and you're singing the songs, thinking this is the life...

THE AMY MACDONALD CONCERT!!

(i wrote this in sections as the overnight trip progressed, so as to have the most accurate re-telling:) i didn't bring my camera, as i was unsure of the venue's rules- not an issue- so these pics are ones i found online, but i will be bringing my camera to franz ferdinand in two weeks' time!)

i got on the train at hallsberg, and my seat is conveniently located right next to the food kiosk! this would be awesome if i needed to buy food, but as it turns out, i brought more than enough. my place also would be even more amazing if i could actually sit in my own seat, but i'm hoping that the good karma of letting the chick sitting next to me, looking out the window, while i quietly sit in her presumable place instead, pays off! the only downside to sitting here is the line of people right next to me, but oh well. the thing is, i'm really hoping to have such luck tomorrow, cos i know i'll be hungry and desperate for a hot chocolate!

so an hour into the ride, i check my american phone, freak out that it's turned on, worried we'll be charged an insane amount for roaming charges... luckily, avery and mom cleared this up for me, nothing was charged for it just being on, so we'll move on to the next paragraph!

upon arrival to the hostel, i check in, book another room for the ff show in two weeks, and then set out for my room. the hostel is amazing, in a basement, and a lot like a maze. i got lost, but finally found it! my bed was exactly where i imagined it, right next to the door, but surprise, surprise! someone else had claimed it as their own! still annoyed about the train, and noticing the first of the list of rules posted on the wall- sleep in your own bed- i decide to not be so nice about this, and move mystery person's stuff to the empty top bunk, place a mini-chocolate bar on her pillow to guarantee that they won't feel bitchy enough to switch back, make my bed, and leave for the club just as the girls enter the room! loads more pics are available here: http://www.skanstullsvandrarhem.se/index.php?lang=en

debaser (the venue) was superclose, just one subway stop from the hostel. i got a pretty decent place in line, and stand there for maybe 10 minutes before 2 people, alex and ellinor, start chatting me up in swedish! i replied back in english, ellinor gor all excited (turned out she'd lived in australia for 2 years), and they declared that i must hang out with them the rest of the night! which we did, and they were kind enough (or maybe just tipsy enough) to pay for my coat check and a couple drinks! how nice of them. it also turns out that they're only 19 (this was revealed when they asked me if i liked blink-182... i told them i must if i've seen them play 4 times... then i said the first time was back in '97, when i was 15. ellinor was like "'97? i was only 8 then! how old are you?" yeah, if i didn't feel old already, that about did it for me!) but they were good company, and way more fun than everyone else in the crowd!

which brings me to my next point: swedish audiences. i've never seen a sold-out crowd so calm and polite! in some ways, it was good cos i didn't get pushed against the stage or anything (we were up front, to the right). but the downside is that nobody got excited! poor amy and her band repeatedly had to ask the crowd to get more involved, the front part of the crowd would get a bit boppy and clappy, haha, but halfway through the song they'd go back to statues!

anyways. the opening act, first aid kit, was gorgeous! imagine a deeper voiced eisley, with a more old-traditional style of lyrics. two girls, singing in harmony. if they have a cd out, i want it! and then the big act, amy macdonald--- BRILLIANT! (and you have to say that with a scottish accent!) she looks like a long-lost gates girl (seriously ... look at this still from her video for "this is the life"-- avery's long-lost twin!) it's taken me a while to warm up to her... i first saw her perform "LA" on some late-night show here back in march, but her live appearances always sound different from her recorded versions, so i was a bit worried about that, but she did not disappoint!! she played most of the songs off her album, plus 3 covers, and she talked a lot inbetween, which i didn't mind cos i love glasgow accents!! (hoping to hear more with ff soon!) her voice was amazingly powerful, esp. during "hallelujah", and the sound mix was perfect- up until the last song, when the bass grew louder and louder (and she visibly became more and more worried!) but she pulled it off at the big crescendo at the end, when it all came together, and gave it everything she had to keep her voice audible above the bass! whew!! what a great show :)

afterwards, it took me a half-hour to get through the swarm of people to pick up my coat, bought a little something for carly (since she badgered me to get her album!), and chatted a bit with the merch girl, who looked and sounded so happy to be able to make small talk with a native english speaker. (me, alex, and ellinor had talked with her a bit earlier before the show, and so she'd remembered me when i went back.) so that was fun. then i took the subway back to the hostel, got in my bed (still there, plus a blanket!), slept horribly out of paranoia of missing my 5:59am train, got up, went back to t-centralen via the subway, bought a hot chocolate from the coffee shop that was open, 2 english magazines from the pressbyrån, and had a lovely trip on a commuter train (dad and julie and me rode one into stockholm... they'll know what i mean), then the bus here and started working straightaway! it was well worth it, though. at least i feel like i'm experiencing a fun part of sweden now :)

x.