TRAVIS @ THE WILTERN - 11/21/07 + @ HOUSE OF BLUES - 11/24/07

Eek! It's already been almost a week since all that excitement?! OMG, Travis are one of the best live bands around!!! The three times I have seen them this year have made up the happiest moments of my life. Going to a Travis gig will definitely turn a gloomy day into a sunny and warm one. With their lovely tunes and generosity to fans, it's hard not to love this Scottish band.

Opening for Travis was Maximo Park. I had only heard a few of their songs before, but didn't think much of them. However, singer and frontman Paul Smith gave an impressive performance! He sings and dances with fervor and energy. It's hard to take your eyes off him while he's on stage. They were excellent, and I liked some of the songs they performed that I hadn't heard before.

Travis came on stage in the most creative way. XD It started out with the 20th Century Fox theme and some guys on stage shined the spotlights into the audience. Then Fran, Dougie, Andy, Neil, and Klaus ran through the audience in boxing robes while the Rocky theme song was playing. Haha, amazing!!! Soon after getting on the stage, they started out with "Selfish Jean". Loved it!!

They played fewer of their new songs compared to the Henry Fonda show in April, but they played a lot of old favorites including more from 12 Memories. It was wonderful to hear "The Humpty Dumpty Love Song" too. ♥ Fran did another unplugged solo, but sang "20" instead of "Flowers In The Window". That was magical and when they performed "Flowers In The Window" together, it was so adorable! They were all performing together like a close family. :D Seeing them interact with each other and connecting with the audience puts a huge smile on my face. :) I made a "Be My Baby" sign because I love their cover of it, and Dougie saw it. He mouthed "aww" and smiled. ^_^ Dougie totally makes the night magical by connecting with the audience like that. :D I've never sang or screamed as much as at a Travis gig! XD I sang along to almost every song and my voice hurt afterwards. :P

At the House of Blues show in Anaheim, they played four extra songs for their encore! These extras included "Battleships"♥, "Hit Me Baby One More Time", "Three Times And You Lose", and "Blue Flashing Light". Awesome!!! They performed song after song almost non-stop without very many breathers! O_O I stood right in front of Fran nearer to Andy this time. For Fran's solo, he stood right over me! *g* It was adorable to see Andy smile at the audience singing along too. X) Wow, I had such a blast at both shows. I am so glad I went to both!!!

I just met them after the first show, but it was fantastic as usual. They are so incredibly nice, and I am grateful for their kindness. I gave another drawing to Fran, and he remembered the one I gave to him last time and he said he still has it in his home. O___O OMG, I love them so much! I show my love and appreciation for them, and it's so pleasant to get that in return from the band you love. ^_^ Dougie was smashing again, almost squeezing me to death with bear hugs. :P Andy winked at me!!! *DIES* There were too many people when Neil came out since he came out early. x_x I also met Paul and took a picture with him. He is so cute and nice as well! Sigh, it is always worth it to wait for them, no matter how long it takes. They make me so happy. ♥!!!

A few of my pictures from The Wiltern show:
Marquee

Maximo Park

Nice lighting

Awww, Closer! :D

Flowers In The Window ^_^

Please no stealing these!! Thanks! :]

Some videos from The Wiltern show!!! Thanks to okeastron for uploading these fantastic videos!!
Maximo Park

Entrance + Selfish Jean

The Beautiful Occupation

Sing

20

Flowers In The Window

Why Does It Always Rain On Me?


Stupid House of Blues didn't allow cameras, so no pictures or videos from there.. ><

Seeing Travis live has been magical!!! ♥!!!

Play: King Lear @ UCLA Royce Hall - October 19, 2007

Sir Ian McKellen as King Lear & Sylvester McCoy as Lear's Fool

After finding out about this great line up of plays running at UCLA, how could I NOT go to this one??? I'm so glad I saw Black Watch, and I wish I could see it again, but why not see another top-notch play?

Yes, I mostly wanted to see this to see Sir Ian McKellen perform live on stage.. but who wouldn't? This was the first professional Shakespearean play I've seen, and I've probably started out with the best! The Royal Shakespeare Company has come to LA for I think their last stop of their world tour.

Since I was up in the balcony towards the back, it was hard for me to understand a lot of the things the actors said in the play. At first I didn't know what was going on because of this. I admittedly never read this particular play. However, I moved to some empty seats where I could see and hear much better. It was surreal to see the legendary actor perform live. It was also a surprise to see Sylvester McCoy in the role of the clown. I was like, "Is that the seventh Doctor?!?" :P

The whole cast was so good. The set was beautiful, and the production was of very high quality. It's amazing how these actors can remember their long monologues and act their butts off. It's also pretty amazing that they can project their voices without any microphones in a big theater after they're out of breath after a sword fight or something. Quality performances as I should have expected from the RSC.

Sir Ian was awesome. I enjoyed his performance along with the whole cast. It was funny to see some audience members jump up and raise their hands in front of their faces in shock when King Lear pulls down his trousers. I saw the sign outside of the theater that said there was brief nudity, so I was expecting it. I don't want to show off and say I'm more mature.. but I just did. XP

Anyway, it was special to see some famous actors such as Sir Ian, Sylvester McCoy, and William Gaunt performing live. After the show, I walked past Jamie Lee Curtis and Warren Beatty as everyone was leaving the theater too. ;D

-Photo by Manuel Harlan

Play: Black Watch @ UCLA Freud Playhouse - October 12 & 14, 2007

I found out about this play at the last minute. I'm so glad I caught it before its last weekend here in LA. I'm glad I'm at UCLA. :P

Black Watch is a Scottish play brought to life by the National Theatre of Scotland. Their run in LA was the first stop on tour outside of Scotland! Now they are headed off to New York. If you can catch them, go watch this play!

Just the fact that it is a Scottish play was enough to make me want to see it. I also heard it was an excellent play. I didn't really know what it's about other than that it's about Scottish soldiers in Iraq.

I hadn't a clue what to expect of this play. I was in for a thrill ride with its stylistic production and setup. It is technically as well as artistically brilliant. I enjoyed all the effects and the music. The singing and dance choreography were my favorite parts.

All of the actors are marvelous and Paul Rattray, who portrays Cammy, is likable with his modest/humble demeanor. He also reminded me of Pippin from Lord of the Rings. XD Everyone in the cast gave a strong performance. They had to have a lot of stamina for such a physical performance with fights like dances. This was amazingly theatrical. The part about the history of the regiment was one of my favorites in the play. Cammy changes clothes through the times, and it flows so smoothly from one war/era to the next.

It is a riveting, dramatic, and beautiful play despite the gritty content. It is a powerful piece of entertainment that grabs you and shakes you to the core, making you feel a connection to these soldiers and their humanity.

I met a few of the actors after the show. They are quite nice and as awesome as you can expect Scots to be (like Travis). ;D I was all shy and embarrassed around them, but I'm glad that I did get to meet them. Even though it was very brief, it was still cool to talk with some Scottish actors. ^_^

I loved this play so much after I saw it the first time that I saw it again only two days later for their last show. I just wanted to see it one last time before they left. I wish I could see it again somehow, or at least listen to that radio play that aired over the summer.. Anyone know how I could listen to it now, or watch the television broadcast of the play? XP

I highly recommend this play for its entertainment and artistic value!

*****/*****

-Photo by Manuel Harlan

Watch the trailer for the play!

MICHAEL BUBLE @ MGM GRAND ARENA - JULY 14, 2007

How sexy is he?!

Sorry I've been a bit lazy with my blog posts.. ^^;

This was my first time seeing Michael Buble live, and I've been waiting for over a year to see him in concert! I was so excited to finally be able to! The only bad thing was the venue.. The security once again restricted video recording even though I was all the way in the back on the floor.

Despite one of the worse views I've ever had at a concert, Michael Buble was stunning! He put on an excellent show, and he is even better live than on his CDs! He performed all the old favorites along with the new stuff. I was enthralled for every single song, even for the songs I didn't listen to all the time from his CDs. He's THAT good live! O_O

There were a lot of breaks in the middle while Michael let his big band shine in the spotlight for a while. Michael was funny in between songs and even put up an act with his band. It was hilarious and we got to see Michael on the trombone! XD There was another bit with Michael being "manly" and singing all these "badass" songs. :P I was so surprised and excited when he started singing Mika's "Grace Kelly"!!! XDDD

The show seemed so short as it winded down to "Save The Last Dance For Me" and the finale, "Song For You". He sang the last half of it without the microphone, and it was amazing how strong his voice was! O_O I got to move up closer for the end since some people left before the encore. The security forced us to go back to our seats, but a nice one led us to some empty seats near the middle/front.

After the show, I got a "setlist" but it was actually a schedule for the whole day. :P I waited a long time around the lobby in hopes of getting to meet Michael somehow. I ended up finding the tour buses and waited with some other fans for Michael to come out. In less than two hours, he was out with his baseball cap and Sharpie ready. Accompanying him was his gigantic body guard. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but I drew a small doodle for him while I waited for him. It was crap, so I was nervous about giving it to him, but Michael was really nice and even excited to be getting anything. ^^ After signing my "setlist" and saying gracious things about my drawing, he asked me if I was Japanese. I said I was Chinese. Then he said, "I think I can count to ten in Chinese. Is it Mandarin?" I said, "Yeah?" Then he started counting in Cantonese! XD My mom was like, "That's Cantonese! But it's okay because that's what we are." :P Oh gosh, Michael is so funny and nice!! XD I was so surprised that he made my encounter with him a little bit longer with that cute little conversation!! ^.^

THAT definitely made my night!! :D

Here are some not so great pictures since I was so far away.. ^^;

First, here's the poster advertising the concert!





Someone lucky to be in the front took this! The only video you gotta see! ;D

MIKA @ THE AVALON - JUNE 8, 2007

Seeing Mika live is probably one of the most fun and exhilarating concert experiences you can ever go to!!! My gosh, he's good!

I had already seen him before at the Troubadour, but this one was on a much bigger scale. I was still surprised this time around. *g* He sang more songs, including two covers of The Eurythmics and The Jackson 5. I loved that he sang Any Other World and Happy Ending too, since he didn't at the Troubadour. Lollipops were given to the audience before the show started by lollipop girls..

Mika is an amazing performer, always jumping around on stage and interacting with his band. They are all so cute as they look like they're having so much fun together. :D Love Today was one of the highlights of the show. A garbage can was brought out and Mika had an awesome drum solo with it at the end. OMG, before that, he climbed onto the drummer's drum set and played some of her drums first. Then he proceeded to dance on the kick drum. Then he jumped off! Then HE TOOK OFF HIS SHIRT! Then he bashed at the garbage can with his drum sticks. I had a nice view of his butt, and everyone was screaming like crazy, including me. XD OMG, what an awesome sight. *g*

Next was Grace Kelly and unfortunately Mika put on another shirt. :P Then they all ran off the stage to get ready for the grand finale. They all marched out in animal costumes again! :D All but Cherisse (the drummer) were in different animal suits than the Troubadour gig. The drummer was a bunny again, the guitarist was a deer, the bassist was a panther, the pianist was a koala, and Mika was a chicken! XD Then Lollipop!! :D Bubbles were projected into the audience from a bubble machine, giant balloons fell and bounced on the audience, and confetti blasted out of tubes in front of me! Big girls and lollipop girls came out to dance on stage with the band too. WHEEE!! SO FUN!!! XD

I was SO LUCKY to have been able to meet Mika again this time. It was so easy to meet him last time because the security was lax about it and Mika just came down in front of the stage. This time the security forced everyone without a backstage pass out. I WAS SO LUCKY to have gotten one.. out of pure LUCK! I gave him a drawing I drew while I waited in line and a quick/messy letter I wrote right before I met him. He was so nice again, but this time he seemed more tired. :( I felt bad because he seemed EXHAUSTED. So I felt even more blessed to have met him. Aww, I love Mika! ♥

OMG, I SO have to go whenever he comes back!! X) Sorry if this review doesn't seem like I was that excited.. I've been busy with graduation and have been dead tired from all the craziness over the past two weeks. This concert was one of the most FUN experiences I've ever had, right up there with my first Keane concert!! O_O

Here are just a few pictures I took. I couldn't get very many good shots because most of them came out blurry! Mika moves too quickly for my camera. :P

Big Girl You Are Beautiful!


On the piano :D


Mika's sexy dance moves ;)


LOLLIPOP


And some videos from YouTube... Credit goes to the original uploader (okeastron) of these FANTASTIC videos as usual!

Relax (Take It Easy)

Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)

I Want You Back

Any Other World

Sweet Dreams

Love Today

Grace Kelly

Lollipop


Hope you enjoyed!! :D

KEANE @ GIBSON AMPHITHEATRE - MAY 11, 2007

This was originally scheduled at the Greek Theatre, but the fire in Griffith Park forced the concert to be moved to the Gibson Amphitheatre in the Universal City Walk. I upgraded my front row ticket to a pit ticket. I was in the front to the left near Tom. I figured to experience this from Tom's side this time (since I was on Tim's side at the Wiltern in January).

It is quite stressful to go to a Keane gig since everyone wants to be in the front! :P Everyone who came early ended up being in the front, so that was cool. I could have been more towards the middle, but I listened to my parents who told me to wait at a more crowded door, which opened last. x_x Oh well, Keane from anywhere in the theater is AMAZING. Nothing short of AWESOME!!!

Now I was close to Tom most of the time, and he was just STUNNING that night. I was even more awed by his performance than at the Wiltern, and that's saying a lot! He was already so spectacular at the Wiltern. I think Tom is just getting better! :D I was thrilled at one part during "Nothing In My Way." Tom came up in front of me and looked at me for about five seconds. OMG! He was singing, "When you wanna die, when you hurt inside/Don't know what you lie for anyway.." to me and I was singing along. It felt like he was singing to me for much longer than that! *g*

Other than this highlight, Tom sang an L.A. version of "Fly To Me" :DDDDDDDD I LOVE that song, and I was so excited when I heard the first synth chord.. X) It was so awesome to hear the extended intro for "Leaving So Soon?" too!!! :D I sang along at the top of my lungs for all of "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Bedshaped." Actually, I sang along almost all the time. :D Tom, Tim, and Richard all seemed so surprised by our enthusiasm. The whole audience was shrieking with screaming girls! ^_^ It was like at the Wiltern, but the Gibson Amphitheatre is MUCH bigger. Everyone waved their cell phones during "Hamburg Song" I waved my digital camera for a bit, but I took some pictures and video too.. ^^;

Tim and Richard were fantastic as usual. I wish Tim could come over to the left side more often. I sacrificed being close to Tim for being close to Tom. :P It was hard to see them when they came to the front to do "Your Eyes Open" from where I was. :( I couldn't see Tim or Richard very well. Tom's bum was in the way.. XD The set list was pretty much the same as the Wiltern except for "Fly To Me/Leaving So Soon?" and the omission of "Can't Stop Now." I loved "Bedshaped"!!! Tom had more audience participation for the "What do I know?" parts and he added "O-o-o!" too!!! X) It was funny the first time he stuck out the microphone for us. I guess everyone was caught off guard, so everyone sounded so off key. Tom laughed and smiled while he was singing for a second after that. So cute! ♥

The concert seemed so short! I wanted it to last forever!!! I was so sad when it ended. Already, I couldn't wait to see them again. I had such a wonderful time! Seeing Keane live is just AMAZING and a FULFILLING experience! It was such a treat to see them again. I'm glad the three lads seemed to be enjoying the gig as well. ^_^

Despite what I hoped for, there was still no "Frog Prince" for us. :( I wonder if I'll ever get to hear that song live.. :/ My mom managed to get a set list. :D I also saw the kitty plushie on the control board. Those of you obsessed with Keane like I am probably know what I'm talking about. ;) I didn't get to meet the band this time because of the fan-UNfriendly venue, but at least I met them last time. I just hope I'll be able to next time! :] I don't think I've expressed enough how much I love them yet!

Oh yes, www.keanemusic.com has put up pictures of the L.A. show! They put up mine. :D It's on the front page too! :O I was surprised to see it on the front. ^^;

Here are some of my other pictures from the gig! Please don't steal/post them everywhere without permission!! Thanks!

The following pictures are brought to you in WIDESCREEN. ;D

Tom singing "Everybody's Changing"!!!!! ♥


It's hard to get good pictures of Tim, especially when you're far away! :P


Same thing here.. my best and clearest picture of Rich! :D


During "This Is The Last Time" :)


Aww, it's already the end! :( I'll be there when they come back!! :D


Because of my terrible internet connection, I can't share videos, but of course here are some I found on YouTube. :) Credit goes to the uploaders of these videos!

Nothing In My Way

Hamburg Song

Leaving So Soon?

Somewhere Only We Know

Bedshaped


Hope you enjoyed my review of this FANTASTIC night, along with the pictures and videos!!! :)

TRAVIS @ HENRY FONDA - APRIL 29, 2007

TRAVIS! So cute and nice and funny!!! XD Oh! Can't forget about their lovely ACCENTS! X) They're the reason why I LOVE Scottish guys! :P I think it's only been a little bit over a year since I started listening to them, but they have easily become one of my favorite bands after Keane. :)

Wow, they haven't been here since 2004! Besides the Coachella festival and a secret gig they did about two weeks ago, this was the first real concert since 2004! I was so bummed about missing them at Coachella, but when I found out about this gig, I was so happy! Travis was all I wanted to see anyway, not too many other bands that were there.. It seems I'm into all these artists that happen to be touring this year! Everyone has made a new album in the past year.. :P Keane, Josh Groban, Mika, Rufus Wainwright (but I don't know if I can see him this year :/), and of course Travis!


I was standing for about 7 to 8 hours this time. I waited in line and waited for the band to come out after their sound check (Fran told us they'll come back after they finish before the sound check). :) They are SO incredibly nice! It was so exciting to meet Fran, Dougie, Neil and Andy!! :D I gave the drawing I drew while I stood in line to Dougie since he was the first to see me. He was so adorably kind and gracious about it, and he showed it to Neil too. XD Fran came out last and he was sooo nice. :D He took a picture for us of him, my mom, and me. ^.^

Even though I was near the front of the line, the front row was already filled. I stood behind these "VIP" people. X( How did they get in so early?! Grr, there was a tall guy in front too, so I couldn't see very well. I could only see in the middle between their heads but not to the left and right of my vision... Good thing the opening band was first so I could judge if my view was okay. It wasn't, so I asked the tall guy if we could switch places, but he wouldn't.. :/ Thankfully my mom was in the front all the way to the left of the stage when she was looking for a better spot, so I just went over there. I had a much clearer view without anyone blocking me.

At first I was afraid to take out my camera, but after awhile, everyone was taking pictures and video. The security didn't say anything, so I just took a lot of pictures and video. :D Too bad one of them had to stand in front of the stage right in the MIDDLE! So his head is in a lot of my pictures and videos.. @_@ Travis rocked the house! They were all so cute when they interacted with each other and everything. Fran did a solo acoustic performance of "Flowers In The Window" ♥ When Dougie looked at me, I smiled to him and he smiled back!!! SQUEE! XD Andy apparently did some crazy crowd surfing or something on the other side.. I couldn't see! :( I couldn't see Neil that well either because he's so far back and Dougie was blocking him most of the time. Other than that, it was all good! Fran was so cute when he forced us to "pogo" jump during "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" XD AWESOME show! :D

Here are just a few pictures and tons of videos I already found on YouTube! O_O


The marquee sign! This was after it was fixed.. It said "NKCRW PRESNETS TRAVIS" before.. :P

Fran singing! There's the security guy's head! x_x

Cool shot I got! There's that guy again...






Selfish Jean

My Eyes

Good Feeling

All I Want To Do Is Rock

Turn


Sing

Flowers In The Window

Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

Thanks so much to the people who uploaded these great videos of the wonderful show! :)

Hope you enjoyed reading and watching!

JOSH GROBAN @ STAPLES CENTER - 3/31/07 + @ MGM GRAND ARENA - 4/7/07

Josh Groban! I love this guy!!! I have been listening to him since 2004, and I even put him as one of my role models (along with my brother) on one of my college applications! XD

I bought my tickets to see him at the STAPLES Center ages ago (last November!), but I bought my tickets to see him at MGM at the last minute (the Thursday before the show). ^^; My seats were far up from the stage at the STAPLES Center, but at least I wasn't all the way on the other side of the stadium. I was in the second tiered level on the side at MGM, so I was a lot closer. Both views were pretty good, and I wasn't at the back either of the time. The expensive tickets to see Josh are so worth it! He is amazing!

My heart was beating so rapidly when it started at the STAPLES Center. I had no idea what to expect, and it was so exciting to hear "You Are Loved" first. The beginning got everyone pumped up, and it was just awesome!

For nearly two hours, Josh sang every single song with the strongest voice! WOW, you have to see him live to appreciate how GOOD he is! I loved the parts in between the songs when he's being funny and joking around. It was so exciting to see him walk through the audience during "In Her Eyes" too (even though I was far away both times XP)! I was just in awe... Josh's voice is able to captivate a whole stadium arena and make everyone erupt with cheers. I truly admire this guy...

Josh's violinist, Lucia Micarelli, was great too! Her interlude of "Kashmir" was really cool! She shredded up her bow, and it amazed everyone. The passion and how she gets so into it is awesome. Josh is so lucky to have so many talented musicians working and performing with him. *g*

The quality of my pictures aren't as nice as the pictures from other gigs I've been to since I was so far away, but here are a few of my better shots. :)

STAPLES Center:

Angelique Kidjo was Josh's opening performer, and I enjoyed her fun intro as she got the crowd going with her great African beats. :D









Here is a shot I got from the screen. YAY, I was able to get a clear picture of his face! XD








A pretty shot I got during "So She Dances" ^_^







The security at MGM sucked! They were camera vultures, so I couldn't take as many nice pictures or video when I had the better view! X( So here's just one of the best pictures I was able to get during the opening "You Are Loved" :)

After the show at the STAPLES Center, I waited for Josh for about two hours. A car pulled up and he came out to sign autographs for everyone! He is so nice and lovely! Unfortunately, my camera died, so I couldn't get any pictures at the time, but it was exciting when I stuck out my hand as he was leaving and he grabbed it!!! :D His hand was so warm, but mine was freezing from standing out in the cold for so long.. ^^; After the show at MGM, I also waited for him and was able to give him something this time. He said "Thank you!" too. ^_^ So, despite the brief encounters with Josh, he is still so kind. You can't blame him for being so famous that he can't stick around and get bombarded by crazy fans! :P

Now, here are some videos I found on YouTube of both performances. Of course, none of these are mine again!

STAPLES Center:

You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)


Lucia's Kashmir


In Her Eyes


Josh's amazing drum solo during "Canto Alla Vita"


You Raise Me Up


MGM Grand Arena:

Funny dance lesson with Angelique


Not While I'm Around


Sigh, I got some funny videos too, but of course my internet sucks and I can't share them.. :/ I hope you enjoyed these ones, though! :D

I would love to see Josh again, even though I already saw him twice in one week... He's phenomenal! He's coming back in the summer.. I hope I can go to that show too, and hopefully get a better seat as well! ^^

MIKA @ TROUBADOUR - MARCH 25, 2007

MIKA!!! Cute, talented, bouncy, sexy.. and only 24!

Thanks to some UK buddies, I found out about Mika in January. I instantly became hooked with his addictive music. When I found out about this concert, the tickets were already sold out!! I was lucky, though, because I just happened to check one day and they released some more tickets! I got my pair of tickets about two weeks before the actual gig for the cheap price of $25 each (including stupid Ticketmaster service charges - it was $15 without the charges).

I was expecting to have a good time and see a wonderful artist, but I didn't know that much about him.. He FAR exceeded my expectations, and I had such a BLAST! I had so much fun!!! I was standing in the second row from the stage so I was pretty close, but I was shorter than the girls in front of me.. :/ At least I could still see upwards to the stage. Mika's stage presence is electric and FUN. I loved watching him dance and jump around the stage (the way he moves his hips is unnatural.. lol, he does it better than most girls). It was also cute when he and his band interacted with each other. :)

As I mentioned earlier in the Keane concert review at the Wiltern, I'm very shy. However, I jumped along with everyone else to the songs, especially "Love Today" and "Lollipop." Everyone was singing along too. This was the "first REAL American gig" and everyone around me already knew all the lyrics to the songs, lol. I only knew some of the words.. ^^; Mika did a nice cover of "Everybody's Talkin'" as a sort of interlude between two songs. The best part was definitely the end with "Lollipop." The band all came out dressed in animal costumes, and then balloons were bounced throughout the crowd. I never had so much fun at a gig like this before. Mika really gets the audience to participate with him and makes everyone feel like part of the performance. Loved it!

Since this was on a Sunday night, I had school the next day... My mom let me wait for Mika after the show, though. XD I was quite excited to meet this talented musician. When I did, I of course did not know what to say and my mom gave the orders of sign and take pictures.. ^^;; He is SO nice and adorable and just a great guy!! When he signed an autograph for my mom, he commented on her glasses by writing "love the glasses!" XD His writing is sooo pretty too! I'm glad I stuck around to meet him. He is really down to earth despite his ever increasing fame. I became a much bigger fan after meeting the man himself! :P


Here are a few pictures I took from the gig. :) Please no posting anywhere else without asking first. Thanks!

The Troubadour venue with Mika's name and the supporting bands.



The set list - I had to zoom in between the girls in front of me to get this picture (it was taped to the stage floor)






Mika! This was during the first song: "Relax (Take It Easy)"

Mika with his guitarist in the backgorund

Oooh, cool shot. :P

Here are some videos I found of the gig on YouTube. None of the following videos are mine!

"Ring Ring"


"Over My Shoulder"


The entire final song "Lollipop"


Mika and his band are so cute! XD I LOVED their finale!!! It was fun, cute, and awesome! It was funny because it was so cute.. :P

I also went to the Jimmy Kimmel taping with Mika doing a mini-concert two days later, but I didn't get nearly as great a spot as at the real concert. They only did two songs too: "Grace Kelly" and "Lollipop" :/

If I ever get a chance to see Mika again in a real concert, I'd definitely go to experience the FUN again! :D I wish I went to the Virgin in-store gig, but that was at midnight on a school night.. x_x

Keane - A Bad Dream (USB Single) + my little Keane collection

I was lucky enough to catch this on sale at HMV a couple weeks ago. I ordered one and got it in the post a week later. This was exciting for me since it is limited, and I happened to catch it still on sale (it's sold out now). I got number 658 out of 1500 (or it might be 2000, I forgot). :D It has the video and single version for "A Bad Dream", "Enjoy the Silence", and the "Luna-C Bangin' Mix" for the single. There was also a competition to the Wembley show in London. I entered it even though I can't fly over to London.. ^^; The USB memory stick is so tiny, and I'm afraid that I'll break it. I haven't used it much anyway.. It has a capacity of 256 MB, but I think the USB single for "Nothing In My Way" has 512.. :( It also came with a cool, shiny wristband. I looped the string on the wristband to the memory stick so I wouldn't lose it. :P Another nice collectible for my small Keane collection. :D


Some other collectible Keane items I have are two other singles:

- Is It Any Wonder?
- This Is The Last Time

I bought these two singles when I went to Tower Records one day... I begged my mom to get these since there was a "buy 4 get the 5th free" deal on anything in the store. So I bought all the Keane singles they had (the above two). I knew they were collectible especially since we don't have singles here in the US, so I'm glad I got them. They surely would've sold out if I didn't buy them right at that time!

- Here's a picture of my copies.





Also, I went to the Virgin Megastore gig on June 20, 2006 for their release of Under The Iron Sea. I bought the album and it came with a limited edition lithograph of the band and the album artwork (mine's number 2844! :D). They had some of the "Is It Any Wonder?" artwork, but I couldn't get one. :/

The lithographs I got:

Oh yes, I also got the advertisement that stood out in front of the store, as well as a window sticker of that same poster.. :P

This Virgin Megastore gig was during the halftime of the World Cup game between England and Sweden. I had no idea it was being filmed for ESPN. It's nice to have the actual boys to look at instead of just their album or single artwork.. XD

That thing in the bottom left corner is talking about how tickets were already sold out for their real gig that was the next day. I didn't get to go, unfortunately...




The best part of my little collection is what I got at the concert I attended last month. Yes, I met them and got their autographs! I'm excited that I got two versions of Tim's signature too (one is just "Tim" and the other is his full name "Tim Rice-Oxley")! :D My mom got my CD sleeve signed and I got the back of an extra copy of my drawing (that I gave to them) signed.. :P Extra bonus: Tim and Rich used my Sharpie to sign my stuff!!! XD Rich actually asked me to borrow it to sign everyone's stuff too. ^^















Well, that's all the collectible Keane memorabilia I have. :D I look forward to adding to this collection, but I am already very happy with it now! ^_^

KEANE @ THE WILTERN - JANUARY 26, 2007

KEANE - OMG SO CUTE!!! XD

WOW, what can I say about this brilliant band?!?! They blew me away at my first real concert. They are SO GOOD live! I think they sound even better live than they do on their albums, and that's saying A LOT. They're already perfect on the albums, but live... It's just MAGICAL!

I stood for nearly 12 hours straight, but even with my legs almost collapsing the whole time, it was SO worth it! I stood in line to get my PIT tickets for about 6 hours, then 3 hours for the concert (including the opening band and intermission), and lastly 3 hours to wait for KEANE to come out.

Rocco DeLuca and the Burden was the opening band and they sounded unique, but I was there for Keane. I was lucky enough to get front row center-right (but I did stand in line early for it), and it ended up being the most exhilarating experience of my life. Normally I'm shy, but I sang my lungs out for the fast/upbeat/loud songs. Everyone at the Wiltern was screaming and the audience was very responsive to Tom's engaging performance. I heard the Berkeley crowd was pretty weak compared to us, but I guess we're just more crazy.. :P

Berkeley got "The Frog Prince", though! Argh, I was hoping they would perform this song, but they didn't for us. :(( They better perform that one at the next Keane gig I go to! XP So they got that one extra song, but it was still an awesome show at the Wiltern. I never heard Tom run out of breath throughout the whole show, and Tim and Rich were a treat to see play with such emotion and passion. I wish I had a better view of Rich, though, since a cymbal was always in front of his face from my angle. Tim did miss a few keys during their acoustic performance of "Your Eyes Open", but he was laughing/smiling. ^_^ That made me smile too, and Tim obviously knew he made a little mistake. :P

After the perfect performance, I stood out by their tour bus to meet them. I managed to give them some buttons I made and a drawing/painting I did (pencil, scanned into the computer, edited/colored in Photoshop). Tim actually laughed at my button for him, which he called a badge, because it featured his "Shoe of Choice" - the green Dunlops. XD I forgot the little circle in the back part of the shoe, though. x_x I made a "King of SMOOTHIES" one for Tom and a "Hug_A_Hughes" one for Rich. :P I hope they at least found them comical.. I know Tim did because he looked at it after I gave it to him and he laughed. ^__^ I gave the drawing to Tim since he was the first to come out and he was so nice about it: "Wow, this looks frighteningly like me..." XD They're all so nice, and I hope I'll be able to meet them again soon! *g*

I sent in some pictures from the concert for the Keane website and they put one of them up! :D Go to the official Keane site (found in my linkage section of the sidebar) and click on "YOUR PICTURES FROM AMERICA". It should be under "Other News" at this time. My picture is the one with my name, Michelle A, underneath it. They put it in the wrong section, though! They put it under Berkeley, when it should be under the Wiltern. :P

Here are some other PICTURES! :D
Tim is already beginning to rock on his piano as "The Iron Sea" transitions into "Put It Behind You". What a FANTASTIC intro! It was so cool with that lighting and everything... I was in awe... My first concert is THIS good. ;D

Tom gave it his all... I mean, his voice was STRONG for every single song, whether it was fast or slow. His voice reached every high note, and he was just amazing. While he was singing with such passion and strength, he had so much stamina to bounce around the stage too! ^_^ He sounded better than any other live performance (from videos on the internet, etc...) I've ever seen! O__O

Yay, I'm glad I was able to get a pretty clear shot of Rich! :D Look, he's even smiling while he plays the drums too! XD Rich deserves much more attention and love than he's getting now.. :P Glad he came up to the front of the stage during the acoustic version of "Your Eyes Open". ^_^

Here is a picture of that very acoustic performance with all three of them up front!!!!!!!! :D Well, you can only see Tim and Rich here... but Tom was at the left with his guitar! ;)

You know, this looks pretty hot, don't you think? I loved it when Tom went up to Tim and sang like that. ^_^ I think this was one out of two or three times that they interacted like this. XD

Tim during "A Bad Dream". Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually didn't really take this picture... I took a video, and this just happens to be the first frame of it. 8D

And the end... AWWWWWWWWWWW!!! I LOVE THEM! I LOVE KEANE!!! XD

NO STEALING THE PICTURES!!!!!!

Here are some great videos of the performance I found on YouTube... NOTE: These are not mine! Credit goes to the original posters of the videos...

Put It Behind You


A Bad Dream


Hope you enjoyed those fantastic videos! :D Thanks so much to those who shared them! *g*

I can't wait until I can experience this again! KEANE just ROCKS!