Showing posts with label Gwen Stefani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gwen Stefani. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

no doubt concert review by certified orange county girl

My love for No Doubt started almost 15 years ago around the time this budding feminist first heard "Just a Girl."  Once "Don't Speak" was released, I was hooked for life.  So, naturally, I had to see thek coolest band to ever come out of Orange County when they came to town during their so-called reunion tour. 

The point of the tour was for the band to be inspired by the fans and incorporate this inspiration into their new album.  And the show was incredibly fan-centric.  In between songs, Gwen would speak to the crowd, regularly accepting presents and even bringing a fan on-stage for a hug and photo.  How that fan managed to remain conscious during the whole thing was beyond me. 

The set list was essentially a best-of recap and they rocked out to each song like it was 1996.  Gwen, not looking a day over 29, wasn't as animated as she was in past shows, although she did open "Just a Girl" with her trademark push-up set (she had been challenged by a fan, so I don't know if the push-ups were planned).  The 3-song encore was especially awesome because The Sounds and Paramore (the opening acts) joined No Doubt on-stage to sing their latest single, "Stand and Deliver."  It set the tone for the concert conclusion--an enthusiastic rendition of "Sunday Morning."

Like I said, I've seen No Doubt in concert a lot but I would have to say that this was the best show I've ever seen them do.  By the looks of the large gathering of adoring fans, I hope that the band found enough inspiration to put out the most awesome album ever.  I can't wait!

I took these videos at the concert.  The first one is Underneath it All and the second one is Just a Girl.  Turn down the sound on your computer and hit play (I was in the pit and close to a speaker when I recorded these so the sound isn't stellar).  Maybe you'll get a feel for the show by watching...




  

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

is it june 14th yet?

June 14th cannot come soon enough.  Why?  Because Jesse, Zipcode, and I will be at the best concert ever!

I will absolutely DIE if the following songs are not performed that day:











I know it's a Gwen song, but I wouldn't mind hearing this song live again...

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

…that is like, so RANDOM

It appears that I’ve been put on notice…I mean, tagged. At the request of the lovely Madame Meow at a Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm (an excellent blog, BTW), I have been asked to give you 8 random facts about me. Here are the meme rules:

  • I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
  • Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
  • People who are tagged need to write their own blog post about their eight things and post these rules.
  • At the end of your post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
  • Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
Before I give you my random facts, I want you to know that I actually worked hard at these (and by ‘worked hard’ I mean I brainstormed like mad while I was on the elliptical and the stationary bike during my workout yesterday). This is mostly due to the fact that some of my friends read this blog and they already know most of the random stuff about me. So I wanted these random bites to be truly, incredibly RANDOM. Let’s see how successful I was…

  1. Little people scare me. No really, they do. I know that’s a horrible thing to say, but I can’t even get through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without feeling incredibly uncomfortable. And I’m not even sure where this fear comes from. I’m a truly awful person, I know.
  2. I’m actually REALLY looking forward to the Spice Girls reunion. In fact, I might even be willing to shell out some moola if they have a reunion tour and it comes to DC. And I will definitely get the greatest hits compilation CD. Come on, admit it. The mere mention of “zig-a-zig-ah” brings a smile to your face. Hopefully Posh Spice will dye her hair back to brown for the reunion. I’m so over that platinum blonde bob she has (actually, the bob is fine, I just hate the color).
  3. I am 100% confident that the one decision I will never regret in my life is going to USC. The education was top notch, the extracurriculars were more than worthwhile, and the football team rocks! In fact, I wouldn’t even be in DC had it not been for the USC DC program. And when I have kids, they’ll definitely be going to USC. Jesse doesn’t know this, however. I’ve told him that I would want our kids to go to whatever school would make them happy, even if that school is Virginia Tech (his alma mater). But the truth is that I know they’ll love USC better.
  4. I’ve always been an above average basketball player. In college, I played IM-REC co-ed basketball. During my freshman year, I played pick up games with the boys in my dorm but I had to convince my best guy friend at the time, Mack, to let me play. Let’s just say I was a blessing in disguise. Once, I spent an entire game making open three-point shots because the guys on the other team didn’t feel it was worth their time to guard me. I had made 4 in a row. When I jumped up to make my 5th shot, some guy from the other team decided to guard me a few seconds too late. I came down from my shot, landed on him, and then rolled over on my ankle. I limped for a whole week. That was the last of my pick up game days.
  5. My all-time favorite movie is The Lion King (this is not the random fact). It came out in 1994 (I was 15 at the time). The year it came out, my mom bought me a whole Lion King kids bedroom set (which I happily set up in my room) and over the years, I have amassed quite a collection of Lion King stuffies. When I moved away to college, I tried to recreate my Lion King bed in my dorm and I brought a few stuffies with me. Currently, in my bedroom back in Cali, my bed is still all Lion King and the stuffies take up half of the bed. My bedroom is apparently my niece’s favorite room in my mom’s house (in case you forgot, Serena Rose is 2 years old).
  6. My college roommate and I use to philosophize about male/female relationships when we weren’t cramming for Bio or Chem freshman year. We even came up with some of our own theories, including one that we tested over and over again. We called it the (Insert my last name here)-(Insert roommie’s last name here) Theory. It was our pride and joy. I can’t remember the exact wording, but essentially we theorized that a not-so-physically-attractive man could be made attractive if he had a great personality.
  7. When I lived in California, I was always pretty tan. This was no accident. I would purposely lie out in the sun to get darker any time of year. Now, I am completely the opposite (well, that skin cancer really makes you avoid the sun at all costs). However, I still carry my Cali driver’s license with me (with a picture of a very, very tan me). Whenever I show my ID at bars and restaurants, I often get a double take and a “wow, you look so different now.” The difference between me then and me now is literally like night and day.
  8. I have the biggest girl crush on Gwen Stefani. If I were a lesbian, I would totally want to hook up with her. Jesse really hates it when I say that.

Ok, I’m done. I don’t want to force anyone to continue the meme so I’m just going to throw some blogger names out there and if anyone wants to share some randomness, then go for it: sunchaser, dcweddingphotog, photobugchick , any of the Hokie bloggers on the right.

Friday, May 18, 2007

being in the 5th row sucks

So last night, I was sitting in the fifth row of the Gwen Stefani concert at Nissan Pavilion and now I’m suffering the consequences. I still can’t hear in my left ear. Damn speakers. Why’d you have to be so close to me?

Oh please, who am I kidding??? I LOVED the fifth row. In fact, the only other option that would be better than the fifth row would be rows 1-4. I felt so close to the action. Now that I know what the 5th row is like, I don’t think I could ever enjoy sitting elsewhere (unless it’s in the aforementioned rows 1-4).

The show was amazing. Gwen was amazing. Heck, even Akon was enjoyable and he didn’t dry hump any 14 year olds. (Sorry but I can’t tell you anything about Lady Sovereign, another opening act, because I was too busy buying concert merchandise while she performed her 25 minute set.) I’m not really an Akon fan and I had no idea that he sang so many songs that I’ve been hearing on the radio…like that old song, “I’m so lonely” or something like that. Jesse used to torture me by playing that song or not letting me change the station when it would come on the radio. I disliked the song THAT much. And there goes Akon singing it last night and I had no idea that he was the artist behind that song. It’s actually not such a bad song when sung live.

Ok, so back to Gwen. Gwen has been an amazing performer since way back in the early No Doubt days when I first discovered the group. And last night was no different. She was fun and energetic. She really got the crowd into it, especially when she ran to the back where all the lawn people were and sang “Cool” for them. That was definitely a highlight. But my personal highlight was when she sang the song, “An Orange County Girl.” Being from the OC myself (I may have mentioned that before), I was honored to see the original “OC girl living in an extraordinary world” play my song.

Here are some pictorial highlights from the show. The full set of pics can be seen here, at my flickr page.

Akon
akon at gwen stefani concert

Gwen performing The Sweet Escape
gwen during sweet escape

Gwen performing Rich Girl
gwen during rich girl

Gwen performing Wind it Up
gwen during wind it up

Gwen performing Hollaback Girl
gwen during hollaback girl

Gwen performing OC Girl
gwen during OC girl

Gwen during What Cha Waiting For
gwen during what ya waiting for

Gwen’s final bow
gwen's final goodbye

And for those of you who haven’t heard the song “An Orange County Girl” here is a clip of her performance from last night (yes, the clip is mine)


It was such a good show!

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

the biggest gwennabee of all

It's here! Gwen Stefani's new album finally drops today and it's really good if you haven't already heard it.

Monday, October 23, 2006

wind it up, baby

I know that I am certainly not your #1 source for all things related to Gwen Stefani (despite the blog name) but I am definitely a big fan of hers. Today, she premiered her new single, Wind it Up, on KIIS fm radio in LA and I encourage you to check it out. It's produced by Pharell so it's definitely got a unique sound to it.

Thursday, October 5, 2006

oh my god, oh my god, oh my GOD

Oh be still my super excited heart. Gwen Stefani's second solo album drops December 4th (according to this source).

Possible song titles include "An Orange County Girl," which I've decided will be the theme song to my life.

I can't wait!