fun – Page 10 – that lemon life

The Night of Saint Raymond

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to another week and another concert review. First of all, don’t even act as if you’re shocked, you all knew that concert season had begun. And yep, that’s just the beginning, so get ready for more of this in the future (*cough* Twenty One Pilots *cough*). But until then let me tell you about the very special Friday I got to spend with the very special Callum Burrows, aka Saint Raymond, aka the one guy I’ve been waiting to see live again for nearly five years. And now it finally happened. FINALLY.

But before I get fully into this, let me first introduce you to Callum. Most of you, who’ve been following me for quite some time will probably know him as the amazing support that I got to see before Ed in 2014. I still remember it like it was yesterday. The first support came on, my friend and I got a bit bored and wished for nothing else but a more exciting, upbeat second support. And then Callum came on and we felt like all of our prayers had been heard. He was so damn good. The next day, after Ed’s show, despite all beliefs, I wasn’t listening to Ed, no, I was listening to ‘Ghosts’ by Callum, over and over again. I just couldn’t get enough of it. And since then I’ve been wanting to see this amazing British singer-songwriter live again. And last Friday the day had finally come.

First of all, I have to say that I’ve never ever in my life before encountered such a loud and also partly rude audience. I mean, it was literally perfect when Callum came on stage, because the whole room suddenly turned into one big choir, myself included. But when I think about Nick Wilson, his support, I just thought they were all really rude because they literally didn’t shut up. Like, I had trouble actually hearing him and the room was freaking tiny. I know this shouldn’t really part of a concert review, but I see something like this as a lack of respect for the artist and Nick really didn’t deserve that. He was so so good and the perfect support for Callum. I really loved his voice and I hope he gets some more attention in the future.

So far about the beginning of the show. But like I said, as soon as Callum came on, it was perfect. Again, I’ve never ever encountered such a loud crowd. But in a good way. Because it led to Callum looking like literally the happiest person on earth. The moment he came on stage he broke out into a huge grin and he didn’t stop smiling until he went off again. And he didn’t even really stop there, because when I chatted to him for a bit afterwards, he was still so happy. And I was so happy because he was so happy. It was just so damn cute. And I know it meant a lot to him because the tour he is on right now is his first one since November last year and he told me that he was still a bit nervous, which made it all even cuter. I’m still so happy for him.

And about the show overall – I don’t even know what to say. He’s just so damn good at what he’s doing. And it felt so good to finally see him again after all this time. I still remembered all the lyrics, even those of songs I hadn’t listened to for a bit of time, and when he played ‘Ghosts’ it immediately brought me back to that very morning after Ed’s show. It was such a special moment. And, I can just repeat myself, Callum just seemed so happy and the audience was so happy as well and then his amazing voice on top of that just turned the night into a perfect show. I already miss him so much, but I’m also so looking forward to his new album that’s currently in the making and for his tour, that’s going to go with it. And until then I’ll just listen to his already released stuff and reminisce about this amazing concert.

And when it comes to you guys, who’re reading this now, I can just recommend you to give this fantastic artist a listen. You won’t regret it, I promise. Callum really is special and he deserves every single piece of attention he can get and so much more. I’m so excited for what’s planned for him in the future and I’d love for you all to be part of the journey. As always, I’d also love to hear your thoughts and comments about anything and everything and I really hope you enjoy this post. And, of course, I wish you all a great week and thanks for reading. x

A Hippo Campus Dream

Hola everyone.

Not to be dramatic or anything, but what I’m going to tell you today is something I would have never thought I’d ever be able to write down and tell the world. Never. And I’m not exaggerating. To keep the tension up a bit, I’m not gonna tell you all of it just now, but as you can see by the title, it has got something to do with my beloved Minnesota boys, also known as the amazing band Hippo Campus. And yes, it indeed includes me seeing them live. FINALLY. But let’s start right at the beginning.

So, as most of you guys will probably know by now, I am a huuuuuge fan of Hippo Campus. I won’t go into detail why, because it’s pretty obvious once you listen to their music. Frankly, they are one of the best bands out there right now and their talent is basically unreal, so yeah. They are currently receiving more and more attention, which I’m honestly so happy about. They deserve all of it and so much more.

Last year, they pretty much blew my mind with their new record ‘Bambi’ (here’s the review I wrote about it – click me) and to be honest, if TOP hadn’t released Trench in 2018 as well, Hippo’s LP would have been my favourite album of the year, by far. It’s just a work of art, it truly is. And so when I found out that they would be doing a show here in Brighton, I basically freaked out. I mean, they aren’t as big in the UK as they are in the US and they would never come to my country, not when they’re still so unknown there, so I wasn’t actually expecting to ever see them live. I didn’t expect it to be that easy, at least. I thought I’d have to fly to the US and see them there or whatever. But they decided to come to me and I’m still so happy about it.

So, you probably already know where this is heading by now. Last Sunday was the day. THE DAY. The day I had been waiting for for such a long time. And oh my god, the wait was so worth it. And I’m not just saying this because I’m such a huge fan, I’m saying it because it’s true: the show was literally perfect. And I still can’t get over their talent. I mean, just when you think about all the different instruments and musical abilities they bring together on stage – one trumpet, two drums, two basses, two guitars, one piano, one tambourine and fire vocals on top of that. And there are just five of them who all do this. I mean, honestly, how much more can you wish for? That’s exactly the reason why they are so unique and why their shows are this good. They just absolutely know what they’re doing and you can feel that.

About the show itself – besides it being absolutely fantastic – I basically got to the full thing, as I managed to get to front row (yes, I’m very proud of that, thank you very much). They played Bambi, the title track, as their very first song, which kind of surprised me, as it’s one of their biggest songs, but I didn’t mind at all. And after that, they stuck to a good mix between older and new songs, which was just perfect. And I didn’t really think it was possible, but they really are so much better live than on the studio versions. By which I obviously mean that the studio versions are so good that I never thought that they could even top that. But they can and they did. And I guess it was also just the atmosphere overall and their stage presence. You could really see how much they enjoy doing what they do and that made me so happy.

If I had to pin down my favourite moments of the whole show, I think I’d end up with the following three:

First of all, they played Monsoon, which is basically unbeatable. It’s the first song I ever heard by them – I can still see myself sitting at home in the kitchen and finding the live version on YouTube and listening to it over and over again with my eyes closed. And after all this time, it’s still my favourite. So when they played it, I was immediately thrown back to that very moment in the kitchen and then I watched them play it and then the tears kept coming and I just let them. It was such a magical moment. Most of the people next to me had closed their eyes during the song, which I did too, and you could really feel how calm and emotional everyone had suddenly become. It was absolutely beautiful.

And a few songs after that they played Violet, which is my favourite song right now. It’s just so much fun, so when they played it, I went full party mode and sang and screamed my heart out. I felt so alive and happy and it was then that I realized that this was really happening. And I was so grateful at that moment, for everything.

And last but not least, my third favourite moment has to be one including Zach (what a surprise). He’s their bassist and v v v cute, but I’m not gonna go into more detail. But the scene was that inbetween two songs, girls were screaming “I love you” at Jake (the lead singer) and suddenly Zach just had had enough. So he went up to the mic and said: “Do you actually have an idea how it makes the rest of us feel when you scream things like that at Jake? I mean, what about the rest of us? How do you think this makes-“. And BAMM, suddenly a whole bunch of pink roses hit his face. I literally couldn’t stop laughing. And in the process he had caught one and was just standing there, holding the rose to his face, looking a bit startled. And then he smiled and said: “Oh okay, I feel better now.” And I felt like I’d faint on the spot. It was all just too much cuteness for me to handle.

So, there you go, those are my favourite moments of the show. But let’s be honest, the entire show was just one big favourite moment. One that I’ll never ever forget. I’ve been looking through a few pics and videos I took during the show and their talent really is unreal. I kept watching Nathan (the lead guitarist) during the show and he’s just so incredible. All of them are. And they’re just very cool and lovely people. Which brings me to the one super crazy thing that I never thought I’d be able to tell you that I mentioned at the beginning of this post. I’m not going to go into any detail, but I just want to say it now so it’s out there in the world for me to read when I’m old and want to look back at all the incredible things I’ve done. So, here it comes: I didn’t get to front row because I was waiting outside the venue, but because I got interview the boys before their show and then watch the soundcheck and wait there until the gig. And I know, it’s basically the biggest deal of my career so far – and apart from some family and friends stuff and moving to Brighton also the biggest one of my life – and I still can’t believe that it really happened. Like I said, I don’t wanna go into detail, but I just want to say that they are incredibly nice and real and honest and inspiring people and I’ll forever be grateful for the way they treated me. In a nutshell, it was one of the most interesting, fascinating and fun chats I’ve ever had in my life and probably ever have. I honestly adore them so much.

And this is where this post comes to an end. To be honest, I still cannot believe how lucky I am, I feel like I’m in some sort of trance. You know this feeling when something so big happens that you start to question whether you’re dreaming or it is really happening? This is what the past days have felt like, especially Sunday. Honestly, my life has become a dream and I’m living that exact dream. And I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am for that. I feel like the luckiest and happiest person on earth. Always believe in your dreams, guys. Always.

For all of you music lovers out there, if you take one thing from this, then please be it that you need to listen to this fantastic band called Hippo Campus and that you need to see them live immediately. Like, right now. Trust me, you won’t regret it. I’ve already reached the post-concert-sadness, which is why I’m already looking for a way to see them again as quick as possible. And you should all do the same.

And yeah, until then I hope you’re doing good and wish you an amazing weekend. As always, I hope you enjoyed this post and if you’ve got any questions or thoughts, please don’t hesitate to leave them down below. And, of course, thanks for reading. x

My favourite music videos

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to another Friday. Another musical one. But also filmic, you could say. Because today, I’d like to share my all time favourite music videos with you. Some of these are just pure happiness in video form, some are plain beautiful and some of them are just so funny, cool or aesthetically pleasing. Overall, I just love all of these so so much and even if some of them are old, I always love going back to them and watching them again. And I hope you enjoy them just as much.

Ed Sheeran – Lego House

I mean, you guys know that I love Ed with every single cell of my body and my entire soul. So it won’t be a surprise that one of Ed’s videos had to be part of this list. And, I mean, just watch it. What is Ron doing there? Why do they look like the same person? How crazy is it that stalkers like that one really exist? And am I the only one who thinks that the video doesn’t fit with the lyrics at all?

Twenty One Pilots – Tear In My Heart / Jumpsuit

Guys, what should I tell you? They are my beans. And one video is about Jenna and even features her, so obviously you have to say awww really loud at the end. And the other one is a cinematic masterpiece and also the one video that got the Trench era started. So yeah, I don’t think I need to explain myself. Just watch them, honestly.

Martin Garrix – Pizza

Here we have the video that counts as pure happiness in video form. I am actually a 100 % convinced that it’s impossible to watch this video and not smile like a super happy person. It’s one of those videos that simply make you grin. Marty is just too cute. And yes, the song is called Pizza because he loves Pizza so much. And the video shows him with his fans, who he also loves. So, in total, the video is pure love.

Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

This gem here just came out a few days ago, but guys, beware, you might need a handkerchief/tissue. Because yep, this one is a bit sad. Just a teeny tiny bit. And on top of that, the cause is just as lovely as the video itself. Well done Lewis, seriously.

Tom Rosenthal – Hugging You / How Have You Been?

Honestly, Tom’s videos are just as beautiful as his music. For the context, the first video is basically made of clips of people hugging, all around the world. Tom asked for them and the result is just so damn wonderful. And the other video features one of the cutest and most fantastic type of animation I have ever seen. I honestly have no idea how they created this, but I wish I could do that. Literally a piece of art.

So yeah guys, I think those are my all time favourite music videos. I’m pretty sure I forgot one or two, but oh well. I hope you guys enjoy the videos just as much as I do. Please let me know what you think about them down in the comment section below. And, as always, I hope you’re doing good and wish you a lovely weekend. And, of course, thanks for reading. x

New Music Friday

Hola everyone.

How are we doing? Doing good, I hope. Personally, in the past few days, I’ve been in an incredible mood. Because, you guessed it, concert season is coming up and starting next Sunday with the one and only band Hippo Campus. And then the week after that we have Saint Raymond and just a few days after that I’ll finally be seeing my beans Tyler and Josh and last but not least the week after my love Tom. And just two days after that unbelievable experience I’ll be flying back home for spring break (is it even spring break though? I honestly have no idea). So yeah, you could say I’ve got some exciting days coming up. I can’t wait.

And as my next few weeks will basically consist of thinking about, listening to and plainly experiencing music, I thought we’d all get in the groove now together with another lovely New Music Friday. I know I didn’t even post the last one that long ago, but the music industry works at a different pace, so while we’ve been living our lives at usual, normal, chilled pace, quite a few artists and bands decided to release amazing new music. And besides that, as usual, I also got to know some other new incredible tracks, which I’m dying to share with you today. Some were recommended to me, some I found by myself and some got to me because of the updated Sziget lineup. And one has to know all the bands that will be at their favourite festival, obviously.

Most of the tracks, I noticed, are quite heavy on the bass and a bit more electronic than usual, but I’m sure you’ll love them nonetheless. Of course, the usual indie-ness still plays a big part. So, get ready, put some good headphones on, turn up the volume and enjoy.

Beirut – Family Curse / Varieties of Exile

I can’t really remember when I found this band, I just know that it was last year and that I was shocked that I had found it this late. Obviously, better late than never, but come on. This band is amazing. And when I saw that they had released a new album called Gallipoli, I instantly had to listen to it (the two songs here are my favourite ones of the album). And no joke, it’s such a fantastic collection of even more fantastic songs. I can’t really put it into words, but their music is just so special. It’s really different and deserves and needs to be heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wRRrQzu1r8

Hucci & Jaya – Fountain

Here comes the electronic vibe. I told you it would. This one right here is one of the bands that will be playing at Sziget this year. And despite some other tracks not being my cup of tea, this one is just too cool to not like it. I really enjoy the vibe of it and I can already see my mum and me attending their show at like 2am and totally enjoying it.

New Atlas – Morphine / Lay Low

To be honest, both of these songs couldn’t be any more different from each other. While Morphine is a fun indie-rock track, Lay Low is a weird, bassy electronic song that I can already see being played in clubs over and over again. And funnily enough, I really really like both of the tracks. Also, Lay Low is a strict case of the headphone rule. Those are essentially what make the song so fun to listen to.

Wallows ft. Clairo – Are You Bored Yet?

My boys are back with another new amazing track and oh my god, I’m so happy. Did I tell you that I recently bought tickets to see them in London this June? I honestly can’t believe I’m really seeing them live. It’s as if 2019 decided to be the year of the impossible concerts that suddenly became possible. Hippo Campus, Tom, The Jungle Giants (they’re coming to the Great Escape here in Brighton for their UK debut) and now Wallows. Literally crazy. And such good music, holy moly.

Son Lux – Lost It To Trying

Another Sziget contestant and another amazing song, obviously. And there’s also quite a funny story to this, because when I first listened to this song I thought I was being fooled at or something and the Fall Out Boy fans among you will probably get what I mean within the first few seconds of listening to this song. Because this right here is the reason why the song ‘4th of July’ by FOB is such a bop. Because they sampled it. I coincidentally found the ‘original’ track. How funny is that? And, obviously, it’s a fantastic song.

Jónsi – Who Are You Thinking Of?

I recently got to watch the movie ‘Boy Erased’ – and, oh boy, was that an incredible and also super sad movie, wow – and this song right here was featured in it and immediately caught my attention. You can literally hear the sadness in the song, which I adore. Sometimes I’m such a sucker for sad tracks, I can’t tell why. I can just say that I love this one right here. And I also love the movie, which is why I now have to urge you to both listen to this song and watch the movie. Please.

Hippo Campus – Violet

And last but not least we have this gem right here. You guys know that I’m head over heels in love with this band and now that I’ll finally be seeing them live next week, I’ve been listening to their music non-stop. So much, that Violet has now become my favourite track of theirs (although that usually changes on a weekly basis, but oh well). It’s just such an incredibly fun song, I don’t even know what to tell you. But what I do know is that it’s part of their set-list, which means that I’ll get the chance to completely freak out when they play it. Which I can’t wait for.

So yeah, guys, there you go. That’s about all the new music that I’ve got to share with you for now. I dearly hope that you enjoy these tracks as much as I do. As always, please don’t hesitate to share your opinions and thoughts down below. I’d love to hear them. And until then I wish you all a lovely weekend and hope you’re doing good. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

The Lemon Tunes

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to another Friday. A musical Friday again, but in a quite different way. Since starting this blog and really getting into music, I wanted to set up a playlist, solely for this blog, to kind of go with it. I know I always add in YouTube links to my posts about music, when I share my new favorite tracks and stuff, but a real playlist on Spotify just is something completely different. Bottom line: it was well overdue, but, finally, here it is. The official ‘thatlemonlife’-playlist.

As you can probably tell, I had the most fun creating this. Plainly because it meant I could go through all of my saved songs and different playlists on Spotify and pretty much choose my absolute favorites. And you know how much I love sharing my music. So this is an actual dream come true for me, which again brings up the question why I only just now created this… Oh well, better late than never, right?

As usual, I hope you enjoy these songs just as much as I do. Honestly, I’d love to hear your opinions and thoughts. And even if you don’t like some, I’d love to hear from you nonetheless. Some of you might know some of the songs from our usual “New Music Friday” section or from one of my countless posts about my current favorite songs and albums. Some songs basically represent my childhood and my teen years, some songs are very recent and some might be super popular and some might be completely new to you. What they all have in common though is that I love them with all of my heart. And if I’m gonna be honest, this playlist is literally me as a playlist. The playlist is me and everything I love when it comes to music. And this might sound creepy now, but when you’re listening to it, you’re basically listening to my soul. And isn’t that the most beautiful thing ever?

So yeah, there’s that. Honestly, I’d be super happy and thankful if you gave the playlist a listen and maybe even told me your verdict. I’ll try to update it regularly and add new songs to it whenever I can, so it’ll definitely be worth a visit here and there. And yeah, until then I hope you enjoy the songs and this post and wish you all an amazing weekend. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

White Skin, Black Ink

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to another Friday and another month, actually. Happy February. I hope you’ve all had an amazing week so far and are looking forward to the weekend. You know, while thinking about what to write for today’s post, many different ideas came to my mind, but none of them really inspired me, nothing ignited that certain fire every writer needs. And then I thought about the one thing, that has been rooting in my head for a few weeks now. Tattoos.

You guys know that I’m a huge sucker for this certain type of art, this beautiful art that turns the body into a canvas. And it is indeed art. One I’ve admired and loved my entire life. I myself am proud to call myself a canvas for this art, so far I’ve gathered three pieces, spilling on both of my arms. They still make me stare at them and adore them every single day and I don’t think that will ever change. And like many before and after me, I have also become an addict in and of the process. Which is also the reason why I’ve been thinking about tattoos and design ideas more than I usually would. My body has started aching for more again. Aching for the pain, that always ends in beauty. I even miss the weeks of caring and nurturing afterwards. I miss all of it. I simply want more.

So, as every addict, I’ve been trying to get as close to actually getting a tattoo as possible. I literally created my own folder just for designs of different tattoos that I would either like to have myself or just like how they look and maybe want to incorporate into other designs. So, here I am, craving a tattoo, with a folder full of pictures of different tattoos and I can’t seem to get comfortable with any of them. Because, as I should probably tell you, I am one of those people, who only get something inked, when there’s an important meaning to the piece. It has to mean something to me, something big. Because this way, I get a life-long guarantee that I will forever love the tattoo. Even if I might not be the biggest fan of the look overall in like 40 or 50 years, I’ll at least love it because of it’s story and background. But this time, there was no story. At least I couldn’t think of a design for my stories.

Until now, I’ve still got the folder and designs, I’d really love to get inked. I’ve grown a big fan of silhouette tattoos or ones picturing a hand holding flowers or something else. And I’ve always adored tattoos of plants and flowers, preferably in color. Which is also why I really want to fly to Korea, even if it’s just to walk into the ‘Studio by Sol’ tattoo atelier to add some cute rose or sunflower to my collection. Also, speaking of that studio, I highly recommend checking out its Instagram and those of all their different artists. They are bomb, no joke. And I won’t even mention that I really want to fly to New York to visit Bang Bang, because, who doesn’t?

But, here comes to exciting part. Yesterday, while brainstorming for possible designs with Leni, I kind of got the perfect idea. Or at least a good one, I’d say. I’ve always wanted a tattoo that resembled my endless love for music, but as many people, I am literally sick of quotes like “music is my life” or some kind of boring music note or something. Not that there is anything wrong with them, they just aren’t my cup of tea, personally. So I thought, how can I bring some of my ideas together? And in the end I’m now trying to stuff silhouettes, music and space and maybe even some geometric design into one package, shake it really good and then see what’s going to happen. At least that’s the plan for now and so far, I’m really happy with it.

But what about you guys? Do you have any tattoos and would you like to get more? And do you also have to have a meaning behind them or do you just get what you’d like to have on your body? Please don’t hesitate to leave your comments and thoughts down below, I’d love to start a little tattoo discussion. Also, as you can see down below, I’ve added some of the design ideas I’ve been working with lately, so you can get an idea and maybe even some inspiration for yourself. As always, none of these pictures belong to me, they were all done by amazing artists, who I’m bowing my head to. I hope you like them. And yeah, I think that’s all for now. I wish you all a great weekend and thanks for reading. x