Catching up and a Fiona Apple Show!!!

It's been a while since I last blogged. I also have been to a couple of shows that I haven't blogged about. Since I've last blogged, I've seen Shabazz Palaces, Sade, DJ Shadow and New Edition. All very good shows...Shabazz I've seen a hand full of times, that show was packed! I prefer to watch him in a smaller venue and crowd...only because I wasn't able to chit chat with him or even take another picture with him after the show. Sade is my all time favorite artist. Only because I've loved her since I was a kid. Anything she will put out I will love. It was a lovely time with my cousins, but also a mini reunion with my childhood girlfriends. DJ Shadow was a first for me. I initially wasn't going to go to this show but was peer pressured. It wasn't that bad...I just wished DJ Shadow played more songs off his first album. He was very more drum and bass that night. I still had fun with my friends, hadn't had a night out like that with my friends in a while. Loved New Edition! Second time seeing them on stage, but the first time I saw them Bobby Brown wasn't apart of the tour. This time he was included and I was excited to see him along side his old friends. Songs were as memorable as they were when I heard them when I was a kid. Sang out loud to all their songs! It was a nice night of friends and songs that make me feel old but giddy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just the other day I went to the Fiona Apple concert. She was performing at The Fox Theater in Oakland, CA. Love this place! Although our seats were in the balcony area, it didn't matter to me as long as I get to hear her voice. Despite the noisy ass drunk asses that sat behind us, I was still able to get my Fiona fix. The way she writes her songs and arranges them is just simply like no other artist can. What really makes me a Fiona fan is the way she delivers...she sings her songs like it's pouring out her pours. Her voice can take you back to Ella Fitzgerald, or Nina Simone era, and yet her voice has put her music in a category of it's own. You can literally feel every word and every emotion she put into creating her songs. It simply is an emotional ride when watching her live. But emotional ride you won't forget. She is a little eccentric but I guess that comes with her whole package. I absolutely adore her, and can't wait to see her sing live once again!

Idle Warship @ Yoshi's SF 1/7/2012

Talib Kweli and Res created a new group called Idle Warship. I wasn't sure of what to expect because I didn't even know about this group until my cousin asked me if I wanted to go to their show at Yoshi's. I figured what the heck, a night out with my cousin's ...sure why not. I didn't do much research on any of their songs prior to the show so I had no clue what I was in for. Before the show my cousin's and I had a nice dinner...we had sushi, saki, and desert..shared laughs and spent some nice quality time together. I've been sick this past holiday and I missed out on Christmas with my family...so this was nice.

Now, I really appreciate Talib and his abilities. It's just for a while now I've been waiting to hear something different from hip hop artist, I've been hearing a lot of the same songs, same lyrics and same flows that I don't get too excited for new hip hop songs. Unfortunately Talib fell in that category and I wasn't following his career like I normally would. Res has been one of the most underrated vocalist. Her voice is original, and she has a nice sound. Her first solo album "How Do I" was on constant rotation when it came out. Every single song on that album I loved. So I was super excited to hear her voice live!

I was very happy with what I heard...Idle Warship had a live band, and their music was different than what is out there in the music industry. Their music was upbeat, Talib can clearly still flow and still can deliver a nice verse with precision in his voice! Res was very complimentary to Talib. They both fit well together, and Talib's lyrics and flow did not sound strange or off to the type of music that they created. Talib surprised us with "Get By" and "Reflection Eternal" Res also surprised us with "They Say" Res even did a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" When the show started there were maybe 20 people standing on the dance floor, by the end of the show they had half of the audience or more on the dance floor! Talib was great at interacting with the crowd!

It's refreshing to see Talib in a new light. I think he's really doing what he loves and you can see it in his performance. He loves good music and he doesn't care what other people say what's popular at the moment, he took a chance with this, and I think it's a great direction for him. Kutos to Talib and Res! Hope to hear more from them in the future!

Awesome time with my cousins...but then again...we always have a great time together!

A Feist Surprise!

I was so bummed I didn't get tickets to see Feist in SF while she was in town. I bought her album on itunes and have been listening to it here and there. One day I was on my FB and I saw that Feist's Page had posted a Sweeps contest! It said I could win a trip for 2 to Seattle to see her last show! All I had to do was share that link on my FB page and I was eligible to win! I thought, "What the heck, what do I have to lose, let me just give it a try" After a few attempts gone wrong, I finally was able to post it on my FB wall.

Monday came around and I received an email stating that I was the grand prize winner! Before I got totally excited, I read the entire email. I wanted to make sure there wasn't any catch to winning, and that I actually won the prize! So I called the lady Sam who sent me the email, and sure enough It was legit! I had won 2 free round trip tickets to Seattle, a free hotel stay for one night, and 2 free tickets to her very last show at The Moore Theater! After filling out all the paper work and booking my flight and stay...I was extremely excited for my very first trip to Seattle!

Once we had landed in Seattle, we took the Link Rail Trail from the airport to Westlake downtown where our hotel was at. It was a nice 30 minute train ride through Seattle. We were able to see the different types of neighborhoods, and see the different types of people walking around Seattle. Taking the Link Rail was way cheaper than taking a cab anyhoo.

Checked into the Grand Hyatt Hotel, our room was so nice! Perfect for the two of us, and most of all great views! We were on the 16th floor! We relaxed for a minute and then made our way to the Infamous Marketplace on Pike St. We walked around the farmers market, saw lots of fresh veggies, fruits, vendors selling random things, and seafood all over the place! We watched guys repeat orders from customers out loud and throw fish around! Everywhere we walked to everyone was very nice to us! We ended up at Lowell's Restaurant right in the Marketplace. I ordered Fish and Chips and John ordered a Tuna Melt. We both shared a cup of Clam Chowder. Everything was delish! I noticed myself acknowledging each bite..nodding my head while I made the "mmmm" sound! I love good food! We walked around some more, ended up at the very first Starbucks Coffee Shop. It reminded me of the movie Reality Bites...we were so full from lunch we decided not to get coffee from there. We walked back to our hotel and laid back, relaxed and chilled before getting ready for the show.

The Moore Theater was built in 1907, and It is the oldest still-active theater in Seattle! It reminded me of a smaller Paramount we have in Oakland, but looked and felt older. John and I hit the bar pretty quick. We actually missed the opening act who was Chilly Gonzales because we were getting our drink on. The house lights started to blink on and off, notifying us that the Feist was about to come on. We quickly grabbed our seats and waited for her to come on.

Feist is a lovely lady from Canada, she definitely has that Canada style! I first saw Feist when she opened up for Broken Social Scene years ago in SF. It was when she first broke away from BSS, and decided to go on her own and do her own thing. Since then I've been a huge fan and always caught her show when she came to SF. She performed mostly all of her new songs off her new album. My favorites she did off her new album was "How Come you didn't go there," "Graveyard," "Caught a Long Wind," "The Bad In Each Other," and "Commotion," She did flip up a couple of old songs like "Mushaboom" and "Sea Lion" I was so glad she did "I Feel It All!" too. Although she didn't do most of her older songs, it didn't seem to bother me or anyone else in the audience. We were all there to just hear her beautiful voice! Feist's voice is amazing..she definitely has a one of a kind electric voice. It ranged from soft sounding to peaking at high climaxes. Her background singers complimented her to the T. Their voices blended perfectly, filled the whole room with music!

Feist was also very charismatic during her performance, taking a quick break to drink some of her "spicy water." She also incorporated the audience to participate to the beginning to "I'm Sorry" that was fun! Feist had the audience in total silence while she sang...she had the audience memorized to her voice, music and sound so much that once the song was finished...there was moments of silence before the roar of applause and screams of enjoyment! She was encored on twice, she and her background singers sang acapella, which harmonized and vibrated in my ears like nothing before. She also invited Chilly Gonzales to come back on stage to sing "A Limit to your Love" while she stood on the piano!

It was an amazing day/night...and amazing everything!! It felt like i had won the lotto! Not one that made me a millionaire, but one that made a music/Feist fan the happiest one there! One memorable moment I shared with my honey and one memorable moment that will be at top of my music experience forever!

Portishead!

When I think of Portishead...I think of solid beats, turntable elements, electronic splashes...and most of all Beth Gibbon's distinct voice. I've been following Portishead music since about 1994, when my cousin Moya put in a cassette tape of theirs into my car. Since then I've been a huge fan!

Now they seldom come out to America to tour..and once I found out they were coming to the Greek Theater I HAD to go! ...just HAD TO!

The show was great! Pretty much what I expected it to be. The band sounded crisp and Beth's voice sounded awesome live! My favorite part of the show was when they did Wandering Star but acoustic version! A different twist to a old song made it seem like it was the first time hearing that song. It was amazing.

The Greek was packed!! Sold out! I didn't realize how big they are here in the US. There were so many different types of people there, which proves that music touches and speaks to everyone! What an awesome night with my Johnny Babes...A show I can cross off my must see list!

Little Dragon

Didn't do anything but mentally prepare for this show yesterday. I've already seen Little Dragon live once, and couldn't wait to hear them kill it live on stage again!! This time they were playing at the Mezzanine, a bigger place than The Independent so I knew this show was gonna be crowded...this show was sold out!

Got there to a rowdy crowd, people were already sweaty, drunk and already took up all the good spots on the floor. Despite our attempts to not stand behind the 2 tallest Mo-fo's in the place, we ended up right behind them! Regardless, I was not going to make that an issue. We didn't wait long until we heard the first drum beat!...The came out with "Looking Glass" A song off their Machine Dreams album. If you haven't heard of Little Dragon, you're in for some upbeat jams, beats and sounds you won't normally hear. Yukimi (The singer) has a very unique voice and fits perfectly to each song! Her energy on stage is something else too! The band is amazing, they are all very skilled, and diverse. They use different types of sounds, and instruments to make the songs as unique as they are. It was so much fun, I caught myself dancing like no one was around! And so was everyone else in the crowd..drunk happy fans, just clapping and bouncing to their favorite Little Dragon songs! I love how they add a little extra something after each song, they put a twist and keep the vibe going, surprising us with more music! You won't find any other band out there that sounds like them..they have their own unique vibe, style and flavor. They all seem so genuine, and so humble, which makes me appreciate them more.

They killed through a number of new songs and old ones...They made sure they did "Blinking Pigs", "A New", "My Step", "Ritual Union", "Little Man", "Brush the Heat", "Crystalfilm", "Precious", "Please Turn" just to name a few...

The crowd encored them on TWICE!! They graciously came on to do one last song for there second encore..and made it last as long as they could...

Every time they come into town to perform I will always try to catch them...I know I will never be disappointed. Watching them live is so worth it, and so much more fulfilling than anything else!

Thanks to John and Nate for holding down the crazy crowd with me!

Sade Adu

What a show...what a awesome night! I will never forget the first Sade Concert I went to. It was the first concert I attended with my big bro Alfred. I was about 15 and Sade had just released The Love Deluxe album. From the moment she walked on stage and sang "Sweetest Taboo" I was mesmerized! I not only already knew all the songs on the Love Deluxe album, I went home that night and filled my ears with all her past albums. Many, many years later...I still admire her now just as much as I did almost 20 years ago. 20 years ago was my first Sade experience, and this year Sarah had her very first Sade experience!!



Sade's show was everything I was anticipating...awesome set, awesome back ground visuals, but most of all what an awesome band and voice! As many times I've seen her live, this time around she sounded better than ever before. Her voice sounded full of strength, love, and compassion. She was golden! Every song she sang I sang right along with her. Her band was amazing! Most of them have been with her since the very beginning...and you can feel the close family vibe they share on stage....amazing musicians!



As the show ended...I was left wanting more, wanting to hear more songs to sing along to, more hits to dance too...It wasn't enough..I needed more and from the looks and sound of the crowd, they all felt the same as I did. But like I said, this was an amazing night of music...John Legend as an opener was great! But nothing compares to the awesomeness of Sade!



What made this night more special, was sharing it with my friends and family in the audience, although we didn't all sit together..we all shared the same experience! One I won't ever forget! So cheers to Tina, Josh, Sarah Joy, Nes, Chris, Frank, Claire, Carla, Connie, Liza, Gino, Tootie, Cliff, Archie, Alfred, Karla, Joe and Janice! Hope you all had a great time!!

Shabazz Palaces-Brick & Mortar Music Hall 6/11/2011

Not only am I a huge Digable Planets fan, I am also a huge fan of Ish Butler, aka Butterfly, aka Palaceer Lazaro. If you know DP music you know how smooth Butterfly rolls. Siince DP stopped making music together...they pretty much went their own ways. Cee-know always on the grind with his music, and promotions. Ladybug Mecca came out with her own album, "Trip the Light Fantastic". Ish, also came out with his own album "Cherrywine"...all three still creating music but in very different ways.

Shabazz Palaces came out in 2009, 2 CD set. Just looking at the cd covers had me so curious to what Ish had up his sleeves. If you've heard his "Cherrywine" album, you already know this guy was going to come super original! Ish's music is nothing like anything I've heard before. You really can't compare his music to anyone else out there. It's a whole bunch of stuff jumbled up into a song...but ends up fitting perfectly. He uses his beats like no one else does, he uses his samples like no one else. But also seems to somehow fit his lyrics and flow in a particular way that puts the whole arrangement together so sweet! You have to have a open mind when listening to Shabazz...it may not be you're cup of tea, but you can't deny the skills.

Later this month Ish is releasing his 2nd album Shabazz Palaces- "Black up" Thanks to Mic and Nate I already have a copy. And thanks to last night, already have seen him perform it live at Brick & Mortar Music Hall in SF. This is my um-teenth time seeing Ish on stage. Whether it was with DP, with just Cee-know or just by himself. Each time this dude never disappoints. He always puts on a good performance, always makes sure his fans/audience get what they came for. Love his deliverance, and especially his swag. His style is so unique but yet modest and honest at the same time.

Last night Brick and Mortar was pretty packed, and Ish mentioned how they didn't expect so many people to show up. His set up is very simple, a table of his equipment, MPC, Laptop and some other stuff I'm not familiar with, and next to him Tendai (his percussionist) had his set up with all his instruments, the set so simple yet produces this immense sound! Ish and Tendai were encored out for more and they graciously came back on stage to do just that. Moments after the show was over, Ish came out to mingle with the crowd. We were the first to get his attention!! Now I get teased constantly for being so pushy for a picture...but I'm not ashamed! I enjoy looking back to all the artists I love and have gotten to meet over the years! So yes I got my picture with Ish, and I mentioned to him that this was my 3rd picture with him, thinking maybe, just maybe he might remember me, but for some reason he looked passed me and saw John R. and says, "Hey, I remember you!" ..........WHAT?! Nate and I were floored!! I was thinking maybe he was just saying it, but he sure looked like he actually remembered John! Oh, well I'm not too butt hurt! Nate and John chopped it up with him for a minute and I was able to get their picture taken with him too, even though they swore they weren't trippin off it! Hands down Ish Butler is a very nice and humble guy, which made me a bigger fan!

To cut this story short...the three of us had a great time. Live music is always a great time, esp with my friends. "Black Out" comes out later this month so do yourself a favor and check it out! "The Beat Will Always Save Us!"