I was feeling a bit too bored and wanted to do something productive for once. So, this happened. I did this in about 4-5 hours in Adobe Illustrator. Here's the picture I used...
I've finally come around to getting my first roll of film using the Lomokino developed and edited the scans. I wasn't too sure about how everything worked out yet and how it would turn out. So, this was more of a test roll and me figuring out about the settings and everything else. Here are some of the stills.
I'm starting this thing on my blog wherein I recommend websites that I enjoy visiting. It's just a little something I'll be putting at the end of each blogpost.
La Blogotheque has been one of my favorite things in the world. It's a series of video sessions with musicians in unorthodox places. For almost 7 years, these Take Away Shows, Les Concerts à Emporter, have managed to have famous bands such as Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Bon Iver, etc. It's my favorite thing to watch these popular bands perform in the strangest places. Vampire Weekend played in a deserted backyard with their drummer banging on trash cans as his drums, Mumford & Sonsserenaded a random Parisian outside her window, while Noah and the Whalegot on a train and started playing their songs. I love it. I love it all.
Here are 5 bands you should be listening to in their Take Away Shows. Trust me, you'll like them and maybe fall in love with them like I have already.
This was the day I have been waiting for... for four years. I was finally going to see Vampire Weekend perform live. It felt so surreal. I still can't believe it. I've been anticipating this moment ever since me and my friends arrived at Singapore and it was finally happening. It was incredible. I felt so happy to be alive. To see your favorite band play live is the best feeling ever. And to be in front and center of the crowd made it even more epic. For years, these guys have only ever been on my laptop and on my iPod. And then to see them there, in front of me, is truly unbelievable. I just wish I had the chance to meet them personally. Maybe next time. Hopefully...
Big Night Out featured Band of Horses, Vampire Weekend, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Unfortunately for us, we had to miss Yeah Yeah Yeahs to catch our midnight flight but I was more than fine with it because Vampire Weekend already made me the happiest girl that night. But yeah, nbd. C'est la vie... [It might have something to do with Ezra locking eyes with me for a second too.]
Here are some pictures.
Disclaimer: It's a lot of Ezra and no Rostam because all my pictures of him turned out blurry. :(
It's my first music festival and my spirits are soaring!
I flew to Singapore along with two of my friends on the 25th of January, just a day before Laneway Festival. It was our first Laneway and we were extremely excited. We took the train to Marina Bay and when we stepped out of the station, it was scorching hot. The sun was literally burning us. We did not expect the heat to be that scalding. Mental note #1: Bikini tops should've been worn instead. There was a long line to enter the festival grounds but it didn't really take too long to get inside. When we eventually made our way in, Kings of Convenience was already on stage. There were already people settled down on their mats and enjoying the music. Mental note #2: Bring a mat/towel or something to lay on the grass for you to sit on (if you don't want to sit on the grass itself). Since the sun decided to stay out until 7pm, there's always a long queue for refreshments. This brings me to my mental note #3: Buy water outside of the festival because they only serve Fiji water which costs 5 SGD. Nobody should be paying that much for a 500ml bottle of water. But you're left paying for it anyway because the heat is dehydrating you quickly. Don't let the heat get to you, you'll miss all the fun. One thing we were right in doing was taking note of set times of bands we wanted to see, thus sort of scheduling when we'll eat and when we'll head to the crowd for a good view. Which reminds me, mental note #4: Once you're in a good spot, if someone's trying to squeeze in to get in front of you, don't play nice next time. You were there first. And lastly, mental note #5: Sing and dance like nobody's watching.
I had favorites that I was eager to watch which included Of Monsters and Men, Kimbra, Tame Impala, and Gotye. But I was really looking forward to seeing Alt-J (∆). They're my current band crush and to see them perform live would be absolutely amazing.
Photographs of the performances will be on the next blog post.
Always ready with my Lomokino.
Our little spot at the shaded area by the curbside.
$40 for these bands shirts. No, thank you. Although I really wanted to buy Alt-J's shirt (not pictured above).
It's been two days since I got back from Singapore a.k.a. my personal trip to indie music haven and I don't know how I could even move on from such a euphoric experience.
From the moment I found out that Vampire Weekend are going to play at Fort Canning Park on January 30, without a shadow of a doubt, I said to myself that I am going to this concert. I've never felt so certain and so sure of anything. You have to know, Vampire Weekend is my favorite band, ever! I mean, I do love a lot of bands and artists but nothing else compares to my love for Vampire Weekend. I love their music. I love their sound. I love them as a band. And I love them individually. This band just means a lot to me. My blog's namesake is actually from one of their first songs. My point here is: I cannot for the life of me miss this concert.
I don't know how but somehow, everything fell into place. I went with two of my friends to Singapore solely for the purpose of attending Laneway Festival 2013 and Big Night Out, which was the concert Vampire Weekend was going to play. It was just our luck that Laneway Festival was 4 days before the Vampire Weekend concert so we took advantage of it and decided to go to both. We flew on the 25th and left midnight of the 31st of January. In that span of six days, I've seen my favorite band play live, seen my current band crushes, and discovered amazing talents. I was on a high. I never thought I would actually be able to experience what I've been through in these past few days. I've always dreamt of going to music festivals and see great bands play live. To finally fulfill this longing is quite unbelievably wonderful. It's the best feeling ever. I remembering uttering, "I belong here. I love this scene!" What a cliche, I know. But 100% true. It was 12 hours of live music from 14 bands for Laneway Festival and 3 big bands for Big Night Out. It was so surreal. I'm glad nobody pinched me in case it was all but a dream.
I can't stress enough about how incredible the trip was. I repeatedly said, "I'm so happy! I'm so happy!" and jumping up and down like a little girl whose been fed a ton of chocolates. I was elated. I was blissful. I was flying. At this point, I've reached my highest of highs. So how do I go on from being extremely ecstatic to an incredibly dull life the next day? Should I simply pretend that it was just a typical thing to do and really not that exciting as I make it to be when in reality, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me? Life's quite cruel sometimes. But I'm not complaining. I get life. Sometimes it's awesome. Sometimes it's difficult. But most of the time it's dull, repetitive, and mundane.
Now that I'm back home, I'm still hungover and I feel like I will never recover. Is that bad or just completely childish? I have never been in a situation like this before and I'm stuck. Will this feeling go away in a couple of days? I guess sooner or later it will. But right now, I'm not ready to move on just yet. Let me sulk for a while because I know it will be quite a long time before something as marvelous as this comes along my way again.
