Concerts: the Hipster Experiment

I love live music. I love live anything really. Live comedy, live theatre, live street performers are all good in my books. Granted does anyone really like a dead street performer? Anyways, turns out my fabulous roomie, Sarah, is a concert goer as well. Win!!

Our concert adventures began on a Wednesday evening, a clear beautiful Wednesday. We had just gone out for dinner for my other roommate's birthday and now we were on a mission to Brooklyn. Sarah had found out one of her favorite bands, Ramona Falls, was playing in a little bar down there and it only cost $12! I'm good with that. Travis, one of the boys from the apartment upstairs, was there to be our bodyguard and so we all got on the subway and off we went.

Of course, when we got down to where the bar was suppose to be but couldn't find it. There was no sign or address on the building or anything. The only reason we found it was cuz someone saw us looking lost and pointed us in the right direction to a sketchy unmarked door. This place was awwwwwesome. Words can't describe it (but hey, that hasn't stopped me before). The decorations were the most hipster thing EVER!! There were boxes screwed to the wall. Yup, flattened cardboard boxes. Don't worry, some of them were painted so they were more artsy. The stage had this flow-y cloud like thing happening. It kinda looked like they had taken a bunch of white plastic bags and swooped them across the roof and wall so they looked cloud like (ish??). There was also a little bar like area that was decorated with different sizes and colors of baseboards. Hilarious. The real kicker for me was that they had cloth cut outs of deer heads and other wildlife creatures all over the walls giving it almost an I'm-in-a-teepee feel. Basically, the venue was fabulously hipster and hilarious. And the music suited the place. Very mellow and chill and well done. Minus the first band. The first band put me to sleep.

We stayed, we enjoyed, Travis took a million pictures, we left and then got super confused with the late night subway situation. Of course by this point everyone's phones had died too and therefore we didn't have a map. Haha! We made it home eventually though and it was great.

Friday, the concert adventure continued. Part one of Friday wasn't very hipster but it was definitely a social experiment. Justin Beiber was on the Today show. Yup. And I went. Every Friday, at least through the summer, they have a guest on and if you show up early enough you can see them perform a couple songs for free. We thought, "JB for free? Why not?" Crazy girls had actually started lining up on Tuesday to see him perform a couple songs on Friday. I guess we should have expected that but we didn't. People are crazy. So, we got there about quarter to seven-ish... In the morning. I really hate mornings. There was no chance we were getting in to see him. Or even really hear him. Haha! We stood around until 8:30 when he came out for real. We did have success! We lucked out and briefly glimpsed his dancers hat! Ahhhh! Look at us go! It was hilarious to see all these girls crying and screaming and the ridiculous signs they had made and the whole bit.

My favorite was this adorable little girl. When we got there this mom and her three daughters were walking, scratch that, running up towards the sound of JB's sultry voice. They were decked out in their JB outfits and the little six year old even had her JB Barbie doll with her. She was so cute. When we finally reached the crowds and the poor little girl figured out she wasn't actually going to be able to see him she started crying the biggest crocodile tears ever. The poor little girl!

I don't regret going. It was an experience and now I know what to expect this upcoming Friday when I go see my great love, Adam Lavigne. Yum!

Friday part two of our concert adventures was about as hipster as they come. I entered into a draw online to go to an outdoor indie festival out in Williamsburg, Brooklyn aka hipster central. I won (yay!) so Sarah and I decided to go.

This was hands down thhhheeee strangest concert I have ever, ever been too. We got there and started searching for the most hipster couple. We found plenty. We ate some delicious pizza. Then the headliner Oh Montreal came on. How to describe these guys? Oh man. The lead singer came out dressed in a frilly, bright red, woman's pant suit. Seemed strange. We started speculating as to whether he had just lost a bet or something. Then we googled the band. Nope. No bets lost. This band is just weird. About the time we made that discovery we looked up through the haze of pot being smoked to see a bunch of ninjas come on stage with balloons which they threw out into the crowd. It was kinda funny but then it just got more and more strange. In every song a different set of people in spandex suits of some kind came out. We had the chick in the white spandex suit with giant red crab like claws doing interpretive dance. We had nacho libre dudes fighting. The strangeness peaked for me when a guy came out dressed like a pig followed by a guy in a loin cloth with a giant spear who kills the pig. Then another pig comes out and attacks the guy who speared the original pig. Then he picks up the injured pig and is mourning his death. Yup. My face looked about the same as I'm imagining yours does right now. Cracks me up.

It was strange and weird and I would never suggest it to anyone else but it was an experience and it was free and I wouldn't really take it back anyways. Good times.

Just another day in NYC.

Ps. I have awesome pictures of Oh Montreal on my camera but this is being done on my phone. That just means you'll have to check Facebook later to see all the pics.

Yoga, Cocktails, and a Black Eye

So, I have sucked at actually blogging. Obviously. So, I've decided to abandon trying to blog about absolutely everything and making sure it is all chronological. That's just not going to happen because I'm too busy being awesome in New York.

So, today's tale is the Adventure of Randi's Black Eye.

Yesterday was a faaaabulous day. I got up early and went to celebrate the summer solstice by doing yoga in Times Square with another 14,000 people. It was AWESOME! No, some yogi didn't kick me in the face coming out of some crazy pose. Haha! My roommate Jill came with me. We got there a bit late so all the free gift bags and yoga mats were gone. Sad. We registered, found a spot, and found our zen amidst the craziness of Times Square. It was amazing and just so much fun to be part of such a huge event. I love New York because stuff like this happens allllll the time.

After that, I went to work and listened to musicals while working. Always a good time. That evening for work we attended a big networking cocktail party. Scary!!! Networking is so essential but so scary. Don't worry though. I rocked it. I met a lot of people that do a lot of good work here and throughout the world. Bonus prize: I got to sit and talk in Spanish for awhile too. I could live in NYC forever cuz there is soooo much Spanish! Plus, there were lots of free cherry tomatoes. It was great. We socialized, networked, exchanged info and then we were off.

My boss decided we would take a cab back. Normally I don't take cabs because cabs cost money that I don't have and the subway is always nearby. But, hey, if the boss asks if you wanna come along, you say yes. So, we jumped in a cab and we were in the midst of a fabulous conversation when all of a sudden I was flung forward. The cab driver had slammed on his brakes... Hard! Consequently, my face slammed against the plastic divider wall that separates us from the cabbie. I left my greasy face mark on the cab, my glasses broke, and my eye was cut, bleeding, and starting to swell. The drivers involved immediately got out of the car and began asking "Are you okay? Do you want to go to the hospital?" blah, blah, blah and all I can say is, "Where are my glasses? I'm blind! I really need my glasses! Can anyone see them? Seriously, I can't see without them!" as I am sitting there holding the broken off arm in my hand. I think in the intensity of the moment I really felt I could not accurately determine my wellbeing without the ability to see. In hindsight that's ridiculous. Once my glasses were secured, I got a nice lecture about the importance of wearing a seatbelt. Great timing cabbie, great timing.

So, I went home and was flying on adrenaline. I was totally stoked!!! I secretly have always wanted a black eye! And here I was with the beginnings of my own personal black eye. So exciting! Well, the adrenaline and the caffeine from my Coke started to wear off and I started to crash. Then the headache kicked in. Our friend Alex came down to try and fix my glasses and he asks if I could possibly have a concussion. Cue panicking. I really had a hard time letting myself sleep last night because I was so terrified that I'd go to bed and never wake up again. Don't worry though, I'm still alive and kicking.

I took the day off today to try to sleep off the headache. It didn't work. Eventually, with the persuasion of my program counsellor, I decided to go see a doctor. First, I made my way to a walk-in clinic and they wouldn't help me as I don't have an insurance card yet. I have insurance and I have a copy of the card in an email on my phone but the actual card is in the mail and should be here in 4-6 weeks. Ha! Really helpful. So, I went to work, printed of any proof of insurance I could find and headed to a hospital. Whaaaaaaattttt a gong show. I am proud to be Canadian if for no other reason than our hospitals are organized. And efficient. And not a complete gong show like this place. There's a guy in cuffs with a cop and the cop's gun that has kinda followed me all through this process. It's been funny to listen to them argue about when he goes to court and who gets to decide what his treatment is and on and on. Once I made it through the bureaucracy side of it all it hasn't been too bad. Just waiting for a cat scan and for the all clear and then I get my headache drugs and my black eye and I should be good to go.

Just another day in NYC.

Ps. The story I'm going with is that to get the full NYC experience I have joined a gang and I got it during an initiation... thing. Seems tougher.