it's not about geography or happenstance
Last week was the worst week I've ever had to endure, and I'm glad it's all over now. Tests, assignments, my grandmother's wake, self-inflicted mental torture... If it weren't for Rachael Yamagata's gig on Wednesday night, I don't know how I'd have gotten through the week.
I know I'm waaaaay behind on posting gifs, but I haven't even watched ep 13 of Fringe (but the spoilers were accurate, so I know what happened!), so I'm sorry to disappoint once again.. [edited at 2am: ALL CAUGHT UP. OMFG THIS SHOW ♥] My TV backlog is too massive (29 shows? wtf self) for me to even have time to make any gifs. Slowly, though. Also, this thing called school (priorities: I clearly has them) is sorta important, so time really isn't my friend right now :/
This was supposed to be a gif-only LJ, but I just have to x-post this from my other blog because seeing it everywhere makes me happy :') it's very tl;dr and mostly for my own squeeing purposes, so...yes. (embedded seven vids that I took, including two of new songs! ♥)
RACHAEL YAMAGATA
~SHE DESERVES SPARKLINESS~ 16 FEB '11. FOR THE THIRD TIME. SO. FREAKING. AMAZING :'))))
that it happened in the middle of the most horrible week I've ever had to endure is a blessing. the week still sucked, and I want to banish it from memory forever, except that I can't because if I did, Wednesday night wouldn't exist. and Wednesday night was magical. I don't use that word loosely; it really was special.
the seats I managed to snag were B23 and F1, so ineedflesh (MY RY GIG BUDDY!) and I were hoping to find someone to swap seats with, and thankfully we did! we made a new friend in F3: Aishah! :))) B23's the second row in the middle block, middle seat. awesome view:
but the recital studio's only a 245-seater, and the whole place was really tiny and intimate. I'd rather sit with a friend at a corner than be alone in the middle! this is the view from F2 where I sat in the end:
wasn't too bad, and it was easier to tweet the setlist + take videos throughout without being too conspicuous :x (though I think she looked back at our section a couple of times while I was recording a vid. I FELT SO GUILTY!, but I want need something to remember her amazing performances from that night.)
she started a bit after 7.30pm, and there were still empty seats! boo, you whores. HDU BE LATE FOR THE QUEEN'S CONCERT. lol I love how Rachael gently chided the latecomers. "Where have you guys been?! The best part's over!" hehehehe ♥
anyway, the first song of the night was an a cappella Elephants ♥ she stood at the mike and swayed and sang and it was just her and her voice and us in rapture. perfect start to the evening. then she sat down at the piano and played Be Be Your Love and Even So (one of my favourite RY songs!). I was tearing up at the latter because it's such a beautiful song, and the lyrics are so sad. and tbh, any little thing could've been a trigger that night. like I said, it's been a horrible week.
then she told us a story behind a song about how she turned down a potential threesome... omg lol. she doesn't want us to repeat her stories because she wants to remain "~dark and mysterious~" :P, but A THREESOME. LOLOLOL. and guess what the threesome song is?! UNDER MY SKIN. HOLY CRAP TROLOLO TAINTED FOREVAH. OH, RACHAEL. lyrics, for your convenient reinterpretation.
I hesitate to say I was bait for you
Could that be something that you all would do
I'd be lying if I did not say I wasn't intrigued
But timing is everything here
And for the moment the 'we' is reprieved
But as I watch the girl unfold before my eyes
I discover that I like her
Would you please get our from under my skin
'Cause I can't begin this yet
And I don't know what my intentions are
They're speaking in a different tongue
And deep inside I'm not as tough as I seem
But I won't let you know
Until it's right I'm gonna stay my distance
And you should go
I'm in the dance and it's a chance
But stay and watch awhile
I'll be singing a tune just for you with a smile
And maybe if I'm lucky
You'll tip your hat to me, and you'll discover
That you like her
Would you please get our from under my skin
'Cause I can't begin this yet
And I don't know what my intentions are
They're speaking in a different tongue
And deep inside I'm not as tough as I seem
But I won't let you know
Until it's right I'm gonna stay my distance
And you should go
Crazy as it all plays out
I think I'm lonelier than I've ever been before
'Cause I was so close
To going through that door
But I don't want to be to blame for them
I don't want to be to blameHEH.
next: What If I Leave, and a new song that I still don't know the title to :( then she picked up her guitar and sang Faster, and was all rock & roll (her words) and broke her pick! hahaha. a couple of people (with FRONT-ROW SEATS) came in just before she started this song, and she said the emotional part of the show was over, and it was time for the angsty stuff. lol I love her audience banter ♥
then it was back to the piano; she played an instrumental Elephants before launching into another new song: You Won't Let Me. she asked for requests, and I really wanted to hear I Want You, but I guess it's kinda difficult to play with all the French horns and miscellaneous sounds? someone requested 1963, and she said she's gonna have to learn it because it's a popular request. I hope she does! :D it's one of her few happy songs. man, she's depressing.
in the end she didn't play a request, but did a "weird version" of Worn Me Down instead. wasn't really weird.. just more like the EP version. then.. Duet! like the previous gig, sans Ray LaMontagne. and like the previous gig, tried to imitate Ray LaMontagne's low hum :P
another new song, Stick Around, which she said is "almost happy". (it kinda was!) then she played a cover (which I didn't recognise :x), and the hidden track The Only Fault (an audience request). she forgot part of the lyrics, and just kept re-singing it over and over again until she got it. "Way to kill the mood huh?" how endearing ♥
THEN. MY FAVOURITEST RY SONG OF ALL: SUNDAY AFTERNOON ♥♥♥! before she sang it she said it's a song that has all sorts of instruments in it to hide the fact that it's not that good a song. WHAT RUBBISH. I FOOKIN' LOVE IT. (though tbh, not the album version. I prefer the acoustic KCRW Studio version from 2005. that was the one I heard first, and fell in love with. the album version has too many bells and whistles imo.) she couldn't get a chord right during the song, and she just kept restrumming it over and over again! hahaha. I love the little hiccups during her shows :P
that was the "last song", but everyone knows she always does an encore ;) and oh man... The Reason Why. what a fucking perfect way to end the night. everyone sang along, and it was so beautiful :') couldn't have asked for a better last song. (oh, she didn't play Over & Over ))))): I really love that song, so it was a pity.)
it ended at around 9.15pm, and then we went to queue for autographs! we knew she'd stay to the very end; the past two gigs there were more than a thousand people and for the '09 gig we waited for four hours, so 245 people was nothing compared to that. we were near the end of the queue, and there was some queue cockup (as usual) which led to some bitching. but whatever, we wanted to be the last because then we wouldn't have to rush through the signing/photo-taking/chitchatting etc, so we happily let people cut our queue. ineedflesh and I managed to take a pic with her and her band the last time because we waited right til the end! :)))
occasionally she'd shout to the queue from the front (sounded mildly drunk; she had a glass of wine with her during the performance lol).. couldn't really make out what she shouted, but one of them was "THANK YOU FOR WAITING!" aww, such a sweetheart. ineedflesh and I killed time by having a major #TVWhore convo. we are SERIOUSLY such major #TVWhores. poor Aishah must've been super bored :x fun fact: Aishah's a hardcore K-pop fan and this is her first English gig! and what a good choice it was ;D
RY's 2007 Mosaic Festival gig was my first gig ever, and I'm so glad my cousin asked me to go. that was when I started listening to her music. I asked ineedflesh to go too, and now we've been #RYgigbuddies for all three concerts! :D I'm not a concert person, but I will pay any price for Rachael Yamagata ♥ she was my first, after all ;) lol we were kinda embarrassed at all the random RY trivia we know/remember :P
oh! random anecdotes from her during the gig -- she broke her jaw from falling off her bunk bed in her loft apartment in New York.. she was trying to call someone she shouldn't ;) and she was in the process of breaking up with someone on Valentine's Day! poor bb. when will love ever be hers? but then again, like she said, that's how she gets her inspiration, and how we get new music from her :P and this: "Someone propositioned me; he said 'My wife said for Valentine's Day I can make love to you.' I was like, 'That's cool but I didn't say you could!'" LOL WUT. people.
the police dude who was...policing the queue was being kinda ridic. I was standing near a restaurant's kitchen door, and he kept asking me to step away from it. I wanted to move forward so I could be with ineedflesh and Aishah, but no, he wanted me to move backward -.- and then when I was bored and playing with the retractable queue stand thingy, he told me to stop. DUUUUUUUDE. lol srsly! but surprisingly he didn't stop me when I charged my phone for a bit with a power point I found :P
so anyway, we waited about two hours in all; the queue barely moved because she's just the MOST obliging singer ever. she signs EVERYTHING and takes a million pictures and makes conversation with every fan. and it's not patronising comments either; she's genuinely interested in what you have to say, and makes you feel like you're the only girl fan in the world, even if it's just for those five precious minutes :') she was sick during her last two visits to Singapore, but she still stayed to the very end. such love for her fans ♥
it was finally our turn at about 11.30pm!
got our tickets signed...
this time I remembered to bring her EP!!! :'D
I stupidly forgot it the last time. she was surprised to see it :D (like she was when ineedflesh got it autographed two years ago!), and talked to us a bit about how they gave her the "clownish" blue eyeshadow to make her stand out etc. she said she doesn't know if she was trying to look metal or whatever, hahaha. it's definitely my fave cover! we told her that she looks different in every photo she takes, and it's true! (btw she's very freckly :D) and I love that she asked me how to spell my full name even though I told her just writing 'Viv' would be fine :)
also got her to sign my iPod again! :DDDDD
I'd wanted her to sign her name above the original (faded) autograph from two years ago, but she touched up the original instead! so I asked her to doodle something, and she drew that cat and the speech bubble that says "Feed me!" :D HOW ADORABLE IS THAT? ♥♥♥♥♥ now I'm handling my iPod verrrry gingerly because I don't want it to fade again! goodbye leather case, gonna get a new transparent case so I can protect it properly!
speaking of doodles, this is the one I doodled for her :)
(clearer scan?)
the roses were a last-minute addition as a belated Valentine's Day thing ;) oh man, she was SO sweet.. she said she'll put it up in her apartment :')
instax pics!
two hours of being in a queue = gross!face D: she squishes people when she takes photos ♥ so. utterly. personable! gah. totally spoil market for other artists lol. she said this is the first gig she's played in Singapore without a cold, so now we finally know how she really sounds like. hah. please, she sounded awesome the other two times too! I was kinda apologising for the amount of stuff I wanted her to sign, and she was like, "You guys have been waiting for so long; I'd give you my shoes if you wanted me to!" oh, Rachaelllllll.
sooooooooooo. all the stuff I got autographed! :))))))
three gigs and counting ♥ :) (why isn't my first ticket signed!!)
what an amazing experience. sigh. ineedflesh and I went into post-gig depression mode the last time, lol. too many things going on this week for me to lapse into that this time round, so I guess it's a good thing. spamming her songs won't help at all, because her songs are SO DEPRESSING D: in fact, I don't usually listen to her songs that much because they put me in a ~mood :/ I can't wait for her to put out a new album!!! she said she'll have something new by spring/in six months, and if she doesn't, she'll come into our living rooms and play for us :P I WISHHHHHH!
sigh sigh sigh. it was such a perfect night, and definitely something I will remember for a long time. she said she'll come back whenever Greenhorn Productions asks her to, so I hope they extend that invitation again soon!
SO yeah. Rachael Yamagata, goddess of my heart, favourite human being ever etc. Most people I know are like "Rachael wha-? Japanese ah?", so if anyone reading this loves her music too, OMG COMMENT-SQUEE PLZ.
Also, just for fun: FORMSPRING! Stupid questions, srs questions, nonsense comments, anything! Thinking of answers is a welcome distraction ♥
I know I'm waaaaay behind on posting gifs, but I haven't even watched ep 13 of Fringe (but the spoilers were accurate, so I know what happened!), so I'm sorry to disappoint once again.. [edited at 2am: ALL CAUGHT UP. OMFG THIS SHOW ♥] My TV backlog is too massive (29 shows? wtf self) for me to even have time to make any gifs. Slowly, though. Also, this thing called school (priorities: I clearly has them) is sorta important, so time really isn't my friend right now :/
This was supposed to be a gif-only LJ, but I just have to x-post this from my other blog because seeing it everywhere makes me happy :') it's very tl;dr and mostly for my own squeeing purposes, so...yes. (embedded seven vids that I took, including two of new songs! ♥)
RACHAEL YAMAGATA
~SHE DESERVES SPARKLINESS~ 16 FEB '11. FOR THE THIRD TIME. SO. FREAKING. AMAZING :'))))
that it happened in the middle of the most horrible week I've ever had to endure is a blessing. the week still sucked, and I want to banish it from memory forever, except that I can't because if I did, Wednesday night wouldn't exist. and Wednesday night was magical. I don't use that word loosely; it really was special.
the seats I managed to snag were B23 and F1, so ineedflesh (MY RY GIG BUDDY!) and I were hoping to find someone to swap seats with, and thankfully we did! we made a new friend in F3: Aishah! :))) B23's the second row in the middle block, middle seat. awesome view:
but the recital studio's only a 245-seater, and the whole place was really tiny and intimate. I'd rather sit with a friend at a corner than be alone in the middle! this is the view from F2 where I sat in the end:
wasn't too bad, and it was easier to tweet the setlist + take videos throughout without being too conspicuous :x (though I think she looked back at our section a couple of times while I was recording a vid. I FELT SO GUILTY!, but I want need something to remember her amazing performances from that night.)
she started a bit after 7.30pm, and there were still empty seats! boo, you whores. HDU BE LATE FOR THE QUEEN'S CONCERT. lol I love how Rachael gently chided the latecomers. "Where have you guys been?! The best part's over!" hehehehe ♥
anyway, the first song of the night was an a cappella Elephants ♥ she stood at the mike and swayed and sang and it was just her and her voice and us in rapture. perfect start to the evening. then she sat down at the piano and played Be Be Your Love and Even So (one of my favourite RY songs!). I was tearing up at the latter because it's such a beautiful song, and the lyrics are so sad. and tbh, any little thing could've been a trigger that night. like I said, it's been a horrible week.
Click to viewthen she told us a story behind a song about how she turned down a potential threesome... omg lol. she doesn't want us to repeat her stories because she wants to remain "~dark and mysterious~" :P, but A THREESOME. LOLOLOL. and guess what the threesome song is?! UNDER MY SKIN. HOLY CRAP TROLOLO TAINTED FOREVAH. OH, RACHAEL. lyrics, for your convenient reinterpretation.
I hesitate to say I was bait for you
Could that be something that you all would do
I'd be lying if I did not say I wasn't intrigued
But timing is everything here
And for the moment the 'we' is reprieved
But as I watch the girl unfold before my eyes
I discover that I like her
Would you please get our from under my skin
'Cause I can't begin this yet
And I don't know what my intentions are
They're speaking in a different tongue
And deep inside I'm not as tough as I seem
But I won't let you know
Until it's right I'm gonna stay my distance
And you should go
I'm in the dance and it's a chance
But stay and watch awhile
I'll be singing a tune just for you with a smile
And maybe if I'm lucky
You'll tip your hat to me, and you'll discover
That you like her
Would you please get our from under my skin
'Cause I can't begin this yet
And I don't know what my intentions are
They're speaking in a different tongue
And deep inside I'm not as tough as I seem
But I won't let you know
Until it's right I'm gonna stay my distance
And you should go
Crazy as it all plays out
I think I'm lonelier than I've ever been before
'Cause I was so close
To going through that door
But I don't want to be to blame for them
I don't want to be to blameHEH.
next: What If I Leave, and a new song that I still don't know the title to :( then she picked up her guitar and sang Faster, and was all rock & roll (her words) and broke her pick! hahaha. a couple of people (with FRONT-ROW SEATS) came in just before she started this song, and she said the emotional part of the show was over, and it was time for the angsty stuff. lol I love her audience banter ♥
then it was back to the piano; she played an instrumental Elephants before launching into another new song: You Won't Let Me. she asked for requests, and I really wanted to hear I Want You, but I guess it's kinda difficult to play with all the French horns and miscellaneous sounds? someone requested 1963, and she said she's gonna have to learn it because it's a popular request. I hope she does! :D it's one of her few happy songs. man, she's depressing.
in the end she didn't play a request, but did a "weird version" of Worn Me Down instead. wasn't really weird.. just more like the EP version. then.. Duet! like the previous gig, sans Ray LaMontagne. and like the previous gig, tried to imitate Ray LaMontagne's low hum :P
another new song, Stick Around, which she said is "almost happy". (it kinda was!) then she played a cover (which I didn't recognise :x), and the hidden track The Only Fault (an audience request). she forgot part of the lyrics, and just kept re-singing it over and over again until she got it. "Way to kill the mood huh?" how endearing ♥
THEN. MY FAVOURITEST RY SONG OF ALL: SUNDAY AFTERNOON ♥♥♥! before she sang it she said it's a song that has all sorts of instruments in it to hide the fact that it's not that good a song. WHAT RUBBISH. I FOOKIN' LOVE IT. (though tbh, not the album version. I prefer the acoustic KCRW Studio version from 2005. that was the one I heard first, and fell in love with. the album version has too many bells and whistles imo.) she couldn't get a chord right during the song, and she just kept restrumming it over and over again! hahaha. I love the little hiccups during her shows :P
that was the "last song", but everyone knows she always does an encore ;) and oh man... The Reason Why. what a fucking perfect way to end the night. everyone sang along, and it was so beautiful :') couldn't have asked for a better last song. (oh, she didn't play Over & Over ))))): I really love that song, so it was a pity.)
it ended at around 9.15pm, and then we went to queue for autographs! we knew she'd stay to the very end; the past two gigs there were more than a thousand people and for the '09 gig we waited for four hours, so 245 people was nothing compared to that. we were near the end of the queue, and there was some queue cockup (as usual) which led to some bitching. but whatever, we wanted to be the last because then we wouldn't have to rush through the signing/photo-taking/chitchatting etc, so we happily let people cut our queue. ineedflesh and I managed to take a pic with her and her band the last time because we waited right til the end! :)))
occasionally she'd shout to the queue from the front (sounded mildly drunk; she had a glass of wine with her during the performance lol).. couldn't really make out what she shouted, but one of them was "THANK YOU FOR WAITING!" aww, such a sweetheart. ineedflesh and I killed time by having a major #TVWhore convo. we are SERIOUSLY such major #TVWhores. poor Aishah must've been super bored :x fun fact: Aishah's a hardcore K-pop fan and this is her first English gig! and what a good choice it was ;D
RY's 2007 Mosaic Festival gig was my first gig ever, and I'm so glad my cousin asked me to go. that was when I started listening to her music. I asked ineedflesh to go too, and now we've been #RYgigbuddies for all three concerts! :D I'm not a concert person, but I will pay any price for Rachael Yamagata ♥ she was my first, after all ;) lol we were kinda embarrassed at all the random RY trivia we know/remember :P
oh! random anecdotes from her during the gig -- she broke her jaw from falling off her bunk bed in her loft apartment in New York.. she was trying to call someone she shouldn't ;) and she was in the process of breaking up with someone on Valentine's Day! poor bb. when will love ever be hers? but then again, like she said, that's how she gets her inspiration, and how we get new music from her :P and this: "Someone propositioned me; he said 'My wife said for Valentine's Day I can make love to you.' I was like, 'That's cool but I didn't say you could!'" LOL WUT. people.
the police dude who was...policing the queue was being kinda ridic. I was standing near a restaurant's kitchen door, and he kept asking me to step away from it. I wanted to move forward so I could be with ineedflesh and Aishah, but no, he wanted me to move backward -.- and then when I was bored and playing with the retractable queue stand thingy, he told me to stop. DUUUUUUUDE. lol srsly! but surprisingly he didn't stop me when I charged my phone for a bit with a power point I found :P
so anyway, we waited about two hours in all; the queue barely moved because she's just the MOST obliging singer ever. she signs EVERYTHING and takes a million pictures and makes conversation with every fan. and it's not patronising comments either; she's genuinely interested in what you have to say, and makes you feel like you're the only girl fan in the world, even if it's just for those five precious minutes :') she was sick during her last two visits to Singapore, but she still stayed to the very end. such love for her fans ♥
it was finally our turn at about 11.30pm!
got our tickets signed...
this time I remembered to bring her EP!!! :'D
I stupidly forgot it the last time. she was surprised to see it :D (like she was when ineedflesh got it autographed two years ago!), and talked to us a bit about how they gave her the "clownish" blue eyeshadow to make her stand out etc. she said she doesn't know if she was trying to look metal or whatever, hahaha. it's definitely my fave cover! we told her that she looks different in every photo she takes, and it's true! (btw she's very freckly :D) and I love that she asked me how to spell my full name even though I told her just writing 'Viv' would be fine :)
also got her to sign my iPod again! :DDDDD
I'd wanted her to sign her name above the original (faded) autograph from two years ago, but she touched up the original instead! so I asked her to doodle something, and she drew that cat and the speech bubble that says "Feed me!" :D HOW ADORABLE IS THAT? ♥♥♥♥♥ now I'm handling my iPod verrrry gingerly because I don't want it to fade again! goodbye leather case, gonna get a new transparent case so I can protect it properly!
speaking of doodles, this is the one I doodled for her :)
(clearer scan?)
the roses were a last-minute addition as a belated Valentine's Day thing ;) oh man, she was SO sweet.. she said she'll put it up in her apartment :')
instax pics!
two hours of being in a queue = gross!face D: she squishes people when she takes photos ♥ so. utterly. personable! gah. totally spoil market for other artists lol. she said this is the first gig she's played in Singapore without a cold, so now we finally know how she really sounds like. hah. please, she sounded awesome the other two times too! I was kinda apologising for the amount of stuff I wanted her to sign, and she was like, "You guys have been waiting for so long; I'd give you my shoes if you wanted me to!" oh, Rachaelllllll.
sooooooooooo. all the stuff I got autographed! :))))))
three gigs and counting ♥ :) (why isn't my first ticket signed!!)
what an amazing experience. sigh. ineedflesh and I went into post-gig depression mode the last time, lol. too many things going on this week for me to lapse into that this time round, so I guess it's a good thing. spamming her songs won't help at all, because her songs are SO DEPRESSING D: in fact, I don't usually listen to her songs that much because they put me in a ~mood :/ I can't wait for her to put out a new album!!! she said she'll have something new by spring/in six months, and if she doesn't, she'll come into our living rooms and play for us :P I WISHHHHHH!
sigh sigh sigh. it was such a perfect night, and definitely something I will remember for a long time. she said she'll come back whenever Greenhorn Productions asks her to, so I hope they extend that invitation again soon!
SO yeah. Rachael Yamagata, goddess of my heart, favourite human being ever etc. Most people I know are like "Rachael wha-? Japanese ah?", so if anyone reading this loves her music too, OMG COMMENT-SQUEE PLZ.
Also, just for fun: FORMSPRING! Stupid questions, srs questions, nonsense comments, anything! Thinking of answers is a welcome distraction ♥