Giggin' in Glasgow

Well, living in Glasgow has provided me with a number of opportunities to go to local concerts, as well as play in a few as my musical persona, the Laohu! It has been a blast.

Before Spring arrived, I walked all over Glasgow and caught a few shows too. I went to Bloc+, Stereo, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, 13th Note, Nice 'N' Sleazy and a number of other places. I saw a bunch of bands as well and even made some new friends in the King Hats and We Are The Physics. Here's one of my favorite songs by the King Hats. And here are two wonderful music videos by We Are The Physics, Napoleon Loves Josephine and Goran Ivanisevic.

The King Hats @ Stereo

We Came From Wolves @ Stereo

Thomas and Elske @ Nice 'N' Sleazy

Majestic Dandelion @ King Tut's 

Nine Black Alps @ King Tut's 

Cool Prog Band @ 13th Note

We Are the Physics @ 13th Note

The King Hats @ Bloc+

We Are The Physics @ Maggie Mays (I think)

The first opportunity for me to play came in January. There was a fellow in London who was willing to pay for me to take a train down and let me crash on his couch overnight, which was awesome. It was his birthday, so he decided to put on a chipmusic show. I had a great time and met a lot of cool artists like the Fakebit Polytechnics, Galaxy Wolf and gwEm.

Diamonds and Dynamite

The Fakebit Polytechnics (who taught me that South London men like Cheap Meat)

Galaxy Wolf

There was no table for gwEm's double Atari wonder, so he sat on the stage :p

He did eventually get up, though.

 The Fakebit Polytechnics were also kind enough to put one of my songs up on youtube called "I Can Breakdance". Afterwards, we all hung out and played New Super Mario Bros and had delightful chats. Galaxy Wolf, gwEm and I all crashed on the couches and a wad of blankets and headed out early the next morning to get home. It was fun times!

My next opportunity to play came at Glasgow's 8-Bit Nights. We played at a place called Broadcast. The show consisted of Centipede Threat, Theremin Hero, HarleyLikesMusic and Nordlöef. And yours truly of course. A ton of people came, even the Whitneys (the senior couple from our ward). They got in for free because the guy at the door thought they were my parents ;)

Centipede Threat, HarleyLikesMusic and Nordlöef. Gettin' ready.

The Setup.

Centipede Threat.

Theremin Hero

HarleyLikesMusic

Nordlöef, irrepressible. 

The Laohu

Here are some videos from the evening:
HarleyLikesMusic: http://youtu.be/3FmUQsEhlxs
Theremin Hero: http://youtu.be/kF3ONanvsq8 and http://youtu.be/8t0dctDcnRU
Nordlöef: http://youtu.be/Dk96auEUOdE

My latest gig was in Edinburgh as a part of Ultrachip, a two-day chipmusic festival! There were so many amazing acts and I had such a great time! I probably played my best set yet, too. A special thank you to Michael (Comptroller) for putting on the event and allowing me to play! There are a bunch of shorter videos of the different acts up here. These are also two decent recordings of some of my stuff, I Swear and Secret Song. Beware, I say a lot of stupid stuff, including "Now and a-then", I think a combination of "now and again" and "now and then". I think it might amuse people though, so whatevs.

Arcadecoma

Crazy visuals by Euan McKenzie

100 Handslap

King Keytan

Astral Cat

Matt Nida

The Men of Mega

The Laohu (me)

Everyone was really fantastic. I wasn't able to get a picture of Bit Face, Galaxy Wolf, Comptroller, R10T33R and Ultrasyd. Not only were they all excellent musicians but they were all wonderful people and it was a great pleasure meeting them all. I hope to see them again sometime!

Also, 100 Handslap was kind enough to let me crash on their couch when I stayed overnight. Galaxy Wolf crashed too and it was reminiscent of the time in London. Wonderful people and a wonderful experience.

Oh, and here's a few pictures I snapped while walking around Edinburgh.

May the Fourth be with you.

I do have one more experience to share. Just this past week I was able to go see MC Lars at Ivory Blacks. It was a lot of fun and I got to chat with MC Lars a bit and he was a real cool guy. I also met int eighty of the nerdcore group, Dual Core, who was also a very cool guy.

Ska Beat Jakes

One Good Reason

BeeMickSee and Paul Denver

Dual Core

MC Lars, with Zelda bling

This was my first time at a hip-hop show and I was very much entertained. Check this clip of BeeMickSee and Paul Denver. And here's one of Dual Core. Finally, MC Lars performing Ahab!


In closing, music has been one of the clear highlights of my time here in Scotland. I have met so many delightful people and made many new friends. I love performing and I'm grateful for the opportunities to do so. And I'm not done yet! Stay tuned ;)

Patsy Dinner :D

Oh boy! I might just drool all over my keyboard as I write this:) Patsy Dinner!!!

Now, because we were hanging out with the Young Single Adults (YSA's) we'd hear about this thing they called "Patsy Dinner". We had no idea what it meant but hey, we were invited:)

We come to find out that "Patsy" is a person. A person who happens to be an AMAZING cook:) What she does is put on a dinner every fast Sunday for the YSA's (family and friends:) Seriously, she makes enough for 30 people!

She even has a theme for each dinner. For December is was "Holiday Feast" and around Chinese New Year was "Chinese Takeout". Something like that. 

I cannot worth the life of me remember what the theme was for the dinner I took pictures and video of...? But it was just FABULOUS!!!

Patsy and Vin purposely avoiding the camera:P And Patsy's husband who is SUPER helpful AND cleans up! He's a keeper:)

Some people think you need a big kitchen to cook amazing meals. It's just not true!

(...I'm not saying Patsy's kitchen is small:)

Everyone digging into deliciousness! Mmmmm! Let the saliva flow:D

You can see how it's just such a comfortable, fun event. So easy to make friends and socialize:)

There's Lars and our buddy Matt:)

Just chilling...maybe waiting for dessert! I know, Patsy does dessert TOO!!!

Patsy dishing out DESSERT!!!

Just some amazingly fun times together:)

We are SO ready for DESSERT!!! With Mairi, Rachel, and Kristen:)

Yum! What you have here is Cookies and Cream:) So good!

It's really been not only enjoyable but educational as well. I doubt we would have tried as many Scottish dishes if they had not been provided at a Patsy Dinner.

Also, a dessert that I've been introduced to at the Patsy Dinner is Banoffee. It is a mixture of bananas and toffee with cream. Usually on some kind of pastry like in a pie. Delicious!

This really is an amazing act of service that Patsy offers! From what I hear she's been doing it for about 10 years!!! WOW!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! YOU'RE AMAZING!!!

Glasgow ROCKS!!!

Because Lars plays with the Glasgow University basketball team, he was able to score free tickets to the Glasgow Rocks February 1st game against the Cheshire Phoenix.

The Glasgow Rocks is a basketball team which competes in the British Basketball League. Formerly known as Scottish Rocks and also Edinburgh Rocks, they are one of the leading franchises in the top-tier league, and the only team to be based in Scotland, playing at the Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow. - Wikipedia

Of course it was located clear across town but we thought this would be an adventure not to be missed:) Plus, I got to meet some of Lars' basketball buddies:)

I think this was also the first time I rode on the top of a double decker bus. A little un-nerving...especially going through downtown Glasgow. Small streets full of cars going every which way. Plus, you are right up next to all the street lights...you could just reach out and touch them...or crash into them:P

Here's a little video...You can tell how crummy the roads are at the beginning but wait 'till the end when I swear we are face to face with a bus going the opposite direction...?

And I just really like this pic that was taken in a mirror on the bus :) Sorry it's a bit blurry.

Once we got off the bus it was still a 15 minute walk to the Commonwealth arena.

We got there just in time for the tip off. Found some seats that were easy to get to...didn't think it was a good idea for a very pregnant lady to be climbing over people:( 

I liked the refs uniforms:) 

We were a bit disturbed by the Rocketts, the dance team/cheerleaders for the Rocks. They just seemed too over the top but less polished...they tried...huh...

Then there was the Rocks mascot, Rocky. He was pretty fun. Doing hand springs and muscle poses:) I had to get a pic with him. I don't think he knew what to do with a pregnant lady. 

The Glasgow Rocks played really well against Cheshire Phoenix and won 87-69!

One thing we found interesting were that the Glasgow Rocks uniforms...one of their sponsor's logos was bigger and more prominent than even the team name!?! I thought their team name was Twilight Basketball! Weird.

Haha! Well, it was a fun night out for Lars and I. One of the last ones till baby comes:) 

GLASGOW ROCKS!!!

Burn's Night FHE

So, so so SO late in coming. Been a bit busy having a baby and all:P

BUT, I had to post about this fun tradition to celebrate the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. It's called Burns Night or Robert Burns Day.

It is held around Robert Burns' birthday on the 25th of January, so our FHE group decided to hold our celebrations on the following monday, the 28th.

(If I hadn't explained it before, Lars was invited by the Chinese speaking missionaries to join them at the YSA FHE activities before I joined him in Scotland. When I arrived he wanted me to meet his new friends so I went. They were SO FRIENDLY and inviting...so much so that they invited us to continue to join them for their Family Home Evenings:)

So, seeing as how we are the only married couple attending they thought it a good idea to ask Lars to come up with the "Toast to the Lassies" and I was to do the "Reply to the Toast to the Lassies" also known as the "Toast to the Laddies", which are part of the celebration traditions.

What does this mean? Well, of course we went to Wikipedia for help:

Toast to the Lassies 

This was originally a short speech given by a male guest in thanks to the women who had prepared the meal. However, nowadays it is much more wide-ranging and generally covers the male speaker's view on women. It is normally amusing but not offensive, particularly bearing in mind that it will be followed by a reply from the "lassies" concerned.

The men drink a toast to the women's health.

Reply to the Toast to the Lassies 

This is occasionally (and humorously) called the "Toast to the Laddies" and, like the previous toast, it is generally quite wide-ranging nowadays. A female guest will give her views on men and reply to any specific points raised by the previous speaker. Like the previous speech, this should be amusing, but not offensive. Quite often the speakers giving this toast and the previous one will collaborate so that the two toasts complement each other.

Thank you Wikipedia:)


Here is Lars': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQnnaGP6cpA


And my reply: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYB6zWtJQ7Y

I think it went rather well seeing as how we weren't sure what we were doing:D

Anywho, it was such a fun evening planned by Rachel and Mairi. (Those two can do ANYTHING:)

Other tradition highlights are the addressing of the Haggis which was done magnificently by Rachel. Just an excerpt shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCr30W8G34k

Rachel and Haggis:)

Then the Immortal Memory where Mairi told us about Robert Burns and his life and works. He was the one who came up with the words to "Auld Lang Syne"!

Rachel and Mairi also sang a beautiful song written by Robert Burns...which I shamefully cannot remember the name to... :( Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2vLhBx2Ggo

I also found out that Milwaukee, Wisconsin has a copy of a statue of Robert Burns! The original being located at Kilmarnock, Scotland.

After the sharing of laughter and memories we then got to eat said Haggis...

(Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach. - Wikipedia) 

Haggis...yum:)

...and of course some "Neeps and Tatties" = Turnips and Potatoes, Scottish favorites:)

Mairi was cool enough to also make Clootie Dumpling. (made with flour, breadcrumbs, dried fruit (sultanas and currants), suet, sugar and spice with some milk to bind it, and sometimes golden syrup. Ingredients are mixed well into a dough, then wrapped up in a floured cloth, placed in a large pan of boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours before being lifted out and dried before the fire or in an oven. - Wikipedia)

(Thanks to Mairi for the two toast videos and pictures of the haggis and the clootie dumpling:)

Such a fun Scottish night!