Remembering the Encores

Usual disclaimers about how this is much less fun from the west coast and on DVR. I know I say this every time but I love Bruno Mars.  I like that he's traveling with a band of hpye men, though I miss his horn section.  Whoa - how did I miss that Bruno is the heir apparent to MJ?  This dance break is outstanding.  Is the use of pop and locking in reference to "pop, pop it's showtime?" Gigi Hadid is a model, right?  Has she ever had a speaking job before?  I'm not sure this would be the place to start?  I like that she's called out both the electoral college and Melania in the first four minutes.  Though that impression was kind of weak sauce.  Much like the VMAs, I feel like I still know things about music but if the presenters are what the children are into, I am out of touch.  Jay Pharaoh's Donald impression is hilarious though. These three look like they could orchestrate a complicated murder and get away with it, stage a hostile corporate takeov

These shows are so much less fun to watch on the west coast.  With that statement out of the way, let's see how much of an old person I am; are the VMAs still relevant to me?  Let's find out. That is some intense shoulder choreography!  I am so confused by the butt flaps on the back of Rihanna's outfit.  What are those random things hanging off of her?  Also, what is the stage design here?  What are those big, white puffy things?  I love the dancers in all white and they are making some really cool shapes around her.  Is she supposed to be singing live or are we suspending disbelief?  Because sometimes she holds the microphone up and looks like she's singing and other times she ... doesn't. Man, Rihanna has a lot of hits!  Her story is a cool one - the way she got discovered, etc.  Or, at least the version in the book 'The Song Machine' is a really interesting "making of a star" story.  No 'Umbrella'?  Solid opening! Oh, she's pe

Ah, RTE.  Every time I say I'm not going to forsake you, I work 200 hours a week and do anyway.  No more empty promises!  Just words when I can. And more important than words, music! Waitress Original Cast Recording / When He Sees Me I saw 'Waitress' when I was in NY earlier this summer and was mesmerized.  It's outstanding and I've been listening to the album ever since.  This song is a treasure of staccato accents and real talk about virtual dating insecurity. Matt Hires / Restless Heart I saw this guy on my birthday and I love this song - a foot stomping kiss off. Seinabo Sey / Poetic I saw her open for X Ambassadors (eeks! so many concerts I need to write about!) and bawled.  Her voice is magic. The Trews / In the Morning "You push everyone away / But you don't want to be alone / You still don't know what you want / But you have to let that go / And trust that the sun will rise in the morning."  I'm just going

Who: Shafty When: June 10, 2015 Where: Doc's Lab/ San Francisco, CA With: Rachel, Kellie, Matt, Phil, etc. Of Note: I'm pretty sure I'm a patron of the arts now! Okay, so, my first December in SF, I went to a run of moe. shows and made a friend, Rob who lives in Portland because I am was not allowed to have friends in San Francisco at that point in time. Rob and I became internet friends and then even realer friends when I headed to Portland for a work event and stayed the week-end. I'm pretty sure you become bff5eva when there's fondue involved. (And a hilarious bit by Natasha Leggaro where she calls and Applebees and tries to make a reservation. That is perhaps a different story though.) Anyway, Rob plays in a Phish tribute band called Shafty. I saw them when I was in Portland; they're fantastic. He said that they were putting together a northern California tour and would be stopping in San Francisco. I was excited to see them again! Being me

Jaymes Young featuring Phoebe Ryan / We Won't Did you know that if you're enough of a narcissist, all songs can be about you?  "Don't call me up at 2 am tonight/ It feels so damn good and I wish you would..." This song is beautiful and I can't stop listening to it. 

Who: Tove Lo When: October 3, 2015 Where: The Fox Theater/ Oakland, CA With: Ange, Chelsea Of Note: Now I have two girl crushes! Once upon a time, I went to Australia. And when I was in Australia, what little time I spent in my hotel rooms/ Airbnb apartment, I spent with the TV turned to the, now defunct, FUSE network (essentially Australian MTV when MTV was still predominantly videos). Anyway, one of the videos that was on constantly was Tove Lo's 'Habit'. 'Habit' is one of those almost perfect pop songs. From the opening, slightly whiny, "Oh ohs," through the contrast of the lilting melody of the verses paired with their provocative lyrics, and onto the desperation of the, "forget I'm missing you," of the chorus... it's really just glorious. And that's before you get to the bridge that builds in stair steps, with additional instrumentation on each repetition of, "Can't go home alone again/ Need someone to numb t

This isn't about a concert. But, let's be honest, most of this is really just me talking about how music makes me feel. I'd like to talk about some music that made me feel things last year, music disguised as a movie: 'The Last Five Years'. 'The Last Five Years' is a movie I've recommended to everyone I've talked movies with in the last year. Based on an off-Broadway stage production, it's the story of Jamie and Cathy and their five year relationship. Jamie tells the story from the beginning to the end; Cathy tells the story from the end to the beginning, with one key intersecting point in the middle. It's a sparsely cast film, relying on Anna Kendrick (who I often say I would just... watch eat a salad or something) as Cathy and Jeremy Jordan (who, as I've noted before , I adore) as Jamie. Both performances are stunning. One review (and I wish I could remember where it was but google is failing me) noted that many actors can si

What?  Actual music?  That's crazy talk! Spotify Discover Weekly has been killing it lately!  To see what they've served up that I like, you can follow my 'Liked from Discover Weekly', a playlist where I toss the week's highlights to not lose the song/ remind myself to check out the band.  It's here: Here's a couple of my recent repeat songs: Zerbin / World's On Fire When I was preparing my senior all-state solo, Glazunov's Saxophone Concerto, there was a passage that my lessons instructor told me, "No!  This is drunk French people reveling in the street!  Play happier!"  The passage from this song, "So we danced in a fount of Parisian merlot with our head in the clouds..." reminds me of that passage. BONUS (A bonus within a bonus?  What is this?  Crazytown?: Joseph Lulloff / Glazunov's Saxophone Concerto And, man, if I ever wanted to make myself feel badly about squandered talents: I used to be able to

Who: Kacey Musgraves with the Lone Bellow and Humming House When: April 25, 2015 Where: Fox Theater/ Oakland, CA With: Alex Of Note: HUMMING HOUSE!!! 2015 was a year in which I traveled a lot. Too much, maybe. Anyway, traveling that much is how I ended up waking up after four days in NYC and a full week in Chicago, flying from Chicago to SFO, and heading straight to a restaurant across the street from the Fox. And I still didn't yawn during the concert as much as Alex, despite the fact that I'd been awake since approximately 4am PST. I am a beast. Alex loooooves the Lone Bellow, which is (I think) mostly why we went to this show but, HOLY HELL HUMMING HOUSE. Humming House were the first opener and were the most amazing, high energy, poppy side of bluegrass band ever and they looked like they were having SO MUCH FUN on stage. One highlight was 'Cold Chicago', a foot-stomping ode to getting back to the Windy City that has the most satisfying bum-chick driv

Who: Beach House When: December 18, 2015 Where: The Filmore/ San Francisco, CA With: Chelsea, Katelyn Of Note: This is not actually about Beach House So, it's January and that means reflecting on the year that has passed, correct? We'll get this out of the way first: I totally did not write enough in 2015. I'm looking to remedy that in 2016 starting now. Anyway, 2015. I feel like 2015 was a year in which I was not very kind to myself. I often felt out of sorts, and was far harder on myself than I needed to be (even for me) and was certainly more emotional than usual. Several times throughout the year, I noted that it was exhausting being me which, while true, is not something I've ever felt as acutely as I did this year. I've spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out why - why was I so much tougher on myself this year? Why did I not treat myself with the care and respect I treat others with? What on earth was I doing? 2015 was a year in w