I had a great birthday weekend, go-karting on Saturday followed by an amazing evening meal at Number One on Sunday, a Michelin star restaurant in Edinburgh.
Wow. Never have I been to a gig where the band where so into interacting with the crowd. Maybe it's because the lead singer, Jared Leto is also a Hollywood actor and knows how to work people, but it was just incredible. A lot of bands don't seem bothered to go past "Hello <insert city>!" and maybe the odd "Having a good time?!" but 30STM took it to a whole new level. I saw Lostprophets last week, and whilst their random Welsh banter in between songs was funny, they weren't that interactive. How a band are live sometimes makes or breaks it for me - for example in 2004 I was so disappointed with Evanescence's lack of enthusiasm or crowd interaction I went off them for a bit, I certainly won't be seeing them again live.
I don't normally feel the urge to do music reviews, but I need to express my love for 30STM and their latest album, This is War, which was released on Monday.
I thought Rabbit Faced Story Soup by Laura Solon was going to be stand-up comedy and I would have to perform my don't-grab-attention routine so I wouldn't get picked on. How wrong was I!
Double Art History was described as the entirety of modern art in an hour given by one of the Tate's directors, Will Gompertz, who had recently been to comedy classes to help his public speaking skills. Even if it wasn't funny, I was still keen to go as it sounded right up my street.
The reason I booked tickets for this was for the name. Sock Puppets. Falsetto. Scottish. How could that not be funny? Thank god they did not disappoint, as this was the funniest show I have ever seen!
Yesterday I went to another fringe act, this time a magic show. Ian Kendall has been doing the Fringe for 18 years now, so his show was aptly titled Ian Kendall's 18th Birthday Magic Show. During the hour he performed many magic tricks and told us a bit about his life as a magician. It was really amazing - I honestly don't know how he did most of the tricks! I realise they are all sleight of hand, but when a pack of cards turns into just one I wonder how on earth he managed to slip them in his opposite trouser pocket without anyone noticing!
Today I went to see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at The Caves on Cowgate. I vaguely remember seeing this before in London and really enjoyed it. However during the show I only remembered the ending, which puzzled me as usually memories of plays I've seen before come back quite quickly. After having a look on the internet I discovered that this production isn't the original version, which had three men and was half an hour longer. Even though they must have cut a lot out and the cast was now three women, it was a fun hour with just one slight wobble in the middle.
Last night I went to the first of 9 bookings I have made for this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival: The Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection. Admittedly, I would not have gone to this one was it not for my friends boyfriend being one of the comedians performing. Nevertheless, this was a great way to kick of my 2009 Fringe experience!
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