The Tallest Swede on Earth

So just as I suspected it would be, the Tallest Man on Earth show was amazing!

You could tell The Fillmore was full of history. The walls of the hallways and lounge areas were plastered with posters of bands who have played there in the past.

[Disclaimer: As with most venues, the lighting was slim to none. This is great for creating a thoughtful ambience, but not so great for someone who is trying to fulfill her blogger duties and is reluctant to flash up the place, ruinining the ambience they have so carefully crafted.]

Though the venue was more on the intimate side, it had a fairly large standing area where we could crowd by the stage.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about this outfit, but here's something funny. When I was at the coat check putting away me and the boyfriend's jacket, there was another girl standing directly in front of me in the line wearing the exact same shirt as mine!

Until now, I had been proud to say that had never happened to me before. But, I guess when you shop at UO, it's bound to happen sometime.

The opener was a band that goes by the name of S. Carey. Their music sort of sounded like a cross between Local Natives and a more stripped down version of Fleet Foxes. His voice was beautiful, but a lot of the songs sounded similar - all very subdued and featuring harmonic oohhs and ahhs, with of course their differentiating details like lyrics and instrumental arrangements sprinkled here and there. It was definitely very chill music - a little too chill for a lot of the anxious concert goers. Even though they were great, by the fourth or fifth song you could tell the entire audience was getting restless. 

I really liked it though, and will see if I can find some of his stuff to post for you guys.

And now the main event. As mentioned previously, TMoE was simply divine. Like Joanna Newsom, I didn't really think he could sound any better live than he does on both of his albums. 

He proved me so wrong. 

His one man show was better than 95 percent of the bands I have seen. It really seemed as if he meant each and every word he was singing. Like if he performed to his absolute fullest, this was the show that was going to rise him to the level of the greatest greats. Not that I got the feeling that he was even the type of person who would want to be a household name.

Plus, he was saying the cutest things! He had this humble, unassuming, almost shy way about him. One girl yelled out her phone number at him in between one of his songs, and the conversation went something along the lines of this:

Drunk Concert Girl: I'll be your queen! Six Five Nine Two Four Three Six (or what ever)

TMoE: Oh. I don't normally do that after shows. I just go to sleep. And besides, I probably wouldn't be what you were expecting anyway.

AWWWWW! 

And then another time:

TMoE: I love San Francisco. You all are always such sweet to me. How many of you guys were at Outside Lands(?) ? 

(audience cheers)

TMoE: Yea, that was great. I tried my hardest there, so I hoped you liked it. 

(audience cheers) 

TMoE: I'll try my very hardest again tonight. I always try my hardest to do well up here. It's all I know how to do. At least, I hope I'm doing well. I hope you guys like it. 

(female members of the audience erupt in a collective awwww)

He said a lot of really cute things that made all the girls go awww throughout the night. He's just adorable. The fact that he's probably somewhere between the heights of 5'6 and 5'9 really does help his cuteness cause. I wanted to steal that little Swede and take him home with me.

Oh, not in that way.

Okay, maybe in that way just a little bit. 

Mystery Seedling

About a week ago I did a post on an unidentifiable mystery plant. Both my boyfriend and the little marker claimed it was a watermelon plant, but that just didn't seem right. Watermelon plants are usually lower to the ground in grow in a vine-line manner.

Some of my readers and I guessed it may have been a pepper plant. It actually did look really similar to one, but upon a more thorough inspection of the garden, I found the real pepper plant hidden beneath the leaves of a different plant. It was a bit stunted - it practically hadn't grown at all since we had done the initial planting!

Well, it turns out that we were all wrong. 

I was at my boyfriend's house the other night (where the garden lives) and his kitten escaped in to the backyard, so I went to go grab him. Imagine my surprise when I ran across our mystery seedling.

It's a sunflower!

How we ended up with a sunflower when we were thought we purchased only vegetable seedlings, I will never know. It really is quite a pretty surprise :)

I'm super excited for tomorrow night. I'm seeing one of my favorite folkish artist right now, The Tallest Man on Earth, in San Francisco at the Fillmore. Check it out! Be warned, his voice is one of those love-it-or-hate-it sort of sounds. 

This song, The Gardener, is from his latest album, The Hunt.  Everyone's singing along!

Do any of you guys have a Twitter? I made an account about a year ago but never really got into it. I started back up though a couple days ago, so if you'd like, feel free to follow my tweets. Tweets... does that sound a bit silly? Just search: Playing Hooksies.

Milk Tea, Please.

Lately, I've had a ridiculous craving for milk tea. I had it for the first time about a week ago, and now I find myself wanting it all the time. The fact that I even like milk tea at all is sort of strange because normally I'm not big on ethnic food or drinks. But there is just something about that savory, yet light taste. I'm not exactly sure what's in it, but I think its a a mixture of black tea, milk and flavoring.

Random Fact #46: There are about four milk tea places within a five-block radius from my apartment.

This really does not help my addiction at all.


My boyfriend, the enabler, went with me on one of my daily milk tea treks.

Peach Milk Tea is really the bee's knees. The cat's meow. Purrrr. 

You may have noticed that printed band on my arm. It's this physical therapy bandage called Rock Tape that was originally used for pro athletes who compete in endurance sports like marathons and is supposed to help with the strengthening and healing of the affected muscle. I injured my bicep while rock climbing back in January and spent five months in physical therapy without much improvement.

Thoroughly depressing.

I've started at a new place which used different techniques (like this rock tape!) than the previous office I went to, so cross your fingers for me!

HARRY P. AND ME

Despite the random heat waves northern California has been having, I know that my all time favorite season is just around the corner.

I know that the mere mention of what I'm about to say is going to make some of you either super excited or sigh heavily in disgust, but apparently the jacket that I'm wearing is the same one Bella wore in the Twilight movies.

I happen to enjoy the series. I've read the books and saw the movies that have been released so far, and I take it for what it is: a series marketed towards pre-teen girls.

It's all in good fun. Whether you are team Jacob or Edward(!), there is room enough for all of us on this planet :)

Now, Harry Potter on the other hand, is a whole different bunch of bananas. That series happens to be very near to my heart, as the novels were released throughout my elementary through mid high school years. I basically grew up right along with Ron, Hermione and Harry. In fact, Ron may or not have been my very first fictional crush.

Another reason that series is pretty dear to me is that the films usually happen to be released very near my birthday, November 19. When the films first started coming out, my closest Harry Potter nerd friend and I would see them every year in theaters as part of my birthday celebration.

I'm no longer friends with my former Harry Potter buddy and have since taken to seeing the films with other, non-die hard friends, but I'll always remember the laughs and tears that my best friend and I shared reading the novels and watching the films together.

Oh, and the trademark opening music.. dum di di dum di dum dummmm :) 

Cobalt Gold

Knowing how much I enjoy hiking trails, my boyfriend took me to this really delightful park that manages to span across three cities.

It was in the mid nineties today (which is definitely up there for northern California), so to beat the worst of the heat we timed our arrival so that we'd reach the park when the sun was just beginning to set.


Vasona Park, it was called.

Before we arrived, he told me that this park might just blow my mind. He was right.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many unusual features there were.

Everything was awash in a sea of cobalt and gold.

I wonder how it looks during the day.

Garden Grows

Back in early July the boyfriend and I planted some vegetable seedlings. Would they grow? Would they shrivel up from lack of watering?  Would little buggies decide they'd make the perfect food source?

I'm not sure what I expected to happen. 

Okay, so we did loose about 1/3 of the seedlings. But the ones that did survive my black and blue thumb have kind of flourished!

I haven't a clue what plant is what. Fortunately, some of them do have markers that we stuck in the ground when we originally planted them, but I get the feeling that some of them are wrong.

Like the one above. The marker says it's a watermelon plant, but I could have sworn that watermelon growth tends to be more horizontal rather than vertical like ours.

Is it safe to assume this one's a tomato plant? It looks a bit diseased.

Next time the boyfriend and I attempt something like this, we will make sure to properly till the ground so it can actually yield something tasty.

Last week I started my last semester of college. So far it hasn't been too eventful. I'm definitely more mellow than I've been in past semesters.

I spend the time in between classes either working ( my job allows me to work from home the majority of the time ) or lying on by back on a path a bit removed from the main walkways with my ipod turned to Joanna Newsom, watching the bugs fly in and out of my field of vision.

It's quite relaxing. 

Mr. B. Dylan

Wouldn't you know it. I just happen to fall ill on the weekend that I have one of my very best friend's 21st birthday celebration and the Bob Dylan concert I've been waiting for since we bought tickets in like, June.

Keeping in mind that I was feverish and sneezy, I did not feel like dressing up much for the concert. The cute outfit, along with the plans of heading up early to relax at the beach before heading to concert, were nixed.

Warmth, not fashion, was the key to surviving the 55 degree weather I was heading towards.

I know 55 degrees isn't that cold, but when you're used to nights hitting an all time low of 62 and your sick, all of a sudden the night air can seem a lot more brisk.

I love the drive down 101 to Monterey.

Usually on trips to Monterey, I'm the one doing the driving. It was so refreshing to be in the passenger's side and be able to relax and document some of the sights, rather than having to focus on the road.

In case you haven't heard, sightseeing while driving is the probably one of the leading causes of those bumper-to-bumper traffic jams we all just love being stuck in.

Cherrys for sale? Don't mind if I do.

We made it to the concert with plenty of time to spare. It was definitely interesting being one of the few younger people and the only person of color (seriously, this is not an exaggeration) that I saw the entire time.

I'm pretty used to being the only black person in social situations due to the sort of unconventional scene that I hang about in. But what I'm not used to, is getting such intense stares. This may have been because 96 percent of the crowd were age 50 and up, but still.... sort of uncomfortable.

Things definitely mellowed out once the great Bob Dylan got on stage!

I'm sure the large percentage of older people in attendance had a lot to do with the fact that when Bob Dylan was in his prime back in the 60s and 70s, they were too.

The most hilarious part was that as soon as the lights dimmed and his music started playing, all these little amber twinkles appeared in numerous places throughout the crowd, and soon there was a quite distinctive smell in the air.

Even the older couple sitting to our left who I had chatted with a bit before the show started about their daughters in college back east, had a little amber glow of their own. They were getting down with their groovy hard. I had never seen the Twist or the Robot executed with such grace and elegance before.

Kudos to them. And to you as well, Mr. Dylan, for playing a role in healing people throughout the civil rights and anti-war movements.

I, Jazzy.

My outfits have been pretty dismal lately. The one I wore to the Annual Jazz Festival last weekend was not even worth documenting :(

The boyfriend and I had an amazing time. 

It was three days filled with Jazz, Salsa and Funk. Even though my iPod is filled with relatively obscure indie artist like The Tallest Man on Earth (who I am seeing live next month!), Beach House, Taken by Trees and Fionn Regan, I do have a healthy appreciation for most types of music. 

The Jazz and Salsa were amazing. Funk, though amazing in it's own special way I'm sure, I despise. 

My favorite part of festivals are the vendors. I love looking at the random items for sale. This year's selection did not disappoint.

They even had my favorite item of all time.

Furry drums!

If you ever find your self face to face with a furry drum, here are several steps you must be sure to take:

1. Stop and stare in awe.
2. Say to yourself out loud to confirm, "Yes, it is a furry drum."
3. Extend your arm towards the furry drum. Ensure there is epic music playing in the background and the slow motion effect has been turned on.
4. Make contact with the furry drum.
5. Proceed to rub and drum until content.

The highlight of weekends performance for me was the Jeff Hamilton Trio.

Okay, I realize they don't look all that interesting, but let me assure you, they are a sight to see.

Bill Hamilton (in the center) plays the drums like I've never seen. 

Oh and in case you are expecting something crazy and mind blowing, this sample is pretty yellow mellow.