Nightshade descends like a veil under the sail of my heart.

We will brainwash you.......

chichippi@aol.com — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 08:25:51 GMT

As part of the Seanhi [Sean+Dhani] street team, fourthtimeround and I bring you a brand new spankin' community devoted to our favorite boys: ohn0 - sorry if it's been killing your F-Lists. IT'S A GOOD CAUSE.

Hey guys! :D

[ Just dropping a line to invite you all to join...

ohn0

....the first Livejournal community dedicated to Dhani Harrison & Sean Lennon! ]

[ If you love either one of these boys, or both (a Seanhi)
you are free to discuss them and/or stalk them with us.
Just kid. But really...every LJ fandom community is kind of stalk-ish =]
So check us out!
And if you are interested, go right ahead and take the journey.
Or affiliate?
We'd love to have you! <3 ]

I'll be doing a proper post soon but pleeeaase join. Sean and Dhani are too cute to resist, seriously. ^___^

Finally... the Austin recap.

chichippi@aol.com — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 09:07:00 GMT

So... okay. I was majorly freaking out earlier. I PMed Sean late last night on his board telling him I thought we shared eye contact a couple of times during the show on Saturday. He's never responded to a PM on his board... lo and behold, I find this message in my PM box today:

Hoooly mother. Seriously, my hands were shaking LOL I was like, who the hell am I gonna call about this?! But I knew who - my friend Peggy from Sean's board who's been in contact with him for a lot longer than I have, and who graciously got me an autographed picture when she saw him in Baltimore! I'll be posting that in a short while ;) I'm going to be copying and pasting this recap onto Sean's board as well, but not this top part because I don't want to seem too fangirly... plus, Sean reads the board.

I'm sorry this took me so long to write up; I procrastinate at everything. So no, I didn't get meet Sean. Just as I predicted LOL Nevertheless, I've only been to a couple of serious concerts (Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera -don't laugh-, Lollapalooza '03, John Mayer, and now Sean), and seriously, this has been my favorite one. My mom and I took off at around 10 in the morning on Saturday - we did a total of 640 miles. We live really close to the Mexican border (in the Rio Grande Valley) so it's like a five hour drive. I've gone up by myself to San Antonio numerous times, which is on the way to Austin, but I've only been to Austin a couple of times. The original plan was that I was going to meet Sharon, my friend who lives there, but she had to bail at the last minute so I wasn't at all certain that I was going to go... but with major coaxing, my mom finally agreed to come with. My friend Peggy warned me that there were some tornado warnings so when the rain appeared, I wasn't surprised. Once we reached SA and Austin, it was all sun. We got there at around 4:30-5:00 - we left the hotel at around 7:45. We probably should have left earlier, since there was a long queue (as supporting act Kamila Thompson put it) once we got to The Parish. A lot of people behind me were antsy that the doors weren't opening at 8:00 - the tickets said 9:00 but on the ticket website the time as pushed back. In the end, the doors didn't open up until 9. These two women behind me kept yakking back and forth, mindlessly stressing out that Sean may have cancelled the show and that it was "bullshit" to wait this long. I really didn't care about the wait... the only thing that I was worried about was my shoes LOL I wore kind of a pump heel for the height advantage (I'm only 5'3, y'all). They were cute Mary Jane shoes though.

Anyway, so at 9 they finally let us in and I made my way to the front. Before that I did buy a shirt... I already have a white/pink Friendly Fire shirt but this one was brown/yellow. I wore it after the show <3. Now I realize I should have bought it after the show because when I got to the front, there was already like four or five rows formed. But I got in there and I managed to take some pretty good pics, IMO! The place was sold out. By the time Sean got on stage, which as around 11ish, it was a packed house. First up was Kamila Thompson - she was alright, and I've read Sean's blogs about her. Thankfully, she kept it short and then Women and Children were up. They were awesome. I took a picture of the lead singer... his voice kinda reminded me of Richard Ashcroft from the early Verve days. At the same time, I was wishing they would hurry up LOL This girl and her mom were standing right next to me and the girl said, 'This is the part I can't stand... waiting for the headline'. Could not agree more.

So at last Sean was up - he looked really cheery. I guess those days off did him good. He started off saying, 'Everytime I come here, I ask myself... why don't I live in Austin?!' We really cheered him for that. I even did, and I don't live there LOL And then he said, 'But we brought you the sun...' - meaning New York? You'll have to forgive me but I don't remember the order of the playlist. I know he covered all the Friendly Fire songs, including his new one, Smoke and Mirrors and lastly, Mystery Juice from Into the Sun. I think the first song was Spectacle; I could be wrong. I know the second one was Dead Meat 'cos it got a huge applause. I really dug the live version of Headlights - I basically made up my mind on the way over to Austin that it's my favorite track off Friendly Fire. I could never get tired of it. I thought about recording some of the songs but I only did a few seconds of Smoke and Mirrors... I decided to stop it midway through because the footage was really dark.

I sang to pretty much all the songs - I did that during Cirque du Soleil's LOVE too, but I tried to keep it down some XD Like I said, I thought he saw me in the audience so then I got really self-conscious about my singing along. The reason I think he did see me was the mom who was standing next to me - the first time we shared eye contact (I think) she looked over at me like, 'what was he looking at, you??' LOL Sooo, I dunno. I think the other time was during Mystery Juice - xxprettyinmetal, you know I was singing to the part when he goes 'Everyday I watch the TV shows/it's getting so I know the show's hosts/I DON'T BOAST' ! Another thing that didn't surprise me - Sean is so damned charming. I knew this from all the interviews he's done... but it was just so pleasant in person. I loved his in between songs banter. thharwood, you know what I'm talking about :3 He mentioned Israel again! He said that it was an amazing place and people should really consider it as somewhere nice to travel. He apologized to the audience saying he had to back out on the South by Southwest gig with Pete Townsend because he was so "fucked up" after the Europe tour, that if he had done that Austin gig he would have seriously cancelled the rest of the tour.

He mentioned some other artist that was performing the same night as him... ugh, I can't remember the name. He said he "outcoolled" him - maybe it was Kool Keith 'cos he said Dr. Octagon was his all-time favorite rap album. He also said he tried to buy a new guitar 'cos Austin is known for their great guitars, but he just zoned out walking the streets LOL He also added that he was drinking a bunch of Bourbon during his stay. Oh, and that The Parish was better than the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas, which he played the night before... that The Parish had better speakers ;P That was a nice dig 'cos I hate Dallas. Especially their basketball team. Sorry, got off on a tangent. Then someone yelled out, DO YOU SMOKE??? And he said, what do you think... he said he's really bad on pot though. LOL I remember reading that in an interview. He gets super paranoid - he said, 'I can't do pot... it's like I'll ask someone to put me in a closet, but put a blanket over me, and just leave me here...' XD Then he noticed these huge read 'orbs' above the audience (really it was just gigantic Chinese light fixtures) and said they looked like UFOs. He said he saw a UFO once... he was in a club and it was Paris Hilton. LOL That got major cheering from the audience. I snickered 'cos I knew about this pic:

UH HUH.

I noticed that he jammed a lot with Yuka on stage - like playing his guitar towards her. It was really sweet. He also said he'd love to play more electric guitar on stage, but somebody has to do the acoustic... to which some idiot replied, 'YEAH, WHERE'S GEORGE AT?!' Luckily, he didn't hear that. The girl next to me said, 'Are these people of AGE?' LOL Again, I concur. It was an all age thing. Oh yeah, someone shouted that it was their first time in Austin... Sean asked them, where are you from? They said San Antonio and someone else said Houston... and I was like puh-lease, that's like two hours away LOL I would have shouted out 'HARLINGEN' but I would have gotten crickets ;P So I guess that's it! I really enjoyed myself. :) The show was over at 1AM and I was getting kinda antsy about meeting him after... I know if I had gone with Sharon, I would have totally waited. But I was with my mom, and she was tired, and so was I... I had to go to the bathroom like a mother (LOL) and my feet were killing me. It was a standing room only thing. But there were benches on the sides of the walls. Oh well! I'm sorry, thharwood, that I didn't get to deliver your message... I was going over and over in my head about what I would say and I was totally going to include that. I had a feeling he would stay after 'cos after all, Austin's a chummy town... and now I leave you with a bunch of pictures, and the nice autograph my friend Peggy got for me. Before the show Peggy warned me not to use flash, but I couldn't help myself! Everyone else was doing it :[ Sean didn't say anything... I tried using the other non-flash options but the quality turned out like shit.

All in thumbnails:

The Parish, non flash

My mom!

The Parish, with flash

Lead singer of Women and Children

'Why don't I live in Austin?'

I love this picture, even though I suck at angles

Sean warms up the audience.

Sean said he had bad guitar karma :(

I would have taken more pictures of his solos but I wanted to savor the experience w/o the camera.

Hehe!

He looks so much like John here.

Drinkin' the Jesus juice.

More guitar woes.

Sean in the middle of a good story, prolly.

Sean leaves with a smile :)

The auto Peggy got for me in December:

<333

I bet you Sean replies, if at all, that he was mistaken - it was some hottie that he had seen LOL. Nevertheless, I'm still in luuuv ;D It's been like a 180 since all the MySpace drama I had with him LOL The older f-listers will know what I'm talkin' about.

At last, the LOVE recap

chichippi@aol.com — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 08:29:36 GMT

So yes, I'm back :] I wanted to post earlier but I wasn't ready to do the LOVE report yet. I haven't checked my F-List either, ack ... I'll probably be camping out at beatlepics, beatleicons, etc soon ^_~

I got back Friday afternoon - saw the show Thursday night. Just have to say, I can't wait to see it again :3 At least I can't wait for the DVD to come out. For all of us (except eppylover) who haven't seen the Beatles live, it's the next best thing. I did kind of a bad thing and tended to listen more to the audio than focus on the visual... so that's why my recap won't be so great LOL I seriously forgot some parts, but still, prepare yourself for a massive cut ;]

Cirque du Soleil's LOVE at the Mirage
July 13, 2006 - 7:30

Got to the Mirage hotel at around 6ish ... I wore a skirt and everything :P But I did bring a bag of extra clothes 'cos we were going to walk to the Venetian after the show and I had heels on ... I brought my black long-sleeve LOVE shirt that I had bought at the boutique the day before when we picked up our tickets. First off, there is a kick ass Beatles boutique... full of Beatles bags that I've seen on eBay, Beatlefest, etc - all their CDs (I was tempted to get the '1' CD 'cos I still don't have it) - song books, the Anthology book - a multitude of shirts ... I also got a White Album shirt :) Yellow Submarine notebooks, lunchboxes, mugs, all the stuff you can think of. They were playing Beatle songs constantly - I was totally in envy of the cashier ... what a kickass awesome job huh? She was wearing a sort of polyester rainbow shirt that I saw the cashiers at the concession stand wear the night of the show, too. They all gave out Cirque pins - I don't know how many I nicked (teehee) but if you want one, be sure to hollar quick :D

I took a bunch of pictures of everything outside the boutique - everything was so colorful. I won't be posting pics any time soon 'cos I didn't bring my cheapy weapy Hello Kitty digital camera and just had to buy a couple of 35mm cameras. If you go, don't get the pretzels at the concession stand: they suck, lol Esp the unsalted ones... they don't even give you cream cheese, just mustard. Mindless detail but still ;P

So they opened the doors right before 7 o'clock. We were in section 209, which was pretty close to the stage - stage wasn't very big compared to the other Cirque productions. I read the theater seats 2,000 people. When I was buying the tickets, I was adamant about not getting balcony seats but after arriving there, it's really not so bad ... balcony seats around the $99 dollar range. Ours were 125 each. The theater was so friggin cold. They had long horizontal screens with videos of clouds moving - everything was blue and very soothing. There were a few photographers taking pictures of families but they never got around to us... oh well :\ I don't think we were gonna buy them anyway. It was me, my mom and her good friend Linda. She knew some of the Beatles songs, not like my mom lol

The people who sat next to us... that was like a whole other story. It was this blonde couple with a surfer looking kid. But the dad was like kinda old, and his hair was long... it kinda looked fake lol But he was seriously into the show. My mom told me she saw him doing like air guitar solos XD But the thing that pissed me off was that he was singing loudly to the music - just him. Esp like during intimate songs like 'A Day in the Life' and 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' - I wanted to tell him, I want to hear John's voice, not yours >_< I think his family were put off by him 'cos they kept telling him to be quiet and when the show was over they just took off without him... he was so carefree, chatting to other audience members. He even went up to this guy who was sitting down and asked him if he could have his drink 'cos he really needed one and the guy was like, "No." Hahahaha.

So anyway, the show started at 7:30... and it's still all clouds around. It started off with just the vocals of 'Because' - it was beautiful. I hope that song isn't tainted for me anymore 'cos it was when it was used to end the Anthology :( So it was very slow moving and gentle like that... so I was like knocked out of my seat when they started off with the guitar solos from 'The End'. The director Dominic Champagne gave some great discriptions of the show on the Cirque website, so I'll be posting them in italics in concurrence with my recap:

LOVE SCENES: THE DIRECTOR’S VISION

Dominic Champagne, who directed and wrote the original concept for the show, explained his vision for LOVE: “I wanted to create a Beatles experience rather than a Beatles story, taking the audience on an emotional journey rather than a chronological one, exploring the landscapes and experiences that have marked the group's history.” Here’s his vision for each scene in the show:

Nowhere Land
The four Nowhere Men, Sgt. Pepper and The Fool take the stage and cross the metaphoric threshold into The Beatles world.

Because
Creating a portrait reminiscent of the ports of Liverpool, sailors climb dramatically on ropes toward the Heavens. The a cappella voices of John, Paul and George pave their ascent. Each pull of the rope elevates the intensity of anticipation, foreshadowing The Beatles revival. Anchored at the other end of their lifelines is a scene from Savile Row. In an instant the sailors descend from their summits and raise the set, taking us from the place where it all began to The Beatles' final performance in 1969 atop the roofs of London.

Get Back
The bombastic pulse of the Abbey Road drum solo fast forwards the scene from Liverpool to The Beatles' farewell concert. An explosion of energy, light and color burst onto the stage powered by The Beatles' rock anthem, "Get Back." Nostalgia of the 1960s is juxtaposed with newfangled dance styles -- "House" and "Jacking" -- and an unusual bungee tête-a-tête, as the celebration barrels toward an unsuspecting conclusion.

Glass Onion
Marked by the ending strings from "Glass Onion," the festivities are brought to a startling finish and we flash back still further to the war years of The Beatles youth. The vibrancy and levity become shrouded by the grim realities of WWII that shaped the four boys' revolutionary attitudes and musical tastes. Sgt Pepper’s band is symbolically destroyed amid the chaos and devastation, and the grim landscape soon becomes a setting for change and renewal.

I've always loved the ending of Glass Onion. When they showed 'WWII: Liverpool' on the screen, these four little boys came out - I was like, aww... the Sgt. Pepper guy was really cool. This is how the beginning looked like:

Mirage Theater

Sgt. Pepper rising up

(A lot of stuff was going on below where that guy is standing - people knocking over bricks, Father McKenzie hassling the little kids, Eleanor Rigby slowly trudging along the stage)

The next part:

Eleanor Rigby
Depicting the resurrection and resilience of a post-war nation, Eleanor Rigby pulls the weight of her past through the rubble. Interpretation of key characters from The Beatles musical and historical narratives emerge including Father McKenzie, The Queen, Mr. Piggy, the Children of Liverpool and The Fool. Interwoven in this homage to The Beatles tragic heroine are hints of "Julia," "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "A Day in the Life."

I Am the Walrus
The fresh, enchanting presence of The Walrus glides onto the stage in a hypnotic hybrid of "Popping," "Waving" and "Boogaloo" dance. A creature of glamour and unbridled youth, he spreads his contagious energy and breathes new life into the stodgy world of the Old School English Establishment.

I wish I had pics of Eleanor and father McKenzie... in my program ($15) it has pictures of most of the scenes. Maybe I can scan some later... 'Julia' was dressed in red and swinging from above - in one part she's with a little boy in a bed - I'm supposing John - and they do re-create the car accident :( They don't play the full song of 'Julia' - just a bit of the guitar part.

I have to say right now - I enjoyed John's songs out of all the rest - I'd read in another review that his songs are tailor made for the Cirque shows, and it's so true. The ones that stand out in my mind were 'Being for the Benefit of Mister Kite', 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', 'Come Together', etc. And of course 'All You Need is Love' at the end.

Rock ’n’ Roll Run (I Want to Hold Your Hand / Drive My Car)
An upbeat "I Want to Hold Your Hand" followed by a medley of "Drive My Car", "What You’re Doing" and "The Word" signal the euphoric onslaught of Beatlemania. Crazed fans and screaming groupies bombard the stage in flurry of acrobatic activity. Teeter boards and trampoline beds launch the ensemble to new heights just as these early hits launched The Beatles to astronomical fame.

So yeah, they hardly did any of their early stuff. They did a full number of 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' with all these girls screaming out, and there was kind of a forgettable performance of Help! done on a skating ramp. I'll get to that part in a bit. I liked that they included 'What You're Doing', but I was hoping they'd do a medley of that song with 'I Don't Want to Spoil the Party' and 'Every Little Thing' 'cos I love those three songs on Beatles for Sale. To me they're very similar. George Martin said they didn't want to do the '1' CD, but honestly, they kinda did lol But I guess it's hard not to. As much as the early stuff was lacking, I would have liked more songs from the White Album. They did have the guitar part from Julia, the strings from Glass Onion, and Blackbird, but Blackbird was more like a skit... will get to that later. They also used the Paul part from 'Cry Baby Cry' - you know, 'can you take me back where I came from, can you take me back...'

They used the roaring screams from the '65 Shea Stadium concert to accompany I Want to Hold Your Hand - all the while I was thinking, oh no, did these bring bad memories for Paul and Ringo LOL I'm sure John and George would probably have been, oh no, not that again. ;) They had a bunch of pictures of JPGR on concert tickets during that whole performance.

Abbey Road
A collage of sound bytes create a fictionalized conversation between John, Paul, George and Ringo. Using The Beatles master tapes, Québecois comedian François Pérusse pieced together this intimate exchange, which is illustrated by the projection of shadow figures.

I loved this. They did it a few times in the show. I had already read it was going to happen at johnheartpaul, I believe, so I was like, 'ooh...' All I kept thinking was - I wonder what Paul, Ringo, Olivia, Dhani, etc think? Some of the stuff I'd recognized from the Anthology - they used a lot of clips from that. Not just from the interviews, but they also used the Anthology versions of 'A Day in the Life' and 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', and 'Strawberry Fields Forever' if I'm not mistaken... they used two versions of 'A Day in the Life' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. I'd printed out this Rolling Stone review that listed all the songs from the show in order, but it wasn't accurate to a Tee - will get to that bit later as well! ;) All thru the show I was like, ooh, that bit is from 'Within You Without You' mixed in with 'Blue Jay Way' or something... it was totally cool.

Gnik Nus/ Something
Introduced by "Sun King" played backwards, this sensual choreography shows how fleeting and fragile love can be. Set to the classic tune "Something," a young male solo dancer is tantalized by four women who fly in and out of his reach.

Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite
The topsy-turvy world of fame gone awry comes to life. Mr. Kite’s macabre circus is populated by a dizzying frenzy of nightmarish creatures and faceless characters. Indicative of the media frenzy and controversy that surrounded The Beatles during their meteoric rise to fame, the Russian Swing artist whirls and twirls high over the crowd performing 360-degree feats of aerial acrobatics. Excerpts from "Cry Baby Cry," sound effects from "Good Morning Good Morning," laughter from "Piggies," noises from "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" "Helter Skelter" and audio snippets of The Beatles joking around during recording sessions can be heard throughout this delirious mix.

Help!
Four extreme sports athletes take to the stage in this fast-paced, nail-biting number. The skaters take blading to the extreme, leaping 11-foot tall ramps -- and each other -- with a continuous barrage of flips, twists and jumps.

So that was Sun King backwards! I was like, WTH is that song? LOL Because it was just the vocal part. It sounded awesome though. I'm so glad they used that song, 'cos it's pretty overlooked - it's one of my favorites. I'd read some people cried during Something - I thought I would since I cry at anything, but I didn't - it was very moving though. There were these four women in white rigged up flying and whirling around this one guy. It was very aesthetically beautiful. I loved, loved Mr. Kite. It was freaky and I love that stuff. For the 'horse dances the waltz' they had this guy in skates with a horse head on chasing this one guy LOL Hehehe, I'm sure John would have loved that. I loved all those crazy noises from 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' - I was like, ooh that's that creepy part ^_^ And 'Helter Skelter' is immediately recognizeable.

Help! was OK ... it was mainly these four guys skating up on two ramps - one of the guys messed up twice... after he fell off the first time I was like, he's gonna do it again 'cos it's already in his mind and sure enough, he fell off again. Poor guy. Everyone talks about how 'Blackbird' is so out of place - well, I think Help! is worse. They were supposed to do 'Can't Buy Me Love' but I guess it was ditched...

Blackbird
In this comedic interpretation of The Beatles poetic lullaby "Black Bird," Dr. Robert vainly attempts to help four mangled, disenchanted black birds find their wings and take flight again.

Yesterday
Reminiscent melancholy rooted in the love that once was and the longing of what could be.

JAM Session
A lively repartee between the four band members. Created from the authentic recordings at Abbey Road Studios, the sound bytes evoke the presence of The Beatles within an intimate studio setting.

Blackbird wasn't that funny, but it was alright... I know Paul and George Martin didn't like it. In every Cirque show there has to be a bit of slapstick humor... that's what this was. "Doctor Robert" was speaking out the lyrics, so it's not like the song plays. Yesterday is alright ... I don't remember too much from it. I think there were a lot of women dancing around. I seem to recall blackbirds or doves flying on the screen. Loved the JAM session when they used their own voices, same as before. Definitely remember one part where they used George asking John, 'John, is this guitar in tune?' and John starts to sing a little diddy about being out of tune ^_^ I really liked those bits in the show.

Strawberry Fields
Assembled around a mysterious piano, Dr. Robert introduces the Nowhere Men to an unusual tea drinking ritual. This euphemistic stimulant launches them and the show itself on a psychedelic trip. The surreal "Strawberry Fields" is underscored in the closing stages by "Penny Lane," "In My Life," "Piggies" and "Hello Goodbye."

Parade
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band comes back to life in its full regalia in a moment of hallucinogenic hilarity. Continuing the experimental journey, the parade emerges reborn with instruments imbued with fantasy and whimsy.

Within You, Without You
Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream ... Here the children of Liverpool are taken on a wild ride atop a billowing bed sheet, a visual psychedelic stream, which envelops the audience, launching them on a magical journey. "Within You Without You" can be heard over the drums from "Tomorrow Never Knows."

I loved Strawberry Fields but I don't remember too much that was going on stage. I just seem to remember this red visual stuff going on the screen LOL I know they did use two different takes and mixed them together. Loved the transition from 'Tomorrow Never Knows' to 'Within You Without You' - it was very seemless. When that silky white sheet went overhead, everyone was like 'oooh'... it was very neat. Then when it flew off there were like these psychedelic colors projected on it, that it looked like a mushroom :)

I definitely enjoyed that part. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was probably my favorite, even though that guy was singing thru most of it!

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
The trip continues with the glittering daughter of the heavens, Lucy, soaring through the air in this aerial contortion number. Connecting with the earthy Fireman who keeps her aloft, Lucy lets her hair down and rejoices in this moment of exhaultation.

This was so awesome. After the bed sheet came off, the lights were turned off so it was pitch black... until all these lights started sparkling all over the place. It was very mesmerizing - the picture I'm about to post only has her on that ladder, but she was literally on one piece of rope doing all sorts of splits and twirling around...

Here's another one:

My mom noted that she was really tiny. I think they do this in every Cirque show... prolly not every single one, but I think I've seen it in Varekai and other shows. As I say, they really upped the ante with John's songs... they just seemed to have more production value.

Octopus’s Garden
The surreal voyage takes a plunge into the Octopus’s Garden, where marine creatures perform a slow-motion aquatic ballet.

Lady Madonna
Celebrating the strength, beauty and courage of motherhood, Lady Madonna dances with children at her feet. The dance ensemble performs high-energy "Gumboot" choreography. Accompanied by her rock 'n' roll lover, Sugar Plum Fairy, they celebrate love in all its joys and hardships.

Here Comes the Sun
This tranquil moment of enlightenment is the climax of the psychedelic trip, bridging Western values and Eastern culture. Four female artists perform aerial yoga in a garden of contemplative light, evoking the spiritual journey taken by The Beatles and their new-found state of consciousness.

This was probably part of the show where it was the most entertaining. I know a lot of people have enjoyed Octopus's Garden... it was a great transition from Lucy, since they were both performances that incorporated great uses of light.

My mom told me Lady Madonna was her favorite performance - at first it felt like something from Stomp! - in the trailer I'm gonna post at the end there's a long snippet from it. As with all the George songs used in the show, Here Comes the Sun was also very soothing. At the very end of the show I took a picture of the 'sun' that was way up in the ceiling - I wonder if it came out any good.

Come Together
Led by a Krishna-like figure, this sensual dance is an unbridled release of sexual energy, wrapped in a political statement of the times. It’s an exhibition of free love in rebellion of the accepted conventions of order.

Revolution / Back in the U.S.S.R.
In this energetic trampoline performance, long-haired free-spirits playfully attempt to tame and jostle the authorities with their daring, fast-paced acrobatics.

(Rehearsal photos)

While My Guitar Gently Weeps
A solo female dancer ponders the sad loneliness of unrequited love. She contemplates her past in a soulful dance under a rain of falling love letters.

Loved Come Together. Wish I had photos from it... I know Olivia wasn't so sure of the alternate track of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' from the Anthology, but I've always loved that version. She thought it was too short, so George Martin provided a score. Mainly it was a girl in white dancing all over the stage.

A Day in the Life
This somber yet whimsical tale features a dramatic aerial straps act and a poetic recounting of personal loss and eternal love.

This was awesome. They used flashing light for the crescendo which only helped the climax. Again, that guy kept singing the song >_< For the first part of the song, they used the first take from the Anthology, where John utters 'sugarplum fairy, sugarplum fairy' :) That must have been so cool for Paul and Ringo to listen to.

Hey Jude
Red poppy petals swirl as a symbol of remembrance. The consoling lyrics and soothing melody are a chant of reconciliation.

Sgt. Pepper (reprise)
In this explosion of joy, performers soar on latex tubes and Korean ropes as the entire cast revels in Beatlemania euphoria with the audience.

All You Need is Love
A montage of The Beatles projected on red Kabuki curtains that fills the audience with wonderful nostalgia and a message of LOVE.

I kept some of the petals! It was like something out of Concert for George. I also kept some of the red streamers from the ending :) It doesn't feel like a short show, but I think they could have kept going for another 30 minutes... it was from 7:30-9:00. Of course they had to do 'All You Need is Love' ^_^ That's when these images came up:

They ran a whole stream of different clips - everyone kept looking at the stage, but my eyes were just focused on that lol I didn't think it was going to end because I knew they were going to do 'She's Leaving Home' - I had read it in the Rolling Stone thing and had seen pictures from it ... so I guess they must have done a lot of tweaking before the official premiere. From my recap it kinda sounds like a lukewarm review - I'm not like a Cirque expert - I've just seen two on television, but I can already gather that it isn't as flashy as their previous shows. I was just like so enthralled by the music - I read they used like 6,000 speakers... during the show, I even said to myself, man, for $125, this is so worth it. They did some really, really wonderful stuff - mainly with the John and George songs, which was great for me 'cos they're my two favorite Beatles :D Octopus's Garden kinda stole the show too :) Here's a few trailer clips and a video of the official premiere:

Trailer

Rehearsals

"Reunion"

Yeah, so I know that was like a novel. But if you do have any questions, please ask :)

FRIENDS ONLY

chichippi@aol.com — Thu, 11 May 2006 18:07:33 GMT

Yup, finally caving in... I post about kinda personal things in here and I think it's about time I do this. Comment and that whole deal. Mostly likely I'll add you back if we have a few things in common :]