long is the day blog

After what has seemed like a lifetime, Brandi has finally played at home again…..

The show was billed as “Late Morning Lullaby”, and took place at a small club here in Seattle. The Tractor Tavern is actually the first place I saw Brandi…. My best friend and I attended a Tegan & Sara show, and her and Tim were the opening act. Jeez….this was…..5 years ago?? maybe even longer. I think pretty much every friend I ever made was in the house that night (which aint too many). Seriously….old bosses, friends family, storm buddies… it was almost like having a birthday party (which is soon).

Despite the heat, the show was a BLAST. Seeing her on that stage again was surreal…. and it was so GOOD to see her again, after such a long absence. I would have preferred to hear more new songs… but I aint complaining. One of the highlights of the night was watching Fighting Machinists be the opening act (Tim and Phils early band), and seeing Brandi jump up and down on the side of the stage like a squealing 16 yr old

Brandi came out after the show, and I got a chance to thank her for doing this show. Its seriously awesome that she can play these huge places in Seattle, but still comes back to these small clubs and does a show just for the fans. She was excited to play there as we were…..

I didnt really get that many good photos (it was very low light and red). Here is a vid of one of the new songs.
I’m working on a redesign for the site (which will hopefully be launched at SOME point!)…. so I’m focusing on that, rather than trying to keep up with updating this site as well.

Its been a very long time since I’ve been able to draw something, just for fun. So here’s the latest creation…. this is from Brandis “turpentine” video. I think it came out pretty well with the image full size, but she looks like she was in a fight (or stoned) when its shrunk small. So much for using it as a avatar!

Anyway, this was done in Flash… my preferred way of working with vector art. This is hand done with a graphic tablet (cuz I suck at the pen tool).

Wow….where has time gone???

Since Brandi wasn’t playing in the US for a loooong time, I instead focused on:

• Graduating School
• A New Relationship
• A New Job
• Finally Quiting my Crappy Job
• And traveling to CT 3 times!

My gf found a picture of a Lego, that looked like a dyke (and ironically like her). It was wearing this awful purple flowered shirt that NO dyke would wear…so I switched it out for her, and added some glasses.
hmm… my gf never looked hotter.

I just saw 3 brandi shows and meant to write about each show individually, but there just wasn’t enough time. This past week has been a whirlwind of driving to shows and then racing back for work/class. I shouldn’t be too surprised that I ended up sick….

10/27 Vancouver BC:
I made 2 new friends, that invited me to join them for the Canada show. Granted I’m only a few hours from the border, but this still counts as my first “out-of-the-country” show!

I had a blast…. the club was small, just the way I like them.
The best part came after the show though… My new friends and I wondered back by the bus to meet the band. We were the only ones and security didnt say a peep to us. Because I’m hard-of-hearing, I’ve never had a real conversation with the band. Usually theres too much background noise, so I just smile and do my best to follow along. We had about 10 min with each band member, and they must have been surprised by how much I actually talk! lol.

I wont get into details, but there was one humerous moment I’ll tell…. we were given old posters from thier Filmore gig, its a drawing of someone laying on the grass, looking up through some binaculars. At least, I think thats what those are….. At first I thought it was a guy, but then saw the painted lipstick…. “oh, its brandi!…. hmmm… this doesnt look like her though.” So I called out to her as she was walking away, “hey Brandi, is this suppose to be you??” She started laughing… “just draw the gap in my teeth!”

10/30/07 Bellingham, WA

This was my favorite show of the 3. I had a 2nd row ticket, but was able to sit in the front row with my friends cause someone didnt show up. Yay! Heres another first….. I’ve never been front row at a show. I purposely hang back a little, to help hide the camera. Happily cameras were allowed here……

There is a part in the show where they walk to the edge of the stage, and sing acapella. wow….. I felt like they were practically playing in my lap! I have some really great photos from this show, and hope to get them up soon.
Brandi drove herself up for the gig and brought her dog Bailey. CUTE! Shes a doberman.
During A Fine Frenzys set, the band came out during thier last song and tried to fly electric helicopters on the stage….Bailey was following Brandi all around while she tried to get hers to fly….lol. I took video of this, but you cant tell whats going on.

11/2/07 The Paramount Seattle
I had such mixed feelings at this show. By this point I was sick, tired, and SAD. Its always sad to see a tour end… expecially when you know the band is going off the world, and theres no US dates scheduled. At the same time I was HAPPY for her….. the paramount is HUGE. 3,200 people, and she sold it out. And wow, shes going to go to all these great places and turn on a whole new league of fans….. Guess theres just that selfish part of me that doesn’t want to share her yet

The show was surreal (its size AND because I use to work there) and they absolutley rocked the place……
This did remind me of why I go to such distances to see her. Looks like I need to get a passport soon!

I’ve been interviewing for 2 1/2 weeks, and I got a job!
I have NEVER gotten a job that easily….    not even at all my lame retail jobs.

So the job is doing HTML Production, for a Web company.  They have contractors that design the sites, and then I code them.   (honestly I have no idea why they split the job like that…)  So I wont get to design anything, but thats FINE with me!   Designing isnt my favorite part of Web Design.

I  start Tuesday.

Summer for me lasted only 6 weeks, and ended a few days ago. My plan was to update this site, do some art projects, and simply RELAX for awhile. (I dont know how to relax, I always get a guilt trip if I’m not being productive). That didn’t end up happening…. my 2 summer courses ended up consuming me, for the better.

The first was a “advanced web design” class. The teacher set us up in groups of 5, gave us a client to develop a site for, and then let us loose. I had 2 developers, and 3 designers in my group…. I had THOUGHT I was the type that preferred to work alone, but instead found that I really ENJOYED having others to bounce ideas off of. Plus its really nice not having to do EVERYTHING, and getting to concentrate on what I do best. (God knows I never enjoyed doing “group work” in any of my other classes).

Our client was the LogHouse Museum in West Seattle. We gave her a pretty great site, featuring a “content management system” so that she could update it herself. The site still wasnt quite done when class ended, so I have taken over the maintenance and finished it. I like the museum director alot, and didnt want to leave her with a unfinished product. (I’m considering it community service) http://www.loghousemuseum.org
Thats another character flaw(?) that I notice at work. I dont like leaving unfinished work, that someone else will have to finish. (It may be a good work ethic, but its so annoying not allowing myself to go home on time).
Anyway, the class was awesome. For once I wasnt doing ’schoolwork’, but ‘real work’ where people were actually depending on me.

My 2nd class was a “web careers” class, where we worked on our resumes, portfolios, and had guest speakers from the industry. It was taught by the 1st (and favorite) web teacher that I had. I’ve come a long way from that first class, and I’m now ready to find a job. http://www.rengland.net

During these 6 weeks off, I’ve become “official”. I’m getting paid for my first design job I’m still pinching myself over that one. Shes a dear friend of mine, and I can only hope I can come up with a site that benefits her. (the process has been a challenge, and deserves a post of its own!)

I’ve been sending out resumes all week, and had my first phone interview today. Happily, I didnt tank it…and actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about Competition in Seattle is tough, so hopefully I find something quickly. In the meantime, theres ALWAYS more to learn, skills to develop, and projects to keep me busy!

This is defintally one of the BEST Brandi shows I have ever seen. I can’t remember the last time I have seen a show, that had me surprised and delighted from beginning to end.

Usually we only have one, or two new songs to chew on….. but this time, we had FIVE! It was pretty much a rock show the whole time, breaking only for a short acoustic set (one song being sung acapella), and for Brandis piano debut.

A Fine Frenzy was the opener…. although I’m not crazy about some of the songwriting (I own the album), I still enjoyed it. The singer seems like a sweet girl… and the drummer was awesome. I spent alot of time watching him, trying to figure out where all the extra beats were coming from (apparently they all came from his feet…. but to me it looked like he was “faking it”)

Their song, “Almost Lover” is incredible.

My trip was a good time. I ran into a woman that I met in Portland earlier this year. She was seeing Brandi for the first time, drove out to a show just because she loved “the story” (song). It was a acoustic gig, and she sat next to me in this little tiny theatre (mississippi studios) . When Brandi started playing “the story”, I looked over to see her headbanging to the chorus. LOL.. I loved it…

And nope, it didnt rain

I was just telling a friend how theres never lighting/thunder in Seattle.    Well this morning it is………..   People are estatic and showing pictures all over  Seattles LivingJournal  forum.    Bye bye summer.

I’m heading to Eugene,OR in a few days to see the start of brandi’s VH1 tour.    Its my belated bday present to myself, and i’m praying that the rain isnt there to join me.

I heard of the show last week, and i’ve been soooooooo excited!
A)I’ve been addicted to both of thier albums for the last few weeks
B)I’m an old tour junkie, and have seen Paula over 10 times. Shes always been a fave, and i’m so happy shes come out to play for us again.
C)Hmm. who DOESNT want to see mandy moore? The girl is hot. Her album is seriously good though.

It wasnt the largest of crowds, and it seemed a bulk of the people were there for Mandy.
I dont blame them! She did GREAT! I was soooo proud of her!
I thought she was going to be a “opening act”, but it was more like a co-billing.
She did more songs than Paula (14 vs 11-according to the setlist.)

I knew this was her first tour, and I expected her to be nervous and stiff …but instead she was dancing, pretty expressive, and quite talkative. I got video of “looking forward to looking back” (my fav), and most of “gardenia” (god….that song is SOOOOO AMAZING live. just like I knew it would. I had such shivers, that i had to put the camera down on the last few verses, so i could stand with my mouth open for a few. Along with most of the new album, she also played “moonshadow”, “help me” (joni mitchell), and “umbrella”. I saw a online video of her doing “umbrella”, otherwise I wouldnt have known what it was!

I was off to the side, and as the show wore on…..i kept getting pushed more and more to the side. Which wouldnt have been a problem, except that Mandys hanging hair blocks her face. Boo…. My pictures quickly became a game of, “get the photo while her head is turned”. I also was on the wrong side, she didnt look in our direction much. And of course, I never had my camera ready when she did…

I don’t have a top-of-the-line camera, but someday! Concert photography is always of fun challenge of trying to capture what my mind sees. My dream job? to be the tour-videographer I want all access, so i can take concert footage from all areas of the club. That would be heaven.

As I mentioned, shes quite talkative! Of course you know i didnt hear much of it (i’m HOH), but she had the crowd laughing. The one story i did catch was her saying how Portland, OR (a few days ago) was her first show, this being her first tour…ever…and she was sooo nervous. She didnt know what to say to the crowd, so they would yell out random things like “I like your shoes!”, “you’re hair is shiny!”. LOL… They made sure to point out the articles of clothing they bought that day. I’ll have to watch for online reviews to see what else i learn, and for other photos.

Then Paula came out. By then, a lot of people left and i was suddenly in the front row. I was next to 2 women, one wearing a “saturn girl” shirt (paula song). Totally Nice! We all talked, exchanged emails, they were sooooo excited to be there. Old of fans as I am. They couldnt believe that i was gonna take photos, AND put them online! lol… I found that amusing.
Paula started with 3 new songs. I’m DIGGING the new album, and was overjoyed about this…….. the crowd gave her MAD love, and she seemed so humbled, and appreciative of it. We missed her.
Now i was afraid of getting a “older,slower, more mature” Paula (which I was okay with…i prepared myself!) But instead, she was as much of a firecracker as she always was! I forgot how much I loved all her moves, struts, AND HER SINGING. damn, this woman still has no probs hitting the HIGHEST notes possible.

After those 3 new songs, she never played anymore. I’m probably the only one that was saddened by this…. It was a bit deju vu. There I am…… hearing the same songs, feeling the same things as i did years ago. The past didnt go anywhere.

I didnt get any video of paula though, and i really wanted to. I had wanted to get these 2 songs off her new album (that are amazing), and put them on youtube to help expose her…… but she never played them.
You know, not only was i surprised by how much old material she did…..but by how much ROCKIN old material she did. I found myself dancing so much, that i couldnt operate the camera if i wanted to. So Fun! I havent danced like that at a show in ages.

I was able to get both setlists, and was hoping to get them signed after the show. Didnt happen though… a ALMOST perfect evening. Mandys photos are HERE.

I wish them both best of luck on the tour, and totally wish I could see another show!

I had 3 days notice that Brandi was going to be doing a free gig at Easy Street Records 8/3…. and as usual, i rearranged my life just to be there. Work? School? forget it… I dont mind working hard, long as i can have my enjoyment as well.

I was pretty astonished to hear about the gig. I never thought i would see her play such a small place IN SEATTLE again (hince, why i’ve been traveling for smaller shows). Afterall, shes playing The Paramount in Nov. (that in itself blows my mind. not so sure i’m gonna get use to the bigger venue bit.)

They recorded the gig for a future EP. Cool! While seeing all these “media” gigs has been alot of fun, they arent nearly as good as when she can be loose and rock out. Well she must have heard me thinking, cause they played 4 extra songs that werent originally planned (11 total)………. and despite being on a stool, she got pretty into it and displayed her “rock star” moves. Love it

There was quite a few people there with “pro” cameras there…. I’ve seen the pics, quite impressive. Hmm…i just bought the camera I have, and i’m already wishing I could upgrade! Not that i’ll have the money to do so of course.
I took a TON of photos, pretty boring photos i might add. The pictures get dull fast when your subject is anchored and there isnt dramatic lighting going on. (The overpowering spotlight they had on her didnt help at all.) But I didnt care. Its getting so rare that I can freely take pics at her shows anymore, so I went crazy.

I played a little game with myself, to get a pic of her smiling. Sounds easy enough right? For some reason mine are always blurred….. This is the only one that came out, and even its a little blurred…..

Soon as i get some play time, I’ll put up more pics. I also have a cute video clip of her talking about sneaking into “dicks burgers” and not having cash that i want to put up, maybe tonight.

One of my good friends is leaving in 2 weeks to attend Columbia College. We use to take ASL classes together, along with some other friends. One of the friends, Brenda Belcher, was having a house gig yesterday. So i took a break from my finals, and headed on over to say goodbye and hear Brenda. (The girl has a nice sound, and i’ve been waiting to hear her live). I took a few photos and vid. It was dark, but i really like the way the photos came out. It almost looks black and white, since the only light was coming from the window. Hopefully the video will have the same look.

And to top it all off…… at 4am, i was motivated enough to do a final version of my resume and apply for a job. Go Me! Next on the agenda is to create my portfolio site (its one of my finals).