Jewel live in Vancouver 2008

Just came back from Jewel's concert held at River rock theatre in Richmond. Upon realizing the theatre's located in a casino, I thought, hey, this place is tailored for Jewel! =D Her easygoing self fits beside neon lights and busy people, maybe a cup of beer to complement the picture.

I took two photos before concert starts. No recording device is allowed throughout the concert. Why didn't I sneak a few shots with my cell phone? I don't know.Our seats are in the 2nd row on the side.R says Jewel's side profile resembles Paris Hilton XD No doubt they're both blondes but one can sing the other does not.



Stage prop is simple: a corner table with a book and a vase (fake flowers?), two guitars and a mic.That's it.Jewel style.


As the lights dimmed, Jewel came on stage in black boots amidst a round of applause and whistles which quickly died away as she belt out 'Some~~~~where over the rainbow~~' It gave me quite a start. My hands jerked a little for two reasons: 1.It's very very very loud (Yes I'm in 2nd row). 2.She sounds wild. I'm not sure which effect weighs more on me, the amplifier or her soulful singing.

As usual, I don't remember the set list. The first couple of songs are picked from earlier albums, most of them from 'Pieces of you'. She told stories of her childhood and teenage hood in between, made fun of Celine Dion (a slim person like her spotting double chin when straining her neck to hit high notes), and 'a scandalous encounter' with Bob Dylan who invited her to his dressing room for an artist chat without coming onto her. Guess what Jewel's thinking 'O he must be gay!'And many more jokes that sparked sporadic laughters from the audience.She could be a great stand-up comedian =D

Jewel pulled the usual vocal tricks freewheeling between deep, powerful operatic voice to innocent saccharine whispers. Seeing her live before on TV, nothing's sparkling new to me. Still for some reason I found it a bit hard to breathe. Tension grabbed my chest disturbing the usual rhythm of breathing in and out, as if the presence of her voice wields like a knife resting on my blood vessels. At that moment I realized how authoritative she is on stage. It's impossible to turn away. My favourite pieces tonight are 'Hands', followed by 'Life Uncommon'. I was downright touched by her exuberant strength and spirit. A wondrous belief that we can truly free ourselves from life's slavery is starting to overwhelm me... as she determinedly strummed her guitar. What a hearty vibration.

However I was a bit sad? the sensitive love songs no longer touch me, like 'foolish games', 'morning song', 'you were meant for me' etc. Her performance is beautiful but I am simply numb. Like I've never experienced this emotion before, never known any heartaches. Jewel's a romantic poet falling in and out of love. The weight of every break-up and scratch apparent in her moaning, so are the sweet blesses. I can't help a little disappointment that my empathy has unknowingly slipped away.So be it!What an apathetic thought I had.I probably need a painful stab.

She also performed three or four pieces from the new country album. The title track 'Perfectly clear' is a still mental image, 'a pretend picture' she had in her mind: A man and a woman stand in the doorway. The sky is blue. The man was all packed, ready to go, and fumbling for some awkward words to say. The woman said to him 'Save it.'Not until she started to sing did I feel how heavy the picture was. 'Five years of kisses packed in your bag' - I thought of my friends and their winding relationships, and this burden called time. Why are we made nostalgic?

The last piece she sang was 'Who will save your soul'. I've heard the little talk before, won't blame the repetition though. Jewel wins my uttermost respect as an artist and a role model with enriching experience of overcoming endless struggles. Way to go girl! (no longer a girl, but...) She came back for encore and performed three more songs. The last one was a traditional folk song 'Chime Bells' and she didn't shy showcasing her yodel tricks. 'The crazy yodel singer' - no doubt.

Jewel yodeling Chime Bells - Atlantic City 12.02.2006


If there's only one word I can use to describe Jewel, that would be 'soulful'.

Backup descriptives are 'crazy', 'fun', and 'crazy fun'. XD

4 new Love Psychedelico live clips

Just found these...=)


Your Song (Budokan '07! One of the commentors to the tubie says the DVD will be released in June, fingers crossed..)


Freedom


Right Now


Everybody needs somebody. In my opinion this song is one of the best to be played live, arrangement or vocal part-wise...almost better than the studio version!

And another old clip of "Everybody needs somebody" from Budokan first time round..good old times =p

KOKIA

I just started listening to KOKIA. There're 2 or 3 tracks in Red Garden OST that caught my notice and I tried other songs. Her voice is classically trained, perfect control and tuning. Her singing style is a strange blend of opera, folk and pop ('opera' being her strength and highlight).

Basic info from Wiki.theppn

KOKIA is a Japanese singer-songwriter hailing from Tokyo. She is mostly associated with games and anime soundtracks; having appeared in eight different game/anime soundtracks to date. KOKIA has an extremely talented voice - she even held a long-tone Opera note for a little over 29 seconds on national TV once. She is most well-known in Hong Kong and Taiwan for her song Arigatou..., which became so popular it was even covered by star Sammi Cheng. Her biggest hit in Japan was the single The Power of Smile / Remember the Kiss, which reached #15 on Oricon charts.

External Links
Official web (old)
Official web (new)
Happii KOKIA (fansite in Eng & French) - very resourceful!

Some live clips from youtube,
She always performs barefoot! It seems she has a large fan base in France.

[Live] KOKIA - Bataclan 2007 part 1/2


[Live] KOKIA - Bataclan 2007 part 2/2


[Live] KOKIA - Arigato (in France)


KOKIA - Aishiteirukara
This one makes me a bit nostalgic.Coz I sure heard it when I was a kid,on radio!lol.

Rufus News

Woke up this morning at 11:11, and my google reader notifier calmly said I have about 60 new feeds (10 hours after I last read), most of them under the ‘music’ tag. I thought Oh man, I hope blogspot didn’t automatically republish ukulele…and as it turns out everything was from this one “Rufus Wainwright RSS feed”, talking about bulk updating for your musician…

So, lots of Rufus news--sold-out live shows and touring and interviews and all--Rufus is one busy man (or maybe just that he can’t help being in High Demand). The most exciting of all is his new song on The Robinsons soundtrack, called Another Believer, is available for listening on his MySpace page. The song sounds catchy and cheerful, pop enough for an anime movie, but very Rufus nonetheless. And the most ‘bizarre’ of all is the cover to the new album, Release the Stars, due for release on May 15.

Does anybody else think this is a little unsettling on first glance?

The tracklist is also released, it reads

01 Do I Disappoint You
02 Going to a Town
03 Tiergarten
04 Nobody's Off the Hook
05 Between My Legs
06 Rules and Regulations
07 I'm Not Ready to Love
08 Slideshow
09 Tulsa
10 Leaving for Paris
11 Sanssouci
12 Release the Stars

I think I just saw some interesting title choice…and words foreign to me. Seems Rufus likes his literary allusions as ever, and I have a good feeling it’s not gonna disappoint me in the least.

In other news, the anticipated documentary film Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (in which Rufus among many others pays his tribute and performs 3 songs) just screened in New York. I have great respect for the man (though the man has not released any new material in many a year…But I’ve yet to exhaust his rich old stuff, so I am not as disgruntled), and I am hoping it comes my way soon (if at all). Without further ado, a trailer for your pleasure.



and I'll wrap up it all with Rufus live in concert, performing Greek Song. Yum.



(and...I curbed the next thousand incoherent words I wanted to say of Rufus...no small effort I tell you...)