Life update & vegan travels: Morrissey, Cookies and Scream & Vegfest

The weekend of March 27th I was a busy bee and did a bit of traveling and exploring with Jake. During the weekend we got to see Morrissey in Birmingham, pop to Camden and eat too much at Cookies and Scream, we finished our weekend at Vegfest in Brighton...

On the Friday we travelled up to Birmingham to go see Morrissey at the Barclaycard Arena which was such a good night. I had never seen Moz live unlike Jake and Sam (who also came along with us) so I was really excited. The strange thing about seeing someone like Morrissey is you forget how old they are until they come out and you realise that they don't look the same as they did 30 years ago! As most people know, Morrissey is very vocal about animal rights and has taken part in many Peta campaigns; it was cool to see that the venue was only selling vegetarian food at request of the artist and that Peta had a stand to flyer! There is something quite spectacular about Morrissey's stage back drops and the moment that the animal cruelty videos started playing, the atmosphere completely changed; one bloke even passed out. I think it's great that someone with such a high profile can use it to spread the message about animal cruelty. The performance itself was great too, Moz played a mixture of old & new tunes with a few of The Smiths' tracks thrown in too. His general persona was not half as miserable as you would expect! It is certainly something that I have crossed off my bucket list. 

On Saturday we were just in London for the day so decided to visit Camden and pop to Cookies and Scream as I had heard so many great things about it. Oh my...it was so good! We all had a milkshake and a little treat each; I picked a chocolate brownie milkshake & a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie. I can honestly say that since turning vegan I have never had such a tasty treat and I definitely plan to go back! The boys had vanilla milkshakes & Jake had a chocolate orange brownie which I had a little taste of and it was incredible. The only thing I would recommend is to maybe save some for later as it's very sweet and it wasn't long before we were all full up! 

Sunday we headed over to Brighton for Vegfest; it was a bit of a long journey and the weather was naff but it was still a good day. First off we stopped off at Kensington Gardens for a coffee and vegan breakfast which set us up for the day. Then we braved the wind and rain and headed to Vegfest which was in the Brighton Centre on the seafront. Unfortunately my camera was playing up so I couldn't get any photos but there are plenty up online and over at the Vegfest Facebook page. Vegfest was home to a food hall and stands where you could pick up some delicious food; I had a crepe with chocolate and coconut and a Jamaican patty, yum. There were a ton of charities holding stalls where you could buy their merch or just have a chat; Sea Shepherd were of course there! Vegfest holds different dates around the country, next stop being Bristol. Hopefully I can go again in the future.

What a busy weekend! I could have slept for a week afterwards. 

Here's some Facebook links so you can check out these places:
https://www.facebook.com/vegfestuk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookies-and-Scream

 BB

For The Oceans

P.s Keep updated via Facebook for info on new posts etc. at https://www.facebook.com/boolieblog some recipes coming soon!

9 Weeks, 9 Shows - Part Two

Continuing on from my previous post, next up on my gig list was....

Jake Bugg//Alexandra Palace//21.10.2014

This was another one of those last minute decisions for me,I actually bought a ticket from a very kind stranger who had travelled over seas for this show, I hope she had a good time! This was my third time seeing Jake Bugg this year however, the previous two shows were at British Summer Time (BST) in Hyde Park & Reading fest, so it was great to catch Mr Bugg at an indoor show. I have to admit, when I originally heard his music I was not overly impressed however, after seeing him at BST I was converted. Seeing him at Ally Pally was a completely different experience to the previous performances; the set list included all of my favourites and a couple of them I had never heard him perform live before. In comparison to Reading, the atmosphere at Ally Pally was fantastic, everyone was there for the same reason and there was not a single person who looked as if they were unwillingly dragged along. For someone so young, Jake Bugg is extremely talented and his sound is so versatile. This show was certainly worth the last minute rushing!

Basement//Electric Ballroom, Camden//29.10.2014

You know when you are young and you count down the days until Christmas? Yeah, that's how I felt after I managed to get tickets to see Basement. Seeing Basement live is such an incredible experience, the majority of the crowd are enthusiastic which can often make a show 10x better and after the band's hiatus, the small handful of shows announced all sold out pretty speedily. The set list consisted of a mixture of old and new, including a couple of tracks off their latest release Further Sky. I was lucky enough to spend this show with two of my favourite people, one being my best mate who had been waiting to see Basement for a really long time; it was worth going just to witness his excitement! The only disappointment at this show was when it ended and I was left with Summer's Colour playing over in my head for the rest of the night. 

The Specials//Roundhouse, Camden//13.11.2014

A selfie with dad is always important.

Seeing a band that I have listened to since before I can remember was a strange but very cool experience. Naturally I took my Dad to see The Specials with me, after all he was the very person who introduced me to Two-Tone. (You can read a tiny bit about that here) Of course the band is no longer made up of original members - for example Steve Cradock from Ocean Colour Scene is now filling in on lead guitar - but this does not take anything away from the performance. The amount of energy that is projected from the band is impressive considering the age of the members. The musicians are so talented and their sound is so tight; a couple of times I closed my eyes and there were moments where I felt like I could have been at home listening to the record, but then I open my eyes and it's 100x better than that. The crowd was made up of so many different generations where the music has been passed down & it is sad to think that one day there may be a generation that are unaware of such a spectacular band.

Bloody Knees//The Owl Sanctuary, Norwich//15.11.2014

This was possibly the smallest venue I have ever been to but I quite liked that. This was a cool, chilled out, pay on the door show and I hadn't listened to the bands much previously however, I left with some new bands to listen to when I got home. The line up was Teen Brains followed by Radical Boy and the night ended with Bloody Knees; all bands showed a ton of enthusiasm & I think we will be hearing more from them all in the near future. 

The Jesus and Mary Chain//Troxy, London//19.11.2014
Once again, another last minute show not that I'm complaining! This gig was part of the Psychocandy tour and naturally they played through the album from start to finish. It was a sold out night as expected, therefore I was over the moon when I was invited along. If you have never listened to this band before then I highly suggest you do, then I suggest that you buy a ticket to one of their shows as soon as you can. As a live act they hit all expectations and more, my only complaint is once again being a shorty I couldn't see anything, sad times. I believe that they are playing a few more shows here, there and everywhere so hopefully I can catch them again.

To summarise, I've had a smashing few weeks & wish I could re-live it all over again....I urge you all to support the live music scene whether it's your mate's indie band down the local or Black Sabbath in Hyde Park (Oh yes, I was there!) go along, drag your mates, enjoy the bands, buy the merch!

Peace out.