Last night I treated myself to a ticket to go see Wolfmother at Stubb's BBQ and it was better than the first time I saw them there back in 2007.
Talk about full on rock assault from beginning to end! With the exception of a few slower songs and even a cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", this show was not for the faint of heart. They managed to mix new tracks from "Cosmic Egg" (their newest endeavor that just came out this past Tuesday) with crowd favorites from their first album "Wolfmother". The band seemed to be really enjoying the crowd...singer Andrew Stockdale defined the term "front man" last night, leading the crowd in chants, arm waving & clapping.
I was really in the mood for this type of show too. After enjoying so much music from this year's ACL festival I just wanted to keep the rock coming. I don't have the set list, but will keep on the lookout for it and post it when I can find it.
Thank you to all the people who were around me last night rocking out just as hard as I was...it was a sea of arms flailing, fists pumping, head banging and overall joy. What a treat! If you get the chance to see them, I highly recommend it.
Here is a list of their upcoming shows:
October 31 2009 – Voodoo Fest 2009 – New Orleans, LA November 2 2009 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA November 3 2009 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC November 4 2009 – 9:30 Club – Washington, D.C. November 6 2009 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA November 7 2009 – The House of Blues – Boston, MA November 8 2009 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY November 11 2009 – Kool Haus – Toronto, ONT November 12 2009 – Clutch Cargo – Pontiac, MI November 13 2009 – Riviera Theater – Chicago, IL November 14 2009 – State Theater – Minneapolis, MN November 15 2009 – Ogden Theater – Denver, CO November 16 2009 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA November 17 2009 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT November 19 2009 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR November 20 2009 – Paramount Theater – Seattle, WA November 21 2009 – Queen Elizabeth Theater – Vancouver, BC November 22 2009 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA November 23 2009 – The Wiltern Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Another new feature to tastyjewelry.com is my limited edition offerings. These will come randomly & sporadically so keep an eye on the front page of the website & the blog!
The first one is this super cute silver cube necklace. Made from silver plated cube beads & strung onto 16" of delicate sterling silver chain, at only $38 its a steal. Super mod, super cute & super limited. Only 5 available!!!!
I'd like to introduce a new feature to my website and that is the "Tasty Treat" of the week. Each week (from now until Christmas) I will be selecting an item and showing it a little extra love.
What does that mean for you? Well, 25% off of said item PLUS a free gift with every purchase! It's a great way to start collecting pieces for yourself or grabbing fabulous gifts for others. Now does that sound delicious or what?
So onto the "Tasty Treat" for this week ••• October 25th - October 31st:
They are hoop ring earrings that feature a mod printed acrylic disc in the center. Originally $18, the "tasty treat" price is only $13.50. With 60 different graphics to choose from you shouldn't have too much trouble finding at least a few pairs that you can't live without!
So keep checking back each week to see if your favorite item has become the next "Tasty Treat".
It's been quite a week for me. I've been in this sort of reflective mood due to the fact that I've been going through my life's possessions trying to sort through what I want to keep & what I need to keep. Two very different things!
I keep finding these things that I have collected and now need to decide if they "make the cut" so to speak. Most of it is really just junk, I know that, but these are the things that make your house your home. Little touches with a certain "flair" that seem to say something about you or your personality. Those are the things that I really want to keep.
Take these crazy women, my friend Victor gave them to me years ago for my birthday and I just love them. They came as a set of seven. I don't know where he got them or what they are supposed to be, other than mod, cool & fashionable, which I hope is why he got them for me.
So tomorrow I am having a garage sale that will feature glimpses into my past life. It's always a little weird seeing your "worldly possessions" leaving in the hands of a stranger for a few dollars, but sometimes the feeling of letting go is truly priceless.
I Told You I Was Freaky is the second studio album by New Zealand folk parody duo Flight of the Conchords. It will feature 13 songs. The CD will feature 1 sticker and 4 badges. It will also feature a lyric book with not only the lyrics, but the chords to each song as well. One of the songs (as of yet unannounced) from this album will be released as part of a downloadable track pack for the video game, Rock Band.
I love these guys...so smart, witty, and put a smile on my face every time I listen to them.
Last night was the 20th annual La Dolce Vita Food & Wine festival put on by the Austin Museum of Art. You may remember that I was recently contacted by my friend Justin to create commemorative wine charm sets for this event, and in return I received complimentary entrance into the event.
I should start by saying that the weather was phenomenal. It was hot earlier in the day, but around 5 pm a cool front moved in and made the night so beautiful! I had invited my friend Marlayna to come with me since she is starting a business that caters to women traveling to Italy plus she shares the same passion for cooking, food & wine as I do.
The event was set up so beautifully, the driveway of Laguna Gloria was lined with about 70 booths of both food & wine so to say that the offerings were plentiful would be an understatement. It seemed like almost every type of cuisine was represented, with Italian being the main focus.
From Primizie Osteria: A bite of rigatoni with a meatball and marinara garnished with a cherry tomato & fresh basil leaf. So succulent and super tasty.
They also had the most beautiful array of local roasted vegetables too.
From Moonshine Grill: A "corn dog" shrimp - which might sound crazy, but it was more like crazy good! A tender shrimp wrapped in corn dog batter & fried, then garnished with a sweet honey mustard.
From Bess Bistro: We had a lovely lamb lollipop with a rosemary glaze over truffle scented polenta. I was too busy eating that one to take a photo...sorry.
Onward to Canolli Joe's where they had grilled filet mignon over gorgonzola mashed potatoes. The meat was cooked to perfection and the potatoes were absolute heaven!
At this point the sun was going down a bit and the people were getting a little tight, so taking photos became a little more difficult. But for certain items I just had to get a snap.
From NoRTH Modern Italian: Braised beef short ribs over creamy white corn polenta.
From Taj Palace: Curried chick peas with a potato cake. Super flavorful!
From The Carillon: Hamachi crudo with roast hazelnuts, celery & currants. This was hands down my favorite bite of the evening. Clear, clean & fresh flavors met with a perfect balance of textures. Simply amazing. I met Chef Josh Knotts Watkins and am now a huge fan.
Wine kept flowing and the crowds got much bigger...it seemed as if everyone was in some sort of food-induced euphoria. Or it could have been the wine. Thanks to Twin Liquors for that!
My favorite dessert of the evening were the profiteroles from Andiamo Ristorante. A beautiful puff pastry filled with custard then enveloped in luscious chocolate. It was truly a melt-in-your-mouth experience. It was the only place that I went back for seconds. :) Sorry my pic is a bit blurry since it was so dark outside.
After walking around devouring all of these goodies we went to take a look at the wine glasses that were up for auction along with my wine charms. Marlayna had noticed that my name was on the poster listing the artists. Nice...
Here is one of the sets up for auction by artist Jane Schweppe:
and what was left of my wine charms... :)
DJ Manny was spinning for the rest of the evening as people were in search of the last bites. Texas Coffee Traders were busy serving hot chocolate, espresso & capuccinos while they offered rock candy stir sticks & glow bracelets. It was a lovely end to a most wonderful evening. My only regret is to not to have attended in previous years.
I just thought I'd share some pictures of what I'm working on right now. I often forget to just take a few snaps as I'm working, so here I am in my studio today coming up with new shapes.
I'm listening to 80's music via the "Duran Duran" station on last.fm today. I really love 80's music; the good electronic stuff like ABC, The Human League, Berlin, Alphaville etc. certainly never the hair bands (like Poison etc...blech!) I mean, I sit here anywhere between 9 - 13 hours so I need something to keep me going. These songs are completely taking me back to high school & college. When times were certainly easier & I had hopes & dreams for my future.
I'll try to remember to post more pics of my daily goings-on. I do so much that I should just start snapping all the different facets of what I do in a week. I think most people would be surprised at just how many hats a small business owner wears. Crazy.
Well, gotta get back to my music, uh, I mean work....
So as I'm going through my stuff today deciding what to keep, sell, get rid of etc. I ran across my badge collection from the 80's. I know I had WAY more than this, but somehow these are the only ones that seemed to make it all these years...
I remember wearing these on this really cool white coat that I had...then on my men's blazers. And now all that same fashion is back again.
cheers! xo diane
p.s. Hey T, I knew I still had that England one. Jealous? ;)
So my brother was cast in the current production of "Ragtime" the musical on Broadway and I couldn't be more excited. He's playing Tateh. Here's a picture from broadway.com:
A father-daughter shot of Robert Petkoff (Tateh) and Sarah Rosenthal (The Little Girl).
I think he looks quite handsome.... I can't wait to see it!
I ran into my friend Ryan today and we chatted about our recent experiences at ACL. Seeing him again prompted me to post this video from his band Crash Gallery. I think they are really great. Ryan is the vocalist. It reminds me of a lot of the music that I've been listening to over at last.fm lately.
By the way, if you like what you hear they are playing with Lions at The Mohawk next Friday October 16th on the outside stage. I think I'll be there...
After all of that crazy work last week to get my new booth displays made I thought I might share some pictures with you.
Here's the whole thing set up in my living room as I was working on it.
I really didn't have to change anything when I got outside. I was a bit worried that some of the displays might be a bit light and would blow over in the wind, but with a little clear packing tape strategically placed, I didn't have any problems at all.
I made the table cloth myself out of some white vinyl. It worked out perfectly and I think gives the whole table a clean & professional look. All the other displays I made myself and just gave them an updated look with some white lacquer.
I think the effort was well worth it. I really enjoyed challenging myself, yet again, to keep updating and making Tasty Jewelry bigger and better than ever.
Today it was supposed to rain...and it didn't. Yay! (I wonder how much weathermen get paid, because I'd like a piece of that action.) And even though it didn't rain today, the effects of yesterday's continuous onslaught were felt by EVERYONE by way of 5" deep mud...everywhere! It was so slippery I'm surprised that more people didn't fall.
Here are my shoes after being there for 15 minutes.
I started off seeing the B-52s today. Classic, retro and just plain fun. They sounded great, looked great and had a huge crowd too.
I was really looking forward to my next band White Lies who are from London. I recently became aware of this band through my friend Tim. (who incidentally has brilliant taste in music) I was so excited that they were playing ACL and they blew me away! Definitely one of my favorite new bands of 2009.
...and later I got a chance to meet them and chat a bit about their tour with Kings of Leon. They are definitely a band to watch out for...plus they are really sweet.
Arctic Monkeys were next and I hate to say it, but were kinda blah. Just sort of got up there and played...not a lot of energy or excitement. The crowd up front seemed to get into it, but you have to figure they are the real die hard fans, so I'm glad at least they liked it. Now, don't get me wrong, I really like this band normally, I was just a bit disappointed in their live act.
So next was Passion Pit, but I was in need of some major change of clothes so I decided to dash home, take a quick shower and then return...so I missed them. I did get to hear them play as I was walking back which was very cool.
Next up was Girl Talk. Now I've never heard of this band & didn't know anything about what I was about to witness. But as I moved towards the area of the stage realized that a TON of other people must have known, so I figured I was in for a treat.
First off, Girl Talk is a one man DJ operation, with just a table on stage featuring his equipment. But don't let that fool you. As he took the stage the audience in the front erupted, and as the music started so did the thumping, dancing and jumping up & down. I had never really seen anything like it ever. He was mixing hip hop, with 80's tunes, R & B with pop music. It was insane. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that there were at least 40,000 people in attendance of that show.
Here's the best shot I could get from where I was...
Now this was after he allowed like 50 kids on stage to dance with him the entire time. It looked like so much fun!!!
I decided to head over to see where I could post up for Pearl Jam who were this year's headliners. By the time I got over to that side of the park it was mostly full. Now I could have walked myself through the thick mud & muck in the dark to get closer, but I decided that after 3 days of music, I was happy where I was. Unfortunately once they started the sound was not good. I figured that I could hear it better from outside the park, so after about 4 - 5 songs I decided to make my trek home. They sounded great and how cool that they were back on the road and made time for little 'ole Austin. ;)
All in all, this was such a fantastic ACL festival for me. I got a chance to really just meander and see what I wanted. I ran into several friends there so I had a chance to hang out with them too...I am tired, to say the least, but really inspired by all of the kindness of the people at this festival. It was nice to be a part of something so huge that happens here in Austin.
I would be crazy not to say thank you to my sister, Annie, for being so generous on my birthday this year and getting me my ticket. So big hugs & a HUGE thanks for making this event happen for me.
Today was one of the rainiest days I've ever seen. Not a crazy thunderstorm, winds whipping, crazy sideways rain type of days...but just the longest, most continuous, not stopping until it soaks everything & everyone type of rain. Through all of this thousands of people still enjoyed hanging out and listening to live music. I've never seen anything like it...like everyone rallied together and just dealt with it.
I had planned on seeing a few more bands than I did today, but the ones I wanted to see were all spread out time-wise. Which would have had me at the park from about 1pm - 10pm...just a little too long seeing as I still have lots of bands I want to see tomorrow.
So I saw Citizen Cope & Ghostland Observatory. I've seen both bands a few times, so I pretty much knew what to expect. Great music, solid performances and with Ghostland I even got a kick ass laser light show. Cool!
The rains came down steady before, during and after the hour long set by Cope. He played mostly songs I already knew with a few new ones peppered in. Alice Smith even joined him at the end to help with vocals. Nice.
I didn't take my phone or camera today, so this stock photo will have to do...
Ghostland Observatory, well, how on earth do you describe their awesomeness? Just very unique, electronic, dance, rock goodness. They hit the stage and didn't stop rocking for 90 minutes. I danced the entire time. At one point they even brought on the University of Texas marching band...a la circuit 1979 Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk". The crowd went wild. The laser show was great, they kept throwing out glow sticks & glow jewelry so everyone in the front was loaded with neon bling. It looked really cool.
Here is a pic of singer Aaron Behrens who is one amazing performer.
Tomorrow's line up for me: B-52's, White Lies, Arctic Monkeys, Passion Pit, The Dead Weather, (Girl Talk - maybe) & Pearl Jam. It's supposed to rain again all day tomorrow so I'm planning on fashioning a sassy outfit out of garbage bags. ;)
After Phoenix I walked back home to grab a bite to eat and to change into some jeans. Luckily the weather this year is much cooler than in previous years, so I thought I would take advantage of it.
The next band I went to see was Them Crooked Vultures. Now most people probably haven't heard of them since they don't have an album out yet and have only played a few shows. This is a band comprised of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss & others), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, & a little band called Nirvana) & John Paul Jones (uh, Led Zepplin ring a bell?)
So here are these three heavy hitters all doing what they do best and doing it well. The show started out gripping the crowd with tons of energy and never let go. I was pretty far back to start and since I'm somewhat vertically challenged was getting frustrated that I couldn't see much. This was such a unique & rare experience and well, since I'm the type of person that likes to seize the moment during times like these, I decided to work my way up a little closer. So smiling, and excusing myself politely got me pretty far...uh, actually all the way to the front! I really channeled my best friend Caroline (who couldn't be there with me) and feel like that was what made me go all the way up there.
I was so excited to be so close to such greatness. Dave Grohl was a blur of long dark hair and heavy hitting beats. Josh & John Paul were just rockin' it too. It seemed like such a surreal experience. I was about 20 feet from them! If I had a better camera my shots wouldn't have been so blurry...but I did get some pretty good ones. I just wanted to enjoy the show and not worry so much about grabbing a photo.
This one is for my friend Caroline:
The last show that I saw were the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Karen O. is by far one of the most expressive people I've ever watched on stage. She personifies coolness & creativity. A true pioneer... She was clad in a wildly printed body suit with amazing fish net stockings & accessorized with this cool neon orange fringe necklace, belt & wristband ensemble. Sometimes with a cool cape, sometimes with her signature zippered leather jacket...that girl sure does know how to work a microphone too. Just a force of energy and you could tell how much she loved doing it. She mentioned how much she loved Austin which is cool too.
I was pretty far back so the best pics I could get were on the jumbo tron. Here she is singing "Maps" which was heart-wrenching and so soulful you could feel her pain.
So its raining all day today...just a gentle, soft soaking type of rain that will make the experience all that more exciting. :)
Today I'll see: Mute Math, Citizen Cope, Mos Def, STS9, & Ghostland Observatory. At least that's the plan...it will be interesting to see how people deal with the rain. I'm just planning on wearing a poncho and toughing it out. We'll see how that goes.
Wow! I don't know if I have the words to describe how great the first day of the 2009 ACL festival was for me. There were several bands that I wanted to see, however, with the way my day went and with the timing of things I ended up three amazing shows today. I cannot begin to write about them all on one post...so here's part 1, band 1.
Phoenix: I got there about an hour early so that I could get a good spot. I was going to see The Walkmen, but realized that if I wanted to procure a sweet spot for Phoenix, I would have to just listen to them instead. No problem.
I was about 20 yards from the stage which was the perfect spot not to have to see over too many heads. :) They were about 3 songs in when the singer Thomas Mars stated that this was the biggest crowd they'd ever played for. You could tell by the look on the band's faces that they were amazed at the energy being thrown at them during each song. On the jumbo screens to the sides of the stage they would flash up shots of the crowd...I didn't realize how many people were there until I saw it for myself. I felt very fortunate to be standing where I was! My estimate would have to be about 25,000 people, and that is probably on the conservative side. Here's a bit of video so you could see them in action. (There is no sound because I took it from my digital camera, so sorry about that)
It was such a rush of energy...the music was great, the crowd was great and it started my whole festival experience off on a wonderful note.
Part 2: Them Crooked Vultures: Uh, front row? Why yes I was. More later....
So brilliant in this age of modern technology that the ACL festival has developed an iPhone application complete with syncing schedules, maps and more. God I love it!
It's been a few years since I've attended the ACL festival for the full 3 days and I'm so excited about it.
This is the first time I've attended it by myself, and I must say I'm pretty happy about that. I get to see who I want, when I want, without having to compromise my taste in music.
Tomorrow I am slated to see: The Walkmen, Phoenix, Them Crooked Vultures (and if you don't know who these guys are, step out from under your rock..think Foo Fighters meet Queens of the Stone Age meet Led Zepplin. omg) and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Kings of Leon are playing at the same time but I've already seen them and Karen O. is just the coolest, so I'd like to see her rock it out.
I'm actually the most excited about seeing Phoenix since I started listening to them I think they are très chouette.
There are tons of other shows going on tomorrow, but if I'm going to do this thing for 3 days I've got to pace myself. One of the greatest aspects that I might have left out is the fact that I live in the neighborhood of the festival. I mean like so close that I can hear the music if I open my windows. I get to actually walk there. I love that. It's quite awesome in the fact that the aggregate attendance from last year was 218,000 people. This event is nothing less than awesome.
So stay tuned...I will be taking photos and updating the blog as much as I can. If you follow me on twitter (username: tastydiane) then you will probably get more info than you care to...I just wonder how the reception will be out there. In the past, it's been not so great, but I will do my best to update as much as I can.
So, for now...I'm off to get my beauty rest so that I can rock out.
