7 most listened to albums of 2008

I thought it would be better to come up with 8... but really if I added any other album I could think of would definitely not fall in the same range. These are albums I have listened to over, and over, and over. I am probably forgetting some from earlier in the year.

No particular order:

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
The Walkmen - You & Me
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Deerhunter - Microcastle

TL/RX karaoke heartbreak = dropped drink

It took a few days for me to get over my TL/RX karaoke heartbreak. To know that I would have had to do was get there an hour or so earlier and I would have had the once and a lifetime opportunity to sing with Ted Leo, and I HAD MISSED IT... it was almost too much too bear. And the worst part is that the majority of people that got to sing were karaoke amateurs. Some didnt even know the song that they were singing!!!!!!!!! The nerve to take a karaoke slot from somebody who has been dreaming of this all their life, to get up there and not even know the words to the song ?!?!? Lucky for them Ted saved them by chiming in. Some of them even got hugs. Where is my hug Ted?
I was so heartbroken over the full sign up sheet (and was daydreaming about singing with Ted) that I dropped my full drink. I suppose the open vodka bar could have contributed, but I would rather blame the heartbreak. I mean, one second I was watching the TL/RX set (which was awesome as always) and then the next second, my drink was splashing on my feet while my hand still held out in the shape of a cup. I wasnt even bumped or anything.

For my subsequent vodka drinks I adopted a much safer cup hold. You just put your pinky under the cup for support. That way, even if the cup is a little slippery, or your grip relaxes for a second, you still have something to catch the weight of the glass.
See, this is you classic cocktail hold and a disaster waiting to happen. It cost me a full vodka club soda. Some would say that if you cant hold on to your drink, your probably dont need it, but those people probably dont have much fun.
Here is my new improved vodka hold, with pinky under the cup. I edited this image from a blog discussing a similar hold that the writer uses to manage flimsy coffee cups. Great minds think alike.

TL/RX karaoke - what should I sing??!!

I cant imagine anything in the world that I would love more than to sing karaoke with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists backing me, and tomorrow night, I may be able to live that dream. I say may, because while I am definitely attending the event, I cant count on getting a chance to sing. I really have no idea how they are going to select audience members. I guess I can do is get there on time and hope. Gotta get there on time for the open vodka bar (from 8-9) anyways.

Anyways, of the song choices (rest of the list below), here are the ones I am considering.

KELLEY CLARKSON - "Since You Been Gone" - this is one of my regulars... problem is that it a pretty tough song and usually requires some warm up. I worry it may not be a good idea to try to sing it cold.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS - "Maps" - This is another one of my regulars... problem with this one is that I dont really want to since such a "I am taking myself very seriously" song, particually a Yeah Yeah Yeahs song to an indie crowd. I really dont need to be judged like that.

BLONDIE - "Dreaming" - This is probably my best option since it seems pretty easy and fun... But i have never sung it before... Ahhhh! Is that really a good idea? I wish so badly it was "Call me" its def my best ever karaoke song.

Whats a girl to do?

Other songs that other people will sing:
OUTFIELD - "Your Love"
PRINCE - "Kiss"
THE WHO - "My Generation"
STOOGES - "Search And Destroy"
RAMONES - "Blitzkrieg Bop"
MISFITS - "Where Eagles Dare"
IDOL - "Dancin' With Myself"
AC/DC - "Dirty Deeds"
CURE - "Just Like Heaven"
CLASH - "Rock The Casbah"
BOWIE AND QUEEN - "Under Pressure"
JOY DIVISION - "Transmission"
SAINTS - "Stranded"
ARETHA FRANKLIN - "Respect"
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - "Dancin' In The Dark"
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - "Born In The USA"
STIFF LITTLE FINGERS - "Suspect Device"
MINOR THREAT - "Minor Threat"
CREDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - "Fortunate Son"
AMERIE - "One Thing"
STEELY DAN - "Reelin' in the Years"
SANTOGOLD - "L.E.S. Artistes"
THE KINGSMEN - "Louie Louie"

Best turntable set-up for under $1000

While anything would be a step up from playing CDs out of my TV's speakers, I must say I am pretty pleased with my new set up.

Speakers: Paradigm Mini Monitors $385

Receiver: Denon Stereo DRA-397 $360

Turntable: Rega - P1 w/Ortofon OM5e Cartridge $395

Pre-Amp: Cambridge azur 640P $179

Yes, I know... this is over $1000, but really, who can stay on budget these days? Aren't price limits more of a suggestion and made to be broken? I was pretty close before the pre-amp, which I bought a little later, but it was a very necessary addition. Really the pre-amp is what set apart the vinyl/turntable from a good sounding CD. As soon as we hooked it up the Radiohead we were using as a test record really popped. It was cleaner and everything just stood out so much better.

I cant justify the cost right now, but all will be complete once I get one of these sexy color felt mats for my Rega.

Comments

Are now allowed.

Smart enough for Pitchfork

So I was killing a few minutes at work with some internetting, when I can across a column on Pitchfork, Silent Party #5. Having only... a few minutes... I attempted to make it a quick read/skim. I think whatever Eric Harvey had to say was pretty interesting... but I am not sure because I didn't really understand most of it. Seriously, I felt like I needed to print it out and go at it with a highlighter. Who has time for that kind of leisure reading on a music blog? Half the time I get to the end of an album review on that site, I am not sure whether or not the reviewer actually liked the album or not. But honestly, I rarely ever get to the end of one of their reviews. Is it bad writing? Is it not meant to easy reading (they want us to take time and really think about all of the points they are making)? Or am I just not smart enough?

Trust me I am smart:

1. I am a scientist
2. I am good at searching the internet
3. I recycle
4. I understand sarcasm (>75% of the time)
5. I dont accept candy from strangers unless it is individually wrapped
6. I took Latin in high school
7. I play classical music
8. I am in 2 book clubs
9. I know that I should back up my files (I will do it soon)
10. I wear glasses

Really though, the column was entertaining and some good points were made. I think I am just bad at reading.

11/14 M83 and School of Seven Bells drawings

I really like their one song... but maybe they should have played some of their other songs too. Really though, I like their sound... but (based just on the live show) this band seems a little like a one trick pony.
Good show. Played a good variety of songs, and they sounds great live. I really like how M83's style is evolving. They don't really engage the audience at all, but it is still entertaining to watch.

show wristbands

Me: What do you call this? A wristband?
J: (laughs and holds up her beer) What do you call this? A cup?

The conversation was sparked by some awfully sturdy wrist bands we had been given upon entering tonights M83 show.

J, who has very small wrists, noted how much she appreciated that the bouncer had taken the time to properly fit her wrist band. While I appreciated that he had taken then time to line up the sticky part with the rest of the wristband.

Me: I just hate it when the sticky part hangs over and keeps grabbing your wrist when they don't do it right.
J: Yeah! Its like they are just saying "I hate my job. And I hate your wrist."

We then went on to discuss wristbands as opposed to hand stamps. While we both agreed that we would rather avoid having our hand stamped, I played the devils advocate.

Me: But the hand stamps are a great way of letting all of your co-workers know how cool you are.
J: My co-workers already know how cool I am. Besides, its also a great way of letting your co-workers know how well you wash your hands.

Hipster Boys - One

This is going to be a series.

Overheard coming off the subway:

Hipster Boy 1: We only made like $10 from that last show. I can’t even afford to go out on dates anymore. You just go out and blow all your money on a girl in one night.

Hipster Boy 2: And there is no guarantee you’ll even get laid.

Hipster Boy 1: Yeah.

Hipster Boy 2: It sounds like its time for you to start recycling ex-girlfriends.

11/9 - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band drawing

I'm not as into the new album as Conor's Bright Eyes stuff, but I still had a great time at the show. Conor and whoever he is playing with always put on a great show and this was no exception. The Mystic Valley Band was super and Conor's voice sounded especially good. Better than last time I saw him (as Bright Eyes). Honestly, he could sing the ABCs and I would swoon.

Names inspired by Teen Girl Squad.

Drawings...Cartoons...Doodles

Whatever you want to call them. They were pretty popular. So, I guess thats gonna be one of my new things. I will draw one for all the shows I go to. It doesnt really make sense to spend my time taking pictures at a show anyways. I mean... unless its some great photography, or there was something really cool that happened, who really wants to see picutes of a music show?

11/7 KnyfeHyts/TimesNewViking/Deerhunter drawings

I went to see Deerhunter with Knyfe Hyts and Times New Viking at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last night. I decided instead of taking pictures, I would do some interpretive drawings. It was quite a good brain exercise this morning, trying to remember the details. I went in the order of the show... so by the time I got to Deerhunter, I was getting kind of tired of doing the drawings. If you want me to draw a band, email me at beatsdontfailmenow@gmail.com These guys songs were pretty repetitive. But, there was definitely a hypnotic quality to the music. By the end of each song, I was pretty into it. It really gets you moving. I think it would be good walking around the city music.
I had seen these guys before at Siren. I like them. I have always been a fan of the guy/girl singing/screaming the same note sound. Same idea as late 90's Rainer Maria. Not as good though... (it would be hard to be).

Deerhunter were freaking awesome. I was actually really impressed with how good their live so is. They were really tight and just sounded great. Bradford's voice sounded SO GOOD. These guys are actually from Atlanta. I actually heard them for the first time off a CDR like ... 4 or 5 years ago, but its the first time I ever saw them live. I met Moses (drums) once when he was living with a couple of my friends... I think he had Salmonella... or something like that. Anyways, I cant wait for Microcastle to come out on vinyl.

Nobody could be dissapointed

Clues did not play (Exit Art election party). But really, even the biggest fanboys (Jamie) couldn't be too disappointed after such an exciting night. Basically, they didn't start the bands until too late, and by the time they got going all of the exciting news started coming in, including the McCain and Obama speeches. Obviously the crowd was more concerned with hearing the speeches than the bands... so music stopped. By the time Barack was done speaking it was like... 12:30 ? Anyways, everyone was leaving, and it was clear that Clues was not going on. Jamie, who had been looking for Alden Penner all night, suspected that band actually wasn't even there. Regardless, the first two bands, Ava Luna and Elfin Saddle, were actually pretty good. I would like to check them out again when they are more the focus of attention.

Election Night Party - with Clues

I am going.

ELECTION PARTY!

November 4th 7pm-Midnight

Exit Art
475 Tenth Ave
New York, NY 10018

I am not sure how much of a good time I will be able to have because I will probably be sweating bullets over election results. But some good music should be a nice distraction from watching the states turn colors on the TV.
I dont really know any of the bands, except for that Alden Penner, from the Unicorns, is in Clues. My friend who is obsessed with the Unicorns told me about the event.

Go vote!

BSST Halloween!!!

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Went to the Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears Halloween party for the second time this year (3rd annual). This year: Bryan Scary's Glitter Odyssey.
BSST always put on a GREAT show. And seeing as how theme costumes are one of their signatures, they are a very fitting group to put on a Halloween party. Really, costumes are the main reason I chose to repeat last years Halloween choice. The audience members always have a good variety of creative homemade costumes. I tend to prefer costumes a bit on the geeky side... this year I was Rorschach from Watchmen. It was fun because people that recognized it tended to get pretty excited. This time next year, after the movie comes out, I think there will be a lot more people with this costume.

WhoMadeWhoMadeCMJ

My friend M and I went to the early show at the Mercury Lounge on Wednesday to see WhoMadeWho and Fujiya & Miyagi. Long story short, WhoMadeWho completely stole the show. I really like Fujiya & Miyagi, but as I would have guessed based on the style of their music... not the most exciting live show ever. But seriously, WhoMadeWho were awesome with the killer combo of fun, funky, dancable music with great melodies and a really fun stage presence. And talk about eye candy! especially in those spandex jester outfits! Hot! I wish I took pictures. The one below is misleading, because they were not wearing the loose fitting outer layer for the show.
We were so pleased with the show that we decided to have a word with the band afterwards. There were super nice and excited to be playing NYC for the first time. Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk long because the venue needed to clear out for the late show. The Friday night 205 Club show they mentioned wasn't listed on the CMJ schedule, so I sent them a myspace message and Jeppe (guitar) put us on the guest list. Yay! The 205 Club (aka 205 Chrystie) was pretty cool. Very tiny and people packed in like sardines. WhoMadeWho put on another awesome show and the crowd was really into it (as they should be). Sadly, the band split right after their show, Tomas (bass) citing jet lag and having all of their gear in hand (it was 1am, after they had now played 3 nights in a row...). Regardless, my heart was broken. Those poor bastards (married or not) will never know what could have been.
At 205 we also so Hearts Revolution, who were pretty freaking awesome. Similar in many ways to Crystal Castles, so I was not surprised when I learned that about a year ago the two bands put out a split 6". I know I had heard their song C.Y.O.A! (awesome video below) many times, but had never really known who the group was. Needless to say, they are right up my alley so I was super stoked and pleasantly surprised when they started playing.

Girl Talk - Baltimore- funnest night ever

It could not have been more perfect that I went to see Girl Talk the evening after running a half marathon, because Girl Talk is hands down my favorite running music. For obvious reason, right? The fast tempo... things are constantly changing with new catchy tunes to distract you at any moment when you would otherwise feel like you really couldn't go any further. Hell, I have even found myself singing out loud at times when I had no business wasting my breath. Anyways, considering Girl Talk had gotten me through my training, and that I had been taking it easy for a couple of weeks in preparation for the "race", I knew the show was going to be a good time... and was not disappointed.
This was motivated by the cute bartender. Didn't show him my hand, but I did get a hug at the end of the night. Also from a fellow concert attendee, I got the best compliment I have ever gotten. After telling the guy that I liked his hoodie, he responded "Thanks, I like your glasses... and your face".
Typical Girl Talk show awesomeness.

When you make friends with the bartender, you end up taking lots of photos like this by the end of the night. And end up with lots of your drinks all over you and your neighbors.
These are the items that I for some reason decided I should pick up off of the floor at the venue and put into my purse... Being a pack-rat when you get drunk makes from some interesting/exciting mornings.

10/8 MGMT and Beck - Pictures and Video

The cool things is that the last NYC show to be added, ended up being first! So I got to see Beck and MGMT before all of the people that actually were on top of they shit and bought tickets early. Haha.

When we first got the tickets, I was actually more excited about MGMT than Beck because I have been listening to them more the past couple of months. But as soon as Beck started playing, I realized how crazy I was being. He really schooled them, putting on a show like really only an experienced rock master can. Also, there is just something really magical about seeing a musician who you have been a fan of for over 10 years. Listening to all of the songs can really take you back in time and remind you of what was going on in your life when all of the different albums came out. And remind you of how rare such a versatile and consistently good musician really is.

MGMT: They sounded great but until the last couple of songs, they lacked enthusiasm... Its almost as if Beck was like "listen bitches, ya'll are just here to open for me... so don't try anything crazy. You can hang up your sheet, and play your 10 songs, but don't get too excited". I think it must be harder to get into your show when you feel like they people are not there to see you. I was surprised at how many people in the crowd didn't even know MGMT. Almost nobody was standing up. It was sad. But they did really rock out towards the end. I look forward to seeing them when they are the headlining act.


Beck: I almost don't want to say too much, except for that it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. He played a great variety of all of his best stuff. He and the band sounded very well rehearsed and had a good energy. The female vocals were a pleasant addition, really adding a lot to all of the songs. And the visuals were beautiful, fitting perfectly with the music. It was just great. You have to see it.


Please don't judge the sound of the concert based on this crappy video taken with my little digital camera.

Selling Beck/MGMT tickets shouldn't be difficult

So, last night I went to see Beck and MGMT at the United Palace (the show was amazing, pics and video to come soon). My friend and I had two extra tickets, and seeing how all three nights of the show were sold out, we thought there would be no problem selling them for face value.

I started out with this playful craigslist post:

2 Beck/MGMT tickets - Wed 10/8 - discount for cute boys - $110 (Upper East Side)

Just looking to make our money back.

We are two cute girls and are willing to give a discount to two cute guys (between the ages of 28 and 35).

While I got a couple of emails, nobody actually wanted the tickets. Pretty unbelievable I think.

My friend got a buyer with a more straightforward craigslist post who then proceded to stand us up, just an hour before doors were supposed to open at the show. We were standing on the corner for half an hour. Couldn't she have at least called? Seriously, there is a certain craigslist code that should be followed.

Finally, we decided just to sell the tickets to scalpers for half of what they were worth ($50 for the two of them) so we could be done with it and go into the venue. The fun this is, that since there are assigned seats in the United Palace, we got to see who ended up with our tickets (I would like to say that the venue was AWESOME, very beautiful, and much more fun than alot of places with seats. People were milling around, dancing, drinking, smoking etc. It was very laid back.) Anyways, the guys who ended up with our extra seats (seen below) paid $100 each!!! So the scalpers made $150 dollar off the lot of us. Oh well, none of us really cared all that much because the show was so awesome.
I highly recommend getting tickets for one of the next two nights if you dont already have them. Whatever price you have to pay, you will not be disappointed.

Tegan and Sara Concert - 10/5/08

At first didn’t know who was who, just noticing that they parted their hair in opposite directions and that one of them had tattoos. That ended up being Tegan, who I guess is now my favorite. She wrote my favorite of their songs, Call It Off, and seemed a bit more chill. Really, Sara talked a little too much. Not to say she wasn’t entertaining because she really was. I especially liked the comment about feeling burdened as a teenager, then at 20 realizing it was all of her hair and clothes that were too big that were weighing her down. She was very funny, but the songs are so short that I actually think as much time was spend talking as playing. But really, cant complain because they did play/talk for an hour and a half. Here is a pic of Sara shooting the shit.Another interesting things that came up during one of the many on stage conversations was age. Tegan and Sara just turned 28 and asked who was under 25. Over three quarters of the people raised their hand. Most of them were probably also under 21 as most of the crowd had Xs one their hands… and didn’t seem like a straight edge crowd. More like a punk princess crowd. Terminal 5 was cool with good sound and visibility. Tegan and Sara mad a comment about it feeling like Mad Max…I guess referring to the people hanging over balconies, but its been a while since I have seen that movie. Also, for future reference, its good to know that Terminal 5 shows must start on time. We walked in at 9:30, which we thought would be plenty early to catch some of at least one of the openers and were surprised when Tegan and Sara came right on, to finish promptly at 11.
Overall it was a really fun show and I would def see them again. Most song were played very similarly to the album version, but they was done very well and there was a new energy to them. Was impressed by how well they pull off some of their difficult vocals. The way the two of them harmonize and get the timing right is very impressive live. In one particular song I could almost swear Tegan didn’t take a breath. Also, they did play a couple of songs that have not been recorded and/or released that were very good. Below is a video of Tegan and Sara covering Rihanna’s Umbrella.

NYC Karaoke review

I am my no means an NYC expert, but if there is one area in which I am qualified to give advice, its Karaoke. I love it and I do it often. So... here are the pros and cons of some places I frequent, and one I just checked out last night. All of them are private room places, because thats just how I roll. As far as pricing goes, I have tried to summarize, but please check out the websites or ask by phone when you book to make sure.

Sing Sing
Location/contact: 9 St. Marks Place, Between 2nd and 3rd avenue. 212.387.7800
81 Avenue A Between 5th and 6th street. 212.674.0700
Price: Mon-Thur $7 per person/per hour (pp/ph). Fri-Sun $8 pp/ph
Pros: Best song selection in the city. Need I say more? There is also an open Karaoke bar in the front in case you like performing in front of strangers or don't want to splurge for a room.
Cons: Expensive. Drinks are expensive too. You even have to pay for the songs in the open Karaoke bar. Also, rooms can feel a little cramped.
When to go: When your main objective is for everyone to see how great you are.

BINY
Location/contact: 8 Thomson st, Between Canal/6th ave and Grand. (212)334-5490
Price: Instead of paying per person/per hour, there is just a minimum that you have to spend on food and drinks for the room. Our room held 10 people and was $75 an hour.
Pros: Its a really great deal if you are planning to eat or drink anyways, because then basically the karaoke is free. Also, there is a proper restaurant with good food and an open karaoke bar with free songs.
Cons: Instead of books, all of the songs are on a computer so that only one person can be looking through the selection at a time. Plus, the song selection was a little weak.
When to go: When you are looking to eat and drink and wouldn't mind doing some singing too.
Karaoke Duet
Location/contact: 53 W 35th St, Between 5th and 6th ave. (646)473-0826
304 E 48th St. Between 1st and 2nd ave. (212)753-0030
Price: Weekday: before 8pm $4 pp/ph after 8pm $6 pp/ph. Weekends: before 8pm $5 pp/ph after 8pm $8 pp/ph. Karaoke marathon!!! flat rate of $12 from opening until 8pm!!!
Pros: Great afternoon rates, even on weekends (I recommend the marathon for advanced karaoke-ers only). Nice new clean rooms. Its pretty easy to book rooms last minutes, especially at the 48th st location.
Cons: None really, but you can rack up quite a bill.
When to go: When you need hours of afternoon karaoke fun, for cheap!

iBop (personal favorite)
Location/contact: 25 W 35th st, Between 5th and 6th ave. (646)752-4895
Price: Tues and Wed $6 pp/ph, Thurs-Sat $7 pp/ph
Pros: Cheapest weekend night prices. BYOB. This can really save you alot of money. Plus its a really fun atmosphere including lighting, cool painted rooms, and lots of space for dancing.
Cons: This place is basically staffed by one couple, so they are closed two days a week and it can be hard to get a hold of them to book a room.
When to go: When you are looking to throw a rowdy karaoke party.

Rain rain go away

I had been planning for quite a while to go to the East Village Radio Music Festival at the South Street Seaport on Saturday. But it hurricaned. (They ended up having it Sunday instead).

So, what did I do instead? I stayed inside and listened to alot of Radiohead. Duh. I can't wait to get some decent speakers.

Awesome cover, in case you haven't seen it.

I am not sure how I managed to miss this for months.

I bought 4 CDs

Here is what I jotted down during my first listen while I was at work. This is the order I listened to the CDs, all in a row. Thats important to know.
Loved it from the first track. Very pleasant to the ears. Melodic. They are really singing. Upbeat. Happy. Maybe not so versatile.
Emotional album. If you are craving a little more wailing. Each song consistently good. Felt the urge to immediately listen to it again.
First song great. Rest, eh. Upbeat. Kind of folky. Not my favorite… I have always preferred the bright eyes that breaks your heart.
Super fun. Retro. It makes me want to get up and dance. Unique sound. A lot of diversity within the record.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with my purchases.

craigslist - musicians

So I was looking through craislist for some people to play music with, when I came accross these back to back posts:

female musicians wanted $$ (brooklyn nyc)
Hey. Im 28 yo guy with talent and depth, looking for some hot females to play some music with. What can I say, Id rather play with girls. There is potential financial compensation involved for your time if you are the right fit.

looking for hot female musicians (brooklyn) Hi. Looking for some girls to play some music with. Im 28 and have talent. get in touch.

A little bored, I could not resist responding. So I sent the following email:

Hot Female Musician you realize you post is a little sketchy, right? are you hot? what kind of talent do you have?

Then I got this essay of a reply:

yes of course. But I'm looking for people who aren't hung up and don't think it's that big of a deal. Cause it's not. It's just a Cl post ya know... Anyway, I am a pro musician with talent and experience looking to do something new. What is the harm in that??? It's not my fault that that there are weird dudes looking for girls on the internet. Tell me something new... I own a recording studio and have hosted and played with some pretty big bands before. I know what I want. I will find it. maybe I do have alot to offer... Maybe I am really hot and love getting girls. I am a man. I know what I can do and cant do. I am not jerk and not unattractive. I am actually a great catch. I am not afraid of offending anyone on craigslist. If you we afraid of my post and it offended you I am sorry, but don't be paranoid. If you play music and you're good then lets see if we can do anything. Aren't men and women supposed to be together and enjoy music together. What's so sketchy about that???

Because his email address included his name, I decided to do a google search, and came up with this:
I then spent about three hours decided whether or not I thought it was mean/unethical to post this all on my blog. I decided that if I didn't say his name, and didn't say anything aside from the facts, how could that be mean? Its not like he knows me and was sharing something personal that he wouldn't have responded to anyone who questioned his post. Maybe I am doing him a favor...

As you can see, the craigslist browsing wasn't so successful. The only response I got was from the one person that I knew I would play with. Next time I will try not to get so easily distracted...

A day at Sziget Festival (Back from Budapest)

I planned my trip to Budapest having no idea was the Sziget festival was. When the friend I was visiting suggested we get a day ticket I was like, "sounds cool". My expectations have never been further surpassed in my life. The biggest festival in Europe, it was like nothing I have ever experienced. Maxing out at 70,000 people, the festival had 13 stages, countless bars, lounges, restaurants, markets, dance clubs, activities (rock climbing, bungee jumping, etc) and more and took up a whole island almost 4 miles around. Honestly, it was more like a city than a festival. It was amazing. Check out the map below for an idea of just how big it is.
So I figure its just easiest if I post my pictures in chronological order and give you an idea of what my day at the festival was like. Below is a look at the schedule, in Hungarian.
Because the festival is on an island, the music on the smaller stages can go pretty late without bothering the residents of Budapest.

Early on, from a bar near the main stage. Anti-Flag was playing. The lead singer wouldn't shut up and was kind of embarrassing me as an American.We explored some of the more chill smaller stages. There is a band playing to the left... We got ambush kisses from painted men and had to wash up to hide the evidence.
MGMT!!! By far the band I was most excited about seeing at the festival. They put on a great show. The album is so great it would have been hard for me not to be into the music, but I think I can honestly say they had great energy and ensemble.

I was pleasantly surprised at how popular MGMT is in Europe. Not only did they have a great turn out (even at an early time slot) but the crowd was singing along and so very into the music. Apparently they are played on MTV Europe almost every hour. I wish I had MTV Europe. Between shows we had a beer and snack in front of the Yoga tent. The snack was good, but for the first time in my life I thought a food had too much cheese.

Flogging Molly was awesome. Its not the kind of music I generally listen to, but its such a fun concert to see. And I was so impressed with the talent of all of the individual musicians (especially the fiddle player!). As you can see from the video, even on the edges of the crowd, people were really into the show. As you can also see, people look stupid dancing when you can here the music.
Those Flogging Molly fans sure are excitable, just ask this lady.
Exploring again, we saw some people that were getting an early start at one of the dance clubs. These are probably people who also got an early start at the bars.
Alanis Morissette was so great. She is an amazing performer with a flawless voice. To my joy she played mostly old stuff, and nearly all of her hits from Jagged Little Pill. I was slightly distracted by some cute French guys behind us. Upon finding out they were 21 and 22 I became obsessed with age for the rest of the evening. Looking around, I would guess that 75% of the crowd was between 18 and 22. Which is consistent with the fact that all of my friend's friends (25+ locals) that we had been hanging out with all week were so over Sziget. While eating dinner near the Kooks show, we met some locals. They provided a drink that was sweet Hungarian wine mixed with club soda. Delicious!
They showed us the museum quarter where there was a lot of cool interactive art, including this exhibit with some much appreciated bean bags. The tents were beautiful under the lantern light. Don't worry, we didn't go inside any.
We checked out the Heaven Street Seven DJ set. Apparently he is in a Hungarian band that my friend really likes. It was a pretty unimpressive DJ set, but the music was fun to dance to.

We did some more exploring, above being an example of the late night scene between stages. With the help of a 24 year old German gentleman, we started to survey the age of the Sziget population. After a 21 year old responded to my age with "25?!!! Where are your grandchildren??!" I nearly wet my pants and had to stop the survey.

We checked out a Hungarian band Kiscsillag. They were pretty good but I was pretty... tired.
This is a pic from another night, just to show the main stage crowd at night.

Sziget was one of the best experiences of my life. Two of my favorite thing are music and meeting people. I frequently meet people at shows but because people come from all over Europe to go to Sziget, it is even easier to talk to everyone. It's a place where "Where are you from?" is the new "Nice pants" and where being from New York is exotic. I can't wait to go back!