I was lucky to hit jackpot twice this year: I have discovered two awesome bands, before radio stations started playing them non stop, ie before they started enjoying quite massive success. But it’s a blessing and a curse at the same time. Blessing because I was able to get tickets to their gigs without hassle and overpaying. And a curse, because by the time you start hearing them everywhere, from shops and cafes to TV commercial, you have heard each of their song a hundred times. So it’s not fresh anymore.
 
Anyway, we are back at Shepherd Bush O2′s Empire and we are here tonight to see the Hurts. I was waiting for this synthpop moment for the last 8 months. Comparing to O2 Arena, the gig’s location is uber convenient for us – we came on bikes and could happily skip the supporting act. Yes we are here just for The Hurts :)

The started with Unspoken. I was glad to hear that the vocalist’s voice was as strong and melodic as in the album. It was followed by Silver Lining. And here I was pleasantly surprised with the powerful and strong sound, more powerful than in the album. And that was also characteristic for other songs that followed, and that was great – you don’t come to the concert to hear a CD on big speakers, do you? For the Wonderful Life the band was joined by a lady dancer, one of those you should have seen in their video. The opera style back-vocalist was also a treat. He especially shined on Verona and Illuminated.

Funny thing about Theo Hutchcraft though was that he was very cool and confident while holding to the mic stand, but as soon as he started walking around on the stage, it felt a bit awkward – I guess he is better suited for music videos and romantic fashion stills :) But as long as he could sing…

Apart from the album’s repertoire we very treated to a song called Happiness, which for some reason hasn’t become a part of the same named album and also a very special cover of Kyliy’s Confide In Me. 

In short, great concert! Go and see them when they are in town. 

P.S. I do apologize for the photo quality – my compact was useless from that distance :(

Not quite in Japan. Yet. But rather at Brick Lane, in London. That was a Japanese pop culture event that took place this weekend. We popped in on Saturday to grab some booklets (we might need them soon ;), have some authentic food, see some crazy (and half crazy) people, and take some photos as well. Here are few of them.

One of my photos has appeared recently on the alighthere.co.uk – a website, dedicated to all things London underground (photos, poems, stories). The iPhone (hence the quality) photo below was preferred to few others I offered them. I thought I should let you know… Also the website itself is worth checking.

It’s a second day of the London Open House weekend, and we’ve got a couple of places on our list. Also, later on tonight we are going to the West End to see a restored version of Metropolis (yes, that silent movie from 1927). So it seems more than appropriate to pay a visit to the former Daily Express building at Fleet street, considered to be one of the finest London’s examples of that style.

I am a big fan of lavishness and streamlined beauty of Art Deco (and this should also explain why I am so crazy in love with Bioshock), that’s why I can get up early on a Sunday morning, spend an hour commuting to another part of London and stand in a queue just to have 20 minutes in the building’s foyer. I did so I am proud of it.

You can not not admire it! Built in 1932 it’s a proper Hollywood style glamorous. Partly preserved, partly restored nowadays. I could easily imagine myself working there. How awesome would that be?

Below are the pictures of the foyer and its elements (that’s the farthest general public is allowed to go in there). Enjoy! Imagine! Those were the times…

London Open House weekend is a rare chance get access to finest examples of London architecture. For the last few year we have been intending to do it, but every time it was always coinciding with our beach holidays, so it was always a bit of dilemma. But we are in London this September, so we better grab the opportunity.

We didn’t manage to plan well ahead though, and as you might know, many places need to be pre-booked, but luckily there are still plenty of finest places to visit (though you might need to queue to get in).
It was our first Open House weekend, so we decided to stay in the City and Westminster. We did not try to see as many buildings and places as possible, though it was tempting ;) but rather take it slow and easy. And of course, take some pictures!

So there you have it, few shots from our day. You will not see few places here we went to, for photography just wasn’t allowed there (boooooo!), but the following are: modern and hi-tech Channel 4 building, lavish interior shots of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (a real palace), the queue going round the Bank of England (naaah, we are definitely not joining it), a picture of another building in the City – just because it looked so beautiful, then elaborate ceilings of the Banqueting House, followed by a picture of me having a very unglamorous cup of tea at that very place.

Also, most of the places were closing around 4-5pm, so it was a bit of disappointment, since we still have strength and desire to see more.

What to that Sunday wasn’t a question. London Thames festival was on and it had a lot to offer. As a matter of fact so much that we had to be very picky, as it was spread across the river bank for miles and usually it’s quite hard to be in two places simultaneously. Besides, we did not have a luxury of spending whole day there, though it would definitely worth it.

Lots of shows for different tastes, world food, market stalls… We also had a rare chance to meet parrots-the-fortune-tellers (photographic evidence is below). According to the piece of paper it picked up for me, I am going to merry a wealthy girl and will live till the age of 84. I thought it wasn’t too bad.

Then there was a carnival. A few hours long, I thought it was very enjoyable. I’d say I prefer this carnival to the Notting Hill one. Probably, because of the dark time of day, which makes it more atmospheric. And it’s shorter :) And we had zombies… dancing to the Thriller, of course.

The night’s crescendo – the massive, New Year eve style fireworks. We were lucky to secure ‘the best places in the house’ on the top of one of those granite things along the river bank, which was right opposite the pyrotechnical display. Priceless.

What to give to an ardent Bioshock’s fan on his birthday? Easy. You can’t go wrong with the diver’s helmet :)

It’s not a replica and it’s not full-size one, but it comes from antique shop. And it’s cool. Thank you Veronika :)

Our friends from Lithuania, whom we met in London, while they were living and studying here, very kindly invited us to visit them in Kaunas and stay at their place. We gladly accepted their invitation and fitted a few days in the end of our nearly two weeks of Baltic holidays schedule. As we realized later, that was a great decision.

On the first day went on a kayak trip down the Ula river in one of the national parks. It took us about four hours from point A to point B, and the we had a really great time, once again, enjoying quietness and tranquility of country side and the simple landscapes around. That definitely took my back to my early years, when I was spending summer holidays in my aunt’s country house. Those carefree times… Why do we never appreciate what we have?…

After a pleasantly exhausting day it was a time for a good dinner. Local food deserves a special mentioning. It’s awesome. The variety of it. The taste… I suddenly realized that I was brought up on that type of food and cuisine, for my mom, who is an amazing cook, actually comes from Russian family from Lithuania. And this is where my favorite cepelini and all sort of wild mushroom dishes are from. As a great example, below you can see a cabbage and wild mushroom soup in the bread loaf. That was absolutely delicious!

On the second day we drove to the other side of the country – to the seaside, Klaipeda. A cute and tidy portal town. One of the historically famous place there was the Old Town square, where Hitler was giving his speech. Nice!

Shame the day wasn’t that hot, so we opted not go for swim in the sea. I was really tempted, but then again I had a cold (a very stupid thing to have on your holiday), so I did not risk it.

Overall we really enjoyed those few days in our comrade republic and will definitely be back one day for more cepelini :))) By the way once they are ‘yesterday cepelini’, they become rare and much-sought-after delicatessen. Word!