Wow, wow, and wow once again!

I don't normally write blog posts straight after shows - I'm incoherent even when I'm mentally at my best - but this one time I feel an exception must be made. I've just come back from seeing Apocalyptica with Maria and I simply have to write.

I don't normally feel both as exhausted and exhilarated as this after a gig. I guess the cycling home burned off the post gig adrenaline while my mind is still on fire from the experience. 

I didn't expect the band to be quite that amazing. I expected brilliance but they surpassed it. Wow.

Everything ready to go!

Apocalyptica are one of my childhood bands. I first discovered them back when I was first developing my own music taste. As I started to play the cello myself they became an inspiration. Seriously, one the first proper pieces I learned to play was one the parts of 'Cortege'. They could have been pretty disappointing and it still would have been an amazing night but, trust me, they were anything but disappointing.

Waiting for the show to begin, I tormented Maria with my excited bouncing. Poor girl, she kindly agreed to accompany me even though she wasn't a fan herself and then was subjected to an excited me! We decided to sit on the balcony which is not my usual style but was actually an excellent choice. The view was brilliant of both the stage and of the band. It was really interesting to watch the crowd dynamic from this angle - you don't see the patterns when you're a part of it even if you're aware they exist. It would have also been a great place to take photos but I gave up in the end because the lighting was not nice to my little compact and, with the number of pro photographers there, there will be plenty of images floating around in a few days :-)

Anyway, you'll notice I'm avoiding talking about the show itself. It's really hard to work out what to say, how to put it into words. The music was great. They're talented live musicians not just talented recording artists so that was not surprise. I guess the tech was a bit odd to start with as the drums were too prominent but that was quickly resolved and then everything was great.

What did surprise me was the dynamic on stage. Something that's to Apocalyptica's credit is the way in which each member has their own role within the band's sound. They're not just several cellists, and drummer, attempting to play coherent music but they're a band with defined roles melody, rhythm, bass... drums. While they make stray from this format from time to time it gives their music a real structure. But this wasn't what I was wanting to say... oh what was it? Yes, the fact that, on stage, there is also a clear structure. Eicca seems to be cool and in control, Paavo really interacted with the crowd and got them involved, Perttu was 100% full of beans and all over the place, and Mikko drew it all together with the drumming. In this sense, you have a really rounded stage atmosphere. There was a real feeling of fraternity amongst the band and that was lovely to see as an audience member. It felt like they were loving being on stage and that simply transferred. Yeah, it was great.

Not only was the potential of the important bits of music and performance fully realised but the design of the performance, both visually and set-list wise was also on form. I will admit that there were times when the strobe lighting was simply to flashy for me but then there were also moments of beautiful lighting design that really set up an atmosphere to compliment the piece in question. The louder, faster pieces saw the stage divided with beams of light and colour while the quiet, peaceful numbers received a more harmonious treatment. And the balance between those fast and slow pieces was just right. While the majority of the set was centred around, as one would expect, Apocalyptica's heavier pieces, it was interjected with two moments of calm. Not only were the tunes played in those moments stunning but this division of the set ensured that the heavier tunes did not fall into a monotony, allowing the audience to appreciate every moment.

So, a wonderful night? Undoubtedly. Did Maria enjoy it in the end? Well, from her grin at points during the show and from the brief discussion we had afterwards... I think she might be a convert ;-) Sadly, we didn't manage to meet the band afterwards (and I couldn't get my scrap-book signed!) but as I'll be seeing them next year I think I'll survive! Truly cannot wait to see them again - they've set themselves up at near top of my 'best live bands list' and exceeded the already high expectations I held. Wow.

Sorry for lack of decent images. I only took about 20 as I thought they were coming out even worse than they were. Of course, that means the semi-decent ones, and I use that term very loosely, are limited to no more than a few!

Help! The essays are coming to get me! (and other stories)

When I have a lot of work to do I'm always really productive. I clean my room, I send letters letters to friends I should have contacted weeks ago, I write useless blog posts. I guess I do a bit of the work too...

At the moment I have four essays weighing on my mind; two (and a bit) are due over the next week. In addition, with my parents visiting and both Sonja and my birthdays on the horizon I'm trying to get everything done early. It's not working out so well but there we go. And that's before I mention the 300 pages of reading for Monday.

That said, I'm kinda enjoying my papers. My history of art paper is looking at a stunning example of a Greek vase which also has some great links to culture and mythology and I'm rather enjoying studying that aspect, even if I'm not so sure on the paper style for this subject. I have chosen to look at one of my favourite films for literary and cultural theory although, as I'm analysing it psychoanalytically, I will probably ruin my childhood in the process. For my academic writing class I'm working on a paper about the reasons for conversion to neo-pagan faiths. Fascinating topic but driving me mad researching the thing ;-)

I've been lucky to be able to slot in social moments too, over the past week or so, with Laura and her flatmates (and ultimately her whole corridor, it seems) throwing a party on Tuesday night. Although I didn't stay for all that long - I'm quite boring at parties! - it was such fun to just mess around with friends. 

My only non-blurry photo from the evening. Sorry Leonoor!

Friday evening, however, really has to stand out as one of the best moments of the past little while. Running straight from class to catch a train into the centre to meet up with Maria and catch some of the final concerts of the Cello Biennale was a real change of pace.

Actually, Maria and I first started chatting, many moons ago, because of our shared love for the cello, although she plays 100x better than I ever did. Indeed, she was telling me about the Cello Biennale, a two week long cello festival, before I had even started playing with the idea of moving here. To go to some of the events was fitting.

Image from www.muziekgebouw.nl 

We managed to catch a concert of several students from the Boston Conservatoire before the main concert. This was a delightful way to precede the main event which was the final of the Nationaal Cello Concours. Not only was it an evening of high quality music, as one might expect, but it was a chance to really compare style of three talented individuals. It was also a good chance to practice Dutch as the prizes were presented and winners announced in the language despite the rest being conducted in English, oddly. I'll never get used to how English is casually used in this country, even among native speakers. Anyway, I digress, happily, the person Maria and I both voted to win did so.

The biennale is now over, and Maria will be having withdrawal symptoms, I'm sure, as she's been living there! We have got one more show related to it to look forward to, however, and that is the Apocalyptica concert which was supposed to open the event but was postponed until November. Looking forward to attacking Maria with some metal ;-)

Right, I better get on with this work. It's staring at me reproachfully as I type so I don't think I can put it off much longer!

One month on!

As it seems that I have taken to writing weekly summaries on a Sunday (it's not planned) it just happens, I expected this to be another boring post full of nothingness with which to numb the minds of the poor souls who actually read this. Well, it probably is going to be that still, don't get your hopes up too much!

However, just as I sat down to write I noticed the date. It's the 21st. That means that it's exactly one month since I moved here. I've been living in the Netherlands for one whole month. It does not feel like that long at all. It's really, really weird!

However, saying that, last week was a really good week for me as it all started to feel a lot more settled. My sleep pattern has started to return to normal (I'd been waking at least four times each night and unable to sleep beyond about 6:30) and things have started to feel more in control and generally chilled. It's only as things settle down that you realise how much of a strain life has been but then I think that's to be expected when you're living on your own for the first time, moving to a foreign country, every piece of admin is going wrong, and you're starting at a new university. Certainly, for the first time, last week things started to feel more normal and more like home. So maybe it's not so strange that a month has passed!

So, a brief summary of last week:
Wednesday evening was a pup quiz at the university café. It was a nice evening. Went up with Wendy and then joined with a couple of older students and Julika to form a team for the night. I am so out of practice with pub quizing though, worrying as I used to go to the pub and compete each week, and was totally useless! Would certainly go up again all the same as it's a nice evening out... and I need to get back in practice!

Friday saw me hand in my first paper. Thursday saw my computer delete my first paper (and the back up file) in a complete blip. You can guess that it was finished in a bit of a flap but it wasn't too big a deal. Not the best thing I've ever written but, for a first attempt at a university paper, I'm not too disappointed.

Friday was also the day of the AUC Lustrum celebration marking five years of the university. I went for a little while with some friends and hung around, chatted, and ate really nice pistachio ice cream. I didn't stay all that long though because I was tired and didn't really find my way round what was going on.

I did manage to get my father a bottle for his collection ;-)

And then yesterday was another lovely afternoon and evening with Maria. After she rescued me when I got totally lost trying to find the market where she works we spent some time having a drink with her father and some colleagues which was lovely and then went back to hers for dinner. She even taught me how to use the buses and showed me that, in fact, my supermarket troubles stem from me going to a weird supermarket. Seriously, the one near her flat is so, so easy!

Did I mention Maria's pet chicks?

All in all, a wonderful week. Really looking forward to seeing what next week has in store! Now I should probably return to my two other papers that are, annoyingly, not writing themselves in my absence!

Entering the second week!

It's really funny the things that you miss when you're away from home. I quite expected to find myself a quivering wreck frequently through not being around my family (and friends). However, while I miss people, and I'm finding life a lot easier than I expected, I've found that it's the practical little things that make me miss home.

I miss the food that I know. I miss cooking for people. I miss getting the train to college as the walk here doesn't give you the same social experience. I miss having a bath because I only have a (painfully hot) shower. I miss saving bits of carrot for my canary, when cooking. Perhaps these things are the things that really have impact because the lack of people you love is just too big a concept for the brain to hack. Either way, homesickness is certainly present but in a different form to how I expected it!

To that ends, things like cooking a Sunday Roast with Maria the other day really matter. I mean, it was probably one of the worst roast dinners I've ever made but it was just wonderful because it was a moment of 'home'. There's an amazing comfort derived from those kind of things.

Attempts to combine study and relaxation ;-)

Something that has really stuck me about this course is the sheer workload and pace at which the 

classes are moving. Last week, on Thursday, I completed my first piece of work that contributes to the final grade, a group presentation which ended up with a significantly smaller group than planned. This happened in the second class and class number one had been an introduction. It really does feel like I'm preparing for class or doing assignments in every waking moment although I know that's not true. All the same, you know you're procrastinating when you update your 'about' page on the blog. Pleased I got round to it, even if I should have been doing something else, as the other page was annoying me no end!

Overall, there have been some huge lifestyle changes over the last couple of weeks and it's really rather strange. I'm enjoying the challenges but they are challenges for sure! I'm really happy that I'm starting to get to know some lovely people, and meeting new people almost every day, and that is a really good sign!

Oh, and those of you who've known me and my bad immune system for years, and have been wondering how I've managed to not catch 'Freshers Flu' will be pleased to know that I haven't been replaced by some alien... I'm coming down with a cold >.<

Sleep and relaxation

Okay, the title is wishful thinking, coming from the mind of a sleep deprived person, but there we go! My last post was only a couple of days ago but life's busy enough that I'm able to write pretty often and easily find things to talk about.

The highlight of Thursday night:
Walking home with a dinosaur... in a hoodie.

Thursday evening was an open stage and awards night. It was the social summary of the introduction week but, to be quite honest, I wasn't really looking forward to it that much. As it happened, it was an okay evening. There were some really talented people, some funny acts, but it was a bit chaotic and haphazard and I was generally tired and not really wanting to be there. I think, by that stage, I needed my bed, and some space!

Friday was a shorter day, with just an hour long tutor session on time management. The session ran over and we didn't finish properly. The irony is not lost. Anywho, most of the other students tootled on off to their weekend away and I stayed behind. Hope they're having a good time while I relax ;-)

I decided to use Friday afternoon for paperwork and admin, of which there is more than you could possibly imagine. I mean, think of all the things you would need to do to move abroad and then times that idea by four. It's really surprising how much there is to do... but I digress. Finding that I needed to print one of the forms off, and lacking a printer, Maria, one of my penpals, kindly offered to print off the form for me and to bring it round.

She arrived at around four pm and then suddenly it was dark. It was the first time we'd met in person but somehow we managed to get on so easily that time just flew past without either of us noticing. It was so nice to meet her, finally, and to chat. I'm looking forward to seeing her again soon, I hope!

Today was a less impromptu meeting, with the lovely Annelies. She showed me round Amsterdam a little more, and showed me some lovely shops that were definitely my style. We then stumbled across the Uitmarkt which is a free festival thing, at the beginning of the season, with events and stands based around all the arts. It was great to explore some of the things that will be going on over the next few months (even if as a poor student I won't be able to afford to go!!!) and it's quite exciting. Annelies also trained me in the art of taking things that were offered for free ;-)

What can I say? The hats were free!

Events aside, we had a good day! Annelies is a really kind person and such good fun too so it's great to get to meet up with her. It's certainly been a good start to my weekend! As for how it will continue? Sleep and relaxation, of course! (*)




(*) Please note: "Sleep and relaxation" hereby means "filling in forms, doing grocery shopping, attempting to unpack the flat, and preparing for my first classes!"