Concerts

This was my first-ever concert; first concert, first disappointment. Brasil in 1989 and I was 7, just a bit too short to see anything on that raised stage, even though I really really wanted to. See, Angélica was, next to Xuxa, my favourite celebrity at the time. One of her CDs is still on my permanent wishlist. Unfortunately, that day in 1989 was not meant to be. There was nothing to see for a short person like me. My sister was also very disappointed.

Though I was wary of concerts at the tender age of 10 I did go to this imitation Beatles concert with my father and my cousin Ana Sofía. It was quite good, in my opinion; the band performed lots of songs I liked, although I forget exactly which. I would say it was quite enjoyable.

It was the year I stopped looking and started seeing, the year I snuck out of the Model United Nations congress to attend a Molotov concert, that sophomore year of high school. I remember it as if it were less than ten years ago: I went with Don and some of his peeps, surreptitiously left school and arrived at the plaza de toros a little too early; sat with the rest of the class, and was a bit overwhelmed at all the people; when the rush started, all the people in the stands ran to the coso, including my classmates; I was alone in the stands, but I was watching Molotov, and I was happy. They were in the mosh pit, and they were standing and shouting, and I was in the stands, observing, and thinking, and staying silent. I had a great time.

Boston for another Model United Nations summit, three years later, and again I betrayed my responsibilities to visit that gentle deity, music. I wandered the streets of Boston and found my high school friend, Luiza, and her friends; we all climbed into Boston transportation and headed to the club hosting the Amigos. It was a tiny place, but the turnout was decent. It is one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

In one of the most haphazard of freakish happenings, the lottery for the Billy Joel concert came out in my favour, and I was able to attend. It was quite amazing to see the legend in person. It was a talkie: not strictly a concert, more of a Q&A with little music interspersed thoughout. Needless to detail, when I got home that night I downloaded a dozen new Billy Joel tunes.

To top off an excellent year as far as concertgoing went, Shakira came to town in the winter of late 2001. The local Mexican chapter organised the trip, and a large group of Mexicans invaded the concert hall and were delighted with the experience. The tour of the mongoose was on, and it blew us all away.

It was spring, and flowers were blooming, among them Nelly, who came to Philadelphia at the zenith of her fame and sang for us while we marvelled. I went with my girlfriend, and there was a drunk girl in front of us, and then there was trouble. There were lights, and the speakers were very loud--as speakers at the Electric Factory should be--and it was really, really amazing to see Nelly there and then, when I wanted to see her the most. Also featured, and quite good, was Citizen Cope.

In the sacrosanct tradition of Spring Fling, for the years of 2003 and 2004 I finally got into the partying mood and attended the SPEC Concerts, after ignoring it in 2001 and 2002 where if I remember correctly, Ben Folds and Ben Harper played. No matter. And in 2003/2004, we partied hard, especially with Reel Big Fish. Jurassic 5 was a big disappointment, as was Busta Rhymes; but Busta at least was funny. OK Go and The Donnas were new and fresh and exciting. A good investment.

In the summer of my despair, my last stand against the machine, the society of wage labour that imminently threatened to take over my life, it was when I did the unimaginable--I ventured outside Philadelphia into Camden, that non-city, that dead wood, for the first time in my life. I walked the barren, abandoned streets, I walked to the concert hall; I arrived alone, and the hall was desolate at the early hour; I waited, with my binoculars, and my book, and gradually the people arrived--mostly to see Blink 182, which was opening for No Doubt. I endured Blink, and when No Doubt came on stage, many of my dreams came true, verily, all at once. June 6, 2004: The day that will go down in history. Now, I felt, I could go anywhere, do anything, it would not matter, because I've seen No Doubt.

There was nothing that could top the No Doubt experience, but when the Cardigans came to town in the same year as No Doubt, I jumped at the opportunity. How could I miss the second best group ever invented? So I went--back to the Electric Factory, where all things begin and seem to end. After the opening act--a talented, piano-playing girl whose name I forget--the Cardigans came out to the barely populated hall, played their hearts out; and after they were done, I bought their new CD, Long Gone Before Midnight. Afterwards, the next act came on, a girl whose name I did recognise but had never cared to know (Liz Phair?); she sang two songs before I decided it was a waste of my time.

Early 2005 and the time is ripe for an old flavour with a new twist. Enter Plastilina Mosh, all the rage back in '97. The small concert hall, practically empty, was ideal for our group of motley Mexicans. We sang along, when we could; and danced, when we couldn't. It was unforgettable.

Overlooked because I did not know them at the time, Flora and Airto came to UPenn in April of 2005 for a single concert. I went with La Casa Latina, as part of Festival Latino, and so naturally did not pay. The music was at the time strange, unusual, moody, not altogether melodic; but I bought the CD anyway and had them autograph it for my father. Three years later, I look back on the experience with fondness because I remember many of the songs and have learned to appreciate them after countless listenings.

Late 2005 saw a dramatic change of scenery, both physical and in this sense, musical. Migration to the wilds of Timor meant the sun set on Western music and rose on the Eastern. Tabanka Djaz, one of the most prestigious and famous African bands, came to Dili for a series of concerts, one of which I was fortunate enough to attend. Although three hours late, the wait was worth it at the end, as the African beats blew me away with their wonderful weirdness. What a night.

Back from Timor and enjoying some R&R in Las Vegas, the family decided to attend the obligatory Vegas imitator concert. The Fab Four were actually very talented guys, and played most of the songs almost exactly like the album versions. The dude playing George even looked like him, as in, a lot. The other four sort of looked like John, Paul and Ringo if you put your imagination to work and allowed the costumes to factor into the look. And the music was fantastic. They played lots of my favourites, including 'A Day in the Life'. I walked out of that concert hall... quite happy!

To properly enjoy the Denver culture we were attempting to sink into during the winter holidays of 2006-2007, we attended this concert on my sister's enthusiastic recommendation. It was a good decision, because we didn't just get the Flobotty awesomeness but also some punk rock wake up call, some funky goodness, then some Bop Skizzum before the Flobots. We bought the Bop Skizzum and Flobots records before we walked out of there, cause we liked them alot, and cause they are now part of history, and history must be conserved with these special words: I said I should have/should have known better/but the Little Red Book just got the best of me!

Totally unplanned, this concert caught me completely off guard. Right in the middle of preparations for finals, Federico invited me to go watch this group I'd never heard of somewhere in the middle of Queens. Well, why not? I thought, and off we went. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and so it was that I celebrated 4/20 in the Big Apple, listening to amazing Latin Rock from Puerto Rico, in a room full of Dominicans and Colombians, with my friend from elementary, from Paraguay, drinking Dutch beer... what a trip! And from 2 to 3am dancing and singing along with the band.

Let me just say Gwen Stefani is frickin awesome in an unexplainable and totally groovy fashion. She is Queen Midas herself, anything she sings turns to gold no matter how crappy it may seem. I mean, the lyrics to «Wind it up» are anything but deep... but she had me and Veronica and Colleen humming that song all the way home from the PNC Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ. We took a totally tubular train to a place with a weird name: Aberdeen-Matawan (I LOVE saying that word!) and then caught this gnarly free bus to the venue at the train station. It was a school bus, and we felt like we were on a field trip. Lady Sovereign sang as well (interesting), followed by Akon (pretty good), then Gwen (freakin awesome!). She opened with «Sweet Escape», then did all sorts of songs from both that album and LAMB. She is lovely! She looks hotter every single time I see her. And what a voice. Again, totally groovy. That's all I did today, and I'm glad I did. It's a fitting end to FY2007...

As far as Latin music goes, Juan Luis Guerra is definitely in the top ten, if not the world, at least for me. His music is great, his voice is perfect, and did you know that he's also an amazing guitarist to boot? Yeah, I know, I didn't know either. I went with my dad and my sister while they were visiting me in July, after the Richmond family reunion. Juan Luis Guerra and his 440 played greats such as «La Bilirrubina» and «El Niágara en Bicicleta», as well as new songs. The place was full of Dominicans, and other Latin Americans. We had a blast, and I was dancing (sort of) half the time! And when it was over, the Coke Zero folks gave us free Coke Zero. Smart people.

The Pumpkins broke up, but now Billy Corgan is back with the original drummer... so it counts as a Pumpkins concert. Yeah! I went with Justin and Maahir... we drove in Maahir's Mini... we got to Atlantic City late, and the concert had already started... we stood in a good spot--which, as I found out later, was vacant because there was gum all over the floor--but no matter--and we were swept away by the totally groovy sensations of a perfect Pumpkins set. Seriously, it was amazing, it was a natural high to listen to the cool guitar progress slowly and majestically through its chords, stretching a five minute song into fifteen... I just wish the bootleg mp3 I made was any good at all. Alas... all I really have are the memories. Thanks for the memories, Billy.

Kina Grannis, YouTube celebrity extraordinaire, came to New York on February 25, 2009, as part of her Teeny Tiny Tour. I went to her concert with Adam. It was amazing. Not just because Kina is an amazing singer and a true artist. It's also because her way of approaching that artistry is totally original, and I believe the way of the future. To me, Kina represents the new ideal of the artist in the age of the internet. Because her fame is largely self-built and hard-won, and her methodology is direct to the fan and completely interactive, it is the fan that decides how much (s)he wants to, finally, interact with the artist, and not the other way around. Kina had a meet-up at the Starbucks on Astor Place before her show--which I was unable to attend, thanks to work--, but after the show, she stuck around the merchandise section and met people individually. Which was really, really awesome of her, and yes, I did meet Kina Grannis. It was amazing, and for that alone, even if I forget her songs, I'll never forget this concert.

Revisiting No Doubt five years after my first No Doubt concert was a great experience. I felt projected back into that time, verily, like I was back in high school and college. I went with Veronica, an old college friend, and that served to amplify that feeling. The masses of Jersey and Long Island teenagers that populated the narrow and crowded locale at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ, only aided in the recreation of this fantasy. The waiting period was unpleasant as we were squished into tiny areas by the screaming adolescent hordes, and moved about like so many cogs in a giant human machine. However, No Doubt was amazing, and they gave an excellent concert, as is their specialty. So, though I wouldn't care to be in the company of thousands of squished-up teenagers ever again, it was worth it for Adrian, Gwen, Tony and Tom. No doubt.