21 October 2012

the north with stars

venue: the fillmore (sold out!)
band: stars, diamond rings & california wives
who: joe
when: 20 october 2012 (saturday)
doors open at 7p

joe came up again to visit and see stars with me at the fillmore. lisa & i took the day off on friday so we could go to napa with joe. we started with the house for lunch in the city and then picked up some egg tarts at golden gate bakery. we began our wine tour with castello di amorosa in calistoga for some wine tasting, then dean & deluca for raclette cheese ending with v. sattui for more wine tasting and a picnic of cheese, paté, salami and bread. incidentally, both castello di amorosa and v. sattui are owned by the same company.

joe and i had peruvian food for dinner. a few blocks from the fillmore, we made it there in less than 10 minutes. the first band, california wives from chicago were surprisingly good. joe and i listened to both opening bands before the show and they sounded much better live. the second opening, diamond rings was even more surprising. the lead singer is like a gay vanilla ice. he was a total diva. very entertaining. the songs were pretty good too. joe liked them so much, he got their tank top and was quite excited about it too. hah.

this album really speaks to me. though i think i say that about most of their music, i'm so in love with "the theory of relativity." i love this verse, i think it's so catchy and fun to sing:

back in the lame grade ten i was a total devastator, baby
down in the schoolyard they all fell to their knees
but it can't be '93 sadly 'cause i wish it could forever
you call it luck; i call it tragedy

and in the song, "the north," the chorus describes my sleep patterns exactly:

good luck, bad luck, survival
sleep is my friend and my rival
good luck, bad luck, survival

i struggle with getting to sleep every night, however, i love to nap and sleep in when i get the chance to. and i suffer during the work week because i am a night owl by nature but my work life forces me to be an early bird.

there is one more song that i have to mention. "lights changing color" takes me back to my most favorite and possibly, the best date ever. specifically these lines bring back the memories:

it was empty 'till you came up through the honey
nothing ever goes as planned
when you're walking and the lights are changing color
remember how you held my hand

this is actually my 10th stars show. i counted. i miscounted before because i think that i counted the memphis show as a stars show. maybe i should say that i've seen torquil campbell play ten times. in any case, this is the most i've seen a band and i can't help it, i don't want to stop. it's as if i am addicted to them. well, i suppose i am. as i am in still in love with this new album, the north. plus, the poster that the fillmore produced is obviously designed by someone who knows their music because this was the perfect poster (by brad kayal) for them.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ the heart suspends then bends it into three or five.

new order, back after 7 long years

venue: fox theater (sold out!)
band: new order
who: lisa
when: 5 october 2012 (friday)
doors open at 7p

this is the fourth time i have seen new order. the first time was in 1993, then i saw them at the area: one festival in 2001. the last time was in 2005 for the tour of their most recent album, waiting for the siren's call. come to think of it, every show was with lisa except for the last one.
see the close-up shots of bernard sumner? i had to show off the awesome zoom i have on my point & shoot canon camera. hahah.

since i've seen them, new order started playing joy division songs at their last show but didn't before that. this is nice for those of us who never got the chance to see joy division which is most of us since ian curtis killed himself right before their american tour back in 1980. here is the setlist from the show:
1. elegia
2. crystal
3. ceremony
4. close range
5. age of consent
6. isolation (joy division)
7. here to stay
8. your silent face
9. bizarre love triangle
10. 5 8 6
11. true faith
12. the perfect kiss
13. blue monday
14. temptation
encore: atmosphere & love will tear us apart (both joy division)

we were a bit disappointed that they didn't play anything from their technique album but it was still a 5-heart show for me. we left as "love will tear us apart" was ending so we could avoid the mad rush leaving the theater. and we listened to technique "all the way" home to make up for what we didn't get to hear at the concert.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ it was a fine time.