the best weekend :)

11/5/22 - 11/7/22

I recently had the best weekend ever ! I got to go to three concerts in a row. Let me tell you about it :)

SATURDAY

Avery and I went to see Grent Perez. I didn't know who he was, but Avery is a fan and I love concerts so of course I went. I'm not really sure what his music genre is, so I looked it up and he says his music hovers around "indie, soul, jazz, and hip hop" so there you go.

I met Avery at Amsterdam Centraal in the late afternoon. I know I say this all the time, but taking the train in the Netherlands is SO ROMANTIC. Like looking out the window, listening to music, and sneakily people watching. Also, when you meet friends at the station. I saw Avery leaning against a column and we ran to each other and hugged and it was so cute. Like a movie.

Avery and I walked around and went shopping. We went to H&M (people call it "ha en em" funny right). I also got to show her Pull and Bear for the first time. I don't mean to brag but I knew about Pull and Bear years ago cuz the exchange student we hosted from France, Emma, showed it to me. They have the best sweatshirts, so cozy. We also went to Uniqlo. Avery bought jeans from H&M and a shirt and fanny pack from Uniqlo. I think this was also the first time Avery went to a Uniqlo. Also, somewhere in between this we were searching for boba because we are from Houston (home of yummy boba) and we wanted boba!! I like to think I'm a really good food searcher, so I pulled up google maps and immediately found the best boba shop; I think it had like 4.9 stars. I didn't realize though that the route took us through the Red Light district which is a very sex-positive part of town. But, we got to the boba shop and ordered really good boba.

We also visited de Bijenkorf which is a luxury shopping mall. We took the escalators up and immediately went back out because we could not afford anything haha. There was a Christmas section, though, and they had the prettiest ornaments. I really miss how this time of the year feels like in the US. Holiday season starts in October because of Halloween and also we really love to capitalize on the holidays. In the Netherlands, there is not so much Christmas spirit like how it is in Houston. The Christmas section in de Bijenkorf was a nice, festive moment. But the ornaments were like 30 euros so that killed the vibe instantly.

*expensive ornaments

We got sushi for dinner which I also found and which also took us through the Red Light district again, so we definitely got a lot of exposure to that part of town. There are prostitutes that stand behind a glass, and one of them opened the door and started walking towards these people near us. Avery freaked out and started running and I always freak out when others freak out, so we were both freaking out and running so we definitely looked like dumb little girls. It was funny, though. We got sushi and Avery changed into her new outfit. There was a tourist that came in to ask the workers where to get "the brownies that make you high" and Avery pointed him in the Red Light district so he could get his space brownies haha.

After, we went to the concert! There were so many cool people at the concert. They were all our age and had the best fashion taste. It felt nice to be around cool people because I don't want to be rude, but the exchange kids in the Netherlands are not the coolest people in the world. The venue was so cool. It smelled weird, was kind of musty, and had bad lighting, but it was perfect. It took me right back to the concerts at home which was the best thing ever. Avery and I spent 4 euro trying to use the lockers because we could not for the life of us figure out how to close the door and take the lock. Then, we went to the stage to wait for the performer.

Omg Grent Perez was amazing. The crowd was also amazing. The crowds in the Netherlands are way better than the crowds in the US. For the concerts I've gone to in Houston, everyone pushes each other, tries to cut in line, and talks bad about each other but loud enough so the person you're talking about knows you hate their guts. In the Netherlands, though, no one cut in line or pushed up against each other. Which now that I think about it, this is like doing the bare minimum, but still. Everyone was swaying to the music and hugging each other and it was the best time. There was even this one time where I was recording a video for Avery (who was bawling her eyes out to one of his songs haha) and the guy in front of me asked if I could see well enough. Omg the US could never. After the concert, we got to meet the singer, Grent, at the merch table! He was the sweetest ever. He signed me and Avery's pokemon cards too. Avery and I met new friends too! There is this girl who is studying in Amsterdam that was next to us and also the guys that were in front of us. They were all so nice!

*Grent signed our Pokemon cards!

Avery and I went back to my house. We missed one of the trains, so we waited at Utrecht Centraal for a little bit. There were these drunk guys and two of them fell on each other, and this random guy behind them started straight up laughing at them. That was really funny. That was my Saturday. One of my favorite days here so far.

SUNDAY

Okay, so originally Anna and I decided we were going to go to Tilburg in the morning and camp outside for the Driver Era, but then the weather said it was going to be cold and rainy, so we decided absolutely not. We met also in the late afternoon. It was SO COLD and SO RAINY. I was biking to the station and my jeans got soaked and I wanted to cry. Every train we took was crowded, so we had to stand for like two and a half hours. We finally got there and there was a long line of all girls just standing in the cold rain. Not fun.

Then, we went inside. This venue was way bigger, but the people here were less cool. It was a bunch of teenage girls, but their style was less good. The headliners are this brother duo and another one of their brothers plays the bass for their band. Also, the opener was their other brother so it was basically all their family there. Their opener/ their brother essentially just DJ'ed the set, but it was super fun. He played ABBA's "Gimme Gimme" and some other classics. He also played Harry Styles' "As It Was" so Anna freaked out because she is obsessed with Harry and he ended the set with Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" so I freaked out. I feel so bad for the girl in front of me because I was screaming so loud. After, we saw the Driver Era. Their music is pop and sounds very LA. I think their best song is "A Kiss", but honestly, their music is not my favorite. Still loved the concert though. At the end of their show, "Dancing Queen" played and everyone was singing together. That was probably the best part of the concert; it felt like a spiritual experience.

MONDAY

This day I went to see Luna Li with Mar. When we were on the train, Evie Maynes who is Luna Li's photographer DM'ed me back! Okay, so basically Luna Li and Evie are doing a tour project where they select one person from each city and that person brings them film, Evie shoots Luna Li with the film, and gives the polaroids back to the fan. I saw that somebody already took the spot for Amsterdam, but I decided to still try because I am a fan of Evie's work. Actually for one of my first concerts I saw, Evie was shooting for the opener (The Beaches) so I've been following her work since last December. I messaged her the week before, but she didn't respond, so I kind of forgot about it. But, on the train, she messaged me that I could bring her film! I was so excited, but then Mar said that it's hard to find film in Amsterdam which I hadn't even thought about because it's a city and aren't cities supposed to have everything? But, she was right. On the train ride, I was frantically calling camera shops, drugstores, and any other store I could think of that would have film. Most of them either didn't have film or were closing soon. Which, by the way, it was 6 pm and they were about to close??!! Plus, Amsterdam is a city. I also miss how late things close in the US and how convenient everything is in Houston. I automatically assumed I would be able to get film, but I did not take into account that I didn't have a car or a Best Buy nearby.

Mar and I were running all over the place, trying to find a pack of film. We went to Bijenkorf because I remembered seeing film cameras for sale when I went with Avery, we went to the Hema, and we even went to a vintage camera shop. Nobody had the right film!! I DM'ed Evie, though, and she said she would give me some pictures anyway which was so nice of her omg. Mar and I walked to the venue and there was no line! Luna Li must not be too famous here, but that meant we got barricade! We were at the same venue Grent Perez played, and I spent 6 euro trying to close the lockers, so that was tragic. That means I spent upwards of 10 euro just trying to close a locker. But, we got there, and the people there were cool, much cooler than the girls from the Driver Era. I was at barricade, and I turned around, and omg guess who I saw??! Evie Maynes! She was working the merch table, so I went up to her and said hi. We chatted for a bit about how the tour was going, why I am in the Netherlands, and how she became a concert photographer. I really want to be a concert photographer in college, so talking to Evie was surreal.

Then, the show started. Luna Li was so close to us, it was crazy. Before the show, Mar kept saying how she was worried she would be the oldest one there and that I would be embarrassed to be with her, but at the show, there was one older guy also there and she was like oh, I'm fine LOL. Mar at one point said "Oh, I recognize this song!" a little loud and that was a little embarrassing because we were feet away from Luna Li. Like omg, that is the person who sang that song, don't say that now! But, it was still so much fun. Luna Li's music sounds ethereal. I think her music style is dreamy pop and there are some classical elements because she knows how to compose music. Her moms are composers and she knows how to play the harp, violin, electric guitar, bass, drums, and piano. I highly recommend her music. "Cherry Pit", "What You're Thinking", "Boring Again" and "Afterglow" are my favorites. There was this one part of the concert where Luna Li asked us to hold hands with the person we came with and do a little meditation. That part felt like a core memory. Mar and I held hands, closed our eyes, and listed to Luna Li. I think I saw Mar crying after the meditation. Mar and I are truly kindred spirits; we both cry at concerts haha.

After the show, I got Luna Li's setlist and two polaroids Evie gave me. I also got to hug her and she said I could message her if I had any questions starting concert photography! Omg, another core memory! I also convinced Mar to buy merch with me, so now we have matching butterfly hoodies which is so iconic of us! After, we went to McDonald's to eat ice cream. Another perfect day!

This weekend was the most fun. Also, I learned that I know more about Amsterdam than Mar does haha. The whole day I was leading the way and taking her everywhere around Amsterdam to find the film. Okay, talk to you soon!

-Amelia