Then a tornado hit. I’m taking that as a sign to continue chronicling my travels on my sorely neglected blog, so I can write about events that are more… current.

So back to where we left off: the film and music portions of South by Southwest in Austin, TX.

SXSW Film: March 12-20

I didn’t get the opportunity to catch very many films, but I made it a point to see several documentaries, one of which was Under Great White Northern Lights, a film about The White Stripes and their Canadian tour that I previously blogged about. You can read about my takeaways from that film there.

The Radiant Child, about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, was a film my late friend Justin was also interested in seeing. The Sunday before he passed, Justin reminded me to tell him my thoughts on this film after seeing it. Well Justin… it was fascinating to see rare footage of Basquiat in action, and tragic to see and hear about his life spiral downwards to his eventual passing. And I loved the film’s opening credits… interview outtakes and manic footage of Basquiat paired with “Salt Peanuts” as the soundtrack.

The screening was on the last Saturday of the festival, and I’m so glad I fought off festival fatigue to see it. Director Tamra Davis, an old friend of Basquiat’s (and yeah, Mike D’s wifey) was on hand for a Q&A session, too.

I also attended a live interview with Michel Gondry, the man behind films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (one of my favorites) and music videos from Björk, Beastie Boys, The White Stripes, and Foo Fighters. The following night, I saw his film The Thorn in the Heart, which chronicles the life of his aunt Suzette in the French countryside. Though the subject matter was nonfiction, some of his whimsical filmmaking found its way onto the screen.

SXSW Music: March 17 (more from Music to come)

SXSW Music kicked off on St. Patrick’s Day, which is brilliant timing—as though SXSW wasn’t occasion enough for revelers to hit up Austin’s pubs. That day, I caught word through Twitter that Broken Bells was doing a free, open-to-the-public, AOL-sponsored gig at the parking garage across from Stubb’s BBQ. Not knowing where else to go with my SXSW pass-less friend Stefanie, we made our way over there. We had just eaten gyro sandwiches for lunch, but as we stood in line in the afternoon sun, an Ice Cream Man truck pulled to the curb. What perfect timing!

The funny part was after the gig, it hit me that Broken Bells was on the National Public Radio showcase lineup, which I was attending, so I ended up seeing them twice the same day. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. They had a few good songs, but they’re not a band I was extremely enthusiastic about seeing twice.

Obviously, the highlight for me that night at the NPR showcase wasn’t Broken Bells. Neither were Visqueen or The Walkmen, who are fine bands. And though I (and many other people there, I assume) was there for headliners and Austin locals Spoon, the performance that really got us pumped was Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Da-yum. Her moves. Her energy. Her voice. Their music. So much power. You had to have been there to feel the reciprocated energy from the crowd that night. We loved her.

I’m so glad I got this moment on camera. That fan was standing a few people behind me and so enthusiastic, no wonder Sharon brought him onstage! I hope he finds this video!

Broken Bells’ set list of songs was in the exact order they appear on their one and only album, so as we were waiting for Spoon to come on, the guy next to me on the barrier, a big Spoon fan, sarcastically said that Spoon better play the entire Kill the Moonlight record in order or he’ll leave.

Spoon came onstage about a quarter after midnight. I didn’t care if my feet hurt from standing all night. We were seeing, swaying, and singing along with Spoon in the flesh.

A comment from SXSW that will always bug me
A few days later on the shuttle to the convention center, this guy told me how he loved Broken Bells but thought Spoon was trying too hard to sound like Radiohead. Really? Did you just namedrop Radiohead just to make yourself sound smart? Because I don’t know about you, but either he had his bands confused, or was just straight-up confused. Because Spoon sounds nothing like Radiohead. They sound like… Spoon. Quality poppy-funky-indie-rock goodness.

More, ahem, “musings” from SXSW Music to come…

Related photos:

Reading this article, I realized how fast technology both progressed and was embraced within a decade. In the story, I mention that I had a 35 mm Minolta, your run-of-the-mill, point-and-shoot film camera. At gigs today, I shoot with a digital Panasonic Lumix with a 10x optical zoom and HD video recording capability!

The details in this piece made reading it a little bittersweet. On top of forgetting that I had written this, the memories in this piece are all but vague now, almost ten years later. It makes me wonder how, in 2020, I’ll look back on the gigs I had attended last year, and the Muse shows I’ll be attending this year.

* * *

6:10 pm and we had arrived at the Pipeline Cafe—10 minutes after the publicized doors-open time. People were still waiting for the doors to open (okay, so we weren’t late, the people running the cafe were). My mom—she’s hip, all right?—and I joined them. While we were standing there, I saw two women peering through the tinted windows, pointing, you know, like they were at the Bishop Museum or something. I had a feeling that I knew what—or who—they were pointing at. Sure enough, there was Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, Beastie Boy, fellow BS2000 member, and at-the-moment main exhibit, having a little chat with security at the bar. (He was probably telling them to look out for “knuckleheads”—people endangering the safety of audience members). He was wearing a white t-shirt, and his hair was sticking up (my personal favorite hair-do on Adam). I was frozen there; I don’t know why I didn’t pull out my zoom-in, 35 mm Minolta camera (which can take pictures through tinted glass) when I had the chance. When I finally thought of it, though, Adam started climbing the staircase leading to the dressing room. Oh, well, serves me right.

After maybe 15 or 20 minutes of waiting, the doors finally opened. I noticed that people were setting up a table to sell BS2000 and Le Tigre t-shirts and tiny buttons. The crappy part was that there was only one t-shirt design and one button design for each band. But being a fan, I bought one BS2000 item each, totaling up to less than . For the rest of the night, I wore both.

About 45 minutes of sitting, waiting, and watching the lighting effects passed before Le Tigre came on stage, sporting matching dark blue windbreakers. Kathleen Hanna announced that this was their last appearance for the tour. Their set, which lasted for an hour (sorry, I don’t know the set list) comprised of songs blended with dance and punk music. I thought they were a cool band, with their beats and beliefs. Plus, they connected with the audience pretty well. Hanna brought up the fact that she saw the Grammys, which was on TV the night before the show. One of them cracked, “This next song we’re gonna do features Elton John on the chorus!” They also brought up, among other things, last year’s Amadou Diallo shooting, racial discrimination, and did a little choreographed dance on stage. They even brought up this college guy, who kind of advertised this organization he’s part of at the University of Hawai‘i. During the BS set, they threw down towels to the band from the dressing room balcony.

Amery Smith, a.k.a. AWOL.

After Le Tigre’s set (and not to mention another wait), BS-two-triple-o walked on stage to, appropriately, “We Are BS2000″. AWOL, Adrock, and additional back-up members Jazz Thompson and Alfredo Ortiz took their places behind three keyboards and a drum kit, respectively. Adrock was wearing a yellow button-up shirt over the white shirt he had on earlier, along with dark green pants. He welcomed the crowd and proclaimed that he was having a bad hair day (he had combed back his hair) to which an audience member responded, “Your hair looks great!” “Thanks! Okay, I’m having a great hair day!” Adrock said.

BS also connected to the audience, holding both political and casual conversations, just like what Le Tigre did. Ortiz mentioned eating Portuguese sausages, scrambled eggs, and rice (a local favorite breakfast platter) at Loco Moco Drive Inn (a local favorite diner) that morning. Adrock was like, “What was the name of the place? Coco Moco?” The audience was shouting, “LOCO MOCO!” Then Adrock sang a portion of “Locomotion” (“C’mon baby, do the Locomotion!”). Adrock also did his best to succinctly explain each of the mostly political meanings behind the songs, but I think Hanna did a better job at that. (No offense, Ad.)

Adrock.

Their performance was super-cool (naturally) and the concert-goers enjoyed themselves (including myself). But some people were REALLY enjoying themselves. These male college kids (probably frat boys, but I’m not sure) were at the front-and-center part of the crowd, acting like they were in a mosh pit. One of ‘em even collapsed right in front of me. I mean, it wasn’t some big arena concert, just a small club show. In fact, several times during BS2000’s set, Adrock looked at them and mumbled, “Crazy kids.” Most of the audience seemed to be of the college crowd, though I did see some teenagers around my age, an elderly man, and a couple with a baby. I guess Adrock was starting to worry about our safety (the teens, the elderly man and I were among the people right in front of the stage) because he asked us, “Are you guys doing alright? Are you guys feeling okay here?”

I think I caught Adrock looking at me. After all, I was probably the only audience members wearing my newly purchased BS shirt. I even took a picture of him looking right at the camera. Unfortunately, like most of my pictures from that night, his eyes came out looking all red. I also took pictures of AWOL, whom I was standing right in front of (I was to the left of the stage, near the merchandise booth), yelling his head off in the microphone, while playing his keyboards; and Ortiz, playing the drums (sorry Jazz, I had a hard time trying to take a picture of you). Plus, I remember that this nice woman, who was also taking pictures, let me go in front of her so I could take pictures of Adam, too. (Thanks, it really helped a lot!) Also, both bands brought up a fluorescent yellow, glow-in-the-dark Hacky Sack on stage. When Adrock had it, people actually started bidding for it. He finally said something like, “The deal’s off!”

Adrock rocks the Casio.

I don’t remember the actual set list in order, but I do remember that the first song was “We Are BS2000″ and the last song was “The Scrappy.” They also did a Blondie song called “I Know But I Don’t Know,” “Nobody Beats BS2000″ and most (sad to say, not all) of the Simply Mortified tracks. I also remember that the audio was LOUD and the Pipeline Cafe was PACKED.

Then, the moment came when it was time for the show to end. People were calling out, “Hana hou!” (Hawaiian for “Encore!”) and “We love you guys!” Many of us felt disappointed because it felt so short. Plus, I didn’t get to meet BS2000. They could’ve free-styled or talked more or SOMETHING. I could’ve played something, since I take piano lessons. If the show was a month later, I could’ve even played some Simply Mortified songs; I learned some by ear during the Spring Break. Oh, well. I guess us Island fans have to wait for the next Hawai‘i Beastie or BS appearance, whenever that will be. (Note: It was in Hawai‘i, when the Beasties made their so-far only public showing here in June 1995, that Adrock and AWOL got the idea for BS2000.)

Here’s a bunch of photos from that weekend on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/libperalta/sets/72157622917593013/

And a couple of videos I shot in Vegas:

So as you may know, I spent December 10-15 in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, to watch my favorite band Muse perform at two different radio station holiday festivals. Here are the highlights from that memorable weekend.

- Stayed at the California Hotel my first night there (Thursday), since I hadn’t been to Fremont Street when I went to Vegas in May with my sister, Yvonne, and Jon. There were tons of people wearing cowboy hats; the national rodeo finals was taking place that weekend. Cowboys and Muse fans in the same city, the same weekend. Hehehe.

- On Friday night, I walked through the Venetian, the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, and Harrah’s with Jae and her husband, who flew in from Chicago for the gig. They’re so sweet!

- The Vegas concert on Saturday was at the Hard Rock Hotel’s venue, The Joint. I made it a point to go to this gig because this is probably the last time in a while that Americans will witness Muse in a mid-sized venue (The Joint has a capacity of about 4,000 people), since Muse is doing an arena tour in the spring. And I’m glad we stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel because everything was right downstairs. I lined up at 7 am to find that I was the first one there! At 10 am, though, security told the 20 people who had gathered to disperse, since lineup starts at 4 pm. That was disappointing, since we were already in line for three hours before someone actually told us, and we weren’t in anyone’s way, since we were in a separate lobby from the casino, but it was still a fire hazard. We anxiously lined up outside and kept checking the front of the venue inside until then.

- To pass the time, we started a sign-making campaign to get Muse to play “Bliss,” one of many songs from their previous albums that they rarely play these days. It spread to other people who waited in line with us, and soon, there were a bunch of us sporting signs requesting it. Unfortunately, when it came time to enter the venue, security didn’t allow signs inside, so we had to throw them away.

Mine is the neon yellow one. And yup, those are my star lei… which I’ll talk about in a bit.

Muse fans for “Bliss”!

- The Las Vegas gig was my first time seeing Muse (“popping my Muse cherry,” as it were). And it was AMAZING. Front and center on the barrier! After watching three other bands — Afghan Raiders, Paper Tongues, and Cage the Elephant — it was time for Muse. It’s surreal seeing a band you’ve always watched onscreen at home, then seeing them in the flesh for the first time. Though they didn’t play many oldies, they did bust out “MK Ultra,” one of my favorites off their latest album, and apparently this was their first time playing it in the States. I made sure to call my friend Kylee, who was back home on O’ahu, during the song, so she could enjoy it along with me.

Lead vocalist, guitarist, and pianist Matt Bellamy.

Bassist Chris Wolstenholme playing the harmonica during “Man with a Harmonica,” the Ennio Morricone song the band uses as an intro to “Knights of Cydonia.” My favorite live photo I took that night.

Drummer Dom Howard.

- Thinking there was no way I would be able to meet the band afterward — and note, I feel very uncomfortable about throwing things onstage — I thought, “screw it,” and, after seeing someone throw their jacket onstage (???), I threw one of my lei toward frontman Matt Bellamy during “Starlight” (you know, because it was a lei of origami stars). But…

- Matt, drummer Dom Howard, supporting musician Morgan Nicholls, and “fourth member” Tom Kirk were at the official afterparty. The great thing about the party was that it was free, as long as you showed your photo ID (you had to be 21+) and concert ticket stub. Two very brief encounters with Matt Bellamy: one in which I actually “lei’d” him with another lei I had, which incited his hilarious giggle (I didn’t “lei” him like that, you pervs!); the other in which we took a photo together. I need to get over being so nervous around people I admire. I also had a scare with my wallet, which turned out to be in my room, but had a ton of fun with the people I was with after I found it. We were standing the next booth over from Muse’s booth. I glanced in the band’s direction a few times while I was hanging out with other fans, and it was a bit awkward catching Matt dance to music like Usher’s lol.

Me and Matt Bellamy. Oh. My. God.

Dom and Matt, who’s wearing my star lei. Props to Christina for taking this photo.

- Flew to Los Angeles the following afternoon for KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas. It was interesting because I had an opposite vantage point from the previous evening; I sat with a few friends in the balcony. In addition to Muse, I got to see bands like Metric, Phoenix, and 311 perform, as well. The downside was seeing Cage the Elephant, who played before Muse the night before in Vegas, again. I didn’t enjoy them because, in short, their lead singer is epileptic and incomprehensible live. Muse, who headlined this festival too, brought it, of course. Complete with the big balloons with confetti inside them for the pit to destroy at the end of “Plug In Baby.”

After my back-to-back Muse shows, I went to a Craig Ferguson taping. I have no photos from that, since people aren’t allowed to bring cameras and cell phones inside CBS’s studios. But I must say, the guy who amps up the audience before the taping did an excellent job putting everyone in that laugh-out-loud mood. And Craig himself is hilarious, of course! I watched the episode that night, and I could barely hear my hoarse laugh. (Yeah, my voice was shot after the weekend!) That night, I had dinner with Vasthy, a friend I made at my inaugural Franz Ferdinand gig in April, and talked about traveling and concert plans for next year.

Thank you to everybody who helped make this such a memorable weekend… and thanks especially to Muse. See you again in the spring, I hope!

Videos: YouTube Playlist • Photos: Flickr Set

A week ago today, I was in Los Angeles, roaming around in “the world’s largest independent record store,” Amoeba Music, sifting through vintage rock posters, walking among aisles of CDs and vinyl records… and brushing shoulders with director Michel Gondry.

Oh right, ’twas Hollywood.

Vasthy, Liz, Christina and I had just come from eating dinner at Hard Rock Cafe on Universal City Walk. At Amoeba, we were all exhausted but willed ourselves to get lost in the music – literally. I mean, it’s why we were all here. (And Michel Gondry? Turns out he was there for a performance at Amoeba. He plays the drums.)

Franz Ferdinand would be performing the following day at the Hollywood Palladium. This would make it my second time seeing the Scottish band live; my first Franz gig was only about five months ago in Tempe, Arizona. That experience remains as among the best and luckiest I’ve ever had: we scored killer barrier positions right up front, chatted with the band (with frontman Alex Kapranos and bass player Bob Hardy, twice), and made a bunch of new friends — especially the coincidental meeting with Tracy, the other Hawai‘i girl who was there. It was definitely a surprise to find out we had both come from the same island – heck, the same side of the island — to see the same band. How did we not know of each other earlier?

This time around, Tracy couldn’t join us, and neither could Aurora and Cris, two good friends I had made in Tempe and on the online forum for my other favorite band, Muse. I missed them and wished they could have joined us. There were others I’d be meeting up with, though, mostly from the Muse boards, including Lisa and Christina, two Musers I’d also met in Tempe.

The next day, around 10am, Christina and I arrived in line to find about 10 or 15 others already queued. The group at the front of the line were part of our Muser group — Caroline, who was numero uno, had been sitting there in her lawn chair since 4:45 am. She was with her sister, Jackie; a friend of Jackie’s; and Liz, another Muser. B, as we call her, also joined us. Ashley, also from the Muse forum, was in line earlier, but had taken off. Turned out she got in to a small radio-hosted acoustic performance with Alex and Nick McCarthy, the band’s other guitarist and keyboardist.

The front of the line.

For about nine hours, we took turns sitting in lawn chairs, underneath umbrellas, guzzling water, waiting for the doors to open at 7pm. The sun was a scorcher. On occasion, someone would cross the street to the Coffee Bean to fetch cups of ice cubes, or to the nearby Rite-Aid or Denny’s for chilly snacks and beverages. (At one point, Christina handed out extra popsicles to fellow fans in line.) We listened to music from my iPhone that was blasting out of Liz’s portable speakers, chatted with other people in line, and made signs to hold up during the show. Around 3pm, the building across the street with the Coffee Bean cast its long shadow over us, finally relieving us of the sun’s heat.

As the time to enter the venue got closer, a verbal ruckus formed at the front of the line. At this point, about ten people had trickled in and cut in the middle of our group. Christina got frustrated and spoke up. Two or three friends being let in front of us – okay. Ten? No way. A girl said she was in line at 7am, then left to go to work, where she had just come from. Of course, this didn’t make things fair for those who waited all day in the sun. Someone behind us used the perfect analogy, calling it “touching bases.” After security got involved and gave her the ultimatum of moving to the back of the line or receiving a ticket refund, she and most of her friends huffily made their way to the back of the line.

Finally, the time to enter the Palladium was coming close. Erin, her sister, and Lisa had all arrived from San Diego. Lisa’s friend, who she calls “Hobo,” had also arrived. Females made two security check lines and males formed one. I made my way into the venue after the security officer checked my large purse, which contained my copy of Alex’s book, Sound Bites; my camera; iPhone; and the origami star lei and greeting card Tracy and I made for the band.

The lei.

We scored barrier positions again, though our group was separated. In Tempe, I was in front of Nick. The coveted barrier spot for fans is usually between Nick and Alex. This time, I was on the other side, in front of Bob, along with Liz and B. The others had made their way to Nick’s side.

After two opening acts — local bands Neverever and The Blood Arm — we were ready for Franz Ferdinand. A skinny, flamboyant guy who had introduced The Blood Arm earlier came back onstage to introduce the headliner. Hilariously, he deemed Franz Ferdinand “the most evil band in the history of Scotland,” more evil than Satan; whereas earlier, he called The Blood Arm’s sound better than Jesus himself. (Uh yeah, talk about some high standards!) With that introduction, Franz Ferdinand came onstage and opened with “Bite Hard,” a slow starter with a punchy ending. One of my favorite songs, “The Dark of the Matinée,” was next, followed by “No You Girls.”

Everyone in our group got their signs out. Christina had the brilliant idea of each of us holding up individual signs that all read “Van Tango,” a b-side that has become a live rarity. (Wanting some Hawai‘i flavor to my sign, mine read, “Van Tango Mango,” while Lisa’s read, “Van Tango Dammit,” also my idea.) The plan was to hold up our signs during “No You Girls,” which always happens early on in the show, and they would play our request soon after. It worked. At least at that point, we thought it did. When Christina got a setlist later, “Van Tango” was already on there… right after “No You Girls.” Huh. Talk about coincidences. At least Nick was nice enough to dedicate it to our group.

I’d like to think Alex was trying to read my sign in this shot. At that point, I was the only one on the barrier holding a sign. It said, “You survived Green Day – now come to Hawai‘i”

“This Fire” came after “Van Tango.” It’s so weird how that song is now early in the setlist because for a long time, it was the very last song played in shows. Plus, when Franz first came to town a couple days before, the wildfires had started that same day. “This fire is out of control / We’re gonna burn this city, burn this city.” It’s all Franz Ferdinand’s fault! (Just kidding, guys.)

Not gonna do an entire play-by-play of the setlist… because I have a photo of Christina’s setlist!

For most of the show, I sang along to the words and bobbed my head to the beat. Along with b-side “Van Tango,” I was surprised they played “Darts of Pleasure,” their very first single that these days has also become a live rarity (we requested they play “Darts” via signage in Tempe); and “Auf Achse,” a deep cut from their debut album and one of the first Franz songs I remember liking.

One thing I did notice a few times during the show was Alex making a motion with his pointer finger across his neck — looked like he was telling someone off stage to stop something. What this something was, I had no clue. I didn’t hear any technical problems.

Here’s a favorite that’s become a Franz ritual: the drum circle at the end of “Outsiders”:

They ended the set with “Lucid Dreams.” That song alone was worth the trip there. In Tempe, the band had played up until the electronic outro was supposed to start, but some sort of technical glitch happened that (I’m guessing) prevented the sampler from triggering. So in Tempe, that epic dance outro was aborted. But this time… musical bliss. Fifteen minutes of it. Of course, I wasn’t gonna spend the entire time filming it — I had to relish it and dance along — but here are a couple of snippets of it (the second video is part of the electronic outro):

For the curious, here’s “Lucid Dreams” in full, from the iTunes festival in London, July 2009:

The downside to them ending with “Lucid Dreams” was that the band didn’t take a final bow; each band member left the stage, eventually leaving Paul Thomson banging on his drums at the end. After the concert ended on that note, we made our way out of the venue. Before leaving the GA floor, a girl who turned out to be Stephanie from the FFG flagged me down; she had recognized me from some photos taken in Tempe. We all made our way to the side of the venue, where about 40 other fans were waiting for a chance to meet the band. While we waited, Stephanie and I chatted for a bit. Turned out she was staying at the same hotel we were — a shame we didn’t know sooner! During the 90 minutes we spent waiting and talking with friends and other fans, people gradually dispersed. It was pretty clear they were not coming out to meet fans. Our group of friends gave up at 1 am and made our way back to the hotel. It was a bummer I couldn’t present each band member their lei and give them the card Tracy and I made, but I just think it was meant to happen at another time, preferably with Tracy, Aurora, and Cris there.

All in all, it was a fun experience. It certainly will not live up to Tempe — for me, the Tempe experience is difficult to top — but the crowd was pumped up, Franz Ferdinand delivered a strong performance, and we got lost in the music.

Before I write about the concert, let me explain how I won the tickets. It was a brilliant yet simple idea on BAMP’s part to have contest participants use online social media. To enter, participants posted a message on Twitter announcing the contest. Then, they visited BAMP’s blog and posted a comment stating which band they’d most like to see in Hawai‘i. Being the über fan, I said Muse, of course. I figured, hey, it’s an opportunity to vouch for Muse; if I won the tickets, it’d be icing on the cake.

Sure enough, last Monday, I received a Twitter direct message from BAMP that I had won a pair of tickets. Fellow local .mu Muser Kylee had also won tickets, so we used this opportunity to finally meet each other in person.

The day of the second show, I picked up Tracy and the three of us met at the Blaisdell Center box office. After retrieving our tickets, I showed Kylee the Muse, Franz and Beastie stickers on my Santa Fe. We talked about Adam Yauch’s cancer, Muse and Franz, and life in general.

Afterwards, Tracy and I headed over to Ala Moana Center to visit some friends at Apple. After a lengthy catch-up chat with my former boss there, we went to Barnes and Noble downstairs and I bought the issue of NME with Muse on the cover. (I mention Muse way too much in an entry that’s supposed to be about No Doubt – sorry, it’ll be the last time.) Dinner was at Green Papaya, where we had some fresh Vietnamese cuisine. Yum.

By the time we finished dinner, it was about time to head back to the Blaisdell. Finding parking was easier than I expected. We got in the general admission line, had security check our purses, and received our green wristbands. You know what that means? Standing room floor spots. The only way to gig it. (It’d be even better if Tracy and I were each half a foot taller, but c’est la vie.)

Half an hour after Tracy and I secured spots on the left of the stage, about three rows behind the barrier, opening performer Matt Costa came on stage. The story is that Tom Dumont, No Doubt’s guitarist, helped record some stuff for Matt, and that Matt has some history here in Hawai‘i. When he first addressed the audience, someone behind me thought he sounded British. I didn’t think he sounded British at all. Maybe because he’s from Huntington Beach, heh. At one point, a girl screamed, “Can I have your babies?!” to which he replied, “No, I’d like to keep my babies.” Instant classic quote of the night. A classic I had to tweet right then and there.

Matt Costa went through his 30-minute solo acoustic set. Usually opening acts pump up the audience, priming them for the headliner. Though I enjoyed his set, I could tell there were audience members who wanted it over with. Matt’s mellow repertoire is not one you’d usually choose as opening act material. If he had his band with him, there may not have been as many naysayers in the audience as there seemed to have been that night. At least one audience member bought some of his music as a result of his set, though; the last song he performed, “Mr. Pitiful,” is a current favorite of mine.

About 20 minutes after Matt Costa finished, No Doubt came out rocking. I wasn’t familiar with their live performances, but they proved to be an energetic act. The bass, synths and drums pulsed through our bodies as Gwen Stefani jumped, danced and pranced on stage. I (and I’m sure many others) have a gripe with Gwen’s voice (Gwen herself has wondered how people can listen to her nasally voice), but everyone around us was having a good time, dancing and singing along, so it became a minor issue. At one point, Gwen did push-ups, which I remember from concert footage in the “Don’t Speak” video. She’s way too fit to be a mom. Her abs were ridiculous. See?

Gwen's monster abs.

Gwen says buh-bye.

More photos taken with my trusty iPhone can be found on my No Doubt Flickr photoset.

Seeing a band who you aren’t very into is a much different experience from seeing one who you are very passionate about, and I experienced that with this show. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful that I got to go with a friend to see a band that was once my favorite for free. No Doubt proved my, er, doubts, wrong, and demonstrated that they are indeed an excellent live band. I jumped around a little bit when everyone else did and sung along to the few songs I knew. Though my ten-year-old self would have been ecstatic, present-day me had a difficult time getting into the show 100 percent. And time, oddly enough, seemed to fly. Before we knew it, they closed the show with “Sunday Morning” – my favorite song during my No Doubt phase – and it was time to follow the throng out of the arena.

Despite the vague feelings, I still say last Wednesday night was a blast. It was a relief to break the weekday routine and hang out with friends in town for a night of tasty food, live music, and good fun.

And my friend Aurora finished her blog entry – nay, novel – on our Tempe experience, which is posted on her Myspace blog. So if you want all the nitty gritty details – way more detailed than the one I posted – read it!

This has officially been the best weekend of my life. I flew in from Hawaii to Phoenix to see Franz Ferdinand live—and it has been more than worth it!

Pre-Gig
I flew in early that Friday morning. Later that day, I got to meet fellow Franz fans I’ve gotten to know through the official message board for Muse, my other favorite band. (Franz Ferdinand by far has the longest thread in the “Other Bands” section on the forum.) These friends were all from out of town: San Diego, Los Angeles, and El Paso. Only one of us in the group lives in the area, though she originally hails from the Netherlands. We went out to Mill Avenue Friday evening and had dinner, drinks, and basically amped ourselves up for the concert the following day.

Late Saturday morning, two of my friends and I made our way to the Marquee Theatre. We would’ve left for the venue earlier, but we knew there was a charity run and that routes to the venue were blocked until 10:30 am. When we pulled up to the venue, we spotted their tour bus parked behind the venue and got a bit giddy. We were relieved to find that we were the first ones there. We sat on a curb in the shade to see if anyone from the band would come out. Sure enough, we spotted Bob walking back and forth between the bus and the back of the venue. He eventually saw us and made his way toward us. We bought the band a bottle of tequila the day before, so we presented it to him. He was sincerely thankful for the gift and said Paul would especially be appreciative of it. After talking about Coachella, his new shoes, and some photos, Bob made his way back to the bus.

Me and Bob Hardy, Franz Ferdinand's bassist.

About ten minutes later, while we were preparing to write some messages to the band on our friend’s SUV (the one featured at the beginning of the Phoenix Kyte video), out emerged Alex Kapranos himself. He literally made a beeline towards us. We introduced ourselves and chatted about Paul McCartney and Morrissey, mostly about the strange things Morrissey was saying onstage about burning flesh and how he hoped it was human. We figured Morrissey needed some water and a cookie. Alex suggested he needed a veggie burger.

Alex also told us how Nick injured his foot and that he was in the hospital getting some x-rays done. Our Dutch friend with the SUV told him what we were going to write on it in German— “We came here to see Franz Ferdinand” — and Alex was able to translate it to English, thanks to his being around Nick all the time. He also asked us where we were from and he repeated it back to us: “So you’re from Texas, you’re from Holland, you’re from Hawaii… and I’m from Glasgow!” Very cute.

Alex even helped us take a group photo with him, suggesting we set a camera down on the hood of one of the few cars in the lot. We also took individual photos. When it was my turn, I did something I’ve been dreaming about doing when I ever met Alex—I taught him how to make a shaka sign with his hand. (It’s a Hawaii greeting. Look on YouTube for President Obama’s shaka during his inauguration parade.) We also had him give Bob a toy officer’s badge we bought for him (“Arizona Sheriff Bob”).

Me, Alex, Christina, and Aurora. Photo from Aurora's camera.

Me and Alex Kapranos, Franz Ferdinand vocalist and guitarist.

After he left, we wrote the German message and “Get Well Nick” on our friend’s SUV.

"We came here to see Franz Ferdinand" in German

Our superfantastisch message to Nick.

The rest of our group arrived and we told them about our encounter with Bob and Alex. They were a bit jealous to say the least. We set up our little line party in front of the venue, with bum cushions, picnic food, water and a portable fan. We made a few signs on neon poster board. Three girls one of our friends knew from the franzferdinand.org days arrived a few hours before the doors opened; they just came from driving from Coachella. It turned out one of them was also from Hawaii—30 minutes away from where I live!

Showtime
The gig itself was easily the best I have ever been to. Our group scored barrier positions as we hoped, and were subject to Alex and Nick’s “eye sex.” One notable occurrence was that they played “Darts of Pleasure”—a rare instance in recent Franz gigs—instead of “The Fallen” because my friend held up the sign I wrote requesting it! It was cute how they apologized how they played the song afterward, but I didn’t even notice anything wrong… we were all excited to hear the song live! Nick saw my “Aloha Franzypants” sign and chuckled. He also dedicated “Tell Her Tonight” to our friend with the SUV. I was a bit bummed that they messed up/omitted the electronic outro to “Lucid Dreams” during the encore, but that was minor in relation to everything else that happened that day. I bounced up and down to a few songs, so I was surprised that my legs weren’t hurting after the show.

Alex's eyes boring his way through me.

Nick strikes a pose.

Ethereal Alex Kapranos.

The set list from the gig. Note that "The Fallen" was replaced by "Darts of Pleasure" upon our request!

Most of our group, most of whom I know from the Muse online forum.

Post-Gig
We waited outside near their van in hopes of meeting them (again), especially because most of our group wasn’t there with us that morning. The security guards told us that the band wasn’t coming out, and basically everyone else aside from our group left. The band eventually came out and graciously took photos and signed autographs for us. I got a few pictures with Nick as he told us how he hurt his foot in Seattle.

Photo by Christina.

Photo by Christina.

Photo by Christina.

I suggested they come to Hawaii sometime and Nick said he would love for the band to go there someday. After a while, the guys really had to go. Our group dispersed into smaller groups as we figured out where to go to eat afterward—we settled with Whataburger—and got each other’s contact info. I caught Alex looking at us as we were doing this. I wonder if he was wondering how we all knew each other. Perhaps he was amazed at our dedication and willingness to go through great lengths to see them.

Franz Ferdinand put on an amazing show and were very gracious about meeting with us, their fans, before and after the show. Thanks to them, I have made a bunch of new friends and experienced a weekend I will never forget. Mahalo, Franz Ferdinand!

After receiving a text message from Aurora with their room number, I walked downstairs to hang out in their hotel room, a.k.a. Franz HQ. The first thing I saw was a mass of blankets. I soon realized it was a small portable gazebo covered in sheets—the “fort” Christina and Aurora talked about building in the Franz Ferdinand thread in the Muse boards. Sure enough, as I entered the room and walked around to the right of the fort, I spotted its entrance.

That's "Lucky lucky yeah!" in German

Hanging from the top, inside the tent, was a small disco ball that you could shine a flashlight on. We talked about people potentially being able to see the disco ball-lit gazebo from outside the hotel room. It only meant fun!

When Cris and Lisa and her friends arrived, we hired a cab to take us to the nearby Mill Avenue district. We had a Mexican dinner at Macayo’s, where performers were singing lame acoustic covers. At one point, we launched into singing mode, with Muse and Franz songs, of course. It was pretty obnoxious but way more entertaining than the restaurant’s “entertainment.” Ha.

Afterward, we walked along Mill Avenue. Lisa really wanted to go to Fat Tuesday so we went there. The atmosphere reminded me of Waikiki on a weekend night. Loud music, college-aged kids, a few of them dancing. We found a seating area on the sidewalk and took over a corner area. We proceeded a picture-taking spree—it didn’t matter whether they were good photos, just that they were candid and random. We talked to a couple of guys who were ASU students and told them about our upcoming Franzy adventure. Neither seemed very familiar with Franz Ferdinand, though one of them very obviously pretended that Franz “was his shit.” Uh huh. We suggested they check them out the following evening but of course they made excuses about not knowing what their friends were up to that night. We had Mr. “Franz is My Shit” go check with the DJ if they had any Muse or Franz songs on deck. He came back with a no. Of course. Shortly afterward, we left. Lisa later apologized for bringing us there.

Back at Franz HQ, we hung out and blasted and sang along with—yup, you guessed it—more Muse and Franz songs. We also learned the choreography during the chorus of the “Dark of the Matinée” video, so we could perform it during the concert the following evening.

Saturday, April 18 (late morning/early afternoon): Lucky lucky
After a quick stop to the nearby Safeway for some snacks and ice for our line party cooler, Christina, Aurora and I arrived at the venue at around 11:30 am. We were planning to arrive earlier to ensure we were first in line, but road blocks from a charity run this morning prevented it. It didn’t matter though because we were still the first ones there. And perhaps this arrival time was meant to be because not too long after we got to the venue, we met Bob Hardy (bass) and Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar)!!!!

So here’s how this happened. We noticed the tour bus parked behind the venue, so we nonchalantly sat by a parking lot median, underneath the shade of a small tree. It was the only spot that had decent shade anyway. It was near the buses but not too close that it made us look suspicious.

We waited in the shade for a few minutes and caught a glance of Bob walking from the bus. After a few moments he emerged and stood by the neighboring curb. I waved and he jutted out his chin in casual greeting. Christina said “hi” as Bob walked over. Aurora and Christina had me present the bottle of tequila they had purchased for the guys, since they were afraid they would drop the bottle out of nervousness. He was really appreciative of the gift and said Paul would especially appreciate the gesture. Bob also said they’ll drink it after the gig… not such a good idea to indulge beforehand. Then we talked a little bit about Coachella the day before. Aurora asked if the shoes he was wearing were the new ones he mentioned in the official blog and he said they were indeed. We took photos with Bob, and we both made sure not to trip over the tequila bottle we set down on the asphalt. We thanked Bob for coming to talk to us and he departed with the tequila bottle.

Me and Bob Hardy, Franz Ferdinand's bassist.

A few minutes later, Alex emerged and made a beeline towards us! He asked us if we were the girls who gave them the tequila. We said yes and he thanked us. We were amused that he introduced himself, even though we knew who he was, but appreciated his manners! He talked about Paul McCartney and said something like, “Who isn’t a Beatles fan?” Then he talked about a strange comment that Morrissey made on stage about how he could smell burning flesh (hamburger meat is what Alex thinks Morrissey was talking about) and how he hoped it was human flesh. (Morrissey is vegan.) I commented that it sounded like he needed a cookie and some water, and Alex suggested maybe he needed a veggie burger.

Christina told Alex what she was going to write on the back of her SUV with glass chalk: she said, “We came here to see Franz Ferdinand” in German and Alex was able to translate it to English. A consequence of being around Nick, he said. Speaking of Nick, Alex told us he was getting his x-rays done at a nearby hospital, so he wasn’t at the venue yet.

Afterward Alex asked where we were from. He repeated it back to us: “You’re from Texas, you’re from Holland, you’re from Hawaii, and I’m from Glasgow.” The “I’m from Glasgow” line we found amusing because it was something we already knew, but it’s something Alex likes to say. (We proceeded to use it as a running one-liner joke throughout the rest of the weekend.) He graciously signed some items we had with us: Aurora’s copy of Sound Bites, my Franz Ferdinand CD sleeve, and Christina’s dollar bill. We wanted to take a group photo but we were the only ones in the parking lot. Alex suggested we put one of our cameras on timer mode and place it on one of the few cars in the lot. He genuinely got excited that the idea would work.

Me, Alex, Christina, and Aurora. Photo from Aurora's camera.

We took individual photos with Alex. For my photo, I taught Alex how to do a shaka sign—something I was planning on doing in the event I ever met him! Again, Alex seemed to take genuine interest, as he was learning something new!

Me and Alex Kapranos, Franz Ferdinand vocalist and guitarist.

After our photos, we each hugged Alex and thanked him. He’s tall and I’m quite petite so I had to tiptoe to hug him!

After he returned to the bus, Aurora noted that Alex’s lips were stained purple with wine. Someone’s been drinking wine in the afternoon! (Doo doo doo doo-oooh-oooh!) We also noted that Bob and Alex both complimented Christina’s Bavarian hat.

A little later, we witnessed Alex, Bob and Paul board a white van, presumably to get lunch, visit Nick at the hospital and/or go back to their hotel. On its way out of the parking lot, it passed behind Christina’s SUV, where the girls already wrote their German message. Aurora waved and through the tinted windows, she saw the guys waved back. She was ecstatic.

Part Two coming later

Shiny Toy Guns is a band and I was going to their concert. With Angie, Tasha and Keala in tow, we trekked to Pipeline Cafe for what would be three hours of standing, pushing, shoving, relenting, and (finally) enjoying.

The first act, Control-Alt-Delete, was previously unannounced. It started off promising with an electronic beat — the band played a mix of electronic and indie rock music — but progressed into something that was too incomprehensible (lyrically and musically) to enjoy. I could not understand a word they sang except for the female vocalist’s “oh’s.” They played four or five songs and I swear, two of them sounded almost exactly alike, thanks again to the female vocalist’s “oh’s.” At one point, Angie said (like she was addressing the female singer), “Let me see your tits!”… to which I replied, “What tits?!” She was about as thin as a toothpick and I laughed as she tried, with failure, to wear a huge sombrero on her skinny head. What I found especially amusing was that the crowd to the right of the stage started pushing and moshing right when Control-Alt-Delete started playing, once again proving that people will choose to mosh to the weirdest music.

Okay, now that that’s out of my system… the next act, which was announced, was National Product. They’re originally from Hawaii but have since moved to the OC. I didn’t really pay any attention to them, and stood by the bar to avoid the pushing and shoving of the crowd. I watched as Tasha, Angie and Keala — well, Tasha especially — fought off the crowd. Later, we managed to stand together by the bar, where it was a bit safer (but not a bit less uncomfortable). That is, until a security guard told us we had to move to the back… presumably because we were blocking access to the bar and restrooms. And this was during National Product’s second-to-the-last song. Shucks.

After squeezing our way to the back, where it was way more roomier, we waited as the crew set up for Shiny Toy Guns. It felt like an eternity. Jets of mist sprayed from the ceiling, cooling the crowd off.

Finally, the time had come. STG started off with, appropriately, “Starts with One.” It was a short set, but what do you expect from a band that so far has only one album and an EP out? (But that was a good thing, since Angie had work and I had class — a midterm, no less — the next day.)

The set list… somewhat (but not necessarily) in order:
“Starts with One”
“Rocket Ship”
“Chemistry of a Car Crash”
“Le Disko”
“Shaken”
“Jackie Will Save Me”
“Don’t Cry Out”
“Rainy Monday”
“You Are the One”

Encore:
“Waiting”

We ended up leaving before the encore, but we heard them play “Waiting” as we made our way to the car.

Pics:

Videos:

“Chemistry of a Car Crash”:

“Le Disko”:

“Rainy Monday”:

“You Are the One”:

Tasi and I made the hour-and-a-half commute via bus and BART from San Jose to UC Berkeley, where the BBoys were playing. After enjoying burritos at a nearby taqueria, Tasi and I made the 20-minute uphill walk to the university’s Greek Theatre. We got there early enough; there were only 20 or so people in front of us in line. For the next two hours, we sat/stood in line as we perused through Tasi’s iPod contents, including the “Ask A Ninja” podcast videos he got from iTunes. A group of girls in front of us had what they called a domino tournament going on.

When the gates finally opened at 6:45 pm (15 minutes late), Tasi and I got great seats: the front of the seated section, on the right side of the amphitheatre (or the left side if you were on the stage). Then there was more waiting until the show started at 8 pm. Opening act Peanut Butter Wolf came on with his 45-minute set, then more waiting as the crew did a final line check. Then the moment finally arrived… Beasties!

For the first couple of songs, I was trembling with excitement. I loved the set list, which contained a lot of their popular hip-hop songs, as well as a few instrumentals and punk stuff. They played quite a few songs that I was a little surprised to see them perform live, like “Live at PJ’s” and “The Maestro” (from their Check Your Head album).

A few memorable moments:

As soon as the Boys finished “Sabotage,” Tasi and I rushed past the exiting crowd to the BART station down the hill. We needed to make it to the BART station in time to catch the San Jose bus in Fremont, and we were cutting it close. Miraculously, we made it, even when Tasi needed to take a quick pee break in the trees, lol. Our legs are still sore from the downhill run.

Set List (from Mic to Mic fan blog):
Mix Master Mike Intro
Time for Livin’
Gratitude
Live at PJ’s
Sabrosa
Root Down
Super Disco Breakin’
Sure Shot
An Open Letter to NYC
Shake Your Rump
Heart Attack Man
Remote Control
Electric Worm
Lighten Up
Brass Monkey
Pass the Mic
Skills to Pay the Bills
Posse in Effect
Time to Get Ill
The Maestro
The Gala Event
Tough Guy
Egg Raid on Mojo
Alright Hear This
Ch-Check It Out
Paul Revere
Body Movin’
Three MCs and One DJ
So What’cha Want
–Encore–
Mix Master Mike Interlude
Intergalactic
No Sleep Till Brooklyn
Sabotage