Woo it's been a while. 95% of everyone I know is on facebook now, so it's just easier to update on there. So, I've really been neglecting this thing. So, get with it non-facebook people! :oP
Highlights of what's been going on since I last updated on here...
#1 -- you know that internet dating thing I talked about a little while ago? Well it seems to have paid off. I've met a really great guy. Unfortunately when I try to talk about him I always want to use corny cliches like "I feel like I've known him my whole life," and so on, so I'll spare everyone's gag reflex and just say things are going really, really well.
In October, I went to the Bridge School Benefit. It's a pretty big deal and there are some big names there every year. My main reason for going though was see Arcade Fire again! Quick and dirty review of the highlights from the show: Everyone played short sets (only 30-45 minutes) but it's better than nothing! JIMMY FALLON - Was supposed to MC but was a no show. No idea why. They never said. BECK - played a lot older stuff, so I didn't know most of it well, but now that I've seen Lost Cause performed LIVE (one of my most favorite songs on melancholy days) I can die happy! MUMFORD & SONS - managed to live up to my very high expectations for them and make me fall even more in love with them. Definitely my favorite part of the night! Unbelievably awesome! I NEED to see a full set by them. ARCADE FIRE - they were definitely better when I saw them in August. At this show it was like they were holding back or something (I noticed that with a few acts actually) and there was something Win Butler said between songs to kind of confirm my theory. I don't know, it was weird. But, Arcade Fire on an OFF night is still better than most on a GOOD night! NEIL YOUNG - I didn't get to see his set. :o( But he did duets with almost everyone else while they performed, so I did get to see a little of him. He might be getting up there in years but that doesn't mean he can't still kick some ass! He just doesn't move quite as fast as he used to.
I didn't take this video and of course it doesn't remotely do the real thing justice but it sort gives a taste of how awesome they were.
My parents were recently here for a visit. Dad was able to finally meet his grandpuppy, we were able to do and see some of the stuff the bay area has to offer, and, thanks to a group effort, Thanksgiving was held at my place. Some of the highlights...
Tailgating at the 49ers game
Lobster, crab, oysters -- tailgating in SF is a little different than in Buffalo!
Our seats
Grandparent/grandpuppy bonding
Muir woods -- a redwood grove a little north of San Francisco
My turkey with his turkey. At Kenai's daycare they had a "Thanksgiving feast" and this was his souvenir. He was soooo proud of it. I've never seen him like that with a toy.
A low quality version of the touristy picture Paul (yes, that's him), myself, Mom, and Dad took outside of the California Academy of Sciences.
Being stupid in the Academy of Sciences gift shop. Penguins -- the must have accessory this winter season.
Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park
And I think that's all I got for now...I'll try to be better about updating...but I make no promises.
Why I Try Not To Do
Things For Others, But Instead, Do Them For Myself.
One thing I’ve
learned from my happiness project is that whenever appropriate, I should
“Do it for for myself.”
I have a bad habit of self-righteously telling myself that I’ve made
various efforts “for my husband,” “for my family,” or whomever.
While this sounds generous, it leads to a bad result: often I expect
other people to appreciate my efforts -- or at least notice my
efforts -- and while sometimes it makes me feel virtuous, sometimes it
makes me feel resentful.
Now, when appropriate, I remind myself, “I’m doing this for myself.
This is what I want.” I want tidy kitchen cabinets. I
want to decorate for Halloween. Which is true.
This sounds selfish, but in fact, being honest with myself makes me
less demanding and resentful.
When I talk to people who seem to follow the same practice, it’s all I
can do to refrain from giving little unsolicited happiness lectures.
For instance, one person told me she was compiling an enormous book
of quotations and thoughts for her baby daughters. “That way, they can
really know their mother.” The thing is -- will they want to read
through this tome? Will they treasure it, as she expects? Maybe, but
maybe not. Now, making such a book is a wonderfully satisfying thing to
do for yourself. I have several of these, and I love them. And
maybe the daughters will pore over this compendium. But when this woman
does it “for her daughters,” it seems inevitable that she’ll expect them
to react in a certain way. “You’re so ungrateful, I put years putting
this together for you, and you can’t sit down for an hour to read it?”
etc. etc. If she does it for herself, it doesn’t matter whether they
love it (which they very well may) or not (also possible).
Another person told me about a collection of something-or-other he
was amassing for his children. He took great pride in describing how he
traveled, how he searched, how he pulled the whole thing together, so
he’d be able to bequeath this collection to them. But again, will his
children want this collection? Will they appreciate it, will they have a
place for it? A major part of the fun of collecting is the hunt and the
grab, the adventures and the learning. Having someone hand you a
ready-made collection isn’t the same. Was it possible that this father
didn’t want to take responsibility for the time and expense he was
spending on his collection, so he pretended to himself that it was a
selfless exercise?
I was joking with some people about how I always make my bed, even in a hotel room on the day I’m checking out. A woman
said, “Oh, I do that, too! I do it as a gift to the person who will
clean my room. I think, I will do this for you, so you don’t have to
work in a messy, unattractive hotel room.” And I thought to myself,
Gosh, I do it because I like it that way.
Now, there’s a great pleasure in doing good for others -- and it’s
the right thing to do, of course. But, I have to confess, at least for
me, that kind of thinking can lead all to easily to thoughts like, “All
day long I think about other people. But no one ever thinks about me! No
one gives me one word of appreciation.” (How I crave those gold
stars!) But if I say, “I’m making the hotel bed because that’s the
way I like it,” I don’t have the same potential for resentment.
Now, I'm not saying I shouldn't do things for other people, but
rather, that I should be honest with myself. If I’m truly doing
something for someone else, that’s worth noting. And it’s important to
do things for others. But if I’m really doing it to suit myself, I fare
better when I admit it.
How about you? Do you ever find yourself making this justification
for yourself?
This weekend definitely made up for the last one (I had to work both Saturday and Sunday). After 11 straight days of work, I went out to dinner (the doctors pitched in and got me a gift certificate to a Japanese place in Santa Rosa) with Jordyn. Then we went to The Lion King (it's been re-released in theaters). It's amazing how many lines I still remember. It also reminded me that The Lion King was when I first realized I might be "a little off" since Scar, the villain, was one of my favorite characters.
At work this week a coworker told me about a website called Cheap Fun SF. The website is pretty sweet and living in the bay area there's a ton of weird, random stuff to do. This site helps one know what some of this weird, random stuff is. This would be where I found out about the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday. Ummmmm, dragons? And boats? Sign me up! And it was free! According to their website it's the largest in the US...ummm, isn't that impressive? What is a dragon boat, you may ask...I certainly did...well, according to Wikipedia:
"A dragon boat (also dragonboat) is a human-powered watercraft
traditionally made, in the Pearl River delta region of southern China -
Guangdong Province, of teak wood to various designs and
sizes....Dragonboats are the basis of the team paddling sport of dragon
boat racing an amateur watersport which has its roots in an ancient
folk ritual of contending villagers held over the past 2000 years
throughout southern China. While 'competition' has taken place annually
for more than 20 centuries as part of religious ceremonies and folk
customs, dragon boat racing has emerged in modern times as an
international sport, beginning in Hong Kong in 1976. But the history of
dragon boats in competition reaches as far back as the same era as the
original games of Olympia in ancient Greece. Both dragon boat racing and
the ancient Olympiad included aspects of religious observances and
community celebrations along with competition. For competition events,
dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads
and tails. At other times such as training the decorative regalia is
usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for practice by
drummers."
Dragon boats
I was cheering for the team called "Bad Bromance" only because of their name...they won
Jordyn had beard envy
Rowing is no joke. Some of those people were ripped! This is what we were really impressed with though...
12 flavors for a snow cone?? Shut yo mouth!
Jordyn working her snow cone magic
Jordyn's handywork
Next, we decided to try to hit up another festival we learned about from
the website but by the time we got there (there was a little confusion
on where it actually was) it was winding down...but we realized we were right
next to the Golden Gate Bridge. So, we decided to hike up and walk across it...I've yet to do that! We walked almost the whole thing. I say almost only because there was some construction, so part of the walkway was closed. I'd say we did about 95% though...we estimated from the car and back we did about 4 miles. Woot!
Not sure I'll ever get used to looking to my left and seeing the bridge
And to my right, Alcatraz.
On our short, but steep, hike up to the bridge.
View of the bay and city from the bridge
Add caption
These are located every so often along the bridge
This was one of those "holy sh*t, this really happens. This isn't just something in the movies or something you see on the news" moments
Then we decided to head over to Sausalito for dinner. On our way to dinner we came across one of those stores full of ridiculous, but entertaining, stuff in downtown Sausalito. I admit it...I gave in and bought some ridiculous, but entertaining, stuff.
With all this stuff on the door how could I not go in?
Skull and crossbones ice cube tray...oh yeah!
Hells yes
I got way too excited when I saw this in the store
I'm not sure what tirggered it but I've started collecting stupid magnets for my refrigerator...these are my newest additions from Sausalito.
After purchasing those treasures we went to Horizon's for dinner. I had some kick ass Lobster Mac n' Cheese...good thing I walked 4 miles earlier that day!
It's hard to see but this is the view of the city from the restaurant. Oh to live in Sausalito!
And today...football! Oakland played Buffalo today so the game was
actually on TV here! I know I now live close Oakland but...
Sorry Oakland
And what game it was! I thought I was going to have a heart attack!
Now I just found out Monk is on Netflix Instant. I've liked the show and have watched it sometimes but now that I live in the bay area it's even better.
I plan on checking out that website some more, so expect more random ass adventures in the city.
Oh yeah...and I'll be seeing Arcade Fire again! Ahhhhhh!
"I hate listening to people's dreams. It is like flipping through a stack of photographs. If I'm not in any of them and nobody is having sex, I just don't care."
-Dennis, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Overall I subscribe to basically the same philosophy, but this one was too weird/funny/slightly disturbing I have to share...
In my dream last night, Kenai (of course it was centered around him) was...pregnant. Yes, yes he was. As you can imagine, I was pretty confused. Also, everyone was acting like this was my human teenage daughter and being super judgmental about it. "How could you be so stupid to let this happen?" "If you were more responsible, this never would have happened."
We found someone to fill the other dosimetry position at work...and it's someone I've worked with previously! So this is a huge weight off of me...not only is the position filled but
I know it's someone I can work with. I'm so sick of dealing with temps...October can't come soon enough!
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The donations for the Alzheimer's walk started off a little slow but it's definitely picked up...thanks all who donated! You are rockstars! There's still time to plenty of time to donate if you want!
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A hero of mine has fallen this week. This week, it was announced that Jack White collaborated with the horrible, horrible, awful group Insane Clown Posse...over a Mozart track...sigh. It's beyond awful. It's no secret how much I love Jack White, and this has almost made me lost respect for him...that's how bad it is! If you're a glutton for punishment and want to hear it yourself, go here.
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Speaking of the loves of my life - I went to the Bodega Seafood, Art, and Wine Festival last weekend and they had a Capt. Jack Sparrow impersonator who went by Capt. Jack Spareribs...corny but entertaining.
He actually looked and sounded quite a bit like the real thing so no
complaints here! :oP
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Kenai got into a fight a daycare last week...and he started it...with a huge pit bull...named Gotti! I'm not sure if he "won" or not, he has a few battle scars from it...well, at least he's not picking on anybody smaller than him. I still can't believe it...the people at the daycare were pretty thrown
off by it too. He gets three strikes and now has one. I was told some dogs, like people, just don't like each other for no apparent reason...so they're keeping an eye on the two of them.
This is the face of a LOVER not a FIGHTER!
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At the festival a few weeks ago Arcade Fire performed a song, "Rococo." That song never really did much for me...until I heard it live. Now, it's a new favorite....I think I never listened to it close enough before.
Let’s go downtown and watch the modern kids
Let’s go downtown and talk to the modern kids
They will eat right out of your hand
Using great big words that they don’t understand
They build it up just to burn it back down
They build it up just to burn it back down
The wind is blowing all the ashes around
Oh my dear God what is that horrible song?
They seem wild but they are so tame
They seem wild but they are so tame
They’re moving towards you with their colors all the same
They want to own you but they don’t know what game
They’re playing
I didn't come up with this summary of the song but it perfectly explains my thoughts on what the song means:
"for anyone who doesn't know, rococo was an 18th century artistic
movement. it was light, airy and disgustingly ornate and most of the
subject matter of the painting and sculpture was the nobility enjoying
themselves in the countryside. it's widely criticized because for all
its style and detail, there was no substance underneath. it was empty of
true meaning.
obviously this connects right into the idea of the "modern kids" who use
"great big words that they don't understand." if you look a lot of the
popular styles with the young kids (especially hipsters), you see this
same thing. they obsessive over perfecting their appearance with,
expensive clothes and vintage accessories, spout words like "immolation"
and "poseur," but don't really have any idea what their saying.
essentially, they're modern rococo. what's incredibly clever is that the
example of these "great big words" we're given is the word rococo
itself."
So true, and it's stuff like this makes Arcade Fire rock my world.
Know how I said in a previous post how much hipsters bother me? While,
yes, they try to avoid the "mindlessly consuming the corporate,
mass-produced, shallow culture of
the mainstream" (yeah, I stole that from someone else), they're also pretentious, self-righteous, judgmental, and all around douche bags......unfortunately I tend like a lot of the same things they
do, so I never really get away from them.
But I'm not a
hipster...I'm not nearly "cool" enough.I don't only shop at "vintage"
stores...I'll actually go to a chain store...maybe even
something like Banana Republic!...gasp. Not only do I own a TV, sometimes I even watch it!...gasp. I don't feel the need to be the smartest,
most intellectual, most well traveled, or most philosophical in the
room...gasp! (Using great big words that they don’t understand and)
Just because somebody or something is or becomes popular I don't
immediately write it off (not to say I haven't stopped like something
after it's gained popularity but it's not because it's popular). (They
build it up just to burn it back down) Most of them do all this stuff too...they just don't want anyone to know about it....because heave forbid you become "one of the sheep" if you watch a popular show like Glee or shop at a Target. (They seem wild but they
are so tame)Sorry...those people just get under my skin so much...
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I have jury duty the week after next. Ugh... :o/ I live in AK most of my life and never get jury duty...well I did once but easily got out of it...I live in CA for less than a year and I get it...with no option of getting out...
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Sadly, after all the shows I saw at the festival a few weeks ago
whenever I hear one of the groups on satellite radio or my iPod
(finally replaced my stolen iPod, with a iPod Touch...didn't realize how much I missed having one!)
I'm sad I'm not back at Golden Gate Park seeing them live. :o(
Now, I feel like I have to get to every band I like that comes to the area...and when living in the bay area, that's a lot of shows! I actually have to turn shows down because there are so many...so not used to doing that.
All year I've been wanting to do some type of walk that supports a cause. It gives me motivation to get off my ass and exercise...even if it is just walking...and, of course, it's nice to be doing something for "a cause" too.
I just happened to see a flier for this walk when I was out in Petaluma, but this is also something that hits close to home for me. Not too long ago a family member of mine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and from what I understand it's already rearing it's ugly head. Though, I'm not in Alaska right now I've seen the devastating effects it can have up close. When I was in college I worked at Providence Extended Care Center for a year. A good chunk of my time there was spent in "the dementia unit". It's been probably 6 or 7 years since I worked there but I still remember some of those residents very well. When you heard some backgrounds of the residents who were in there it was unbelievable. These people who couldn't remember their own names were at one point a police officer, or a WWII veteran, or a man with a PhD in addition to speaking four different languages....and was only in his 50s!
It's terrifying, heartbreaking, and downright insulting that the human brain can turn on itself like that. Yet, we know so little about it. Taken from The Alzheimer's Association website: "Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the country and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. Based on mortality data from 2000-2008, death rates have declined for most major diseases while deaths from Alzheimer’s disease have risen 66 percent during the same period." More eye-opening facts can be found here.
There's a somewhat new term called "slacktivisim". According to urban dictionary it means: The act of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort to fix a problem. Facebook is full of this...post this as your status for an hour...post your bra color (as someone who works in oncology, don't get me started on how stupid that is...sorry to everyone likes to do it)...like this if you agree...change your profile picture. In the end what does any of that crap accomplish? NOTHING. I am begging people to ACTUALLY HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE. $6, $10, or $15 is all it takes to help us rally in the fight against Alzheimer's. If you can donate more, great! To switch up a favorite Scrubs quote I like to use: Let's make Alzheimer's feel foolish!
Well, my search for "Mr. Right", my soul mate, or whatever term you choose is over. He goes by the name Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I will hold out and remain celibate for the rest of my being until he, too, realizes that we are supposed to spend the rest of eternity together. I do not think this is a unrealistic or crazy thought at all.
Dare I say he's even cuter in person? Yes. Yes, I very much dare say.
Okay, seriously...you know those ads on the side of Facebook (for those of you with a Facebook) that are usually for a bunch of crap you don't care about? Well, (as much as I hate to admit this is how I found out about this) I just happened to see an ad for some show in San Francisco involving Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I didn't know or care what the show was about...as the saying goes: it just could have been him standing on stage and reading the phone book for all I cared. I was buying tickets! So, I went into the city last night to see a show called hitRECord at the Movies that was hosted by the one and only Joseph Gordon-Levitt (since his name is sort of long he shall be referred to as "JGL" for the rest of this post).
I had never heard of hitRECord before...but it's pretty interesting! (of course there were plenty of hipster douches there..."uuugh, look at all these people. But I knew about this 40 years ago.") Apparently, it's a web community...a "creative collaboration production company". Say, Bob has a poem or a script that he wants to share, so he posts it to the site...and Alice can do some animation that will work perfect with it and she posts it to the site...and Bill creates some music to kick it up a notch so he posts it...and Jill has the magic touch with the editing to help bring it all together and she posts...and etc. It's everything, movies, music, art, poetry...everything.
This event I went to was to share some of these projects...mostly short films. You know how when you normally go to a show they tell you to turn off all recording devices and not to take pictures...well this is just the opposite. They want you to record and take pictures and upload it to the site, and they make a short film for each city they visit!
On the movie screen before the show started
More promoting
My seat...I was kind of in the back but luckily it wasn't a big venue
Even though he's a fairly big movie star, JGL was super personable and seemed like the type of guy you could hang out with and have one of the most entertaining conversations ever over some beer or coffee or something. Plus the fact that he's behind a group like this, one that encourages people to tap into their creativity is just plain awesome! Here he is explaining and giving some examples of how hitRECord works: (pardon the shaky my camera work...it's not easy to hold a camera still and my arm kept getting tired!)
I stopped recording at that point because as you can imagine it got NUTS!
There were lots of good short films but these were among my favorite:
How to get inspired
They Can't Turn the Lights Off
(Insert heavy sigh)
and a new earth
Everything Is On Fire
He also combined promoting his movie that's coming out soon...hey he's got to pay the bills too....50/50 and hitRECord... (In 50/50 he plays someone who is dealing with a cancer diagnosis...I'm very eager to see it)
At one point he busted out guitar and sang a song he wrote. It didn't completely blow my mind...but it really wasn't bad! I liked it.
Then he sang some song in French...I didn't understand a word of it but it sure sounded good! ;o)
And then, sadly we had to part our ways. I was a little tired today since I had to drive from the city last night, but it wasn't anything a little Red Bull couldn't fix and it was totally worth it!
Now, I will go off and continue to yearn for my JGL fantasy to come true...
(Advanced warning: this is going to be a long, long, looong one...really anytime music is the topic of conversation, it's going to be a long one.)
Oh and most people don't know, or quite often even like, a lot of the stuff I listen to and unlike most people that listen to indie/alternative stuff I don't like to scoff at people when they haven't heard of a musician or group I'm familiar. Insert hipster douche type voice: "Uuuugh...oh my god. You have heard of (fill in the blank)? I knew about them 80 years ago. When they were underground." blah blah blah (This actually reminds me of a rant I want to do about hipsters...maybe later) I like sharing. I like being the one to introduce people to stuff they may not have stumbled upon otherwise. Quite a few of my all time favorites (including Arcade Fire) were introduced to me by somebody else. If you ever do like anything I post, let me know...again, I like hearing when I've introduced someone to some music they enjoy. Or if you already know anybody I talk about let me know! It's always nice to find a fellow appreciator of the "alternative". :o)
So, what that ramble started as was me simply wanting to say I'm going to post links or videos of everyone I mention. Also, sadly since my camera was dead most of the time I had to use my phone camera, which means the pictures aren't very good...but I'm going to post them anyway as proof I was there! And know my phone doesn't have much of a zoom so I really was that close to the stage for these performances!
But first a little Kenai story (I have to throw one in):
Last weekend I rented Rango, the cartoon with Johnny Depp. Apparently I've raised my dog well because he seems to be a Johnny Depp fan too...he actually sat down and watched about half the move.
Sooo, there's a lot to go over so I think it'll just be easier to split it up by day... aaaand here we go!
Let the good times roll!
Tickets were not cheap, and on top of that I was talked into doing the VIP thing. Almost immediately after hitting the confirm button on my order I had buyer's remorse. "What in the hell am I thinking spending this much on tickets??? I like music and all but shit." But now with it all behind me I can say I'm soooo happy I spent the money. Shorter lines, the bathrooms were actually not too bad, and though it was off to the side, thanks to the VIP section it was much easier to get close to the stage. I learned that Outside Lands has 60,000 people each day at the festival! Granted there are multiple stages, but still! So, the fact that I could get as close as I did without too much of a fight or feeling like a sardine was worth every single penny as far as I'm concerned. Also, I noticed on the general admission side it seemed like a lot of the people were there to party, drink, and maybe get into a few fights, while on the VIP side it seemed like people were there more for the music and performances.
WORTH IT
Though some performances stood out more than others - every performance I saw was great! Every note and every beat was right on and the energy every artist showed was contagious. There was no doubt this is their passion and they all seemed genuinely touched by the crowds cheers and appreciative...even the big acts!
Friday:
Things got off to a rough start. I drove around San Francisco for about two hours trying to find a spot where I could leave my car all weekend. Then once I found a spot, I walked to the festival. I knew it was in Golden Gate park but not what part of it...this park is about 40-50 city blocks long...and of course I parked on the opposite side of where the festival was taking place. So, I had to walk for another hour to find the entrance. (Later I found out there's a bus line that goes almost right up to the entrance...better late than never)
Because of this I had to miss Foster the People (this is my one big regret of the weekend :'o( ) and I only got to catch the very end of MGMT. And I didn't know where the VIP section was at the time so I had to wait in the ridiculous lines for the restrooms and ATM. :o/
Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
MGMT - Time To Pretend
BUT luckily the trend changed! I started to figure out the grounds and actually got to see some freaking music!
I didn't get to catch all of The Limousines performance but what I did see was awesome. They were so energetic, jumping and dancing around the stage. The speakers cut out a few times and the crowd started booing...I felt bad, it's not their fault! But they kept right on dancing and playing and sounded just as fantastic when the speakers came back on. If I can ever catch these guys in a smaller venue, I'll be there in a heartbeat!
The Limousines - Very Busy People (LOVE this video)
The Limousines - Internet Killed the Video Star
Up next Best Coast. I couldn't see the stage (this was dinner time for me. In addition to epic performances, there was unbelievable food. So many good things but my fav? Fried macaroni and cheese with some tomato vinaigrette for dipping sauce...are you kidding me San Francisco?? I stand no chance of losing weight!) They sounded fan-freaking-tastic though!
Best Coast - Boyfriend
I'm not exactly sure what I expected from The Shins but seeing their performance: mind = blown. I'm going to have to use a thesaurus for the word "amazing" otherwise every other word on this blog post will be amazing. For The Shins we'll go with....incredible.
Yes, incredible! The Shins
The Shins - Phantom Limb
The Shins - Nothing at All
One of the nurses I work with (and who lives in the city) was nice enough to let us (Jordyn was my partner in crime for the festival. We split up to see different acts a few times (she's more into DJs and that stuff than I am) but overall we watched all the same people) crash at her apartment. I didn't know about the bus line yet so we tried to get a cab back to her place...I'm pretty sure no cab in SF was picking up any fares that day...it was ridiculous and not fun. And tempers were clashing. :o/
Saturday:
I figured out that there was a bus line to easily get to and from the festival! Hallelujah! There wasn't anybody I was dying to see until later in the afternoon so Jordyn and I decided to check out the California Academy of Sciences (also in Golden Gate Park) in the morning. As you can guess, it's a science museum. It's been on my nerd to-do list since I moved here. This place was pretty damn big: planetarium, a three story rain forest, aquarium, and so much more. It was a kick ass way to kill a few hours before we went back to the festival.
They had PENGUINS too!
Day 2 of the festival started with Ok Go. They definitely get creativity points. Each one of them had a different color suit: one red, one blue, one yellow, and one green. They did an entire song with hand bells...hand bells! And it was amazing great. The lead singer ran out into the audience not once but twice! People were groping and grabbing all over...it did not look comfortable! But he did it twice, so what do I know? And I think they're just so rocker boy cute. They were also giving the audience a hard time and talking trash about SF...I think some people go offended but I thought it was funny. When trying to get the audience to sing along louder with some lyrics: "Hey, that was the best singing we've heard......north of LA anyway." haha
Ok Go
Ok Go - This Too Shall Pass (This was the song they were trying to get us to sing along with)
Ok Go - Here It Goes Again (You may have seen this before...it went viral a few years ago...but I never get sick of it! A music video and dance routine with treadmills! C'mon that's great stuff!)
Arctic Monkeys were intense. The lead singer did not laugh or joke between songs. They sounded great but he wasn't messing around! Ha. They just played awesome music and that's all there was to it!
Arctic Monkeys getting down to business!
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum
And next...The Black Keys. They. Killed. It. They were beyond amazing astonishing. I joked that Jack White might have some competition for my #1 spot (not really, but they definitely moved up a lot of notches in my book). Just raw bluesy rock. They looked exhausted at the end of their set and I can see why...they rocked hard! We joked that they don't need to get a gym membership because probably burn about 8000 calories every show they do (especially the drummer).
The Black Keys rocking out
The Black Keys - Tighten Up (Love, love, love this video)
The Black Keys - Howlin' for You (This was a really fun to sing along with while they played it!)
And now Saturday's main event...Muse! I'm happy to say after nearly 10 years of wanting to see Muse I was not even in the slightest disappointed. I had to literally remind myself to breathe a few times because I kept holding my breath in awe. It was flashy, in your face, and completely over the top. Absolutely everything a Muse show should have been. Also, they kept throwing stuff (instruments!) out into the audience...I can't even imagine the fights that broke out over that stuff!
I'd guesstimate I was 50-70 feet from the stage
Matt Bellamy (Lead singer/guitarist/insane pianist) kicking ass and taking names
I know this is blurry as f**k but I swear that is Matt Bellamy rocking out on our side of the stage....again, that would mean I was only about 50 feet away from him!
I took some videos, but I warn you the sound quality is horrific. Particularly on Undisclosed Desires (the second video) because the bass was especially INSANE. (Note to self: if I'm going to keep going to shows like this I should probably invest in some earplugs) I'm surprised my phone didn't crack just from the sheer insanity of the vibrations. The show was so loud I didn't expect them to turn out well, plus I was just using my phone to record...but it was worth a try. And since I have them, I'm posting them anyway...but you've been warned.
Muse - Outside Lands 8/13/11 - Supermassive Black Hole
And now let's hear how the songs are supposed to sound!
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
Muse - Undisclosed Desires
And the song that started it all for me with these guys...
Muse - Time is Running Out (Still f'ing love this album)
Sunday:
I knew I wanted to get to the park basically as soon as the festival opened, or soon after anyway, to get the best spot I could for when Arcade Fire took the stage that night. This means I missed a few people I would have liked to have seen, such as Grouplove and tUnE-YarDs, but my view of the Arcade Fire show was completely worth it. Luckily I had some solid entertainment to kill those hours.
On our way to the park we founds this. Maybe I was just a little bias because of the name and the show I went to the previous night, but this was a good find for breakfast! And festivities started we came across a free face painting booth at the festival...so we said why not! It was fun but after a few hours I was ready to get that crap off of my face!
And the day started off with Charles Bradley. I wasn't familiar with him and he's definitely different than pretty much everybody else I've mentioned but he was good!
Claiming my territory! Instead of Arcade Fire Jordyn went to the Deadmau5 show, so that's why she has the ears. And, yeah, I bought shirt...what!
Following him was Mavis Staples. (What??) No, you read that right. And let me tell you, it was obvious this was not her first rodeo. She knows how to get a crowd going! Plus, I was able to witness a pretty amazing impressive moment in music history. During her performance Mavis Staples brought out a "special guest"...Win Butler (lead singer/and plays lots of instruments) of Arcade Fire! Below is a video (I didn't take it) of that moment!
This was a picture I was able to take of that moment (I had my real camera, though only for a short time, so I could actually zoom in on them! oh la la)
She made such big deal about bringing him up on stage and encouraging the audience to make as much noise as possible for him he almost looked embarrassed. It was cute.
Then Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band graced us with his presence. He's very mellow but very good. And he's so smiley!
There's that smile!
Award for most epic mustache I've seen in a long time goes to: Zack Hickman. The bassist for Josh Ritter's band.
Josh Ritter - Girl in the War
Following that we move onto John Fogerty (Sunday's lineup was all over the place). Yeah, that John Fogerty. Classic rocker, lead singer of CCR, and he hasn't done too bad for a solo career. It was interesting how totally into him the audience was. He did a kick ass job, I just wasn't expecting that from a festival like this!
Classic rocker John Fogerty - in the flesh!
John Fogerty - Bad Moon Rising (when he performed this he actually said "there's a bathroom on the right" once instead of "there's a bad moon rising"...it was awesome)
And now we have The Decemberists! I got to see these guys perform on the taping of Late Night with Conan O'Brien I was able to attend when I visited NYC several years ago. They only performed a couple songs though so I was looking forward to seeing an actual Decemberists performance! Let me tell you if Colin Meloy ever decides he doesn't want to do music he should consider a career in comedy. He was cracking me up! They have a song called "The Calamity Song" that he dedicated to Michelle Bauchmann. Josh Ritter also made a Michelle Bauchamnn joke. I guess that's pretty safe in SF. haha And, as with everybody else I was looking forward to seeing, their performance did not disappoint! Every song was spot on. Plus, they ended with a ridiculous 10 minute long song about a whale and a sailor that they ran around on stage and acted out a few parts...all while still playing their instruments. It was stupid fun. I actually found video of it on youtube...again, I didn't take this one but this is the performance I saw. I was actually on the opposite side of the stage.
Marry me Colin
Here are some songs they played but didn't need to act out:
The Decemberists - O Valencia!
The Decemberists - This is Why We Fight
And now..................ARCADE FIRE
I didn't have to remind myself to breathe for this one but I did shed a few tears. I felt like an ass but whatevs...hearing Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) live was more than I could handle (in a good way!). GOD DAMN IT, just writing this now I can feel my eyes watering. And for the record when I say I shed a few tears for this (or...Harry Potter) I mean I truely on shed a few tears. I'm not one of those freaks you see on TV crying and getting hysterical. I can feel the tears coming and then there's just enough to have a little tear spillage that I try to quickly wipe away with my sleeve.
I know now that they've won a Grammy, got some "mainstream" success, and are selling out massive venues such as what I was at, hipster douche bags will disown them and claim that "they've sold out", "only their old stuff is good", and so on. I feel completely the opposite. Arcade Fire came out with their first album in 2004. I'd say I was introduced to these guys in 2005. So, I've been with these guys since (close to) the beginning. The fact that a band like this can get as big as they have is unbelievable and I am so happy for them! And they deserve it!
Words cannot describe how I felt about their performance so again, now I really will just go with a thesaurus: amazing, awesome, beautiful, incredible, marvelous, stunning, unbelievable, wonderful.
It kind of seemed like they still can't believe how big they've made it. Win Butler, lead singer, said at one point, "this is one of those times where we have to pinch ourselves, because we actually get paid to go to San Francisco and play a show." Also, not only did he take a moment between songs to talk about Haiti, they had a booth at the festival...they are pretty involved in relief efforts in Haiti. If you're curious or interested in the organization they're involved with, it's Partners In Health. Also, Régine Chassagne, Arcade Fire band member and wife of Win Butler, is pretty bad ass. She's no Tina Fey, but she now ranks pretty high on my "man crush" list.
Now on to pictures (taken with my phone :o/ )
I want to live in these two hours forever and ever!
Performing Rococo
Win Butler moving to the piano for a song. Most of the members of Arcade Fire play multiple instruments. It just makes watching them that much more impressive.
He went out into the audience once. He's a brave man. It looked like he was getting mugged, the way people were jumping all over him.
And videos! If you even remotely like these, let me know!
Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) (Yeah, this is the one that made me cry.)
Arcade Fire - Intervention
Arcade Fire - We Used to Wait
Aaaaaand, that's a wrap folks. I actually enjoyed writing (and living - the science museum, awesome food, and beyond epic performances from some of my favorites....and now face painting. When I die, I'm pretty sure this is my version of what heaven should be like) this blog entry. If I entertained at least a few of you even for a little while, and maybe even showed you some new music, I've done my job.
An expensive, but 10000% worth it, weekend
Oh, and DO NOT ASK ME what my favorite performance was...obviously Muse and Arcade Fire were the front runners but trying to choose between those performances would be like trying to choose a favorite child. They were very different but very...amazing.
