PRINCE: My Purple Funky Town Experience . . .

For a short while in 2011, I was very lucky to visit that Purple Funky Town Place . . . where time stood still, where everyone danced, sang and was moved by the music of peace, love, funk and soul! It was a very beautiful place to be (if only for a little while).

 

I was very fortunate to be able to attend 8 Welcome 2 America 2011 Tour concerts at the Forum in Los Angeles and as promised by his Purpleness (a really cool nick name borrowed from AnnieNC), each was slightly different than the other. Prince is without a doubt a Genius and I am so glad I was able to experience it as many times as I did.

There were so many highlights from his Finale show, but for me having him sing Adore was very special.  I will always remember that! And as for the other highlights, definitely Stevie Wonder singing Superstition while playing the keyboards and with Prince accompanying him on bass, Chaka Khan singing I'm Every Woman and Sweet Thing with Prince, Mary J. Blige singing a mesmerizing No More Drama and Nothing Compares to U with Prince, Shiela E on percussion and singing Glamorous Life, Maceo Parker on sax during Purple Rain and being introduced to such artists as Nikka Costa and Esperanza Spalding, his guitar playing, his booty shaking dancing (including that famous shirt ripping 5/27/11 show) . . . and his awesome band, back-up singers and the twins.

 

He sang many of his old school hits, often in a refreshing new arrangement which made them brand new all over again.  Some of my memorable favorites, DMSR, KISS, 1999, House Quake, Cream, When Doves Cry, Future Soul Song, Take Me With U, Black Sweat, Scandalous, Insatiable, The Beautiful Ones and on and on! As Prince said, so many hits . . . . :)

Much love and thanks for taking us on this memorable journey to a place where music is the bond! At one moment during last night's performance, the group in our section joined hands and raised them up in the air united by the Cool One's greatness and sharing that wonderful Purple Funky Town place!  I thought the wave was really cool too.

Now if only I could win the Lotto so I can fly to Europe to follow his tour there! I'll be in Italy this year, but unfortunately not while he's there!

PhotoHunt: Looking Down

Looking down from the Campanile of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Churches in Venice by AnnieNC) located on the wonderful island of Torcello in Venice, Italy.

There was barb wire around the viewing deck and it was hard getting my lens through the spaces to take my photos. And although I found a couple of spots where I could stick my lens through for an unobstructed view, this was still my favorite shot. 

See more PhotoHunters HERE!

It's a nice 4-Day Long Memorial Day Weekend for me as Monday is a National Holiday in remembrance of all of our Military Personnel past and present and their families who dedicate themselves to keeping us safe here at home and abroad. Thank you all so much . . .  

I thought I'd share how we celebrate a nice long weekend, Southern California Style with food, festivals, biking, music, sun, games, more food and a whole lot of good times and smiles!

And as an added bonus, there's going to be a whole lot of Purple Funk going down this long Memorial Weekend . . . .

Purple Funk Fest #'s 6, 7, and 8 .  .  .

Happy Memorial Weekend Everyone!

American Idol Finale! Lauren vs Scotty in the battle of the Country teens . . . .

Tonight is the Finale show and it all comes down to two young teenagers, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. Both Country, both young and both very talented. 

I must admit that I was hoping for a Haley vs Scotty finale but in the grand scheme of things I think that it was a virtual 3-way tie between Lauren, Scotty and Haley and I'm happy with any match-up combination.  Maybe AI should really think about turning the final two showdown into a final three showdown.  Now that would be a neat little twist for next season. :)

First, I really want to say a huge thank you to all of my fellow AI fans, AnnieNC, Menehune and Barb for all of your recap comments, thoughts, and opinions throughout the season.  It was totally cool sharing recaps with you all and it made it so much more fun for me watching Idol this season. 

So how will they perform under the intense spotlight, who will deliver the best performance of the night to earn our votes . . . . well, here's how the night went:

Round 1:  Songs that are chosen by Scotty and Lauren.

Scotty McCreery start the finale night with Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone”.  A wonderful performance and great song choice.  Scotty is such a natural on stage and it seems so effortless when he sings.  Great energy and I loved it!

Lauren Alaina starts her first round with Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor”.  I was curious how she would perform since they announced at the beginning that she had strained her vocal cord.  I thought she did a great performance.    

Round 2:  Songs selected by their Idols. 

Scotty McCreery sings George Strait’s “Check Yes or No” and I thought he did a wonderful job.

Carrie Underwood picks "Maybe It Was Memphis" by Pam Tillis for Lauren to sing and she did a fabulous job.  I liked it better than her first song. Wow, this is going to be a tough competition to call. They are both doing really well so far.  

Commercial Break:  The new coco cola song is debuted.  I like it. Very catch and I found the lyrics to be very "positive". :) 

Round 3:  Songs selected by Jimmy Iovine

Scotty McCreery sings “I Love You This Big”and he did a fantastic job.  I loved it!

Lauren Alaina sings “Like My Mother Does” and she did a fabulous job.   And I have to admit that the flood gates opened up as I listened to the lyrics and while watching Lauren perform this song with such emotions.  It was very moving seeing her walk down and give her mom a big hug. 

I have to agree with JLO that both Lauren and Scotty did an outstanding job in all three of their performances tonight.  They are both very deserving to win and no matter who receives the most votes tonight, I believe that they will both have very successful music careers. 

And so tomorrow night we will hear Ryan Secrest say "dim the lights" one last time to find out who will be crowned the New American Idol!    Good luck to both Lauren & Scotty . . .

And that's my Final Recap!  Keep on Rocking American Idol . . . until next season!

American Idol Finale Tonight . . .

Tonight it's the American Idol Season 10 Finale Show, so get your Country/Pop engines running. It's going to be a smackdown competition between probably the youngest final two contestants in AI history.  Lauren Alaina and Scotty Mcreery will compete in tonight's Finale show and it will be fun to watch. I think they are very equally matched with a slight edge to Scotty.

Who knows, maybe someday they will become a living legend like his "Purpleness" (A great title I borrowed from AnnieNC) himself  . . .

Good luck Lauren and Scotty!

PhotoHunt: Cluttered

A very common image (for me) when traveling.

Here's my hotel room's cluttered desktop in Prague. One of the fun things about Independent travel is having the freedom to create and/or change your itinerary on the fly.  Which is what I'm sure I was probably doing here. :)

See more PhotoHunters HERE!

American Idol: Final three sing three songs . . .

Tonight, the Idols perform three songs in order to earn a spot in next week's Finale show and here's how the night went.  

Round 1:  Idol's choice

Scotty McCreery sings "Amazed” by Lonestar - Loved seeing his higher range.

Lauren Alaina sings “Wild One” by Faith Hill - Great energy on stage.

Haley Reinhart sings “What Is and What Should Never Be” by Led Zepplin - Off the charts and I loved seeing her dad "rip it" on guitar. And Kudos to her for getting up after a fall without skipping a beat.

Round 2:  Jimmy Iovine's choice

Scotty McCreery sings “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” by Thompson Square - Perfect song choice.

Lauren Alaina sings “If I Die Young”by the Band Perry - Great song choice and vocals.

Haley Reinhart sings “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac - She has such a range and great stage presence.

Round 3:  Judges choice

Scotty McCreery sings Kenny Rogers’ “She Believes in Me” - Very nice and his dad singing "Baby lock them doors and turn the lights down low . . . so cute!

Lauren Alaina sings Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” - Nailed it . . .

Haley Reinhart sings Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” - I love how Haley gets into all the songs that she sings.

This is probably one of the best group of contestants in this show's history and America has a very difficult choice to make tonight.  Good luck Idols! 

 

I can't wait to see which of these three very talented Idols will compete in the finale show.  And btw, I'm also looking forward to seeing all the Homecoming Celebrations on tomorrow's results show.  AnnieNC (Thanks so much) was kind enough to give me a preview of Scotty's journey back home to the great State of North Carolina and it was very cool to learn that Scotty made good on his word and kissed the ground upon his arrival.  

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



Travel Thoughts: The special finds I found in Italy . . .

While exploring around the town of Monterosso Al Mare in the Cinque Terre, I stumbled upon this small off the beaten path alley.  It felt good to be away from the crowds in this popular town.  But I wasn't alone. :)

PhotoHunt: Missing (Missed)

Lately, I've been really missing . . . need I even say it?  I-T-A-L-Y!

One of my fondest memories of my 2005 European trip was my 3 day stay in Vernazza, Italy  to hike the very beautiful Cinque Terre trails.  Here is a photo looking down on the small town of Vernazza where we stayed.  We hiked to the town of Monterosso Al Mare and enjoyed their annual Lemon Festival celebration. 

See more PhotoHunters HERE!

Blogger Maintenance

Hi all....I'm posting this from my phone. Just wanted to let you know since Wednesday, Blogger has been doing some maintenance. I noticed that I lost not only my recent American Idol post but everyone's comments. I'm hoping it will be returned. For everyone who left comments, Thank you. I hope they too will be recovered.

Meanwhile ...I'm getting that Funky Purple feeling again ...

Happy Mother's Day

 

Love and strength

humor and wisdom

warmth and generosity
comfort and joy
rock and roll

Not a day goes by that I don't think of my mom and all that she did and sacraficed to help me to be the person that I am today.

I just got home from my third Prince Concert.  It was an awesome Purple Funk Fest weekend!  During tonight's party (I mean concert) there were moments during all that dancing, whoo hooing and screaming that thoughts of my mom surfaced.  Let me share a little something with you all . . . Mom loved to sing, dance and she loved music.  She was really cool that way and I know she woud have loved seeing the Purple One peform live. 

Mom you gave me so much in life and one of the things that I truly treasure is how you gave me your love for music.  Many thanks and much love to you on Mother's Day. . .

And a very Happy Mother's Day to all the very special Moms out there!

PhotoHunt: Digital

Digital photography is one of the most significant technological advances to come along to make things easier for travelers.  The other being the Internet.    

I couldn't resist a scanned film photo from my first ever trip to Europe to further illustrate the point.  And yes, that's me in my very touristy attire . . . shorts, sneakers, bright purple fanny pack and a wrap around sweat shirt.  But hidden under all of that is a very fashionable Italian leather belt I purchased in Florence.   :)  

 

On this trip I brought 20 rolls of film which took so much room, I had to worry about them going through the x-ray machine and I didn't know until I got home whether my photos were any good.  I had to scan this photo because the quality of the negatives have deteriorated over the years.  Look at the difference in the quality. 

I love how Digital photography has made things so much better to take, manage, share and preserve our precious travel memories.

See more PhotoHunters HERE!

Wishing all of you a very Happy Mother's Day weekend!

American Idol: Now and Then . . .

Tonight, the remaining Idols sing songs that are current and from the past.  And here's how the night went: 

James Durbin sings Closer to the Edge which I have not heard of before but it's a high octane rock song and he did great.  Working the stage and audience with ease, James looks like he's ready for stardom.

Jacob Lusk sings No Air and I thought he brought a lot of passion and energy to his performance, but I'm not sure it was his best vocal performance or the greatest song choice for him. 

Lauren Alaina sings a Carrie Underwood song, Flat on the Floor.  This was probably the most energetic and powerful performance that she has done in the entire competition.  Sheryl Crow gives Lauren some great mentoring advice.

Scotty McCreery sings another song that I have never heard of before called Gone.  All I can say is Wow!  I have to agree with Steven Tyler we really did see another side to Scotty tonight and I loved it.  Great stage presence, excellent vocals and a bit of playfulness.

Haley Reinhart sings an unreleased song by Lady Gaga called You and I.  Now I'm not a big fan of Lady Gaga but I'm a big fan of Haley and I thought she did a fantastic job.  I completely disagree with JLO and Randy and I agree for once with Jimmy Lovine.  America please vote on performance and talent and not on what the judges said about Haley's performance.

And now, here's how it went for the Idols singing songs from the past:

James Durbin sings Without You and although it wasn't his best vocal performance it was very touching to see what he was feeling emotionally.  

Jacob Lusk sings a rock song from Nazareth called Love Hurts and I actually liked this performance better than his first song choice.  And by the way, Cheryl rocks!

Lauren Alaina sings Unchained Melody and although I liked her first performance better, I thought she did a wonderful job. 

Scotty McCreery sings Always on My Mind and in typical Scotty fashion he nails it.  Great song choice and as expected great vocal performance.  I still can't believe that he's only 17 years old. And  I love that his grandma got some airtime. So sweet.

Haley Reinhart sings House of the Rising Sun and she gets the first and only standing O from the judges and Randy calls it the best performance" of the night.  And I would have to agree with Randy.  She is so diverse as an artist.

I won't be doing my usual ranking of the Idol performances tonight, because as far as I'm concerned the top five Idols are all winners and I just want to wish all of them the best of luck.  Plus I don't want to jinx my favorites. :)

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