Not So Silent Night

Last night I attended the Live 105 Not So Silent Night concert at Oracle Arena. And it was loud! Not too bad though. I am told by a couple of people that also attended the AC/DC concert last week that on a scale of 1 to AC/DC that this was only a '3'. And I believe them because my ears aren't ringing today or anything.. and they reported post concert ear ringing for up to 4 days!






In all we saw five bands play:

Jack's Mannequin - Franz Ferdinand - Bloc Party - Death Cab for Cutie - and The Killers.

The Killers were the headline act and they sounded great. Of the 5 groups.. the only one that didn't mesh with my tastes was Franz Ferdinand. Sorry guys.

Those in attendance were split into two groups.. the oldies and the goodies (post-college)! Of the oldies - Diane Smith was definitely the most excited. She LOVES Death Cab for Cutie. All I heard about leading up to the concert was Death Cab for Cutie! In fact, here she is talking to people at the concert about them! I am so glad she got to see them. I would look over at her every once in awhile as they were playing and she was totally into it. Very cool. All it all it was a great evening!

Oh.. I forgot to mention.. but I was taking pictures with my camera in our seats and then got up to walk around and get a different view. Well, a security guard came up to me and told me I couldn't have my camera in the arena (even after they thoroughly checked my bag when I entered the arena). So, I had to walk to the media center - forfeit my camera - before finishing the concert. So.. sorry folks, but no Killers photos ;(

So, You Think You Can Dance?

Tuesday night Hannah and some of her close friends (and their parents) got to see 'So, You Think You Can Dance' live - at the Oakland Coliseum (or Oracle Arena as their corporate sponsors would like us to say). Many thanks go to our hosts for the evening who remain so generous towards us all!

The show presents the 12 finalists doing a number of group dances, solos, and some of the best dances that occured during the most recent season of the show.

Here's the 'fab four' (Courtney, Lisa, Hannah and Taylor) awaiting the start of the show from their seats. They all took time off from their busy college schedules - Courtney and Taylor even flying in from San Diego - for this can't miss show!

Okay.. I learned something about photography during the show. There is a reason that people have massive lenses that they use indoors in poorly lit situations. As it turns out - you need them to shoot action in the dark! So, anyone wanting to spend $2K on a lens for me.. go nuts.. and I promise to provide better pictures next season ;)

That being said.. it wasn't a total loss! So, here are some photos to share the experience with you. Remember.. click on any picture to see it full size!

These three photos are from a dance by Twitch and Katie called 'The Door'. It's about a girlfriend that comes back to her boyfriend's door.. to try to work out their relationship. Katie does an amazing of job of getting into the character and it's a lot of fun to watch. At first, it appears she's making progress ;) However, by the end you can see from the pictures that her boyfriend just isn't buying it!













This next picture is the best I could do to capture 'The Briefcase'. It's about a 'Jerk' that is tearing the heart from his girlfriend. The girls just SCREAMED when this one started and again at this moment in the dance.. where he is ripping out her heart! ;) It was fun to watch the show.. and it was great to experience with the girls going NUTS!

















The season 4 winner on the show was Joshua - a powerful, gifted dancer. Here's a picture from a dance he did with Katie (who I would have voted for as the winner). Both of them are tremendous. I can't say either did a dance throughout the season that I wasn't impressed with (remember the 'assisted run'?)!

















Here's a couple more shots that show more of the cast! We're definitely looking forward to next season. I think Julie is stretching at home right now before she starts training for try-outs! Wish her luck! And.. don't be overly impressed with that move that Gev is doing standing on his hands in the picture below. My friend Eric Stouffer does that most mornings just to limber up before work!