Back to Life

After 3 weeks of vacation that felt shorter than what they were, life resumed itself last week. To be honest it was not easy to return to having to wake up really early and to the lack of time to myself. Besides all that the weather has been really crappy and the hormones were at their best at the beginning of the week... Sometimes I feel sorry for who ever crosses my path during these days, because most of time I am unaware of the state I am in, becoming really really short tempered and needing a LOT of personal space. But well, that has passed now, I am stressed but for other reasons. Hmm, the reasons are the same but just do not seem so disproportioned has they did on Monday (or Tuesday or Wednesday). 

I do have another reason to stress though, I seem to have misplaced something very important and do not seem able to remember where I might I have put it... Usually, I am very careful with these kind of things, but it is the second object, in the space of a week, that I do not remember where I might have put it and this one is really important...

On a brighter note, yesterday I bought my ticket to Metallica's concert in May. It had to be for the second day, because I took to long to buy it the first day sold out... Which means that I will probably go by myself again to a concert, since most the people I know bought their tickets for the first day...

And this was just another random post for your entertainment.. :)

2009

United States of America

January

de Young Museum

 

California Academy of Sciences (only the view from outside)

February

California Academy of Sciences (the view from inside)

Japanese Tea Garden

 

Pacific Ocean Beach

Alcatraz

Portugal

April

  

My City

July

  

 

OPTIMUS Alive Festival - Metallica

Festival Marés Vivas - Lamb

I only have half of the year here, first because I still have a lot of photos in my camera, second, because I took a lot less pictures in the second half of the year. :) 

Nonetheless, it still is a good wrap of the year that just ended.

Metallica - One

I decided to share one of the not so good videos that I made on the 9th of July at the Metallica concert. It was my first time seeing Metallica playing live and actually being present at the concert, I have seen several of theirs live concerts on TV. I really enjoyed it, and they played most of the songs that I like. One of them is One from the ...And Justice For All album, released in 1988.

Metallica - One

Because of my video's the lack of quality I decided to also share the original video (which I think is awesome) and the lyrics.

Today I was supposed to be here:

In Porto, for the Depeche Mode concert at the Super Rock Super Bock Festival. Unfortunately, David Gahan hurt himself in his calf muscle and two concerts had to be cancelled, including this one for my misfortune... I'm sad!!! I really wanted to see them live, with my sister... :(

Tomorrow I'll be here:

To see Metallica LIVE for the first time ever!!! :D

Pray for me!! I am not a big fan of Slipknot and some other bands that are going to play, but I really want to see Metallica. :)

Shocked!!

Today, was a day filled with tragic news from the entertainment world... The one that is the most shocking for me is Michael Jackson's death.

Like most kids from my generation, I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. My first ever live concert was Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour in 1992 at the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon, I was only 11.

I loved dancing to Thriller, Beat it, Bad, Smooth Criminal, Black and White... and the list goes on. Despite all the controversy that surrounded him throughout his career, I still respect him as an artist.

Michael Jackson - Thriller (full length)
I wanted to embed the video, but all the videos said Embedding disabled by request.

R.I.P.

Michael Jackson
(1958 - 2009)

P.S. - I know that this not the most updated image of Michael Jackson (actually it is a 27 year old image), but this is one of my favourite images of him.

Juno Reactor @ The Independent, San Francisco - the video

And finally the video... it's only 3 minutes...

(credits to me @ YouTube)

Juno Reactor @ The Independent, San Francisco (23 09 08)

Words cannot describe how awesome yesterday's concert was!!! It was above everything that I expected... The band was great, the audience was really into it and the energy levels were off the roof. Pure, raw, positive energy, that lasted for the 2 and half hours of the concert.

The background canvas.

I was mesmerized by the sound, the show, the dancers and singers and definitely by SUGIZO. The man has such a cool and calm aura around him, but when he picks his guitar... I do not even know how to describe it... only seen live, that's how awesome he looked to me (but I might be biased...). For a few minutes we where also able to seem him play his violin, but it was for such a short amount of time and not the kind of music to show his skills. But I'm not complaining, on the contrary, I'm more than happy to have had this opportunity.

SUGIZO

I really lack the words to describe the show in it self and the emotional experience it was to me. There are very few first time concerts that have moved me emotionally, in fact there is only one other. That one was the beginning of my "love affair" with Lamb, but the major difference is that I really didn't know anything about Lamb and this time I already had some background information on Juno Reactor. I got to know Juno Reactor because of SUGIZO, by reading his blogs and by the background information that I found about him. However, yesterday was the first time that I payed attention to their music and I can say that this is one of the cases that live is much better than recorded. Nothing can surpass the energy of a great live concert.

From the leader of the band (Ben Watkins, he was in such a position on stage that he was almost unseen for the entire concert, except for the few occasions that he picked his guitar and came to the center stage), to the British female vocalist, the Jamaican male vocalist, the South African dancers/drummers, the drummer (I'm sorry but he is the only one I have no idea about his nationality) and, of course, the Japanese guitar player, every single one of the was giving their best and just enjoying themselves. They almost looked like a band that played together all time, for how in sync with each other they where.

The male and female vocalists and one of the dancers/drummers (this man dancing, was something beyond words...)

What else to say?! I danced and enjoyed myself for the entire concert, needless to say that today I felt exhausted but also recharged of positive energy. I was really needing something like this. Definitely in my TOP 5 concerts, and I think you can guess the position... :)

What to add... If you have the opportunity, go see them live!! It really is worth it!!

I also recorded some videos but I was to close to the speakers, so the sound is very distorted. The only exception was the first one, in which they were entering the stage (has soon has YouTube allows it I'll upload it and post the link/video here).