139: PUMPED UP KICKS

It was my day off, and I got word from The Peak radio station that there was going to be a secret show by Foster the People (If you don't know who they are, you will probably recognize this song). It was secret in that The Peak announced the time of the show just yesterday (1pm), and the location was announced two hours before the show was about to start.

I had a laser eye surgery consultation in the morning, and I finished right at 11am, the time they were to announce the location. I was expecting the show to be somewhere downtown, since last year's secret show was held in front of a restaurant in Yaletown. But when I checked my twitter, it said the concert was going to be held at the radio station balcony, which was only a block away from the laser eye surgery centre! Lucky me, no need to commute at all.

I decided I would eat at Memphis Blues since it was just down the street. I came in just as they opened, so the girl working there was still pulling the pork. "Try a sample, this is the freshest pulled pork you'll have!" she said. It was some good pulled pork, so I ordered the pulled pork sandwich. It was love at first bite. I inhaled it and then walked the block down to the radio station.

Foster the People are playing a sold out show tonight, so it was nice I could catch them live for free. Unfortunately, it started to rain right before the show started, so I had to lose my spot on the sidewalk and found some cover by the entrance of an apartment building instead (which happens to be the apartment my friend lives in, but he was at work). Despite the rain, there were still a few hundred people who showed up. The band played a short acoustic set of four songs. They were good. Based on what I heard, I would gladly have paid to attend their live show tonight! Even if it was just for Pumped Up Kicks.

It's too bad they were way up on the balcony though. It's good I brought my brother's zoom lens, since otherwise they would have just been little specks in my pictures (you can see in the picture below how tiny the people standing on the balcony are).

138: BROTHER DOWN!

It's funny, because I don't particularly love Sam Roberts (I don't even really listen to his music except for what's on the radio), but this was my third time seeing him in concert.  He blows me away every time I see him perform, because he is just amazing live. Way better than the studio versions of the songs. I think this may be my favourite concert of the year so far.

We were lucky, since the weather originally called for rain but ended up being sunny. The venue was Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, which was a beautiful setting for an outdoor concert. Rae and I had one and a half porchetta sandwiches each at Meat and Bread (very drool worthy) before the show, and by the time we got to Malkin Bowl, people were set up on the grass with their blankets. We made a beeline to the stage and situated ourselves at a prime viewing spot for the rest of the night. It was an all ages show, so we were of course surrounded by teenagers. There was one teenaged boy in particular who had such dirty, dirty hands...I was so worried that he would touch my clothes during the concert because he was right behind me, but thankfully he moved to the side. They were the dirtiest hands I have ever seen - the dirt was stuck even in the creases of his hands! I shudder just thinking about it.

What I loved about Sam Roberts was how he kept smiling as he sang, as if he was really enjoying himself. And at the end, the band came out for not one, but TWO encores! It was great. They played for almost two hours.

137: DANCE DANCE DANCE

Lykke Li had the most dramatic entrance I have ever seen. Pounding drums, swirling curtains, and billowing smoke filled the stage as the sold out crowd at the Vogue anxiously awaited for the Swedish singer to come out. It lasted for minutes and the music made me feel as if something hugely important was about to arrive, as if it was the impending Rapture. Fortunately, it was Lykke Li who stepped out onto the stage, not the end of the world. And she enthralled me with her great stage presence.

I have been spoiled recently with being able to nab front row spots at concerts, but today I came a bit later than usual (due to a dinner at Lupo - yay for rabbit pappardelle!) and was dismayed to find a crowd in front of the stage. There were way too many obstacles (heads, cameras, hands) in front of me. Good thing someone started pushing behind me during the show - I gladly let her propel me further up towards the stage and ended up beside the tall people instead of behind them. Score!

136: RAIN RAIN RAIN

The sun tricked me last week. For that fleeting moment when the sun was out and the weather was perfect, it felt like summer was finally here. But now the pouring rain is back in full force, and I am back to hiding underneath my umbrella again.

135: STANLEY CUP FINALS HERE WE COME!

Exactly 17 years ago, on May 24, 1994, the Vancouver Canucks won the Western conference finals on Game 5 on home soil in double overtime. History repeated itself today, and it was awesome. The whole city of Vancouver is going crazy because it's the first time we've reached the Stanley Cup finals since '94. Everyone has hockey fever! I want to request every night off for the next 2 weeks so I won't be stuck doing a closing shift if/when the Canucks win the cup...but I don't think that'll go over so well. This is so exciting!

134: LOW

Sometimes the best view is from down low. Happy Victoria Day.

133: ANALOG

The nice thing about developing film is that you have no idea what's going to come out, especially when the roll of film is from awhile back. This one has pictures ranging from last summer's biking to my Cambodia/Laos trip in November to the flowers in QE park from last week.

132: FILMSTRIPS

I finally finished and developed a roll of film that has been in my camera since last fall. I decided to be cheap and to ask for develop only instead of having the pictures printed or put in a cd. I ended up spending 2 hours scanning the film into my computer because I kept having to rescan due to dust on the film...which brings me to the question: which is more important, time or money?

I have had this discussion with a few friends before, and it seems like MONEY always wins. No matter how much time is wasted, the option of saving money is always chosen. It's the Chinese frugalness instilled in me.

131: SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS

Sun. Bike. Warmth. Grass. Bliss.

130: QUEEN ELIZABETH PARK

QE park is beautiful and blooming with flowers at this time of year! One thing the park needs though is more bike racks - I rode up and down the park looking for a bike rack and ended up having to use the one at the very corner by the golf course, a very far walk from the flowers. I would very much like to have a picnic here soon - who's in?

129: EPIPHANIE

 

Epiphanie bags - handbag on the outside, camera bag on the inside. Can't wait to use mine.

128: BUNGEE JUMPING

Jumping off a bridge, what a Saturday! Whistler Bungee is the highest jump in BC, at a height of 160 feet. I've never had an inclination to go bungee jumping, but the groupon deal for 50% off came up, and so I thought, why not? I was terrified, of course, but the groupon had already been bought. It was on.

I've gone skydiving before, and I wasn't scared at all back then, even though the plane was at a height of 10,000 feet. But this bungee jumping really freaked me out, probably because I had too much time to think about it. We had arrived about an hour early, so we watched many jumps before it was our turn (107 people had gone already before us earlier that day!).

I screamed all the way down...and on each of the bounces as well. Apparently the video of my jump was a hoot. I was SO not ready to jump into the abyss.

127: JE VEUX TE VOIR

What a great French dance party at the Commodore with Yelle. She's one of my favourite artists to see live because she's so fun. She was promoting her Safari Disco Club album so they all came out appropriately dressed, with the guys in safari clothes and Julie Budet in some swamp monster outfit (she had a few costume changes). I loved how she rocked that onesie.