Saturday, October 27, 2012

Concert Review: Passion Pit

Passion Pit fans in a passion pit

     I'm not sure our bodies are equipped to handle perfect happiness. There is always something that could improve an already amazing situation, therefore making sure that perfect happiness cannot exist this side of paradise. Tonight I saw my favorite band perform at a really cool venue, streamers falling out of the sky, beautiful lights set to look like sunsets, chills running up and down my arms... My feet hurt from jumping around so much and my chipmunk cheeks ache from smiling. And yet, it could have been even better.
     They could have played "Cry Like a Ghost," which was the only song missing from a near perfect set list. The ratio of adults to out-of-control teenagers wearing Indian headdresses or Beetlejuice costumes could have been a little less embarrassing. I could have had my man who I like oh-so-much sharing this experience with me (he's cabin-in-the-woodsing it this weekend with friends). Passion Pit could have performed at an outdoor venue on the California coast in May or June with a personal shout out from Michael Angelakos himself thanking me for being his muse for the beautiful music he makes. Would that have made this experience better? Well, duh. But it would have also made this experience entirely fictional because I would have died from cardiac arrest were all this to come true. Too. Much. Good.
     All that said. Passion Pit did not disappoint. They were wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Absolutely and realistically wonderful. It ebbed and flowed with songs from all three of their recent albums. Energy was pretty much consistent all night. The beats were solid and the synths were nevercheesy. Michael's voice reached new angelic proportions of falsetto and the crowd absolutely loved him. They picked two perfect opening acts in Helldorado and Youngblood Hawke. Both will make appearances on my iphone, I promise you.
     It was a build up that definitely delivered, and I am thankful for this experience for reminding me why I love music so much. My ears will be ringing in the morning, my body is starting to ache, and my voice left midway through the show. But I sang my little heart out, burned off calories dancing the night away, and now I can fold this night into a little envelope and keep it in my pocket forever.

Set List:
"Take a Walk"
"The Reeling"
"Fold in Your Hands"
"It's Not my Fault I'm Happy"
"Carried Away"
"Better Things"
"Let Your Love Grow Tall"
"To Kingdom Come"
"Constant Conversations"
"Mirrored Sea"
"Live to Tell the Tale"
"Make Light"
"Love is Greed"
"I'll Be Allright"
"Sleepyhead" (with appropriately timed streamers)
encore: 
"Moth's Wings"
"Little Secrets" 

- MORGZZ

Friday, October 26, 2012

Ask an Expert: Professional Costume Designer Amie Eoff

All the dirt on homemade Halloween costumes from the one and only Amie Eoff

We totally miss the Ostrander award winning designer who made a name for herself at Playhouse on the Square. She made the actors look good and feel good all the time. Plus, she has such a cool girl style that we all want to emulate. So when it came time to start focusing on Halloween costumes this year Amie was the first person we asked, obviously. Read on to see what she had to say about rummaging through closets to find the costumes you didn't know you had, gaining inspiration from thrift store shopping, and making flesh colored bodysuits your new best friends.

As adults we don't always have the kind of money to go out and get the pre-packaged costumes that cost a fortune just for one night of Halloween fun. What is the best way to costume on a budget?

I personally think that pre-packaged costumes might be useful if you are on a strict time schedule, but even if you have an hour you can come up with something fun and creative that blows those bagged costumes out of the water! Why shell out $40 on something that is made of cheap, thin polyester that will probably fall apart before the night is over anyway? Most of us have access to a thrift store of some kind. You will be amazed at the things that you can find there as long as you are patient enough to sort through the racks and piles! Think of it as a treasure hunt and, if you have an open mind, you will most likely find some piece that will pop out at you, and it will be the source of inspiration for your entire costume. Then you can fill in holes by purchasing the other pieces you need while at the thrift store, or with items from your own closet. If you are still having trouble coming up with an idea you can search through the pre-packaged costumes online and instead of purchasing said pre-packaged costume, steal the idea! Simply go to your closet or the thrift store and see if you can find something similar. In the end it will be even more fabulous, because it won’t fall apart and you might even be able to use the individual pieces in your everyday wardrobe!

What is the most creative costume you have ever come up with? What materials were used?

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and every year it seems like there are multiple parties I want to attend. Most years, I will set a goal for myself that I won’t want to wear the same costume twice, and this will lead to some pretty crafty thinking especially if I am throwing something together last minute (which, let’s be honest, is ALWAYS). One year I found a nude colored unitard at a consignment shop so I decided to be an American Gladiator straight from the 1980s. I am a small person, with absolutely zero muscle tone, so of course I had to remedy the problem by stuffing the nude body bodysuit to make “muscles.” Then I painted some scrap fabric that I had on hand with stars and stripes, and made a teeny weeny thong bikini that I wore over the bodysuit. Then I slapped on a blonde wig, some awful 80’s makeup, a horizontal headband, white sneakers and some lovely scrunch socks. Everyone thought it was hysterical and I definitely posed for for many photos that night.
 
Amie rocking the flesh colored bodysuit


What do you think is the worst mistake you can make when dressing up for Halloween?

As much fun as that costume was, I absolutely learned a few lessons from it. The party I was attending was a wild house party with over 100 people. It was cramped and unseasonably warm that night. Needless to say with all that stuffing strapped to my body, I was HOT. Luckily, I brought another shirt and some shorts in patriotic colors. So I wore the American Gladiator costume for a couple of hours, but when I could not stand it anymore, you better believe I made a costume change into something more comfortable. Make sure you check the weather before you go out and think about the venue, because as you all know Halloween weather can be very temperamental, especially here in the south. I have seen so many girls standing outside at a Halloween party wearing their skimpy, sexy costumes but so cold and shivering that they look miserable. Also, seriously consider your choice of footwear before going out. Those 6 inch stilettos might look hot at first, but nothing can compare to how gross your feet are going to look the morning after because you walked around barefoot after hour two. There is no shame in keeping a comfy pair of shoes in your car or some little flats in your bag to change into. Staph infection doesn’t look hot on anyone. My number one piece of advice would be to make sure you are going to be comfortable all night, because NOBODY can get their party on properly while wearing a costume that is holding them back. And if you ask me, having fun is the main reason this holiday exists!

How would you advise our readers to make the most of what they already have when putting together an outfit?

I think a lot of the time with Halloween Costumes, accessories are key. Do you have a white dress? Make some wings and a halo and you have an angel. Black outfit? Add a cape and some fangs and you have a vampire. Another thing to do is try to put a new twist on a famous character. I once went to my closet and put on a red polka-dot dress, some black tights, yellow shoes, put my hair in two buns, and put a black dot on my nose with liquid eyeliner and I was Minnie Mousse for zero dollars. A male friend of mine with a beard wore a robe and a tool-belt and called himself Jesus. A female friend wore one of her mom’s old white hippie dresses and attached some birds to her hair and shoulders and went as an avant-garde Snow White. And why not? Halloween is a holiday where pretty much anything goes, so you should stretch the limits of your imagination. Honestly, who is going to question you? Have fun!
 
Any specific character inspirations that you think would be fun to dress up as?

I always enjoy topical Halloween Costumes, anything spoofing current events usually makes me laugh and always shows me that the individual is very creative. This year I think it would be funny to go as Honey Boo Boo, a NFL replacement referee, or Psy. But personally, I think I am going to pull together some sort of “Big Bird with an Axe” get up and talk my boyfriend into dressing up as “Mitt Zombie.” I have only got a day to pull it together (as per usual) so we will see how it goes! Happy Halloween!

- MORGZZ 

Friday, October 19, 2012

Spooky Fashion: Costuming like Classic Horror Films

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. Cooler weather, orange becomes a much more acceptable color, eating candy is not frowned upon, and wearing a costume doesn't make me crazy! So. Much. Winning! Going to the store and purchasing a plastic mass-produced costume just isn't our style, so we have been brainstorming quite a bit about costumes that we might have been able to just pull from our closets or off the shelves at our favorite stores. Scroll down for 6.5 complete looks (The Shining Twins can either be one or two looks) and start getting inspired! Here is a quick preview: 


-MORGZZ




Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby

Mina vintage dress
$79 - newlook.com

J Crew j crew
jcrew.com

Mulberry mink hat
mulberry.com

Beauty product
$17 - colette.fr

The Birds

Freddy Krueger

Freddy Krueger

Striped shirt
$115 - fashion-conscience.com

Pull Bear pull bear
$9.68 - pullandbear.com

Spike belt
flyclothing.com

Dana Scully, X Files

Carrie

Carrie

Carrie by moharriman featuring a red skirt

Boxy tee
etsy.com

Red skirt
romwe.com

Flower earrings
$4.83 - newlook.com

John Lewis wooden jewelry
$15 - johnlewis.com

Aso
$24 - asos.com

Hereee's Johnny! Shining Twins

Hereee's Johnny! Shining Twins


Antigua vintage dress
shopruche.com


Closed tie shirt
stylebop.com



Patent flat
topshop.com


Girlprop
amazon.com



Dorothy perkin
dorothyperkins.com



The Shining Twins are pretty much the creepiest kids I've ever seen. With this costume, you can either go it solo or find a buddy and make it a 6.5 win! Happy haunting!! 

- MORGZZ