Wednesday, June 15, 2011

.coolness.


"... one by one escort us home, to leave the elementors free to roam..."

Berkeley Flo

   Being that it was my first time in Berkeley, I wanted to explore the town a bit before the concert.  The bf and I stayed at a cute little boutique hotel, called the Bancroft.  The staff were real accommodating, plus they gave us a free coffee coupon to Caffe Strada (next door).  The Bancroft Hotel is conveniently located across the street from UC Berkeley and about a 10-15 minute walk to their Greek Theatre.  After checking out the campus, which was beautiful by the way, we took the two blocks down onto Telegraph Ave.  Very reminiscent of the Haight, but with less vintage shops and more commercial ones.  Before heading to the concert I had to stop by CREAM and get an ice cream cookie sandwich, yum! 
   
   The UC Berkeley Greek Theatre is an awesome venue!  The design of the theatre is directly based on the ancient Greek Theatre of Epidaurus.  Its an outdoor venue, which went perfect with sunny skies and the light breeze of the night.  The concert was general admission, so it was basically a free for all.  We were lucky enough to get seats down by the pit. Although, these so-called seats were more like cement steps.  Opening for Florence was San Francisco bred, Hanni El Khatib, creative director for HUF, now taking the music route.  While most of the crowd was still piling in during his performance, I enjoyed the sounds of his garage rock/bluesy tunes.  As I mentioned in the previous post, Florence and The Machine was beyond amazing!  And everyone that I met during the trip were the nicest people ever.  The next morning, we had brunch at a charming french restaurant by the name of La Note.  A perfect way to end the weekend!  Berkeley, thanks for being so good to me... I love you.



Bancroft Hotel


handmade crown from a street vendor on Telegraph Ave.


 Amoeba


Rasputin


 Cookies Rule Everything Around Me (CREAM)


 double choco chip cookie w/ mint ice cream sandwich from CREAM


 UC Berkeley Greek Theatre


 Hanni El Khatib


 the crowd doing the wave, while waiting for the show


Cote Nord from La Note: two lightly scrambled eggs w/ goat cheese over toasted levain bread, home fries, and roasted Provencal tomatoes. 


I met these two lovely ladies at the concert.  Super sweet and Oh so VERY stylish!

 I love how she paired this simple dress with her killer stockings+shoe combo!  This outfit has a great vintage feel to it.

 Such a cool play on colours.  And her textured jacket... craving it!

Thanks ladies *xoxo*







Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Florence and The Machine

      As if it were impossible to love her even more, after her performance at the UC Berkeley Greek Theatre, I'm officially head over heels with Florence and The Machine.  Not only can she belt out a note, but she is so charming and super cute!  With stage presence galore, I was mesmerized by her twirling and running around in a billowing yellow dress.  I felt like I was in a fantasy fairy land and Florence was the goddess of all things amazing!  Some highlights for me were, "Drumming Song", "Howl", and of course, "Rabbit Heart".  She did an acoustic version of "I'm not Calling you a Liar", which truly showed off her vocals.  There was even talk about a NEW album, as she test drove her new single, "What the Water Gave Me".  Oh, Florence and The Machine... you rock my universe. 

(click image to enlarge)




"and my running feet could fly, each breath screaming, we are all too young to die..."



I was down there... somewhere :)

Monday, June 6, 2011

CocoRosie.


Ok, so I've kind of been on a CocoRosie binge lately.  Even though some of their music videos creep me out, these sisters are so talented and freely express their creativity. Very inspiring!

BFD 2011

I wasn't too impressed with the lineup this year, BUT Snoop Dogg was a big one for me.  He had me on my little ol' dancing feet the whole time!

(click on image to enlarge)


Young the Giant

Forrest Day