3 posts tagged “mark lanegan”
I did go to a couple of gigs recently that I didn't post pictures of. Partly because, well, I didn't have a camera, but also because I've just been too busy. That Halloween costume took a -lot- of preparation, which made me hate it in the end. After the (awesome) Halloween weekend, I'm finally back home now with some time on my hands. It's a nice feeling, actually.
In August, I went to see Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan in Tivoli in Utrecht. I don't know what it is about Mark Lanegan, but I find him and his demeanor very interesting. It's like he lives in a world of his own, closed off to the people around him. Rather introverted, moody, but attractive in the enigma kind of way. I loved his pairing with Isobel Campbell. Unexpected and on paper, it seems an almost impossible combination. But it works incredibly well. I think I have raved about teir oh so different voices before. Isobel's almost fairylike fragile voice, and Mark's deep and dark voice. Their song Deus Ibi Est is incredible.
I'm not entirely sure why these pictures took so long to put online. It just happened. I took them with the EOS350 I borrowed of Caroline and my 50/1.4 lens. I think a possible explanation about why it took so long is that I wasn't too happy with these pictures in general, but there's a couple of okay ones.
And then I went to see Hard-Fi. I took de D40 for a testrun. The gig was at the Melkweg, which should have alarmed me, but I figured I'd give it a try anyway. After shooting throughout the gig, a HUGE security guy came up to me and directed me to a dark, run down concrete area. Gulp.
Next their tour manager comes up to me and gives me a big lecture about how I can't shoot with a camera like that, and he'll need to have me format the card. Left very little options, I chose the only remaining one...stay polite, grovel and beg. And behold! It worked! So Mr. Hard-Fi tourmanager is now a very cool guy, and I was a happy camper.
Last night I once again trudged to the Paradiso to go see Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan who made an excellent idea called Ballad of Broken Seas. Mark Lanegan has been somewhat of an interest of mine for a while, but I've somehow managed to miss him every time he played here. Isobell Campbell is probably better known for her work in Belle & Sebastian (a band I admittedly never really got into or even gave a chance) and Mark Lanegan has done guest appearances with a number of bands, including Queens of the Stone Age and more recently, the Twilight Singers.
Earlier in the week, I went to see Jarvis who was in one word delightful. Here's the anti hero putting up a flawless appearance. Playing the crowd like a pro, delivering a mix between rock solid Jarvis-esque music (which deserves a class of it's own) full of cynicism and dark humour and stand up comedy. His conversation and songs seem lightweight and and entertaining, yet carry out a message without the overbearing preaching like techniques some performers like to use to get their point across. One downside was the poor advertising, which resulted in this show being very undersold and me having to eat two of my tickets :( Oh, and, Jarvis stole my joke! That bastard! It was funny though, so he's forgiven. I wished I could have seen more of his show, but it seemed to be fairly impossible to go do that. A real bummer, but c'est ca.
Yesterday when I came home from the Lanegan concert, Storm was just too cute. He more or less pounced me as soon as I came in through the door, then went completely hyper for the next two hours and kept pogoing around the flat while I was trying to sleep. He doesn't really know it, but I he'll be going to the doctor this coming Thursday to lose his mandhood. Poor little chappie. He has proven to be an absolute delight to be around, almost doglike in his mannerisms. I suspect I'll be spending a bit more money on him to get him completely sorted out though, but he'll be worth it :)
On a less happy note, Solon his leg is slightly swollen. While he isn't sore or lame, I'd rather take things a little easy for now. Hopefully it won't be anything serious, but for now all I can do is wait and see. Fingers crossed!
....spending 130 euros on concert tickets before breakfast. No idea why, but Jarvis tickets are already on sale, despite Paradiso's site proudly disclaiming they're on sale Saturday next week. I was lucky to stumble across it while waiting for the Isobel Campbell/Mark Lanegan tickets to go on sale. Funny thing that, I thought this kind of thing only happened in Ireland. So I bought 4, thinking maybe I'll flog some to cover expenses (oh, bad puppy!), but then I already have a couple of friends interested in coming as well, so maybe we'll make it a party instead.
On top of that, the Campbell/Lanegan ticket and I just spotted John Cale will be playing the Netherlands as well. I don't think I can be bothered seeing him at Vredenburg with it's capacity of 2000, but seeing him Patronaat will be great.
Razorlight also have some new dates, but the closest is also Vredenburg, and I just found out they're supporting Muse in Antwerp, so I think that may satisfy my needs.
So tickets I still need to buy are for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, The Magic Numbers and Bonnie Prince Billy (Vredenburg again, blah).
And while I was doing all this I noticed a large banner on Ticketmaster's front page saying how unfortunately tickets for Scissor Sisters would not go on sale today yet as mentioned before, due to technical difficulties with the tour. What the fuck? I didn't even know they were coming! Maybe I really should start reading more Dutch music forums or something.
