Diana Reyes: August 2011

Who: Rage Against The Machine RATM, Muse, Rise Against, Lauryn Hill, Immortal Technique, and El Gran Silencio

What: EPIC CONCERT

When: Saturday, July 30, 2011

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Why: Because I needed it.

The reason why i'm blogging about this show so late- like 2 weeks is because i had to let the show sink in. i had never seen RATM play live before and was super stoked that i heard of this show! but a lot of people didnt know about it. i'd like to thank facebook for hearing about this. maybe goldenvoice wasnt working fast enough?

I've read several reviews and watched several snippets of the concert on youtube and can conclude that i really enjoyed the show. it brought together music i normally wouldnt have gone to see..... except RATM of course. and why am i giving my opinion on this show like a fucken LA TIMES critic you ask?... i dunno, because of my ego and i think im awesome and that i'm ALWAYS RIGHT. thats why. I made two super nerdy videos and put them up on youtube too. but my computer software is no bueno for making videos. too blurry. anyway. here are my opinions, and ill keep them simple, cuz' by now youre probably bored with this and youre gonna click away.... i wanna thank you though cuz' you could've been anywhere in the world wide web, but you're here with me- and i appreciate that*

ok so El Gran Silencio rocked it!!! they were good, never had i seen them. i even went last week to see them at SOHO a little bar in santa barbara. theyre great. although i have an issue with them cuz' theyre more of a cumbia band than a rock band? but thats a good thing. i like cumbias. i just wish that there wouldve been more people at the coliseum when they played so they could've experienced their awesomeness!!!!

Immortal Technique. Different breed of lads. (i never say lads- but it fits) theyre intense. good beats. different lyrics. and the front man, well he made me mad. but not in a bad way. he pointed our some things that i hadn't noticed before but are true... he went on about guys trying to tough but shouldn't chicken out when theres strangers touching little kids in public ark restrooms and relationships of women not telling their couple theyve been raped before and such. i like when he said that there are some politicians that claim to be hella religious but that he has never met a white dude named "Jesus" or "Mohammed" before. i had never thought about that. i know in many religious countries there are at least two people named after their messiah.... even "Maria" of "Guadalupe". huh . word. so they were good.

Lauryn Hill. i actually had to put on my earplugs. not that i dont like lauryn, but her sound was waaaaaay too loud. did they sound check? man. i like their vibe though how they kept it reggaeish. she played all her poplar songs. i read that a week before she had given birth to her 6th child. thats coo' props go out to her for that.... but i dont think she adressed the crowd at all. she didnt say thanks or anything. she just kinda got on stage- did her thing and walked off... oh and what was amazing to me was that even though her sound was extremely high, she kept telling the DJ to "turn it up!" over and over... im glad he didnt.

Rise Against- they were popular amongst the crowd. The crowd was pretty eclectic- there were even little kids there too- cool ten year olds with the band shirts and i think i saw like a seven year old too, but was mostly on the young side like early 20s i think. there were a few older older people which was coo' too. anyway, i didnt like Rise Against. sorry. i just think their sound is too generic. like when you turn on the radio and theres a bunch of pre-washed over marketed safe melodies and "B" side songs... so, during their set i went to have some pizza- which was good by the way* extra greasy just how i like it. So when my friend and i were walking around, we went to the KROQ stand and they were having a dance off... there was a tie between Martin and Brittney- how the hell do i remember their names? i dunno. but anyway, they were both doing the dance off thing- and had the sleazy dancing on the floor going on- cuz' they were competing for a pair of pit tickets- anyway long story short- the crowd was into it, cheering and what not, and all of a sudden, the girl gets on top of the guy dancing- riding him rodeo style and the crowd and the KROQ people are all like "WHOA"- and they tied. first time ever. so they both got pit tickets. the end.

Muse. they performed like theyz wuz' headlinin' LA RISING. they had a good ass laser show, and they sounded amazing. good sound guy. good lighting guy. and bad ass guitar riffs from other legendary rock bands! my favorite of course were the Led Zeppelin ones. oh and they had some gigantic blown up eyeballs that they let out in the crowd- they were confetti filled too. it was cool watching them float and bounce all around the Coliseum. i think Muse sold me on liking them. sometimes their music is blasting in my house and it annoyed the hell outta me cuz' i guess i hadnt taken the time to listen. dont get me wrong, i wouldnt go pay for a concert of theirs or buy a CD neither, but they were really good* really good show and songs they did. good singing voice of their front man. nice echoes.

Now, Rage Against The Machine. There were waaaay more RATM t-shirts at the show of this band than of any other one.. oh maybe Shepard Faireys' OBEY shirts. which was coo' too. anyway. they were the band i waited more than ten years to see... i think i had plotted at some point in my teens to run away and see RATM in San Diego at one point.... i dunno.

but anyway, everything was worth seeing RAGE. it made one of my dreams come true. so i think after seeing RAGE, theres really no other band i care to see at a show anymore...hmm except maybe Bjork but i wont die if i dont see her.... olay so when RAGE hit the stage, their sound (which i read was new)- failed and turned off- TWICE!!!! what the hell man?!. and right when people were getting pumped up too... but i liked how they just kept on going- playing and didnt stop or say nothin about it... at one point i thought maybe it was the police that had shut them down- mind you the LAPD halicopter was flying in circles around the arena the WHOLE time... so RATM's sound was not that awesome... but its their essence of melody- i dunno if that makes sense, is what makes RATM so great. Good songs. good lyrics, the audience were having a blast too- too bad i couldn't jump because it was a steep tight fall down- even after my ticket free upgrade to a closer lower level. (the reason being that where my seat and my friends' seat was, that whole section 15 was covered by a giant star). i'm not sure why they had that star out covering the farthest seats but i'd like to think they upgraded the farthest seats away because were poor and they were helping out*- oh i also like the little black flags flying all around the coliseum.

the part i thought was kinda creepy was when there were these airplanes flying across the sky and announcing other shows- during the festival.... and now that i think about it, it reminds me of the "Scarface" movie. The part when "Scarface" looks to the sky before he gets taken down and the plane says- or no in the movie it was a blimp- and it read "THE WORLD IS YOURS". kinda creepy to me. also pretty creepy during RAGE'S set, when they left the first time, there was this German music- i wanna say German opera, that made the night feel eerie...... mind you, it would've been cool to see something on fire or some rioting, but like i read in another review, "there was a sense of community" felt throughout the attendees, and i wouldn't have wanted to see anyone get hurt or nothing like that. but there were fires that night. one fire in the third section of the pit.... good pit by the way, THAT would've been fun.... the second fire was at the top of the coliseum very minor, but still was cool.

overall, RATM played great, and i really liked the words Zack de La Rocha shared with the audience and pieces he added to the songs for example on "Down Rodeo".... when he spoke about the politricks to build new "better" buildings and hotels in LA... there was an eeriness.... i just wish i wouldve had a better camera with better sound recording, so i could analyze every word stated....i wish i could've been closer- maybe on side stage?!- American dreams.... yeah me and all the other thousands of people...i wouldnt know what to say either.....

but anyhow, here are a couple of videos i composed of that night. part 1 and part 2. thank you for reading me.

Video 1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58rKwCL9dDw&feature=related

Video 2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tENMkA9ZDY4

oh yeah, heres a link to a site that has waaaaaay closer videos of that night- they look way better and sound better than mine......

http://www.theprp.com/2011/07/31/news/rage-against-the-machine-perform-at-l-a-rising-in-los-angeles-ca-footage-available/

****

The "I Love Lucy" Show holds a very special place in my heart. It is one of the few things I like. in black and white... nostalgia. I remember watching this show as a kid and it was the greatest thing ever. It always made me laugh. It still does. It was a simple show, great cast and great comedy.... Lucy was great.... is still great. I like to watch re- runs, but haven't seen them on TV lately anymore. I read the show was the first to film in front of a live audience and the first to show re-runs.The following are some videos i found and various photographs as well. My favorite photograph is the one with Lucy and Ricky sharing a milkshake and soda.... I don't know why.

This is the site where I found all the pictures: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/800

Excerpt from TVLAND Website:

"About I Love Lucy
At 9PM on Oct. 15, 1951, I Love Lucy went on the air, and has never been off since. The sitcom centers on an unforgettable showbiz-wannabe redhead, her Cuban bandleader husband and their landlords, who also happen to be their best friends and co-conspirators.

I Love Lucy is a hit that continues to entertain millions of people the world over. Perhaps the key to its success lies within the show's mastery of a graceful transition -- from sense to nonsense. Each episode opens with a plausible situation (home economy, child rearing, post-dating a check) thrown awry with exaggerated absurdity (Lucy is starched, frozen, stuffed with chocolate, locked in a trunk and lowered to the deck of a ship by helicopter, just to name a few). Yet somehow, the show and its heroine never seem to lose touch with the audience.

While the comic brilliance of Lucille Ball and the magic chemistry of the four main characters were cornerstones of the show, I Love Lucy owes much of its success to a behind-the-scenes band of brilliant creators. The show gave birth to the rerun; was the first to use a three-camera setup before a live audience; and overcame many technical obstacles of early TV through ingenious lighting, set design and editing."

http://www.tvland.com/shows/i-love-lucy

THE LUCY STORE: http://www.lucystore.com/

Lucy dolls throughout the years: https://www.dollgenie.com/lucy/

Here are some pictures i took at Madame Toussaud's in Hollywood when i say the Lucy wax figure!