ACT 1: Friday June 6th 2014
Scene 1: This day started out like any other -- waking up at too late an hour, dragging myself to get ready for the day, eating yogurt for breakfast at lunch time, and then eating lunch five minutes later. I spent a while working on a new drawing from one of my favorite movies,
Silver Linings Playbook. It was my first time experimenting with Koi Coloring Brush Pens, and I think (I hope) I was pretty successful.
Scene 2: Immediately after I finished the drawing, I headed off to Berkeley via BART to meet up with Grace for our Friday adventure in SF. The BART ride to the city included my first cronut, the constant battle with iPhone battery draining and all-over-the-place conversation.
Scene 3: Although the public transportation portion of the trip was simple, the supposed 8 minute walk to the venue took much longer. Exiting the station was confusing in itself, and we ended up going in a circle, running across crosswalks with only 2 seconds left on the light. If that weren't enough, we got distracted as always in random stores, spending the most time at Therapy -- and of course, pointing out every single dog we saw on the street.
After about half an hour, we finally arrived at the venue.
Scene 4: I think when I bought the tickets to this show, it was just one of those "let's go just to go" purchases. I know Grace is a fan, so I definitely knew she would love to go. And choosing the right company to be with makes everything better. To be honest, I don't really listen to MAX that much -- in fact I only know one of his original songs. He's just a person I can very easily acknowledge is talented, and his voice is quite enjoyable, especially in his covers. He's not that hard to look at either, I guess. I didn't even know who the other performer was, but after she hit her the first note of the night, I knew she was well worth the trip to the city. I went into it thinking, "Alexz is just a girl that I should probably record for Rosemarie," but now I can really appreciate her work.
The Chapel is actually a pretty nice venue. They had standing room on the second floor, which was something I hadn't seen before. What I thought was weird, though, was that they had tables and chairs in the middle of the floor? There honestly weren't that many people there, and everyone was pretty chill, except for one young girl who seemed to be having an emotional breakdown at the sight of Max Schneider.
Their security kicked us out pretty promptly after the set ended, which was unexpected, as it was only about 10PM.
Scene 5: It was really busy on Valencia Street, maybe even busier at night than it was four hours earlier: people walking everywhere, restaurant chefs grilling dishes outside and... just people. The trip back was much smoother than the one getting there. [not really] There was a structural fire at San Leandro, which threatened our safe ride home. However, it was partially a false alarm, and the conductor assured us he would take the train all the way to Fremont. As we passed by San Leandro, the voice on the intercom told us to take a look at "the light show on our left." Directly out the window were flashing lights of at least 10 or 15 firetrucks and a handful of police cars, which was really exciting to me due to my new fascination with first responders. We ended the night with Jack in the Box, and promptly made our way back home. All in all, it was a good night with good company, good music and a little bit of drama.
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ACT 2: Saturday June 7th 2014
Scene 1: Finally got to see Devika again -- it had been way too long. We had a late lunch at a new custom pizza place called Blaze; they just opened and were having a free pizza per person day. [It's pretty much just a Pieology with a little less flavor, but I'm sure they're healthier.] The line wasn't too unbearable though, and they even handed out some samples of their lemonades while we waited.
Scene 2: After we finished eating, we still had about an hour to kill so we wandered around Party City, pointing out random things and questioning why certain things even exist. It's amazing how much stuff that store has and how useless some of their products are [like seriously, who still wears those shutter shades?] It's always fun to just wander. [Also bye because when we got home she learned to penny in like 2 minutes.]
Scene 3: Soon 5:00 rolled around, and it was time to start the hour long drive to Concord for another show. I was supposed to go with both my parents, but my dad wasn't feeling to well, so it was just my mom. It's a family affair, going to see One Republic. We've seen them two times before in 2008 and 2010, but this was the first One Republic headliner. [Why is there a 4 year gap between this show and the last show? This is ridiculous.] We were a little early getting to Concord, so we stopped by Five Guys to grab a bite. The sad thing is, we took too much time eating and parking that we completely missed American Authors' set, which left me nothing but disappointed, since I just recently got invested in their music. We were only able to catch maybe the last 10 seconds of "Best Day of My Life," and I snapped a photo of their banner before they took it down.
Waiting for the next act allowed me to realize how impressive the Concord Pavilion is -- their seats are so comfortable, and that makes up for the long drive to the venue. This was the first time that I kind of didn't want to get up from the chair during a show. Location-wise, the seats we got were pretty damn decent [bless my ticket purchasing skills] -- in the lower section, almost in the middle.
Scene 4: I wasn't expecting much from The Script, since I didn't think I knew many of their songs. They exceeded any and every thought I had about them during their set -- it was the most interactive set that I have ever experienced. Danny O'Donoghue ran through the crowd multiple times, all the way up to the lawn seats and back down again. He asked for a fan to let him call their ex-boyfriend [who was conveniently labeled as "Motha Fucker" in her contacts] so he could sing "Nothing" to him through the phone. In the end, it turns out that I actually do know a handful of their hits; I just had never known they were their songs. [He reps his country pretty hard.]
Scene 5: One Republic. I'm not even sure I have the right words to describe One Republic. They keep getting better and better every time I see them, and I'm not sure they can top this one next time. Their stage lights and set up were really interesting and I particularly enjoyed their opening number, "Light It Up," during which the band's shadows were projected onto a large banner that hung across the entirety of the stage.
Ryan Tedder gave a really touching intro to "Something I Need." He mentioned how he is a troubled sleeper, and the day after he turned 30, he woke up to realize that a third of his life was over, but he opened his eyes and saw his wife sleeping there. That's what made him feel alright. And thus, "If you only die once, at least I'm gonna die with her, and we're gonna die together, and in some twisted way, that's kinda cool."
Surprise: They did a medley of "Apologize" and MAGIC!'s "Rude."
One of my favorite performances of the night was "Preacher." During the set, Ryan played with the light bulbs that hung from the ceiling, swinging them from side to side. From where I was sitting, it looked like he was just delicately playing with stars.
Zach Filkins had a 2 minute guitar solo and I almost cried because it was so beautiful.
After their short goodbye, One Republic came back for another appearance in response to a loud standing ovation. They performed a cover of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" where Ryan's high notes and intricate embellishments on this song really showcased his technical skills and his emotional conveyance. He truly is a great performer in all aspects.
We all knew the end was near, but during this time, Ryan assured us that the next time they'll be back, they'll have a new album and also be even better looking than they are now. Their final song of the night was their newest single, "Love Runs Out." Many of my favorite pictures of the night were taken during this song, I think within a ten second time frame.
Can't wait for their new music and to see them again in a couple years [and not another 4, jesus christ (*whispers* superstar)].
Tidbits:
- Two concerts in a row is such a treat.
- Do you get it? Play? Like press play? Because music? But also two act play? Because a play with two acts? It has two parts? Like two concerts? But also two days? And also scenes? Because scenes in an act? [But also I had a scene phase?] Also because I had seen 2 shows? And they played music? Because they're in a play? Play? Two? Act? Any questions?
- Can you imagine if Jumbo had his body, but my face?
- Why are tea infusers like $16? It's literally a tiny plastic container with holes.
- If you can't decide on what shirt to get at a show, get all of them.
- Five Guys was meh. Would not go again.
- Note to self: never be late to a concert.
- At a show, great zoom is everything.
- I really want to bungee jump, and I hope we have time when we're in Hong Kong next month.
- Can't believe I'm only now hearing about footgolf...I've been missing out.
- Hopefully seeing Ed Sheeran with the family in August.
- There's so many reasons to:
