Smashing Pumpkins (AB, Brussels, 26-5-2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

The answer to all your questions is yes
(quote Billy Corgan, AB, 26-5-2007)

I know, I know, it's a while back already but I haven't had time to write something yet and I still want to so here we go!

First of all I'm wondering about something: why are there always sooooo many people at concerts that talk almost all the time, even during the quiet parts of songs? The tickets for this concert were 38 euros and it was sold out in 27 minutes but still there were quite a lot of people who were talking. And it's usually not even about the music or the band or the show or anything related!
Why would you pay so much money, stand in a very hot crowded room just to tell your friend about your other friends friend who did something to another friend when you can do that for a lot less money in your own comfortable home??? Can any-one please tell me some day?

Ok, enough about this let's talk music! I had never seen the Smashing Pumpkins live yet nor did I think I would see them live anymore. So it was great to hear that they were touring again all be it without two of the old members. Their music has played an important part in my life so this was a great opportunity to hear some of my favourites live.
At first I didn't think I would be able to get tickets for this specific concert because the AB is quite small but Mark, who really really wanted to see them, convinced me to try anyway and well, as you can read here: it got tickets!

As I had never seen them live (not even on tv, video, dvd, internet) I didn't quite know what to expect. I know what an annoying brat Billy Corgan can be and how he likes to be overly dramatic so the show could go either way.
Luckily for us the show was great! The sound was extremely good, the songs worked really well, the light-show was perfect, the musicians were having fun and were playing quite good. And even Billy Corgan, who looked great in his white with black stripes priest outfit, was clearly having fun.
It was also a very long (almost three hours!) concert maybe a bit too long at the end but over all it was extremely enjoyable.

And I'm just glad I heard some of my most loved songs performed live in a near perfect way ;-)

Low Countries

A nice weekend in the Netherlands, sleeping in real wooden houses on wheels, seeing loads of nice creatures and doing fun stuf with family and friends of family ;-)

Buddha's Birthday (23-5-2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

I'm not sure why they chose this date because Buddha's birthday should be celebrated on the full moon-day in may (or that's what I read) and the 23rd wasn't a full moon-day. This celebration is not only a birthday: it's also celebrating Buddha's enlightenment and his death.

Anyway it's always interesting to watch events from Asian cultures in the Chinese quarter of Antwerp.
In the library there was (and still is I think) an exhibit about Chinese calligraphy. On the main square there was information and food (which was very tasty!). And of course big shrines with Buddha statues and offerings (fruit, flowers, candles; see pic). An announcer explained in Dutch and Chinese what the offerings meant and where you could buy some.
There was also a small parade with a Chinese dragon dance and several Buddhist organisations from different (Asian) countries some of which where dressed in their local folkloristic dress.

So Happy Birthday Buddha!

Early-Netherlandish Painters-the finest diptychs (KMSKA, Antwerp, 23-5-2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

This exhibit has just ended but there are many books about the subject which you can buy and the paintings are in museums all over this world.

Early-Netherlandish painters or what we call "Flemish Primitives" have made some amazing paintings. The colours are vivid, the scenes quiet and religious, the emotions clear and confronting. There is such beauty in them!
If you get a chance to see some of their art you should most certainly not hesitate to take it!

This exhibit was actually quite small but we saw a lot of nice works anyway. One of my all time favourites (see pic) was there too. I had never seen the other part of the diptych because the two parts are in different museums so I was very happy at this opportunity!

Bozar + ING = German Art (19-5-2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Another trip to the Bozar!
And what did they have for us today??

- ikob-Museum für Zeitgenössische Kunst Eupen
Pieces from the collection of this Belgian museum which is in the German-speaking part of Belgium. Un till 27-5-2007, free.

- the main exhibit: Blicke auf Europa
German painting in the 19th century. I love a lot of it (mainly Friedrich, Dahl, other landscape painters) but there are some pretty disgusting works there too (I've always disliked Runge and seeing them up close doesn't help). It's a very interesting exhibit anyway and it really conveys the German Romantic soul.
Today is the last day btw.

- A vision for Brussels
What to do with the capitol of Europe? Small exhibit about an architectural vision for the future. Un till 16-9-2007, free.

- Game on You - Hell'o Monsters
Funny weird cute graffiti-like monster art things. Un till 3-6-2007, free.

- Visit(e) - contemporary art in Germany
In the ING culture centre (which is an old bank complete with a vault btw). Some interesting contemporary art works. I expected more and better works because I've seen so much German art already. It was nice anyway.
Un till 1-7-2007, 5 euro's or less ;-)

The picture by the way is of a statue of the holy Rita and I'm not sure if it's part of an exhibit or just part of the decorations of the Bozar. But who cares; it is a nice site ;-)

Night Atmosphere at a Festival

Not my sharpest pics but they convey the atmosphere very nicely I think. Look at them close-up for best view of colours and shapes ;-)
The show is by Belgian band Triggerfinger. Check them out at http://www.triggerfinger.net/site/default.html

What have we been up to? (22-4 un till 13-5 of the year 2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

There is usually something fun to do here every weekend! There's exhibits, processions, festivals and all kinds of other special days to celebrate. And with all this fun I didn't have time to write it all down yet so here's a list of things we've done. Some of these will return next year so you can enjoy them then ;-)

Sunday april the 22th: Heritage Day (erfgoeddag)
Always a lot of fun because you can visit many places which aren't open on other days. There's usually several special exhibits, tours, etc too. And I love heritage! Well, that is one of the main reasons I like working in an archive ;-)

Tuesday may the 1st: Photography Museum Antwerp
A great way to celebrate Labour Day: visit a museum! It is open anyway and it's pretty boring for the people that have to work there if no-one shows up (trust me! it is extremely boring to work in a museum with no visitors all day!).

So what were the exhibits today?
- portrait-photo's of Belgian comic artists
- photo's made by Belgian king Leopold III (he went to many interesting places!)
- photo's from their collection (many nice new ones!)
- Albert Watson (see pic + http://www.albertwatson.net/)
- Reuters-State of the World (impressive pictures)
- Behind the Lens-Getty Images (three very different photographers)
All of these exhibits have ended by now but you can still enjoy some of the pictures on the site of the museum, in books and on the sites of the artists/press agencies.

Tuesday may the 1st: a short trip to the Zoo
We still had to see the night animals because we didn't have time for them last time we went. And they were great!! Many bats! And cute armadillo's and sleeping aardvarks. Having a season ticket for the zoo is just perfect!

Saturday may the 12th: Rock Houtem
Local festival in the city where Mark works. It's still small but it's fun and of course not very expensive. See: http://www.rockhoutem.be/html/news.html
There's some pics in an album from the Triggerfinger show (which was great btw).

Sunday may the 13th: Hanswijk Procession
Well, we cannot miss the procession that takes place in our 'backyard' right? We didn't see everything this year but it was nice again. And very luckily for them it was sunny and dry the whole procession!