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Tuska Open Air 2012, Helsinki
Tuska Open Air is simply the best metal festival of the Nordic countries , a three-day event held in the capital of Finland that year after year, brings together over 25,000 metal fans from around the world, an intense experience filled with music, beer and party. The history of the festival began in 1998 with a bunch of great local bands as well as some from the two neighboring countries, Norway and Sweden. The first editions of the festival were held in a central park in the city of Helsinki. Because of its success, the organizers had to change the campus to another bigger and better equipped for the large number of visitors, which last year exceeded 33,000. This new version of Tuska Open Air, will certainly have the same amount of visitors or more. Some of the bands of the 2012 version are: Megadeth, Sonata Arctica, Napalm Death, Exodus, Alcest, Apocalyptica, and Ministry, among more than 50 bands that will perform at the various stages and clubs that are part of the festival. This is important to keep in mind, since in these three days, you won’t get any sleep, you will keep partying in excellent metal clubs in town. Tuska tickets cost 115 Euros for three days, 90 Euros for two and 65 Euros for one day, these are the prices if you buy the tickets in advance, but if you want to get the tickets while being already in Helsinki in one of the lockers of the event, you should consider to pay between 10 and 15 Euros more depending on the payment mode you choose....
Iron Maiden and their Maiden England in New York
If you´re in the right place at the right time in 2012, you´ll surely be able to enjoy one of the most highly-awaited shows of the year. On the 2nd of July, the legendary British heavy metal band Iron Maiden will offer one of their international tour concerts in New York. There can´t be a better prospect for any fan of the band and, if you´re one of those who has never seen them live, you can´t miss out on this event. The concert is part of the new tour of this legendary band formed in 1975 in Leyton, East London. Maiden England North American Tour 2012 arrives at its second phase to see some of the most important cities in the USA and Canada, so it´s not excessively international and some of us will have to cross the pond to go there. The 2nd of July concert will take place in Newark, NY, and the band will play their final gig on the 18th of August in Houston, TX, although supposedly there will be new dates for 2013. Obviously, ´The Final Frontier´, the latest album of the band released in 2010, will have a special place in the concert playlists, but Iron Maiden will also play their classic songs and others that were lying in music oblivion. In fact, this new tour is a tribute or is based on the famous 1988 tour 7th Tour of a 7th Tour , to bring to the stage the first album of Iron Maiden that included keyboards, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Precisely, in the winter of ´89, still during the...
The Nightlife of Vienna
If there is a city on the planet that is inevitably conditioned by its aura as a cult destination, this is unmistakablyVienna. It is associated with large productions of opera, classical music, popular museums and heritage sites. But the ancient capital of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire also offers travelers a playful flip side: that of the Viennese night. Although organized and exquisite, its nightlife revolves around clubs (on the outskirts and in the suburbs) with live music and magnificent live jazz clubs, taverns with local wines and beer bars serving light snacks of the local cuisine. The traveler passing throughViennashould not miss the area called the Bermuda Triangle (Bermuda Dreieck), which is located in the first district, next to theDanubeCanaland between the old Jewish Quarter and Ruprechtsplatz Rabensteig Seitensttettengasse. In this square (here’s something for art lovers) you’ll find one of the oldest churches inVienna. Until 1980 the area was totally bland and linked to the textile trade. That all changed when an astute businessman came to open a pub in the style of the old Austrian lodges. His name “Krah-Krah,” referring to the crows. He offered very good beer (we are after all in the area of German influence), local food with a heavy emphasis on bread and live music. The initiative was so successful that soon others built on this new trend and opened other bars, pubs and clubs. Today the area is extremely busy until the wee hours of the morning, crawling with students and travelers coming from all corners of the globe. A city so filled with musical tradition can’t leave out the rhythms...
The Best Summer Destinations in Barcelona
Barcelona is one of the best cities in the world to spend a summer vacation. This city is not only about the beach and sun, but is also full of entertaining sights and nearby places that allow you to choose the best activities to transform each day into a unique one. To give you a few ideas about what to do on your vacation so you don’t have to waste precious time looking for activities, we will give you some guidance about the most attractive destinations in the surrounding area. Do you enjoy nature and swimming in the sea? If so, we recommend you go to the nudist beaches where you can enjoy the soft sand, sea and sun in direct contact with all of your skin. A few kilometers from Barcelonaone can visit the beautiful town of Sitges with its nude beaches. Els Balmins is one such beach and it’s located in the urban area of the coast. There you can find all kinds of services, and since it is very easy to reach it has a high number of visitors. If you prefer to enjoy nudity in more private locations, Sitges offers two alternatives: Cala Morisca and the Playa de Roses – La Desenrocada. These are, however, more difficult to access and don’t offer any services. You can also stroll through the city, eat at restaurants along the beach or watch the sunset with a cocktail by candlelight while enjoying good music in the Bar Villa Lola. Or if you want to eat delicious food in a place with ambiance, the restaurant Pic Nic is a good...
Two Door Cinema Club and Metronomy Concert in Istanbul
Talking about indie is like talking about God: everyone has an opinion, everyone thinks they know something about it, everyone knows about its possible existence and everyone has felt its presence at some point in their lives. In the same way, nobody knows exactly what it´s about, where it´s found, how it´s listened to, for who he works and whether all of that is important. Indie spreads around the world like an unresolved dilemma, produced, elaborated and commercially exploited more and more all the time. The word ´indie´ has lost its meaning: the independence of the music industry. Indie today is transmitted to a much larger and diverse crowd, which is definitely something positive. However, indie has lost its danger and the aesthetic experimentation that saw it rise over 40 years ago. And so, the indie market has expanded on all the continents, and bands such as Two Door Cinema Club and Metronomy have an almost universal audience. This phenomenon is a result of the impact of the social networks. Both bands began their career towards stardom in the early part of this century. Metronomy, since 1999 to be precise, created an elegant electro-pop sound since its first recordings. With three studio albums and one remix one, Metronomy is the most elegant pop that you can listen to today. A sound made with seductive guitar and bass, the voice of their singer Joseph Mount and his Italian-Mafia-style falsettos mix with the synthesizer, keyboard and electronic sounds. Its recent album, ´The English Riviera´ (2011) is still receiving praise from all the music critics. The history of Two Door Cinema Club...
Eric Benét in New York
On the 27th of June, at the Beacon Theater in New York, the American R&B and neo-soul singer Eric Benét will be playing live, together with the also American singer/songwriter Ledisi. This versatile singer, whose long career has brought him to different stages, will be playing to meet his New York fans once again, reminisce his old songs and present the new ones, which keep him always at the forefront of music. Eric Benét Jordan, the real name of Eric Benét, was born in 1966. His early days in music go back to the late 80s, when he participated in the band Gerard. Later, with his sister Lisa and his cousin George Nash Jr., they formed the band Benet and released their first album, with a homonymous name, with such success that they sold over 100,000 copies. In 1994 he signed an important contract with Warner Bros. Records and in 1996 he released his first solo album, ´True to Myself´. The songs on the album were highly successful and the song ´Spiritual Thang´ was even in the R&B Top 10. Also, the song ´Let´s stay together´ was part of the original soundtrack of the film ´A Thin Line Between Love and Hate´. His personal life has been full of tragedies that have affected his career temporarily, such as the loss of his father to cancer and then his girlfriend and mother of his son Maria Tami Stauff. Despite this pain, he managed to overcome it and carry on with his career. Today, he´s married to Manuela Testolini and has a daughter that was born in December 2011. His taste for...
Prater Park in Vienna
In addition to its gardens and wooded recreation areas (such as theBelvederePalace), the capital ofAustriahas two large parks very different from each other. The first comprises the grounds ofSchönbrunnPalacetogether with its beautiful gardens and the second is known as the Wiener Prater. In contrast to the monumental fountains, large triumphal arches, the Zoo, or the Palm House (the photogenic greenhouse built of glass) of the former, the latter offers several sporting options for visitors and foreigners. While the first, Schönbrunn, is designed with linear, manicured French-style gardens (with its succession of box hedges, lakes, waterfalls, straight trails and vegetable mazes), the Prater is more like a natural forest. That is, while Schönbrunn seems made to be admired and looked, the Prater Park of Vienna offers excellent entertainment. Let us explain why. What was once a former imperial hunting ground open to the public “commoner” (the noble enjoyed it long before) in the late nineteenth century is, at present, organized for leisure and family sport. We’ll start by giving you the website where you can find out more about the varied options for activities, which are of course constantly changing. http://www.prater.at/. The Vienna Prater is divided into upper and lower halves by an avenue more than 5 miles long, which is flanked by beautiful, hundred-year-old chestnut trees. A walk along this route (bicycles and skates are allowed but motor vehicles are not) will delight the most romantic, especially in autumn when the trees change colors. At one end of the avenue stands the former hunting lodge, the Lusthaus, which has been converted into a stylish cafe restaurant. The other end...
Around the beaches of the Cap de Creus Natural Park
Far from the hustle, crowds, contamination and wild urbanism are these beaches that make up the Cap de Creus (Creus Head), not far from Barcelona. They´re a succession of secluded beaches, almost inaccessible, with a clean and crystal-clear sea, wild nature with its many pines and low hills, towns that still preserve the lifestyle of previous decades… all of that and more you can find at the Cap de Creus. Here, time goes slowly, man coexists in harmony with natural spaces, bands of migratory birds go from north to south and from south to north, the bottom of the sea is paradise for snorkelers and divers… oh! and the beaches… the beaches of the Cap de Creus are made up of fine sand, at the bottom of mountains (actually, we´re at the eastern tip of the Pyrenees), the aroma of marjoram and thyme mixes with wild flowers and the transparent sea water allows us to see the small fish that venture close to the shore in search of sea weed. “A place created for the gods” said Salvador Dalí, the illustrious summer visitor of these coasts, around about the 1920s, when the avant-gardes shook old Spain. This was a place that he came to right until his death. You only have to remember that in one of these towns, Cadaqués, Dalí lived with his partner, Gala. A few steps from the sea, inside towards land, there´s Púbol Castle, a unique witness of the peculiar art of this surrealist genius. The castle is “a delight to feel the passing of time, drop by drop” according to the words of another local writer,...
Snow Patrol Concert in Vienna
On the 26th of June, the independent music band Snow Patrol will perform at the alternative concert hall Arena in Vienna. You can’t miss it! In a previous post, we talked about how there are cities that are conditioned by its most educated phase. And among them Vienna takes the lead with its classical orchestras, operas, festivals, Museum Island and much more. Well, the capital of Austria not only lives in this kind of cultural events but also offers alternative events where you can enjoy independent rock and pop and all that has been called suburban movements. During the late seventies, a group of young Viennese guys started occupying several abandoned buildings with the ultimate intention of using them to perform their particular art form. Although they were constantly moved out, they managed it to dig in an old slaughterhouse, which was transformed and conditioned into an important part of the current Viennese cultural life. We are talking about the Arena in Vienna, a place to serve the citizens as a multipurpose stage, outdoor cinema and a concert hall; many daily concerts of all stripes, styles and nationalities. Although the place was born with a clear subversive commitment, its stage has hosted international artists, as it is Leonard Cohen, who became fascinated with the place. Web 2.0 has entered the arena of Vienna and the promoters of this initiative (which has already accomplished a good thirty) have maintained a fluid communication through social networks. Under the slogan “Love music, hate fascism”, daily concerts, activities, workshops, exhibitions, courses and lectures are scheduled. Going along with the mentioned schedule, on the...
