Europe Pt1: Amsterdam

After a long 3 week wait from our last trip cancellation due to the Iceland volcano Eyjafgallajokull's eruption we finally made it to Europe. First we took a 9 and a half hour flight from Calgary, Alberta, Canada to London, England. We then waited a few ours and then took a 51 minute flight from London, England to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

We are on a train from Schipol (Amsterdam) Airport to Central station in the heart of Amsterdam

This is the Bulldog and where we stayed for the first 2 nights of our trip. The hostel had a bar and restaurant and was actually very nice and clean and right on a canal.

A view from the doors of our hostel.

Holland's national food; French Fries and Mayonnaise

The canals at night.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's

Lead Singer Alex Ebert

Two days after our arrival from Europe it was concert time again with communal living Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's. We saw these guys at McEwan Hall at the U of C and again it was a tiny show which was amazing. They only have one album so far called Up From Below so they pretty much played all of that. If you haven't checked them out yet give em a listen you won't be disappointed. Also check you local festival to see if there playing as they're on tour all summer.

enjoi!

BSS PICS AMSTERDAM

few more pics from Broken Social Scene in Amsterdam

enjoi!

Broken Social Scene in Amsterdam

So we did finally make it to Europe and i will post all about that soon, but first while in Europe since our trip was re-scheduled for 3 weeks later we were able to catch Toronto's favourite band Broken Social Scene, just as they released their new album Forgiveness Rock Record. We spent the day riding bicycles around Amsterdam's beautiful Vondelpark and then we headed to the Concert. Another small venue. No more than 600 people here. Very cool pub/concert hall and the band was amazing as usual. I believe they were a 9 piece in Amsterdam.....but it could have been 8. They played a mixture of their three albums as well as a Pavement cover. Kaely bought a poster at the show (shown above) and ended up leaving it on a train to Napoli by accident. When she got back to Canada she emailed them and told them the story hoping to buy another (if there were any left as the pressing was limited to 100 copies) as she claimed it was her favourite souvenir from the entire European adventure. They happily sent a replacement free saying,"Amsterdam can be a crazy place." Good people for sure! I will support Broken Social Scene and the Arts & Crafts label as much as I can for sure. I am super glad we made the concert and it was so good I already bought tickets to see them again in Calgary in the fall.

Enjoi!

Can't go to Europe, then eat CAKE

Well we were all set to fly to England and start our European journey and a volcano erupts and all flights to Europe are cancelled for a week. What luck. The first day they let planes out was the same day as our original flight. So we sat in the airport for the afternoon assuming we were going to England, then 30 minutes before the flight its definitely a no go, passengers must have a British passport to get on the plane as they have been stranded in Calgary for the last week by the Icelandic wonder Eyjafgallajokull. So what do you do when your dreams have been crushed........ Go see CAKE! Once we found out that CAKE was coming to town when we were supposed to be in Europe we were pretty bummed...wanting to see them for quite a while.
We quickly left the airport and headed for the University of Calgary to see if there was still tickets and luckily there was. We then got to see one of the tightest bands I've seen in a while. It was a tiny show, I would say no more then 650. The band was great and even gave a tree to a lucky fan to plant in her yard and to keep the band updated with photos of the trees progress.. something they do at every show. Overall it was great to re-live some 90's greats. Even the new material sounded great... Release date coming soon..............

Set list From CAKE at McEwan Hall April 21, 2010

Love You Madly
Comfort Eagle
Wheels
Sheep Go To Heaven
Frank Sinatra
Guitar
Mexico
Never There
Rock 'N' Roll Lifestyle
Pretty Pink Ribbon
Is This Love?
Shadow Stabbing
Sad Songs and Waltzes
Stick shifts and Safety belts
The Distance

Encore

War Pigs (Black Sabbath Cover)
Short Skirt Long Jacket

I'm Back Bitches

Well it has been a few years but I have decided to update my blog again to show some recent
activities in my life............................................. more to come

enjoi!