Concerning Shields

Discovering new music has become an intrinsic part of my life here in Paris. Whether it's mixtapes that cute boys give me, or a casual suggestion from a friend, or an unexpected ticket to a live show, I'm making myself sick with the sheer amount of awesomeness my ears are being exposed to.

 

A key part of these recent mellifluous discoveries has been Shields (website here), a 5-man force of nature from Newcastle, UK. I recently had the pleasure of watching them open for Dispatch at the intimate La Flech d'Or, and man, were they tight. Their punky indie sound is so right in so many ways, and after 30 seconds of their opening number "White Knuckle Tight Grip", I was hooked. Frontman Rich belts out punchy lyrics delivered in both short spurts and melodic swirls, made wonderful with the close harmonies of Luke and Dave (Luke holding his own with pitch-perfect strength). Guitars full of tone mixed with full fast drums make their music a recent addition to the typical indie-punk trend (they have ), but Shields adds their own spice with percussion drums and samples from John and their unashamed toe-tapping choruses. Their music has clean edges, framed with razor-sharp drumming by the (let's not lie, he's pretty good looking) Tom. Together, this messy-looking bunch of Geordies played one hell of a show. I'm a fan.

 

This would be a pretty good place to end this post, seeing as the whole performance section is covered. Usually, that's all you get from a band when you go to see them. However, fate seems to work in a slightly more awkward way, deeming it necessary for me to (quite gushingly) introduce myself to Rich and Luke at their merch table after Dispatch rocked the stage. After sharing my slightly-embarrassing adoration for them, they were kind enough to sell me a shirt and an EP, and slowly (how did this even happen?), I got into a conversation with Tom (drummer, he's a drummer) about, well, drumming. Mentioning that I noticed he was left-handed, we started a slightly-over-my-head discussion about how drummers are like, man, the glue that holds the band together. I also got the story of how they all met back in music college in Newcaslte, prompting Tom to literally teach me how to say Newcastle (it's NuKassle, not Nyew-Carsle). This was followed by an interruption by Dave (oh, Dave), and a conversation with Rich about how no one even has record-players these days. Then Luke came over with a pint, which I convinced him to share with me, which somehow led into the ever-amusing guessing-game of where Tash and I are from (Dave thought we were American. American, I tell you).

 

The more they drank, the more they laughed with us, and after passing my EP around to be signed by them all, Luke heartily invited Tash and I on the road to Germany with them. We politely (but sadly) refused. They play in Berlin tomorrow night, and these guys left such a mark on me that I honestly looked up transport costs. Shields, sigh, those crazy guys. I've been listening to this EP non-stop, and it makes me smile that not only do they play good music, but they're good people. I hope we meet again, but if not, we'll always have Paris :)

 

 

Concerning Anna-Marina

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Here's a short blog about the Amazing Anna-Marina. I already wrote a post about that time we went for tea, but I think she deserves a whole one. Anna-Marina's a legitimately-French girl in my "Democracy and Reform in China" class. When she heard I was from Wits, she introduced herself to me and told me that YAY she's coming to spend her year abroad at Wits. What a great coincidence! I'm so glad she found me - I was beginning to worry that I would never make any French friends. They're just so cool! And so is Anna-Marina. So so cool! She invites us out even though she knows she will have to spend half the time translating for us, and her friends are amazing too. We've done such lovely things together, and I wanted to write a blog just to make sure everyone knows how amazing she is.

 

Here's a list of things we've done with Anna so far:

1. Drank beer at a coffee shop around the corner from SciencesPo. It was the first and only time I've had a Kanterbrau, and I'm DYING for another one!

2. We went to Chez Angelina - this AMAZING fancy-pants restaurant on rue Rivoli in the 1st (if you don't know Paris, that means it's about 200m from the Louvre, in one of the fanciest suburbs). There we met Saskia, Anna's adorable friend. We drank delicious hot chocolate and had fun taking photos in the fancy bathroom (did I mention it was fancy?).

3. Got pretty amazingly drunk at a TERRIBLY CHEAP cocktail bar in Pigalle (again, if you don't know Paris, it's a pretty dodgy area next to Montmartre). What a crazy night. We all made it home safe though! :D

4. Dinner at Saskia's house, which ended with Saskia's neighbour inviting himself in for a drink, and us kicking him out later :P

5. Brunch at Anna-Marina's apartment in the south of Paris - picture a table packed with different teas, croissants and pain au chocolat (amazing square pastries full of Nutella), scrambled eggs, baguettes, juice, jam and everything French and delicious. The apartment is beautiful too - three bedroom and a lovely view of the park across the street.

6. Tea at the Tea Caddy (read the post here).

7. A French-style cheese & wine party, where we were just asked to bring baguettes (our French friends suspect we don't know anything about cheese - guess they're right). What a lovely evening, and everyone went home with a baguette!

 

Thanks Anna-Marina for all the lovely things you've done for Natasha and me! We are so grateful for your generosity :) we look forward to more adventures in the future! :D

 

 

 

 

 

Concerning Tea

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Man, I do love me some tea. Being a Joko girl at heart has made living in Paris a bit of a nightmare (can you say First World Problems?), what with only Lame Lipton on the shelves. Thank goodness for England! Firstly, we were able to visit a South African store (the existence of which we owe our lovely defective comrades who think SA is less-than-awesome), where we bought some Joko at a fiendishly ridiculous price. Secondly, my dad bought Tash and I a satisfactory equivalent at Mr Ghandi's store near his home in Headington, Oxford. Thanks Dad.

So considering our wonderful excess of that delicious nectar, we were thrilled to be invited by the magnifique Anna Marina and her lovely Alex to The Tea Caddy yesterday - the most English tea room in all of Paris. Little wooden chairs around cramped tables, old maps of England on the walls, flowery wallpaper - it even smelled British. Of all the wondrous teas on offer (including SA rooiboos and Darjeeling, to all sorts of Asian teas, to orange cinnamon and lemon honey ginger), I went with the yummy-sounding Christmas tea (Thé de Noël), mostly because it reminded me of Dave.

Yum! Tea is always a ceremony. What with that, and Devon scones, our day was complete. A visit to the famed "Shakespeare & Company" bookshop around the corner was the finishing touch on a perfectly English experience :)

Note: Although we had a lovely time, the service at The Tea Caddy is less-than-wonderful. To be honest, expect to wait for a table in the afternoon - if not for the crowds, because of the incredibly lame staff. We had a good time making fun of our inept waiter, but I think Alex may have passed out if his lemonade had taken any longer to get to the table.

Concerning Gardens

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Today was a beautiful day in beautiful Paris. The weather was warm and sunny, and Tash and I decided to take full advantage.

Our first mission out with the Paris public bike system didn't go too well. After an amazing start (and by amazing, I mean WOO TURNS OUT I CAN RIDE A BIKE!), we were shouted at for riding our beautiful bikes in the park. I almost challenged the park security to a race (me on a bike vs them in a golf cart), but, considering I don't know how to say "Screw you I'm taking my bike with me!" in French, I decided to leave it. Meh. We dropped off our bikes at a nearby station after 500m of crazy Parisian roads, and decided to change our plans.

This Plan B involved grabbing some delicious fruit at the market and catching a metro to the Jardin de Luxembourg, on the Left Bank. It's astounding, and romantic, and packed, and spacious, and amazing. There're long stretches of grass to picnic on (just ignore the signs if there are crowds), benches every 5 meters, huge pools with fountains and duckies, and about every oh-so-in-love couple in the city. Tash and I made out picnic on the fountain-side, golloping down strawberries and sights. We people-watched and surreptitiously photographed children (in a non-creepy way). Basking in the sun while crowds quietly mingle was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

What a beautiful place I live in. I can't wait to share it with you!