Go Green!

So, I got a new mug today. As the people at work seem to find it rather hard to remember which mug they do not have to add milk to the tea, I figured it would be a nice idea to get a mug which stands out so they know which one is mine. I think this one lives up to that.

However, the best thing about this mug at the moment is that I brought it to the Los Campesinos! gig at Rough Trade. Afterwards, Gareth, the singer, hung around a bit to sign things (mostly albums as you had to buy that to get into the 'free' gig), and as he's also a vegetarian (well, vegan actually), I thought it would be quite funny to let him sign it. Which he did as you can see in the following picture. He seemed rather amused at the whole idea of signing the mug.

Though, as a guy, he couldn't just leave it at that. I've only been in England for 3 months now, but so far I've got the feeling that English guys like to tease girls a bit. Gareth lived up to this expectation by also signing my name onto the mug. Or make that into. Seriously! Now how am I going to use this mug to drink? And maybe even more important: how am I going to explain at work that I've got a mug saying "Fuck a Vegetarian" signed by a guy?

And for those of you who don't even have a clue who Gareth Campesinos! is (shame on you! Go listen to 'You! Me! Dancing' right now!):

Or as Ilse recently described him: "[Gareth] is as fluffy as a panda bear." Sorry, Ilsea (XD) I have to disagree: Gareth is far more fluffier.

And gig reviews:

These New Puritans and unknown support @ Bush Hall: Yes, unknown support. There was no support act listed on any website, though someone did show up. He was absolutely horrible and did not know when to stop (his manager/girlfriend/other apparently somehow important person kept signalling he had to stop, but it took him another give or take 15 minutes to actually reach the end of his set after this subtle warning, much to the annoyance of the entire audience). Fortunately, TNPS (they came up with the 'S' themselves, I guess they don't want to be confused with The New Pornographers) were much better. They'd brought an entire brass section along to accompany them on the songs of their new album 'Hidden', which sounded absolutely marvellous. However, when they played songs of their previous album, they sounded rather blah and flat. So I'm still rather undecided about their life performance, as they seemed to flutter between utter brilliance and bland pop music.

Los Campesinos! @ Rough Trade: I love Los Campesinos!, so I might be just a bit too prejudiced to write another review on them. The instore today was to promote their new, second album Romance is Boring, which is officially released tomorrow, but already for sale at Rough Trade today. I'm not as in love with it yet as I was with the first album Hold on now, youngster... or the record We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (yes, there is a difference between an album and a record, apparently), but still, it's got its moments. One of those being the simply brilliant song 'The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future', which I rated a 10/10 song on Crazy Zany Radio Sunday at some point. But there also songs with brilliant lines as

I think we need more post-coital and less post-rock / feels like the build-up takes forever but you never touch my cock

Yes, very subtle indeed. Unfortunately, the audience didn't really like singing along to these lines. Ah, better luck next time (25 Feb! Yay!)

Set list (as I was acting like a 14-year old fan girl anyway, I also snatched a set list from Tom Campesinos!):
I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know
A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Shape Of The Show Me State; or, Letters From Me To Charlotte
There Are Listed Buildings
I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
Romance Is Boring
Who Fell Asleep In
Plan A
Straight In At 101
This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind.
The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future