Wow I haven't posted since May!!! This one's really just for me to keep track of all the concerts I went to in 2008, and is a month and a half late. I saw 14 shows last year, crazy lucky I know, and too many apparently because I'm missing one from this list that I can't even remember anymore! Here's the list:


Stevie Nicks, Sovereign Center, Reading, PA, April 18 - I finally got to see her live! I'm a huge Fleetwood Mac fan and of course love Stevie's solo work. The show was too short, I was surprised and a little bummed about that, but I couldn't stand for more than an hour and a half in 4-inch heels either. She and her band were fantastic and people LOVE her. Everyone in the front row (I think this happens at all of her shows) had flowers and stuffed animals for her, and she literally walked the entire length of the stage to shake hands and take everything. When she played Landslide I was completely in tears, and Rhiannon and Gold Dust Woman were my other faves. There was a woman who dressed as Stevie circa 1993, with the fake wig. She and her friends parked near me in the parking lot. Scary, but funny.


Fiction Plane, Crocodile Rock, Allentown, PA, April 27 - Opening for The Bravery, who are like 12 years old. Whatev, FP rocked the hizz-ouse! I saw my FP buddies, Swati and CC and made some new friends. Great show of course and I can't wait for the new album!


Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Wachovia Center, Philly, June 5 - I had never seen him live but was told that he and the band are fantastic. I was sort of a fan and just wanted to see him because I thought I "should." I am now a huge fan! He is a phenomenal band leader and "Learning to Fly" I think is my new fave. Steve Winwood opened for them too! He was awesome and has a fabulous new album. It was the most packed I'd ever seen a venue for an opening act, but of course he's a legend. At one point in the show he came out to perform "Gimme Some Lovin'" with Tom and the band and the place went nuts. AWESOME.


Coldplay, Wachovia Center, Philly, July 25 - My first time seeing Coldplay and WOW! They do pay homage to U2 quite a bit, which is of course why I love their music, and Viva La Vida is a FANTASTIC album. I was sitting in section 104 and I'd heard that they come out and play in the stands at one point, but I didn't realize it was going to be in MY section! They were about 10 rows above where my seat was, and everyone was running up the stairs so I really couldn't see very much. But it was such a cool thing to do!! Then there was butterfly confetti during Lovers in Japan! Great great great show.


George Michael, Wachovia Center, Philly, July 26 - Yes I saw George Michael the night after Coldplay at the same place; I should have just camped out! My voice was quite scratchy after screaming, er singing along. George hasn't performed in the U.S. in like 17 years and I was SOOOOO excited to see him! He has the most amazing voice and he was in great spirits. It was so fun. Lots of lights, and the stage was set up in such a cool way. His band was set up on tiers or "floors" on either side of a huge video screen that rolled down onto the stage itself. It was basically a greatest hits show but he has a lot of them and they are wonderful songs.


The Police, Madison Square Garden, NYC, August 7 - Their last show ever. I couldn't miss it. I pulled huge favors at work to be able to go, but it absolutely was worth it. I was a couple of levels up but relatively close to the stage. It felt like the last day of school and they were all very playful and I think relieved that the tour was over. I LOVE this band and it was sad that it was over, but they and everyone else had a blast. Thank you boys! (Side note: I was not impressed with the Garden, though, it's pretty claustrophobic and difficult to move anywhere (this was my first time there). I guess if I was on the floor at a U2 concert I'd feel differently, but oh well.)


Bruuuuuce and the E Street Band, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, PA, August 19 - Would you believe Bruce had never played in Hershey before? Well finally he and the band made it. I was bummed that Patti (Bruce's wife, who is in the band) wasn't there, but I think it was back-to-school time for their kids so she had to be home. But they played all the big songs, Born to Run, Thunder Road, and (a first for me, finally!) Rosalita!!! SO exciting. It was an awesome, 3-hour show, putting everyone else to shame. He did the knee slide across the stage!! He's 59 years old!!! My friend Rob came with me and he doesn't really like Bruce's music so much, but recognizes that he is the best live performer on earth.


Lindsey Buckingham, Sovereign Performing Arts Center, Reading, PA, October 10 - Continuing with the Fleetwood Mac theme, this was my first time seeing Lindsey. I adore him - he's so passionate about his music and is a great performer. His band rocks and the audience just loves him. The SPAC is a beautiful theater and I wish the people I like would do more theater shows b/c they have way better acoustics than arenas. Big Love and Tusk were personal highlights, but the whole show was fabulous. And he looks damn good for being almost 60.


Elton John, Giant Center, Hershey, PA, October 15 - Okay, as much as I hate my job, every once in a while there's a big perk, like free tickets to an Elton John concert. I had never seen him before and our tickets were to the side of the stage so we couldn't see what was happening on the giant screen behind him, but he was facing us and we were pretty damn close. This was also kind of a greatest hits show, but oh my God he's Elton John and he friggin' rocks!! He played all of my favorite songs, including a bit more obscure one called "Sacrifice," which is very sad and very beautiful and a wonderful surprise. The Bitch is Back (my theme song - haha), I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That, and Levon were the other highlights (that's an odd combination isn't it?), but honestly they're all great and he is as energetic and amazing as he's ever been.


Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson, Sovereign Center, Reading, PA, October 18 - Yes, this was free too. I would not pay money to see them, but it was a really good show. They sang together the entire time, sometimes as a duet and sometimes as each other's backup singer! How fun! People LOVE Reba, and Kelly was really cool, I do like a lot of her music. One of our stations is a country station, so my friend Rita and I got to meet them too! For like a second, and get our picture taken. They were really nice and Kelly said "Hi I'm Kelly," which was ADORABLE because, like yeah, I know who you are :) I do actually like some old country music, and Reba is a spunky gal so I appreciate that. Her TV show is actually quite funny too! They seem to have become best buds and both were awesome. Kelly's voice is crazy amazing.


Coldplay again!!, Wachovia Center (again!), Philly, November 1 - They came back and I almost didn't go, but Duffy, who is a great new British pop/soul singer, opened for them and I love her. I have to say that the Coldplay online fan community is really great because I found a floor ticket online from a very nice guy and I was in the 7th row!! OMG! I was also right next to the walkway to the B-stage where they play two songs. So I have a nice butt shot of all four of them - score! Haha. I also got loads more confetti, so I can have my own party/concert. Chris gave a shout out to Pennsylvania because the Phillies had just won the World Series and we are a really important swing state in the election. Yey! I heart them.


New Kids on the Block, Wachovia Center, Philly, November 5 - New Kids on the Block let's rock! They are back and all the haters can just step off! Wow, okay, sorry for the slang there. I literally could not believe that they got back together. They were my first concert 19 1/2 years ago at the York Fair in 1989. I was almost 13 and I had to go with my mom and my little brother. This show was a week before my 32nd birthday and I was beside myself. I was SCREAMING at work when I found out the rumor was true and all 5 of them really had made an album and were going on tour.

The new album is okay, much more hip-hoppy and R&B than their previous albums, but the show was AWESOME. Like, I don't mean fun to see them back together and scream like a 13-year-old girl. I mean they brought it - they danced and sang and kicked ass. They had this rotating stage right in front of the soundboard so when they came out there I was about 10 rows away from them! It was the night after the election, which was so cool because Donnie said what a great night it was and everyone was screaming. I have never been to a show where EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the room was singing along and doing the hand waving thing to Hangin' Tough and was completely into the show. They were so happy that anyone would come to see them, let alone selling out a tour. I guess proud is the right word for how I feel, proud of them for coming back with their dignity intact. I'm really excited too because they're coming to Hershey next month! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


David Byrne, Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA, November 8 - 3 shows in a week! This was my first time seeing David Byrne, but he's been on my wishlist forever. If you don't know (what's wrong with you!?), he was the lead singer of Talking Heads. He also has a new album with Brian Eno, who is the greatest person on the face of the earth, and has produced several TH, Bowie, and U2 albums, and Coldplay's latest. I had heard that he puts on a great show, and I love his solo music and the Head's music, but I was not prepared for the audio-visual extravaganza that I saw.

I don't like to say that shows are the best ones, or my favorite, because then I'll see someone else and love them and it's all subjective anyway. But WOWWY WOW WOW WOW WOW. If you EVER have an opportunity to see him, RUN to the theatre. He has a great band, great backup singers, DANCERS! Everyone wore white outfits, and everything was choreographed but it was like a cross between a musical and a concert and performance art. It was GENIUS. It was billed as the "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno," so it was almost entirely those awesome songs from all the albums they've done together. The crowd was absolutely blown away, like stunned that they were witnessing something so cool and emotional and fun and bright. I think even people who'd seen him before were overjoyed.


David Byrne (again!), Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center, York, PA BABY!, December 4 - Someone actually got him to come to my town! I could not miss this!! I found a ticket in the front row on the left side of the stage and got some pretty great shots, if I do say so myself. It was a glorious show. Here's a link to my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/abulous2001/sets/72157612391807223/

I didn't mention how chatty and genuinely appreciative he is of his audience. He is a little nervous speaking in front of people, but he talked about the songs and he and the band were very jovial. He's also a great guitarist, which I guess you wouldn't expect b/c he's so arty. But when he said "thank you" at one pointing, people were shouting thank you back, for coming to our little podunk town and for kicking our asses with this amazing show.

Thank you for reading all of this if you've made it this far! Here's to many more shows, including U2!!! in '09!

Hello all!

Hope the weather is as lovely where you are as it is here in York.

This week's (or biweekly, whatever) Best Thing Ever is inexpensive and wonderful in almost every way: Trident gum. I chew gum a lot because it gets the taste of food out of my mouth so I don't crave it as much. Trident has always been my favorite and they have introduced some awesome flavors and new versions of their gum over the past few years that are fantastic. The only thing I don't like is that it has aspartame in it, which is kinda bad for you, but I rationalize because there's only a little bit and I don't chew an entire pack in a day.

For the regular gum, my 3 favorite flavors are Tropical Twist (kiwi, orange, pineapple), Watermelon Twist (with other melon flavors) and Blueberry Twist (with a hint of pomegranate). Every time I chew these at work, people ask me what the smell is because the smell is strong but sweet and fruity and they love it.

Then there's Trident Splash. This kind has a harder coating and a gooey center, and comes in flavor combinations like Strawberry/Lime, Summer Spearmint (with watermelon) and my absolute favorite, Citrus Blackberry. They just introduced this flavor and OMG it is so wonderful. I never thought I could love gum so much :)

Here's the Trident website if you'd like to look at the fabulous flavors and of course you can buy it anywhere gum is sold. http://www.tridentgum.com/?products

Happy chewing and have a great week!

Hi all - I have wanted to start this blog for a while and I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now for class, but whatever - there's shopping to be done! My friends know that while I might espouse the virtues of honesty and righteousness and equality for all people, I am a girl who loves to shop. Retail therapy should be a major in college, or at least a minor. I'm sure a study would prove its benefits on your emotional health. This will be a regular feature for the, ohhh, 15 people who actually read this blog. It is partially inspired by Mindy Kaling, a writer and actress on the Office (she plays the very bubbly and very shallow Kelly). Mindy writes a fabulous blog called "Things I've Bought that I Love" about her many shopping finds. (http://thingsiboughtthatilove.com/) It's also partially inspired by the fact that I get a little too excited about cool things I find - a great purse, a really fun flavor of gum, anything that I think "this is the best thing EVER!" And since this happens on a weekly basis, it's the Best Thing Ever...of the Week. This week I am so excited to share the new Abbey line of Tommy Hilfiger bags. I have never in my life purchased a Tommy product, because they're too expensive and I wasn't gaga over anything. Last week I saw these bags at the Bon Ton (local department store), and there's sort of a vague African theme because some of them have an elephant print. And they have my name - the way I spell it!! Of course I had to get one, but the clutch that I really loved was $128. This weekend I was at the Bon Ton again and they were on sale and I got it for almost 50% off! The one I got has a navy blue print, but I can only find a photo of the orange print online: http://www.shoebuy.com/tommy-hilfiger-l199394-abbey-print-clutch/241660 (for the record I already have an orange purse, so I didn't want to get two in the same color) I feel like writing to Mr. Hilfiger and saying thank you for naming a line after me. And asking for a % of all sales :) Thanks so much for reading and for enabling my insanity. Next time I write one of these, I promise to share something that is under $50. Happy shopping!

Last night Rebecca and I, your intrepid Office geeks, went to George Washington U in DC to see B.J. Novak, who plays Ryan on The Office. B.J. started his career as a stand-up comic and since he has a little time on his hands with the break, he's been doing stand up shows around the country.

The show was sold out and it was GREAT!! He had an opener thankfully who was really good but I don't remember his name because Rebecca and I got there late. (Mental note: if your bag spills all over the floor of your car, remember to look for the ticket to the event BEFORE starting the long subway ride to the event. Even if you're rushing.) It was mostly GW students but I was so happy that young folks like the show. I can't wait for them to get office jobs and see that, yes, it really is like that.

B.J. performed for about 45 minutes and broke the ice immediately with a joke that elicited his own "That's what she said." Topics covered panda lovin', terrorism (but in a funny way), his frog puppet named Shy Puppet, who doesn't say anything. He told people to take pictures of him with Shy Puppet, because he wanted that to be the picture that's posted all over the internet about his stand-up act: B.J. and the puppet. I can't wait to find those pictures. He also had some new jokes that he tested out, and if the audience didn't laugh he threw out the cards with the bad joke. At one point he made a joke about his "girlfriend" and a young woman yelled out "Kelly Kapoor!" (Ryan's crazy ex-girlfriend on the show) and he said something to the effect of "yes, because Ryan is real and he does stand up on the weekends," to make fun of the people who can't separate reality from fiction.

My favorite bit, though, was a children's mystery story he wrote called "Wikipedia Brown and (I think) the Case of the Missing Bike." Wikipedia Brown is an amateur sleuth but when someone loses an object, in this case a bike, he goes into this long description of the history of the item, like a Wikipedia entry. Then any little side thought from one of the other characters put him on some other tangent. His friend Nancy said that they have to keep him focused or else he'll go on for four hours and you'll forget what you were looking for in the first place. Just like Wikipedia. Brilliant. I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the bits, but he does really smart observational humor and a few low-brow moments just for fun.

Afterwords there was a meet and greet with a super long line. I hope he was able to stay for everyone because we were about 30 people from the end of the line and he had to leave soon - probably to go to NYC or LA for the Writers Guild meeting. Rebecca has pics of BJ, her and me and then one of the two of them that is fantastic. I wore my Office Tally shirt and he was really excited about it! Like all of the cast, he could not have been more delightful and genuinely happy to meet everyone. He didn't have to stick around but he did. Shout outs to Mitch and the female GW student (whose name I forgot to ask) we met in line.

Thank you B.J. for a great night and best wishes for a successful WGA meeting!!

Hey all -

I never wrote my epic Office Convention blog, so here goes. This past October 26-28, in the lovely town of Scranton, PA, Dunderheads from across the land gathered for the first annual convention for the best show on TV - The Office. The town actually came up with the idea and got most of the cast, writers, and producers to attend!

I won't go into too much detail, because it was action-packed, but if you have specific questions, feel free to send me a message. If you don't, thank you for reading this and enabling my obsession.

My friend and co-worker Rebecca is from a town just north of Scranton and her parents graciously hosted us. Thanks to Marion and Bruce-ski for a warm bed and yummy breakfasts!

Some of you may recall my crazy-long blog about going to the Steamtown Mall last May to meet two of the cast members. Well multiply that insanity by about 10 and you get the Office Convention. All of the cast and writers/producers, except Steve Carell (Michael), Jenna Fischer (Pam), John Krasinski (Jim, sigh), Paul Leiberstein (Toby, also one of the writer-producers) and Rainn Wilson (Dwight) were there.

There were different levels of tickets, and I got the second to highest level, which got me into all of the non-VIP events. This year I'm splurging for the VIP package because there were a lot of special receptions with the cast and writers.

The University of Scranton hosted most of the events. It's a lovely campus. The opening ceremony was a ribbon cutting which was really fun because a lot of the cast was there and it was the first time we got to see them. I got to meet Senator Bob Casey, who is from Scranton and who came to kick off the convention. He has supported Jubilee (the org I volunteer for), so I said hello and thanked him for the work he's done.

On Saturday, there was a cast Q&A, which was packed but a great time. On Sunday, there was a writers Q&A, which wasn't as packed but I actually found more interesting because we got to see where they come up with ideas. A special surprise was that BJ Novak, who plays Ryan, and who was not scheduled to be there, showed up in place of Paul Leiberstein who couldn't make it. I'm not kidding it was like U2 walked into the room when he came on stage. AND, the they showed a long teaser of the episode that was coming up that week! I cannot tell you what a treat that was. Well, I can try - it was awesome.

One of the funnest events was the Office Olympics, based on the episode where the staff makes up silly games while Michael and Dwight are gone. There was Flonkerton and a few other games of skill. I didn't enter but it was entertaining to watch other people participate. We met two great folks who drove from Toronto to be there - Jackie and Chris. They are really delightful people who work in the Canadian film industry.

There was a blogger's breakfast on Sunday morning and some of the cast were there, along with fans who blog about the show. I got to meet Tanster, who runs the best fan website, Officetally.com. She was so humble and flattered by the attention. She has been on the set, hung out with cast members, and really become famous as a result of this little blog she started two years ago. It's fantastic what genuinely caring about something can do for your life. Even if it's "just" a TV show. Seriously, check it out.

We hit all the major landmarks featured in the show - Poor Richards (the hardest place to find b/c it's in a bowling alley), Coopers (I got my lobster hat!) and Farley's - home of the Michael Scott burger. Steve Carell said that if Farley's named a burger after Michael, he'd go there. But he hasn't shown up yet - c'mon Steve! I'm a souvenir junkie so I cleaned up.

Unfortunately we didn't "accidentally" run into any cast members, but it was ridiculously fun. It rained all day Saturday, and we were soaked and cold, but it didn't matter. It's the official Pennsylvania greeting to get drenched on your first day here.

So that's the story. Thanks again for reading and watch The Office whenever it comes back on! It also airs Tuesdays at 10 and 10:30pm on TBS. :)

Van Halen – Wednesday, October 3rd – 2nd night in Philly – Wachovia Center

"Edward is playing like a mother fucker tonight!" – David Lee Roth

So this is the first time in 23 years that VH has played with Diamond Dave as their singer. I thought it would be either a train wreck or a rockin' good time, but it was friggin' AWWWE-some. So fun, and LOUD. The crowd was great too. I didn't sit down for the entire show because I couldn't. I got a single ticket in the center of the first row of seats off of the floor, so the view was fantastic. There of course had been well-publicized conflicts between Eddie and Dave, but they were all smiles and playing off of each other, just having a genuinely good time. And that's really all anyone wants to see.

One of my coworkers interviewed Dave a few years ago at a radio station he used to work at and he said he was the friendliest, most honest celebrity he'd ever talked to. He has this image of being, let's be honest, kind of an idiot, but I think he is very endearing.

Before the show, and after opening act Ky-Mani Marley (Bob's son – he and his band were good too), there were two 6-ish foot blimps that floated about the crowd with VH logos on them. They looked like they had cameras in the front and were taking pictures of the crowd. I just found them amusing.

Keeping with the "bandleader's-son-is-also-musically-talented" theme, Eddie's 16-year-old son Wolfgang played bass. The original bassist Michael Anthony had a little falling out with Eddie earlier this year, and I was bummed that he wasn't there, but Wolfy was unbelievable. He looked comfortable onstage, played a killer bass and sang backup on every song. He definitely looks like his mom (Valerie Bertinelli) but has bona fide Van Halen musical chops. They played Running With the Devil, and at the beginning is the distinctive thumping bassline. Wolfy owned it, like he'd been playing it his whole life, even though the song is almost twice as old as he is. Did I mention he's SIXTEEN YEARS OLD? Eddie was very affectionate with him, kissed him on the forehead during Jump, and they seemed to be communicating a lot with each other during the show. It was just cool to see.

Both Eddie and brother Alex (the drummer) had solos which were amazing of course.
Dave was kicking and jumping and doing all sorts of mic stand twirling and he sounded fantastic. Eddie was jumping around the whole time. They didn't play any of the Sammy Hagar songs, which was fine by me because as you'll see by the setlist, they really didn't need to.

Here are links to some decent videos from both of the Philly shows (the sound is better than the video). Yes, Dave is riding a giant inflated microphone.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=82110

http://vanhalentour2007.blogspot.com/2007/10/van-halen-tour-2007-setlist-and-review.html

Setlist
You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher (WOW! They played this song so fast – it was fantastic)
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Guitar Solo
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
1984
Jump


The Police – Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 – Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ

Yes, I went to see them again and yes, I know I'm insane for paying that much money two times. I totally lucked out and got a 3rd ROW CENTER ticket on Ticketmaster. I was 10 feet away from them all night. It was as amazing as I hoped it would be. I honestly couldn't believe I was that close. They were phenomenal. The only setlist change from the earlier part of the tour was a good one – they replaced "The Bed's Too Big Without You" with "Hole in My Life." I wore my Scrantonicity shirt again and one very nice guy noticed it and said "cool shirt!" I think Andy Summers tried to read it during the show, but I don't know for sure ?

Andy, by the way, was on fire during this show. He has always been great, but he was having so much fun. At one point Sting stood really close to him while they were playing a kind of difficult part of a song. Andy stuck out his tongue (like the Rolling Stones logo) and then Sting did. A small gesture but it was really cute.

One of the things that was interesting was that the first three rows seemed to be reserved for either the very wealthy or people who had connections to the band or the Atlantic City "elite." They didn't seem to know the songs or be as into the band as I thought they would have been. I got my ticket pretty close to the date of the show, so I think they started releasing the tickets they couldn't give to friends or guests. The people up in the stands were having a great time, but some of the people in my section showed up during the first song, or were just there to take pictures of Sting, or were SITTING DOWN for some of the songs. What?! What it must be like to have so much money that you can be late to a concert you paid A LOT of money to see, or be given your tickets for free because you know someone. I could tell that the band didn't really play to the people around me all that much, and was more focused on the rest of the crowd who were more into the show. Hardly anyone paid attention to Fiction Plane (the opening act), and they played even harder and louder to win over the crowd. By the end of their set people in the stands were really cheering for them.

I was thinking how frustrating it must be for a musician to play to less-than-enthusiastic people. I'm sure I'm not the first person who's thought of this, but I want to put together a "Concertgoer Guidelines" book for proper concert etiquette (don't crowd others, show up on time). And this is probably just a thinly veiled attempt to meet my favorite bands, but I would love to interview them to find out what they look for in an audience member. Not just a fan, but someone who actually comes to the shows. If the crowd is into it, the band gets more into and it elevates the experience for everyone.

Thanks for reading and here's to many more shows in the new year!

Happy New Year everyone! The highlights of 2007 definitely centered on concerts, especially the big "reunion" tours of bands who haven't played together in years and I was fortunate enough to see all of them. I saved my pennies (and pretty much maxed out my credit card but that's beside the point), I don't know how I got so lucky but I'm very grateful. I saw The Police (twice! The 2nd show review is below), Crowded House, Genesis and Van Halen. Part 1 includes Crowded House and Genesis and part 2 will follow soon.

I certainly don't qualify as the 1 fan of Genesis, Crowded House or VH, but they put on damn fine shows. I was offered the Crowded House ticket by a friend, but I went to see Genesis and Van Halen alone. Just a hint – if you go alone, you have a better shot at a good seat and don't have to worry about people bailing on you or trying to coordinate a meet-up. It's almost as much fun to watch your fellow concertgoers and talk to the people around you who are REALLY huge fans.

Crowded House – Friday, August 10th – Mann Music Center in Philly
I always thought Crowded House were a 2½ hit wonder, but I had no idea they had such a long career, and such devoted fans. They had broken up in the 90s, but a few years ago, their drummer Paul Hester, killed himself. This year the rest of the band, Neil Finn, Nick Seymour and Mark Hart, recorded an album and decided to go on tour. My friend Phyllis's friend Kristen had an extra ticket to the show, so Phyllis asked if I wanted to go for free. Um, yes please! Kristen is a HUGE Crowded House fan, as big as Phyllis and I are for U2, and it was really cool to see hers and the crowd's enthusiasm for their band.

I can't find a full setlist, but they played the big songs – Don't Dream It's Over (which was totally awesome!), Something So Strong and Weather With You (that's the ½ hit), as well as a bunch of other beautiful, catchy songs. They really interacted with the crowd, were funny and it was an all-around lovely evening. And can I mention how handsome Neil is? Wow!

Neil's son Liam opened for them and he was unbelievably talented. He played all of his instruments (guitar, drums, I think bass and keyboards)! At one point he was playing guitar and he had a looping machine that recorded what he played, then played it back in a loop while he played drums along with it! Crazy good.

Pete Yorn was the main opening act. My office mate Maria loves him, but I had always had the impression that he wrote sad, rhythmless songs. I was pleasantly surprised that some songs were cheery, and there was a rhythm section, and they were all very good.


Genesis – Turn It On Again tour – Tuesday, September 18th – 1st night in Philly – Wachovia Center

I have to admit that I love 80s Genesis, and don't really know much of their older work. They played a lot of old stuff, but it still sounded fantastic. Their stage set up was huge and very bright, which I like. I actually bought a book with a DVD called "Anatomy of a Tour," where if you're a geek like me, you can see how they built the stage and lighting. They played two of my faves – Invisible Touch and Land of Confusion.

They played a lot of songs that didn't have lyrics, kind of like rehearsed jamming. Phil Collins was really chatty and there was a lot of sort of silly-in-a-good-way audience interaction. They're an incredible band and even though I didn't know all of the songs, you can't deny how much of an impact they have and how completely worth it the ticket price was.

Phil and their "other" drummer Chester Thompson performed a drum duet, and they started facing each other and playing two drums that actually might have been barstools. By the end of the duet, they were both sitting at their drumkits, but they were playing the whole time. It was unbelievable and hard to describe. Here's a decent video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww0yxjJ0-ok.

Genesis did something really smart, which Pearl Jam and The Who have also done on tour. They record the show directly from the soundboard and then sell it so we can have a souvenir! It's a little pricey (about $30) but it's perfect quality and really cool.

Here's the setlist:
Duke?
Turn It On Again?
No Son Of Mine?
Confusion?Cage
Cinema
Travels
Afterglow?
Hold On My Heart?Home
By The Sea?
Follow You, Follow Me
Firth I Know?
Mama?
Ripples?
Throwing It All Away?
Domino?
Drum Duet?
Los Endos?
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
Invisible Touch?
I Can't Dance?(with the dance!)
Carpet Crawlers

So yeah, in case you didn't know I'm a weenie. Total girly girl when it comes to anything bug-like. Excuse me for not wanting creepy things crawling all over me. I don't want to kill them, but I don't want them in my home and sometimes the only way to get them out is to kill them.

Last Monday, I was visited by a gigantic bug that I thought was a roach. It might have been a roach, or a water bug as my neighbor suggested, or I don't even know. I don't know the difference between most bugs and frankly I don't care. All I know was that it was too big to step on and it was fast. It was about 2 1/2" long and jet black. It was in my kitchen and ran from under the dining table to under the stove. I monitored it and it didn't come out so I just closed my bedroom door and stuffed a towel underneath so it couldn't visit me in my sleep.

Tuesday night, I was in my bedroom putting on my pajamas when it RAN INTO THE LIVING ROOM. If you've never been to my apartment, the kitchen is in the back, the bedroom is next to it, and the only exit I have is through the living room to the front door. The bug peaked its head around the corner of my bedroom a couple times and I screamed my head off and it ran back into the living room. My neighbors won't home because I hope they would have knocked on the door to see if I was okay. It took about 10 minutes for me to work up the courage to grab my purse and run out the front door. I called my brother and picked him up so we could come back and look for it. We couldn't find it so I grabbed my overnight bag and stayed at my mom's.

On Wednesday I called my rental office and they said the exterminator wasn't coming until Monday (today), so after work I went to the store and bought baits and spray, put some baits in the kitchen and sprayed under the stove and sink. I still didn't want to stay there though because I had no idea where it was. My mom even brought her dog here to sniff it out and she couldn't find anything. So I stayed at my mom's until Saturday morning, when I would have a full day to clean and look for it, and be able to leave the front door open in case it wanted to run out.

I had put out a piece of bread, so I'd know if it was still around when I got home. The bread was gone when I got home on Saturday, and it looked like one of the baits had been moved. Granted, my home is kind of messy, okay cluttered; there's a lot of stuff here and I don't have time to clean very often. However, I do not live in filth and there is no need for bugs to be running around. That said, I cleaned all day Saturday and checked every nook and cranny I could and couldn't find anything. It was needed, because I could see how much stuff I have and how I need to downsize. And I slept in my bed on Saturday night. I took an over-the-counter sleeping pill, though, because there was no way I could make it through the night without one.

I believe there was only one bug even though everyone said "there's never just one." And my mom thought that maybe it was someone's pet, because I heard something crawling around in the walls last Sunday the 25th and I am surrounded on all sides by other apartments. My friends Karl and Mia and their kids had pet roaches and they wrote lovely blogs about their experience, but I just refuse to deal with it. Maybe that makes me a bad person, and I'm okay with that. I left notes on some of my neighbors' doors asking if they'd lost a pet roach, but no one called. And they probably think I'm insane. I'm okay with that too :)

The exterminator came today and his note said that he found no live activity but treated the kitchen and living room. I haven't seen the little guy since I've been home so I'm sure it's dead or left for a friendlier environment. But every noise, every black speck that I see out of the corner of my eye, everything still sort of freaks me out. I was already a little obsessive-compulsive before this, but it's going to take at least another week to get over this one.

There must be some lesson here in such a major inconvenience. I relied on my mom, and she was happy to have me stay with her. That was a lesson in helping someone in need, without hesitation. I think I successfully defeated an intruder in my home, albeit a small one that was probably more afraid of me than I was of it. It forced me to clean. I'm slightly more neurotic than I was before.

I don't know. I hope this is the last time I have to deal with something like this. I welcome any comments or suggestions on ways to get over this crazy fear. Thanks for reading and I promise the next blog will be about something happy!

I just wanted to highlight another side to the Writers' Guild strike.  Dale Alexander is a Key Grip on The Office, and one of the many crew members who was laid off when production of the show was shut down.  I hope it's okay that I repost this here, but this is an excerpt from his blog about how the crew is affected.  While I support the writers, there is clearly a need to end the strike as soon as possible, as it affects the livelihoods of thousands of others in the entertainment industry.  Here's hoping they can get back to work soon!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2007/11/i-was-until-rec.html

"Our show was shut down and we were all laid off this week. I've been watching the news since the WGA strike was announced and I have yet to see any coverage dedicated to the effect that this strike will have on the below the line employees.

"I respect the WGA's position. They probably do deserve a larger percentage of profit participation, but a lengthy strike will affect more than just the writers and studios. On my show we had 14 writers. There were also 2 cameramen, 2 camera assistants, 4 hair stylists, 4 makeup artists, 7 wardrobe people, 4 grips, 4 electricians,  2 craft service,  4 props people, 6 construction, 1 medic, 3 art department, 5 set dressers, 3 sound men, 3 stand-ins, 2 set PAs, 4 assistant directors, 1 DGA trainee, 1 unit manager, 6 production office personnel, 3 casting people, 4 writers assistants, 1 script supervisor, 2 editors, 2 editors assistants, 3 post production personnel, 1 facilities manager, 8 drivers,  2 location managers,  3 accountants, 4 caterers and a producer who's not a writer. All 102 of us are now out of work.

"I have been in the motion picture business for 33 years and have survived three major strikes. None of which have been by any of the below the line unions. During the 1988 WGA strike many of my friends lost their homes, cars and even spouses. Many actors are publicly backing the writers, some have even said that they would find a way to help pay bills for the striking writers. When the networks run out of new shows and they air repeats the writers will be paid residuals. The lowest paid writer in television makes roughly twice the salary than the below the line crewmember makes. Everyone should be paid their fair share, but does it have to be at the expense of the other 90% of the crewmembers. Nobody ever recoups from a strike, lost wages are just that, lost.

"We all know that the strike will be resolved. Eventually both sides will return to the bargaining table and make a deal. The only uncertainty is how many of our houses, livelihoods, college educations and retirement funds will pay for it."

Hi all -

Do you have a favorite TV show or movie?  I think most of us do.  Well, as you probably have heard, the people who write your favorite show or movie are on strike.  The central issue of their negotiations has been royalty payments from online revenue, such as iTunes and streaming programming on network websites.  So if you missed an episode and download it on iTunes or watch online, either you or an advertiser is paying the network to play that program.  When a musician's music is downloaded, the writer is paid a royalty for what they created.  However, when a TV show or movie is downloaded, the writers, actors and directors are not paid a royalty.  It is because of them that this program exists.  The Office, for example, was downloaded on iTunes 7 MILLION times last year.  Only the network bigwigs are getting paid for this.

The Writers' Guild contract was the first to come up for negotiation, but the actors' and directors' contracts will come up soon.  The money they earn from royalties helps pay the bills when they're not working.  It really is a lifeline for them.  Sure, a lot of actors and others already get paid a lot of money, but many do not.  This strike is for them.

In a few weeks, networks will run out of new programming, and will start airing either reruns, reality shows or something else.  I support the writers and hope all of you will do the same.  My favorite show happens to be The Office, and the fansite officetally.com has posted helpful information for you to contact NBC and features a great video of some of the show's writers talking about the strike.  Contact information for other networks can be found on their websites, but please let me know if I can help you find that info.

If you want to write to NBC, please write to:

Jeff Zucker

NBC/Universal

30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10112

Also, please DO NOT watch or download any programming on iTunes or on networks' sites.  And DO NOT watch any of the crap they try to show instead of your favorite show.

Thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any questions.  In solidarity for quality entertainment!

ps - by around Thanksgiving, I'll post a blog about my trip to Scranton for the Office convention.  Best weekend of my life!  :)