Quick pic

twilight in the forest

I borrowed the camera from my brother a few weeks ago, and made this picture on an early sunday morning.

Strasbourg

In the beginning of august we went to Strasbourg for a wedding; I took a few days off and we explored the city and its surroundings for a few days. It’s a quaint little town, and we had the best weather imaginable. I borrowed a camera to take some pictures (since I didn’t yet buy a new one after the burglary), and they came out quite nicely.

Nine Inch Nails

Last wednesday we went to see NIN in Amsterdam for their Wave Goodbye tour. I missed them the last time they were visiting the Netherlands, so I was glad I got a second chance to shell out some money and finally see them.
The selection of songs was diverse, even some songs from the Pretty Hate Machine album, as well as from Further down the spiral, Broken, The Fragile, The Downward Spiral … and of course the new albums as well. All in all, it was the perfect mix of old and new songs, and if I ever have the chance to see them again, I’ll be there.

Next up: Propagandhi!

Frankfurt

Previous week I went to Frankfurt, to the FIDIS general meeting, where I had to give a short presentation about the work we did. I didn’t have a lot of time afterwards, but at least I got make some pictures during the night:

Frankfurt Skyline

More Skyline

Booker T. & the M.G.’s

Saturday March 21st we went to see Booker T. & the MG’s; you can find a review here. It was much more crowded than the previous week, when John Cale and Vic Chesnutt performed. I didn’t bring my camera, but instead I borrowed some pictures from the previously mentioned site.
My review: they were awesome, and I got to hear my favourite songs (Green Onions and Hip Hug Her).

Steve Cropper

Steve Cropper

Booker T.

Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn and Steve Cropper

Booker T.

“]

John Cale, Vic Chesnutt + Elf Power

Yesterday we went to see John Cale and Vic Chesnutt in ‘het Paard van Troje’ in the Hague; Vic Chesnutt performed together with Elf Power. John played really passionate, it really was wonderful to see him perform. He played some older songs like ‘Fear’, ‘Amsterdam’, ‘Paris 1919′, Dying on the vine’, ‘Pablo Picasso’ and  ‘Things’ from a recent album. Especially ‘Amsterdam’ gave me some shivers the way he sang it. Wonderful.

The second performer we came to see, Vic Chesnutt, played together with Elf Power. They played a lot of songs from their ‘Dark Developments’ album. Vic was really relaxed and laidback.

Here are some pics:

Grenoble

Previous weekend I visited some refugees from Holland who moved to Grenoble; I smuggled some contraband syrup waffles over the border … I have to admit I was a little afraid, but it was for the greater good. On the other hand, I wasn’t yet ready to die like a martyr. Luckily, all went well, and the waffles disappeared from the radar in a few days.

The town and its surroundings are really nice; it’s located in a valley, which is a nice change from holland where everything’s flat.

Here are some pics; I forgot to make a picture of Grenoble at night though :(.

I again want to thank C&G for their hospitality :)

Christmas in Milan

We went to Milan for Christmas; I think it was a much needed rest for the both of us. It was pretty cold, but the sky was blue most of the time, and only had a brief period of rain when we arrived at the airport.

The Duomo is really nice; the amount of details is really impressive. You can see for yourself:

The hotel was really nice as well, so it was a happy end of the year .. maybe I should start looking for the next holiday :).

The Black Angels in Paradiso

Previous thursday (December 11) we went to see the Black Angels in Paradiso. It was pretty neat, and the crowd was appreciative as well. The sound was ok, but the volume of the voice was too weak. But the droning was still pretty nice, so it was not a big problem :P.

Lazy cat

Yesterday I had to defend my internship report; everything went better than I could’ve expected. I almost couldn’t stop talking, and my presentation was between 45-50 minutes (while 20 minutes was sufficient). Anyway, the questions afterwards were not that difficult, and all in all they were happy with the way I had worked during my internship.

Now I’m at my parents for a few days, and when I was goofing around with one of our cats, I had the chance to stare right into the belly of the beast:

Straight into the belly of the beast

My new Canon EOS 400D

Although this happened even before visiting Leonard Cohen in the Westerpark, I didn’t mention it before: my lovely parents bought me a Canon EOS 400D. It’s a gift for my graduation, so hopefully I won’t disappoint them later this month. The EOS 400D is more compact than I’d imagined, but it still has all the advantages of a SLR.

I had to get used to all the possibilities, it’s all just a little different from the Canon Powershot A95 I used before. But here are some great shots (the perfect sunset was captured by my brother, it’s my new header for the site):

Momma ladybug and her children ^^

Momma ladybug and her children ^^

Frisian sunset

ladybug in the sunset

something grass-like in the sunset

(please view at full resolution; it’s much better that way)

Leonard Cohen

Approximately 2 weeks ago, we saw Leonard Cohen performing in the Westerpark (Amsterdam). He was really charming, suave (especially with his hat), and was very generous to the band and to the public. He did two sets, after which he came back for the encores. He was such a passionate singer, clenching his fist, sitting on his knee… Truly a wonderful performance.

I’m happy to say we’ll see him at least one more time, in the beginning of November. The bad news is he’ll perform in Ahoy, of which I’m not too fond (sound quality was very bad the last time). But I have confidence that the soundguy from Leonard Cohen will amaze me like he did in the Westerpark. And we have much better seats now, so all in all I’m optimistic.

Setlist:

Dance Me to the End of Love
The Future
Ain’t No Cure for Love
Bird on the Wire
Everybody Knows (Leonard Cohen/Sharon Robinson)
In My Secret Life (Leonard Cohen/Sharon Robinson)
Who by Fire
Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye
Anthem

Tower of Song
Suzanne
Gypsy Wife
Boogie Street (with Sharon Robinson)
Hallelujah
Democracy
I’m Your Man
Take This Waltz (Leonard Cohen after Federico Garcia Lorca)

Encores:
So Long, Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Sisters of Mercy
If It Be Your Will
Closing Time
I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest

Roger Waters in Landgraaf

Last weekend (Sunday, May 11th) we went to see Roger Waters in Landgraaf. As Landgraaf is at the other side of the Netherlands (judged from Groningen, Friesland and Amsterdam) we decided to stay in Maastricht for a couple of days (friday to monday). We had a great time (and nice weather!) exploring the city and surroundings. On sunday we went to see Roger Waters performing the complete ‘dark side of the moon’ -album, along with some songs from his own carreer and some Pink Floyd songs. The performance was nothing short of phenomenal; a lot of visual effects along with explosions, flying pigs, large screens, a giant prism, excellent sound (the quadrophonic system used made that you could hear explosions from all directions during e.g. ‘Bring the boys back home’), and an enthusiastic Roger and band.

Some reviews (mostly in Dutch) can be found here.
I had a great time, and if I ever get the chance to see him again, I’ll be there.

The band consisted of:

Roger Waters – Bass And Vocals
Carol Kenyon – Backing Vocals
Chester Kamen – Guitars And Bass
Dave Kilminster – Guitar And Vocals
Graham Broad – Drums
Harry Waters – Hammond Organ
Ian Ritchie – Saxophone
Jon Carin – Keyboards And Vocals
PP Arnold – Backing Vocals
Snowy White – Guitar
Sylvia Mason James – Backing Vocals

Setlist:

Set 1:
In the Flesh
Mother
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts I-V
Have a Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Southampton Dock
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Perfect Sense, Part I
Perfect Sense, Part II
Leaving Beirut
Sheep

Set 2:
Speak to Me
Breathe
On the Run
Time
Breathe (reprise)
The Great Gig in the Sky
Money
Us and Them
Any Colour You Like
Brain Damage
Eclipse

Encore:
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in The Wall Part II
Vera
Bring the Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb

Some pics from this show are shown below. Although we were not that far removed from the stage (though we couldn’t count Roger’s wrinkles), most of the photos suck. Erik Luyten did it a lot better (maybe press -entrance?). Well, here they are: (The bottom 2 photos were made by Erik; see his Flickr page).

(The gallery is a little fucked-up; it doesn’t take you directly to the full -size image … )

night time panorama of the Maas

day time panorama of the Maas

Roger strolling

silhouette shot of the band

Roger with band

the complete band

Roger rocking

RW – DSOTM poster

You! Yes You!

fear builds walls – all religions divide

Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band

Last Saturday we went to see TSMZMO&TB in Tivoli, Utrecht (Oudegracht). They mostly played songs from their new album ‘13 blues for thirteen moons’, but also played ‘Microphones in the trees’ (from the ‘Pretty Little Lightning Paw’ album), ‘Metal Bird’ (yet unreleased), and ‘Hang on to Each Other (from ‘Horses in the Sky’).

We arrived a little bit later than I expected, so most of the seats were already taken, which meant we had to sit in the back. I tried to make some pictures, but as usual, it was very dark and I had to zoom. I tried to improve it somewhat with photoshop, and a conversion to black&white.

Some pictures from
flickr :

Mono

Last friday (november 9) we went to see Mono in Haarlem (Patronaat). They were simply amazing, the great dynamic between the melodic intros and the deafening white noise were almost hypnotizing.

Of course, I made some pictures; I really start to see the limitations of my Powershot A95. High ISO with a low shutter speed aren’t the best ingredients for concert photography. Nevertheless, I’m quite satisfied with these pictures: (low jpeg quality and low resolution because of wordpress-limitations on space)

The world is taking over

I made some pictures yesterday (well, quite a lot actually), but in the end I only like this one. I like the contrast between nature and industry. Makes you feel we really own the world, that the earth is ours. We’re invading nature’s territory.

They’re a little different, but mostly it’s the processing that makes them look different.

Quick shots

I quite like them, the first two due their simplicity, the other because there’s some contrast between the message (“to her who kept saying no to fascism”) and the pee/filth on the left side (“women of ravensbruck”).

  

Experimental art – Part II

I made some very similar pictures some time ago, but I liked the idea and made some more. I know there’s some noise in one of them, but I don’t think it spoils the picture. Rather, it enhances it … maybe. ;)

      

Comments welcome.

Abstract pictures

It has been a long week, without much time to post. But I made a few pictures, and to be honest I like them. Click on them to get the large version.

Experimental art

Experimental art using two forks.