my deflowering of belle & sebastian

*** let the back-dating begin! ***

venue: the greek theater in berkeley
band: belle & sebastian with real estate and perfume cruise
when: 12 april 2015 (sunday)
show started at 4p

my lovely cousin's wife and childhood friend, nina was my date and witness to the deflowering. at this point, i've probably been to 200+ concerts and i'd yet gone to see belle & sebastian until now. i have always wanted to see belle & sebastian and they sound amazing live. the greek in berkeley is one of my favorite venues so it was super exciting to go.

we got there early and noticed all these random people, including kids, dressed up and all in white. once the show started, we began to recognize all the people in white were now on stage dancing with the band! i was super jealous. turns out, it was some sort of first 50 to sign up got this gig. the white attire would have been very appropriate for the deflowering of this experience. finally, i can say that i've seen them live. for someone who used to go to a show every week for years, catching one a month at this age has been a challenge.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
i didn't see it coming | make me dance | i want to surrender

new order again!

venue: bill graham civic auditorium (sold out!)
band: new order & la roux (opening)
when: 11 july 2014 (friday)
doors open at 7p

for some reason, i keep thinking that i've only seen new order 3 times before this show but it was actually 4. i kept forgetting about the area one festival where they headlined. in any case, this is new order #5. this year, i went with 3 first-timers and that was very exciting for all. i snagged pre-sale tickets this year so we had lower balcony seats (section 213). the capacity of this venue is 7000 which is more than double the size of the fox theater in oakland (venue of the last show). it was a crazy sea of people below. and we received a surprise second encore which they never ever do. when i first saw them, they didn't even do an encore. we waited but nothing. ages ago, i'd read that they didn't play encores because it's not technically part of the show. but in recent years, they've become more and more generous with their time. despite not having played any songs off of technique, it was another amazing show. especially with tommy's joynt for snacks afterwards! yum!

here is the setlist from the show:
1. elegia
2. crystal
3. regret
4. singularity (new song!)
5. ceremony
6. age of consent
7. your silent face
8. california grass
9. bizarre love triangle
10. 5 8 6
11. plastic (another new song!)
12. true faith
13. the perfect kiss
14. blue monday
15. temptation
encore: atmosphere & love will tear us apart (both joy division)
surprise encore #2: san francisco (be sure to wear flowers in your hair)

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ another fine time.

technopop

venue: fox theater (sold out!)
band: kraftwerk
when: 24 march 2014 (monday)

last week, i went to my very first 3D concert at the fox theater. i wasn't sure what to expect when i was handed this red envelop with 3D glasses. it was innovative and surprisingly amazing. i couldn't take my eyes away from the show. even though their music reminds me of music from 80s video games, it was very advanced at the time as it is still super cool. the german quartet stood at consoles on stage, in matching outfits. but what you see beyond that in 3D, was really fantastic. all of which was choreographed with the music perfectly.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

thao at nightlife

venue: california academy of sciences (cas)
artist: thao nguyen + the get down stay down & the french cassettes
when: 17 october 2013 (thursday)

it has only been about 6 months since i last saw thao in concert but it has been much longer since i've been to nightlife (maybe a year or so?). and perhaps even longer since i've been to a show on a date.

coincidentally, we are both members at cas. he had never been to nightlife so i thought it would be a fun thing to do together. having thao there was the cherry on top. we started the night with the planetarium show and it was quite romantic being in the dark for 30 minutes. in fact, the 30 minutes went by much faster than i preferred.

thao played outdoors and it was cold that night. since i've been to nightlife for a show (jens lekman), they have added very cool technological changes. not only did that include a screen behind the band to see them better but there was also a slideshow playing on the screen throughout and during the intermission between thao and the band before, called the french cassettes. they weren't bad either. anyway, thao was upbeat, energetic, and a little crazy as usual. and despite the cold, it was a great show and an even better date night. i thoroughly enjoyed myself.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

pet shop boys

venue: fox theater (sold out!)
band: pet shop boys with jacques lu cont
when: 6 october 2013 (saturday)
doors open at 7p

this was the second time i've seen the pet shop boys and they are better than i remembered them. i saw them back in 1999 so it has been quite some time. back then, they had a light show but nothing compared to the light show, costumes, and performances at this show. back then, i also met neil tennant and chris lowe thanks to a san diego radio station. i have a picture somewhere that i will have to find, scan, and upload.

we had upgraded tickets which gave us access to the telegraph room an hour before the show. it also gave us access to some comp fried goodness, comp coat check, separate restrooms, and a special vip area to watch the show from. it was on the first floor near the sound techs. it was awesome and so very convenient.

while they have a new album out, they still played most of their classics. despite having to stand in 4-inch heels the entire time, i had a grand time singing and dancing to music of my youth.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

10 years!!

i was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in the summer 2003. i also had my thyroidectomy late that summer. coincidentally, a band called postal service released their new (and only) album give up earlier that year. for two weeks, after my surgery, that was all i listened to during my recovery.
venue: greek theater in berkeley (sold out)
artist: postal service with baths & divine fits
who: joe & sileena
when: 27 july 2013 (saturday) at 8p

my friend joe came up again with his friend for the show. i decided it would be a good idea for us to stay in berkeley near the greek theater so we could just walk there. it was really convenient.

the last time i was at the greek theater, i saw ben gibbard on his 30th birthday. that was 7 years ago. while i have seen death cab for cutie 3 times, i had never seen rilo kiley live. however, jenny lewis was playing with postal service so it was very exciting for me. she has a great voice. it was super cute how both jenny lewis and ben gibbard danced together. it was an amazing show. being there really brought me back to 2003, in a good way. we didn't stay for the second encore since they'd pretty much played all of their songs including any new songs they might have released with the 10th anniversary album. i would definitely see them again, even if they played the same songs over and over.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ nothing better

diamond rings & omd (again)

venue: regency ballroom (sold out!)
band: omd with diamond rings
who: cousin lam & nina
when: 12 april 2013 (friday)
doors open at 8p

when i saw diamond rings open for stars at the fillmore, i was blown away. his energy was contagious, along with his music. it was an 80's throw back. i was thrown back. i was very excited to see that diamond rings opened up for omd. i'd never been to the regency ballroom and was unsure about what general admission tickets would look like since nowadays i prefer sitting to standing at concerts. luckily, others preferred standing. we were able to get seats next to the stage.

during the intermission, nina and i found our way to the merch table where diamond rings was doing a meet and greet. i was also interested in adding another record to my collection. it's also an excuse to talk to him. and he is so so pretty in person. i don't think the picture above does him justice.

you can tell that most of the audience was there to see omd as nina and i were basically the only ones dancing to diamond rings. i didn't care, i couldn't help myself. i saw omd for the first time in october of 2011. i had waited about 20 years to see them. not sure why i didn't see them sooner, it's not like they haven't had any albums out since sugar tax. in fact, they've had two albums after sugar tax before the tour of the show in 2011.

the show was fantastic. even more fantastic was going with my cousins. we all got up out of our seats and danced like it was 1989. the night was a great 80's throw back.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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.

orchestral manoeuvres in the dark

that's right, as in the band who wrote if you leave.

venue: the warfield
band: omd with washington
who: my brother and sister (our dentist, her brother, my friend thao and her friend)
when: 3 october 2011 (monday)
doors open at 7p

this was the first concert that three of us siblings went to together. i thought we'd gone to see the cure together in 1992 but no one seems to remember that far back. omd has a new album out called history of modern. usually, when bands go on tour, their playlist consists mostly of new music in order to promote the new album. not quite the case at this show. in fact, they played most of their classics. more than they did at their show at the fox theatre earlier in the year, apparently.

the opening band was washington as in megan washington, an artist from australia. her vocals are upbeat, a little bit sexy and very lovely. we all thought her set was quite good for an opening. i want to get her album.

omd was one of the few bands i hadn't seen live, that i really wanted to see. they toured during my senior year in high school but i was only 17 and couldn't get into the 18+ venues they were playing. that cd, sugar tax, is a good one. that was really the last album i listened to. andy mccluskey has a voice to swoon to. i remember listening to them when i was in middle school and just falling in lust with him. believe it or not, he's still got it. even at 52. he still gets down like it's 1990 but like i said before, he's still got it. i was quite impressed.

also impressive is the song, electricity. mccluskey said he wrote it in 1976, when he was 17! it's still a really great song. they played most of our favorites, all of the classics that we could remember. towards the end, everyone in the audience (even us on the balcony floor) got up and danced like it was 1999. for the most part, everyone there was around our age. however, there were people much older (white hair and/or no hair) getting down to omd. it was so much fun. i would definitely see them again.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

nearly caught up! i'm in october now...

jens lekman at nightlife

venue: california academy of sciences
artist: jens lekman
who: ro
when: 29 september 2011 (thursday)
doors open at 6:30p

it has been two years since we last saw jens. plus, it was twice in 2009 and twice in 2008. he's spoiled us! he is still so so adorable! he has a new ep out and plans to release the new album sometime in the near future. which hopefully means, we'll get another double dose of him. i can't wait!

for more on jens and how i heart him, please click on his name below in the "labels" section.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

sad robots

venue: rio theatre, santa cruz
artist: stars
who: grace & betty
when: 4 october 2008 (saturday)
doors open at 7:30p

i think this is the 5th or 6th stars show i've been to. i wish i had a record of them. i tried putting one together recently but that was before my move and i can't remember what happened to that list. this stars show is the first show i'd gone to in santa cruz. it's been a while since i was last in santa cruz. going on saturday made me remember why.

santa cruz is a strange place. it doesn't quite belong in california. i feel like i'm in a different state when i am in santa cruz. not only the people look different but it feels different. in a bad way. and people are not very attractive there either.

the rio theatre is basically a movie theatre converted to be a venue. which means, the sound might be good for movies but it's not that good for live music. it's nice that there is plenty of seating but it's not so nice that there is no bar. also, it was an all ages show which meants lots of young people making out in front of us, next to us, behind us. everywhere. we were surrounded by ugly couples making out. blegh. next time, i will have to sneak in some liquor. i think i can tolerate 18ish people better when i'm drunk. it's just unfair to have to be around them totally sober.

the opening band was horrendous. they were called think about life. the singer basically shouted all the songs. it was dreadful. when stars finally came on, they made everything better. well, most things. this feeling came over me. even though i pretty much listen to stars on a daily basis, hearing them live reminds me how much i love them. and how excited i am to be seeing them again, tonight at the fillmore. they have a new ep out called sad robots which includes 6 songs. 5 of those are new. they sang quite a few of their old stuff. songs from their first album, nightsongs. in fact, they ended their show (the encore) with tonight. thank you stars. and thank you ro, for introducing them to me oh so many years ago.
rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

devoted

venue: broadway studios (north beach)
artist: julie plug
who: jen & lou
when: 12 july 2008 (saturday)

i can't believe the last time i saw julie plug was in 2005! i think this was my third julie plug show. their singer, des, is super cute and has a fantastic voice.

before the show, we had some pizza and drinks. drinks at gino & carlo's conveniently located next door to the pizza place. it was good stuff. totally hit the spot. north beach is a really hopping night spot. it was lively and crowded. much fun!

after our pre-show adventures, we headed over to broadway studios which is located in the middle of the strip clubs. it was my first time there. we hoped to miss both of the opening bands but we were not so lucky. we caught pebble theory. ugh. they were horrendous. their sound was generic and noisy. nothing really original. despite having slept past 1 or 2pm that day, i couldn't stop yawning through their entire set. yes, they were that bad. and to top it off, they weren't even cute. damn them.

i thoroughly enjoy seeing julie plug. not to mention the fact that i always see them with lou. which is always fun because he knows des. he is quite the devoted fan. their songs are cute and catchy. really poppy but indie. takes me back... ahhh. i've been listening to them for quite a while. it's a shame they are not bigger than they are. they are a musical gem. you can have a listen here, on their myspace page.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

blaze of glory

venue: hp pavilion (free tix!)
artist: bon jovi
who: rich, louis & lisa
when: 08 apr 2008 (tuesday)
doors @ 7:30p

i'm as much of a bon jovi fan as the next person who grew up in the 80's and now listens to completely different music. last week, if you told me i was going to the bon jovi concert, i would have laughed. and in fact, i did chuckle when i got the text message from rich saying he had 50 tickets to give away. that's right, 5-0. i almost texted him back a "hahaha" or "are you serious" text. but when i mentioned it to lisa on saturday (at the deanza flea market), she said she wanted to go.

i actually park right across the street from the hp pavilion, every day to catch the caltrain in downtown san jose. so i told lisa, if she could get a ride downtown, i could take her to her car and we could save $20 on parking. hence, begins the adventures of lisa using public transportation. if you know my sister, this is quite a funny picture. it would be funny to see me taking public transportation if i hadn't been taking the train for the last 6 or so years. before the show, lisa checks out the light rail schedule. she's really good with researching things so i didn't think twice to help her. she'd asked her coworker and boyfriend and they told to her that it would be a 10-block walk. yikes. i know for a fact that there is a light rail connection to the caltrain station. but they didn't. so she told me her light rail plans and said she planned on getting off at the san fernando stop. i told her there was a caltrain stop and that she should get off there. looking at the map, the stop is on the other side of the train tracks. and no indication of the underground tunnel that takes you from the light rail platform to the main station. since my train got me to the station before hers did, i told her i would meet her at the light rail stop. it was so cute, like i was picking up my kid sister there. she was adorably pathetic.

we met up at this bar i've driven by everyday for the last 4 years. and yesterday was my first time in patty's inn. funny. we stayed there for a bit for drinks and talked about getting garlic fries. the hp pavilion used to be the sharks arena. so, stadium food is served including garlic fries. plus, i remember getting garlic fries there even though, the last time i was there was 2 years ago for the madonna show (that i'd forgotten to blog about, oops). actually, i didn't get garlic fries at that show. anyway... on arrival at the pavilion, we begin our search for garlic fries. there were fast food stands like round table, ¡una mas!, tied house and other concession stands. we walked and walked but nowhere could we see garlic fries on anyone's menu. so we decided on regular fries & nachos by where our seats are. but as we are in line, i see someone with different fries and told lisa to scope it out. it turns out that round table (we didn't think to check their menu for garlic fries) was selling them. but no nachos. so i went to get the nachos nearby and lisa got the fries (after waiting in one line only to be told later that she was in the wrong line). ridiculous.
bon jovi started playing right as we got in line for food. and we could hear you give love a bad name inside. we completely missed daughtry, who apparently was on american idol. we were in section 208, row 14 which is quite high up but facing directly towards the stage. i didn't know what to expect but i was pleasantly surprised. they were very good. it was interesting, most of the songs they played started off like it was their first song and ended like it was their finale song. there was so much energy. they played about 20 songs straight without any major breaks. i was also surprised that richie sambora had a nice singing voice. plus, jon bon jovi has aged very well considering the whole rockstar lifestyle. lou mentioned that he didn't have nearly as many wrinkle's as our friend ro's former coworker sun-min (or however she spells her name) who is asian and younger than him.

lisa and i stayed until they played living on a prayer which was the last song before the encore. luckily, rich got a copy of the play list from last week's show so we knew what he was going to play during the encore and it didn't interest us enough to stay and fight the crowds and traffic getting home. we both had a fantastic time. thanks rich!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ not sure that i'd see them again but glad i went...

lucky me & the lucksmiths

venue: 12 galaxies
artist: lucksmiths
who: ro
when: 23 september 2007 (sunday)
doors open at 9p

before the start of the academic year (stanford started on the 24th), i'd gone into the office sunday afternoon to catch up and prep for the following day. we had all sorts of events to look forward to this week. but before monday, i had the lucksmiths to really look forward to. i'd also recently received my annual raise (5%! a first!) so the plan was to leave around 6p to head up for dinner before the show. ro had some recommendations and we ended up at delfina for dinner. there was an hour wait and since there were two opening bands and we were there at 7p, it wasn't a problem. we just went to the tartine bakery for some coffee and pre-dinner desserts. ro had macaroons and mexican cookies and i had bread pudding. yummmmy!

at 8p, tartine's had closed and we headed back to delfina's. almost the moment we arrived, ro got the call that our table was ready. what perfect timing! we started with snails raised with rosemary and other herbs. i forget what others. we were being adventurous ordering the escargots. i'd never had them. ro had never had them either. and they were delightful. they did in fact, as our waitress said, melt in our mouths. it was a successful attempt at being daring in terms of food. we both had the fulton valley range chicken with olive oil mashed potatoes and royal trumpet mushrooms which was delicioso and we might have enjoyed it more had it not been for our pre-desserts. oh well.

i think it was after 10p when we headed out to 12 galaxies. we were both first-timers there. it's set in the mission district which is really dirty and seems shady if you've never been there. there are lots of hip bars and restaurants there so it's quite a popular area. personally, i prefer noe valley, but it's a lot more expensive. hence, i live in the south bay.

the venue was basically this long room with the stage set up at the very back. and like the rickshaw stop, there's an upstairs with a great view of the band. also similar to the rickshaw, it was hotter than hell upstairs. we just stayed downstairs. we caught the second opening band. there were like 20 people on stage dancing around. the sound was bad. they all looked like they were having fun but it was really random. and kinda awful. i guess there were about 13 people, really. whatever. but when the lucksmiths came on, the sound got better. then again, it might have been their lead singer's voice. it was so melodic and perfect. he didn't miss a beat. and on top of that, he played drums standing up. it was a fantastic show. i was most impressed. thanks ro!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

rocking the night away with kevin spacey

venue: the warfield
artist: the shins & viva voce
who: lou
when: 17 april 2007 (tuesday)
doors open at 7p

i've been wanting to see the shins for a while now. every time i found out that they were in town playing, it was always too late as the shows were always sold out. this time, i was keeping a watchful eye out for them.

lou and i met up after work. he works about 10-15 minutes away from me. it's nice because we have lunch sometimes. otherwise, we probably wouldn't see one another much. we got to the city sometime after 6:30p. we had plenty of time so we went to bloomingdale's for a bit. then we went to get a drink at the gold dust lounge. there was a lot of red velvet decor which made me feel like i was anywhere but san francisco. there was a certain charm about the place. we had one drink and chatted for a bit.

we tried an irish bar on the way to the warfield but it was completely packed so we just decided to head straight to the warfield to get more drinks and lou something to eat. we had tix on the balcony. i hadn't been on the balcony in ages. previously, it was all general admission, including their balcony seating. now, there are different prices. i always forget to get balcony tix.

viva voce came on first. the band consists of two members and they are husband and wife, kevin and anita robinson. for some reason, that makes me like them even more. kevin plays the drums and anita plays electric guitar. i didn't see a bass guitar. and they both sing. it makes for a very sweet rock and roll band. in the middle of their set, kevin opens up for a q & a session. that was pretty funny. no one ever does that! there was one guy in the front with his hand up. he had the same question i did. where is the bass guitar? to which kevin responds that the bass was this box to this right and that it was very complex, that a diagram would have to be drawn and we (the audience) shouldn't concern ourselves with it. hahah. their set was very rock. anita totally rocked out with her many electric guitars. at one point, she even busted out a two-headed electric guitar! very impressive.

when the shins came on, i didn't know what to expect. usually, bands don't sound good live. they usually suck live. but the shins were quite different. i was utterly surprised. as lame and cliché as it sounds, i got lost in the music. i was in this bizarre daze. with every song they played, the more love i felt for them. it was the strangest feeling, that was just so overwhelming. i got chills. i couldn't move less do anything but watch them. it made me want to listen to all of their albums again, over and over. all i could think was, WOW, they are absolutely, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, unbelievably, fucking fantastic. *big sigh*

afterwards, lou asks me, didn't you think the singer looked like kevin spacey?? james mercer (their singer) had a beard and we were on the balcony floor of the warfield. i could barely see their faces much less be able to tell whether he and kevin spacey shared any sort of resemblance. but the next day, i googled "the shins," and it was true. he looked a lot like kevin spacey. bizarro. but cool because i love kevin spacey!

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ again & again

the warfield after a 4 year hiatus

venue: the warfield
band: clap your hands say yeah & architecture in helsinki (2nd opening)
who: betty, lou & ro
when: 13 october 2006 (yep, friday the 13th)
doors open at 7p

the last time i was at the warfield was the travis show in... i think it was 2002 because i was still "friends" with smella. and um, still with cliff. i still have the travis cd he sent me prior to going to the show. anyway, bygones.

i discovered aih while listening to my musicmatch radio. i forget which band i put in. it was probably hot chip or death cab. i put a couple of aih's songs on my wishlist to download. later, i just put all their songs i could listen to on my playlist. this was before i found out they were opening for cyhsy. when tix went on sale for cyhsy and i saw that aih was opening for them, i was uber excited!

when they first came on stage, i didn't know it was them. i thought it was the first opening band. we got there sometime before 9p and didn't think they had started. the first song was really noisy and very 80's, in a bad way. there was all this energy on stage, reminiscent to the hot chip show. the second song was one that i recognized and i had this look of shock on my face when i realized it was aih rather than the sucky first band (who may not have sucked at all since we missed them) we assumed them to be. the band members all switched off playing different instruments and took turns singing. it felt like a theatre production. a musical of some sort. it was the coolest thing. they were so engaging and fun.

they even embraced friday the 13th by bringing a mirror onto the stage and breaking it. as well as opening up an umbrella though it took cameron bird a while to get it open. it was quite entertaining. he read some story during the whole thing.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (loved them!)

after aih, we were totally hyped up for cyhsy. but they weren't as good. they were a little boring. the lead singer, alec ounsworth was totally bored singing all the old songs. and actually, we were bored with him. i felt sleepy in the middle of their set and before they could come back for their encore, we decided to scram. that was enough disappointment for me. and many others as we all rushed to leave the warfield.

rating: ♥ (that's right, one ♥)

dcfc

as mentioned below, here is a picture from the death cab show. a pretty good image considering i took it with my dinky camera phone!

happy 30th ben gibbard!!

venue: the greek theatre in berkeley (sold out)
artist: dcfc
who: betty, cousin lam & nina
when: 11 august 2006 (friday)
show starts at 7p

ok, i'm back dating. i wouldn't really be up this early on a saturday morning but i haven't been online for a while...

the opening bands were spoon and mates of state. i think we missed spoon but made it to mates of state. they seemed a bit 80's rock to me. but i've listened to some of their stuff and it's actually not bad.

i took pictures with my camera so i'll upload them shortly. the stage had props that were really visually appealing which we didn't get at the last show. if you've ever been to the greek in berkeley, you'll know that the acoustics is awesome. anywhere you sit gives you a pretty good view of the stage. there are tall trees surrounding the theatre so it feels really enclosed. they had these two little houses and these trees in the background that almost looked 3-dimensional. with the lights, it gave the impression of being in a forest. kinda.

the great thing about death cab is that they are just awesome live. it's almost flawless. and ben gibbard with his swaying. he really got into it too! he looks like he's shed some pounds. midway through the show, his band mate (don't know their names) announced that they were in the bay area 10 years ago on ben gibbard's birthday, 10 years ago that day. and that it was his 30th birthday! it was really a nice touch and for some strange reason, made the show even better.

lam & nina hadn't seen dcfc before and i know nina loves them. so, it was fun to go with them. great show. great company. awesome time.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

stars and death cab

venue: leavey center @ scu
artists: stars and death cab for cutie
who: ted, alex, andrew, betty, louis, romano, jen & jonathan
when: 15 november 2005 (tuesday)
doors open at 7p

last night we went to santa clara university to their leavey center to see death cab. stars opened for them but sounded terrible! the vocals were so low, we could hardly hear the words in the songs. which was a total bummer for me, i really like them. fortunately, i've seen them live twice and actually met both torquil campbell and amy millan, who were both very nice.

it was quite an adventure to find betty last night sans cell phone. she came solo as well. she called me 20 to 7p saying she was on her way but that she might stop home and that she would look out for us. i hoped she'd be there by the time we got there but not to my surprise, she didn't get there until after 8p. luckily, she ran into louis (avec une cell phone) and was able to contact me. we met up outside after the show.

it was my first time seeing death cab for cutie. they played songs from all albums including moviescript ending which was the first song i heard from them. the sound was a lot better than stars so i'm not sure what exactly it was, the band or the venue that screwed up earlier. ben gibbard truly has a great voice. it was a pretty good show despite the dry refreshments and obnoxious undergraduates...

death cab and muffin spa day @ bliss

on sunday, death cab for cutie tickets went on sale at 10am online. betty and i have been waiting to go to their show for ages. last time they were here, we completely missed out on them. as soon as we heard about the show, they had already sold out. so this year, with the new album, we decided we would definitely go.

after getting tickets, i left for muffin spa day at bliss spa at the w hotel, which had just opened in july. it is on the 4th floor and is oh-so-blissful. there were the four of us, me, muffinslut, murdock muffin, and blueberry muffin. we were there for 3 hours filled with relaxation and pampering. it was lovely. we plan to go back soon!

while still in our very blissful moments, we decided to get a piece of heaven and go to kirala's for sushi. most of our favorite characters including louis the bartender and conrad, one of the sushi chefs. it was an absolute smurftastic day! ;)