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The house concert was interesting. I did get the feeling, not that all these people knew each other, but that all of them knew someone there, and a lot of them knew members of the band. (The loft, if I have this right, belongs to Marina Belica, lead singer of October Project.) The "house rules" were that we all left our shoes in the foyer, and that nobody was to talk during the music.
October Project was definitely worth seeing live and unplugged, in part because I found it easier to focus on the lyrics in this context. Lots of lost or doomed love stuff, weird but I liked it. The melodies--at least in this context--seemed more alike than the lyrics. I shushed someone at one point--he'd been taking photos, which they all seemed cool with (and my problem with camera flashes is my problem, not that of people I don't know who have invited me into their home), and then he started telling the man next to him something about how he thought the band should dress. He began between songs, but didn't stop when the music resumed. During the break, Julie, the other singer, stopped by to say "I love you for shushing...somebody gets it", to which my response was "somebody wanted to hear every word you sang." (True, but not quite as flattering as it might sound--I didn't know the songs, so I needed to hear the lyrics.) Apparently the man I shushed was Marina's boyfriend, and may have thought the "no talking" rule had an exception for him.)
I was less impressed by Karnataka. They're from Swansea, and talked a bit about the Gower Peninsula in their intro, but not (as far as I could tell) in their songs. They also said this was only their third acoustic gig ever: they may be better plugged in. The bass player was on guitar instead, which I assume changed the sound. I do want to try hearing more new music and bands, and sometimes I'll be disappointed.
Before the concert, I finally got in a proper, thorough workout:
Hip adduction, 105 pounds, 3 sets of 15 (but I cheated on the last rep). Hip abduction, 90 pounds, 3 sets of 15.
Cardio, 33 minutes, but I had trouble getting my heartrate up, or keeping it there: I'd hit 140, then watch it drop back to 135 or 130 in a few seconds. Still, it felt like a good cardio workout.
Bench press, 50 pounds, 14 reps, then 13; 47.5 pounds, 13 reps.
Seated leg curl, 60 pounds, 2 sets of 15. 55 pounds, 1 set of 15.
Adjustable row, 100 pounds, 3 sets of 15. The gloves aren't helping much with the grip. I may try a different handle, or ask a wandering trainer for advice on an exercise to strengthen my grip.
Mat work: crunches and arches, 3 sets of 15 each. I'm hating crunches again, but I am doing them. A few reps of cat-and-camel, then the tree, which I'm getting better at. Balance is good.
Triceps pull-downs: bar handle, 80 pounds, 2 sets of 15. Rope handle, 50 pounds, 15 reps.
Leg extension, separate legs, 10 pounds at a time, 3 sets of 11. No fun at all, but my knees hurt after Wednesday's leg press, so I decided I need to keep doing this one, and put the leg press off a bit longer.
Bicep curls, 25-pound bar, 3 sets of 15.
My usual stretches on the Precor machine, then I did two sets of chest presses because the machine was on the way to the locker room. 30 pounds, 2 sets of 13 reps.
The whole thing, including changing before and after, took around two hours.
October Project was definitely worth seeing live and unplugged, in part because I found it easier to focus on the lyrics in this context. Lots of lost or doomed love stuff, weird but I liked it. The melodies--at least in this context--seemed more alike than the lyrics. I shushed someone at one point--he'd been taking photos, which they all seemed cool with (and my problem with camera flashes is my problem, not that of people I don't know who have invited me into their home), and then he started telling the man next to him something about how he thought the band should dress. He began between songs, but didn't stop when the music resumed. During the break, Julie, the other singer, stopped by to say "I love you for shushing...somebody gets it", to which my response was "somebody wanted to hear every word you sang." (True, but not quite as flattering as it might sound--I didn't know the songs, so I needed to hear the lyrics.) Apparently the man I shushed was Marina's boyfriend, and may have thought the "no talking" rule had an exception for him.)
I was less impressed by Karnataka. They're from Swansea, and talked a bit about the Gower Peninsula in their intro, but not (as far as I could tell) in their songs. They also said this was only their third acoustic gig ever: they may be better plugged in. The bass player was on guitar instead, which I assume changed the sound. I do want to try hearing more new music and bands, and sometimes I'll be disappointed.
Before the concert, I finally got in a proper, thorough workout:
Hip adduction, 105 pounds, 3 sets of 15 (but I cheated on the last rep). Hip abduction, 90 pounds, 3 sets of 15.
Cardio, 33 minutes, but I had trouble getting my heartrate up, or keeping it there: I'd hit 140, then watch it drop back to 135 or 130 in a few seconds. Still, it felt like a good cardio workout.
Bench press, 50 pounds, 14 reps, then 13; 47.5 pounds, 13 reps.
Seated leg curl, 60 pounds, 2 sets of 15. 55 pounds, 1 set of 15.
Adjustable row, 100 pounds, 3 sets of 15. The gloves aren't helping much with the grip. I may try a different handle, or ask a wandering trainer for advice on an exercise to strengthen my grip.
Mat work: crunches and arches, 3 sets of 15 each. I'm hating crunches again, but I am doing them. A few reps of cat-and-camel, then the tree, which I'm getting better at. Balance is good.
Triceps pull-downs: bar handle, 80 pounds, 2 sets of 15. Rope handle, 50 pounds, 15 reps.
Leg extension, separate legs, 10 pounds at a time, 3 sets of 11. No fun at all, but my knees hurt after Wednesday's leg press, so I decided I need to keep doing this one, and put the leg press off a bit longer.
Bicep curls, 25-pound bar, 3 sets of 15.
My usual stretches on the Precor machine, then I did two sets of chest presses because the machine was on the way to the locker room. 30 pounds, 2 sets of 13 reps.
The whole thing, including changing before and after, took around two hours.