More music time: Cesair and The Moon and the Nightspirit

Firstly I should probably apologise for the delay once again. This refers to last Saturday so I guess I'm under a week late which is good with my recent track record. Deadlines, exams, and illness have decided to destroy any semblance of organisation in my life, as usual! I did actually take my camera to this show and it was the first time I've attempted to take photos in low light conditions. Not the best results ever, as one might expect for a first attempt, but there are a few photos that might work out okay and I'll upload those onto facebook in the coming days... if they do exist ;-)

Anyway, I haven't said what I'm rambling on about yet, although the title has probably given it away. Saturday saw Thijs, Hester and I make our way to Leiden for a show of Cesair and The Moon and the Nightspirit. It's actually really nice to have Thijs who is basically into exactly the same eclectic mix of music as I am as we get to accompany each other to shows (well, he babysits me really, if we're honest!!) and Hester, who's just getting into the genre, is so so over-excitable. It's actually quite adorable. So we both babysit her ;-)

I have the most stunning friends.

Anyway, we managed to find our way to the venue which is tucked away a bit and probably would be quite unnoticeable unless you know it's there. As always, we were early. Yes, you can probably blame the paranoid about being late British person for that! Anyway, the venue itself was absolutely lovely. The staff members were polite and friendly. The layout of the venue was great with a stepped back area which served as a seating place and also would allow for people to see from the back quite nicely. Couple of annoyingly placed pillars but I guess you can't moan about structural necessity. The sad thing is that the venue faces closure at the moment which would really suck, to put it plainly. There is a petition on the go to save it which you should go and sign here.

So, after lurking at the back, at the top of the stepped area, and taking the obligatory pre-show selfies the lights lowered and my friends went down to the main area for the show. Of course, my delightful friends forgot that I have the whole vision disability, no night vision at all, and was therefore quite as blind as a kitten. I managed to get down the first step... misjudged the rest and somehow landed on my feet, propelling myself across the room and straight into aforementioned friends. That's karma for you! I'm hoping it looked like an elegant jump as opposed to the flailing reality!!

Anyway, a brief comment on the music is in order, I think. As always, I don't need to tell you that Cesair were great. They are a highly skilled set of people playing some wonderful pieces and it makes for a consistently marvelous show. Again, the set was a mixture of older pieces and the newer songs. It's also getting to the stage where Thijs keeps leaning over and going "oooh I like this one" after practically every next-song announcement. I'm not sure if he realised quite how often he was saying that but I guess he does now he's read this!! And it can only be a compliment to the music, of course. Also have to commend the lighting design this time, I think. Not the best for my first attempt at photographing this type of show but certainly atmospheric and fitting, of course, that's what really matters.

Following Cesair was The Moon and the Nightspirit, a group from Hungary who have a perhaps more atmospheric sound. This is the second time I've seen them and, if I'm totally honest, I think this set was a lot stronger than the other one I saw. Despite liking their recorded music, I felt the first show I saw was good but not great. However, this time, I felt they did perform well so I suppose I managed to catch them on an off day last time... or my own mind wasn't in the mood for it, who knows. The audience was really dynamic for their set too, a lot of movement and dance. I know that isn't a comment on the music so much as the atmosphere but the combination of the two matters when it's a live show. In fact, I wonder if that was the difference here compared to the previous show, the audience seemed much more engaged and that has to increase the overall energy. Anyway, I'm rambling on again, as usual!

After the show we attempted to get a photo with the bands which has become rather our habit and is actually really nice for me as a scrapbooker. Seriously, the fact that my friends are into getting photos and taking selfies and whatever makes my life so much easier because heck, I'm too shy to ask so I'd leave without. Also got to test my Dutch skills while Hester and Thijs socialised a bit. The diagnosis: I understand it pretty well now but still can't actually speak a word. Urgh, I need to get classes. Didn't even speak any Hungarian ;-) Mind you, I'm losing the minimal amount I had anyway through lack of practice!

Photo very kindly taken by Kees who also photographed the event.

I'm not quite sure how this developed from a blog post about a gig into a rant about my failings as a linguist but there we go. That's how my mind's working tonight!

Oh, and I have a wonderful weekend to look forward to as some of my music-y friends from the UK are coming over to adventure in Amsterdam. Very excited. 

Now to get healthy before tomorrow!

The good type of busyness!

The last few days have been, in many ways, really beautiful. A whirl of tasks to complete but without the burdening pressure of the previous weeks. I like being busy and I've relished having that balance which keeps me on my toes without causing a struggle, mentally or physically.

Perhaps the greatest success story of the past few days has been Dania and me taking ourselves out early on a Sunday in order to practice riding when the streets were pretty empty and, not only managing not to fall off, but having a good time too. We're not quite ready for traffic but we are getting there slowly but surely and it's fun. Yeah, I didn't think I'd ever say that either!

Dania's selfie skills coming in handy!

We've been slowly building up to this moment over the past few weeks with short rides of a maximum of twenty minutes which usually last for about ten meters. There was something liberating about riding through the morning air, covering ground with minimal effort. Once others started to wake up and join us on the paths it did become harder but that's something to work on.

Talking of liberating, I've been having issues with the tax office deciding to mess me around, basically, and had a terrifying early morning meeting on Tuesday. Laura kindly joined me for that and was my moral support and my Dutch translator (both were exceptionally useful roles and I'd have been lost without her!). Anyway, it appears that has been sorted, or at least has eased for now, so that's been a real weight off my mind. It also meant that both of us got a dark morning walk and saw a little of the other side of the city.

Tourist shot, taken in Leiden, for my mother ;-)

However, my greatest escape of the past few days was yesterday's jaunt to Leiden for my art history class. The museum we visited, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, is the Dutch antiquity museum and is really worth a visit. It's got some interesting artifacts and an intuitive layout that makes it a very comfortable place to look around. Apparently you can get married there too which would certainly be a conversation piece!

As for Leiden itself, I only got to see a few streets but I was lucky enough to have glorious sunshine. It feels like a pleasant place to spend time with interesting things to explore and some generally attractive architecture and town planning. I didn't spend so much time there, sadly, but do plan to return when I have time... one day I'll have time!

Eating lunch in the sun with this view. Perfect.

Right, enough blog related procrastination! For all the pressure might be off I kinda have to write several papers and do a fair few assignments. Determined to get some painting in this week too. Oh and then I need to go buy food. Yep, better do the adulting first!