Anything Could Happen

"ELLIE! PLAY LIGHTS! I ONLY CAME HERE TO HEAR LIGHTS," one crazed fan shouted amongst the thousands of people who flooded the Aragon Ballroom last night. There might be many of you who too, could only recognize her music based on how many times the radio decides to play Lights...but she is so, much, more than that. I'm not even sure I know where to begin in unraveling my concert experience for you, so I guess I'll start at the top. 

we are not worthy.

Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding was born December 30th, 1986 (whaddup, December babies!). An English singer-songwriter, her debut album Lights  was released in April 2010 and her sophomore album Halcyon was released in October 2012. Both album sales did amazingly well in the states and her fan base here and home speaks for itself. 
Ellie's Halcyon Days tour kicked off in Miami on January 16th and will end February 12th in Los Angeles; her Chicago show was directly in the middle of the tour. 

The Queen at her throne. 

My friends and I had gambled with the order of her opening set months in advance, trying to figure out what would be THE song to open this specific tour. And then the song after THAT one. And after THAAAT one. Calob (one of 3 that night) was right with his choosing, naturally. Ellie opened with the first song on her new album called "Don't Say a Word," and the moment she began to sing the opening riffs, the crowd lost it.

Ellie performed one hit song after another for 2 hours, ranging from her upbeat indie-electronic tunes to her piano-accompanied ballads and everything in between. 

Here's Tuesday's set-list!

1. Don't Say a Word 
2. Halcyon 
3. Figure 8 
4. Salt Skin 
5. Hanging On 
6. Joy 
7. Explosions 
8. Guns And Horses 
9. I Know You Care 
10. Your Song 
    (Elton John cover)
11. My Blood 
12. Only You 
13. Under The Sheets 
14. Anything Could Happen 
15. Animal 
16. Without Your Love 
17. Starry Eyed 
18. Encore:
18. I Need Your Love 
19. Lights 
    
    

    

    Serenading Chicago

    Before her super energetic encore, Ellie invited us to sing and wish her guitar player, Chris, a happy birthday. What a phenomenal way to spend your birthday, no? Rockin' out with one of music's most brilliant artists in one of the greatest cities ever? C'mon now. That's a pretty legitimate birthday celebration.
    
    This concert marks the umpteenth concert I've seen in my lifetime. Ellie is a performer who you could easily argue sings better live than on an album, I'm not even sure I know where my opinion stands in that sense. I will, however, encourage all music lovers to give her a better listen. She A. is unbelievably gifted as a musician and songwriter and B. has an unbelievable vocal range and uses her voice as its own instrument. So fear not- there is still plenty of time and space to hop aboard the Ellie Goulding Bandwagon. I would love to think that this time next year (or sooner, if possible) she'll have another album under her belt and a tour to go with it. Who knows!
    
    

Hello, Goodbye

Q: What do you call free labor for one of the most noted and award-winning theaters in Chicago?

A: AN INTERNSHIP WITH NORTHLIGHT THEATER! 

Northlight Theater

The mission:

Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community.

Most people in the theatre world wear many hats: there is a wide gamut of little odds n' ends jobs that may be asked of you as well as tasks presented on a much larger scale. Some interns tackle computer work AND schedule meetings while others work on patron subscriptions AND rehearsals AND concessions. Catch my drift? Dig what I'm saying? I knew that you could. I'll be doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING all at once. Challenge accepted.

Joining the Northlight team is a blessing in itself. Naturally, I had to publicize it to the (Facebook) world and share my wonderful news once I confirmed the position. I could not, however, predict the number of overwhelmingly congratulatory responses, Likes, texts, tweets, etc. 

unbelievable. 

Not to mention the recognition granted to a fellow student and myself through the support of our theatre club. 

Easily the best club on campus.

Without sounding like a complete sap, I have mixed emotions about starting and closing so many chapters of my college life and watching new ones open up for the people I care about back home. SO MANY TROLLS ARE GOING ABROAD TOO! And may the capslock accentuate such exciting news! I couldn't be happier for my wonderful friends departing for new adventures in Kenya and Ecuador. I bet your friends merely WISH they were as cool as mine. Hannah Joy, Leah, Jake, Jess, Kyle, and Becky, I will continue to pray for you and your time away. I know so many fellow students and friends wish nothing but the best for you and if they're on my brainwave, can't wait to watch and see the amazing things God will do with you in your respective countries.

Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good

Outside world, I have survived the first 5 days of living in one of the most chaotic cities in the world. And I owe it to you to keep you up to speed with everything, so let's begin with Day 1.

Looks pretty official, eh?

January 14

After moving all of my stuff into a one-bedroom apartment the day before with 2 other roommates (who are awesome, by the way- super great girls), the entire program met at the Chicago Semester building located on Monroe and Adams...which thankfully is a quick and easy commute from the Red Line. It was your typical first impressions meeting: after breakfast, we had roughly an hour to kill before the orientation process actually began. It only took 1 student to move themselves over to their assigned seat in the classroom setting for EVERYONE ELSE to use it as a social cue to move to their seats as well. It was an amazing social experiment, I mean, you do NOT want to be that person who goes against the grain right? Yeah, that was a bust. 

As the morning took off we eventually got to the portion of the schedule where we pair up with someone and get to know them beyond their name and whether or not they are one of the two hundred people from Dordt in the program (obviously I'm exaggerating, or AM I?! Ok so there's maybe only like, 15, I decided to round up). After this, we would report back to everyone about who's who and move on with the day. UM- time out. I need my cheesy name-game icebreakers to help me actually put a name with a face! Do you need a volunteer to lead them? In true Hunger Games fashion, I would have jumped at that opportunity.

The rest of the morning consisted of the CS staff breaking down the week day-by-day and doing some interactive work with us in groups and individually. Let me be the first to say that the CS Staff is legit. These are people who genuinely want to see you succeed in the program and hope that you bring as much as you can to the proverbial table. It was refreshing to know that your semester away from home would be in good hands. 

Later that night, we traveled in assigned small groups for a dinner trip to an ethnic restaurant. My group ventured to Tandoor for Indian food. Awesome grub and fun conversations made for an very enjoyable time. 

My super-cool new friends and I have begun to explore the Division St./ Gold Coast night life a bit and have found that it's a great way to bookend our days. Whether we grab frozen yogurt or a beer, it's always a good time to catch up and let loose after a long and productive day of orientation. 

Bright Lights, Bigger City.

Friends, family, and bloggers alike, here is where I'll be posting about all my wonderful Chicago adventures for the Spring 2013 semester. 

Grant Park

I have often asked myself what attribute about studying abroad (or 45 minutes away from my college and hometown) entices me the most. Aside from all the fun thoughts of eating delicious food, edgy and hip night-life, mastering cta-transportation and eating more delicious food, I think I'm looking forward to the people most. Trust me, I know Chicago traffic and crowds is not ideal for most, but I can't think of a better place to be for my last semester of college than in a city I love, flooded with all walks of life. Not too long ago, a friend of mine took a photo of an article from a magazine and posted it to Instagram (an app used to make a regular photo look like a cooler, vintage-esqe version of itself) and it read the following: 

 Whoever the 'I' is in that quote knows what he or she is talking about. Chicago is work. It's gradual, sure, but think of everything that happens in a city like Chicago year round- sports games, seasonal events, conferences, festivals, concerts, etc., we are a bustling metropolis always on the move because there is always something to do or see. Nothing excites me more than knowing I will contribute to the busyness and all around success of Chicago's entertainment scene, especially in the field where there is so much talent and pizzazz to witness- theatre. 

Fact: Chicago is home to more than 200 small and large scale theaters. 200! Before studying theater at Trinity, I could probably name you 10 theaters that I might have only heard of, but never actually knew anything about the works they produced. Thanks to interim and theater courses, field trips, and summer internships, I have become so familiar with the mass amounts of theater the city has to offer; you'd be amazed at what's out there folks, really. Remember my aforementioned love for being around people? This would be where it really kicks in. Think of how many actors and employees Chicago must inhabit in order to run 200+ theaters. I'm not good at math, but I'm sure it's a really high number.