Easter Road Trip

School broke up last Thursday, so on Good Friday we packed up the car and the children and made our way to south Wales to visit with our friends for the weekend. We love driving over the bridge into Wales.

Our friends live close to my sister Amy, so we got to spend the weekend with her too, and see sweet Isobel:

The children made Easter nest treats:

And I indulged in a chocolate bunny:

On Monday we said our goodbyes and drove on to Windsor to go to Legoland. Nanny Miles came with us (it was her Christmas present for the children) and it turned out to be the coldest day ever to be outside. (Maybe not, but it felt like it!) We braved the elements and had a great time, Noah and Ethan especially loved the Star Wars display:

We did a little gold panning:

There were lots of fun rides to go on:

The children loved the mini Lego scenes, especially the London one:

On Tuesday we went into Windsor itself to see the castle. The queen was in residence (Rosie kept asking if we could visit her!) and the Royal Standard was flying:

We were just in time to see the Changing of the Guards at the palace. It happens a couple of times a day; when the guards change shifts the traffic is stopped and the new guards march up the streets from their barracks with a band leading the way:

This happens every day, come rain or shine! I caught a little video of the guards returning to their barracks after the changeover:

I love our silly traditions. I also love old cobbled streets, I think they give a place character...

...as does crooked old houses:

I really enjoy walking around old churches; the wooden carvings, vaulted ceilings, tiles on the floor and stained glass windows are just gorgeous.

After a trip to the museum and a little window shopping, we drove back west to Bristol to finish off our trip by taking Ben and Ethan with us to see Imagine Dragons while Nanny Miles looked after Rosie and Noah. James' brother Dave met us there too, so it was nice to catch up with him. As it was the first standing gig for the boys it was quite a new experience for them, and they loved it.

The band were really energetic, you can't help but get sucked in by the energy of the music and lose yourself for an hour and a half. Ethan didn't complain about my singing in his ear all night, so I can't have been too bad!

The band handed out the printed set lists at the end of the show and Ben and Ethan were thrilled to be given one each, it was kind of them to single out the young fans and make sure they had a keepsake from the night. It was a great way to end our trip.

Kodaline

Last Saturday I returned to my favourite small, sea-worthy music venue Thekla (I wrote about it previously here) to see Irish band Kodaline at the start of their UK headlining tour. I've been a fan of their music since last summer; they've released a couple of EPs and I am eagerly awaiting their album in June. They were all I'd hoped they would be, they sounded terrific harmonising and playing together, and sang so intensely at times that it felt we were sharing something very personal. They were humble and grateful, and we left with the impression we had witnessed the beginnings of a great band with a long journey ahead. I'd recommend you listen to my favourite songs 'All I Want' and 'High Hopes', and fall a little bit in love with them...like I did.

In other news, I've been asked to be a regular contributor to my friend's blog on his 'Tuesday Tunes' days where I'll share songs or albums I like. Here is a link from last week,  and this week if you'd like a peek.

 

I Heard Them Calling In The Distance

Yesterday I ran away with James again, this time to Bristol to see Of Monsters and Men.

I've had a love affair with this six-piece band from Iceland for months now, and they certainly lived up to my expectations.

Their live sound was beautiful, with quite an eclectic mix of instruments and sublime vocals.

Hand clapping and audience participation was of course very necessary:

If you get the chance to see this band live, go! Who doesn't love just the right amount of quirkiness mixed with fabulous tunes?

Wearing The Floor To The Boards Again

My favourite band were back in London this week so of course I was there, along with my friend Ema. It was an acoustic gig and although I missed the electric guitars, drums and cello, I loved how much noise was made with just the three guitars. There wasn't a strict set list for the night, Brandi asked for requests so we heard a few songs from their back catalogue that they don't usually play anymore. I'd never heard Again Today live, so that was a treat for me.

There were a few times when the band would come down from the stage and sing unplugged on top of the big speakers to the crowd, this is always my favourite part, the lady has some serious pipes:

My smile lines are deep this week!

Feeding My Soul

I've often said gigs are like buses; nothing for ages and then they all come at once. On Tuesday I finally got to see Ben Howard with Dawn, after an error with the ticket company prevented us from going two weeks ago. Thanks to the kindness of Mr Howard, all 1200 of us that were over-issued tickets were given free entry to the extra show he added to the tour to make up for the error. What a nice bloke! It was also great to only travel down to Plymouth to see him, not many bands make it so far down into Devon, but he's a local so of course he had to play here.

Let me tell you, this band is one talented bunch. They all played multiple instruments throughout the night, and Ben was doing some seriously ridiculous guitar playing. There were times I couldn't believe he was plucking those strings so fast. As for the drummer, he likes to play the bass guitar and drums at the same time, check him out:

It was a beautiful thing. If we could have listened to him playing on a beach by a roaring fire it would have been perfection!

Yesterday James and I took a road tip to Oxford to see Imagine Dragons. I'd been looking forward to this one for a long time, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be.

It was a loud, drum-heavy, energetic set with lots of crazy dancing and jumping around from both the band and the audience:

There were a couple of moments when Dan was almost in tears, he couldn't believe that so many people in the UK turned up to see them and knew all the words to their songs, even though the album isn't released here yet. (Thank goodness for the Internet!)

But here's the thing I wasn't expecting, the band sound so much better live than on their album! Don't get me wrong, I really like the album, but without all the extra production that comes with some of the album tracks, they were stripped down to the bare rock of guitars, drums and keyboards...and it sounded so good! We left that evening feeling hot and sweaty, with sore hands and feet from clapping and stomping so much, but with smiles a mile wide. If you get a chance to see them live, you must go!

 

P.S. What could be cooler than appearing on the band's Instagram photo?:

Halloween With The Killers

I have a list of bands I want to see before I die, and I finally get to tick The Killers off that list. (Last summer's solo gig from Brandon didn't count!) I went to Birmingham with my gig buddy Dawn and after queueing like true Brits we were rewarded with a front row spot in the mosh pit (which should really be named sweat pit). The set started with a short Halloween themed band video shown on the big screen just before they came on stage. Their opening song was one of my very favourites, and aptly titled Bones:

Ronnie was dressed for the occasion in a skeleton costume (love him!):

His drumming was spectacular:

For the next two hours we were treated to an amazing, high energy performance. The new songs sat really well with the old and got just as enthusiastic a reaction from the crowd.

 

The song that got the loudest sing-along of the night? Mr Brightside:

 There were pyrotechnics going off...

...and a few showers of confetti (I found some lightning bolts and K's in unmentionable places on the way home!):

At the end of the set Brandon came down from the stage and made his way slowly (brave man) along the front row...where he looked me in the eye and high fived me...and I kind of held onto his hand...ahem...

Then the band threw lots of Halloween chocolate to the audience:

I am pretty sure I'll never have a Halloween to top this one.

Words From A Thousand Miles Away

Yesterday I took a trip up to London with Emily to see Katie Herzig play at The Borderline. I've been a fan for years and I was thrilled when this gig came up recently. I was due to see her play a couple of years ago but it got cancelled when the Icelandic volcano caused chaos with the planes! Butterfly Boucher played an hour-long opening set, and although I only knew a couple of her songs I really enjoyed her set. She was hilariously jet-lagged and told great stories between songs. Katie joined in with her on a few:

It was great to hear Katie's songs, which have lots of strings, drums and electronics, totally stripped down to an acoustic version. There were times of absolute quiet where you could hear a pin drop, and times when the crowd were singing along.

The Borderline is a hot and sweaty little basement club but I love the size of the place. It's an intimate venue where artists often choose to play for the first time in London, and they take the time to sell their own merchandise and have a chat with their fans. I think I got away with not acting like a super fan, but you'd have to ask Emily to confirm! (I did not however, get away with the unfortunate lighting or fuzzy hair!)

Jubilee Weekend

To celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne we have had two holidays added to our weekend to enable us all to have a four-day party for the occasion. I don't often see the Union Jack flying except for on important buildings, but this past weekend they have been everywhere; on homes, shops, street lamps, gardens, and my personal favourite...bunting! There have been thousands of street parties all over the country (imagine cream teas and party food, served on tablecloths of course!) It feels like there is a great sense of community and pride coming back, it's been a wonderful time.  We had a pretty packed weekend ourselves, we started off on Saturday to west Wales for my father-in-law's 60th birthday party. Strangely, the children love the four hour drive and their favourite part is going over the river Severn on the suspension bridge into Wales:

This is what the back of the car looks like halfway through the journey (Rosie is in the very back behind Ethan's head!):

Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the birthday boy, but I did get a few of the cousins playing together, and Buzz making sure that wedgie was sorted out!:

The next morning we drove back to south Wales for the blessing of my new niece Isobel. It was a lovely day and mum was so happy to get some cuddles, it's such a shame we live so far away.

Aren't they a beautiful family?

On Monday James and I went to London to see Coldplay (my birthday present!) and it was so great driving through the streets and seeing all the wonderful shop displays for the Jubilee...Liberty of London was my favourite. James didn't look at the displays, he was too busy battling the traffic and trying not to kill suicidal cyclists/motorbikes! The concert itself was absolutely glorious, my favourite song was a tie between Charlie Brown and Paradise...they blew me away! Fix you and Yellow made me tear up as always, and the funniest surprise moment was Simon Pegg popping up on stage to play the harmonica!  The party tricks were well and truly out for the show, it started off with lots of fireworks and confetti...oh, how I love the butterfly confetti:

Then there were balloons and MORE confetti:

I'm such a big kid!

The most beautiful part of the show were these radio controlled wristbands that everyone was given:

They were turned on for certain songs and they looked amazing, it really made the audience a part of the performance. There were also inflatables and strobes galore....oh, it was a couple of hours of heaven, my face ached from smiling so much!

We got back to Devon at 3am and as mum had the children we indulged in a lovely long sleep to recuperate. We spent much of Tuesday watching the final parade for the Queen...we do pomp and circumstance so well! Long live the Queen, and thanks for the four day weekend Ma'am!