Florence and the machine

Tuesday night me, my sister and one of her friends went to Birmingham to see Florence and the machine, supported by The Horrors and Spector. To be fair i was looking forward to seeing the support acts just a wee bit more than seeing Florence, however i had been wanting to see her since Lungs came out but never really had the chance. Spector were pretty good, the singer Fred was wearing the amazing tertis shirt he wore to the nme awards and i for one absolutely love his voice, Never Fade Away and Chevy Thunder were definitely the highlight for me from their set. The Horrors also done a fantastic job considering how their music isn't really the arena type, although the crowd were terrible during their set, which seemed to be the case for most of the tour, only me and a girl that was stood next to me were the only people proper getting into it, whilst everybody else were too busy on their phones and one boy was texting how the band were 'completely shit'. The band didn't really seem as comfortable up there compared to the time i saw then at one of their own gigs either, they even said in an interview that they prefer the 'rock n roll tiny dressing rooms' and the smaller venues, The Horrors seemed to be a bit of an odd choice as a support act for an act like Florence and the machine.

The amount of screams when Florence appeared on the stage was frightening, she came on wearing a beautiful cape, then going onto reveal a black jumpsuit showing of a figure that i could only dream of. Her voice was incredible and i couldn't expect anything other from her. Even after seeing it live i still prefer Lungs to Ceremonials but her voice was still captivating and the whole show was really something, and in some parts reminded me of her Glastonbury set, the slight twist with the piano at one stage of the song on Rabbit Heart, Florence making everyone jump up and down during Dog Days and when the whole crowd were singing to the slower version of You've got the love. The whole performance was a million times better than i had ever anticipated, and it still shows Florence has one to the most unique and powerful voices around in the charts today.

I've run out of ideas for titles.

Tonight i was suppose to be seeing Spring Offensive at Modern Art Oxford, but due to unfortunate circumstances (my friend being grounded so she's not allowed to go) i'm yet again spending my Saturday night indoors, a bit shit really because i was really looking forward to this gig, however i done my work experience at modern art oxford and going back in there would bring back memories of accidently smashing the 20+ plates in the lift. Instead of being a wee bit miserable i decided to go into Oxford today anyway, i was suppose to go and look for more chelsea boots as the heel on mine has been completely ripped off, no idea where it went but when i looked this morning it wasn't there, my mod days were officially over. I couldn't find any cheapish boots but i found that river island had the most amazing collection of bright, bold patterned clothes, and i picked up a blue t-shirt for £12, all i've been wishing for is psychedelic bold patterned clothing, although ultimately i'm still trying to look for a paisley shirt!
My other fairly odd piece i've bought lately is the ring/bracelet combo, my mum works with someone who sells so much jewelry and just keeps on coming home with more and more things for me,  the ring/bracelet (no idea what it's called) is however, the most annoying thing to ever wear, firstly you can't put it on without assistance and once it's on you can't take it off without struggling, the ring is also too big for my finger and the bracelet part always moves about, but it think it looks pretty darn nice.
And best of all i'm seeing florence and the machine, the horrors and spector on Tuesday and i'm SO EXCITED IT'S UNBELIEVABLE, i've been wanting to see flo since lungs came out but never really had the chance, i'm not sure i love the perfect and polished ceremonials to lungs, but i'm sure by the time she'll play dog days and after the horrors have played sea within a sea i'll be in floods of tears. I'll now leave you with a song by Music Machine. The riff might sound similar (cough*miles kane*cough)

Music Machine - Mother Nature Father Earth 

blah blah blah

Recently all i've been obsessed about is rings, long chiffon skirts, the it crowd and underground shoes, most importantly blitz boots, the metallic ones, and i can't find them ANYWHERE. I'm probably better off going to Camden and trying my luck at finding a pair there but they are honestly beautiful, no matter how noel fieldingish they are (and that's not a bad thing). I'm desperate for a new wardrobe also, especially with sixth form coming up in September, then i'll have work and summer to deal with, i'm bad enough on a non-school uniform day let alone picking outfits to wear to school everyday! I also have my maths exam on Friday and Monday and all i can say about that is that i'm absolutely petrified about it, it's the silence in the exam room which makes me nervous more than anything, and lastly my mum has dismissed the idea of me playing the drums, which i'm gutted about. My little terraced house isn't big enough for an actual drum kit, i have no garage space, and the only place i could really put it is in my nan's garage, which would probably upset the neighbours, who are all pensioners, so i'm taking up the guitar again unless anyone is willing to buy me a beautiful korg keyboard? This Saturday me and izzy are going up to yet another performance at the record store, i have purchased tickets for both a spring offensive gig at the art gallery, i have florence and the machine to look forward to, and finally i'm going to the fashion and textiles museum in london with my textiles class later this march, i've never been before and i am actually quite excited, so i have lots and lots to blog about this up and coming month!
I've started to use my Bobbi Brown eyeshadow palette recently and i'm not really sure my views on it, the colours are beautiful, lots of dark and silver shades which is everything i want when it comes to eyeshadow however it doesn't show up very well, although i am a person who does like her eye makeup to be a bit too dark and bold. It was a Christmas present from my uncle, who obviously has far too much money considering how much Bobbi Brown make-up is, the silver/glittery colours are wonderful, however i was slightly disappointed with the purple shades which looked a bit washed out on my pale skin tone.
My Django Django record also arrived the other day, it is the single for Default and includes several different remixes from Tom Furse (The Horrors) Dan Carey, and Twitch Optimo.

:(

moving further awaaaay

So, Sunday me and izzy went to Truck Record store in Oxford for their 1 year birthday celebrations. They had Nick Cope, Jess Hall, Spring Offensive and James Vincent McMorrow playing acoustic sessions throughout the afternoon. I'm not a huge fan of folky/acoustic music that they was playing but it was a day out! I'm not going to stress how hard finding the actual store was, neither of us had been there. We got the bus to the O2 Academy which we both knew for certain the store was near, we walked for about an hour and a half until we reached B&Q in a part of Oxford called Blackbird Leys, which, if you was going to get mugged or stabbed anywhere in Oxford, it would be that place. We had to pay another fiver to catch the bus back to the centre of Oxford, until the bus actually drove past Truck Store, it ended up being right next to the O2 where we left the bus, however the opposite way from where we walked.  Doesn't sound at all that bad but it was an actual disaster on the day. We missed Nick Cope, but i wasn't so found of Jess Hall or James Vincent McMorrow, a little tedious for me personally, however Spring Offensive were great and SO much better live than recorded, and they're also playing a gig at Modern Art Oxford which will probably be great if we can go! Yet again, sorry for the way-over edited photos, can't make them look at all decent. 

Playlist #1

 I thought i would start uploading playlists more regularly, my itunes library is full of them and i've never had anyone to really share them with so i thought i might upload some, feel free to skip halfway through the first song as it does go on for about 10 minutes! We also had a few inches of snow where i live, we found some sledges by a river and decided to spend the whole day sledging down hills and walking about 3 miles to buy a a white chocolate kit kat, my feet are still killing me! Anyway the tracklist for my very first playlist is as follows...

• Om - At Giza Part 1
• July - Dandelion Seeds
• 13th Floor elevators - Thru The Rhythm
• Wire - 12XU
• Count Five - Double Decker Bus
• The Beatles - She Said She Said
• Tame Impala - Sundown Syndrome
• Slowdive - Dagger (demo)
• My Bloody Valentine - Slow
• The Telescopes - Celestial 

LISTEN HERE

20th January - The Horrors

This gig was all i was waiting for, for months. It was the first time i had ever seen The Horrors and i can honestly say  they didn't disappoint. The venue was an old church, a very beautiful building and at the back of the stage you could still see the religious paintings and woodwork, it was perfect venue and very small, it was very fitting for The Horrors' music and beat any O2 academy anywhere around the country.
Toy were the support act, i've really been loving Toy lately, they're a London based band and play psychedelic, beautiful, synthy, shoegaze guitar music (very hard to sum up in one sentence) They were wonderful live, Tom Dougall's voice is stunning and softly filled the room. I managed to pick up the Left Myself Behind single pressed on white vinyl also, i'm very slowly becoming obsessed.
I can't really sum up how wonderful The Horrors were, i wasn't expecting to be stood as close to Rhys and Tom as i was, although Tom rarely even looked up from his keyboard, keeping up with his 'very cool, slightly moody, beautiful, synth geek' reputation, not that i'm complaining! A highlight for me was definitely Mirror's Image, one of my favourite songs from The Horrors, Endless Blue, the brass effects filling up the room of an old church and me dancing with a plastic cup of cider in my hand was my idea of perfect, and Moving Further Away, which was the last song they played and seemed to last for about 20 minutes. I could say this was one of the best gigs i've ever been to, there was such a mixture of people ranging from the tall, thin goths to the married couples. I left the gig with my sister and her friends, who happened to be going to The Horrors after party which was situated on an old boat turned into a club (apparently, god knows if they went), they even invited me to come along as they thought i was 18, but unfortunately i'm only 15, although i would if i could! I'm so seriously looking forward to when i see them support Florence, although that will be an entirley different atmosphere being situated in an arena.
Lillie.
p.s sorry for the terrible images, i only took about 4 as i was too busy dancing like some failed hippy, and they are from my phone, not the best thing. 

bricks going up but feelings collapse..

Above: my Beatles book, my great British bake off cook book (obsessed with gbb, not even ashamed) and my mighty boosh pin and owl necklace.

Happy bleated New Year, just a bit late aren’t I? I know it’s only 15 days in but 2012 has been going very well, although I’m petrified for the rest of this year! Exams, jobs, and the prospect of going to a sixth form where none of my friends are going are all scaring me indeed. This year i will also try and blog as much as i can and (hopefully) gain lots of new followers. Every week i will try and post, this year i’m hoping for lots of new gigs to attend, me and my friend Lily have formed a band even though we’re going to have to rehearse by a river in the middle of Oxford with only a tambourine and an acoustic guitar until i hopefully get a drum kit for my birthday! By the summer maybe we’ll actually take it seriously who knows? It’s then the Olympics, my school’s prom and god knows what else.

I’ll leave you with a song by a band called ICEAGE. I rekindled my love with them after i saw that they were supporting The Vaccines on their UK tour in May, which also includes S.C.U.M. The Vaccines never fail to disappoint when it comes to choosing a support act, with Smith Westerns to Howler, who are obviously going to be huge, you can’t really complain?