The North Remembers

I have recently fallen in love with a rather new HBO series. The show is called “Game of Thrones” and if you haven’t started watching it and have access to HBO I would highly encourage getting into it. For the people that have not started watching it yet please give it a try and give it at least a couple episodes as the first episode may seem odd to you and you may not fall in love right away. The first episode only is there to introduce you to the characters and give you a little background. However I am not here to try and tell you why you should watch the show. I am writing today about the season 2 premiere of the show called “The North Remembers” as it has just aired tonight at nine O’clock. I am going to try my best not to spoil the show for anyone however some things may slip, therefore if you watch the show and do not want anything ruined you should stop reading now.  The episode starts off similar to the first episode of the series, it tries to reintroduce you to the main characters and remind you what is going on in the show.

However about twenty minutes into the show the “previously on game of thrones” section comes to an end and it starts getting back into the plot. The remaining forty minutes have you on the edge of your seat and make you wish that it was not an hour long television show but rather a never ending live airing. Throughout the episode many very unexpected twists and plot changers happen making your mind have to seriously contemplate what just happened. It is not until the very end of the episode that they present a situation that you have been expecting the whole time and just as they present it to you the episode ends leaving you wish you could just start the next episode. I almost wish that I had just made this blog a “Game of Thrones” blog where I could review the show on a weekly basis however in order for you to know what is going to happen with the cliffhanger presented at the end of the episode you will just need to start watching the show for yourself.

Guster

Ive been driving for about thirteen hours, I am exhausted and cant wait to get back to New Hampshire from a much needed and enjoyed week in Myrtle Beach, SC, but when someone offers me free tickets to a show I cant refuse. So as I said I have been driving for about thirteen hours now when one of my friends in the car with me asks me if i would like to see Guster tomorrow 3/25 at Okemo, VT for festevol. I say yes with no hesitation as I cannot turn down free tickets and I have wanted to see Guster for quite some time now. we take a much needed break from driving at my friends house in MA. the next morning we make the slightly longer drive to Okemo mountain in Vermont. Their is a small two day music festival going on called Festevol, we are only there for the second day. we get to the show in time to see Big Head Todd & the Monsters play their show. They were not bad however that is not who I was interested in seeing. They ended their show around 3:30 and cleared the stage so that Guster could set up.  We make our way to the front of the medium sized crowd and get ready for the show. When Guster sets the stage I could tell that it was not the crowd they were expecting yet a few fans start cheering including me and my friend. they play many of their great and popular songs such as (amsterdam) and they also play a few of their underrated songs such as (Come downstairs and say hello). they also play a good mix of new and old songs. at the end of the show the fans stayed and cheered for an encore until Guster came back on stage. they started by playing a little joke song where all the members picked up instruments that they were not familiar with and tried their best to play a short song. They still all managed to play rather well. they then switched to acoustic instruments that they are much better at playing with. They chose acoustic instruments because after their little joke song the stages electronics were actually shut off on them. they played as loud as they could while telling the fans to be as quiet as possible. we stood and listened til the end of the song when the players thanked the small crowd of fans for coming to the show and then they headed off the stage.

overall i would say that the smaller crowd led to Guster playing a better show. They were capable of being more involved with us and talking to individual fans from time to time throughout the show. I would like to see Guster at another show where they are headlining and are not one of several bands in a festival. I would like to see them where they are surrounded by fans.