Feisty, Dark Narcissism

Why am I feeling so feisty? So dark? So narcissistic? All good questions, each with a good answer!

First of all, the feistiness is a result of seeing the one and only Leslie Feist, a.k.a. FEIST, this past Thursday night at Le Transbordeur in Lyon with Anna and Daniel! Let me tell you, that girl can jam. I had always just thought of her as an eloquent lyricist with an amazing voice, but as it turns out, she is also a kick ass guitarist with wonderful stage presence. Much of her stage banter was sadly lost on the subdued francophone crowd, but she got a lot of giggles and appreciation when she attempted to speak French. Her nearly two hour set was beautiful from start to finish, mixing the old with the new, and the somber with the dancey. She also brought along the group Mountain Man to sing backup for her, and they made some fabulous harmonies to fill in the tracks. If you ever get a chance to see her live, I would most highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed!

My feisty mood is closely linked to my dark mood. While I was in Lyon, I also got to see Minnesotan band Dark Dark Dark at the Marché Gare! It was an interesting venue, resembling a small theater in an old elementary school. Because of it’s small size, it was also extreeeeeeeemely hot, but it was worth it for the music. If you don’t know them, you should, because even France knows about them. Seriously, I could not believe how many French fans they have! I also could not believe how incredibly unenthusiastic their banjo/clarinet player was about having fellow Minnesotans in the audience… Kate, Anna, Daniel and I went up to talk with the band at the merchandise table afterward, and were rather underwhelmed by his, “Oh, you’re from Minnesota?” He then turned away and started talking to someone else. Feeling a little dejected, I stole a poster off the wall, and we left trying to pretend that humiliating situation didn’t happen. At least the music was good.

Finally, I’ve been feeling rather narcissistic as a result of my 365 project. As I mentioned before starting, I was a little hesitant about starting this slightly daunting task, but I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it thus far! Following the advice of my good friend and fellow blogger Clara suggested, I’ve decided to post the pictures in weekly installments every Sunday. This way, I can avoid obnoxiously overposting, and you can all see what I’ve been up to each week! If you really can’t wait for the end of the week, however, I will be doing my best to add them to my flickr as they are taken. Since I started the project on Thursday the 15th and didn’t want to post just 4 photos, there will be a few extras this week. Lucky you, getting to see so many pix of meee!

Day 1

Day 2: Rediscovering the joys of reading!

Day 3: Beach plans ruined by rain.

Day 3 continued: Rain turns into sun, once it is of course too late to go to the beach.

Day 4: Canker sores won't stop attacking my mouth. It's killing me.

Day 4 continued: The sun came and stayed among delicious clouds.

Day 5

Day 5: Charlie crashed my photo shoot. A welcomed distraction.

Day 6: Computer addict.

Day 7: Walking around Lyon, relying on my camera phone.

Day 8: Stretching in Kate's apartment.

Day 9: Still feeling giddy the day after Feist!

Day 9 continued: Visiting Fouvière in Lyon

Day 9 continued: beautiful budding blossoms!

Day 10: MACARONS

Day 10: Kate - disappointing macaron flavor choices.

Day 10: Dark Dark Dark

Day 11: Sad to leave Lyon, but pleased by the clear skies

Well that’s all for now, folks. Time for me to make up some lesson plans, aka games. Bisous, bisous!