E Street Cafe a lucky find

E Street Cafe
Originally uploaded by greenbeangirl74

Wrapping up our whirlwind afternoon in Encinitas Nicole and I decided to stop and hydrate up at this cute cafe on the street where our cars were parked, aptly named E Street Cafe.

It is adorable! Warm and cozy with free wifi, Dell workstations for rent, live music at night, delicious pastries and coffee drinks galore. These aren't just your grandma's coffees instead its a specially selected organic, free trade coffee blended and mixed into your favorite drink. Also on hand are a variety of loose leaf teas.

We were there around 1:30 p.m. and the place was busy but not overly crowded. There was also a great mix of people, not just a bunch of loud teenagers. I know that comment makes me sound old, but you know what I'm talking about.

I had an iced coffee that was delicious. They had a bunch of syrups, even in sugar free, to choose from but I went with it straight. Nicole had a Pellegrino and we shared one of the plethora of desserts, a chocolate chip crumb cake. It was great! Prices were about average for a place of its kind.

I know I would definitely go back.

Switchfoot in Concert at the Bren Center

Switchfoot
Originally uploaded by ErinsWorld

A night of rock-n-roll, screaming, and dancing at the Bren Center with Switchfoot, Relient K and Ruth, all benefitting Habitat for Humanity. What could be more fun or charitable that?

Lisa, Janine, Carole, Colleen and I trekked over to UCI for an evening to cut loose, scream and dance to one of our favorite bands. They did not disappoint. From the opening with Oh Gravity! to the closing Meant to Live the crowd was jumping, singing and cheering them on.

They perfomed Awakening, Dirty Second Hands, and My American Dream from the new album. Other fan favorites included Stars, On Fire, We are One Tonight, Gone, and This is Your Life.

Switchfoot is really all about the fans. Lead singer, Jon Foreman spent a lot of time out in the audience and even showed up at one point on the side, in the crowd so that they could sing with him.

Switchfoot is even encouraging bootleg versions of the concert songs so they can distribute them on CD to that nights attendees. They want to keep the concert magic going long after the finale. You can also visit their web site and request bootlegged version of concerts from other concert goers. How awesome is that!

I had no idea who Relient K or Ruth was but they were a good fit with Switchfoot. I learned Relient K is from Canton, OH, the town were my parents live. Cool.

Another interesting component of this concert was the age range of people there. It was literally from 10 to 50. There were moms and probably grandmas rocking out next to their kids and some came on their own. It was interesting to think that some of the kids in there weren't born until the 90s. Yikes, at 32 I'm old enough to be someone's mother. And it this point it wasn't even as a teenager but I would have been in my 20s. Yikes.

Still a great night. Lots of fun. Switchfoot and Co continue to roll through the West Coast through the beginning of Dec.

Live Music at the Irvine Spectrum.

I said I loved the Irvine Spectrum and I wasn't kidding. We were back again tonight.

We went to see Evening, had dinner at Champs and then headed toward Barnes and Noble. We never made it to Barnes and Noble, we were sidetracked by Cold Stone Creamery and two twin violinists.

The Irvine Spectrum has several stages located through the complex dedicated to live performance. We were treated to Jason and Nolan, the electric violin playing identical twins. They were amazing. It was a great finish to our evening. So relaxing to sit and listen to their music ranging from celtic, to romantic and a hymn thrown in for good measure.

I went to the Spectrum web site but they do not have their live event page updated to include anything. If you'd like to see Jason and Noan they will be back July 28 and 29.

John Mayer Rocks, Literally

This photo belongs to Irishbrat_77

There is simply nothing better than a starless night in the Hollywood Hills listening to a fantastic musician like John Mayer. He is amazing!!

This is the second time I've seen him in concert and he never disappoints. Unfortunately his set went way too quickly. The really unfortunate thing is that the Rocco De Luca and Ben Folds sets didn't go faster. There were not that great in person. I liked it better in 2004 when Maroon 5 opened for him, that was a concert.

The show started at 6:35 p.m. and the opening acts dragged on forever. John Mayer didn't appear until 8:50ish and he was done by 10 p.m. It seemed like he was on stage for about five minutes.

He opened with Why, Georgia Why, a JM classic. Songes from the new included: I Don't Trust Myself, Gravity, Vultures, Belief, and Dreaming with a Broken Heart. He also played a lot of tried and true favorites like Real World, Bigger Than My Body, Neon, Good Love Is on the Way and The Wheel.

He of course came out for an encore of three songs including Your Body is a Wonderland, which he called his baby. He closed with Waiting on the World to Change.

Overall a very mellow, relaxing set. You don't see John Mayer expecting drama, fireworks or even a lot of banter. It's about the music most specifically his guitar. With my trusty binoculars I could see off to stage left that there were about 30 guitars ready for use. I think he changed for every song and one included the first guitar he bought with his own money. He's an excellent musician.

The night was great! It's always so much fun to people watch in LA. I forget what a plastic bubble we live in down here in So. OC. There are some real characters in LA. It was nice to visit and nice to come home.

Second Row Orchestra

Last night Tina, Janine and I went to the Disney Concert Hall, my favorite Frank Gehry building.

We were given free tickets to the Bernstein Mass. They were fantastic seats, second row orchestra.

The mass was performed by a girl's choir, several celebrants and a partial orchestra. Only half of the participants that Bernstein's orginal score calls for. It is an interesting interpretation of a mass from a Jewish perspective.

In MASS, Bernstein looks at the issue dramatically; it is subtitled "A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers." Bernstein had always been intrigued and awed by the Roman Catholic Mass, finding it (in Latin) moving, mysterious, and eminently theatrical. The piece follows the liturgy exactly, but it is juxtaposed against frequent interruptions and commentaries by the Celebrant and the congregation, much like a running debate. There is stylistic juxtaposition as well, with the Latin text heard electronically through speakers or sung by the chorus, and the interruptions sung in various popular styles including blues and rock-and-roll. On the narrative level, the hour-and-a-half-long piece relates the drama of a Celebrant whose faith is simple and pure at first, but gradually becomes unsustainable under the weight of human misery, corruption, and the trappings of his own power.

The venue is perfect and the pipe organ is spectacular. One of the great things about the Disney Concert Hall is that it is a 360 degree sitting. You can see an experience the music from every vantage point. The acoustics are specifically engineered by Yasuhisa Toyota to be the best. Our seats couldn't have been better. Every time I get free tickets to the symphony they are always second row orchestra. Ok, so its only been two times but I see a pattern developing.

There is something about being that close to the music that is magical and it also stirs my inner onry child. Reminds me of being in catholic school as a kid. I always got in trouble in mass and had to sit next to the nun to make sure I behaved. I don't know what it is but mind goes into overdrive and I think of a million questions, comments and observations. I think its my natural born tendency to rebel.

But once I got my mind settled I was lulled by the beautiful music. There is something so relaxing about an orchestra. Your mind rests and your soul is inspired by the melodies. We had a great time.

Night with Norah

Eating tasty food, drinking hot chocolate and listening to Norah Jones under the stars, what a way to spend the evening. She, like Michael Buble, has a soothing voice. My friend Jer described her as adult-level entertainment, and that she is, which is why the Hollywood Bowl is perfect for her.

It was a good show, a mix of her first album and some of her favorite songs. I'm glad she didn't play too much from her current CD, Feels like Home, it's too country. I know that's counter-intuitive to a concert promotion of the new album but who cares.

We paid the big bucks this trip the Bowl to sit in the coveted box seats. We thought it would be a whole new world down where the tables are. It was a new world, but not the one we expected. Normally we sit with the masses up in the bench seating. Your food rests in your lap and you watch the show on the gigantic screens, cause the musicians are about an inch tall. Most everyone is fun and its a great shared experience.

Life in the box seats has its perks. Seats are definitely more comfortable and you don't need to bring your own cushions to keep your butt from going numb. There is also a table to eat on and the entertainment is definitely closer. But is it better? I guess that depends on what's important. They don't tell you that most tables are on a 30-degree angle. Anything we put on our handy pop-up table slid down. Luckily we didn't bring candles or I would have set Joanna on fire.

The boxes themselves are big enough for said table and four chairs. You can't get in or out of the box once you are seated. So if you're sitting in the back corner and need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the concert then everyone has to stand up, one chair, possibly two have to be removed for your exit. It doesn't make you a popular person, especially if you don't know your boxmates. Doesn't make those behind you love you either since now they can't see.

Luckily, Joanna and I didn't have to share a box. However, we were surrounded by some interesting characters. The most interesting would be the drunk couples that showed up an hour and a half late for the show. They were loud, bumbling and stumbling. I'm sure Norah must have heard them from the stage. I'm surprised she didn't remind them that she provides adult-level entertainment, not music for frat parties. They continued to drink through the remainder of the concert and left early. We think that the concert was merely a stop on their bar hop across Hollywood, but why buy expensive seats when the cheap seats, closer to the bar will do?

In the end, it was a cold night in the expensive seats of a really good show. It was nice to feel the cold chill in L.A. beneath both visible stars listening to fabulous music with your best friend. That is life as it is meant to be lived.

Ice Ice Baby

This is why I love L.A. Where else can you see Vanilla Ice for FREE and get your chance for on-camera time?

I'm posting an email I got from the friend of a friend about the concert. I couldn't keep this announcement to myself, I wanted to make sure you had the chance to add it to your social calendar.

I wonder if he's still rapping ... stop collaborate and listen, ice is back with a brand new invention .... scary that I still remember that song. Here's the email invite, tell all your friends:

hello, all of my l.a. friends! As some of you know, i am working on this show called REMAKING for vh1, where we challenge rock stars who are, shall we say...past their prime...to a total REMAKING. we are lucky enough to have vanilla ice performing in a FREE concert at the great knitting factory on wednesday, september 8th. the doors open at 8pm and the show is at 9pm. again, people...this show is FREE! and its vanilla ice! so if you were a fan, are a fan, or are planning on becoming a vanilla ice fan...please come! we are looking for a crowd ofpeople who will bob their heads and have a great time. you may even get a chance to be on TV!!! pass this e-mail along if you know of any ice fans. thanks.

If you're in the area I highly recommend checking it out.