Like all designers, typography holds a special place in my heart. And as I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I love a good infographic. Since first seeing it back in June of this year, I’ve found myself re-searching for this Fontsmith infographic on typography terms again and again. For all the type nerds out there, here’s a good one to save to your bookmarks or print for your desk.
Views from the 617
I came across the portfolio site of artist, Andres Amador this week after reading that he would be hosting a series of events in Boston over the weekend. Amador specializes in sand design and has travelled the world creating his special brand of environmental artwork. As is the case with his visit to Boston this week, Amador often invites the public to participate in his creation process. His exhibits have been captured in beautiful photography (they are inherently temporary) and I would encourage you to scroll through his portfolio site here: www.andresamadorarts.com. I’ve shared a couple of my personal favorites below:
Photo courtesy of andresamadorarts.com
Photo courtesy of andresamadorarts.com
“I was born to love her, everybody knows
Just the way it is, just the way it goes
She’s a cold companion, like a desert rose
The worse it is, the more she glows”
-The Arcs, Cold Companion
Earlier this year I posted a brief list of albums I was enjoying. The list included “Yours Dreamily“, the first studio album by The Arcs. For those unfamiliar, Arcs is a rock band created as a side project from The Black Keys guitarist and prolific producer of incredible music, Dan Auerbach. I had learned about a month ago that The Arcs would be performing at The Orpheum Theater in Boston in December. Having just racked up a hefty credit card debt buying Christmas presents I thought I might have to sit this one out and try to catch them the next time around. Out of curiosity this week I decided to see if ticket prices had dropped at all and turns out they had had! I came across two 3rd row orchestra seats for $18 each on SeatGeek. I convinced myself that it was a sign from the universe that I was meant to see this show and bought the tickets.
The Arcs is a relatively new band and the show was not heavily promoted but this deal still seemed pretty insane considering The Black Keys have sold out TD Garden (about 17K people capacity). I was only about 60% sure that the tickets weren’t counterfeit but to my relief they scanned and we were let in and ushered to the best seats I’ve ever had at a concert.
The show was really incredible. Dan Auerbach seems like a mad scientist having an out-of-body experience when he’s performing. I have seen The Black Keys in concert before but being this close to the musicians was a totally different experience. There was some trippy projected lighting and a few potted plants on stage but otherwise the set was really simple and low-tech. The paired down set felt really fitting to this band that seems solely committed to just making authentically great music free of any other frivolity.
Below are some photos I took throughout the show. Enjoy!
Had to shout out the beauty that is the Orpheum Theater. Like a lot of theaters in Boston it is really old (1852) and could use a little love in places (the seats) but still.. such a beautiful space to see a show.
Now onto the concert
Back-up vocals and instrumentals are provided by Julie Justine Acosta, Mireya Ramos and Shae Fiol, three members of the all-female mariachi group Flor de Toloache. I spent at least half of the concert just watching them because they were so talented and seemed like they were having the most fun.
Gary Clark Jr.: The Story of Sonny Boy Slim
album review (npr)
Lana Del Ray: Honeymoon
album review (Pitchfork)
The Weeknd: Beauty Behind the Madness
album review (Spin)
The Arcs: Yours, Dreamily
album review (Rolling Stone)
littlebitsjournal.com 