#I of course know their setlist varies from city to city but if they played Church I would've thrown myself into the crowd from section 217 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

king-krisu · 10 months

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Guide to Käärijä's gigs for the Euro fans

So I asked a few days ago if people (especially Euro fans) were interested in a sort of "guide" to Käärijä's concerts. Surprisingly many said yes so here it is lol. I'll mostly cover setlist and what he does during songs, + mid-speeches and what topics he usually covers. Of course he might change things up for the tour in October, but incase he does keep some of the elements from this summer you'll know atleast a little bit beforehand :)

I've been to 7 gigs myself now and translated 15, so I've seen/heard a lot of the stuff he does. I'm also planning to go to a few more so I'll update this if needed.

Feel free to chime in with anything you feel like is missing!

Let's start with basic structure:

Around mid-june he started including a pre-recorded intro to his concerts before he walks on stage. This will play either before of after the pink guys come on stage. This intro is spoken by Esko Seppänen (the host of Urheilucast). It goes something like: "Dear Kääryleet. For the first time ever in history, there are more people in the Käärijä concert audience than on stage. And to make sure our main man doesn't shit his pants [from nerves], we'll need to welcome him to this beat" and then the Daltons will start clapping. This is when Jere walks on stage, wearing his black leather jacket + sunglasses which he doesn't take off until 2-3 songs in.

After this, he'll start with Intro, the song (not the same as on the Fantastista album). It consists of slow, strong techno beats where he'll tell people "Ja huutaa woo-oo" = "and you say woo-oo" and later on "say käärijä" (audience response), and finally "say cha cha cha" (audience response). Later on, this will include the guitars from Fantastista, as well as lyrics from it, Klo23 and other songs, during which he usually says the name of the city/country. Afterwards it'll bleed into the actual Fantastista song, and after that usually straight into Rock Rock (Daun Lou remix). After Allas Sea Pool (30.6) he sometimes changes from Fantastista to play Yhtä Vailla, which usually ends before the voice crack verse, and in the last chorus he says the name of the event instead of the lyrics (like "Porvoo - Viini - Juhlat for example).

This is when he'll do his first mid-speech (usual topics listed later below).

After this the setlist varies a bit, though he'll usually go with Auto Jää (feat. Antti Tuisku). If Häärijä is at the concert (which I think he'll def be), he'll join the guys for the Auto Jää dance. Jere will ask if anyone knows the dance, and usually he makes a lot of contact with the ones who do dance with him.

This is when he'll do another mid-speech

Now during this mid-speech he often goes into the audience to grab gifts and comment on them, and this is the start of the more engaging interactions.

From here the setlist might vary a lot. He could go with Hirttää Kiinni or some more obscure songs. From here on out he usually does speeches between every song, and they rarely bleed into one another. If Häärijä is present, he'll join the stage for the Mic Mac dance, where Jere will once again ask if the audience knows the choreo. Afterwards the pink guys often "shoo" him [Häärijä] off stage, and pretend he's some weird stalker. For Paidaton Riehuja he seques into it by asking if any shirts will be coming off tonight. Välikuolema usually comes on during the middle, where he'll often pretend to sleep on stage and have the audience yell the "Herää!" part at him. Inbetween these songs might be "filler" songs of more rare ones (listed below). He always does Viulunkieli as the last song before CCC, and here he'll ask the audience to yell out the "Kiree!" parts, so once again it's good to learn them. During the last chorus he'll often say thank you and something like "Te ootte iha pimeit!". Finally, he goes to walk off stage. The Daltons usually stay on stage and stand still, and Jere goes backstage to change into the green bolero. Then, after a few chants, Cha Cha Cha's beat will start playing and he'll come back. Usually he'll have a water bottle to pour over himself when he walks on stage. He always does CCC twice, he finishes it once and listens to audience reactions. After Porvoo 14.7 he started making the audience squat down until the first chorus plays. He'll say something like "I want everyone to party and dance and go crazy". After this CCC the concert actually ends.

BONUS:

Sometimes if he's feeling up for it, Jere will come outside of the venue afterwards to give autographs etc. This happened in Naantali (i think lol), Lohja, Allas Sea Pool (tho it was before) and several others. Do with this information what you will, idk how likely this is abroad but he does do this quite often.

This is the setlist of songs heard at every gig:

Auto Jää (feat. Antti Tuisku)

Välikuolema

Hirttää Kiinni

Mic Mac

Viulunkieli

Cha Cha Cha (twice)

This is the setlist of songs not heard at every gig (but have been performed):

Klo23

Fantastista

Urheilujätkä

Yhtä Vailla

Kiertävä Sirkus

Paidaton Riehuja

Menestynyt Yksilö

Siitä Viis

Punainen Marli (only at Allas)

Kovis (not on spotify)

Morgan (not on spotify)

Here's some of the usual topics he covers during his speeches (as well as what he does in general)

So the first mid-speech after Rock Rock remix usually includes the sunglasses still. He might ask how the audience is doing and talk about the city where he's in. This one isn't as interactive as the others, and it often isn't overly long (like 1-2 minutes). The start is more music heavy, but later on the speeches can be over 5 minutes in length.

To get a sense of how much he talks on stage, I have 21 minutes of speech footage from Lohja (17 of which is mine), and the entire gig was an hour. Essentially, his gigs are 2/3 music and 1/3 standup lmao.

The second mid-speech, usually after Auto Jää, is about Antti Tuisku and how he's retiring. He then often asks if anyone goes to Antti's gigs/listens to his music, and he often jokes "Hiljasta on" = "it's pretty quiet". Afterwards he'll joke about how he'll soon end up like that too, with no one going to his gigs. This is often a segue into him being grateful for the audience and how he'll enjoy it all now since it might be gone next year. At this point he'll ask if anyone watched Eurovision. He'll then talk about how he'll probably never go again and share some random anecdotes about his time there. He usually ends every mid-speech with "Eiköhän jatketa" = "let's continue, shall we?"

After this, the topics range from the city he's in, anyone in the audience he might recognize to random stuff that's happened to him during the week. He often asks if people have seen him live before, and he usually jokes that it'll probably be their last as well.

During the summer he's asked people if they have summer jobs, and he'll turn to the silent ones saying "Oh I relate to you unemployed one's, I'm on your side" (this is also sometimes a segue into him being grateful for having such an audience atm).

At some point he asks how the audience is doing, going through each section (front, back, left, right), and he'll pick a few to talk about. This is always meant as a joke, and he never makes fun of people. The roasts that people talk about online are truly never over the line, and he never attacks anyones physical appearance etc. He usually doesn't respond to actual hecklers, but if someone genuienly is bothering he'll shut it down pretty fast. Most often he's made fun of people for camping outside to get in front row, being rich and coming to the outside venues with a boat etc, being "poor" and watching from the sidelines (lol) or being there for the 3/4/5th etc time. At any 18+ concerts he does flirt with the audience, but it's often vague stuff like "Yeah don't worry you'll get that hotel room key later" or if someones asked for a kiss, he's turned it into one on the cheek (like Naantali). He often gives hugs as well even without asking (as in if he talks to you he might hug you as well, but not without consent). But any "roasts" aren't actually meant in any malicious way, and it's often meant to make someone laugh with you, not at you. Flirting too is very tame and I have never seen him touch someone, it's usually all talk and jokes.

Gifts from the audience are sometimes collected by his crew going back and forth in the front, and by Jere himself. If you wave a shirt/sign he'll usually notice it and comment somehow (though please don't hold signs etc super high up so people behind you can't see). He's taken scratch lottery tickets and played them, fairy wings, hats (literally all of them), bras (he wears all of them lol), "adoption papers", paper fans, drinks, signs, drawings, paintings, and all other kinds of fanmade stuff. Famously he also took a pink bolero in Lohja and put it on, you can never really predict what he'll do and what he's gonna comment on. Genuienly he wears EVERYTHING so please feel free to have almost anything with you lol (though he has said he has a lot of gifts already so maybe think twice on this lol). He performed Yhtä Vailla at Allas Sea Pool all because a fan had a sign with it written on it, and he suddenly decided to perform it. So anything can happen 💀

For now this is all I can come up with, if there's anything you feel like is missing etc please do comment! I recommend checking tags etc to see additional info (+ I'll update this myself as time goes on).

Hopefully you found this informative <3 I wrote this at 2am so sorry for any typos lmao

#käärijä #perkele #eurovision #finland #jere pöyhönen #saatana #suomi #suomitumblr #vittu #cha cha cha #käärijä live #käärijä translated #käärijä concert #käärijä tour #käärijä europe tour #käärijä setlist

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yridenergyridenergy · 7 years

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Dir en grey Tour From depression to ___ [mode of MACABRE] Tokyo day 2 live report

This was the last show I could attend this tour, and wow was it the best one. I want to start by warning that the following could be considered spoilers, since this concert will also appear on the DVD. Usually nobody minds knowing, but just in case. After reading reports of yesterday's show and how bland the audience was, I was determined to at least punctuate that sea of people with my legendary raised arm, as well as at least clapping. There were still some songs that ended with silence, but overall it was a lot livelier than what it looks like yesterday was. They used a new opening sequence that I had apparently not seen yet, since Nagoya day 2 hah. It has a sort of horror carnavalesque music and the video shows medieval scenes, like a freaky bride, a castle, etc. It was a powerful moment to experience out of nowhere, in my case. Then, deity starts and the members are already on stage except Kyo, and due to the video being projected on the veil and the loud music, I think nobody at all screamed for their arrival, unlike every other time. Tonight, Kyo had the long cloak he has had since Osaka, but he let some strands of the harness around it stand straight outward somehow, which really gave the impression of antennas or other insect parts during the shadow projection, when he bent. I am so glad I was able to hear Tousei finally in this tour. It had not been part of the setlists for the shows I attended ever since they played it in Osaka day 2. And I had a good seat in the front area (not that close to the stage but literally the best seat I have had in this tour yet), the person who had the seat in front of me never showed up so that somewhat singled me out in a way and gave me a good view, and I kept my arm up to connect with the band and show support, while mouthing the lyrics and almost crying, and I swear Kyo looked at me a few times during Tousei and the rest of the concert and nodded slightly, like we knew what the whole thing was about. I think he had noticed that I was moving a lot, along with what the band was actually doing too, in Wake. I know every fan must be saying that at least once, but I swear it is true hah. Anyway, there were a few cool times where both Kyo and Toshiya bent down during hard moments, at the same time. It really made the moment more powerful, and that was not done on purpose at all. During perhaps Berry, Kaoru and Die faced each other on the right side and played guitar like that, grinning. Kyo barely spoke this time. I think he barely even said 'Nakano' or 'Tokyo'. Instead, right before the last song, he pointed to sections of the crowd and when they shouted, he pounded the mic on his chest, over his heart. He also did that pounding at the beginning of Tousei, by the way. Kaoru was wearing similar pants to before, buf the bandage-like parts were red and black instead of white and black. At the end, he bent down, sideward, offering his ear to the crowd, as if saying: "I'll only throw more picks if I hear what I want." Kyo again wiped some of his makeup on a towel before throwing it. Instead of spitting water on the fans, he let most of his bottle's content pour on the stage while he made his way to the edge and then threw it away. I think I am really forgetting something (I am certain that something happened during KR Cube), but man, this show was so awesome. Great way to finish my personal tour. I so wish I could for sure attend September's. It was so great following Dir en grey across Japan, in those four cities. Dir en grey certainly makes tourism blossom. It was great seeing them, but especially Kyo, grow more and more into the songs, of course making me tag along even if I had not wanted to. It was great seeing the lighting used in this tour vary slightly at each venue depending on their limitations. I can totally understand why they would want to film the shows in Nakano Sun Plaza: it was grandiose, especially with that theatrical curtain all around the stage. It was so cute watching Die stay on the stage the longest every single time. He seems so timid, like he clearly wants to grab all the attention to himself, and it warms him up inside, but he doesn't know how to deal with it either so he bows his head and turns his gaze away shyly sometimes. Expect a drawing of at least the encore outfits, probably.

#Direngrey #Dir en grey #livereport #fromdepressionto #MACABRE #modeofMACABRE

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tonguetiedmag · 5 years

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interview: walk off the earth

Ontario based five-piece band Walk Off The Earth are getting ready to embark upon their largest tour to date in the coming months of 2019. The tour currently consists of 33 dates- with more to be announced in the near future. The band will be playing all over the world to fans new and old with songs ranging from all of their records. The band will also be releasing their next studio album, with a title yet to be released to the public, to accompany this tour. The band talks about how this release will have a lot more aspects from what they typically do on their youtube covers (which have gained immense popularity). All in all, I believe this band will be putting on a fascinating and interesting show as all members of the band have such an exclusive and uncommon sound, not only to their voices but to their abilities to transform any instrument into something that is totally different from what you have heard before.

You are said to have a new release coinciding with your upcoming tour, can you tell us a little bit about your album? Is it similar to the last release or did you guys take any different approaches towards it?

Our upcoming 2019 un-titled album is definitely refreshingly different from our last two studio albums. First off there will be a lot more collaborations with outside artists than we have done in the past. Some of the collabs will be out of left field and will surprise but delight our fans we believe. Secondly, sonically speaking we have embraced more of the organic sounds that we use in our Youtube cover videos as opposed to the pop synth sounds that have backed our original music in the past. Other than that it will be a lot of the melodic and beat-driven flavors that WOTE fans are used to.

When writing this new album, was there any one inspiration behind the making of the album?

Yes and No! No because making and writing music is just our passion and there wasn't any one storyline or vibe that we were chasing. Yes because knowing that we have this amazing fan base that gets so much positivity from our music is a huge inspiration for us to create.

What song are you guys most proud to be releasing and why?

It's really hard to say because they all mean so much and as artists, they are all our children, so it's hard to pick a favorite.

What can we expect from future releases from the band?

We have so many projects on the burner! We have a cartoon series in production, a mockumentary series in development, 15 music video releases in 2019 and much more live shows around the world!

Since this is your largest tour to date, what aspects of this tour do you think will have a lasting impression on you? (I would love to follow up with you guys after this tour to see if that impression stuck with you.)

Every time we tour it brings us new stories and new amazing memories. Over the years the shows have gotten better and better as our fan base has grown with us. A good portion of our attendance are people that have seen us 4-6 times and are educated in what to expect. So the atmosphere has evolved into this magical place where people let loose, dance and sing their hearts out. So to answer your question, we are looking forward to it being better than it's ever been before!

You guys are embarking on a tour across the world, do you have favorite locations? Is there a specific reason as to why?

Every country and city has a special place in our heart and they all have unique perks. We really love touring North America because there are so many different landscapes and the culture slightly changes from place to place. Some of our fav cities are Tokyo (Crowd Surfing) Vancouver (Mountains/Sushi) Amsterdam (Sun/Pubs etc!). and of course New York City as it has a magical element to it that cannot be explained. We tried to explain it in our latest release "Fifth Avenue".

What do you guys enjoy most about touring?

Definitely the time on stage with the fans and the hangs after the shows. We all don't love the travel and the lack of sleep!

Will your setlist include old and new songs? Is there going to a be a consistent set of songs or will it be mixed up every show?

There will be new and old more well know songs. The sets will slightly vary night to night.

You have your own unique style but do you guys have any certain artists that you are inspired by?

As one of the main writers and producers, I try not to listen to one artist too much as it will subconsciously make you sound like them. I'm always listening to other people's playlists.

This question is a Tongue Tied signature; How would you describe your music to a deaf person?

Visual!

Listen to their new single here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJtfSkQhVVw

Check out Walk off the Earth:

https://www.walkofftheearth.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/walkofftheearth

https://www.facebook.com/walkofftheearth/

https://twitter.com/WalkOffTheEarth

Interview by: Sabrina Amoriello

#walk off the earth #concert #music #tour #live music #worldwide #worldwide tour

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awkwardspiritanimals · 7 years

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do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive (vax and the mountain goats)

i’m doing a set of meta pieces where i take a critical role character and pick five mountain goats songs that i think they would like and that i associate with them, and then writing meta posts of varying middle lengths about them in my college!au. you can read the longer explanation on the project and find links to the other completed pieces here, and here’s the mountain goats wikipedia page if you’re unfamiliar. this is also a decent quick primer on them. i’ll link my favorite version of each song i use so you can listen along.

this is the second part, which belongs to vax.

i. when you punish a person for dreaming his dream, don’t expect him to thank or forgive you

this is the first mountain goats song that vax loves, although before he really loves the song itself he loves the way that it annoys his father.

there are few things better, in those early days right after they’ve moved in with their father, than going up to his room after a lecture and playing the best ever death metal band in denton as loudly as he can, shouting hail satan! hail satan! over and over again. vex usually just rolls her eyes and makes him change the song after five or six repeats.

she’s always been more easily hurt by their father’s disapproval than him, one of the very few things he’s never completely been able to understand when it comes to his sister, the way her face would fall during his lectures, and vax hated all of it, the lecture and the not understanding and look on her face. sometimes, when their father would turn around to gaze forlornly out the window of his study or whatever other over-dramatic gesture he’d decided was appropriate for the situation, vax would lean over and whisper hail satan hail satan hailsatanhail until vex smiled, until he could construct that small and fragile and important shield for her.

he plays it, the night their father agrees to pay for school, as they’re driving home. it feels different than what it had been when he was younger and trapped in that house (when you punish a person for dreaming his dream, don’t expect him to thank or forgive you), because this feels like a victory somehow. maybe not total, maybe not permanent, but a victory, for vax and vex and the things they want to do and the people they want to be (will in time both outpace and outlive you).

ii. you must try to lead a good life

of all of them, vax likes the mountain goats’ early stuff the best. percy probably owns more of it, just because he owns more of their music in general, and scanlan’s the one with the encyclopedic knowledge, but it’s vax who really loves them the most.

there’s something about it, the tinny quality of darnielle’s voice and the static from the old boombox and all of it, the way it should sound far away but actually sounds very close somehow. he likes that they don’t show up on setlists very often except when someone shouts a request and jd is struck by a certain mood, likes the give and take and closeness of that.

it’s not at all that he dislikes the newer albums, with the horn parts and backing choirs and drums (what a thing it is, that drums can be considered more complicated than what came before it) but there is something, about jd’s voice, slightly distorted, and the guitar, twangy and overloud, and the static.

something close that vax appreciates.

iii. spread the word around, the boys are back in town

there was a day, that first summer in emon, before tiberius had left and pike had started spending most of her summers in other cities and they’d all gotten busier and busier, that is bright and golden in vax’s memory.

it had been in early july, a long way from both the end of the last school year and the beginning of the next, one of those days that was too nice to stay inside but absolutely too hot to do anything outside unless it was in the shade, and vex knew the city parks like the back of her hand, knew a corner of one where they could park beneath a couple of huge trees away from the crowds and enjoy the weather together.

this was before grog had bought his van, so they’d had to take two cars, the girls in keyleth’s little vw (poor cassandra, in the middle of her last growth spurt and taller now than all of them except for grog and her brother, automatically got shotgun because climbing into the back would have almost certainly required dislocating something) and the boys in percy’s truck (scanlan in the middle of the cab because he’s the only one short enough to sit there comfortably, grog and tiberius in the bed with slinger because they’re taller than vax, although grog probably would have volunteered anyway. vax isn’t sure anyone has ever loved having a friend with a truck like grog loves having a friend with a truck).

vax played the song very, very loudly (most people would say too loudly, but vax has always had trouble with that concept as a whole. this is not in any way a metaphor for anything, of course), and the girls played cyndi lauper back. (the boys are back in town/oh, girls just wanna have fun)

they’d ended up playing frisbee of all things, once they’d grown bored of just sitting in their cars with the doors open so the air could flow. keyleth had one in her trunk, vax suspected in the hope that somehow this exact situation would arise, and she’d been simply delighted by all of it, even when scanlan made a crack about how someone should be photographing them for a brochure. it had been so hot that percy had been wearing a t-shirt, long, twisted scars visible all up his right arm (car crash was all he’d told vax a few months before, when he’d caught a glimpse of them under percy’s sleeve, and something in his voice had made vax think that in this one thing, at least, he should be slow and cautious), but both he and his sister were smiling, cass throwing tennis balls from the passenger footwell of the truck for slinger and laughing when grog started to race the dog to retrieve them, vex and percy competing to hit various trees with the frisbee, pike picking their targets and judging their aim.

(tiberius stayed in the bed of the truck, reading. he was only back in emon for a week or so to do some research in the university’s library, didn’t have a lot of free time to spend doing anything else. he’d agreed to come that day, but he’d already been drifting away from them, caught up in his family’s wishes and his own work, and maybe they should have realized what was happening, maybe they shouldn’t have been so surprised when he sent an email instead of showing up for the first day of classes in the fall, but they were. you never really expect your family to leave, no matter how much experience you might have in the matter.

but he was there, that day. distant, yes, distracted, but present. that was important.)

vax was charmed by all of it, keyleth’s joy and scanlan’s teasing, the way grog threw himself full-body into chasing after the tennis balls with at least as much joy as slinger did, cass doubling over with laughter, all her usual dignity deserted. his sister in the sun, grinning each time the frisbee connected with a solid thunk against the chosen tree, sticking her tongue out at percy when he matched her and dancing with pike when he didn’t. percy was more patient though, more calculating, and when he hit one ten paces off over his shoulder just to show he could and then smirked, vex’s expression got caught halfway between wanting to kiss him and wanting to fight him; there was significantly less confusion and less violence in pike’s.

in the winter sometimes, when the air was so cold it stung on the walks between classes and it was sort of hard to remember what the heat of the sun actually felt like, he remembers that day a lot, because that’s when he needs it the most, needs the warmth and the light of it. they spend a lot of time at scanlan’s in the winter, because his heating is the best and most reliable, scanlan complaining while he and pike make dinner from whatever stuff vex had gotten on sale that day, the de rolos putting out formal place settings with mismatched silverware and plastic cups.

vax mostly just tries to stay of people’s way, puts himself in charge of taking advantage of scanlan’s excellent sound system. he doesn’t know if anyone else remembers that one day like he does, but he plays the song anyway.

(the nights are getting warmer, it won't be long, it won't be long till summer comes)

iv. do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive

vax is learning, as he gets older and grows into himself, that not everything can be solved by rushing in and doing your best. he is learning that there are some things that you can’t solve just by poking and prodding at them until they break wide open and you can face them. (percival’s scars almost always tucked away underneath long sleeves, the very specific way that cassandra’s spine goes rigid around certain authority figures. grog’s childhood before he met pike. scanlan’s mother, keyleth’s mother, pike’s parents. vex’ahlia’s fear that she is not good enough. there were lots of these things, and there always have been, and vax is trying his best to learn them, to tread carefully. he doesn’t always get it right.)

but he is still, by nature, impulsive and too fast and halfway into trouble before he even thinks about the consequences. there are things, he believes in his heart, that must be brought tumbling down before they can heal, and that they are just as important as the things that must be slowly and cautiously uncovered. there can be healing in all that tumbling, in disturbing the unstable base of something enough that it topples over and the pieces of it scatter.

some things have to fall apart before you can really fix anything. (do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive.) vax practically specializes in it, and he thinks it would be selfish to keep that to himself.

some days, he drags himself out of bed at ass o’clock in the morning to go running with grog, to spot him while he lifts. he picks the locks on the greenhouses on campus, nights keyleth gets a little drunk and is convinced only the plants will really understand. when percy takes a fourth straight overnight shift at victor’s, he’ll drag a chair in from the poorly lit lobby and drink coffee he thinks is part motor oil, or sit in the passenger seat of the tow truck and flip the radio stations. he listens to very, very loud music with scanlan and stays up nights helping pike study even though he doesn’t know what half the medical jargon in her books means and tries to cover the ends of cass’s shifts at kima’s whenever she looks dead on her feet.

he looks after vex’ahlia as best he can, pushes her when he thinks she needs it and protects her when he can (he gets it wrong, sometimes, still, after all these years, but the thing about his sister is that she never holds it against him, not for very long. vex never forgets a debt, but she has again and again forgiven his mistakes.)

vax is glad that he’s not alone in watching out for them. they all watch out for each other, and even then they miss things, but they’re trying their best. they’re family, after all.

he’s more than happy to do his part. (find limits past the limits and stay alive. just stay alive.)

v. but they came, and when they finally made it here, it was the least that we could do to make our welcome clear

their little family sort of stumbles together, and it wasn’t anything that he had expected when he and vex arrived in emon, but vax leans into it anyway. growing up it had just been him and vex and their mother, and after their father had taken an interest in them, it had really just been the two of them, so a big group like this, a big family, was new.

and it kept getting bigger, was the thing. there was the seven of them, and they were one thing, different and separate in ways he couldn’t quite articulate but that he knew existed. but the others, the branching network of people they’ve surrounded themselves with, were just as necessary to the whole of it, and just as unexpected. gilmore, kima and allura and drake, kash and zahra. even victor, who owns the mechanic’s shop that percy works at and never complains when six or seven of them crowd into his tiny waiting room to do homework while percy works, as long as they stay out of the way of any actual customers.

none of them were from emon, but they’d all ended up here and they’d all found each other, stumbling or not, and they’d made a home here, a family. unexpected as it may have been, vax wouldn’t have it any other way.

#vax #vax'ildan #critical role #vox machina #the machina goats #straight up this is mostly just so i could write that middle scene #like i think all of these are v good songs that vax would like and listen to #but like.... mostly it's just so i could write that park scene #also props to myself for that heavy handed jenga metaphor in the middle there i reallyworked for that one #jenga #disaster asshole family #lots of non-album versions for these songs because i know good non-album versions

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kansascityhappenings · 5 years

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Super Bowl LIII prop bets: A look at the bizarre novelty wagers for the big game

youtube

Some people will tell you that prop bets are for suckers. And those people suck.

Prop betting has become one of the most popular wagering options for both squares and sharps alike, according to sister site Covers.com.

When it comes to the professional bettors – those fabled Vegas wiseguys – they don’t care what the bet is. Their biggest concern is value: do they have a significant edge over the book to make money on that bet?

Whether that’s on the Super Bowl pointspread or time of the first score of the game, money won is money won. That said, there are “smarter” prop bets to make, like handicapping prop odds for things you can actually research and quantify.

You can crunch the numbers around the longest made field goal for Super Bowl LIII and have an educated prediction. You can’t, however, accurately forecast the fashion habits of Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine and know whether he’ll wear a hat during the halftime show. I mean you can try. And boy do we try.

For all of you Super Bowl bettors — the so-called suckers — who love those unpredictable and often absurd novelty prop options: we salute you. That’s true gambling. Let’s do the impossible.

*Note: Most novelty props that can’t be officially graded in a box score are not allowed to be offered in legal sports betting states like Nevada or New Jersey. These types of props are only available online or in Europe sportsbooks. If you can’t legally take part in those markets, these predictions should simply be treated as entertainment only.

COIN TOSS

The same folks that poo-poo prop betting are the same ones that crap all over wagering on the coin toss.

Yes, it’s an actual coin toss with no way to predict what will happen. Pure 50/50. But, it’s also a coin toss, so there’s no outside factors like weather or in-game injuries that will spoil a play you thought you handicapped perfectly. Just let her rip.

Another reason to love betting on the coin toss: it’s the miso soup of Super Bowl bets. It’s quick, and early on, and you don’t have to go nuts and bet a ton of money on it. The coin toss is just a little taste to warm up your gut for the all-you-can-eat feast that is Super Sunday.

As it stands, Tails holds a 27-25 edge over Heads in Super Bowl coin toss history. Tails had hit in four straight Big Games before Heads showed up last year at Super Bowl LII. Is Heads due to come up again in order to balance out the universe or is Tails still the hot pick? Reminder: it’s a coin toss, so don’t lose too much sleep.

A couple other coin toss trends to consider (but are actually pure fluff): the NFC has won 18 of the past 21 Super Bowl coin flips but lost last year when the AFC Champion Patriots took the toss. That was just the second time in New England’s eight Super Bowl showings under Bill Belichick that the Pats won the toss – and they lost both of those games (2012, 2018).

Again, it’s a coin toss. Have fun.

PREDICTION: Tails (-105)

NATIONAL ANTHEM LENGTH

Motown legend Gladys Knight has the honors of singing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LIII. The 74-year-old songstress from Atlanta has an Over/Under of 107 seconds (could vary per sportsbook), which is well below last year’s 120-second total for pop singer Pink, who clocked in at 112 seconds and cashed in for Under bettors.

Going back over the past 28 Super Bowls, the average length of the anthem is about 115 seconds but recent singers have really milked the spotlight with longer versions of the “Star-Spangled Banner”. Before Pink, three consecutive singers went over two minutes with their anthem performance and looking back at those past 28 Super Bowls, just seven versions of the anthem stayed below the current O/U of 107 seconds.

I did some YouTube sleuthing and found a recording of Knight singing the anthem back in 1991, with her finishing with a time around 105 seconds. That was 27 years ago. According to my fellow Covers Live Wire host and professional stage performer/singer Maddy Palmer, Knight’s age and breathing control have her leaning toward the Under. Maddy believes Knight won’t have the pipes to go all out like some younger anthem singers in the past. She’ll keep it quick and clean.

Good enough for me.

PREDICTION: Under 107 (-115)

HALFTIME SHOW

Is it just me or does Maroon 5 not have enough clout to play the Super Bowl halftime show? Beyoncé, Prince, Paul McCartney, The Rolling “F-ing” Stones, and… Maroon 5. One of these things is not like the others. I guess that’s what you get when every other major musical act passes on the chance due to their stand on the NFL vs. Colin Kaepernick. But I digress.

Props around the halftime show are abundant, with Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi (God, I’d love an all Outkasts halftime show!) scheduled to appear. As mentioned above, you can wager on whether Levine will sport a hat to start the show or not, but by now that’s standard Super Bowl prop betting fare. I think the real money is in the opening song markets.

Some books have “Moves Like Jagger” as the front runner to kick off the halftime show while other have songs like “One More Night”, “Sugar”, and “Makes Me Wonder” at the top of this prop. You can grab most of these between +300 and +600.

The one trend I’ve noticed in recent Super Bowl halftime shows is a “psych out song” to open. They start playing the tune from one song but then start singing another:

We saw Lady Gaga do this three years ago with “God Bless America” and then jumping into “Poker Face”, Bruno Mars did it in 2014 with a kids choir singing “Billionaire” then he went in with “Locked Out Of Heaven”, and Beyoncé crossed us up with a “Run The World (Girls)”/Vince Lombardi mashup then singing “Love On Top”. Beware of this trend because it causes grading issues with many online books. It’s their prop and their rules, so whatever they think is the first song sung – that’s what you get. Tough tees.

The other trend I’ve picked up on in recent Super Bowl halftime shows is that acts will either open with their latest song – in order to promote the new album – or they’ll swing big with what is considered their greatest hit:

Justin Timberlake went new with “Filthy” right out of the gate last year, Lady Gaga went classic with “Poker Face”, Coldplay went classic with “Yellow”, Katy Perry went new with “Roar”, Bruno Mars went new with “Locked Out of Heaven”, as did the Queen B with “Love On Top”, and Madonna took us back to the classics with “Vogue” in 2012.

Since most of these options pay a larger sum due to the unpredictable nature of this prop, we’re pulling the trigger on three songs to open. Going classic: “This Love”. Going new: “Girls Like You”. And, digging into setlists from their recent concerts: “What Lovers Do”.

PREDICTION: Opening song – This Love (+1,500), Girls Like You (+600), What Lovers Do (+400)

BETTING THE BROADCAST

The great thing about broadcast props is that the game can be an absolute wash and you still have a dog in the fight. And speaking of dogs, did you know there’s an Over/Under prop out there on the number of dogs featured in Super Bowl commercials (5.5)? Gotta go Over, right?

Other broadcast offerings include how many time Tony Romo will correctly calls a play before it happens and will a call Romo correctly predicts finds its way to the endzone? Then you have all of the Over/Under TV appearance props: Giselle 1.5 O/U, Roger Goodell 1.5 O/U, Robert Kraft 2.5, Kylie Jenner 0.5.

There are a ton of these out there but my favorite one – in terms of probability – is will CBS mention the age difference in the two head coaches, Bill Belichick (the evil entity that uses his body as a host is 391 years old but he doesn’t look a day over 66) and Sean McVay (33).

The “Yes” on this prop is priced at -200, which may be a little too rich for the casual fan but this prop is going to hit. You bet $20 to get $10. You’re going to return half of your investment right away. No mutual fund is going to promise that kind of return.

PREDICTION: “Yes” broadcast mentions age difference between Belichick and McVay (-200)

GATORADE BATH

Just because the whistle blew and confetti is flying doesn’t mean the betting fun stops. The postgame is a dog and pony show of unpredictable markets just waiting to be wagered on. You’ve got a ton of President Trump related props (Will he congratulate the winning team on Twitter by midnight ET?) and of course, who will the winning quarterback thank first (God, family, coach, team, fans)?

At the top of that list though is the color of the Gatorade bath. Depending on where you play, the price on colors is all over the place. However, most shops do have water/clear and yellow leading the charge.

Looking back to 2000, this is your Super Bowl Gatorade bath count: Water x 7, Orange x 5, Yellow x 3, Blue x 1, and 4 bone-dry coaches. You had both Water and Orange when the Ravens won in 2013, in case you’re actually counting.

If you like the Patriots, there might be value in no bath – if available at your sportsbook. In Belichick’s five wins, he’s stayed dry in three of those games (thanks to walk-off wins) with Blue and Water as the color of the other two. McVay, on the other hand, got a Water bath in his first win as the Rams’ head coach in Week 1 of the 2017 season.

Seems like H2O is the way to go.

PREDICTION: Water/Clear +360

This article was written by Jason Logan (@CoversJLo) and originally published on Covers.com, a site also owned by Tribune.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/02/01/super-bowl-liii-prop-bets-a-look-at-the-bizarre-big-game-novelty-wagers/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/02/01/super-bowl-liii-prop-bets-a-look-at-the-bizarre-novelty-wagers-for-the-big-game/

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sophiewriteswordsfromfaraway · 7 years

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3: A WEEK OF FIRSTS IN CHIANG MAI

Let me preface this entry by apologizing for not posting this blog entry earlier. It’s been an incredible, rewarding, and extremely busy month (+) in Thailand. Along with exploring a new city, meeting a terrific group of new friends, and integrating ourselves into the Thai culture, we have had homework to complete and lesson plans to write.

So, finally, I have a moment to put the stories and experiences of the first wonderful week onto virtual paper.

AWAY WE GO TO CHIANG MAI!

DAY .5 (SUNDAY)

Ryan and I arrived at the Chiang Mai airport, grabbed our bags, and met up with our driver, as well as some new friends from our program. We were taken to La-Mer Hostel in the Old City of Chiang Mai and given the keys to our assigned rooms. (Mine is a cute little corner room with sky blue walls and floral tile. I have grown quite fond of it.) Soon after, we had our first meeting with the entire group of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) students.

A REMINDER/EXPLANATION:

We will spend the majority of the month of October living in Chiang Mai and training to become English teachers. Following our certification, we will receive our school placements and move on to our respective cities all over Thailand.

Saying that the group is absolutely wonderful would be an understatement. Every single member of our class of 22 is so kind-hearted, open-minded, and ready for challenge and adventure. Many, though not all, are extremely well-traveled, and some have previous teaching experience. Regardless, everyone is so unbelievably excited about being here and supportive of each other.

A COLLECTION OF NAMES AND HOME STATES OF THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE I NOW CALL FRIENDS:

Alayna (Minnesota), Alex (California), Brandon (New York), Celia (Washington), Conor (Manchester, England), Dalton (Washington), Erica (Tennessee), Erica (Maine), Nathia (Maryland), Gabe (Colorado), James (Melbourne, Australia), Jessica (Vancouver, Canada), Kelly (Oregon), Mallory (Tennessee), Nicole (Michigan), Ryan (Illinois), Taylor (Colorado), Taylor (Kentucky), Tori (West Virginia), Tori (Minnesota), Vee (Illinois)

Yes, you read that right! There are two other girls from Tennessee! And guess what?! THEY ARE FROM NASHVILLE! There are three Nashvillians in our little group all the way across the globe. They went to school just down the road from me! It always surprises me how small the world can be.

After the initial meeting, at which we introduced ourselves and received information about the next month of training, we all headed just a few streets down to the famous Chiang Mai Sunday Walking Market.

WHAT IS THE FAMOUS CHIANG MAI SUNDAY WALKING MARKET?

I’m glad you asked. Simply put, it is a long stretch of the city blocked off for vendors to set up small stalls of food, clothes, trinkets, bags, sunglasses, etc. Pedestrians make their way through the crowded streets to shop and eat and listen to the live music played by buskers on the street.

It was absolutely packed, which added to the crazy energy and authenticity. We bumped and pushed our way through the people and stalls for about two hours before stopping off to listen to live music at a patio bar on a side street. A bluesy-rock band of Thai men belted out a classic: “They call me the breeze. I keep blowing down the road.” A fitting end to our first night in the city of Chiang Mai.

DAY 1 (MONDAY)

We began our day in the classroom with a brief meeting. Soon, we departed for the nearby mall complex in our very first songthaew ride. Remember that pickup truck with the roof and benches welded on the back that I mentioned in the previous post? Turns out that would become the staple method of transportation around Chiang Mai.

At the huge mall, we shopped around for necessary items (Thai burner phone circa 2007), and then had the unique pleasure of enjoying a Thai food court.

Later that night, we all decided to check out a local reggae bar and were absolutely floored by what we heard. The band, which consisted of 5 Thai guys playing the guitar, bass, drums, saxophone, keyboard, played through a mind-blowingly varied setlist. Not only did they smash out some classic reggae hits, but they also played rock, ballads, country, latin, and pop. It was fabulous, even “transcendent.”

DAY 2 (TUESDAY)

Tuesday began with a trip to the rice paddies in the outskirts of Chiang Mai. We had a lesson on planting rice and spent an out pushing clusters of rice bulbs into the muddy floor of the paddies. Though our group made it fun, planting was hot and physically tiring. I have so much respect for the farmers who do this work day in and day out. It is such a difficult and taxing job for people who get little societal respect or recognition. Next time you have rice, take a moment to think about where it came from and who spent their days planting, cultivating, and harvesting it.

After rinsing the mud of the paddies of our feet, we hopped back into the red songthaews and continued on to our next stop: a Muay Thai gym.

MUAY THAI: A DICTIONARY DEFINITION

(n.) a martial art developed in Thailand in which blows may be struck with the fists, elbows, knees, and shins

Our training session began with stretching, running, and a crash-course in the standard Muay Thai boxing moves. Then, we rotated through a weight-lifting circuit (complete with flipping massive tires). We finished by practicing our jabs, cross-jabs, elbow strikes, kicks, and knee strikes one-on-one with a Muay Thai fighter. Needless to say, we were all sweaty and exhausted.

To cap off a day of new experiences, Ryan and I decided to try a fish pedicure, aka submerging your feet into a tank while a bunch of tiny minnows nibble all the dead skin off of your feet. IT WAS WILD. The first few minutes consisted of squealing and squirming, because it really did feel like a bunch of tiny minnows were munching on your toes. As we settled into the idea of it, though, it began to feel more like a consistent vibration. It turned out to be a very relaxing experience, and my feet had never been softer.

DAY 3 (WEDNESDAY)

The overcast Wednesday morning was a perfect backdrop for a meditation session with a very informative and funny monk. He spends his time traveling around the world teaching and practicing Buddhist meditation. Because of this, he can imitate a startling number of global accents, including (but not limited to) Australian, German, English, and even Minnesotan! After answering our questions about the monkhood and cracking more than a few jokes, he led us in a short guided meditation. If you’ve ever tried meditation, you know it can be a tedious and difficult task, but if done right, it can be cleansing and rejuvenating. For most of us, it leaned more toward the former. Add ‘improve mediation skills’ to the Thai to-do list!

Next, we visited the tunnel temples and pagoda connected to the meditation center. Both were beautiful—ancient gray stone covered in brilliant green moss. The small temples at the end of each tunnel were simple but fascinating, all with small sticks of incense spiraling smoke into the air.

We piled back into the trusty songthaews and made the twisting climb (almost 5,500 feet in elevation) up the mountain to Doi Suthep, a famous temple outside Chiang Mai. We arrived and promptly hiked up the few hundred steps to the entrance of the temple. Once inside, we were stunned by the glorious colors and intricate detail of the space. Equally as breath-taking was the view from the side balcony. You can see for miles and miles—all of Chiang Mai and the mountains beyond.

That evening, we all walked across the old city to the Night Bazaar, a nightly market with clothes, souvenirs, cheap gadgets, an international food stand area, and live music. We sat together and drank and ate and sang along with the music AND THEN WE ATE A BUNCH OF BUGS.

WHAT?

Yes. Bugs. Crickets. Silk worms.

At first, it was a cautious nibble and then, before too long, it became a game of ‘what are the odds you’ll eat x amount of bugs.’ Hilarious and gross.

In case you’re wondering, the jury is split. I say silk worms are way better. Ryan opts for crickets every time.

DAY 4 (THURSDAY)

Thursday was packed with classroom time—Thai language, Thai culture and politics, and more information regarding placements.

3 RANDOM FACTS THAT I LEARNED ON THURSDAY:

Most Thai noodle dishes are eaten with a spoon in your dominant hand and fork in the other. The eater is to fork the food onto the spoon and eat.

You can make or break relationships in Thailand depending on your wai (customary Thai greeting in the form of a small bow).

The Thai monarchy is intertwined in almost every facet of Thai life. In the wake of the former King’s death, Thailand has been in a state of mourning since last October.

DAY 5 (FRIDAY)

After a few classes in the morning, we visited a huge market in the heart of Chiang Mai’s Chinatown. This market was particularly interesting, because it was seemingly located in an abandoned three-story mall complete with non-functioning escalators. It boasted a unique mix of smells and goods.

That evening, our program agency hosted a family-style dinner in a gorgeous riverside restaurant for both our group and the other TESOL group studying across the city. The restaurant is owned by a former Thai pop star and was absolutely beautiful, especially lit up at night. We were able to mingle, admire the beauty of the location, and enjoy the live folk music.

We ended the night dancing to the now-infamous band at the Reggage Bar. Groovy. Boogie on, Thailand!

DAY (SATURDAY)

After a week of XploreAsia-sponsored orientation activities, we took it upon ourselves to organize something: a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary. It did not disappoint.

We were picked up outside the hostel by two rugged-looking songthaews early in the morning. For almost 2 hours, we twisted down the windy roads deeper and deeper into the jungle. As we drew closer to the sanctuary, the road turned into a bumpy dirt path. We weaved through the trees until we reached a steep trail, at which point we hopped out of the trucks and carried massive bundles of bananas across a rushing river and down to a bamboo structure with a primitive deck and long table. We were met by our guide, who talked to us about Asian Elephants and the Karen People, a mountain tribe in the hills outside Chiang Mai, and their role in caring for the animals.

With bunches of bananas in our hands, we followed the mahouts to a small grassy patch with five or so elephants—3 big and 2 babies.

MA-WHAT NOW?

A mahout! A mahout is an elephant trainer and care-taker. Each mahout is assigned an elephant when he is of age. This assignment lasts for life, as elephants have roughly the same life expectancy as humans. The mahout and the elephant develop a relationship over time, and the mahouts use verbal commands to train and communicate with the elephants.

Hesitant at first, we fed the elephants one banana at a time and moved cautiously around them. Soon, though, we understood how gentle and smart these elephants were and began to interact with them, pet their trunks, and pat their sides.

We restocked our bananas and continued on to another area with another group of elephants. The oldest elephant, a grandma to most of the babies, was my favorite. I found her rough trunk and wrinkly, smiling eyes to be so endearing and captivating. I could have spent all day feeding and petting her.

After lunch and a quick nap in the sun, we headed down to a muddy pit to give the elephants a mud bath. We splashed them with the brown water and rubbed handfuls of mud into the skin on their backs. Once we were all covered in mud, elephants and humans both, we walked to the creek to rise off. The elephants piled into the deepest section and rolled around—massive creatures tumbling in the water like children. It was quite a sight to take in.

After a final talk from our guide about treating elephants ethically with care and dignity (no riding!), we said goodbye to our amazing friends and made our way back to Chiang Mai.

SHAMELESS PLUG:

For more information and to support a very worthy cause, visit http://www.elephantjunglesanctuary.com/

#thailand #chiangmai #tesol #teach #teachabroad #expat #greenheart #xploreasia #asia

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