get to see a friend I studied abroad with while I was in Paris, but unfortunately she was out of town. That didn't stop her from letting me stay at her place, which has to be one of the nicest apartments I've ever stayed in. This girl has impeccable taste. The place was perfect. And perfectly situated. Even her umbrella was amazing. It had wind flap thingies so it wouldn't get blown around and break when it's windy. I didn't even know that was a thing. I will definitely be calling her one day when I live in one place for long enough to ever own anything larger than a t-shirt. Even though she wasn't there, I managed to spend a good chunk of the weekend with another old friend from back in LA who's been living in Paris for about a year now. We haven't seen each other for like 4 years, but I have no shame when it comes to reconnecting with old friends. I'm horrible at keeping in touch, so all I can really do is try to see people whenever we're in the same place, and feel zero awkwardness about messaging someone I actually enjoy if we're ever in the same place. On top of all this I was in Paris and got to eat macarons and beef tartare (which is probably one of my favourite dishes ever) so really a win all around.
Then this weekend was a bit of a whirlwind, but of the best sort. A good friend of mine from Beijing, Mark, happened to be in Germany for work, so we were skyping a couple weeks ago to figure out if we could see each other. He had the weekend free and was flying out on Sunday, so we though we might hang out near Frankfurt. Now, I've heard nothing good about Frankfurt. I've basically been told it's the asshole of Europe. So rather than do that I suggested we drive out to Utrecht in the Netherlands and see Lucius's show there. Then I kept thinking and decided that we should actually spend Friday night on an army base near Frankfurt with a friend from home's mother, who I have never met. This was probably one of the best decisions of the weekend. Her mother and stepfather were amazingly hospitable, cooked us a ridiculous good dinner, and they had a dog. We had the good chats and the good wine until late in the night, and only went to bed because we had to be up early to drive to Utrecht. But before going to bed I checked facebook, only to learn that another friend from Beijing was about to board a plane to Amsterdam. So I messaged her and got her to meet us in Utrecht as well for the night, which led to even more festivities, fun and croquettes. It was a short visit, but we made the most of it and saw Lucius's show, which was awesome. Really a great weekend all around. It's also worth mentioning that Mark and I have now spent time together on 3 continents, and yet never seen each other in America. Kind of impressive, if you ask me.
Anyway enough of the rambling, I promised music so here we go. I posted about Lucius when they released their eponymous EP a while back. They've just released their first album and I can't stop listening to it. I think of them as my Lord Huron for 2013. Not because they sound anything alike, but because when I first heard them (and Lord Huron) it was through EPs which I thought were ok, had a couple good tracks, but overall nothing I was crazy about. But then when their first albums came out I could not stop listening. I had Lonesome Dreams on repeat in 2012 and it ended up in my top 10, and this year it's Wildewoman on repeat (and likely ending up in my top 10 for the year).
I love pretty much every song on the album, but there are 3 stand out tracks to me. The first is Don't Just Sit There, but I already posted it on my last blog about Lucius, so you can just click on the little link above and go listen to it. Other than that one, I love Tempest, which I believe is the 2nd official single off the album. They just released the video for it, so watch it on repeat, please.
Hopefully you're hooked now. You should be. They're basically on every blog I read and everyone has been raving about them. I don't even know how many lists I've seen where they're listed as one of the best acts at some festival, or one of the acts the author is most excited about, or just one of the top bands to watch at the moment. I generally don't read or care about reviews, but I would agree with all of those sentiments.
The last track on the album, How Loud Your Heart Gets, is also one of my favourites, if not my favourite. Actually, what I really love about this track is the guitar in the background on the chorus. I mean, I love the song in general, but for some reason that guitar just gets me and it's what makes it my favourite. I'm not really sure it's a song for everyone, but I love it. I actually can't seem to find a non-live version of it online, so instead here's their NPR Tiny Desk concert which includes it, along with many other musical treats. Enjoy!
I thought I'd get to see a friend I studied abroad with while I was in Paris, but unfortunately she was out of town. That didn't stop her from letting me stay at her place, which has to be one of the nicest apartments I've ever stayed in. This girl has impeccable taste. The place was perfect. And perfectly situated. Even her umbrella was amazing. It had wind flap thingies so it wouldn't get blown around and break when it's windy. I didn't even know that was a thing. I will definitely be calling her one day when I live in one place for long enough to ever own anything larger than a t-shirt. Even though she wasn't there, I managed to spend a good chunk of the weekend with another old friend from back in LA who's been living in Paris for about a year now. We haven't seen each other for like 4 years, but I have no shame when it comes to reconnecting with old friends. I'm horrible at keeping in touch, so all I can really do is try to see people whenever we're in the same place, and feel zero awkwardness about messaging someone I actually enjoy if we're ever in the same place. On top of all this I was in Paris and got to eat macarons and beef tartare (which is probably one of my favourite dishes ever) so really a win all around.
Then this weekend was a bit of a whirlwind, but of the best sort. A good friend of mine from Beijing, Mark, happened to be in Germany for work, so we were skyping a couple weeks ago to figure out if we could see each other. He had the weekend free and was flying out on Sunday, so we though we might hang out near Frankfurt. Now, I've heard nothing good about Frankfurt. I've basically been told it's the asshole of Europe. So rather than do that I suggested we drive out to Utrecht in the Netherlands and see Lucius's show there. Then I kept thinking and decided that we should actually spend Friday night on an army base near Frankfurt with a friend from home's mother, who I have never met. This was probably one of the best decisions of the weekend. Her mother and stepfather were amazingly hospitable, cooked us a ridiculous good dinner, and they had a dog. We had the good chats and the good wine until late in the night, and only went to bed because we had to be up early to drive to Utrecht. But before going to bed I checked facebook, only to learn that another friend from Beijing was about to board a plane to Amsterdam. So I messaged her and got her to meet us in Utrecht as well for the night, which led to even more festivities, fun and croquettes. It was a short visit, but we made the most of it and saw Lucius's show, which was awesome. Really a great weekend all around. It's also worth mentioning that Mark and I have now spent time together on 3 continents, and yet never seen each other in America. Kind of impressive, if you ask me.
Anyway enough of the rambling, I promised music so here we go. I posted about Lucius when they released their eponymous EP a while back. They've just released their first album and I can't stop listening to it. I think of them as my Lord Huron for 2013. Not because they sound anything alike, but because when I first heard them (and Lord Huron) it was through EPs which I thought were ok, had a couple good tracks, but overall nothing I was crazy about. But then when their first albums came out I could not stop listening. I had Lonesome Dreams on repeat in 2012 and it ended up in my top 10, and this year it's Wildewoman on repeat (and likely ending up in my top 10 for the year).
I love pretty much every song on the album, but there are 3 stand out tracks to me. The first is Don't Just Sit There, but I already posted it on my last blog about Lucius, so you can just click on the little link above and go listen to it. Other than that one, I love Tempest, which I believe is the 2nd official single off the album. They just released the video for it, so watch it on repeat, please.
Hopefully you're hooked now. You should be. They're basically on every blog I read and everyone has been raving about them. I don't even know how many lists I've seen where they're listed as one of the best acts at some festival, or one of the acts the author is most excited about, or just one of the top bands to watch at the moment. I generally don't read or care about reviews, but I would agree with all of those sentiments.
The last track on the album, How Loud Your Heart Gets, is also one of my favourites, if not my favourite. Actually, what I really love about this track is the guitar in the background on the chorus. I mean, I love the song in general, but for some reason that guitar just gets me and it's what makes it my favourite. I'm not really sure it's a song for everyone, but I love it. I actually can't seem to find a non-live version of it online, so instead here's their NPR Tiny Desk concert which includes it, along with many other musical treats. Enjoy!
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