this is my escape.

Rockstar Mayhem Festival! 7/12/09

2009-07-15T17:50:46Z

Mayhem fest was AWESOME! I had soooooo much fun! I only put on sunscreen once & didn't tan nor burn! but i did inhale too much dust & coughed a lot. it was a small price to pay for such a good show!

of course that's not the best part. even though i missed the beginning i did get to see the bands i went for. i got to hang out w/friends as well even though i kept bouncing around from group to group. the 1st band i really got see was BLACK DAHLIA MURDER who i really wanted to see again after last year's Summer Slaughter Tour. my friends wanted to see them too & even dragged me up to the front of the crowd w/the mosh pit slamming into our backs! one friend picked me up so I could get a better view of the band! :-) after that was over i saw Trivium, where we ended up between 2 pits, and CANNIBAL CORPSE, who i've never seen but was looking forward to their performance; they didn't disappoint!!! my friend lfited me up again to get a good view of them, too! i took pics but cuz my phone's so small i can't tell how good the pics really are.

then we headed to the main stage where Bullet for My Valentine started. they were OK but i didn't really care for them. next was Killswitch Engage who most of my friends love. i got really into their set. when they did their cover of Holy Diver the whole crowd went crazy & many ppl went crowdsurfing! one friend went & his friend asked if i wanted to go, too, but i had a backpack & didn't wanna risk losing my phone either. after them, i went w/Jennifer to our seats to get ready for SLAYER!!! they didn't disappoint again & i rocked out to their set. i think they're the reason my ribs & neck hurt from moving to the music. after Slayer was MARILYN MANSON, who is the main reason i went to Mayhem fest. they played a few new songs, some Antichrist Superstar that they usually didn't play, but the set was WAY TOO FUCKING SHORT! i think it had to do w/time constraints; they started after 10 but ended by 11. i was highly disappointed that 1 of my favorite bands had such a short set. good time i had a wonderful time during the other performances.

Smashing Pumpkins concert 12/2/08

2008-12-05T06:33:16Z

i've never been to the Gibson Amphitheatre. i thot it'd be a lot bigger...& outdoors. oops. my mistake for dressing like i would be outside freezing my ass off.

i'll keep this as short as possible.

my mom borrowed my camera on Sun & i told her i needed it back for the concert. well, stupid me was too chicken to take pics or record songs. :P it came out really good for the Weezer concert but i remembered wanting to dance & sing all the damn time, making my vids a bit shaky & my voice being recorded in the background. i was w/my bf so that made up for it. my coworker got floor tix so i'll see if she got any good pics or vids.

1 vid i WISH i got was their performance of "Mayonaise" cuz 1) i LOVE that song & 2)Billy Corgan fucked up hahahahaha!!! about 2/3 of the way thru he did the solo part but let the audience sing one word. ONE. WORD. IN A NORMAL KEY (not too high or low pitched). & tho the audience sang it he sang it too...but choked & started coughing. ohhhh maaaan it was AWESOME.

i got 2 shirts...then realized i wanted another, even though i already spent $75. :P the shirts from the last tour were holy crap expensive so i hope that if any are left that they aren't too expensive.

i had a great night overall, but wasn't too happy about having to go to work early the next morn. but it was worth it.

The Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem/Wild Light Concert! 9/20/07

2007-09-30T08:34:10Z

this entry's super late but i had to write about this SUPER AWESOME concert!!!

i took Brandy w/me to see the band cuz we saw them together @ Coachella. there was sooooo much traffic but we got there in time to hear Wild Light perform. unfortunately, we didn't get to see them, but they sounded pretty good!

i hadn't eaten so we went to get something to eat. that's when i found out how super nice the Hollywood Bowl is. everyone HAS to go there @ least once in their life. i've never been to a venue that has wine bottles & (possibly plastic) glasses, sushi, snacks like cheese & crackers, little chocolate pyramids, & even beer in glass bottles! i was surprised by how fancy it was! i just got sushi & water, though what i really wanted was one of those chocolate pyramids!

we then went to find our seats which were surprisingly close! our view would've been excellent except for tall ppl blocking it! :P and everyone around us seemed to be drinking...@ least that's how it smelled! yuck!

when the lights dimmed, LCD Soundsystem came on. it was a lot of dance music + a big disco ball! for the most part they were really good but the music got repetitive a few times. it was quite energetic & got us pumped up for The Arcade Fire!

after LCD Soundsystem's set was over we went to the other side of the venue to look for merch. i hit a jackpot w/the wonderful items they had. i didn't really like any of the shirts but left w/ 2 posters (1 limited edition & 1 holographic Neon Bible!), a bag, & a jacket! i was excited to get the jacket since they had it in an adult xs which fit well! usually i can't find any jackets so this made me so very happy. i was wearing my Coachella hoodie so i let Brandy wear it since she had on a thin sweater & it was quite cold out! after paying for all my things we headed back to our seats to get ready for The Arcade Fire!!!!

THE ARCADE FIRE WAS AMAZING AND DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!! i knew every song they did & was able to sing along w/them! we tried taking pics w/our phones but it was hard w/the tall ppl in the way & some weird guy dancing all crazy! they started out w/many "upbeat" songs like "Keep the Car Running" and "Haiti," then went into a more solemn group of songs, such as "Intervention (one of my faves)," "My Body is a Cage," "Windowsill," and "Ocean of Noise." next, they went back to playing more energetic songs, including my faves from their cd Funeral, "Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)" and "Rebellion (Lies)"!!! it seemed like that was the end of the concert but they hadn't played "Wake Up" & i knew they had to play it! good thing we stayed, cuz they came back w/"The Well and the Lighthouse" aaaaaand....closed the night w/"Wake Up"! it was an excellent choice to end their set!

exiting the venue was easy, too, even tho we had to wait for a car behind us to move before we could leave. the drive home was quick as well! i didn't want the night to end but all good things must come to an end. now i look forward to the next Arcade Fire concert, as well as The Cure concert, which is also supposed to be @ the Hollywood Bowl!

Marilyn Manson/Slayer/Bleeding Through concert! 8/24/07

2007-08-30T02:24:32Z

i drove to VZW Amphitheatre w/ my friend/co-worker, Sam, & got there in good time (30 mins or less?) for a Fri afternoon! we met up w/Connie & Jonny & some other friends @ the venue. i didn't have time to loosen my boot laces, put on jewelry or makeup & got it all done upon arrival. i wanted to dress up so much for this show!

we spent a good amt of time in line waiting to get in when Bleeding Through started playing. the music sounded good from what i heard tho i would've liked to have seen the band, too. when we finally got inside we checked out the merch & some got more alcohol (the police were driving around telling ppl not to tailgate). some friends didn't have seat tix so we went up the lawn level (ugh!) to hang out w/them. after awhile Sam & i noticed we were the only ones sitting on the lawn cuz everyone else left! we got up to find them & then headed to our seats before Slayer started. Jonny disappeared early in the set, & Connie disappeared later. Sam & i don't care much for Slayer & i wanted to buy some things, so we left to the main level to get merch (i got me a tour shirt, a babydoll shirt, a tour poster, & a sticker. spent waaaay too much!) & get food & stop by the restrooom before Manson came on. we got back to our seats in time to see Slayer play about 3 songs before their set ended. then we just sat & waited til Manson came on...

Connie & Jonny came back before then but during the set Jonny disappeared again tho Connie stayed. Manson opened w/"If I Was Your Vampire" (no surprise there) & set the mood for a dark, angry night. i must admit i didn't know many of the new songs, & even though "Putting Holes in Happiness" was constantly played on my iPod, i still didn't know all the words! of course, i'm more of an "old school" fan anyways, so i wanted to hear the old shit, which Manson delivered. "Disposable Teens" took me back to high school, when it 1st came out & i was still a teenager! "Sweet Dreams" was performed, & towards the end Manson gave a shout out to the old school fans & played a part of "Lunchbox!" i wish they performed the whole song instead! "The Dope Show" was a given & i was surprised that "The Fight Song" & "Rock is Dead" were played, even though i know they are popular songs. i got really excited when they performed "Antichrist Superstar," me being someone who prefers the old school stuff. sadly, it was a sign that the show was almost over. after "Antichrist Superstar," they played "The Reflecting God," another very popular song. i don't remember it being performed the 1st time i saw them (which was Ozzfest '01 & i had a crappy view!!) so i was excited to hear it. i would've been pissed off had it not been performed! and, w/out surprise, the closing song was "The Beautiful People." i was sad they didn't play "Tourniquet," even though it made the greatest hits cd!

for some reason i felt like the show ended early & that there should've been more songs played, though all the hits were played. maybe it was all the new songs that were also played that made me feel that way, & that if i was more familiar w/those new songs i would've felt like i got my fill. despite that, i had a great time & felt sexy as fuck dressed up, something i don't do often! this was a great beginning to the series of concerts i'll be attending!

concerts concerts concerts!

2007-07-28T18:15:23Z

it's my 1st Sat. off from work in a looooooooooooooooong time & i'm grateful since i'm still sore from working Wed. & Thu. @ Perilous!

this morning The Cure tix went on sale to the public & i went online @ 10 AM to look for tix (tho i got 2 diff presale codes). the ones that kept coming up were too far back for my liking so i'm most likely gonna shell out big bucks (@ least $175 per ticket) to see them. i wanna be close, not like last time i saw them!

on a brighter note i found out thru email that Muse tix were also on presale yesterday but managed to get some seats @ their Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre concert. yay, no standing on the lawn! i spent just over $100 for both tix cuz of bastard convenience charges but oh well.

so far concerts i'm going to are:
Marilyn Manson/Slayer (Aug 24 @ VWA)
The Arcade Fire (Sep 20 @ Hollybowl Bowl)
Muse (Sep 21 @ VWA)

still need tix for The Cure! (Oct 14 @ Hollywood Bowl)

i'm excited & sad @ the same time (goodbye paychecks!) but it's gonna be well worth it! i guess i won't be going shopping much for awhile. :(

Best news in a long time!

2007-06-25T12:18:48Z

THE CURE IS GOING ON TOUR!!!

they are schedule to play the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 14. i am already looking forward to it! it's a Sunday so i should be able to go!!!

now back to my essay that hasn't been started but is due @ 8 A.M., which is why i'm awake right now! haven't gotten much rest @ all!!!! this good news isn't helping!!!!

i'm so happy i think i'm gonna cry...tears of happiness of course!!

Edit @ 3:49 P.M.: i also saw my friend, Johnny, who used to work @ Knott's! i thought he & his friends left before seeing me so i was sad..til i saw them after 9! i got some wonderfully nice hugs from him!

Static-X & Otep show! 6/12/07

2007-06-19T19:47:15Z

last Tues Jennie O & i went to HOB Anaheim to see Static-X & Otep! we got to Downtown Disney a lil after 7:30 but walked around & got something to eat instead of going straight to the venue.

when we got inside Invitro was playing. i liked them but we didn't catch the whole set. i may check them out later.

we each got a drink & headed to the floor to see Otep. we were all the way in the back near the bar & could barely see so we tried to move around til we could see something between the tall ppl. some ladies felt bad about moving in front of us but we were able to see around them. another guy let me take his space @ the bar after he got his drinks. ppl were pretty nice to us probably cuz we're short! Otep put on a great show like usual & it sucked not to be closer! the crowd was really into it! she put on a lot more masks to go w/the songs. a few new songs were played; too bad i can't find the cd (i don't even know if it's out)! they also did a cover of a Nirvana song tho i don't know the name of it. it was a short set but a great one!

after Otep's set i felt nauseous most likely cuz of my drink & the food i ate right before. i barely made it up the stairs & to the bathroom cuz i couldn't see where i was going & felt like my legs were gonna collapse under me. i actually made it to a stall before puking everything up. my stomach felt so bad that Static-X started playing while i was still in there. when i felt better & left it had been about 45 mins later! i don't think i should be ordering my own drink anymore. i should just take sips of other ppl's drinks.

i was able to catch most of Static-X's set & i was blown away! the music was fast & energetic! i felt better almost immediately! i thought i would be sitting down resting but i was up dancing! we stayed for the whole set & encores cuz it was so much fun!

after the very last song i got a Static-X shirt & we both got autographed posters. i wanted to get stickers but they just ran out before i got to the front of the line! boo! it was a fun nite & another memorable show. now i can't wait to see Marilyn Manson in August!!!

COACHELLA!!!!!

2007-05-01T04:31:01Z

Saw/heard/experienced the power of (faves in all caps):

Against Me!
THE ARCADE FIRE
Arctic Monkeys
Bjork
Circa Survive
Comedians of Comedy
The Coup
The Decemberists
Explosions in the Sky
INTERPOL
Kaiser Chiefs
Kings of Leon
Mando Diao
Manu Chao
Of Montreal
Peaches
Peter, Bjorn, and John
Placebo
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
Ratatat
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Regina Spektor
The Roots
Sonic Youth
Stephen Marley feat. Jr. Gong
Teddybears
Tokyo Police Club
Travis
VNV NATION
Willie Nelson

got to Indio from Santa Ana in about 2 hrs. the drive was better than i expected & because my friend, Brandy, & i left in the morning we didn't hit much traffic going in the parking lot.

the 1st act we saw was Comedians of Comedy. of the whole set we only heard part of Brian Posehn's & all of Patton Oswald's sets. it was funny nonetheless, but i wish we got to see the whole thing.

the 1st band we actually watched was Circa Survive. we have friends who like them & wanted to see what the hype was about. i enjoyed their set & will look into more of their stuff. i didn't expect to like them @ all so i was surprised!

we briefly heard Of Montreal & Arctic Monkeys though we didn't know who we were hearing @ first. @ that time we were buying merch. i got a black hoodie printed w/guitar picks that had the names of all the bands & a pin & sticker set. i only noticed once i got home that nite that some band names that printed on the pockets were blurred but none of the ones that i really like so it didn't matter much.

we also saw Peaches & listened to The Jesus and Mary Chain before waiting to see Interpol's set. they were excellent & Paul Banks was lookin' good!!! the only bad part was these dancing bitches behind me that kept hitting me w/their flailing arms. i don't mind ppl dancing but fuck, @ least be aware of the ppl around you. and apologize if you hit them.

Interpol was supposed to play til 10:20 pm but they ended a bit earlier. once they finished, we headed to the Outdoor Theatre to watch Sonic Youth, who were supposed to already be playing. however, as soon as we made our way over there they started.

the last set we saw was Bjork, though we only saw part of her set (i got it, she's different). we tried to leave early to try to beat traffic but unfortunately traffic beat us. it took almost 1 1/2 hrs to get outta there!!!! but eventually we got out & made it home to get some sleep before doing the same thing in a few hrs.

Brandy & i wanted to get there a bit earlier than the day before so we left for Indio about 1/2 hr earlier than Fri. we got slightly better parking & didn't have to wait in a long line to get in.

besides the music there were many different pieces of art around the field. we decided to check out the Perpetual Art Machine, an enclosed tent where they featured over 1000 videos from more than 600 artists from over 60 countries. ppl were able to choose what videos clips were shown. they were all quite interesting, though, of course, some were better than others. we saw 1 vid that shows a man licking what looking like a pussy about 3 times cuz ppl kept choosing it. there were a few that looked like old-school videos games & even 1 w/2 ladies dressed as nuns start touching themselves. the funniest one i saw had 2 boxing gloves w/faces talking to each other.

we listened a bit to Regina Spektor and Peter, Bjorn, & John before heading back to the merch place to buy more stuff. i got a Coachella shirt & a dress w/a design from last year's Coachella. it's black w/a long, white flower w/lilac tips. it ties in an interesting way on the way & it's BEAUTIFUL!!! i also picked up an Arcade Fire pin set & got shirts for Sergio, who was originally supposed to accompany me to all 3 days of Coachella.

one shirt Sergio wanted was a Decemberists shirt, so i wanted to see that band. their music seemed really mellow & made me sleepy, no thanks to the heat. i liked their music but probably not in that atmosphere. he also wanted a Kings of Leon shirt so i wanted to see them as well. they started playing on the Coachella Stage next to the Decemberists (who played the Outdoor Theatre) & were much louder than they were. i liked them a lot better, mainly because of the energy in their songs. the music was upbeat & perfect for the setting. even better was that The Arcade Fire was NEXT on the Coachella Stage.

after KOL finished, we pushed our way up to get closer. it was hot due to all the body heat & one girl passed out & needed to be carried out by her friend. i wish i had more water @ the time & finished what i had, trying to keep some space in front of me to get a cool breeze.

THE ARCADE FIRE BLEW MY MIND AWAY!!! I went crazy moving along to all the songs. i even cried during 2 songs i was so into them!! they went crazy, throwing cymbals on stands around, appearing to be fighting, & the lead singer was so into 1 song that he hit his microphone out of the stand but was quick to get it before it fell on the ground! during one of the last songs he went into the crowd, sweaty as heck but feelin' the love from everyone there. Brandy didn't really know about them but she really liked them, too.

when they were done, i had to get water so we pushed our way through the crazy crowd as ppl pushed forward. the next band to play on the Coachella Stage was Red Hot Chili Peppers but after seeing that girl pass out, her eyes open but not blinking, i had had enough of the body heat. i don't even like RHCP that much to be standing that close. we walked around the field awhile before RHCP started their set. the crowd was crazy & being so far back we could actually see the guys on stage so it was much better than standing up close & not seeing a damn thing!!

after their set we got hungry & decided to eat, even though it was almost 11 pm & we wanted to see The Rapture. instead, we just ate the whole time & listened to Tiesto, who played after RHCP on the Coachella Stage (i know RHCP were the headliners for Sat. but we don't know why they were on last).

knowing that traffic would be bad based on the previous day, we didn't even bother leaving early to try to get out. we got outta our parking space a lot faster but sat in the car longer. we were directed out a different exit from the day before, and not knowing what the fuck was going on, combined w/being tired from lack of sleep, heat, & having to drive, pissed me off. somehow we got home earlier than the day before, which was good since i had to get up even earlier to get to Coachella on Sunday. good thing i wasn't driving that day!

on Sunday Leahanna accompanied me to Coachella, which added to her already good weekend having turned 21 earlier that week. all day we were looking forward to hearing Rage Against the Machine. but Sunday's lineup had so many bands that i wanted to check out.

the groups we listened to were Mando Diao, the Feeling, The Coup, & Explosions in the Sky, all while sitting under a tent & resting. the 1st band we actually got up to watch was Against Me! & we really enjoyed them. the music was energetic & got us into the concert mood. after walking around the field, checking out different booths, we watched the Kaiser Chiefs. i wish we would've seen their whole set! then we went to the Coachella to see Willie Nelson. actually, Leahanna just wanted to see him alive. we watched him a bit before going to the Outdoor Theatre to watch Placebo. i don't know if i've ever heard any of their stuff but i enjoyed them. i'm gonna have to look into their music.

we went to get something to eat & ended up sitting under a tent across from the Mojave tent, where Lily Allen was playing. THAT WOMAN WAS DRIVING ME NUTS. she talked a bunch of nonsense like ppl cared. even a lady sitting @ our table was saying she needed to quit talking. then a familiar song came on & we all said "hey, i know that song. it sucks!!" i don't know who the other ppl were, but i got a free bag of Original Lays from them so i was happy.

we left to watch Air but for some reason the audio was EXTREMELY low & we couldn't hear much so we walk toward the Beer Garden (the 3rd of the 3 we visited during the day) between the Coachella Stage & Outdoor Theatre. even though i'd gone to Coachella the previous 2 days, & i looked @ the map a bunch of times, i didn't know that the Heineken Oasis (enclosed air-conditioned lounge) was in that specific garden. it had TV screens showing the band on the Coachella Stage (@ that time, Manu Chao) & puffy ottomans & sofas where many ppl were sleeping. the funniest part? the giant Heineken bottle! i had to take a pic w/that. i also got some of the paper Heineken fans i'd seen all day but didn't know where to them.

once we left the Heineken Oasis we went to the merch place to see what cds they had from the artists who played that day. when we realized most were gone, we went to the Virgin Megastore tent & bought cds. we then went to see Ratatat @ the Mojave tent before backtracking to the Gobi tent to check out a band called Teddybears. the guys were wearing teddy bear heads & the video showing behind them were of ppl w/a teddy bear head edited onto their faces!! sounds like a thing to get ppl to really like them but the music was good, too, & we ended up going back to the VM tent to get their cd. then we had to hurry back to the huge crowd @ the Coachella Stage to watch RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.

OH. MY. GOODNESS. RATM WAS AMAZING!!! i had been saving up my energy for them. i started headbanging like crazy to the songs!! everyone was so into it; there was no better crowd than that over the whole festival.

although i was enjoying RATM, i was gonna hate myself if i didn't go see VNV Nation, & am i ever so glad i did!!!! the music made me so happy & i started dancing like crazy...& i don't ever dance!!! though Leahanna left to watch RATM from a distance (VNV Nation played the Mojave tent) i stayed to dance til the end of the set. it made me sad that there weren't a lot of ppl there (the tent wasn't even half full) but i was also not surprised. when they finished i went to meet up w/Leahanna to go back to RATM, who were performing a song i really liked. by the time we got to the crowd, the song was ending, which also happened to be the end of their set. the crowd was still going crazy though many were heading towards the exit.

we got really good parking that day so we got out a LOT faster but because of crappy security control & moron pedestrians walking too close to the cars it took awhile to get out. we were getting pissed off & yelling @ ppl in our car. we eventually got to the freeway & the drive home was not too long. i got back around 3:30 am & had to get up around 9 am but it was worth it.

it was one of THE BEST weekends of my life. i'm already to see what next year's Coachella brings!!

exciting weekend coming up!!!!

2007-04-26T21:52:08Z

COACHELLA!!! ALL 3 DAYS!!!! weather's supposed in in the 90s but i'm taking a crapload of sunblock & drinking just as much water! i can't wait! i hope to finally have a good picture to replace the almost 2 yrs old 1 i have on myspace! haha

will update about Coachella sometime next week. gonna be too damn tired to update every night, i already know!

Muse concert!!!!

2007-04-12T22:22:07Z

it was 2 days ago, but i still wanna write about it.

the excitement for the concert starter around 5 pm when my friend from work, Brandy, called me saying she was already there. she went w/another friend, Adrian, whose fav. band is Muse. i haven't seen her since she quit @ the beginning of the year & i miss her so i told her i'd call when i got there.

i was supposed to go w/Sergio but he couldn't go so instead i took Connie w/me. we got there sometime after 7 & the show started @ 8. i didn't care about the opening band so it didn't matter what time we got there as long as we didn't miss Muse! when we finally got inside we got a cranberry vodka to share (i didn't think i could finish 1 on my own) & some nachos to eat, while i tried to contact Sergio to find out what shirt he wanted so that i could get it for him. reception was almost non-existant so we couldn't go anywhere w/out worrying about not having a signal. then i got a shirt for Sergio, 1 for me, & a sticker. then we got another cranberry vodka before finding our seats. not longer afterward, i felt the alcohol catching up to me & wanted to go to the bathroom before Muse started playing.

we were almost to the front of the bathroom when i heard Muse playing "Knights of Cydonia." some girl ran outta line to her seat but i had to pee. i don't really like that song anyway. about 5 mins later we got to our seats. the whole crowd was going crazy, dancing & singing along. the graphics were excellent & for one song they even had Brian Setzer playing trumpet (i won't be surprised if you don't know who that is)! the song i wanted to hear the whole night was Starlight. they sang it in a diff. key but it was still quite beautiful. towards the end the ppl backstage threw out huuuuuge white balloons filled w/confetti. only 1 made it to the next level up (where we were sitting) but most popped over the ppl on the floor area. they came back for 2 encores & played almost 2 hrs! it was a fun-filled night & i wish i could write more but it was 2 days ago & i was kinda buzzed!! hahahaha & we were both sleepy.

now i'm waiting for Coachella & whenever-the-fuck is the Marilyn Manson concert!!!!

1st post!...and why i created this journal

2007-01-24T08:46:31Z

i started this journal as a fresh start on my life. there have been many thoughts & actions going on as i move closer to graduation, which is planned for December. though it is a long time from now, i'm already thinking of what i want to do & how i want to live my life. fall '07 should be an easier semester - i'll only have 2 classes to complete @ CSUF & 1 @ Cerritos College, though more than likely i'll add more to my load. this year will be very busy for me, but i still must stay organized to keep my sanity. this journal will be my outlet to share w/ others as well as to myself when i think no one will listen or don't want anyone to listen (yes, i have MANY of those cases). so for those of you who will read my journal, i hope you enjoy the posts i make available to you. don't be afraid to tell me if i sound like i'm whining & bitching about nonsense.

thank you and have a great day