Friday, September 30, 2011

Kollaboration New York 6 - 9/29/11

Last night was the first time I went to a Kollaboration show. What took me so long? Loved. It. Kollaboration is a talent show that provides a stage for aspiring Asian American artists. This non-profit organization was founded by Paul PK Kim in Los Angeles in 2000. Since then, Kollaboration has settled bases in 13 cities. And counting.

Thank you Kollaboration for coming to New York! For the 6th time! Looking forward to the 7th.

Here's the video of all the contestants (minus Cheryl Chin, plus Christina Love Kim). I'll be back with reviews from the show soon!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Jane Lui's NYC Meetup is TONIGHT at 7pm @ Grand Army Plaza!

I can't believe I didn't mention this earlier. ARGH.

Rockwood Music Hall was PACKED to the brim, this past Tuesday night! Plenty of new and old fans came out to see Jane Lui. And she did not disappoint!

Here's Jane Lui singing a fan fav, Freddie Goodtime.
I was also absolutely not amused by the couple behind me who were trying to speak louder than Jane singing. Seriously. The place is only so big, too.


Jane has always stated how much she appreciates and loves her fans, who she also sees as her friends. Awh. =)

Jane started to set casual "Meetups" with fans in cities where she is performing. If you're free, come join all of us for the NYC Meetup at Grand Army Plaza @ 7PM (Thurs., 9/22). You can rsvp at Chris@JaneLui.com.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Mates of State FREE single from their new album - Mountaintops

Mates of State's new album, Mountaintops, is OUT today!

Get their new single, Palomino, from Amazon as a MP3 download for FREE today!!

Mates of State will be performing at Webster Hall in NY on October 12. Get your tickets here.

CNote's review of Mates of State.

Bocelli, Dion, Bennett and Botti!


This was the BEST picture I could get, considering the conditions of last night on the Great Lawn! If only I can capture the huge and brightly lite "I <3 NY" sign. My friends and I waited on line and started to walk in around 7:30...and finally made it to the Great Lawn around 8:30! Not too bad considering that the line was from inside Central Park, to the 72nd Street entrance to 59th Street! In any event, this was a great experience to hear the great tenor, Andrea Bocelli. For free! We also got inside just in time to see Celine Dion and Tony Bennett perform their duets with Bocelli. The big surprise for me was hearing Chris Botti's name as one of the guest performers. I JUMPED and SQUEALED like a 8 year old in a candy store...while everyone around me was asking, "Who?" Chris Botti is one of my favorite jazz musicians. This American trumpet player has toured internationally and worked with the biggest names in the music world as guest vocalists.

Chris Botti and Steven Tyler <3

Andrea Bocelli ended the night with, what else? Time to Say Goodbye...

From Tuscany 2008

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Andrea Bocelli on the Great Lawn

The great Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, will be performing in Central Park tonight! I'm sorry to mention this...especially since I got tickets to go! Courtesy of a great person =) Unless it rains...

For those who do not have tickets, the concert will be shown on PBS afterwards.

Here's one of my favorite clips of Bocelli. I'm still weirded out by Elmo's eyelids, though.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Fueled by Ramen 15th Anniversary Concert on 9/9/11

I went and had a blast. My goodies included this pair of neon pink sunglasses. It was nice that they gave it out. These were also used to break a Guinness World Record of most sunglasses worn indoors. Process of breaking the record was lead by Gabe from Cobra Starship. The things people come up with.

We had a fun filled night with Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship, The Academy Is..., A Rocket to the Moon and VersaEmerge. Gabe Saporta. Travis McCoy. William Beckett. All these lead band singers have one thing in common. A magnetic personality. They love their fans as much as they love themselves. By no means are any of them shy! But this is an absolute golden quality to have if any band/musician wants to connect with their audience on a more intimate level. I've seen musicians capture people's attention with every word and made everyone in the room feel good about the band and themselves. And then I've seen some performers fall flat on their tushies and the room goes dead silent. Definitely not amused by this type of quiet.


Anywho, this is also the first time I've heard VersaEmerge. Holy guacamole. Yes, they fit with this label very well. The personality and music are at the same level of attractiveness. Lead vocals is Sierra Kusterbeck and Blake Harnage on drums. Both hail from the Sunshine State, Florida. I have to say, VersaEmerge is like a mini-Evanescence wrapped in Paramore. With just as much personal drama, even? Just look at the continuous change in the band line-ups. They seemed to have finally settled down a bit, though. VersaEmerge is a young band with MTV qualities while maintaining their alternative rock status. Spells success?

All the bands that performed tonight thanked their fans and Fueled by Ramen, endlessly. They all made sure we knew that Fueled by Ramen and we the fans, made them. Now I feel appreciated. I know it's probably from a "You HAVE to say this on stage" list, etc., but it's still appreciated. Here's to another 15 years!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Night 2 of FBR15

Tonight is Fueled by Ramen's second night in celebration of its 15th anniversary! Headlining the celebration at Terminal 5 will be Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes, along with The Academy Is..., A Rocket to the Moon, and more.

Get your tickets here or at the door!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Jane Lui back in town


Something to look forward to!

Jane Lui will be performing at Rockwood Music Hall later this month. Free!

Back in July, Jane played the girl-next-door, Penny, in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along during Comic-Con. Afterwards, Jane continued with her worldwide tour and will be making a stop at Rockwood in NYC, also a familiar stomping ground for her, on 9/20 at 9 PM.

Hope to see some of you there!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

QuikSilver Pro - Long Beach, NY - Competition is ON, Festival is Not

Some bad news this week coming from Long Island's local officials. After months of preparation and advertising, the QuikSilver Pro Festival, which was meant to enhance the experience of the ASP surfing competitions, has been cancelled.

This is highly upsetting to surfers, fans (including me) and residents of the area. QuikSilver Pro is hosting a worldwide tour of surfing competitions and has lined up the world's best surfers, sponsors, and dozens of bands to perform at this free 15-day event. This past weekend, Hurricane Irene took its toll on Long Beach and officials do not believe it is ready to take on the Festival at this point. QuikSilver Pro and officials are trying their best to keep the surfing competition on. QuikSilver Pro has not announced anything on its website yet, but stand by. There is still going to be a "QuikSilver Pro Jam Session" featuring super star skater, Tony Hawk, at Pier 54 in NYC on Sept. 2nd @ 2 PM. Free!

Whatever the final decision is, best wishes to Long Beach and all the towns effected for a speedy recovery!


Update: The surfing is still on from Sept 4th to 15th. The website seems to have been updated. Music will be on webcast. Browse the schedule to see if you can at least catch some waves! Early in the morn.