If I wasn’t karaoke-ing, then I was at a live concert. What a weekend!

Concert #1: Kina Grannis. It was a treat to watch Kina perform in a small intimate setting at the Bronze Peacock Room at the House of Blues. In this video I got, she unplugged herself, asked for the house lights to come on, and just had the crowd sing along for the whole song, Message From Your Heart!

The original song in full (complete with music video!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV1u5QrqUHM

Concert #2: Sara Bareilles. Heh, I didn’t realize she’s the one who sings that song, “I’m not gonna write you a love song …” :P Hearing her perform live was truly amazing. Her voice was just so rich and full and seemingly effortless when she busted out into those awesome super prolonged high notes. She was charismatic with her stage presence too - even though it was a large crowd (the Music Hall at the House of Blues was packed), she made it feel intimate, and her performance kept me smiling the whole time.

I love her song “Gravity”, and this video clip I got captures the high note that always just gets me. The video also shows how much it sucks to be a short person in a crowd:

Me ‘n Jen at the Sara Bareilles concert (and having super tall people in front of us, doh)

The song in full and official music video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEXhAMtbaec

I was first introduced to the song “Gravity” because of the lovely and talented Jomel Sumira, who performed it at Kollaboration Houston 1. Here’s a clip of her performing “Gravity” in front of a group while they were watching a slideshow; I’ll be updating this post when the official show footage is online, but I think you’ll see what I mean. If nothing else, start at 2:30 to watch this tiny girl belt it out like nobody’s business …

Oh, musical bliss. Now I really wish I could sing. Even if it’s just so people aren’t cringing while I’m obliviously karaoke-ing away. :)

Finally got to see Iris perform live for the first time. I'd been wanting to, had only heard about her wonderful voice, but my schedule never permitted 'til now.

One of the songs off her new album:

Iris likes to jam with her shoes off:

Iris hamming it up with an interviewer afterwards:

[ more pics ] [ more sounds of Iris ]

Was glad to catch up with Iris briefly, and saw a buncha people I hadn't seen in a long while!

And I'm biting. David Choi is offering 4 free songs for download just today, midnight to midnight PST: That Girl, If You Were Here I'd Be OK, MySpace Dot Com, and the oh-so-sexy Fart.

I had trouble downloading, but there were helpful links in the comments section on his blog.

I decided to donate 99 cents a song.

Thank you, David.

This guy definitely knows how to make online communities work for him. (This post is a case in point, eh?)

You can also hear acoustic live versions of his song on his YouTube page. I've figured out how to keep those songs on repeat by adding songs to a Quicklist (hit the little plus sign in the lower left corner of the video thumbs), and then hitting Play All.

There's a bit of a discrepancy between what Buy.com says and what the CD cover says. 

I'm sure that their "mistake" gets them plenty more hits and views though.

Link to Buy.com - Smooth Sex Tribute To Beyonce - Various Artists - CD

Thanks to Eddy for the tip! Vienna Teng is coming to town again, Sunday, August 6th, 8pm, probably to pimp her newest album. It's $16 a head, with a hefty $5.15 "convenience charge" per ticket. Since there is no advantage to ordering tickets together (doesn't save on the convenience charge, doesn't guarantee sitting together), I won't be doing any organizing (phew!) and just be giving everyone a heads up on the concert via Evite. Yes, my pretties, this means you'll have to buy your own tix. :) You can do it online or in stores. No savings at Ticketmaster outlets - I'd say just get 'em shipped then (I think there's a free shipping option). I've become a big fan of 1) not wasting time driving somewhere, 2) not wasting gas driving somewhere, 3) not wasting breath and sanity dealing with rude customer service people. Ah yes. The joys of internet transactions!

I'll be sending out an Evite to people, just to get an idea of who's going.

Details on Vienna's website here.

Buy tickets now by clicking here.

Some pics from her last visit here.

Hmm. Vienna has spikes of glowing light emanating from her head in this poster.

Update: OK, I just tried to purchase a ticket. In addition to the $5.15 convenience charge per ticket, there's a $4.93 "order processing charge" that is apparently PER order. So maybe there IS some advantage to purchasing in bulk. Well, it'd be worth it if 2 or 3 people purchase together. Anyone wanna piggy back with me on the order?

I have found an online radio station that I LOVE blasting after getting home:

overxposure.fm

It's so chill and relaxed that I feel like I should be soaking in a bubble bath when I listen to this (which I have never done, but ought to try one of these days).

Chatting with Sam, a long time friend, for the first time in a very long time:

corona13 (11/1/2005 4:00:41 PM): did i um, tell you about the rap song i wrote?
lecrivains (11/1/2005 4:00:53 PM): no!
corona13 (11/1/2005 4:00:59 PM): it's nothing epic, but it's hilarious, in my opinion

...

lecrivains (11/1/2005 4:05:25 PM): i like it.
lecrivains (11/1/2005 4:05:36 PM): the song is cool..
corona13 (11/1/2005 4:05:40 PM): HAHAHAHAHHA yay thanks!
lecrivains (11/1/2005 4:05:48 PM): the caroline has rhythm. cool!

...

lecrivains (11/1/2005 4:20:46 PM): i added your song to my iPod.
corona13 (11/1/2005 4:21:35 PM): HAHAHAHHA YES!!!!!
corona13 (11/1/2005 4:21:42 PM): that is freakin' awesome

---------------

That made me feel good. I mean, Fri and I got added to someone's iPod! Wow.

Congratulations to Sam and his wife on expecting a baby girl in February. He's gonna be the best daddy ever!

OK that's it. You know when Yahoo starts pulling the freebies on us, we're in trouble. Today I was informed that as of April 24, 2002, they will pull the free POP3 & Mail Forwarding features. I guess my Eudora is no use no mo'. What is UP with that! $20/yr "special intro rate". Man, next thing you know I bet pplz will be charging per email msg sent. Grrrrrrrrr ... well if anyone knows of an email service with FREE POP3 service, lemme know ... cuz I've been using Eudora since the beginning of my Internet experience and have grown rather attached to it ...

I miss you already hm7863! You'd better have mucho fun in Japung!

Here's another free mp3 for you to munch on (2.13MB). It is a dancy track peppered with sound clips from Vday silliness with friends (photos here). If you missed my first & much more original mp3, here are the lyrics and music. Yes, that is me attempting to rap & sing. I apologize in advance for any speaker, eardrum, and psychological damage =)

Sigh. Didn't make the first cut of the Pro-Voice competition. Ah well. No biggie =) Here's a free mp3 for you (a rarity these days since the demise of Napster, hehe) of the song - have a listen at my very first attempt at being a singer/songwriter/producer. If anything, this boosts my confidence in my ability to do whatever I put my mind to, and actually inspires me to write more. Now if I could only study with the same fervor ... =P Need help figuring out the meaning behind the group name? Ask your friendly neighborhood Chinese person =)