boat

If you set up a house show or House Boat, that's cool. If you set up a boat show for House Boat, that's amazing. If someone could set up a houseboat show for House Boat, that'd be incredible.
The Rotterdam Riot crew booked Tinto's, which is this red recreational boat by the docks of Rotterdam. Really cool.

I was gonna take a train and travel there, spend some time in R'dam and watch the show, hoping to find a place to sleep (which didn't appear to be difficult, Dutch people rule). But fate, and more importantly Wout Touw, twisted that plan. Downside: I didn't manage to see Mikey Erg or the 20Belows. Upsides: fun ride, jammin' catchy pop tunes in the car, no train costs, good company. Wout Touw rules.
So we arrived when the Windowsill was setting up. Lots of Dutch buddies were at the show. I met this dude named Arjan who is the person behind the best youtube channel ever and also a really nice person. He filmed a bunch, if not all, of the sets that night, so check out his channel!

The Windowsill kicked but, obviously. Such a good band. They played lots of new songs from their upcoming album and every one of them was as catchy and fun as the other one. The classics like Mess Me Up, No Destination and their 'cover' of the Apers' Falling Apart got me well excited again about these fellas. I love Mariën vocals, man. Also, Jerry's dancemoves rule. Fun show, fun band, 10/10, een kus van de juf en een bank vooruit!

House Boat played and I decided I'd go nuts, even though I know there's a tendency at Dutch shows of not going nuts. Anyway, I'm just really excited about House Boat, and I was excited I could see them a second them in a week so I put on my dancing shoes (which are the same ones as my regular shoes) and I sang along, fistpumped along and jived along to the soothing tunes of this pop punk hybrid. Other setlist than at Crossbone, cool. All good songs. Although they try really hard sometimes, they weren't able to dissappoint me.
The fun/sad thing about this set was that it was almost put together to display how much they feel alone. I was singing along to the tunes they were playing, as I always do because I like doing that, and it occured to me how many times I was singing about being alone, feeling alone, not wanting to be alone, ... I noticed "alone" is almost an isotopy. So because of that, I will now go over the House Boat discography and try to see what the fuck his fucking problem is, man?

The Delaware Octopus:
1: I Watched The Biggest Loser Australia: "I don't know how to be alone anymore." // "I can't keep taking pictures, but I don't wanna be alone." // "Still scared of you but even moreso of sitting here alone. Still scared of sitting here alone. Sitting here alone."
2: I Work On The 13th Floor: "I don't wanna stay here crammed close, all alone." // "I'll be better when I'm better. I'll be better off alone." // "You'l be better when you're better if you'd just leave me alone."
3: Alonelylonelyone: "Oh I don't wanna be alone." // "We're totally fucked and completely alone. Everyone's fucked and alone. Now we're just fucked up alone."
4. Battlestar Galactive VS. Pop Punk Message Board IV: Grivet Loves Goats: "Bitter, and we're lonely and we only speak the truth."
7. Are You Into Metal?: "It sure would be a shame if these hooded sweatshirts both went home alone."
9. All Of The Time: "Holed up alone cause I'm fucked up when you're not around"

Processing Complaints:
2. Payment Plan: "I wake up and cry 'cause I'm all alone." // "And I don't know why; I should leave it alone." // "I'm all alone, the computer is on." // " 'And now I just wanna be alone, but I hate being alone' "
3. Kids of the Black Hole Sun: "It's boring to be alone."

The Thorns Of Life:
8: Anticipation Preservation: "I walk all night I walk alone I don't wanna be alone tonight." // "You don't wanna be alone tonight" // "Why am I walking home alone?"
12: Real Life As A Metaphor For Real Life: "I figure I'm just gonna end up alone again." // "Locked in my bedroom, one hand on the phone, hoping that I won't end up alone again."

21st Century Breakroom:
1: 21st Century Breakroom: "Time to find another corner; time to leave you alone" // "Six months holed up at home; I can't stand being alone." //
2. Suburban Grit: "And now I'm all alone."

The Thing That Ate Larry Livermore:
5. Love Song For The Reclusive: "Miles away from home, oh, I am lonelier than lonely. Lonelier than lonely so I'll stay in place for just a little while."

And that's just the obvious, excluding all alusions at and metaphors for 'feeling alone'.
So, either they've realised "man, we used the word "alone" way too much on that first record, let's make it a bit more vague" or they've gradually become less alone. I don't know.
Also, the word "alone" looks really weird at this point. You know, when you say or write a word a lot of times it starts abstracticizing itself? Yeah, that.

Anyway, Wout Touw brought me back to Belgium after the show, which I'm very grateful for. I didn't have to be alone so that rules.