PhotoHunt: Square

An almost square sign for the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena positioned below a not so square Fondamenta De La Maddalena sign . . . but located on a few perfectly square white stones in Venice, Italy. 

To my surprise, I had a difficult time finding photos with perfectly shaped squares in them. Thankfully, I went to my Italy library and voila...

See more PhotoHunters HERE!

American Idol: Songs by Carole King

Tonight, the Idols sing songs by singer/songwriter legend, Carole King.  And here's how the night went . . .

Jacob Lusk starts things off with Oh No, Not My Baby. I was sort of expecting him to choose a slower type of song which I think is more of his strength.  But I loved his energy on stage and thought he did a great job. 

Lauren Alaina sings Where You Lead (I Will Follow).  I loved it! I thought it was a great song choice for her and it was (I think) one of her strongest performances of the competition.

Scotty McCreery sings You've Got a Friend which is my favorite Carole King Song. I thought he had great mentoring advice.  I loved his song choice and performance.   

James Durbin sings Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.  He starts a capella and it was so amazing, I wished he had sang it a capella the whole way. I loved it.

Casey Abrams sings a jazzy and bluesy Hi-De-Ho (That Old Sweet Roll).  I really like Casey and thought this was a great song choice and performance. But I have to agree with JLO in that I kind of feel a bit tense watching him perform because he performs so intensely.    

Haley Reinhart sings Beautiful and although I'm not familiar with this song, I thought her vocals were excellent and I enjoyed her performance. 

Here's how I rated tonight's performances:
James Durbin
Lauren Aliana
Scotty McCreery
Haley Reinhart
Casey Abrams
Jacob Lusk

And here's how I rated the pairings:
James Durbin & Jacob Lusk, I'm Into Something Good
Haley Rienhart & Casey Abrams, I Feel Earth Move
Lauren Aliana & Scotty McCreery, Up on the Roof

Good Luck Idols!

And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .

PRINCE: A night to remember . . .

Wow, what a purple filled, funked out, heart thumping, guitar soaring, raise the roof night!  As I mentioned on my twitter feed, Prince delivered a Musical Masterpiece last night at the Welcome to America Concert at the Los Angeles Forum!

Everyone stands and the building begins to roar as we hear Prince announce his opening act. To our delight we see the great Chaka Kahn step up from beneath the stage and she treats us to two of her greatest hits, Tell Me Something Good and her signature song, I'm Every Woman.  She gets the crowd up off their feet and warmed up for the cool one.

A few minutes later, the lights dim . . . two girls with long trumphets march out, at center stage a figure emerges from beneath the stage . . . it's the Purple one himself and the house erupts in applause and screams and we are lifted off our seats where we remain for most of the night. 

Prince opens up with a tasty performance of D.M.S.R. and later Musicology and pop life.  Next, Prince invites long time friend and one of the best female percussionists of all time, Shiela E to sing Mountains.  The crowd goes nuts!    

 

And with Shiela E still on stage, Prince then introduces Sly and the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham for a performance of Everyday People.  The audience erupts into another Funk frenzy . . .

Larry Graham then leaves the stage and Prince invites Chaka Kahn back on stage for a sweet performance of Sweet Thing. 

Then, Shiela E takes center stage for her signature hit, Glamorous Life and does this amazing performance on the drums ending in her slamming part of her set down on the stage....the audience goes into a frenzy!  We love you Shiela! 

After energizing the crowd even more, Shiela E disappears below the stage and Prince emerges with a costume change...wearing gold and black and looking very cool, Prince goes into a melody of his greatest hits singing Raspberry Beret, Let’s Go Crazy, Delirious, 1999 and Little Red Corvette. 

 

He then ends this tantalizing greatest hits funk fest with my all time favorite Prince song of all time, Purple Rain.  The audience sings along as purple confetti rains down from the ceiling.  I am beside myself!

Prince returns for another greatest hits melody which includes When Doves Cry, Nasty Girl, Sign ‘O The Time, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, Darling Nikki, Single Ladies, Hot Thing and I Would Die For You.  When his band return, they also bring the funk with If I Was Your Girlfriend and Scandalous.  Prince performs another fav of mine, Kiss!  And here he proves that he just gets better and better with age.  He stands center stage and does an amazing dance performance.  This was one of my favorite parts of his concert.  He was very Hot! And he was very Sexy!

 

As I said, Prince delivered a masterful show.  He is a genius and I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to witness his brilliance.  And it was truly brilliant!  I once wrote that watching Prince perform is like watching a great artist paint a great masterpiece.  It is pure perfection!  Thank you Prince . . .

I can say this for sure...with 17 more shows in LA promised, I am keeping my eyes and ears out for the announcement of his next series of shows.  And having had a chance to scope out the layout of the Forum, I have a better idea of which tickets to snag .... I think Loge 30, 31, 32, 8, 7, 6 and 32 through 5 are all excellent seat locations! (Row B, seats 1 & 2 would be prime) 


And that's my Prince Welcome to America Tour concert review!  Let the Purple Funk Fest continue . . .



PRINCE: Welcome to America Tour 2011

I am sooooo excited to be going to one of Prince's Welcome to America Tour concerts. Whoo Hoo!

Now, if you have never had the pleasure of seeing the cool one perform live in concert, well all I can say is you need to add it to your life's Bucket List! 

Make no mistake . . . the cool one will tantalize, energize, hypnotize, mesmerize and completely gratify your musical appetite.  From the second the lights go down and Prince comes on stage to the last guitar cord he plays, you will be taken to musical heights that you have never ever been taken to before.  :)

I'm going to try to tweet live and will definitely write a review after the concert! Tonight, it's time to GET CRAZY with the Purple One and hopefully Shiela E!  Whoooooo Hoo!

PhotoHunt: Dusty

I took this photo of a collection of dusty artifacts during a visit to Pompeii in 2005.   My friend and I really debated whether to take this very long day trip from Rome to visit Pompeii and I'm so glad that we did because it was an incredible experience.

 

Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in 79 AD. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for over 1,500 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1599. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire.[1] ~ Wikipedia

The area to the left in this next photo is where you can view this collection of the uncovered artifacts.  And in the center towering over the once bustling city of old Pompeii is Mount Vesuvius.

See more PhotoHunters HERE!

American Idol: Music From the 21st Century . . .

This week the Idols pick songs from the 21st Century and tonight's show starts off with a performance not by the top 7 Idols but by recently eliminated contestants:  Ashthon Jones, Karen Rodriguez, Thia Megia, Pia Toscano, Naima Adedapo and Paul McDonald.  That was very cool seeing them again.

Scotty McCreery starts things off with Swingin by LeAnn Rimes and I just think Scotty can do no wrong.  I disagree with JLO and Randy.  I thought it was a great song choice and he is just so much fun to watch perform on stage.  Scotty is representing his home state of North Carolina so well! My thoughts go out to the families who lost their lived ones and homes from the recent tornado this past weekend.

James Durbin sings Uprising by Muse and rocked it out.   I thought his vocals and stage presence was excellent.  The drummers were cool too. 

Haley Reinhart sings Adele's Rolling the Deep.  I thought she looked and sounded great.  I have to really give it up to Haley, she really has such diversity and range. 

Jacob Lusk sings Dance with my Father by Luther Vandross and it was a very touching and emotional performance.  I loved it.

Casey Abrams sings a Maroon 5 song called Harder to Breathe and I loved it.  And what a sweet kiss at the end! :) 

Stefano Langone sings Closer by Ne-Yo and I thought he did great. I think Stefano is a real cutie and worked the stage pretty good.

Lauren Aliana sings Born to Fly by Sara Evans and I loved it.  She did a fantastic job.  Please keep her in the competition America.

And here's how I rated tonight's performances:

James Durbin
Lauren Aliana
Casy Abrams
Scotty McCreery
Haley Reinhart
Jacob Lusk
Stefano Langone

And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .

PhotoHunt: Road

Before my trip to Scotland in 2009, fellow Slow Traveler and blogging friend, AnnieNC (Churches in Venice) recommended an awesome movie called "Local Hero".  I was so inspired by the movie that I decided that I wanted to drive the very famous, Road to the Isles, which is where several scenes from the movie were filmed.  Thank you so much Annie for telling me about Local Hero.

I took this photo in Glenfinnan near the Glenfinnan Monument which is situated on the edge of Loch Shiel.   

Scotland is so beautiful and the people are all so friendly.  I had such a wonderful time traveling there and I really hope that I will be able to return there someday.

And what would a Trekcapri trip down memory lane be without a "Driving the Road to the Isles" video. As you will notice in the video, the weather changed from moment to moment. It was the first time I have ever tried driving on the "left" side of the road and I have to say that I did pretty good. :)

See more PhotoHunters HERE!

American Idol: Idols sing songs from the movies . . . .

Tonight, the 8 Idols choose songs from the movies and with the shocking elimination of Pia Toscano last week I'm crossing my fingers for the girls tonight . . . .

So, here's how the night went: 

Paul McDonald sings Old Time Rock and Roll by Bob Seger (Risky Business).  I loved his Old time Rock n Roll performance.  I agree with Steven, the sax player was very cool!

Lauren Alaina sings The Climb by Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) and I thought she did great.  Please let her be safe.

Stefano Langone sings Boyz II Men's End of the Road (Boomerang).  I thought he did a good job.  Will it be enough to escape bottom three and elimination? 

Scotty McCreery sings I Cross My Heart by George Strait (Pure Country).  I thought he made the right song choice . . . .pure country all the way.  Fabulous!  

Casey Abrams sings Nature Boy by Nat King Cole (Moulin Rouge). At the beginning I wasn't really into it, but then I found myself becoming totally captivated by his performance.  As Randy said, brilliant!

Haley Reinhart sings Call Me by Blondie (American Gigolo). Okay, I'm a big fan of Haley and I really don't want a girl to leave this week, but I have to agree with Randy. I didn't think she chose the right song to showcase her vocals.

Jacob Lusk sings Bridge Over Troubled Water (Pursuit of Happyness).  One of my favorite songs and I loved his performance!

James Durbin sings Heavy Metal by Sammy Hagar (Heavy Metal). I'm not a fan of Heavy Metal, but I actually enjoyed his performance a lot. 

And here's how I rated tonight's performances:

Casey Abrams
Jacob Lusk
Scotty  McCreery
Lauren Alaina
James Durbin
Paul McDonald
Stefano Langone
Haely Reinhart  (I really want both girls to move on, but I had to keep it real, sorry)

And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .

PhotoHunt: Trees

The colorful fall leaves on trees that lie  beautifully between the magnificent Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada mountains in Granada, Spain.

I took this photo from the small window in my Hotel room while standing on a chair. :)

See more PhotoHunters:  HERE!

American Idol: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Week

It's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame week and all the Idols did an awesome job tonight.   I thought that will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas provided the Idols with great advice.

Jacob Lusk sings Man in the Mirror and was fantastic. I think it was the right song choice for him.

Haley Reinhart sings Janis Joplin's Piece of My Heart and I thought she did great. I'm not a huge fan of Janis Joplin, but I did enjoy Haley's edgy performance.

Casey Abrams sings Have You Ever Seen the Rain and I totally loved it!   

Lauren Alaina sings Natural Woman by the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin.  I thought she did a great job.

James Durbin slows his hard rock momentum with While My Guitar Gently Weeps by the Beatles.   The judges loved it, but I thought it wasn't one of his best vocal performance.  I did, however, appreciate the passion and emotions he put into his performance. 

Scotty McCreery sings That's Alright Mama, a song made famous by his childhood idol, Elvis Presley.  Steven is right, Scotty is not "All Hat and no Cattle"!  Probably the most entertaining performance by him in the competition.  I thought having the girls rush the stage at the end was very cute.   :)

Pia Toscano sings River Deep, Mountain High and wow!  Who knew that she could sing a Tina Turner song with such rock and roll vigor.  :)  I thought she nailed it! 

Stefano Langone sings When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge and I thought he did so much better this week than last.  

Paul McDonald sings Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash.  Now I've been a big fan of Paul during the competition but for some reason as compared to the other contestants, I honestly didn't like it as much as the judges did.

All the Idols did an awesome job tonight and here's how I rated the performances:  Good luck Idols.

Pia Toscano
Casey Abrams
Scotty McCreery
Lauren Alaina
Stefano Langone
Jacob Lusk
Haely Reinhart
Paul McDonald
James Durbin

And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .

PhotoHunt: Closed

Look at the three large scoops of enticing, mouth watering, mind teasing gelato cones on the doors of this closed Gelateria.  :)

I took this photo early in the morning in the small fishing village of Vernazza in the Cinque Terre.

See more PhotoHunters at Tnchick's Original Photo Hunt:  HERE!