Entrepot Bruges

Here's the deal: We both had seen that Russian Circles was coming to Belgium.
I had straight away informed my darling about it. My darling being the sweetheart that she is, had already planned on taking me there as a surprise.

Seeing my state of excitement she didn't dare to keep it a secret* so she proposed we go get them together.
YES!

*She had done this once before with a series i was dying to see and she wanted to offer it to me so she had to make me erase it on the computer because i had downloaded it. She's so sweet i'm sure she had the hardest time coming up with reasons for me to erase it.

Back to the main story, we were going to see Russian Circles!

We bought them at Caroline Music, one of the soul surviving record stores in Brussels. Keep in mind that this is just an extra birthday gift, i'm so spoiled!

This was going to be the first time we went back to Bruges since we were there to enjoy a romantic weekend in a B&B. This was also the first time we were going to the Entrepot.


We don't have a GPS so getting there was quite the struggle seeing that half of the city was on lockdown due to a marathon. In the end we circled round it, went way into no man's land. We stopped at some weird hotel to ask for directions and they were about to send us on to the highway again. No way dude!

We chose to follow some industrial route until we came to a halt in front of a nice looking Fritterie.
It had been our plan to eat some fries in a place we saw when we were there last time but thanks to the marathon, no such luck!
Not knowing where we were, we decided to go in and eat where we stranded. Little did we know our luck was about to change...

Once we started eating, a lot of people started coming in to the place. I had already suspected some of them coming for them. It was someone with an AmenRa sweater who certified my suspicion.
I asked the way to the Entrepot and it seems that we were 5 minutes away by foot. NICE!

The Entrepot is really an awesome concert hall. It's name kind of says it all. An old factory that is transformed into an awesome place. For the occasion, the youth house next door was opened as well.
We arrived just in time to see Intronaut.

They had this thunderous crushing sound coming out of the little room where they played. Perfect to get us in the mood!

We hadn't taken our camera so there is no visual proof of our presence but we didn't regret it for two reasons:
1. It allowed us to bathe in the music without have to worry about catching the atmosphere on film.
2. Someone else did a way better job then we could have ever done.

By someone else i mean GoDi. I will use his pictures to illustrate the magic this concert was.

The main act for me was Russian Circles, i've been following them ever since they made their first album, this however was the first time i got to see them live.
I must admit i am a bit of a Brian Cook fanboy, his basstones are just bonecrushing.
Seeing them in action nearly made me shit myself. The precision of their drummer, the thickness of those layered guitars, the grinding bass, it all was perfect. Never again will i listen to one of their albums the same way! The lighting of their show was quite subtle but matched it perfectly.

After Russian Circles it was up to Boris to play on the main stage. During that time i got to choose an awesome Russian Circles T-Shirt! Thank you Misses K.

Boris is a one of a kind band. And they are loud! Four crazy Japanese make up for one interesting band to see live. Their opening riff almost ripped the room to shreds. I think the people leaving before the end were the ones who didn't have earplugs, like us.

I loved the show but some songs just came at us to loud to be able to hear the different instruments.
I need me one of those Orange amps for my guitar!

With that, we returned home, ears ringing, hearts content, totally in awe with the gigs we saw.
It was a night to remember, i couldn't have wished for a better birthday nor a better girlfriend!

She's the greatest!

Also, all these lovely pictures belong to GoDi, make sure to check his blog !
If you have any taste in music, you will love it, he is at every concert you wish you were and is a master at catching "that" moment !

GoDi's Blog

Breaking the Silence

My last post was may 31st.

A lot has happened since then, some of it good, some of it bad.

First of, i have survived a huge exam period. Which is good you would say...except that i got screwed over and i have to redo 5 out of 11 exams.

Secondly we went to see Russian Circles and Boris for my birthday.

Hot damn, they were awesome. I will write an article about it later.

Furthermore me and the misses have both started working. I work at Groupon during the whole month of july, taking care of angry customers. My patience has been tested quite a few times i admit.

Also, we went to Rock Werchter, which is one of the biggest festivals in Europe.

Expect an article about that to.

Many more things have happened since then and there is so much i would still want to write.

Just for myself here is what i will write about for sure:

Every week of covers i missed will be made up for by a MEGAPOST!

Report on the Russian Circles gig

Report on Rock Werchter

Review of my new Epiphone SG

Review of my boss RV5 reverb

A bike check for my BMX bike

Some new discoveries musically

...

That's all folks!

Weekly Cover Shootout XV

This is the Belgian band Triggerfinger covering a classic from the great Jacques Brel, who is Belgian also.
Both songs rock but i prefer Triggerfinger's heavy sound. They got out a new album this year so check them out! Can't wait to see them live at Werchter again this year.

Cheers!

Weekly Cover Shootout XIV

This week's cover is awesome. Again it's thanks to my girlfriend that i know this one.

She should be the one making this post. At least i'm giving her credit for it :)

Placebo giving a go at "Running up that hill" and they rule it!

The Big Birthday Post

It's this time of the year again. Flowers blossom, birds are laying their eggs, exams are in full swing and my birthday is coming up.

I always have a hard time telling people how old i am. Once i turned 20 it all started blending a bit together. I was born in 1988 and besides me being born the year was low on blessed events.
There is one thing that always helps me remember how old i am though.

It's all thanks to my girlfriend. She makes sure that every birthday is so great i remember my age according to the feast she organised.

This year she outdid herself AGAIN. Be prepared to get jealous and get ready to hate me for being so lucky.

So it was may 20th and i wake up next to my beautiful girlfriend. She says HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAY!
Before i know it she told me to sitp up in bed and close my eyes. I feel something falling in my hands. I hurry opening the gift and see there is a magazine inside. OH YEAH! It's a collector's item of NME Icons featuring Dave Grohl. I kid you not, an entire magazine dedicated to the man himself!
Inside there was the most endeering birthdaycard ever. It was filled with balloons and like every year she manages to write me text that brings me to tears!

 She told me to read this in bed while she jets off to the kitchen. I hear some drawers opening and closing, some pots clinging and after about 15 minutes the most delicious smells are coming out of the kitchen. "You can go sit at the table!"
I happily follow her order and install myself at the table.

There it was, the breakfast of kings! A candle burning, freshly squeezed orange juice, two eggs and the most delicious sandwiches i ever ate. She is such a princess!

The sandwiches were soooooo jummy, she baked them from scratch and they were filled with tiny pieces of ham and the center was filled with cheddar. SO GOOD!

Since we are still in the middle of our exam period i had said that i needed to work and well so we did. Until like noon and then we kind off decided that we would enjoy the rest of the day!

My girlfriend offered us sandwiches and snacks for the afternoon but i took a desert because i wanted to eat those awesome birthday biscuits again!

And then the "moment suprême" was coming. Since we decided to enjoy the rest of the day she decided i could have my gift sooner.

Prepare yourself, this is so awesome.

I GOT A FUCKING ELECTRIC GUITAR !!

And not just any guitar, it's an Epiphone SG in Worn Brown. This thing is an absolute beauty! It's really the coolest guitar i've ever seen and it plays like a dream. Stock strings and stock setup this beast rocks. A review of this beauty will follow! I couldn't believe my luck, my first electric guitar!
Since she knows me like she made me, i spent the rest of the day playing this guitar and giggling like a schoolgirl. To top things of, she had added a set of brand new strings, D'addario EXL's, jsut because she is so thoughtful and sweet. I decided to keep them as a spare set because even the stock strings are mighty fine!

 Look at the proud daddy! After i spent the whole afternoon playing this beauty ,and secretly shitting my pants because of the awesomeness of this guitar, she had planned us a restaurant date. I had secretely hoped we were going to eat mexican and guess what? Mexican it was. We went to Los Ponchos. With a name like that it can't go wrong. I was so excited while going there. This was such a great surprise and since we were blessed with nice weather we got to eat outside on a patio surrounded by roses.
A fresh Corona and my girl, what more can anyone need?

 

Those were our starters. I had fresh gambas with guacomole and my girl had the gambas with garlick.

The place is really the bombshiznit! So fresh, so tasty, so mexican!

At one point i had to go to the bathroom and when i came back there was a gift laying on the table.

This can't be happening ? Another gift! I rushed over to the table and opened yet another present.

It's a book about Bike Snobs, something i care about super much seeing that i'm so big one riding BMX bikes and any other bike by the way. That is why i can't stand bike snobisme, just like any other snobisme. I've gotten the chance to read in it and the book is just hilarious. There is everything you will want to know about bikes in there! It's just crazy i ever got this lucky!

On to the main dish and more Corona!

So the top one is my girlfriend's dish wich was DELICIOUS! Mine is a beef burrito served as i've never had one before. This was soooooo yummy! By now i couldn't believe it anymore. And yet she still managed to keep it going! For desert we had a delicious chocolate cake and ... more Corona!

This restaurant is a MUST if you are in Brussels. Even if you don't like mexican food. It was so chill and the people, they run this restaurant the two of them, are so friendly. I would recommend calling because the place fills up nicely after 20h. It's normal though seeing the food they serve! Mmmmm.

When we got home after this blissful event i crashed on the bed happier than ever. I felt something quite hard so i checked... you guessed it, moooore preseeeeents!
I opened it up to find a biography of Metallica. FUCKING GENIUS! How could i ever thank her enough? This book is just awesome. It follows the band from the get-go.

If all of that wasn't good enough guess what else i found? An envelope containg two tickets to go see...  RUSSIAN CIRCLES! One of my favourite bands on earth!

I feel so blessed to get all this attention and these beautiful presents. I know many don't have even half of what i got and i just can't say thank you enough. I'm not trying to be mean or show off but i just like to brag a tiny bit because i'm so proud and thankful!

For that i give her a kiss and all the love i have. Thank you so much for everything and for making this another moment that will help me remember till eternity!

Isn't she a peach?
If anyone ever reads this, please make sure to visit this beauty's blog, it's full of interesting articles and good music : Misses Badger

Good night!

Weekly Cover Shootout XII & XIII

This is it, i can't even manage to do one post a week. The exams have gotten the best of me.
That's why i'm offering 2 for 1 this week.

Numero Uno:

Belgian singer Gabriel Rios giving this classic a more modern touch. I like. Thanks to my girlfriend i know have a new take on this song and i finally know who the original is from : Jeannette.

Numero Duo:

Moby honoring Joy Division by interpreting "New Dawn Fades". I love that he has no intention to "make it his own", he is clearly a big fan and he to me that makes it even better. Oh Moby where art thou ?

Back to the books.

Tomorrow is my birthday so you can bet i'm gonna post extensively about it in order to brag.

Back on track, an evening at the spine ramp in Ans.

my girl!

As some readers may well know, we are in full exam mode. A month of non stop studying has started.
Tradition wants it that i always find something way more interesting to do when the exams start.
This year my bmx fuse has been relit and i'm starting to get back into it full time, meanwhile dragging my girlfriend down with me. I didn't need to push her though, she is as exited as me about it and is starting to get better and better. About time i save up to buy her a bike so we can cruise together!

carving through the spine ramp

So in that light we decided to hit up a spine ramp i had located nearby. When we got there we were greeted by two friendly locals. They told me the park was a bit run down and that the city has been wanting to get rid of it for ages.
Typical, the only thing they have for the youth that doesn't just spend their days behind a screen or on a street corner and here's what they want to do with it...

manual on the deck.

 So about the park: it's not that big, but bigger than what i'm used to anyways. There's a spine ramp, which is sweet because i'm dying to learn a spine transfer. Next to the ramp there's a super tight hip.
It's steep as hell and narrow as fuck but it's a fun little obstacle.

Hip transfer

It was really a great evening spent with the WBST. Seeing my beautiful girlfriend ride that bike made me fall in love with her all over again. She's the gift that keeps on giving. I'm so proud of her.

me and misses D. chilling

What could have been "just another night" was turned into something special thanks to my girl and The Bat who was taking great pictures as always. I think he's in love with his new camera.

Peace out!

Weekly Cover Shootout XI

This week is about the blues as i am currently entering "finals month". Yes over here those things last a month and not a week. This is Clapton's version of "Crossroads" and i never really knew any other version so this will stay my ultimate favorite!

Enjoy.

La Peste

I just discovered "La Peste" and i'm so pissed that i didn't find these guys earlier. Thanks to the jolly folks at Metal Bikes i now know of this awesome band.

Here's what i've learned about them so far:

.They kick ass.

.They are a punk band from Boston and were born in the late seventies.

.They could be named after Albert Camus' book.

.Peter Dayton is on guitar.

.Mark Karl on bass.

.Roger Tripp is banging the drums.

.They recorded with Ted St Pierre at Electro-Acoustic.

.They unleash thunderstorm on stage.

Knowing this band is almost making me feel like a part of some select group of people. 

Bless you Metal Bikes for this discovery.

Rock on dirty people.

La Peste DVD Sample

La peste - Better of Dead Live

While looking for a picture i also found this highly interesting blog:

http://culturaldictionaryofpunk.blogspot.com

Once i'll be done cramming my brain with stuff for Uni i have to get into this.

Bowl Cointe

Done for

The look of a rundown skater after busting his moves for a bit to long.

This is what i used to look like after hours and hours, now it was after a couple of runs.

After a whole day of studying and struggling to stay motivated our gang of losers decided we were gonna go to the bowl in Cointe near Liege.

This was a great idea, i had been wanting to go there for ages after seeing a glimpse of it a couple of months ago. I got the Z-boy fever going and wanted to hit that snake run at top speed.

Style is everything. 

It had been more than a year since i did anything more on a board than cruising down the street.

The feeling took a while before showing it's face. Since the bowl was a bit crowded we started out in a concrete halfpipe to warm up. After a couple of drops i started feeling a bit at ease in the ramp.

A bit to at ease ... the next drop i smacked down on the concrete bruising my elbow and ankle pretty bad. I've got a hole in my T-shirt to prove it. Bummer.

After the ramp we went to the top of the snake run so i could make some runs in it.

I must say the first tries were a bit shabby but it felt really great to just cruise through the bowl and take the big turn at the end.

It felt so good to know that my girl was watching me and that i made her feel a bit proud.

"Style is everything" Jay Adams

After me goofing in the bowl we just enjoyed the weather and N. was testing his new camera.

Wich is why we have awesome pictures of this fun getaway.

The skateboard bug bit Misses K. and as always she ended up on the board. I guess it runs in our blood.

I had such a great time. We're the perfect gang. The picture below shows me and Misses K. kicking it next to the bowl. I'm so madly in love with her, she is the definition of soulmate.

We've promised ourselves to start skating again this summer and she's also gonna get into BMX.

I can't wait till we are both cruising in the bowl doing trains.

Bowl Cointe

Thanks you guys for the awesome day and thanks to N. for the pictures.

For more of N's pictures go see his blog :

The Bat and the Machine

He just started it but we will encourage him to share as many pictures as possible!

The Pack After Death or The Pack A.D.

This is The Pack A.D. They are from Canada and they rule.
I recently discovered them as i was checking out local Vancouver bands because misses K. and I want to move there as soon as possible.

The first thing to do is check the music scene and i must say this duo is reason enough to move. I'm currently in somewhat of a bluesy period, trying to play all the White Stripes songs on my acoustic guitar, and these two damsels brought what i was looking for.

Powerful basic blues with an original voice to it.
I've just finished listening to their latest album and even though sometimes it reminds me a bit to much of Jack White they still deliver a mighty fine album that i will try and buy once i have the funds.
For now i'll have to rent it at the library for 1€/week.
I guess that's reasonable.



So White Stripes influence, yes, but not to the point of being a simple copy.
The voice is what's makes these two stand out.I invite all of you to enjoy this little discovery and go check them out on Youtube or for the lazy people just click play below :

Weekly Cover Shootout X

Placebo doing the Pixies' "Where is my mind?". I love the Pixies, don't get me wrong, but this just suits me more. It's to warm to write more.

Cheers.

Weekly Cover Shootout IX

This version is so much better than the original that almost no one knows the original version.

Leonard Cohen wrote a great song with this one but Buckley's performance is just unbeatable.

His silk voice, his energy, his guitar and his band are so amazing.

Thank you both for making this an all time classic!

Dillinger Escape Plan's Greg Puciato on file sharing.

An interesting read i found just now on Greg Puciato's personal website:

Greg Puciato on file sharing

He answer a question from a student in Belfast who is writing a paper on the influence of online file sharing.
Greg's answer is most remarkable and i completely follow his philosophy.
I'm not going to be a hypocrite about it, i download music to and about 60% of me and my girlfriend's collection are mp3's. As a student it's just so damn hard to lay down a minimum of 16€ for a CD or a vinyl. I understand that there is a minimum but if we end up blocking every way of peer to peer sharing they should try to bring prices down so that everyone will be more likely to buy CD's or even buy songs online.

If i have to choose, i'd rather go see a band live than buy their CD. Once i will be earning money i'm sure my budget will increase but for now i'm going to shows and buying an album once every 2 months.
I started this year with the resolution of buying one album a month but it's undoable if you want to do anything else than sit on your couch and watch TV.

Yay on banning illegal downloading and a big yay on trying to get better price rates on vinyl and CD.
I just love to have the physical presence of an album so i'm not gonna buy mp3's online.
People who don't have a visa-card are screwed anyways if they want to buy music via itunes.

Read the article, it's great and go buy an album.

Weekends are for...

Visé riverside

So another weekend rolled by. I must say that while studying i'm not really aware of time passing by, let alone knowing what day we are.
I was informed that it was Saturday because we were going to Liège to.... study.
We had been working all week long so we really needed a break.
After eating at noon we pack a bag and decided to go for a little stroll. Why not go to Maastricht, it's only 30km. Not that much, or so we thought.

Going there was quite ok, after getting lost for a while we eventually made it to Maastricht in one piece.
A bit sour in the legs and a burning arse we were bent on getting the famous Mckroket.
As Murphy wants it, there were none so we ended up eating KFC, which was quite disappointing.
I did discover the greatest McFlurry ever !
Maastricht is a really beautiful city even though we saw only the market and the canal and were in the city for no longer than 2 hours.

It was well worth it though. The ride was really cool but once we got on our bikes to head home our asses hurt like hell and our legs were stiff. Ten minutes on our way we started making plans of how to get home with the least biking possible.
We ended up riding it out in a 3hours lasting workout. In the end we were so proud we made it back all the way without taking any shortcuts. We had super much fun! It was our typical WBST trip.
I jumped on an abandoned matras and we took some great pictures of the industry alongside the canal.

Sunday we spent our day studying and i did the unthinkable, which is finishing a whole course of philosophy. At night we went for a walk and our dog found the leg of some sort of cow-ish animal.
It was gross.

Babaay.

End of A Year Self Defense Family

Just found out about these guys thanks to TheWaitingRoom on Youtube.
Wich is funny because if i had to link them to any band it would be Fugazi.

I love the singer's eclectic voice. He seems to be suffering from something while he's singing but it brings out the best in his voice. Intensity and melody are key notions here.
Check it out!

Weekly Cover Shootout VIII

So this is a Bob Dylan song brought to you by the late and great Jimi Hendrix.
This song is just meant to be played by fuzzed out guitars! I like Dylan's version to but he just can't compete with Jimi's voodoo power.

Also since it's my exam session i like to spaz out on music. Hard to do so on Bob Dylan. I'm gonna eat some kiwi crumble now.

Enjoy.

Find out more about the magnificent kiwi crumble on: http://razorbabe.blogspot.com/

Weekly Cover Shootout VII

This is Florence + The Machine covering Beyonce's "Halo".
Both are really good songs when you think about it but there's something in Florence's voice that's lacking in Beyonce's. I was out of inspiration this week and my girlfriend reminded me that she did this great cover. So props to her for this one!

It kinda sticks in your head doesn't it?

Halo.

Dr. Burt and the Music Maker Foundation

- This is Dr. G.B. Burt and he is a blues musician.
Better would be to say he IS blues. Burt was born on january 30 1937 in Birmingham Alabama. Having been a car mechanic almost all his life he is now living in Birmingham.


-  He brought out his first album at the age of 72. A unique chance he was given by the Music Maker Relief Foundation, an organism that helps support senior blues artists not only in their daily life costs but also to help them bring out music they so much love to make.



Below there is a video of Dr. Burt playing one of his songs in his home.
As you can see this man is living in poverty and i'm so glad there are foundations like the Music Maker's to help out these people. I cannot say enough how much support they need! So go out and buy these original musicians' music on itunes or in every possible way!

For more information on the foundation visit : Music Maker Foundation

Weekly Cover Shootout VI

Fuckin' Joe Cocker rocking out on The Beatles song "With a little help from my friends".
I grew up listening to "N'oubliez jamais" and "Unchain my heart" while my dad was cooking.
Never did i think of Joe Cocker as the crazy motherfucker on stage here!

In my humble opinion Cocker brings a better version of this song than the fab four. He's just so into the song and his gravelly voice is something that really adds to the magic.

Peace.

Black Swan

This monday, i took my girlfriend to see Black Swan. I didn't really know what to expect since i had only seen the trailer once and hadn't really read the storyline.

This movie, directed by Darren Aronofski, got me hooked to the screen during its 108 minutes.
I didn't even go for a quick pee-break, which is quite rare.

Although there were some moments where i really had a hard time following the story, this movie is a true tale of genius. An aspiring ballet dancer gets the part as "Swan Queen" and the pressure of the role starts weighing on her. Nina's mother was most likely a has been ballet star and didn't stop creeping me out until the end of the film.

The director is a real master of suspense and the use of music in this film is extra-ordinary.
I'm not going to unravel the whole plot here but it seems to me that the main character has some serious issues. A psychological thriller it is indeed.
Some moments are just every day life situations that scared the shit out of me because of the lighting and the music.

Go check this movie! By the way, props to the stunt double for Nathalie Portman. Top level ballet dancing.

Great night!

Weekly Cover Shootout V

So it's Tuesday and since i spent my whole weekend working i'm in dire need of a weekend.
So why wait to post this week's cover? Right.
This is Lissie performing Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness". We saw her live and it was amazing!
She'll be dropping by this summer for the Werchter Festival !
Needless to say she kicks Cudi's ass.

Enjoy.

True Grit

Last Saturday my girlfriend took me out on a date. We went to see True Grit at UGC De Brouckère.
There were very little people sharing it with us so we cracked open a beer and got out the candy.

First off, this movie is written by the Coen brothers. This means we're in for a laugh and some mean ass dialogues. The movie is about 125min long and i admit that time flies when you're watching this.
It was over before i knew it, i could have spent a whole day looking at this flick.

Every detail in this film is right. The actors, the directing, the soundscape, the songs, the light,....

The story in short is this:

- A young girl's father is shot by a lowlife crook he had helped.
He flees and justice fails to serve her. She takes matters in own hands and pays a bounty hunter to look for the bad guy. She insists on going with him. Him in this case is Jeff Bridges alias "Rooster" who is a one eyed whisky drinking badass US Marshall.
Their path is crossed by Matt Damon alias "LaBoeuf", a Texas Ranger who is very proud to be so.
Together they start a chase that will lead them far in to indian territory.

This is by far the best movie i have seen in a while. Go check this out and preferably in a cinema!

Next week i'll be taking my girlfriend to see Black Swan. Can't wait!

Weekly Cover Shootout IV

This week's cover, barely made it on time, is one that's close to my heart.
It's how i feel whenever she's not around.

"I just don't know what to do with myself" is written by Burt Bacharach and Dave Hall and is most known as performed by Dusty Springfield. The first recording was by Tommy Hunt.

The version i'm putting up here is the one The White Stripes made. As much as i like the original, this cover speaks more to me as it adds some power to the song.
The lyrics seem to come to life when Jack White slurs them out on top of a raging riff.

That's all folks!

Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby

Just finished reading Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked. This is the second Hornby i've read.
The first one being High Fidelity, both books are music related.

The main story is this : Duncan and Annie have been together for fifteen years. He is an English teacher and music love who is obsessed with Tucker Crow, an eighties singer songwriter who gave up on his career and life all together. Annie works in a museum and has been the third wheel on Duncan's Tucker cart for a long time now. Both are kind of struggling with their personality and realize they want different things in life.

From here on everything starts spiraling out of control and Tucker Crow becomes more of a main character in the book.
Hornby has a way of filling his book with musical references that will please any music fan.
His talent for describing human behavior is quite remarkable. He makes things about every day life and human behavior seem so funny and really focuses on the interaction between two individuals.

A witty and fascinating read that kept me turning pages at a fast rate.

Must read!

Filigranes Library

Today we went to a book signing at Filigranes Library. We didn't plan on going there but we were doing a favor to my girlfriend's dad who wanted his book signed.

As much as i didn't want to go at first i am so happy we did. Karma can be quite good to us sometimes.
This library is a place i would recommend to anyone who loves books. First of all this place is huge!
Every corner is crammed with books and the best thing is that you can even grab a drink in there cosy bar while checking out the books you plan on buying.
Besides the bar there are coaches strategically placed all over the shop. They have an enormous art section and a basement filled with English books as well.

They host book signings and readings more than once a week. These are completely free so you can just walk in and enjoy the author's take on his book.
I had to hold back from snatching as much books as i could carry. It's frustrating to go there with empty pockets because i could ruin myself there.

The people working there are actually happy to be working there and can advise you on anything you would want to know. Give them some references and they will happily advise you on great stuff to read.

We're going back tomorrow just to be able to get a better look at the English section.

More info can be found at http://www.filigranes.be

D.A.

Weekly Cover Shootout III

It's been a while. A week of absence due to a week of snowboarding in Avoriaz with all the loved ones.
It was awesome! A post about that will follow when the pictures are uploaded.

This week's - or the one before - shootout is done by my all time hero, Lemmy.
He adds a bit of grit to the already excellent "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent.
He said it himself and i can't agree more, they rip the original to shreds.

Rock out!

Weekly Cover Shootout II

So it hasn't been a week since my last cover post but since it's monday i guess i'm allowed right?
I should turn this into a daily thing. Then again i would probably not post every day.

This is Johnny Cash covering Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt". This cover is so good Trent Reznor himself admitted that he like Johnny's version better. How about being humble.
I got the chance to see NIN's version live and i loved it but there is just something with this version that makes it so real.
Cash' haunting voice is really what carries this song. Knowing a bit about his biography this cover really makes sense.

Check it out!

Weekly cover shootout

So we were lying in bed when my babe put this song on. I was captured straight away by this song. I foolishly thought this was his song until she said that it is actually a Beatles song.
After putting on the Beatles version i came to the conclusion that i prefer the Stevie Wonder cover.
Which got me thinking that there are many songs where i prefer covers of the song.
Which is why i'm gonna be doing this weekly.

I know that the cover couldn't be made if it weren't for the original and that you can try and polish a turd...
Still i give props to people who can make someone else's song their own.

To kick this thing off Stevie Wonder doing "We can work it out" originally by the Beatles.
The Stevie Wonder version just has that extra kick to it. Fuzzy guitars and his soulful voice make this my favorite version. And that's that! Feel free to disagree. I will now go and hide myself from all the Beatles fans that catch wind of this.

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

The Queen Is Dead, bought in Antwerp at Vinyl Records. I would advice anyone to go there. 

The album came out in 1986, about two years before i was born.

We have the colored vinyl edition which is a green see-thru version of the original.

As soon as i let the needle slide in, the record starts off with some female voice.

Seconds later The Queen is Dead is blaring through the speakers.

A melancholic start to what ends up being an amazing record.

The record was engineered by the same people as 'Meat is Murder' and that is definitely not a bad thing.

After the opener we are greeted by Frankly Mr. Shankly. A typical Morrissey song line accompanied by not so typical instrumentals. A bit quirky but hey, it was the eighties.

The record reaches it's highpoint at track number six, Bigmouth Strikes again, which is also the lead single on the album. I had preferred it to be There Is A Light, as i have more of a personal bond with that song. Then again i don't really care if it was lead single or not, it remains my favorite song on the album.

I gave this album to my girl since she is a big Morrissey fan, hence the personal bond.

This record is definitely a good motivation for more Smiths records.

This bring me to another thing, i haven't picked the February LP yet, nor did we find a book.

Financially i guess it will be a double edition in march or a second hand record on the quick.

Looking for a sweet blues record. Any suggestions?

Bruges

This saturday we left for Bruges, finally using a gift certificate we got last Christmas.
One night at a bed & breakfast in Bruges with a bottle of champagne included.
We were located on the edge of the historic centre in a art nouveau-ish building.
We felt at home straight away thanks to a warm welcome and the homelike decoration.

We started of straight away by wandering through the magnificent streets of Bruges.
This place is like a medieval playground. We also did some shopping and got our dog an awesome toy.
I got a cool magnet as a souvenir to stick on our fridge. It's about soap and cats. Thanks babe!
We went to get a pint of cold cider in an irish pub. I got a snake bite, which is an awesome name for a drink and also very tasty. The drink is made with cider, lager and blackcurrent.
My girl went for a large cider.
After our long walks and cold drinks we decided we deserved a hot meal.
What better place to go than an all you can eat ribs joint! This place is called "De Hobbit" and is as big as Bilbo Baggins' house. You pick your food out of a newspaper called the Daily Hobbit.
I was sold already! The ribs were delicious and of unlimited quantity!

What better way to flush down some ribs then another beer?
We ended up in "De Kleine Nachtmuziek", a small and dark bar where empty whiskey bottles are the main decoration. The owner is a cool cat who puts on nothing but good music going from early blues to the rolling stones to rock and roll classics. You wouldn't say so from the outside but this bar has such a huge selection of special beers and about any kind of whiskey ever made. They even serve Almdudler, a drink i hadn't seen since ages! The bar is mainly candle lit and aside from the whiskey bottles is filled with music related items and other curiosities. The kind of place where you can spend whole days just sitting at your table enjoying a fine beer and good music.

When we finally decided to get some rest we were greeted with a bottle of cold champagne and two glasses in our room. Sweet. Need i say more about what happened later...

Slightly hungover and love-drunk we woke up to a rain free Bruges and started the day with a five star breakfast. We spent the rest of our day wandering through the city and visited some super interesting museums. Bruges is really our kind of place. Chill by day and awesome bars by night.
We had ice cream, ate fast-food walked around, kissed on beautiful places, got lost, saw marilyn monroe and ended up in yet another irish pub. This place is so cool. It is called "The Druid's Cellar" and is hidden in a basement/cave under a restaurant. They are pretty serious about their image as they even have a leprechaun entry. Not kidding! This place is awesome. Low ceiling, candle light only, big wooden tables, medieval chairs and irish flags. In the back room there is a pool table, which we used, and bunch of old instruments. My girl seems to have some kind of cider addiction since she took a big cider and i went for a big Guinness. We kind of lost track of time in there so when we got out it was time for dinner.

We had our goodbye dinner in "De Bretoen", a place where they specialize in crêpes bretons.
I had a banana chocolate one. As tradition wants it, the drink served with these is cider. Again.
This was Bruges for us and i loved it!

My muse

Is sitting in the room next to me trying to understand Statistics.

The picture is one i took of her last night while she was trying on a dress.

This was taken in between two shots and i really think i captured the essence of her being.

No way i can ever capture her beauty on film but this gets pretty close.

I'm sitting at my desk/sanctuary surrounded by things that remind me of her.

A bottle of Japanese whisky she gave me for Christmas is lurking at me.

Tonight we are preparing for a weekend in Bruges.

I can't wait to go.

I love her more than anything i could ever imagine.

Muse.

Lover.

Headmaster Ritual

This is a song from The Smiths, covered by Radiohead. Headmaster Ritual is a song that sums up most of my high school years. The kind of song you wish you had written yourself.

Lyrics :

"Belligerent ghouls 
Run Manchester schools

Spineless swines
Cemented minds

Sir leads the troops
Jealous of youth
Same old suit since 1962

He does the military two-step
Down the nape of my neck

I wanna go home
I don't wanna stay
Give up education
As a bad mistake

Mid-week on the playing fields
Sir thwacks you on the knees

Knees you in the groin
Elbow in the face
Bruises bigger than dinner plates

I wanna go home
I don't wanna stay

Belligerent ghouls
Run Manchester schools

Spineless bastards all ...

Sir leads the troops
Jealous of youth
Same old jokes since 1902

He does the military two-step
Down the nape of my neck

I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
Give up life
As a bad mistake

Please excuse me from gym
I've got this terrible cold coming on
He grabs and devours
He kicks me in the showers
Kicks me in the showers
And he grabs and devours "

I did not attend any Manchester school and i am way younger than The Smiths, even though some teachers probably did still have the same suit since 1962. I went to a technical high school, the ones where you learn a craft or become an electrician and what not.

I made that choice myself, being quite the handymen i thought it was a place for me.

Little did i know i would end up regretting that decision.

I guess in the end any other high school would have been the same but the people who surrounded me where just to much. I wanted to be an aircraft technician. 

Around my fourth year studying industrial sciences, where i enjoyed 8 hours of math a week, i wanted to downsize on the math and chemistry and go for something more specific.

I spent my fifth and sixth year studying electricity and mechanics.

Those two years were awful. As the courses started getting more technical and more advanced, i started drifting away from what i had imagined my future life and career to be.

I wanted to be creative and have courses like literature and philosophy. The more books i read the more i was cutting myself of from the environment where i spent most of my time.

I had some buddies in class but none with whom i could share my newfound passion for the creative world.

As for the teachers, few of them appreciated my drifting away from their courses.

There were rare cases of teachers actually stimulating me and making me want to drift away even further.

There was my electronics teacher who owns a recording studio, my english teacher in first and second grade who saw my interest in languages and literature and my history teachers who inspired my to look further then what is offered at first.

In the end i'm glad to have had a practical formation that allowed me to see certain things clearly. It also helped me see what i DIDN'T want to do.

Spineless swines are those who reigned the school system and forced all of us into the same mold. I am the residu that fell out of the mold and made it through anyhow.

This life is no bad mistake. I am now doing studies that motivate me. 

Thanks to the Smiths for this great song.

Saint-Valentin

Februari 14th is a day that most people know as Valentine's Day. So do i.
This does not mean that i am stocked about an occasion and i think it's a shame that to so many it's such a big thing where they are obligated to buy each other fancy gifts and such. I'm not big on the commercial side of it. However i don't understand that haters that are about ready to yell at you for doing something romantic that day. I see at as just another day to celebrate the love i share with my girlfriend.

Here's what we did. As for so many it was just another weekday, which means going to work, school and what not. I started out by dropping my girlfriend of at school and then went to do the groceries.
By the time she was inside it had started raining and she was out "sans parapluie".
I had already told her i was taking her on a date the day before so she had straightened her hair, the works. Rain is the worst enemy for a girl with straightened hair. I knew that and i wanted to be all gentlemanly and surprise her after her class with the umbrella and a single red rose.
Yes red roses are not very original but common, what girl in her right mind doesn't love to get flowers.
She was thrilled with my unexpected gesture and when i saw that happy smile, my day was made already.

After that we both had class and met up for a lunch date. I had made us healthy wraps and she offered me the best juice ever and I got a banana-chocolate muffin as a dessert!

In the evening, we went to our favorite chinese restaurant and instead of eating inside with 20 other couples i decided to take-away and we ate our meal in the most beautiful restaurant in Brussels.
We were setting on the edge of the Palais de Justice looking out over the rest of the city. The picture above gives an idea of where we were.
Stars were shining, kisses were shared and we even had ourselves a Lady and the Tramp moment while sharing noodles. They never tasted so good. Afterwards we slowed in the Court House's ballroom to songs we sang ourselves.

Now that's how you celebrate Valentine's!

Sleigh Bells Live

This saturday we went to see Sleigh Bells perform at the Ancienne Belgique.
The band is formed by Derek Miller on guitar and songwriting and Alexis Krauss on vocals.
Miller ,formerly known as the guitarist for Poison the Well, picked Krauss up in a Brazilian restaurant where she was having dine with her mom.
They were playing in the club, wich is kind of like an oversized bar, thus creating a for more intimate concert.
The Brooklyn duo had Deathcrush opening for them. Due to an overload of cider and salt sticks we missed them. They did not really spark my interest anyway. We arrived just in time for a cold beer and a quick shit before the gig started.

It was sold out so the club was pretty packed, still having enough room to dance though.
And dance we did! On stage was a wall of Marshall stacks ready to blow our eardrums.
These are the basics: they are loud, fast, dirty and get you dancing!
They have a backingtrack playing all there lungcompressing beats while they sing and play heavily distorted guitar over them.
As always the AB crowd only warms up when the last song starts. We and a bunch of other people started dancing straight away, not wasting a second of their high velocity set.
Krauss' high pitched voice comes screaming through the noise with a big layer of reverd and echo's over it.
This concert was fucking awesome and i would advise anyone to go see this band live if they come to your town. This is on big party beginning to end! I nearly pooped myself when straight A's came on.
Afterwards we went for late night sliders and cruised down to Liège for a sunday in the woods.

On to the next. Thanks Sleigh Bells!

Just Kids - Patti Smith

This will be my first and brief book review. I'm not about to dismantle the whole book.

I got this book from my ever so lovely girlfriend before we went on our annual island retreat. I will write a little something on this trip once i have uploaded the pictures. I have just finished it yesterday and wanted to share my opinion with those willing to read it.

This book is a tale of two people who share a kind of love that few of us ever get to experience.

I consider myself one of the lucky individuals who met their soulmate and have someone to share that kind of love with. Muse, lover, best friend and motivation, she is all that to me!

The story, which is autobiographical, is set in a 1960's 1970's New York, where anything seems possible. A time where you could walk into a bar and see Jimi Hendrix sitting at a table. 

If you are yourself even the least bit of a creative soul, this book is highly contagious and i warn you that it will make you want to drop whatever it is you are doing to go live like they did.

I realize that a story like Smith's is not the standard and that besides her there were thousands of youths trying to accomplish the same thing she did. As much as i can romanticize this lifestyle, i know that it is also a harsh existence and that nowadays is even more difficult.

The book is a portrait of here relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and their struggle to make it as an artist. Smith gives us a true and tender sketch of New York in that period and opens up about how she underwent the transition between the flower-power utopia and the brutal reality that got thrown in their faces as they see how many of their heroes die around them.

The work is honest and in it's honesty reveals so many secret and methods of how she works as an artist.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is even the slightest bit interested in art,music,poetry and life in general. As i was reading it i often contemplated how i would write out my own life.

I came to the conclusion that to make such a story readable and interesting is not an easy thing to do.

Props to Smith for doing it in such a pleasant way!