We All Have Wings

I went to see the undisputed king of the blues at Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday night. I will be completely honest and say I know very little about Mr. King's music, what I do know is he is one of the most influential guitar players of all time and I love what he did with U2 on "When Love Comes to Town."

He actually did include a bit of "When Love Comes to Town" during his two-hour set on Thursday (that's right, two hours, and, yes, he is 84 years old). He also told stories about his life in Mississippi, played up to the women in the audience (we're all angels without wings, according to Mr. King) and let Lucille do her thing. His orchestra is amazing and helps Mr. King put on a fun and classy show that reminded me of what going to big band shows must have been like in the '40s and '50s when everyone was dressed to the nines (everyone in his band was in a tuxedo and all of his support staff wore suits). I was really surprised no one in the audience was dancing, because the music being played made me want to put on some amazing strappy shoes, curl my hair just right and wear the greatest dress with the most twirly skirt and dance the night away.

A year or two ago, John Mayer wrote on one of his many blogs that if given the chance to see Ray Charles perform live today, we'd all go, but we do still have that chance with BB King and need to take it. I'm so glad I did.

Saturday night, I did my best homage to Madonna circa 1984 with a giant bow tied in my hugely curly hair, flippy skirt, cut-off fishnets, fingerless gloves and scrunched socks to check out my friends in The Joshua Tree, the best U2 tribute band around. The band played Save New Wave II at the House of Blues with Blasphemous Rumours, a Depeche Mode tribute band, The Cured, a Cure tribute band, and INXS-ive, an INXS tribute band (who's keyboard player/background vocalist was on a few episodes of "Gilmore Girls," how cool is that?).

Joshua Tree always puts on great shows and delivered again on Saturday with its take on U2's famous Red Rocks concert from 1983. If you are at all a fan of U2, go check out Joshua Tree, you will not be disappointed.

The treat of the evening was INXS-ive. I love INXS so much but only got to see the band live once in 1997, just a few months before lead singer extraordinaire Michael Hutchence died. To be in a room with other people singing and dancing to the band's music was so much, but that INXS-ive did a really good job bringing the band's music to life made it all the more better. Saturday also marked the 12th anniversary of Michael's death and when the band played "Never Tear Us Apart" in his memory, the room went nuts. It was a great tribute to a great artist.

A Few Things

Short update. I got the new John Mayer on Monday night thanks to preordering it from his site (bless you John Mayer and Co. for having those shipped out early!). After a few listens, I'm still letting it sink in and will write up a proper review soon.

Tonight, I am going to see Mr. BB King in concert at Cal State San Bernardino. I am expecting to be blown away by this living guitar legend and will provide a full report on that as well.

Finally, the African Well Fund's annual Got Water? auction ended on Monday to great results. The totals will be announced soon, but thank you to everyone who placed a bid. I'm very excited that the Weezer-autographed water bottle I wrote about last time is going to a good home and that we were able to raise more money to help us fund clean water and sanitation projects in Africa.

If you're looking for a great gift for that hard-to-shop-for person on your holiday list, AWF well shares are available in any amount. You can also benefit AWF by shopping from our affiliate partners or selecting AWF as your beneficiary when you use GoodShop.

Raditude!

I was out of town all last week for work so didn't get to pick up Weezer's latest, "Raditude," until Saturday. Good thing that, because when I pulled up to the Best Buy, there was a group of kids queued up to meet the band. The band had been doing in-store appearances at Best Buys in the area to promote the new album and I thought I'd missed my chance, but on Saturday I bought my CD, got my wristband, joined the line and got to meet the band. I got a water bottle signed by Brian, Pat, Rivers and Scott that is now being auctioned to benefit the African Well Fund.

On the fandom scale, my feelings for Weezer find me somewhere between radio fan and diehard. I do own all the band's albums but not the rarities; I've seen the band live three times but only as an opener, never the headliner. I'm not in the fan club but news of new Weezer music always makes me happy because I think the band makes really great pop music.

Weezer is once again delivering delicious, addictive pop music with "Raditude." I've been listening to the two-disc deluxe edition on constant repeat all week because the songs are so sunny and rocking and energetic and wonderful. They've got me speeding up and pounding on the steering wheel and generally enjoying the hours I have to spend in the car each day.

The album is really tight and consistent, even with the four additional tracks on the bonus CD there isn't a single song I feel like skipping. Of course, a few songs are sticking out to me more than others. Lead single "(If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To" is so yummy and satisfying, a fun anthem for the romantically challenged. The song's clapping and skiffle-style guitar work hit me just right. "I Don't Want to Let You Go" features these beautifully thick, chiming guitar notes that remind me of old surf guitar ballads. "Love Is the Answer" meshes blissful sitar music with lush beats and sweetly optimistic lyrics to create a song that gives me no other choice than to swing my hips and sway my arms.

All the songs on "Raditude" feature the rapid-fire sing-along lyrics, shredding guitar and bouncy rhythms I've turned to Weezer to provide me with for 15 years. This is a band that's kept me dancing, kept me singing, kept me smiling through a lot, and still is. God bless Weezer and God bless pop music.

And I've been meaning to talk up this TV show since I first saw it earlier this year and now have the perfect opportunity since SoapNet (a total guilty pleasure destination with its reruns of "The OC," the original "90210" and "One Tree Hill") is currently rerunning its first season. The show is "Being Erica" and is about a 32-year-old English major whose work life and personal life just didn't turn out the way she thought they would when she was a promising, ambitious teenager. She gets help dealing with all of life's disappointments from a therapist who not only gives her the chance the learn from the past, but to change it as well.

There aren't a lot of shows about someone my age, someone going through exactly what I'm going through, so I give it points for that straight away, but the show is also honest and awkward and silly and sweet and just great fun. Season two starts in January so SOAPnet is rerunning the entire first season Saturdays and Sundays to get everyone caught up (FIOS offers it On Demand, too).