I've been watching this show since it started in 2005 and I was barely 15, I couldn't stop now even if I wanted to and I really don't xD This season took me forever to get into mainly because the last season was really slow, but also because Hayes was out. I really liked Hayes.
Anyway, Hayes is out and Nick is in, and I had to dig really, really deep to even remember who Nick was.
I'm not a huge fan of the whole Minnesota storyline, and I'm really not a fan of the residency program getting shut down. Ffs everything was going well and then everything went to shit in the blink of an eye.
Why can't we just let Mer be happy? Just for once?
Kai is probably the best thing about this entire season. And Jake's performance as Levi is top notch. Favourite resident? Move over, Taryn, Levi's in the house!
And Addison's back!!! :D
That season finale though? Oof. Everyone just "Fuck this shit I'm out" and left Mer all alone. And it also celebrated 400 episodes of Grey's Anatomy so all the flashbacks just made me cry my eyes out T_T
We finally got around to watch this series after having heard so much about it. Every episode had us sat like what the fuck, but in a good way, and we could never watch an episode without talking about it first.
So every episode starts out deceptively normal, but the viewer soon realises that it takes place in some not so distant future, becuse the tech they're using doesn't exist yet.
My favourite episodess are usually connected to social media or personal tech that can only be described as cybernetics. And what I also really like is that a lot of those episodes have small hints that suggest they all take place in the same world. Like that one song.
In season 1 my favourite episode was Fifteen Million Merits, which is about people living closed off from the world spending their days cycling and earning merits and constantly consuming content. The cycling powers... something, and the merits can be used to buy your way out of cycling. But it doesn't really go the way you plan. This episode is the first time that song shows up, and then it just keeps popping up in several episodes throughout the series.
Season 2 was incredible all around and I can't pick a favourite. Be Right Back is heart-breaking and we're still talking about it. White Bear created a discussion on morals and ethics and none of us saw that twist coming. The Waldo Moment could be contemporary for how it portrays politics, and it's scary how possible, even probable, it all seems. White Christmas is etched into my mind and the tech used for the interrogation comes back in another episode. Jon Hamm is in this one and he's just as amazing as usual. The eye-camera tech in this episode is pretty terrifying.
Season 3 is also incredible all around, but if I have to pick favourites I'd go with Playtest and Hated in the Nation. Playtest is the most horror-ish episode of them all and that twist at the end is perfect. Hate in the Nation is pretty much a crime thriller, but with a tech twist and some environmental disaster warnings in it. That said... The social media aspect of Nosedive was really interesting and also kind of scary. Shut Up and Dance could be completely contemporary, probably the weakest story this season but still so good. The digital afterlife of San Junipero was a really cool concept. And finally, that twist in Men Against Fire was on point.
In season 4 my favourite was hands-down Black Museum. Mainly because it takes elements from a whole lot of episodes and makes something new with it and I love when they do that. USS Callister is a pretty terrifying mix of online-gaming and digital cloning with a Star Trek twist. I laughed so much. Arkangel and Crocodile were both really on point with the scary future tech. Hang the DJ was cool and we talked about that one for a couple days. Metalhead was probably the weakest story of the season, but it was by no means bad.
In season 5 they dropped the ball. Smithereens was probably my favourite episode, but all three stories in this season were pretty weak. Striking Vipers puts a future tech twist to VR gaming that didn't do it for either of us. Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too felt like a Disney Channel movie from 15 years ago. Smithereens deals with the attention-span deficit everyone suffers from due to social media, and it got a bit preachy.
There seems to be a new season in the works, which I'm looking forward to. I just hope they can get back to the brilliance that was season 2-4.
At 4.15AM on Tuesday morning we started packing up the car and at 4.30 we drove off to pick up the last person. Around 5AM we finally rolled out of the city and headed south towards a week of fun, music and friends. If it wasn't for covid this would probably have been mine and bf's 9th time at Swedish Rock Festival, instead it's our 7th time. The best part about this festival is how happy and carefree everyone is, and that ambience was extra strong this year. AFter two years of not being able to come here everyone was so exalted to be back. The crowd was happy and merry even with the not-so-perfect weather and even the bands on stage seemed extra excited to be back on stage facing the screaming crowds. It was amazing. Even more amazing than usual.
We kept the tickets that were supposed to be for 2020, felt a bit odd to use two-year-old tickets to exchange for our wristbands, but hey! Thanks for keeping them valid for these two years!
Going to Sweden Rock Festival
We arrived around lunch and started building our camp. We're always in the same spot on the same camping. And it was so great to see all of the people again! We usually oonly meet once a year at SRF and two years without seeing each other was just too damn long! In the two years since we could last see each other the camp had gone from being (mostly) in our 20s to being a whole bunch of 30+ people, several of whom had become parents in the meantime. Crazy!
After the camp was built, bf and I went to exchange our tickets to wristbands, buy this year's merch and procure soda to make rum&coke in camp. Our mission was successful!
Wednesday was the first proper day of the festival, but me and bf had no bands we really had to see until in the evening when we went inside the concert area and watched Raubtier. I don't know a lot of songs by them and the one I know the best, they didn't play, but damn the energy they brought and the crowd had just made the whole experience magical!
Thursday was our busiest day! We started the day with Alestorm. After a short break with food and drink in the camp we went back inside. Everyone but me was going to see Devin Townsend, but I went to see Eluveitie and that's probably the best concert of the year. The band was so extatic to be back on stage and the crowd was so excited to be there! It created a magical experience where I spent equal amounts of time jumping, screaming, clapping, singing, and thrashing around in the mosh pit. Eluveitie also taught me I'm too old for mosh-pits now. Everything hurt afterwards! xD
In the evening we went back inside to see Dropkick Murphys, Volbeat and the one band I had looked forward to for years! Nightwish! To my eternal sorrow I was only 14 when the band broke with Tarja and so I never had a chance to see them live with her, but I saw them twice with Anette and this was my first time with Floor. And wow, did she deliver! The whole band did. It was amazing and the experience was only marred by the guy who kept jumping like crazy (both into me and on me) every time they played a song newer than Imaginaerum. On the other hand, every song older than Imaginaerum had me scream-singing in his ear so I guess we're even xP
Friday was a calm day spent mostly in the camp where we got to partake in the traditional activity of "decorating" the first person to pass out in the camp. In the evening we went to see In Flames, which, surprisingly, I haven't seen before. Surprsing considering how many times they've been at SRF and Metaltown.
On Saturday we were all pretty miserable after four days camping and drinking and head-banging. All around happy, but oh so done with sleeping in tents. That morning we were invited on a backstage tour of the festival thanks to one of our camp members being an ambassador for Hi-Fi Klubben. It was a very cool tour and we got to go up backstage on the second largest stage while Honeymoon Suite were playing. And we got to take a look at the backstage area where the bands hang out. Nothing so glamorous as a green-room on a festival, but it was still a pretty cool experience.
We decided to leave on Saturday evening instead of Sunday morning. So for our last trip inside the festival area of 2022 we saw Hardcore Superstar and then Within Temptation. I've seen both of those bands before, three times each. But they were just as good. Hardcore Superstar has some crazy on-stage energy. Within Temptation is always extremely powerful. If I could sing like Sharon I'd never shut up.
The band that would close the entire festival was Guns 'n' Roses. None of us are super fans of the band, and some of our camp members who've been to SRF more times than us told us about the last time Guns were at SRF and they didn't go up on stage until they were almost an hour late. They wanted to see the first few songs and give Guns a chance to redeem themselves. We decided to get in the car instead and start the 7-hour roadtrip back north. While in the car I kept talking via Messenger to the people who stayed for a bit, and found out Guns were 30 minutes late to go on stage this time. Our friends didn't even stay to hear one song. Such a shitty attitude from Guns to end an otherwise amazing festival.
We started the drive around 10.30pm and arrived home around 5.30am. That shower after you come home after a week of camping is divine. Sleeping in your own bed is like a piece of heaven.
Going home from Sweden Rock Festival
For more pictures and videos check out my Instagram :)
On Friday we got on the train to Stockholm and from there changed to a train to Gävle. Neither of us had ever been to Gävle and so it was nice to discover a new city, except for the fact that as soon as we stepped off the train the sky opened up and poured heavy rain on us, which was soon joined by thunder and lightning. We sheltered in the station building for a while, to see whether the rain would calm down, before we decided to brave the weather and find the bus to the hotel. We found the bus stop with ten minutes to spare and a nice little bridge to hide from the rain under. The bus trip took about 10 minutes to the hotel where we checked in without issue. We got up to our room on the top floor (cosy forest view) to discover the most extensive staff welcome gift I've ever seen. We unpacked and chilled for a bit before we went back down to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. Burger for me, steak for him. After dinner we went back to our room to freshen up and then we asked the reception to call us a taxi to the city centre. We had googled to try to find a rock bar in the city and the only thing we found was this weekend only thing at an otherwise mainstream place. So we went there but couldn't find it. Asked the bartender who told us that they closed down the rock bar part of the establishment after the basement flooded some nine months ago. Somewhat disappointed we decided to stay there anyway and have some drinks and just chill. Around 10pm we left to find a taxi and return to the hotel. Some channel zapping on the TV later we both went to bed.
After an amazing breakfast we went up to our room to chill a bit, have a nap, and start to get ready for the day. Just after lunch time I went back down to reception and asked them to call us a taxi for 2.30pm to go to the festival area. We got there, exchanged our tickets for wristbands, got patted down, and then we were IN! First festival and concert since 2019 and we were both feeling it.
Not too long after we got there we realized something was wrong. The band that was supposed to be on stage at 3pm (Lucifer) didn't come on stage until 3.30pm and there was no explanation as to why. Worse yet was that they offered to information on what would happen next. Would they try to regain the lost 30 minutes? Would they ask the bands to shorten their gigs? Would they postpone someone to the next day? By the time Ugly Kid Joe got on stage they were around an hour delayed. And I decided to call the taxi company and push the pick-up time for our pre-booked taxi back to the hotel that night from 00.45am to 1.15am. Just in case.
The first show we properly attended without walking off was Uriah Heep. Neither of us knew more than one song by them (Easy Livin'), but damn did they have stage presence, and damn could that old man sing!
Next up was Powerwolf. Toni was super excited to see them live for the second time, and I was also really looking forward to my first time. They were great! Amazing even! I knew and/or recognized all of the songs they played even if I didn't know the lyrics to most of them (aside from a few words here and there), but the band were all amazing at getting the crowd going and making us feel a part of the performance. Perfect!
Next in line was Black Label Society. Neither of us particularly care about Black Label Society and feet were getting tired so we decided to have a sit-down in the serving area while we waited for the last act of the day.
And then it was finally time. My sixth Alice Cooper concert. The entire reason I discovered this festival. My whole reason for going to a town 200 km away over a weekend. And I can't really put into words how absolutely stoked I was to see him live again and how happy I got when he walked out on stage and started singing. I love his entire stage persona, and his music, his theatrics, his singing voice... Everything is perfect to me. I was scream-singing along with every song, and I loved how the entire crowd sang along to No More Mr Nice Guy, Bed of Nails, Hey Stoopid, He's Back, I'm Eighteen, Poison, Billion Dollar Babies and School's Out entirely unprompted. It was magical. I had a blast.
After the concert was over I left with a shot back, aching feet, sore throat, ringing ears, numb palms, a stupid grin, and a solid reminder why I love concerts.
I woke up today with a medley of Poison, Bed of Nails and Fallen in Love stuck in my head on a loop. After more hotel breakfast we packed up our room, checked out and headed to the train station. Throughout the entire train ride to Stockholm I was listening to Alice Cooper songs and updating IG with pictures and highlights and checking out other people's pictures using the hashtag for the festival. Tired but happy. We're back in business. Live music has returned!
Here's a playlist I made on the setlist of Cooper's concert! Every song in the order he played them! Enjoy!
Trailer for his 2019 tour (I saw him on the Stockholm date) to give an idea of what the gig was like :3
