Usher....

When I was thirteen, the only thing i wanted for Christmas were tickets to the Puff Daddy and the Family Concert. This was a big deal in my house. It meant that my best friend Paul and I would be downtown in San Antonio....at a concert with much older people...no adult supervision. I don't know how I convinced my parents, but i did, and i will always remember how excited Paul and i were for weeks before the concert. The list of performers consisted of: Puff Daddy, Mase, 112, Mary J. Blige and Usher. I remember Usher's performance the most because, he sang this really x-rated song, took off his shirt and poured water down his body.....and i have been a fan ever since.....

Fast forward 8 years...i have just started dating Kenneth, and we bond over the fact that we both love Usher's "Confessions"cd. Ken used to belt out all of his songs in the car. I should have known then that i really loved him...because Ken's voice is a mix between a howling dog and a drowning cat. Anyone who can sit through that is truly in love....

So when i heard that Usher was performing at House of Blues, I decided to surprise Kenneth with tickets. When i told him about it, the reaction was pretty lame.... his exact response was....

"Oh....okay.."

Really? This from the man that knows every word to every song from Usher's last album? He explains himself while standing in line to go into the concert.

"I mean Christina....i liked the "Confessions" album....but its not like i'm some big Usher fan. This concert is for girls...."

....and not twenty minutes later......who was singing to the top of their lungs? who's voice could be heard over everyone else??

Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly....here is a little clip i recorded of him performing my favorite Usher song...no shirtless water dance...but entertaining all the same....

A Tale of Two Concerts....

It was brought to my attention recently, that i attend concerts all the time. I guess i didnt really realize it until last night, when i did a tally. In just the past 2 years i have seen the Dixie Chicks, John Legend, Robin Thicke, Martin Sexton, Maroon 5, Erykah Badu (twice), Kanye West, Etta James, Tony Lucca, Jay Z, India Arie, Neeyo, Justin Timberlake, Franky Beverly and Maze, the Roots, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte and Alicia Keys. I have always thought my musical likes were very versatile, especially considering that list, but it wasn't until last weekend's concerts i attended that i realized just how much. First up, my Thursday night concert:

Yes, that's right... Jimmy Buffett. The guy is a legend and the concert was great. I truly enjoyed being wasted away in Margaritaville... a place i visit often. It was unreal, over 20 thousand people showed up with their hula skirts, tropical shirts and parrot hats. Well, i can check that off of my "things to do before you die" list.

Next concert, Saturday Night:

Montel Jordan.... THIS IS HOW WE DO IT!! Before he sang his signature song, his introduction went like this. " I am going to need your energy for this next song. When i am 65 years old, and singing in Vegas, i will STILL have to sing this song. Yes, I will have to sing this song, at every concert, for the rest of my life." Sorry Montel...at least people are still listening....

Up next:
Sisters with Voices, and yes they sure do! If you watched the recent BET Awards, you would have seen the medley that Alicia Keys did with many of the old R&B girl groups of the past, which included, SWV, Xscape and TLC. SWV was fabulous in concert. Seriously, Cocoa (the lead singer) had one of the most incredible voices I have ever heard. I never noticed before, but Cocoa is definitely the "Beyonce" of the group. She was the only one that sang lead, but with a voice like that, i see why. It totally brought me back to the 90's. I wanted to run home and make a mix tape! So now i ask, what special person made you "Weak" back in the day??

around the bend.....

My darling friend Adam and I knew we were BFF the day we both shared a love for ex-Disney Channel kid stars, (minus Britney) i.e. Justin T, Ryan Gosling, Kerri Russel, Fergie, Christina Aguilera....one day i asked him who his favorite artist was and he told me, Tony Lucca... (what?!) Don't you rememeber Tony?
I had a total crush on him as a child when i watched the Mickey Mouse Club religiously...( i am sure he cringes when people say that)... you always hear about kid stars trying to shake off the bubble gum image... and he certainly has... less clean cut abercrombie looking now....but he was cute and talented then, and he is cute and talented now!

To my suprise and delight Adam begins to tell me all about his albums, how great of an artist he is, and gives me his collection of music to listen to for myself.... i listened to it, and LOVED it...

He plays in Chicago a few times a year, and the last time he was here, in the midst of my wedding planning, i was not able to make the show.... So when he rolled into town this time, i made sure to make myself available....I am not kidding by saying that the CDs hardly do the guy justice...lucky for me, the day he came we got about 8 inches of snow(March in Chicago!), so though there were quite a few people there, we got a seat right up front to enjoy the show. I sat there with my friends smiling to myself because i enjoyed listening to him that much....it was one of those really intimate performances, where the music and the singing is so good, that it gives you goosebumps...

I think I am fan for life...

P.S. Is it just me, or do Adam and Tony sorta look alike?

Jigga What?

Last night, i had the opportunity to attend the "sold out in under a minute" jay-z american gangster concert. Needless to say, it was amazing. It was one of those things that you just HAVE to do if you are able. First of all, the house of blues chicago is the best venue to see a concert. There isn't a bad seat in the house, it is very intimate, and they sell less than 2,000 tickets, so the crowd is never too crowded or crazy. Of course, big names like jay-z always come with a large sticker price, but i couldn't put a price on seeing an artist who's music reminds me of my tender years through jr. high, high school, college... okay...his lyrics are not the most moral and ethically pleasing... but i don't think anyone can deny his lyric ability...the man doesn't ever write his lyrics down! He literally goes in a studio... makes up music and lyrics on the spot... remembers them... then makes another song....there is something quite genius about that..... As the concert progressed, his song selections vividly brought me back to so many different memories of my life... songs like:

"Big pimpin" (me and my older brother watching videos all day, summers in san antonio)

"Hard knock life" (heard for the first time while on the phone chatting with my biggest crush in high school, Brannon)

"Girls, Girls, Girls" (my all-time favorite jay-z song, heard countless times on a drive back to georgia, with micah, thanksgiving break, freshman year)

I can't do that with many artists... but he is definitely one of them....