Musical Stylings of Sweden... First Aid Kit and The Tiny

Over the past couple of months I've developed a taste for Swedish folk music. I know, it's very eclectic of me, but with musicians like First Aid Kit, how can anyone resist?

Like 98% of their fans, I discovered First Aid Kit through their youtube cover of Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by the Fleet Foxes. WATCH IT. This song is full of awesome, especially with the resounding harmonies and the tranquillity of the Swedish forest. This song was my gateway drug into the rest of their catalogue, which includes the Drunken Trees EP and their new cd, The Big Black and the Blue. Other favorites include their latest single, I Met Up With the King and You're Not Coming Home Tonight.

Seeing First Aid Kit live was one of my top things to do in London, since I knew they rarely made it to the States. Luckily I bought tickets early to guarantee that I would actually go to the show on Thursday, March 4. The venue, Union Chapel in Islington, blew my mind. The club is a converted church--- the audience sits in old pews, flickering candles line the balcony rail, and colored spotlights create stained glass behind the stage.

Union Chapel was the perfect venue for First Aid Kit and their support band, the Tiny. Both bands combine resounding harmonies, old soul lyrics, and acoustic instruments like cellos, harps, and musical saws. The amazing acoustics 0f the church let the music resound and expand up into the vaulted ceiling.

This was one of the best concerts I've ever seen--- Klara and Joanna Söderberg actually sound better live and unedited than on their produced albums. Not many bands can claim that. The best moments were when they unplugged their guitar and stepped away from the microphones--- the audience sat in rapt attention, letting the music fill their souls.

And now, for visual aids...

The Tiny, who also hail from Sweden.
Playing the musical saw... Kristi and I were both quite impressed.
My concert buddy...
First Aid Kit.

Look Who I Stumbled Upon...

So, my friends and I were wandering through Westminster, minding our own business, when we spotted something quite interesting.

We're all D.C. veterans by now, so we know the signals of a motorcade or important person coming.

Cop motorcycle blocking off traffic... CHECK.

Security person holding back pedestrians for no apparent reason... CHECK.

Being the tourists that we are, the three of us HAVE to stop and check out the scene.

What do we discover? GORDON BROWN, WALKING, NOT DRIVING, DOWN THE STREET.

Check out the short, crappy video that documented my sighting...

Canterbury Tales! A picture is worth... Part Three

A reference to another famous author. Lots of famous people from Canterbury, including, as it turns out, Orlando Bloom. *Cue screams of girly teenage obsession*
Group picture (almost--- Jess insisted on taking the picture herself) in front of the West Gate.
Cool pub. Didn't have time to stop in, though...
Kristi accepted. Interesting way for a pack of teenage boys to spend a Saturday, roving through the streets of Canterbury...
They had some costumes at the Canterbury museum, so of course I *HAD* to put one on.

Canterbury Tales! A picture is worth... Part Two

The tomb of the Black Prince.
The tomb of Henry IV and his queen, Joan of Navarre.
Memorial to Thomas Becket. His tomb became a pilgrimage site after the 12th century, but it was destroyed by Henry VIII after the split with the catholic church.
Plaque from the Canterbury Roman Museum, made notable by its reference to Doctor Who. The museum was probably geared towards children, but it was still educational!
One of the gaudier exhibits in Canterbury--- an animatronic portrayal of Geoffrey Chaucer's iconic work. We decided to skip this, since it bore a disturbing resemblance to It's a Small World. Sorry, Mom--- not falling for THAT twice.

Canterbury Tales! A picture is worth...

KRISTI IS REALLY EXCITED TO GO TO CANTERBURY!
The gate to get into the Cathedral. Note all the heraldic crests above the entrance...
Beautiful gothic cathedral. If you walk around, you can see the different stages of when it was built.
Interior view, looking from the Nave to the Choir.
Funeral accoutrements of Edward, the Black Prince of Wales. I *flipped out* when I first saw these. Had no idea he was buried here...

Canterbury Tales, or How We Missed Our Bus to Warwick

Apparently I'm not supposed to see the castle until my family gets here. Fate has ordained it...

It was our grand plan to catch an early mode of transport on Saturday, January 30, to go to the fair city of Warwick. Of course... we missed our bus. Being the intrepid explorers that we are, though, our merry band of travelers didn't let this tiny hiccup ruin our plans for the day, and it was a GLORIOUS day. We looked on the board to see where else we could go, and our choices came down to Leeds castle or Canterbury. Someone looked the towns up in their guidebook, and the choice was pretty easy once we realized Leeds was a four hour bus ride from London.

Canterbury it is!

We couldn't have made a better choice. This was the first truly spectacular day, weather-wise, that I've had since I've been back in London. After being here for several months, I now count it as a good day if there's no rain. Sun is just an added bonus! On this day, though, the weather gods WERE GRINNING LIKE MAD UPON US. Not just smiling.

My friend coined the phrase of the day--- this perfect snapshot of Canterbury, on this perfect day in January, is "the Essence of England". Tourism bureaus everywhere should pay attention.

Canterbury is freaking awesome. I'm a huge medieval history nut, so it was really cool to visit the Cathedral, as well as two museums documenting the history of the town. My friends put up with my excited bouts of trivia, as well as me periodically stopping to write down some nerdy (um, INTERESTING!) notes that I found along the way.

Next post is pictures!

OMGOMGOMGOMG GANDALF LIVE, ONSTAGE

All of my former english teachers would be so proud...

This is evidently the term for theater. Shortly upon arriving back in London in January, I discovered that a West End theater that used to show Breakfast at Tiffany's is now showing Waiting for Godot.

WITH IAN FRICKING MCKELLAN.

Now, I've read Waiting for Godot. I am NOT a Samuel Beckett fan. AT ALL.

This doesn't matter, though, because I would follow that man to the ends of the earth... to throw a magical ring that promises the destruction of life as we know it into a giant volcano.

I'M SEEING GANDALF IN A PLAY. LIVE. IN PERSON.

Needless to say, I'm very excited.

In other theater news, in a few weeks I'm seeing another show called the Misanthrope. This play is the hot ticket in London this season, mostly because Moliere's female lead is being played by Keira Knightley. Pshhh, whatever. *I'M* excited to see it because the MALE lead is being played by Damien Lewis. I've seen him in various things like Band of Brothers, the Forsyte Saga, and Life. For a while, I was quite confused--- his character in the Forsyte saga is so vicious, hateful and selfish that those feelings transferred to the actor, but his character in Band of Brothers is AWESOME. Life tipped the balance, and now he's one of my favorite British actors.

SO EXCITED.