57th and 9th at sunset and argyle

Late last year I broke my "I'm too old for General Admission" concerts rule and bought two general admission tickets to see Sting at the teeny, tiny Palladium in Hollywood. 

Yes that Sting. Of The Police. And of STING. 

So on February 8th, my concert pal Lisa and I hit the metro to Sunset and Vine, stopped for cocktails at The Well, and then trekked across the street to look for a place near the back wall to lean against for the next few hours. 

But there was no leaning space left on the back wall, because -- when compared to most of Sting's fan base -- we're actually on the younger side ;) However, there WAS leaning space left against the security railing right to the right side OF THE STAGE. So we staked claim to our space there and there we stood for the next 3+ hours. And it was a good thing we were on time, because Sting opened the show... shocking everyone by walking out on stage with just a guitar and singing "Heading South on the Great North Road" under a single spotlight.

Then he told everyone the plan for the evening... introducing the two opening acts -- Los Bandoleros, and Joe Sumner (aka Sting's son) -- and saying he'd be back soon. And he was... playing tamborine and singing back-up for Los Bandoleros, just like he did last summer on tour with Peter Gabriel. 

The main Sting set started with "Synchronicity II" .. one of my fave Police songs / the title track of the first Police record I ever owned in 5th grade. From then on, it was awesome song after awesome song. Sting has been having so much fun on stage the last year, starting with the Peter Gabriel dual tour, and now this tour with young up-and-coming artists. And being right up front, with a great view of the man who I've been saying (for like the last 15 years) only gets better with age, didn't hurt either. Enjoy the photos...

         

The Set List: 

Heading South on the Great North Road (Sting solo acoustic before opening acts)

Synchronicity II

Spirits in the Material World

She's Too Good for Me

Englishman in New York

One Fine Day

I Can't Stop Thinking About You

Down, Down, Down

I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying

Pretty Young Soldier

Petrol Head

Shape of My Heart

Message in a Bottle

Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie cover) (with Joe Sumner)

50,000

Walking on the Moon

So Lonely

Desert Rose

Roxanne (with "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers snippet)

Encore:

Next to You

Every Breath You Take

Encore 2:

The Empty Chair 

rock, paper, scissors

Continuing to catch up on overdue posts, here's a quick bit about the other awesome concert I saw this summer... Sting and Peter Gabriel, together at The Hollywood Bowl, for their joint Rock, Paper Scissors tour.

I've seen Sting in concert at least nine times (twice on The Police reunion tour, the rest solo shows at lovely places like The Bowl, The Greek, and Universal Amphitheater [RIP]). Of late, he's been very experimental in his musical styles (see Symphonicities and his Broadway show The Last Ship). And while the music on this tour didn't wildly diverge from what the two artists are known for, the format of the show did ... and it was awesome!

The awesome venue, where I've seen more live concerts than anywhere else.

Both Sting and Peter Gabriel had their full bands on stage with them for the entire show. Peter's band was "The Red Team," Sting's "The Blue Team." Everyone on each team -- including Sting and Peter -- wore at least a swatch of their team color. 

They would play together at times, separately at times. Sting would sing lead on Peter's songs and vice versa. And on some songs they traded verses. 

It was a really cool way to hear songs I've been listening to since the 80s in a whole new way. It was also awesome to see Sting (who's known for being "moody") having such a blast on stage. After the first two songs, he and Peter stopped to talk to the audience and give them a little intro to the format of the show. Sting said it's the most fun he's had on tour in decades and he hoped we all had fun too. If you don't believe him.. just check out the video for "In Your Eyes" below and look on the screens for his awesome back-up singer dance moves, in unison with the female back-up singers ;)

2010 -- the year that was

It's New Year's Eve, my most hated of holidays. People put way too much emphasis on going out, drinking, and cheering when the clock strikes 12. Any time I've tried to "celebrate" this "holiday," I usually regret it... I get in a fight with someone, or the evening doesn't live up to the artificially manufactured expectations that it be awesome, and I feel like I've failed the Party Gods. So this year, I'm sitting on my couch watching movies, with a vodka cranberry in hand. This has been a not-awesome year, and I prefer to just let it slip quietly into the past.

The year 2010 actually started off really well. I was the happiest I'd been in a long time... for about six days. Then things went awry. Sadness, worry and stress took over my personal and professional lives. I'd like to say those feelings lessened as the year went on, but alas, they did not. My mom was diagnosed with MS in June. Work got all re-org-ish over the summer, some people I loved working with are no longer there, and it now seems more in flux than it's ever been. And since July, four colleagues, all under the age of 50, have passed away, three from health issues that took them from this earth way before their time; and the fourth was killed the day after Christmas at the hands of a drunk driver in Vermont. (RIP Johannes, Leslie, Wayne and Kaye.) So sad.

The year was not all bad though. I traveled a lot, (although most of it was for work) and went three places I'd never been before. I also saw a lot of great shows and concerts, participated in three great volunteer events, and made a great home improvement. This year also saw me convert from PC to Mac at home, and I must say I love the freedom of my light, easy to use, virus-free MacBook now, even though converting all my files (or not, as the case may be) was a pain. I got my awesome Droid Incredible phone. And I went to Pilates almost every week of the year. (But went on only one hike due to my knee problems, finally diagnosed in May as runner's knee... although I do not run). Here are some of the highlights of the year:

January:

• My mom and dad celebrated their 40th Anniversary

February:

• Bon Jovi Concert #1 in Anaheim
• Saw Cast and Producers of LOST at PaleyFest

March:

• Bon Jovi Concert #2 in Los Angeles @ Staples Center

April:

• I started blogging (here) again!
• Michael Buble Concert @ Staples Center
• Trip #1: Seattle, WA, for the first time
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2002!

May:

• Trip #2: San Francisco for Web 2.0 Expo
• The 2010 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season
• Renoir in the 20th Century @ LACMA, with Mom, on Mother's Day
• Trip #3: Boulder, CO
• Upgraded to the Droid Incredible
• Trip #4: New Orleans (my one non-work, just for fun trip, for Jason & Nora's wedding!)

June:

• Sting's "Symphonicity" @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Jonny Lang @ House of Blues, Hollywood
• Grease Sing-Along @ the Hollywood Bowl
• I got my new, gorgeous back patio installed!

July:

• Hosted my first 4th of July BBQ
• Went to the Grammy Museum

August:

• RENT @ the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris
• Trip #5: St. Louis, MO, for the first (and hopefully last) time ever
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Goo Goo Dolls @ the Greek Theatre

September:

• Trip #6: Raleigh, NC, for the first time... at the same time as Hurricane Earl
• Trip #7: Palo Alto, CA
• Southern California Coastal Cleanup Day
• Trip #8: San Francisco, again

October:

• Trip #9: Phoenix
• Trip #10: New York City & Hackensack, NJ
• Apple and pumpkin picking in Yucaipa, CA
• The Kings season begins... awesomely. 

November:

• Volunteering for Operation Gratitude
• Disneyland with The Z's 

December:

• My first year with outdoor Christmas lights!
• Volunteering @ LA Regional Foodbank
• Christmas Cocktails
• 12 days of vacation kicks off

And here's what I did this year, according to some of my favorite Facebook status updates:

As 2011 nears, I'm thinking about what I can do to make it better than 2010 was. I think my overall goals are to take care of myself, and strive for happiness in my life and the lives of those close -- and not so close -- to me.

To that end, I want to:

• Get Healthy: I will eat better and utilize either my Wii Fit or the treadmill -- that I plan to "borrow" from my parents' garage -- at least three times per week, in addition to continuing Pilates. I also want to resume hiking when the time changes.  
• Write More: I will not put my journal in a drawer. I will keep it in eyesight and use it to brain dump feelings and ideas not for public consumption here.
• Read Actual Books: A minimum of four this year. One per quarter. That's doable, right? (Sub-goal: I will not let my magazine pile deter me from this goal, no matter how tall it gets.)
• Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Host More: I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more (see goal #1 ;) 
• Travel for Me: I will go to Portland this year to spend time with friends -- I've made that promise. I also hope 2011, one way or another, will finally be my Italian vacation year. I'm thinking either April for someone's birthday, or a solo tour in the Fall. 

That's six things, some more complicated than others. But I was quite amazed with everything I got done in December simply by planning my month, day by day, and checking things off a list. Tomorrow is the start of a new calendar and I can start filling it in right away :)

symphonicity

I just got home from the Hollywood Bowl, where I experienced another musical spectacular from Sting, who, like fine wine, just gets better and better with age. I don't know how many times I've seen the man in concert (let's just say "a lot"), but tonight was unlike anything he's done before. He was backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra + a tiny band, fronted by his long-time guitarist and songwriting partner Dominic Miller. It was, in a word, AWESOME. The evening was a beautiful celebration of music, lyrics and the stories behind them, as Sting introduced almost every song with some sort of anecdote about how he was inspired to write it, or why he wrote it. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the show as much as the audience was, playing guitar, tambourine, and collaborating on stage with Dominic and guest trumpeter Chris Botti. And experiencing this concert at the Bowl, which is one of my favorite places to listen to music -- outside, under the stars, with a slight chill in the air tonight -- only added to the beauty of the evening. It was an amazing show.