A Special Saturday

For my 42nd birthday last month, Stefaan surprised me with Aimee Mann's new album and tickets to her concert in Brussels - this was a great gift because I've been a fan for so long, and she seems to tour Europe every fall and we've never been. So yesterday was the big day!

We headed to Brussels and since we got there a bit early, we had time for a drink at Le Cirio, a well known art deco café and a personal favorite spot of mine. As we sat down, Stefaan noticed that Herr Seele was there (he is a Belgian artist, performer and cartoonist - see pic to the right). Of course the cool thing about Belgium is that people in public life can be out and about and no one bothers them a bit.

We got to the Ancienne Belgique and as we got in, we heard the opening act had just started. All I knew was that The Submarines are from Los Angeles, and as we were drawn into the concert hall, which was all decked out with starry lights, we were really pleasantly surprised by their music - the sound was fantastic, the songs grabbed me right away - they were well written and had such an imaginative sound- and Blake has the most amazing voice! The Submarines are actually a duo (Blake and John, right and middle in the picture) and for the tour, they are joined by drummer Jason (on the left), who was incredible. You can listen to their new album on their website - I'm listening to it now and it's great!

I think everyone was impressed with The Submarines, and they played a great set, full of energy. But then it was time to get the stage set up for Aimee Mann and her four musicians. More and more people crowded in (for this kind of concert the AB is a standing only venue). Stefaan went and got a couple of drinks for us while I tried to stay in a good spot (it's tricky when you're not that tall - I promised myself I would wear my platform shoes next time I come to the AB!)

Finally the lights dimmed and Aimee came on, and for the next hour and a half I was just totally engrossed and completely enjoying her music, the sound, the words... (I was completely in the NOW) She played a lot of songs from the new album (which is excellent), but also quite a few from "Bachelor No. 2", one of my all time favorite albums (I still listen to it in the car a lot - my kids know it backwards and forwards, because I sing along to all the songs when we drive somewhere) Aimee is amazing, a real artist. She and her band are wonderful - it just floors me how they make it look so easy to bring her songs to life! It was a great concert.

After it was over, we headed out to the Foyer of the AB. I saw that The Submarines were selling copies of their two CD's, so I got in line to buy them...they were so kind, they were taking the time to sign them for everyone and even exchange a few words with people. After Blake signed my copies (she noticed my American accent and asked where I was from), we asked John and Jason for their signatures as well, and spent a few minutes talking to Jason, who told us the AB was the best venue they had played in so far.

For us it was the best evening!

We headed home (yes, listening to Aimee some more) and after a good night's sleep we awoke to sunshine coming through the blinds....and so we had to take advantage of that and the kids being at Oma and Opa's...and go running! It had been a while for me, since I had been out sick for the past week, but amazingly enough, it went really well and we did 5 loops around the lake (7 km) in 45 minutes....and I didn't need an Ipod because the songs from last night were still playing in my head!

We are off now to pick up the kids and visit the family....happy Sunday!