Events;
Ok, so I *have* been more than a comatose clump this past little while, it's just ... laze, I guess. I'm lazy.
My last day of work, (what, a week ago, I think?), I gave my boss the card, which she appreciated. But later that day, on a delivery, I ran into this guy I knew as a kid from California, a person I haven't seen for over 10 years. THAT's the weird part. I saw his name on the driver's tag and figured I'd ask him if he was from California. So basically, I re-introducted myself, gave him my email address, and we're going to see about hanging out before I leave for school (in just 8 days...).
Anyway, back at work, they got me a cake, with the words "Someone will be missed" on it. Ok, let me explain. Usually, whenever they'd say something like "someone needs to..." or "someone's going to ..." etc., I ended up doing it. Eventually, it just became this thing, where if I was around, I was the "someone" they were talking about. It wasn't so... I dunno, common? Frequent? Explicitly descriptive? as a nickname, but it was more a general understanding that I was the "someone." So they put that on my cake. It was pretty good (though no, not homemade, obviously). I turned in my uniform (which, since I've only ever had the one, it wasn't in the best condition anymore), and I've got my last paycheck to pick up on the 15th (by the way, happy birthday, Jenn. That's not your present, though).
Anyway, skip to Tuesday. I picked up my boss, her daughter, and Cortney. We parked on Bainbridge, took the ferry, and headed out to the line to wait for the concert. I think there were three people before Jenn and Erin, and we were just behind them.
The concert itself was *stinking* amazing. Sonata Arctica's part was, anyway. Nightwish's was... entertaining, but not nearly as insanely incredible. First, I have to comment, I've never *ever* heard Sonata mixed as well as that when performing live. On top of that, the vocals were dead on; I can't even think of a musical mistake on Tony's part (though, he mixed up some lyrics during White Pearl, Black Oceans, and even stopped briefly. I felt so bad for him). Tommy *I think* came in too early during part of the song too, but it was in such a way that it seemed almost like a percussive round with the rest of the instruments, so even though it was a mistake, it was cool in itself. Elias and Henrik didn't entertain so lively as they have in other shows, though I'm betting in part because the crowd was Nightwish's for sure, and most seemed completely unfamiliar with Sonata and even uninterested *sniff*. Tony, though, was amazing as always. My boss' daughter even asked if Tony was ok when he was singing "Draw Me," quite an emotional ballad. And O my word. My arms are *still* tired. I kept at least one of them up for about 98% of the time they were onstage, keeping beat, adding enthusiasm, or just being up there. I think I saw Tommy noticing, and he made eye contact when throwing his last stick after the show. Didn't get it, though. Elias also noticed when I was playing one of Henrik's keyboard solos in the air over my head. And... lemmie think. Tony noticed Jenn's hat, which had a huge Sonata logo on it, even pointed to it and smiled. I think Erin said he commented, but I don't remember. And of course, they played Vodka and what Jenn said was the Finnish sleeping song at the end.
Nightwish... well, I really think they just have a better promoter and better light shows. I think they were a little louder in the bass range, to the point that it seemed a little excessive to me (and yes, I like thunderous bass). Their music... well, they performed it well, though the stage presence wasn't nearly so crisp or insanely charismatic. Things to note, I did notice Tuomas mouthing with the boy's spoken parts (recorded) during "Poet and the Pendullum," when the boy says "In the year of our Lord, 2005, Tuomas was called..." etc. Um... like I said, the light show was really good, the crowd got into them, of course... O yeah! That one jerk that I mentioned in my blog about the last Nightwish show was there! O my word. Thankfully he wasn't close enough to us to interfere, but I would have not put up with that again. I did overhear him complaining about people in front of him, and motioning to the security to get them out of his way, basically. Security just refused. Multiple times. *smile* Annette sounded much better this time, too, though not nearly as good as Tony. Annette's stage presence was unfortunately, at times, tragic and still somewhat awkward. Now here's the thing; I kind of get Nightwish's um... style, I guess, but for some reason seeing Annette in the sort of dress she was wearing (girls, help me out here?), I don't think it was Annette's style. Nightwish's old singer, yes, but I would have felt more at ease and maybe more into it even if it fit better with her own style. I think she would have been able to use her personal charisma more that way, instead of trying to emulate some other charisma.
Well, I complain, but even Nightwish's was good. If I went to another show on this tour though, I'd rather just see Sonata (or even just Sonata doing a headliner show! that'd be awesome). That's the thing, and I completely agree with Jenn (who, I think was agreeing with me, but well, the important thing is we agree with each other): Sonata left us craving more, wanting to see them again, almost aching, I guess. Nightwish... well, they actually dulled the after concert 'high' for me a bit (no, not talking about drugs, obviously), and really, once seeing them was enough for this tour, and maybe next tour too, I dunno. That's what it boils down too, and tragically, Sonata wasn't with their own crowd, and so I know as amazingly as they did, the show could have been slightly better that way.
Anyway, I should also mention, I got my financial aid paperwork with offers including two grants and a subsidized student loan. I think with those and my scholarships, I should be covered this year. (and of course, I've already sent the paperwork back).
Edit: I should mention, the Serenity CD came today, and I've been listening to it. They are very good, and you should all check them out (the ones from Austria; the CD I got is called "Words Untold & Dreams Unlived"). Also, Cortney had her wisdom teeth taken out on Wednesday, so today she's feeling what's hopefully the worst of all of that.
And... like you probably read in Jenn's blog, we have been recording, and I've been thoroughly impressed by the sound quality and everything. I can't wait to finish all these songs...
Also, been practicing piano for the thing that I need to play at in about a week and a half. Have a brand new tuxedo for that, too.
My last day of work, (what, a week ago, I think?), I gave my boss the card, which she appreciated. But later that day, on a delivery, I ran into this guy I knew as a kid from California, a person I haven't seen for over 10 years. THAT's the weird part. I saw his name on the driver's tag and figured I'd ask him if he was from California. So basically, I re-introducted myself, gave him my email address, and we're going to see about hanging out before I leave for school (in just 8 days...).
Anyway, back at work, they got me a cake, with the words "Someone will be missed" on it. Ok, let me explain. Usually, whenever they'd say something like "someone needs to..." or "someone's going to ..." etc., I ended up doing it. Eventually, it just became this thing, where if I was around, I was the "someone" they were talking about. It wasn't so... I dunno, common? Frequent? Explicitly descriptive? as a nickname, but it was more a general understanding that I was the "someone." So they put that on my cake. It was pretty good (though no, not homemade, obviously). I turned in my uniform (which, since I've only ever had the one, it wasn't in the best condition anymore), and I've got my last paycheck to pick up on the 15th (by the way, happy birthday, Jenn. That's not your present, though).
Anyway, skip to Tuesday. I picked up my boss, her daughter, and Cortney. We parked on Bainbridge, took the ferry, and headed out to the line to wait for the concert. I think there were three people before Jenn and Erin, and we were just behind them.
The concert itself was *stinking* amazing. Sonata Arctica's part was, anyway. Nightwish's was... entertaining, but not nearly as insanely incredible. First, I have to comment, I've never *ever* heard Sonata mixed as well as that when performing live. On top of that, the vocals were dead on; I can't even think of a musical mistake on Tony's part (though, he mixed up some lyrics during White Pearl, Black Oceans, and even stopped briefly. I felt so bad for him). Tommy *I think* came in too early during part of the song too, but it was in such a way that it seemed almost like a percussive round with the rest of the instruments, so even though it was a mistake, it was cool in itself. Elias and Henrik didn't entertain so lively as they have in other shows, though I'm betting in part because the crowd was Nightwish's for sure, and most seemed completely unfamiliar with Sonata and even uninterested *sniff*. Tony, though, was amazing as always. My boss' daughter even asked if Tony was ok when he was singing "Draw Me," quite an emotional ballad. And O my word. My arms are *still* tired. I kept at least one of them up for about 98% of the time they were onstage, keeping beat, adding enthusiasm, or just being up there. I think I saw Tommy noticing, and he made eye contact when throwing his last stick after the show. Didn't get it, though. Elias also noticed when I was playing one of Henrik's keyboard solos in the air over my head. And... lemmie think. Tony noticed Jenn's hat, which had a huge Sonata logo on it, even pointed to it and smiled. I think Erin said he commented, but I don't remember. And of course, they played Vodka and what Jenn said was the Finnish sleeping song at the end.
Nightwish... well, I really think they just have a better promoter and better light shows. I think they were a little louder in the bass range, to the point that it seemed a little excessive to me (and yes, I like thunderous bass). Their music... well, they performed it well, though the stage presence wasn't nearly so crisp or insanely charismatic. Things to note, I did notice Tuomas mouthing with the boy's spoken parts (recorded) during "Poet and the Pendullum," when the boy says "In the year of our Lord, 2005, Tuomas was called..." etc. Um... like I said, the light show was really good, the crowd got into them, of course... O yeah! That one jerk that I mentioned in my blog about the last Nightwish show was there! O my word. Thankfully he wasn't close enough to us to interfere, but I would have not put up with that again. I did overhear him complaining about people in front of him, and motioning to the security to get them out of his way, basically. Security just refused. Multiple times. *smile* Annette sounded much better this time, too, though not nearly as good as Tony. Annette's stage presence was unfortunately, at times, tragic and still somewhat awkward. Now here's the thing; I kind of get Nightwish's um... style, I guess, but for some reason seeing Annette in the sort of dress she was wearing (girls, help me out here?), I don't think it was Annette's style. Nightwish's old singer, yes, but I would have felt more at ease and maybe more into it even if it fit better with her own style. I think she would have been able to use her personal charisma more that way, instead of trying to emulate some other charisma.
Well, I complain, but even Nightwish's was good. If I went to another show on this tour though, I'd rather just see Sonata (or even just Sonata doing a headliner show! that'd be awesome). That's the thing, and I completely agree with Jenn (who, I think was agreeing with me, but well, the important thing is we agree with each other): Sonata left us craving more, wanting to see them again, almost aching, I guess. Nightwish... well, they actually dulled the after concert 'high' for me a bit (no, not talking about drugs, obviously), and really, once seeing them was enough for this tour, and maybe next tour too, I dunno. That's what it boils down too, and tragically, Sonata wasn't with their own crowd, and so I know as amazingly as they did, the show could have been slightly better that way.
Anyway, I should also mention, I got my financial aid paperwork with offers including two grants and a subsidized student loan. I think with those and my scholarships, I should be covered this year. (and of course, I've already sent the paperwork back).
Edit: I should mention, the Serenity CD came today, and I've been listening to it. They are very good, and you should all check them out (the ones from Austria; the CD I got is called "Words Untold & Dreams Unlived"). Also, Cortney had her wisdom teeth taken out on Wednesday, so today she's feeling what's hopefully the worst of all of that.
And... like you probably read in Jenn's blog, we have been recording, and I've been thoroughly impressed by the sound quality and everything. I can't wait to finish all these songs...
Also, been practicing piano for the thing that I need to play at in about a week and a half. Have a brand new tuxedo for that, too.