30 posts tagged “concert”

Today I picked up single tix for:

• She Wants Revenge, General Admission, Friday April 24 at "740" - some venue I've never heard of in LA
  
• Cinco de Mayan (Lucha VaVoom), General Admission, Tuesday May 5 at the Mayan
  
• B-52s, Mid/center seat, Sunday July 19 at the OC Fair
  

I tried to get a ticket to DuranDuran at the OC Fair (Sat, July 11) but it's only bringing up obstructed view seats (at full price!) so I might swing by the venue and see if I can get a ticket there. Or, more likely, I'll forget to do that and eventually end up with a crappy seat or not going.

Unrelated: I got an email that Hamburger Mary's is doing Easter brunch with bottomless mimosas for $15. If I remember tomorrow, I think I'll check that out. Taking a taxi would be a smart move (I REALLY like mimosas!).

ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOMFG!!
I talked to Annie... from less than 3' away. I... ME... LEENDA DE LA LUNA... ULTIMATE LOSER... TALKED TO ANNIE LENNOX!!!

All because I took my time leaving the event and happened to be in the itty itty itty  bitty lobby when Annie was walking to her limo (I think it was an Escalade). She looked GREAT. (54? are you serious?)

The Grammy Museum is tiny. We were sent up to the 5th floor terrace for free nosh (by Wolfgang Puck... AMAZING food) and FREE BOOZE (thank gawd I can control myself)!! I took a table on the patio and was soon joined by a lovely couple - Horacio ("de El Salbathor" (from El Savador)) y Esteban (de Columbia). Cute, intelligent couple - each around 40yrs old. I ended up hanging with them all night.

I never wandered the museum itself but I ended up buying a museum membership (good perks) so I'll check that some other time.

At 7:30 we were sent back down to the 2nd floor to a little performance space where the "worst" seat was 10 rows from the stage (we were in row 8 - I might have lost my cool had I been closer).

It was insane. A "is this really happening?" experience. I can't begin to do justice to seeing, and hearing, Annie so close that it was like being in her living room. Seriously.

She only sang 3 songs... that's all she needed... all acoustic with her playing the piano. Her voice was so insanely powerful during the last song (OMG... I've already forgotten what it was... it will come back to me later) that I was spontaneously crying from the overwhelming experience of it.

• Edit: First song = Thousand Beautiful Things. Second Song = Little Bird. still working on the 3rd.
  

And besides the free booze, free nosh, Q&A with Annie, live performance by Annie, and a free copy of her new CD ("The Collection" - being released, also on DVD, Tuesday), we found out that our free CDs WILL BE AUTOGRAPHED!!

A thoroughly AMAZING night!!

The next time I have a "why me?" pity party, remind me of this karmic balancing act. Kthxbai.

ps: Yes, we did find out that she was on Jay Leno tonight, and sang "Why" (which she's afraid of becoming her "trademark" so she doesn't sing it often), so I'm watching that now.

pps: Not only was there no Gael Garcia Bernal in the audience, there were no celebrities at all. Totally bizarre for LA.

ppps: Happy Valentine's Day!

I can't get a good pic because I decided to respect his request to let him enjoy the show. But, seriously... it's him, 5' from me.

I know you can't tell from the pic but it's really him.. to the right of the latin guy (they were attending together)

Dyson Hand Driers are the BOMB! Stick your hands in, pull them out through a wall of air, and they're perfectly dry without touching anything germie. I loved them (high praise from someone who HATES her Dyson vacuum!):

JumboTron pics from TheWho concert. I took pics from my seat but my cameraphone couldn't handle the lighting conditions and they're mostly blurry

I found this old pic, of flies doin the nasty, on my memory card. Props to them, they were like that for almost an HOUR! But I notice that he's got his feet in her eyes - that can't be fun.

bonus: The one decent pic I got of Madonna (very end of the show - that's her up on the stage

Not wanting to deal with a commute from Orange County to Los Feliz in rush hour traffic, I took the day off (I had a floater day that needed to be used). I was hoping to be productive but I've already become immobilized by my constant habit of "xx hours till I have to be there; which means yy hours till I have to leave; which means zz hours till I have to be in the shower..." and, next thing I know, the entire day is gone even though I don't actually have anything to do. It's stupid... but that's chronic anxiety for you.

Oooh... I just got a txt message that both Britney Spears & Justin Timberlake will be appearing with Madonna tonight. Gonna be a crazy ass crowd!!

Barring my total disappointment over the Prop 8 outcome, the last 36 hours have been pretty nice. It was amazing to, one minute, be posting the projected win of Obama, then - just a few min later - getting in my car and hearing McCain already giving his concession speech. The momentousness (is that real word?) of the event hit me while I was driving and I got a little misty eyed. I decided to see what was up at Hamburger Mary's, which I'd read was having a results party.

I got to the bar just a few minutes before Obama's speech. The place was PACKED and completely understaffed... they hadn't expected a crowd (???). When I was finally able to order, I placed orders for everyone around me. A cape cod (me), chardonnay (woman next to me), and 2 glasses of water (someone behind me) was "$8"... which sounded to low for 2 drinks. I gave the guy a $20. I got $7 in change. I didn't think about - just enjoyed the night (and told the other customer I'd covered her order). Next round was cape cod & 2 chardonnay's... $8... again a $20... again $7 change. I dunno if the bartender was pocketing the extra $5 or what... doesn't matter... just makes me laugh.

Anyhoo... being in that bar when Obama acknowledged gays in his speech was overwhelming. There was such a rush of energy (as one of the FGNs later said, "he legitimized us") that I spontaneously burst into tears. Eventually people got bored and started talking again and I really couldn't hear or read much of the end of the speech.

Then the Prop 8 results starting coming in and it was bad. And, like me, most people didn't want to stick around to watch it. The crowd thinned out dramatically. I, too, went home and didn't check the news till sometime Wed afternoon.

Wed was good overall. I saw the doc about my hands, which had gotten so weird that I had very little sense of touch in my fingertips (everything felt like paper). She said it looked like a allergy and told me to use cortisone cream. I got her to prescrib some industrial strength but also bought a cheap OTC strength in the building's pharmacy. My hands already look better today. I'm just happy it was nothing contageous.

I also got a re-referral to a GI specialist. I've made diagnosis of whatever's wrong with my medical goal for 2009. Mainly because that's probably also going to help me loose weight (or at least make it easier).

Then I was looking at the brochures for an eyelash growing prescription. I asked the doc about it and she said it actually works. It was originally OTC but had some kind of prescription glaucoma med in it so the FDA made the company recall it and now it's prescription only. It was not cheap but I just had to try it (cause, you know, if I have super thick/long eyelashes I'll suddenly become the desire of every man who I desire... duh!). It's a little gel that you put on, once a day, like eyeliner. Results are supposed to become evident in about a month. I'll let you know.

Then came my regular, post doc appt, trip to Bristol Farms for lunch, fancy chocolates, and a fancy coffee. You know what's really strange? The first 3 or 4 sips of coffee when you usually buy a "White Mocha" and have completely forgotten that, this time, you got a "Pumpkin Spice".... not what the tastebuds were expecting!

Then, out of habit, I drove nearly to the old office... a good 15 miles out of my way. Doh!

I got to the correct office in time for the health fair. They had a surprising amount of vendors there! Most interesting was the Pilates studio that said my insurance will cover me for approx 60 FREE sessions in a year.  They do that by billing it as medical treatment. Given my weight & knee & everything else, that would actually be true for me - so I don't feel bad about jumping on board. Plus they're near work and I can get an 8pm appt. Plus, another booth measured my boty fat at 43% (10% less than I expect). So, yea... new workout and major $$ savings!!

There were a lot of plastic surgery booths but I skipped all those. I stopped at a dental booth that was offering a free whitening with any first patient visit. Prior experience tells me not to trust dentists that are that eager to do cosmetic procedures (especially one this is "as seen on prime time TV"... I assume he was one of the dentists used by Extreme Makeover)... but what the heck? I'm looking for a new dentist anyway. So I'll schedule a checkup with them for early next year.

Okay... I got distracted and this is too long anyway. I'm gonna start some laundry, gather my eWaste (for the Sat recycling event), HANG UP THE CLEAN LAUNDRY, maybe dye my hair super dark, and get on with my life.

Sure
Happy
It's
Thursday

OMG, I feel sooo much better today! Knee pain greatly decreased and slept really well. For the first time in months, I woke up refreshed rather than just a little bit less tired. The magic combo? Cymbalta & Tylenol PM. I'm sure it won't be a perfect combo for long - but it worked great last night so I'll be continuing it till it stops being effective.

going back in time:
I'm going to ask for a temp handicap parking sticker. The OC Fair was the final straw. I had to park far (though not horribly so) from the entrance and was so sore by the time I got in that, for the rest of the night, my mantra was "oh, I'm dieing! Kill me now!" So, naturally, instead of going straight into the amphitheater, I wandered around a bit. Took pics of some of the animals. Got suckered in by the "nail art" booth and spent $50 on design pens. They really are easy to use - and mean I'll be able to touch up (or embellish) my toe designs after workouts F them up, and you can also use them as regular polish - but $50 was way more than they were worth (even if I did get 20 colors, plus top coat, plus rhinestones). Sucker born every minute. I must have been born about 1,000 times.

I snagged a beer and headed into the concert grounds. But I was hungry so I trekked way past my section's entrance to get a giant corndog. And, naturally, another 20oz beer. Then one more 20oz beer before the show. And another during the show. 80oz of beer in about 2.5 hrs and yet I was still in major knee pain.

The Stray Cats concert was GREAT. I LOVE slap bass!! The show was very similar to the Brian Setzer Christmas Extravaganza (which I hope to attend again this year), but with his small band instead of an orchestra - and minus holiday songs. About 25% of the audience was dressed rockabilly/pinup, which made for some fun viewing. The chick in front of me had the most awesome tattoos ever - stocking seams up her legs. The chick next to me (massage therapist in Long Beach, I got her info) had an awesome black/leopard bra on but kept hiding it. When she danced, her boobs (which I hadn't, previously, realized were so big) giggled jiggled (though giggling boobs is fun image too) "just right" - so that I, for the first time, understood guy's attraction to them. There were 2 guys, 2 rows ahead of us, who watched her more than the show!! She was cool about it. I was lucky to sit next to her and her friends - they were all really cool and fun. Definitely a plus!!

I was right next to one of the monitors so, like everyone else, my attention (and recording) was equally divided between the stage and the monitor. Remember when we used to bring binoculars to see the band's faces? I miss that. I'm sick of going to concerts and basically watching TV. Great pics, from the band, are here.

The band did all the Stray Cats hits plus some extras [playlist added below]. For the encore, Mike Ness came out and performed "I Fought The Law" with the Stray Cats. The audience went nuts - despite the fact that Mike Ness' mic was totally screwed up and Brian finally had to share his.

Update: I found the playlist

• RUMBLE IN BRIGHTON
• 7 NIGHTS TO ROCK
• DOUBLE TALKIN’ BABY
• SOMETHIN' WRONG w/ MY RADIO
• CRY BABY
• STRAY CAT STRUT
• RUNAWAY BOYS
• SEXY + 17
• GENE & EDDIE
• TOO HIP GOTTA GO
• GINA
• SWEET GENE VINCENT
• BLAST OFF
• BRING IT BACK AGAIN
• FISHNET STOCKINGS
• ROCK THIS TOWN
• I FOUGHT THE LAW (w/MIKE NESS)
• SUMMERTIME BLUES

After the concert, despite being in insane pain, I decided to wander the fair some more. I totally missed the pavilion I was seeking - art - and it was closed by the time I found it. I wandered into the one with the "table setting" competitions but wandered right back out. That competition completely cracks me up - prizes based on who sets the nicest table. They all look like crap. And who cares anyway?!?

I was hoping to find the food & decorated cake competitions but never did. I walked hobbled around some more and finally gave up to go home.

In the parking lot, I finally hit my limit and just came to a dead stop for awhile. I was stripping off my knee brace when a couple came up and asked if I was okay and/or needed any help. Super sweet of them (nice to know there are still people like that) but I HATE that I'm "that woman"... the fat old gimp who looks so pathetic that strangers offer assistance. Reality sucks.

Yesterday was just work-work-work. We're reorganizing teams in order to tackle the project sections that are furthest behind. TheQueen pissed me off because she and I were assigned to split some systems testing and, naturally, she took less than a fair share. I think August is going to fully suck (we have an "end of August" deadline and another in mid-Sept - both of which are insane at this point).

I dropped out of the weekend Kayak class. I was really looking forward to it but the knee pain was just too much and kayaking involves just enough leg work (stabalizing) that I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up. I envisioned a class of people getting pissed that the gimp was holding them up. There's one class left, Sept 6, with only 8 spaces open. Depending on the next week (and outcome of my ortho appt), I hope to get into that one.

Almost forgot: Many thanks to Old Navy for making me feel thin-ish!! I rec'd a order of shorts & tank tops last night and virtually every time (ordered in XXL) was waaay too large for me. I know it just means that their sizing is off but it still felt really good. Unfortunately, that's one more item stacked into my "send it back" pile - which is currently way out of control. And I really did need those shorts to fit so I would wear them for workouts.

Tonight is the last class at SirenDance. I think I get a week off before the next session. I'm going to try to continue there, and maybe add a Tues night burlesque class, but I don't know if we can work out a schedule that works for both of us. ooops - just found out burlesque is cancelled for August. The commute from work is just soooo long (50 miles). I'm not gonna worry about it right now.

I guess I'll go pretend to work for a bit. Kissies...

This is mainly for any peeps who, like me, are looking for info on the Yaz/Yazoo show but finding NOTHING.

Concert was GREAT. Alison Moyet sounds FANTASTIC. No opening band, just a DJ (so I was told). Ticket said 8pm. I got there at 9:30 (thanks a lot, LA traffic and random accident!) and only missed 3 songs. Strange to watch Vince Clarke play a computer, not keyboard or whatever... welcome to the 21st century!

Audience was substantially gay (as I expected) and "older" (35+), also as I expected. Not a lot of stage presence from Alison and Vince but still a REALLY good night out! 80s new wave/electronica music is still the best ever!

*for those who don't know - "Yaz" is the American name of the band known to the rest of the world as "Yazoo". Way back in the 80s, some US band also named Yazoo sued for right to the name. They one. So Yazoo became Yaz in the US only.

First off - GO TO A GEORGE MICHAEL CONCERT!! Even if you don't really care for him... GO!! That was seriously one of the best shows I've ever seen. And knowing I paid $25 for seats, when a woman next to me paid $250, was wonderful. (from what I've seen, the "$25 for 25 hrs" sales are happening the last Fri before the performance)

The sole negative was that the stage was a little low for the amount of floor seating they have. I was probably 30-40 rows away from the stage and spent most of the concert craning my neck in order to see between other people. I just need to make sure to buy different seats for any future shows at Honda Center (section 210 & equiv - first level, directly to the side of the stage, appear to be best).

And I need to dance less - I felt the shooting pain of my knee popping in/out of joint at least 20 times. But I still kept dancing - it was that good!

There was no opening act. George Micheal went on a 8:45 and ended at 11:30p - with only a 20 min intermission. The sound was incredible. The lighting and videos (on the giant monitors) were great. And nearly tripping over Dita Von Teese (and several of her burlesque friends) while walking in didn't hurt matters either - especially when she was featured in the video that accompanied GM's rendition of "Feelin' Good" and I could tell the people near me, "THAT'S who I was telling you is here!" I wanted to take a pic with her but thought it might be tacky to ask - especially cause she was with friends.

I knew very little of George Michael's music but still had a fantastic time. So much so that I'll be buying most of his music this week.

I got home around 12:30am and immediately repacked for SF. I reset the alarm clock for 8am and went to bed around 2am. An airplane woke me up in the morn and I figured it was about 7:55. I decided to roll over and check. Nope... 8:15. Alarm didn't go off because I forgot to turn off the "weekend" option. It's pure luck that I actually woke up then, rather than 11:30. To my complete surprise, I left my house and headed to LB airport on time. I had a hard time finding parking but finally stalked someone and got their space. Then I freaked out because I lost my parking ticket and didn't want to end up charged for a week when I'd only be there for 30 hrs. 10 min of searching later, I decided I had wasted too much time and had to go catch my flight. Which turned out to be 30 min late. (I found the parking ticket when I got back from SF.)

I got to Oakland/SF without event and met up with Secret Agent Scotch. in the Mission district, around 1:30p. For a variety of reasons (including the fact that my knee REALLY did not like walking in SF), we had a relatively mellow weekend. We went to the apt (just as great as she has described it!), had lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall burmese place (kinda scary to look at but really good food), saw Sex & The City (she liked it; I picked it apart), had breakfast-for-dinner at Mel's, then went back to the house for talking and "partying". I got to see the wedding outfit and had a moment where it sort of took my breath away (Steve, you are a lucky lucky man!). I had a great time with the infamous Rudy - he's incredibly cute and fun (and got bonus points for snuggling in bed with me in the morning). We slept in on Sun and got up shortly before PapiChulo and friends came home from their "bachelor camp out". Papi seemed disappointed when he learned that we hadn't done something adventurous the night before and I was left wondering if I should have forced us to go out. I dunno... tough call. In the theme of "bachelorette", we later went to Good Vibrations and left with... books. (I found some flavored lube that I wanted but it was in 4oz bottles and the limit for carry on luggage is 3oz.)

Despite tons of planning, we lost track of time and the BART was behind schedule and I, once again, was running for a plane - the last of the day - that I expected to miss. And, once again, JetBlue WAITED FOR ME. Literally. The gate was empty except for 2 flight attendants who immediately asked, "are you Leenda? We've been holding the plane for you!" Ditto when I got on board. As soon as I was seated, the doors were closed and the plane departed. I was highly embarrassed and originally feeling "WHY do I keep doing this?" But I later realized it's because leaving SF at 4 in the afternoon does not feel right. But 6p is the last flight of the day so, unless I change airlines & airports, I can expect this trend to continue.

Dear JetBlue, you rock!! Thanks for continuing to accommodate my buttlagging! And please bring back terra blue chips as the inflight snack on your planes. kthxbai.

By the time my flight landed, my knee was fully pissed off (it does not like being bent/sitting; nor the 2 flights of stairs in Scotch's home) and I had to hobble to my car - eventually using my crutches to get around inside the house.

I was EXHAUSTED by 8p and got to bed a little bit "early" (11-ish), slept well, and headed to the chiro before work today. He adjusted my knee but it still feels awful - can't support my weight and is clearly swollen. Since Scotch and I really didn't do much walking, I'm extremely disappointed that it affected me so severely (now my L foot is also screwed up from trying to compensate when the R one couldn't hold me). I think it's finally time to schedule an orthopedic referral.

And that was my weekend. A bit of an expensive version of "just hanging out" with a cool friend - but I really did enjoy myself.

Now I am hours behind at work but not stressed about it. I could really use a nap but it looks like I'll be at work till around 10p. So I guess I should go start doing something in the hope of getting caught up. Ugh. Paychecks are nice but working sure harshes my buzz.

Happy end to the first 1/2 of 2008!!

At least for his LA & OC shows. I have no idea about other locations.

I just scored 2 floor seats, reg $250 each, at that rate ($75 total after ticketmaster rape fees). No idea who I'm going to take. I'm not a major fan but can't pass a major concert at that price!

Sale started at 10am today (Fri). TicketMaster.com.