Yeah Yeah Yeahs, O2 Academy, Sheffield, December 7 2009…

Yeah Yeah Yeahs...

It’s been 10 years since New York City trio Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase formed alternative/indie band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And it’s been six years since my exceptionally cool maths teacher lent me his copy of Fever To Tell. As I entered Sheffield’s O2 Academy after the train journey from hell the excitement hit me; I was finally getting to watch YYYs live. And after six years of anticipation and frustration after either missing the band at festivals or being unable to trek to their London-only gigs YYYs certainly did not disappoint…

Yeah Yeah Yeahs formed in 2000 and grew in popularity in the early OOs after supporting Bjork, The White Stripes and fellow NYC band The Strokes. The band has recorded three studio albums; the first, Fever to Tell in 2003; the second, Show Your Bones, was released in 2006 and was named the second best album of the year by NME. Their third studio album, It’s Blitz!, was released in March 2009. The band have also released two EPs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Is Is, since their formation. As well as the band releases, Karen O also co-created the soundtrack for Spike Jonze’s 2009 film Where The Wild Things Are with score writer Carter Burwell, which was nominated for best score at the 2010 Golden Globes.

Duchess Says...

I have to say the night’s support act was probably the best I have seen all year. Duchess Says’s frontwoman was suitably mental, and her stage presence certainly matched Karen O’s notorious live antics. Screaming, crawling, scratching and screeching, Annie-Claude Deschênes shocked and scared some of the younger audience members, and spent half the set in the crowd itself, much to the annoyance of the bouncers who had to follow her about to stop the mic lead from strangling the audience.

The Canadian four-piece formed in 2003 and describe their own sound as ‘moog’ rock. They have released four EPs since 2005: Noviçiat Mère-Perruche, Budgie Laboratories, Begging The 3 Ts and Fire Baptized Species. Hailing from Montreal the band sing in their native French and in English, creating a hybrid of language which illustrates their variable dynamics as a group. The electric nature of their music was perfectly exemplified in their live performance and songs such as Ccut Up, AEAE and Tenon Non Neu were particular hits with the crowd. Although I was impressed with Duchess Says, opinions seemed to be split in the crowd. While half the audience loved the crazy stage antics and ferocity of the lead singer, the other half seemed unimpressed and even annoyed by the abundance of energy and the screaming.

However, one thing was certain. Nobody could wait for Yeah Yeah Yeahs to take to the stage. When they finally did to the introduction of Dull Life the crowd went wild. Karen O burst onto the stage in a suitably crazy customised outfit, her smile beaming and never-ending. In typical Karen O fashion she changed three times during the set from her originally manic hooded catsuit to a colourful native American style poncho and finishing the set in a hybrid of the two. The costumes and look of the set is an intrinsic aspect of the band, but not to the levels of ’style over substance’ that Karen O in particular has been criticised for. All of Karen’s stage outfits are created by her close friend designer Christian Joy. Although these costumes are eye-catching and attention-grabbing, they are by no means a smokescreen for lack of talent, rather an element of the band that takes their live experience to another level.

Not to be upstaged by Duchess Says‘ stage antics, Karen O swooped the stage and put on a terrific performance for the fans. While Zinner and Chase stayed primarily in the background and allowed their frontwoman to take centre stage, Zinner was allowed his moment in the spotlight right at the end of the show as the crowd sang Happy Birthday to him with as much enthusiasm and noise as they had whilst singing YYYs’s lyrics.

Particular song highlights from the show included the latest singles Heads Will Roll and Zero, Show Your Bones‘ biggest hits Gold Lion and Cheated Hearts, and a couple of the old favourites from Fever To Tell, such as Black Tongue and Pins. Unlike many bands who seem to go on tour with the sole purpose of promoting their latest album, which results in them playing the entirity of the album and a few old favourites thrown in for good measure, Yeah Yeah Yeahs had the perfect mix of old and new. Whilst playing the best of their latest album and the singles from their second, YYYs also managed to get in much of their early material that fans worldwide love them for. Despite not playing Tick and Modern Romance, this mix was perfect and demonstrates the band’s commitment to their fans and trust that the latest album will sell regardless.

Starting the encore was the teasingly repetitive intro of Y Control, before the band descended into a beautifully acoustic version of Turn Into and then the wonderfully melodic Maps. Closing the night was Date With The Night which reignited the crowd after the slower pace of the previous two songs. The energy of both the band and the audience was relentless, and made for a brilliant show as Karen O bounced off the reaction she was getting back from the crowd, even allowing those at the front to occasionally contribute vocals with her. The band put on an amazing performance that really did not fail to disappoint or crush my extremely high expectations. It was evident from the audience reaction that the show was perfect, both in musical brilliance and in visual pleasure, and never before has the Heads Will Roll lyric ‘Dance til you’re dead’ seemed more appropriate…

Yeah Yeah Yeahs live at Sheffield O2 Academy…

All photographs sourced using Creative Commons or taken by me at the gig...

I’m really interested to know if John Piper has ever read Ebenezer Erskine. Compare the following extract from Ebenezer Erskine’s sermon on the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”, with an article from John Piper’s church website:

This commandment requires us to believe and be persuaded, that this glorious God is the chief good of the rational soul; that as his glory is to be our ultimate end, so our chief happiness lies in the enjoyment of him alone; Thou shalt have no other gods before me”; i.e. Thou shalt place thy chief happiness in the enjoyment of me, who “am the Lord thy God.” So that, when God commands us to have him as our God, he commands us to be happy for ever in himself, and to say with David, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none in all the earth that I desire besides thee.”

This extract is from the Bethlehem Baptist church’s article “Quest for Joy”

God made us to magnify his greatness – the way telescopes magnify stars. He created us to put his goodness and truth and beauty and wisdom and justice on display. The greatest display of God’s glory comes from deep delight in all that he is. This means that God gets the praise and we get the pleasure. God created us so that he is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

Her dönem popüler bir film mutlaka modaya da sızar, alışverişin öznesine dönüşür. Örneğin bir dönem anime’ler, sonra Tim Burton, sonra Edie Sedgwick… Herkesin üzerinde hangisi meşhursa onun tişörtü, çantası, anahtarlığı. Bu sene tacı devralacak ‘moda’ film belli oldu: Where The Wild Things Are. Spike Jonze’un meşhur çocuk masalından uyarladığı film yurtdışında gişe rekorları kırmaya başlamışken; Christian Joy, Opening Ceremony, Urban Outfitters gibi markalar tasarımlarını ona uyarladı bile!

Christian Joy

Christian Joy

Christian Joy

Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

Urban Outfitters

This weekend a pal told me that Opening ceremony had some Where the Wild Things Are inspired clothing for sale as well as a collection of jewellery by Pamela Love, which I had to blog about. Below I have created a list of all things inspired by the amazing book by Maurice Sendak.

Medicom Toy x Where The Wild Things Are available at Colette €65.00

Christian Joy, famously known as the designer behind the amazing Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs elaborate and imaginative stage costumes has created 5 monster suits in honor of Where the Wild Things Are , some of which are below and the others can be found at the Urban Outfitters blog.

Girl Skateboards have released a limited edition WTWTA decks

Pamela Love’s jewellery collection available at Opening Ceremony . The ring below and the horn head band are definitely on my wish list! (These pieces remind me of Dominic Jones’ collection which I posted pictures of a while back)

AWWWW, I LOVE THESE! Again from Opening Ceremony, unfortunately these playsuits have already sold out..booo, not that I could afford  the cool $ 610.00 price tag.

Karen O wrote the score for the movie. Dressed in Christain Joy

Kubrick Toys WTWTA at Colette

Cute mobile at Salty and Sweet’s Etsy Shop for $ 30.00

Phew, what a long list… I think I might make a Max hat with horns and crown aswell as a tail and claws for Halloween. Will post some images when I make it.

Lixa

View all the Where the wild things are inspired products by Urban Outfitters here (in collaboration with Mary Meyer)

Opening Ceremony

Christian Joy’s monster costumes at Space 15 Twenty

I am a huge fan of Where the Wild Things Are. And like, most people I am PRETTY excited for the movie to come out (October 16th!). I am also a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and 826 Valencia, so imagine how excited I was to find out that the three had combined forces at Space 15 Twenty in LA. Yeah, pretty excited is the answer to that question.

So here it is, Christian Joy—most well-known for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ Karen O’s crazy costumes—talks about the monster suits, based off of the Wild Things and Max, that she created for display and for sale at Space 15 Twenty in LA. A percentage of the proceeds donated to 826 Valencia.

“Everyone knows the way Max looks like, and I wanted to stay within the realm of what a kid’s suit would look like. But I also thought that the rest of the Wild Things were already looking like a glam rock band, so I thought he should be a little bit rock n’ roll. I found this weird silver fabric, and we made the paws and crown out of Mylar, and then the tail is like a found piece from a fabric store.”

“I forget what this guy’s name is; I think it’s Carol. Originally, we were going to make it out of vinyl, but that started taking too long, so I decided to make the whole thing out of felt. It was kind of like a real-life drama club costume: ‘How do we make this quick?’ I silkscreened the leggings and the shoes are Converse. All the costumes are pretty much based of off Karen’s size, because I had just been doing her costumes for the Reading and Leeds festivals.” (the orange and yellow one)

“Well, I guess the sea creature isn’t in the movie, but it was my favorite character in the book because, from a design point of view, you can do so much with it. The whole thing is covered in scales and it has these ’70s pom-poms. The character has a weird hair-do. I was looking at the hair and the year the book was made, and decided this character was kind of a beatnik. He has these weird sort of wings, and his legs look like dinosaur legs.” (the other one)

“I’d never actually read Where the Wild Things Are, so I did, and went off the illustrations in that, but I thought I needed to gear it different, because I didn’t want to just make fuzzy animals. This character was like a chicken or a rooster, so I made him really proud and colorful. The flowers are based off the flowers in the front of the book, and I tried to copy the cross-hatching of the illustrations. My husband made the claws from Wonderflex. I think he did a really good job. You’re supposed to heat it with a heat gun, but we didn’t have one of those, so we used a blow dryer.” (with the mohawk thing)

“There’s a character in the book that has long hair and it’s parted in the middle, so it looks like a girl to me. The fabric was a cream-colored heavy-knit that I silkscreened. It’s supposed to look like fur, and then I did the flowers because this character is supposed to be kind of shy. The funny looking hair is just yarn, and then she has these weird balls around her ankles. A friend of mine who is a prop designer turned me on to this stiff called Wonderflex, that you heat and shape, and my husband used that to make the feet.” (with the long hair)

Entrevista Christian Joy

The lovely Christiane Hultquist (aka Christian Joy, aka sidekick designer for Karen O’s outrageous stage ensembles), who I’ve interviewed for Missbehave and psychoPEDIA, is hosting a joint show titled “WHEN I WANT YOU IN THE NIGHT” with her husband, Jason Grisell of the Brooklyn band Harmony and Pollution, this Thursday, July 30, at the LES boutique, TG-170. They’ll have up artwork, as well as dresses, tees, and scarves for sale– so go check it out!

The details: 7-9 pm. 170 Ludlow St. info@tg170.com

Not many of us have ever had to sacrifice our lives or limbs for the sake of the gospel. Perhaps we never will. However, all suffering as a Christian can be considered “Christian Suffering.”

John Piper writes:

Paul Brand, the missionary surgeon to India wrote in his book: Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants. “I have come to see that pain and pleasure come to us not as opposites but as Siamese twins, strangely joined and intertwined. Nearly all my memories of acute happiness, in fact, involve some element of pain or struggle” (Christianity Today, Jan. 10, 1994, p. 21). I have never heard anyone say, “The deepest and rarest and most satisfying joys of my life have come in times of extended ease and earthly comfort.” Nobody says that. It isn’t true. What’s true is what Samuel Rutherford said when he was put in the cellars of affliction: “The Great King keeps his wine there”—not in the courtyard where the sun shines. What’s true is what Charles Spurgeon said: “They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.”                                 Read rest of sermon here.

When it comes to suffering, some of us know a little more about it than others, but it is something that every Christian will and must endure. “Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants.” I don’t like thinking about it that way. I don’t like thinking about Jesus as a God who gladly allows (and even causes) suffering in the lives of his children. But joyously enduring suffering is part of worshiping the real Jesus. While others may stick their heads in the worldly, suicidal sands of comfort and ease, let us gladly endure whatever comes our way from the hand of our gracious God (whether it is a headache or a be-heading, a low paycheck or a loss of possessions, a dying to oneself or dying at the hand of another).

1 Peter 4:12-19 encourages us:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

So, in other words, don’t be surprised-just worship.

Suffering is suffering. Suffering joyously is worship.

Let us glorify God in our suffering, all of it.

Christian Joy is a costume and collection designer. Almost everything that Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs wears onstage is Christian Joy. 

I have a serious girl crush on Karen O. and am in love with the costume designer, Christian Joy, that dresses her. So much so that I fashioned my own Karen O. knock off for Halloween this year (even though most people had no idea who the hell I was).  I hate to repeat anything, but after seeing her latest creation in this video, I’m tempted for round two.

This picture is taken from the cover of The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson [published by Puritan Paperbacks]. It depicts a scene from The Pilgrim’s Progress where Christian arrives at the cross and his burden falls off and tumbles into a sepulchre never to be seen again.

The experience of unloading the burden of condemnation is not something Christian believers need just at the beginning of the Christian life but everyday as we stuff things up and make a mess. As Paul writes “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! [Romans 7:24], so Christians should daily turn to Christ and unload their sense of condemnation.

This daily turning to the cross should lead Christians to be glad and “lightsome” as Christian experienced:

Now I saw in my dream, that the highway up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. Isaiah 26:1. Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back.

He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.

Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, “He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death.” Then he stood still a while, to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked, therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks.

Bu kadınlar müzikleri kadar stilleriyle de dikkat çekiyorlar. Ben de bu stillerin arkasındaki tasarımcıları merak ettim, araştırdım ve hepsiyle tanıştığıma çok memnun oldum!

KAREN O / Christian Joy 

Müzik dünyasının stiliyle en çok dikkat çeken isimlerinden biri Karen O. Bugünlerde yeni albümünü beklediğimiz Yeah Yeah Yeahs’in kısa saçlı solistinin bu çılgın sahne kostümlerinin arkasındaki isim ise Christian Joy. Karen O’nun bir sürü renkten, grafik baskılardan, yarasa kollardan ve çılgın maskelerden oluşan sahne kıyafetleri birçok alternatif moda ve müzik dergisinin sayfalarını da dolduruyor. Tasarımcı Christian Joy’un geçen yaz koleksiyonunun modeli de aynı zamanda Karen O idi. Christian Joy’un sınır tanımayan tüm koleksiyonlarını ve Karen O için hazırladığı kostümleri görmek için http://www.christianjoy.us/ adresi ziyaret edilebilir.

 M.I.A / Cassette Playa

M.I.A müzik piyasasının stil ikonlarının başında geliyor. Sentetik taytları, sınır tanımayan renkleri, piksel piksel desenleri ile Sri Lankalı M.I.A’in 7 senedir çalıştığı moda tasarımcısı ise Cassette Playa. Cari Mundane adlı tasarımcının henüz yeni olan markası Cassette Playa aynı zamanda Afrikan Boy, Santagold, Skepta gibi isimleri de giydiriyor. Kendi deyimiyle “gerçeği hack’leyen”, neon renkli ve göz kamaştırıcı koleksiyonlar hazırlayan tasarımcının ilham kaynağı ise müzik, bilim kurgu ve bilgisayar oyunları. Tasarımcı ‘En Eski Gelecek’ temalı koleksiyonunda dijital resim baskılar kullanarak ID dergisinin ‘En İyi Erkek Giyim Tasarımcısı’ adayları arasına girdi ve Rolling Stone dergisi tarafından ‘2008′in En İyi Moda Tasarımcısı’ seçildi. Görülmeye değer web sitesi: http://www.cassetteplaya.com/

YELLE / JC de Castelbajac

Fransız vokal Yelle de farklı giyim tarzı ile öne çıkan isimlerden bir diğeri. Bir röportajında birkaç tasarımcı ile birden çalıştığını söylüyor. Bunlardan en belirgin halde kendini gösteren ise çılgın Fransız tasarımcı Castelbajac. Geçtiğimiz aylarda lego defilesi ve Obama baskılı elbise tasarımıyla oldukça konuşulan tasarımcının kıyafetlerini M.I.A, Katy Perry gibi isimlerin de üzerinde görmek mümkün. Aynı zamanda bir ressam olan ve Papa 2. Jean Paul’ü de giydirerek, kiliseleri renklendiren modacı olarak bilinen Castelbajac’ın tasarımları da pop art etkili. Yelle’in “Je Veux Te Voir” adlı klibinde rastladığımız sarı gülen suratlı elbise de Castelbajac’ın defilesinde en çok ilgi gören parçalarından biriydi. Castelbajac’ın tüm tasarımlarını takip edebileceğiniz web sitesi: http://www.jc-de-castelbajac.com/

PEACHES / Brian Lichtenberg

Sahne şovları kadar kostümleriyle de çılgınlığı bilinen Peaches’ın kıyafetlerinin sahibi Brian Lichtenberg. Fütüristik spor giysiler, holografik taytlar, parlak kumaşlardan oluşan tasarımlarıyla Brian Lichtenberg aynı zamanda M.I.A, Santagold, Yelle, Sam Sparro, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne gibi isimlerin de takip ettiği bir modacı. Indie dünyasının yükselen tasarımcılarından olan Lichtenberg’in ilham kaynağı ise 80′ler. Peaches’ın konserlerindeki favori tasarımcısı Brian Lichtenberg hakkında daha detaylı bilgi için: http://www.brianlichtenberg.com/

SIA / Jeremy Scott

Renklerin cesur kullanımı, pop art desenler ve çılgın temalar deyince akla ilk gelen tasarımcılardan biri Jeremy Scott. Başarılı kadın vokal Sia Furler da kendine özgü giyim tarzıyla dikkat çeken müzisyenlerden bir diğeri. Modayı yakından takip eden Sia, konserlerinde de farklı kostümlerle izleyici karşısına çıkıyor. Jeremy Scott aynı zamanda M.I.A, Santagold, Björk, Kylie Minogue gibi isimlerin de takip ettiği moda tasarımcılarından. Hatta Sia ve Santagold’un bu birlikte fotoğrafı Jeremy Scott’ın geçen seneki defilesinde çekilmiş. Jeremy Scott aynı zamanda Ficherspooner grubunun da stilisti. Görüldüğü gibi müzik piyasasının en popüler tasarımcılarından olan Jeremy Scott’ın bu çılgın koleksiyonlarını takip etmek için http://www.jeremyscott.com/ sitesini tıklamak yeterli.

SANTOGOLD / Andrea Crews

Son zamanlarda stiliyle konuşulan müzisyenlerden biri de M.I.A’in kankası Santagold. Andrea Crews çağdaş sanatın ve tasarımın her alanında kendini gösteren bir sanatçı. Geri dönüşümü savunan; ikinci el giysileri şık ve özgün tasarımlara dönüştürmesiyle bilinen Andrea Crews, koleksiyonlarında çizgiroman, fanzin, punk flyer’ları gibi alt kültür materyallerinden ilham aldığını söylüyor. Başarılı Fransız tasarımcı ikinci el bir dede pantalonunu mini bir tuluma, bol bir sweatshirt’ü şık bir gece elbisesine dönüştürebiliyor. Santagold’un favori tasarımcılarından Andrea Crews’in tüm işlerini daha detaylı incelemek için: http://www.andreacrews.com/

this is from the book God calling, it’s very helpful ,supportive, beautiful and true : )

December 16 – What Joy Is

Lord, give us Thy Joy, that Joy that no man, no poverty, no circumstances, no conditions can take from us.

You shall have My Joy. But Life just now for you both is a march — a toilsome march. . . .The Joy will come, but for the moment do not think of that, think simply of the march. Joy is the reward. . . .

Between My Promise of the Gift of Joy to My disciples and their realization of that Joy came sense of failure, disappointment, denial, desertion, hopelessness, then hope, waiting, and courage in the face of danger.

Joy is the reward of patiently seeing Me in the dull dark days, of trusting when you cannot see. . . .Joy is as it were your heart’s response to My smile of recognition of your faithfulness. . . .

Stop thinking your lives are all wrong if you do not feel it. . . . Remember you may not yet be joyous, but you are brave, and courage and unselfish thought for others are as sure signs of true discipleship as Joy.

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
 in believing, that ye may abound in hope, 
through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13

 –

God bless

I really like the quirky a/w collection by Christian Joy. Partly rockabilly, partly country cowgirl with some seriously puffy skirts and dresses, it still manages to come out as a coherent collection. Not into the harem clown pants though.

Christian also does all the costumes for the amazing Karen O., singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

all pictures: Christian Joy website

Since its been pretty slow i thought i’d take the opportunity to let you guys in on Christian Joy. If you aren’t familiar with her line, you should be.

Joy might have first popped up on your radar with her wildly adventurous stage outfits created for Karen O, which helped her stand way out amongst her peers. She has also designed a line for Topshop and did more costume work for the Klaxons. So, with all of this over-the-top stage wear you might be wondering if her line is wearable, and the answer is most definitely.

Take a peak into her Spring 2008 line which was modeled by none other than Karen O below:

–Mikey