Bled

Bled

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Some Tuesdays are Better than Others

Just this weekend I was going on about how Tuesdays in February are the meanest of the lot, and just to prove me wrong, the universe sends my way a totally wondrous Horrors song on a Tuesday morning. Right, it was actually premiered on a Monday, but as I don’t really listen to Radio 1 because I’m too snobbish for that, my first meeting with it came this morning, and it felt like reason enough to dig through the archives for some Horrors material  and do a Throwback Tuesday for a change.





Monday 24 February 2014

Signs of Spring


Not having had a proper winter meant spring flowers started creeping up in stores from early January, and it took me a lot of discipline to refrain from buying them before the season called for it. Now that we’re approaching March nothing can stop me though, and the warm weather means they’re already getting cheaper and more varied each day.

Saturday 22 February 2014

Random Saturday Ramblings on the Sziget line up- Part One

Well this was a Tuesday too.

February is generally a dull month, and Tuesdays in February seem worse than any other Tuesday. Yes, I dislike Tuesdays more than your average facebooker dislikes Mondays though I cannot really fathom why. What saves Mondays for me is that I was born on one, so I can't really hold a grudge against it for being there- good thing it is. Back to my point if I ever had one, bad as Tuesdays are, it strikes me that new Sziget announcements often come on Tuesdays, or at least definitely during the middle of the week, which is an awesome break from whatever else you were doing at that point. 
We've already had a couple of names drop this year and I have again promised myself to closely investigate even the most obtuse sounding acts lest I commit a crime such as not really being aware how much I liked Gesaffelstein until September last year. So here's a subjective rundown of the excitement factors:

-Queens of the Stone Age.Missed them last year at Sziget's sister festival VOLT because, well, basically, because stupid. Incidentally VOLT is also shaping up to totally rock this year, so here I come slow trains to the province and watery lagers. I am saying this without any hard feelings towards watery lagers, some of the most memorable beers I had were items of dubious origin in the dead of a festival night and I can absolutely see myself enjoying another of those to Foals or MGMT.

-Jake Bugg. Sziget's been spoiling me for the past few years with acts only the NME and myself can be absolutely charmed by, and here they go again. Though Lightning Bolt should go down gingerly with any festival crowd.

-London Grammar. I am definitely curious to see how their music shapes up live and whether they'll end up being a bit washed out on the Main Stage or having a moodier time in the A38 tent. I'd somehow go for the second option, The XX were definitely blighted by having to play in daylight- yes, some bands just don't work like that. And here's where I would really love to go on a ramble about how The Horrors should not work at 4 PM either but they do because they are the best ba...okay, time to stop.

-Klaxons. Admittedly, they should be a bit yesterday but the new material does sound promising, and if global warming and all that, Sziget is at least nearing the heat levels of last year no refrain will fit better than “We are the children of the sun/We came to be and to become/Awakening as one”. 

-Brody Dalle. Because Josh Homme is cool but his missus is epic.

-Placebo. I am sure a lot of people will frown with an exhausted "not-them-again" face, and yes, they are definite usual suspects and can occasionally play a dud of a concert, but the last one worked out quite fine. There's something liberating about seeing a band over and over again and not being hung up on the importance of the moment anymore but just letting go and enjoying the vibe.

-Bastille. They could never really win me over,they kind of sound like children's toothpaste to me, but in true Seinfeldian vein, you can be sure to find a couple of scenesters to discuss the correct pronounciation of their name while queueing for the above mentioned lagers. And yes, Pompeii is perfectly catchy for a good main stage jump around.

Next week brings new names, so why not have another subjective rundown of what I wish was on that list:
-Arctic Monkeys. Because, bar the Horrors, they are the best band in the world and Sziget deserves them as headliners. It does seem a longshot seeing their summer schedule, but who knows, no one can stop me from dreaming.
-The Horrors. Nauseatingly excited about the new album, which I predict to be brilliant and that calls for another outing in Budapest.
-St Vincent. She must grace us with the most fabulous hair and cheekbones in the music industry and the sublime fact that not even those can eclipse her music.



Late Night Mood



Sunday 16 February 2014

Little Green Train

The HÉV is totally out of my normal route through the city, and, though I've been living in Budapest for over 10 years, don't remember ever taking the lines towards Csepel or Gödöllő, so that's one of the things on my need to do in 2014 list. The Szentendre line though is very close to my heart, as, yes, it's the magic route to Sziget come August. The name HÉV is also a fascinating opportunity to get lost in translation: the abbreviaton comes from Helyiérdekű vasút, which means train of local interest, and is pretty much self explanatory. The plain old, non abbreviated Hungarian word hév however stands for vehemence, so yes, I have seen the phrase let's take the vehemence to Szentendre more than once. The  HÉV is not particulary vehement though, in case it does not catch fire-which it rather often does, though not in a catastrophical way- it will trudge along at a rather snailish pace, to the probable dismay of commuters but the enjoyment of those who want to catch a glimpse of suburban landscapes.





Sun in Szentendre











Saturday 15 February 2014

Saturday Pit Stop


 There will of course be endless debates among the connoisseurs about which is the best coffee in town, but after careful investigation I'd day I am partial to the one at Espresso Embassy. And their cakes aren't half bad either.


Thursday 13 February 2014

Throwback Thursday: Stockholm in the Snow

I am still a bit bitter for not having had a proper winter this year, so here's some Stockholm snow from last January.



























Sunday 9 February 2014

Concert Excitement Diary


Let's drink with this man (though maybe not quite as much) to all the great music coming to us this year:

February 15- Goran Bregović at Művészetek Palotája
March 3- Anna Calvi on A38
April 3- Rufus Wainwright at Művészetek Palotája
May 1- MØ on A38
June 14- Gogol Bordello at Budapest Park
June 19- Nine Inch Nails at Budapest Arena
July 2-5 Foals (punching the air with huge satisfaction), MGMT and Woodkid at VOLT
August 11-18 Queens of the Stone Age and Klaxons on Sziget (and looking forward to the rest of the names with paralytic excitement)

Hangmás at Fekete Zaj


It's kind of hard to describe Fekete Zaj to someone who hasn't been there (yes, it sounds a bit like having been to the 'Nam). This was sadly the last one, but for the past few years it has been a festival gathering rather eclectic pieces of the Hungarian underground, with some occasional foreign gems, such as Atari Teenage Riot in 2013. These were the kind of gigs where you would queue up at the bar with people from totally different musical subcultures and casually walk on on some totally mind bending concerts on one of the smaller stages. It's, however, going on a hiatus, at least temporarily, at least in this form- and the last band on the main stage were Hangmás, catering to a rather entranced crowd of late night noise survivors.