Monday, December 25, 2006

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!!!



Just remember that we are One.
May you all be happy and at peace.
Love,
Sue

Saturday, December 02, 2006

The Who at the Hollywood Bowl Nov. 4,2006

Anjoli and I walked for about 10 minutes to the Hollywood Bowl. You could feel the excitement in the air...people were blasting the Who from their cars...lots of smiling faces (lots of OLD faces!! hee hee not ME!!). Usually there are more kids at Who shows - I would say the age range was from late teens to mid 60s.

We walked to our seats and I was relieved to see that the Pretenders did not open. I would have been beside myself if I missed them! It was Rose Hill Drive - they were finishing their last song. They are not my cup of tea - sorry. It just sounded like noise to me. I did enjoy their acoustic sets on In the Attic though.

I thought our seats would be a bit closer, but we (only!) paid $100 per ticket. Still, the big screens were close on the left so...it was fine. I was just thrilled to be there. Anjoli was a bit reluctant - she thought she'd get BORED! HA! Little did she know what excitement was in store for her.

The Who came out and started, as usual, with I Can't Explain. Anjoli was completely mesmerized - she was blown away by the projections and the lights...which were BEAUTIFUL and hypnotizing. We both danced to every song (with the exception of the slower ones of course). We sat next to an older couple who pretty much sat through the entire show. I have to say that I was the most excited fan in our section - singing every word (but not too loud I know how annoying that can be) including all the new material.
I think the highlight for me was "Fragments." The projections on the screens were surreal and really complemented the song - I can still see Pino against the image of the sea ( I think that was during Fragments). I LOVED how Roger pointed to the audience :"parts of me belong to you (points) and you (points)..."

Roger told the audience that he is the biggest Pete Townshend fan...he loves to celebrate Pete's genius. No one can interpret Pete (well besides Pete) like Roger. Roger looked like he had been WAITING for so long for new material - you could feel his joy and love for the Who and Pete.
PETE was absolutely on fire. I can't tell you how elated it makes me to see Pete so happy. You could tell that he and Roger were not just going through the motions. Their energy, stamina, their raw power, their love for life and music and yes, the fans...it was palpable. I have never felt so connected to any artists as I did at this show. Really.
I didn't take ONE second of that concert for granted. I get teary (I am now) thinking about it. At one point I was thinking, "WHAT have I done to deserve all this?" I kept thinking of the magical ride I have been on with Rachel, Pete, blogging, In the Attic...the wonderful people I have met through Blogger and ITA...in a way it is a sort of realization of Pete's premise that music is a means of bringing people together, a chance to celebrate and forget the day to day hassles...and I do believe Pete's words from "Mirror Door" - that "music makes me strong." I don't know where or who I would be without it.

At one point Anjoli and I went to get dinner. While waiting I was chatting with a man - he was saying how he wished Pete would perform some of his solo work. I asked him if he had ever watched In the Attic. He said he had heard about it, but he hadn't ever watched it. Ok so Sue naturally goes OFF and blabs on and on about it. When he could finally get a word in edgewise, he looked deep into my eyes and said "You are REALLY a Who fan!"


I enjoyed every song, but I especially loved the Tommy medley.. I was zoning out on the visuals when Anjoli said "did you see that Pete jump Mommy? That was the BEST ONE yet!!" I missed it, darn.

I have to say, as Chris Capp did, that Simon adds SO much to the show. I was cheering when the camera caught him - his vocals and "guitaring" (hee hee that's what my husband's Indian friends say) are bleeping fantastic. His contribution is vital, I think. Zak was tremendous, and I could hear Pino better this time around! I forgot who Rabbit's replacement (techie man) was - but he did a bang up job as well. I was sad that Rabbit wasn't there though (still praying for his wife, Sue).


After the show, I heard one aged (!) hippy in a tan fringe jacket lecture his old lady: "people talk about Bono...but Townshend...he's a CREATOR - a revolutionary." {sorry I wrote that on Rachel's blog but it bears repeating!}

Amazingly, we bumped into bloggers MarkT and Jill, whom we had met for the first time the night before. Turns out they had been sitting not too far from us. Well, there you go. THAT'S synchronicity for ya. Out of 20,000 plus people we met again? I don't believe in accidents.
Mark was telling me how he saw the Who in London in the 60s...aw man - how lucky can you get! I always said I was born 10 years too late!

Then...another coincidence...I bumped into the guy I sat next to at Rachel's Barnes and Noble performance the night before! We didn't chat the night before, but we talked for a bit then...he told me he was in a band with a former Jethro Tull member...I forgot the name of his band though. Oh well.

Anjoli's only complaint was - THEY DIDN'T PLAY SUBSTITUTE!!
They DID add it to the next night's playlist though...

Here it is:



Anjoli loves to leap like Pete!



Friday, December 01, 2006

A Day in L.A.

Ok I won't go into TOO many boring details about what happened AFTER the Barnes and Noble gig. All I can say is THANK YOU to my wonderful pal Laura for picking Anjoli and her blind mother up from the Grove. No mention of just how difficult THAT was for her. (I really do love an LA girl who has absolutely no clue about where LA's best mall is. She's a little indie rocker/ filmmaker...art is what it's all about to Laura. Art and Converse hightops!).

I wish all of you could meet Laura and her roommate, Michelle. They are a total comedy team. So sharp and quick witted...I am amazed every time I visit. They really crack me up. Here's a taste of their dry wit: when one of them leaves the apartment, one will say, "bye, don't die!" (when asked about that their answer was: "who will pay the other half of the rent?") Anjoli was in heaven playing (or rather observing) their gorgeous cat, Judy. Judy is fond of "vanquishing" sundry objects around the apartment, which, after destroying, she drops into her water bowl...ah, just because I guess!

So, having left my car at the Grove...Laura was our chauffeur for the next day.
Laura has been telling me for months about the NIRVANA/MOTHER of ALL record stores...Amoeba Records. I finally made my pilgrimage:





Oh JOY oh RAPTURE. WOW!! I wish all of you lovely people could visit this store. I could have stayed ALL afternoon. It's HUGE and full of bargains galore. It's a mixture of used and new cds, albums, dvds, posters, etc. Here is my damage:
For Anjoli - Nanny McPhee and Harry Potter 2 dvds, Tommy and The Who Isle of Wight on DVD- both were new...Tommy was $9.99 and Isle of Wight was only $15.98, Willy Mason's cd Where the Humans Eat ($5.99) and Joni Mitchell's
Songs of a Prairie Girl for $7.99. I left spending about $75.00!! Unbelievable. I am glad it's in LA and not in San Diego though! Like Laura, I am MUCH more at home in a record store than a mall. We are two peas in a pod that way.
After my little shopping spree, Laura buzzed up a steep hill and showed us...GASP...the house where MORRISSEY lived. (It's in West Hollywood). Sadly Morrissey moved back to (?) London maybe? Anyway, this is where he used to live:




After kissing the "Morrissey Stone" (hee hee), we headed for "Mel's Diner" for lunch. Many of you may remember the movie, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore- this was the diner where Alice worked in that film:




Anjoli's favorite food is diner food...ok I confess it's actually mine too! They served her a cheeseburger in a 50s Chevy:



The clock was ticking, and Anjoli wanted to see Hollywood Boulevard/The Mann Theatre - all the stars in the sidewalk. So Laura took us on a whirlwind tour. Wow - the area is very, very seedy - as we had been warned. LA in general gives me this uneasy feeling - it's a cool place, but I always end up with knots in my stomach for some reason. (Sorry if you live in LA!). I don't mean to rag on LA but the vibe is a little twisted at times. (NOT at Laura's or at shows though - just on the streets). I know, I know not exactly a groundbreaking observation about LA!
As we drove down the Boulevard, I kept hearing Ray Davies' voice in my head: "You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard...some that you recognize, some that you hardly ever heard of...people who worked and struggled and suffered for fame...some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain...everybody's a dreamer, everybody's a star....everyone's in showbiz, it doesn't matter who you are"...and the clincher..."success walks hand in hand with failure, along Hollywood Boulevard."
Wish I had better pics to share...I don't think I even saw the Mann Theatre! Not sure how that happened.







It was a quick tour - we didn't get out of the car,so I couldn't take any pictures of the sidewalk stars. No biggie ...we've all seen them anyway!
After the little tour Laura was so sweet - she took me to LensCrafters so I could get a new pair of glasses. I felt SOOOO bad - it took nearly 3 hours for the exam and to have them made while we waited. It was a badly managed store.
But she put her time to good use planning my dream Taiwan musicfest! Laura is the creative force behind this - my connection to "the kids" and great Indie music.

With new glasses on my mug, we headed BACK to the Grove where Laura dropped us off to retrieve my car. The Grove peeps were so kind - they gave me a pass to leave my car there overnight. The entire 2 day parking fee was only $20. And I will not mention the price of my glasses for the umpteenth time. They are nice DKNY glasses though!
Anjoli and I got to the car...then promptly got LOST again on the way to the Hollywood Bowl to see you know WHO. I stopped at a gas station and then got on the right track...only to sit in concert going traffic for, oh about an hour maybe? I was hoping and praying the Pretenders weren't opening (they didn't).

I paid $40 to park my car in the first lot I could find - one with easy access out. It was worth the $40....

(TO BE CONTINUED!!!)