Starpool

When: Friday, November 12, 2010
Venue: DiPiazzas, Long Beach
Accompanied by: Ann & Becky
Genre: Ska

Almost didn't go to the show. But I had no excuse because DiPiazza's is less than 5 minutes from where I live. And I promised my friends, Ann & Becky that I'd be there, and I hate to be "that" person who flakes. So, I got out of my warm bed around 10pm and threw on jeans n a tshirt, a little mascara in attempt to look awake and down the street I went! And how glad I am that I did! From the moment Starpool hit the stage, the crowd went crazy. While this particular genre of music is not something that I have in my iTunes, after the hour plus show was over, I knew that would change. You just can't listen to this music and be sad. It's impossible!  And, um, hello, they do a cover of Pump It Up, and that is ALL GOOD!!  Plus the Friday night show was in support of the BOOBIES!!  And we all know that boobies are a damn good thing!!


Here's an article from the Daily 49er for a review of the show: Starpools jokes, Entertains at DiPiazza's

Face to Face

When: Thursday, November 11, 2010
Venue: House of Blues, Anaheim
Accompanied by: Lara
Genre: Punk

Set List: Resignation, You've Done Nothing, Struggle, What's In a Name, Disconnected, Bill of Goods, I Won't Lie Down, Ordinary, You Lied, Velocity, Should Anything Go Wrong, Walk the Walk, Pastel, Blind, Big Choice, I'm Trying, It's Not All About You, A-OK

Encore: Bikeage, It's Not Over

Would it surprise any of you if I told you that I am also new to the music of Face to Face? Probably not. Aside from the one song that is still played on KROQ, Disconnected, it has only been in the last year or so that I've been turned on to this band. I owe this musical goodness to my friend, Lara (who I met online via the Foo Fighters Post Board).  As she and I ventured off a few weekends back on a road trip from So CA to the Bay Area to enjoy The Bridge School Benefit (still  need to write about that experience!), we had the iPod on shuffle, and nearly every third or fourth song ended up being F2F. She is most definitely a fan!! And I can safely say that when F2F comes back around again, I will be there!


While this article has some errors pointed out by Lara, it is a reasonable review of the show from the OC Weekly: Face to Face at the House of Blues Anaheim

A Perfect Circle

When:  Wednesday,November, 10, 2010
Venue: Avalon, Los Angeles
Accompanied by: Lisa O.
Genre: Alt/Progressive

Set List: Annihiliation, Imagine, (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, What's Going On, Passive, Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie, People are People, Freedom of Choice, Let's Have a War, Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums, When the Levee Breaks, Fiddle and the Drum

Encore: 3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix), The Noose

Truth be told, I am new to APC (surprise, surprise).  But much like I was drawn to Them Crooked Vultures for consisting of members from three of my favorite bands, APC holds the incestuous combination of Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nine Inch Nails. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm a victim of the radio. So, I only knew maybe one or two APC songs before hopping on board. But, the sound. The sound is the ultimate draw. Dark, delicious, and a little sticky. Kind of like a Riesen chocolate caramel chew - sticks to your teeth and stays with you all day long.


To get a real feeling for this show, I will defer to the article written by Johnny Firecloud, in the online musical mayhem, Antiquiet: Covers Night with A Perfect Circle Keeps Hope Alive


I'm glad that I went. Regardless of whether I knew one song from the next didn't mean much. It reaffirmed that the only thing that matters is if the music moves you. And while this particular style of music moves me to wanting to retreat to a dark place and cut myself, the fact is, I was exactly where I needed to be for that moment in time. Oh, and as a side note - the venue, Avalon - excellent choice! It reminded me of The Bronze from my favorite TV show (those who know, will know what show I mean)

November Happiness...

Been feeling like life is finally shifting a bit in the right direction...or at least the thoughts within my head have become less chaotic. Although I can't seem to get the voices to shut up. ☺ Lots to look forward to in the next few weeks!!

• 11/11 Face to Face at The House of Blues, Anaheim
• 11/12 Starpool at DiPiazzas - which is 5 minutes from home!! *thumbs up*
• 11/17 Black Fag at The Slidebar in Fullerton
• 11/22 An Evening with Stewart Copeland at The Grammy Museum
• 11/26 Weezer (The Blue Album) at Gibson
• 11/30 Faith No More at The Palladium in Los Angeles

And a few on the calendar for December, but I'll address those when the time comes...hopefully there will be more between now and then to add on!!  Although I must say that I am beyond excited to head to the Bay Area in December to catch Roger Waters, The Wall!!  Sure, I could have caught the LA show, but none of my friends wanted to go with me at the time when tix went  on sale. And while I considered going solo, I decided that I'd pick up two tickets for the SJ show and take my friend, Karen in honor of her birthday (which happens to be today)!!

Video for the day...The Police - On Any Other day, from Regatta de Blanc...In honor of the upcoming event with Stewart Copeland!!

Pardon the emo moment..

So, I was reading a post on a particular discussion board that I follow, and came across a young woman who was going through a really tough break up with her boyfriend. And for some reason it really hit me hard. I could feel her pain, and with that brought about my own past feelings of heartache from over the past bazillion years. And I began to wonder if we ever really "get over" those that we gave a piece of ourselves to. The moments shared, no matter how brief, shape us in ways that can't always be defined. We'll never know any differently, because what's done is done and there's no turning back. Other than a frontal lobotomy, it's impossible to forget the ones that came before where we are today.


No, I'm not pining away for you. Or you. And definitely not you. Please don't get it twisted. But I do find there are times when I wonder...the occasional "what if". And with that comes the visions of how different my life would be. Knowing full well that it would not necessarily mean better. Or worse. Just different. Because when I loved you, I loved you with all my heart. And even when it wasn't love in the truest sense, I still gave you the best of me in that short moment of time. That's just the way I've always been. Even when I want to hold back, I give my all. No regrets. But lots of tears.


And then I moved on. Eventually. Some took longer than others. But moving on is inevitable. Until right now. Just for this second.


And now...for the video....

Has someone taken your faith?
It's real, the pain you feel
The life, the love
You'd die to heal
The hope that starts
The broken hearts
You trust, you must confess
Is someone getting the best
The best, the best, the best of you?

Bridge School Benefit 2010

When: October 23 & 24, 2010

Where: Shoreline Amphitheater, Mt. View

Accompanied by: Lara

Genre: Mixture of all that is good

Line Up 10/23: Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, Merle Haggard w/ Kris Kristofferson, Grizzly Bear, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Billy Idol, Jackson Browne w/ David Lindley

Line Up 10/24: Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, Merle Haggard w/ Kris Kristofferson, Grizzly Bear, T Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue featuring Elton John & Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley, Neko Case and Jeff Bridges

Set Lists 10/23:

Billy Idol: Ready Steady Go, Dancing with Myself, Kiss Me Deadly, King Rocker, Running with the Boss Sound, Rebel Yell

Elvis Costello: Tell Me Why, Sleepless Nights, A Slow Drag with Josephine, Love Hurts, Wheels, April 5th, The Scarlet Tide, Brand New Heartache

Grizzly Bear: While You Wait for the Others, Two Weeks, All We Ask, Balmy Night

Jackson Browne & David Lindley: Seminole Bingo, Brothers Under the Bridge, For Everyman, Looking East, These Days

Kris Kristofferson: Shipwrecked in the Eighties, Me and Bobby McGee, Here Comes the Rainbow Again, Help Me Make It Through the Night, From Here to Forever, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

Lucinda Williams: Motherless Children, Ventura, Side of the Road, Greenville, Born to be Loved, Joy

Modest Mouse: A Came as a Rat, Autumn Beds, Cowboy Dan, This Devil's Workday, Four Fingered Fisherman, Custom Concern

Neil Young: Sugar Mountain, Comes a Time, Brand New Heartache (w/ Elvis), Walk with Me (w/ Pearl Jam)

Pearl Jam: Last Kiss, Unthought Known, Santa Cruz, Nothingman, Dancing Barefoot, Better Man, Walk with Me, Just Breathe, Black

 

Buffalo Springfield: On the Way Home, Rock & Roll Woman, A Child's Claim to Fame, Do I have to Come Right Out and Say It, Go and Say Goodbye, I Am a Child, Kind Woman, Burned, For What It's Worth, Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing, Bluebird, Mr. Soul 

Encore: Rockin' In the Free World

Set Lists 10/24:

Neko Case: Hold On, Hold On, Vengeance is Sleeping, Dirty Knife

Elton John & Leon Russell w/ T Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue: If It Wasn't for Bad, Jimmie Rodger's Dream, A Dream Come True, Gone to Shiloh, Hearts Have Turned to Stone, When Love is Dying, Monkey Suit, Hey Ahab, There's No Tomorrow

Elvis Costello w/ T Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue: Brilliant Mistake, A Slow Drag with Josephine, Jimmie Standing in the Rain, Sulphur to Sugarcane, National Ransom

Jeff Bridges w/ T Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue: Fallin' & Flyin', Brand New Angel

Kris Kristofferson: Me and Bobby McGee, Jody and the Kid, Here Comes that Rainbow Again, The Promise, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down, Why Me

Ralph Stanley w/ T Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue: Lift Him Up, Soggy Bottom Boys, Man of Constant Sorrow 

Modest Mouse: Wile Packs of Family Dogs, Bukowski, Lives, Dashboard, This Devil's Workday, Blame It on the Tetons, Four Fingered Fisherman, Here's to Now

Grizzly Bear: Shift, While You Wait for the Others, Two Weeks, All We Ask, Foreground, Balmy Night

Pearl Jam: Daughter, Down, Driftin', Other Side, The End, Walk with Me, Lukin, Just Breathe, Black, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

Buffalo Springfield: On the Way Home, Rock & Roll Woman, A Child's Claim to Fame, Do I have to Come Right Out and Say It, Go and Say Goodbye, I Am a Child, Kind Woman, Burned, For What It's Worth, Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing, Bluebird, Mr. Soul 

Encore: Rockin' In the Free World

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A weekend to never be forgotten....a girls road trip along the coast from Southern California to the Bay Area, listening to back to back Face to Face songs, and discussing the sexual prowess of Josh Homme versus Dave Grohl. Josh wins hands down, of course.

And the rain. Can't forget the rain.

And the amazing people.

Open Message to the 1980s & Today

In view of today's observation of Purple Day 2010 - in Support Against Bullying, I wanted to address a few things to my past. I'm 42 years old...and the painful memories of being teased and ridiculed from when I was in grade school throughout high school still torments me in the most unusual of ways. I get nervous when I find myself surrounded by a group of young kids. I instantly regress to being 12, 14, 16 years old again and think that I may find myself the center of unnecessary comments. Silly, right? My self esteem has been challenged for years. Some days are better than others, and I still believe that if only I were thin, then all my problems would disappear. I mean, realistically, I know that's not true. But deep down, I really do think that.

And today kids are even more cruel. Way meaner. And recently, a number of teen/young adult suicides have been on the rise. Sadly, I understand what that desperation feels like. I can easily recall a number of afternoons going home and feeling worthless and ugly. And even more sad, the few times I truly thought that ending my life was the better alternative. Thank God, I had friends who knew me well enough and were always there to make sure I never left them.

Looking back, I see that I was an easy mark. I was sensitive and wore my heart on my sleeve. Trust me, today I'm much more cautious of who I share myself with or who I let in. The today me would kick the living snot out of the yesterday me. But even more so, the today me would like to kick the living snot out of the yesterday Roger M's, Gary S's, Tim O's, Jason M's, Robbie R's & G's and pretty much all the SFHS assholes who tormented me for being what? Fat? How the fuck did that impact their lives?

These young people, who took their lives after being harassed for being gay, my heart goes out to them and their families. No one will ever know how great their lives could have been had people just been a little kinder. A little tolerant. Or hell, if those who had decided to make it their purpose to torment and tease had perhaps just focused on their own lives and left well enough alone, the outcome could have so very different. It's that easy. If you don't like someone's sexual preference, or their hair color, or the way they dress, or look...take a moment and direct that attention within. Maybe it's you that is the problem.

So...to my own past tormenters...it was my fault for allowing you to have such power over me when I was young. But thank God, I did not let it break my spirit. I am awesome. I am amazing. I am beautiful. And I forgive you.


Everybody Hurts - REM
(Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)


When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,

When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)

When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on
'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand

If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on

Everybody hurts. You are not alone.