music and arcades

Congratulations! If you guys have read all the blogs thus far, you are up to date on our travels. But returning from Italy, we haven't slowed down. We did need a break though. So for the first week or two back, we did a whole lot of nothing. Watching soccer and going to pubs. But then we were kicked back into gear by a Hull City soccer game. Courtesy of a generous birthday gift from Stephanie (the sister), we enjoyed Hull City play as terrible as they're known for. But Premier League is Premier League and it was a joy to be in the rowdy stadium as drunken men cheered for the incompetent Tigers.

Last weekend was spent in Liverpool and Blackpool. Getting into Liverpool in the late afternoon, we quickly checked into our hostel and set off to tour the town. Shopping at the same-old redundant English department stores, it was all just putting off the true plans. A concert. An incredible concert.

Liverpool must have missed the memo and decided not to show up, because the venue was scarce. 5 bands for only 6 pounds, this show was worth its weight in gold. First stop? Concert tees! Second stop? Front row. First band? The Wild. The only band of the 5 we didn't know, the band was a surprise. With only about 15 people in the crowd, they struggled to get the crowd involved and ruined their set because of it. Steph and I agree that when we go to a concert, we like to simply enjoy the music and maybe sing along. When we have a singer, therefore, that demands you jump and move and dance every 5 seconds, we quickly get annoyed. Too bad too, because they had some good music.

The second band was Rio, a local English band. They were absolutely incredible. They played a short, high-energy set that was a lot of fun. The third band was the Dangerous Summer. Considering their show in Iowa got cancelled a year ago because of a blizzard, I was very excited to see them. They played a great set including all of our favorites (even the single famously used in the Hull, England Keswick episode!). I loved them, Steph liked them. After meeting them after the show, Steph loved them (THEY WERE SOOOO NICE!!).

Band 4 was a shared interest and Steph's highlight. As long as we've listened to Anarbor, we have still never gotten a chance to see them. Their music was great, and their show was awesome. Steph would probably consider it the best of the 5, but I would argue the Swellers were. Band number 5. I had no clue who the Swellers were when we bought the tickets, but I quickly bought the CD and was blown away. Their music is fast, loud, and often pretty rough. I think they realized that I was the only kid in the crowd belting out the lyrics to every song, and they acknowledged us a few times. Steph got some credit too for sporting a pretty sharp Swellers T-shirt.

The highlight of the night? Before the final song (one of my favorites played due to my request), the bass player pointed at Steph and I and said, and I quote, "This one goes out to you two; the lovebirds." Can you imagine that? He must watch our videos and read our blog.

The next morning, we went to Blackpool. Steph compared it to the Jersey Shore. I compared it to a city made from a mix of Adventureland and Treasure City. We went back and forth from loving it to hating it. In hindsight, however, we loved it but would hesitate to go back. Needing to save some money, we opted out of going to the amusement park and rather explored every pier and arcade in sight. We probably spent 20 pounds on shooting games and 2-cent carnival games, but it was well worth it. The food was awful and the atmosphere was completely overwhelming, but it was a unique experience.

Not much more to say about it really. Just two kids doing kid things in a city made for kids.

Tomorrow? Last game of the season. Going to Manchester to cheer on our team with like-minded locals in some dirty pub.