The Concert

I had to blog about the most amazing concert EVER first, and then I'll post about Thanksgiving.

I had a totally amazing time with my girlfriends Krista, Melissa, and Rachel. We drove out to the arena and ate lunch at "Which Wich". It's a sandwich place and was totally delicious. My chocolate shake wasn't too shabby either, and they had melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Adam and I will definitely have to stop there next time we go to a Coyotes game.

The lights dimmed as we got to our seats. We took our time at dinner because we didn't really care about seeing the opening band. We waited in anticipation as a guy walked on stage and assumed position at a turn table. Then came the weird animation:

Melissa and I looking weirded out...

Sorry to those that would appreciate this art-form. The animation became more and more strange over time and the music was what I think is described as "trance" - a form of techno. I thought that maybe he was going to do stuff for the band and that he was intro'ing for them, but no. He played his techno music for about 30 minutes. If I was high, I probably would've loved it!!

ANYWAYS... so, then we waited for the band to come out and yelled with joy as the techies came out and moved stuff around in preparation. I had my camera out and ready, hoping to capture at least 1 non-crappy photo during the performance. Then I suddenly remembered that my camera could also take short videos, so I figured that if they played any of my favorite songs, I could record portions. Each of us had the one or two songs that we really wanted them to play. Rachel wanted to hear Strawberry Swing. Krista wanted Fix You and Square One. Melissa wanted to hear some of their older stuff. I wanted to hear Lost!/? and The Scientist.

The band came on stage and the crowd went totally crazy! They opened with Life in Technicolor, which was totally awesome. Then, I think they played Politik... I think, which was a great follow-up - nice and big! THEN they played In My Place, which is another favorite of mine. It was soooo great live. That was the first time that I just sang my heart out. Next was Fix You, which was sooooo great. I took a short video of that one, just to prove that they sound just as great live as they sound on their cd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EcjtlQuZLY- Fix You

At one point, they walked off to one side of the stage and all stood on a platform out in the middle of the audience and played some songs. It was so cool having them closer and being able to take more detailed pictures of them. The best was yet to come, though!!! Here's a pic of that performance:

So, then they proceeded to play a few more great songs, which included Lost! I have to say, every single song was soooo good. There wasn't a single one that I was like "I'll be glad when they get to the next song." How many concerts have you gone to that you can say that about?? I haven't been to one yet. I thoroughly enjoyed everything. Not only were they amazing musicians, but they were great performers too! They were so engaging and weren't too into themselves. They were so respectful and seemed truly grateful to be here and performing. They all looked like they were having an amazing time. It was truly fun to watch.

After about 8 songs or so, they ran off stage through the audience. We couldn't figure out where the heck they were going until they reached a platform set up in the middle of the audience in the arena. They were literally like 4 sections away from us. It was incredible. Chris Marten said that he loved that people were willing to pay to see them up close, but for those that couldn't, they wanted to give them an opportunity of having an "up close and personal" performance too!!!! It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Not only that, but they played my "must play" song there!! He said "We're going to play a song that means a lot to us - not because it's a great song, because it really isn't that great of a song ("WHATEVER!!!!!" - me), but it means something to us. It's called The Scientiest." The audience errupted into screams and cheers, and they did this acoustic version that was just...... too amazing for words. Here it is, in it's entirety - with bgv's by me and Melissa. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYGRMHH_UFA - The Scientist

Their encore was Yellow, of course. Could it have been any more perfect? Only if they had played more songs! What they did play was incredible. It seriously way exceeded my expectations. They are officially one of my all time favorite bands now.

COLDPLAY

Holy crap it's tomorrow!!! I'm so excited. I keep listening to their music over and over again.



:D



So, I'm organizing today. I've been so lazy for the last few weeks, I can't even tell you. We have company coming for the holiday, so I've decided to take this opportunity to be very motivated to clean and organize! Poor Adam. I totally stress him out by waiting until the last minute to get things done. Hopefully I'll learn someday. It was surprisingly easy. Actually, it's really good that I'm doing this today because I've started bartering lessons with a few people and one of them is going to help me decorate my house!! I told Adam and he was like "Maybe you could spend some time organizing first..." Yikes!! Sorry babe! So, here I am, trying to get things in order before I play decorator. Oh, and thanks Melissa for helping me! I'll make sure to post some pictures of our project as it unfolds. :)

Moving Day

My brother moved in with us the weekend! We're excited to have him live with us again. He's a lot of fun - especially to watch tv shows with. He's my Lost nerd buddy. Adam loves Lost, but he doesn't get into all the "nerdy" stuff with me, and Scott and I can theorize all day long about it!! Also, Scott is a great person for Adam to discuss work with. I listen really well, but Scott works with him, and can understand all of the ins and outs of the office. What will we do when he moves out????

In order to accomodate him, Adam and I decided it was time for us to share an office. (Queue Twilight Zone music). I moved into his office, and we made my old office our spare bedroom - which is also conveniently the junk room at the moment. It's fun being with Adam!!! We have our desks facing eachother, so we can make eyes at eachother and kick things back and forth underneath the desk. Since both of us live most of our evenings at our computers, it's fun to be in the same room and to be able to have fun together. What were we thinking, having seperate offices??? We're crazy.

The moving process was elaborate, and it felt like we had our entire house in our living room at one point. We have it to the point now where everything looks good when the bedrooom door is closed. :) Now, for the real organizing!! Wish me luck!

Piano Fun & Goodness

I just started a Piano Team with some friends of mine! I'm so excited. The group I managed to pull together is made up of people who haven't played for a long time, and are eager to get back into it. We had our first rehearsal on Saturday, and it was so great. Everyone was rusty on sight-reading and it took us awhile, but we were able to make it through almost an entire song by the end of the rehearsal, which is pretty great! My goal is to have us play in our Spring concert. I'll have to let you all know when and where so that you can come cheer us on!

I will say it was affirming for me. I felt like I was playing with equals. We weren't the best readers, and had to ask about notation a few times - even technique questions - and it was tons of fun. We had lots of opportunities to laugh at ourselves and I hope everyone walked away feeling encouraged.

I'll have Adam take some video of our rehearsal in action next time so you can see our genius at work. :P

Our New President

If I learned anything over the last few years, it's that God is totally sovereign! I watched Him lead Obama to victory and see His sovereignty at work. Isn't is so great to know that He's totally in control, and that ultimately, none of this matters? No matter who won, God is still good. He's still on the throne. We still have a hope that nothing can take away from us.

I am so excited to pray for a President that I didn't vote for. As much as I don't want to see certain things happen to our country, I am looking forward to the things that God is going to do. It's also such a blessing to know that, though we can't find perfection here, God has provided a home for us that will end all suffering. Suffering is a reality here... good and bad leaders will always be a part of our time here... and yet, God is good through it all. Obama may turn out to be an amazing leader for our country - just what we need during this time. God may have other plans for this nation, and I'm excited to see how He works in our leaders, and through the citizens.

I will say that this whole election has prompted me to vote in a way that I don't think I would've voted before. I found myself voting for local politicians that more represented my views, rather than going with one of two major parties. I enjoyed casting a vote for someone that I felt would help to take the government out of our daily lives and put power back in the hands of the people. I also enjoyed helping a more conservative candidate win this "swing state" - even though he may not have fully represented my views. The voting process is amazing and, while I don't love the outcome, I'm grateful that we have a choice at all, and again, God is working mightily and it's wonderful to watch.