we indulged ourselves this past month by going to see a concert in the oc fair. they featured the group, lifehouse, which was introduced to me by a cd my boss let me listen to. apparently the group was from the oc and the pacific amphitheatre was the biggest venue they have played to date. their most famous song that went platinum within a few weeks of release was "hanging by a moment". but they have a lot of new songs that are being played on the radio right now, i just don't know what their titles are but i can sing them when i hear them:)
it was the first concert i watched here in the US since my father-in-law's health doesn't allow us to do much plus we are trying to start our own business and that pretty much takes up all of our spare time. but for at least an hour or two, we felt like teenagers again, going out on a date with no cares or worries. i think it was worth going to...
another unexpected indulgence was going to watch the miss universe pageant in the shrine auditorium. we live in the oc and news didn't reach us that the pageant was going to be held in los angeles until the week before when my husband's friend in san francisco called to ask about tickets. seeing as my husband produces pageants and enjoys doing so, i thought i'd give him a treat and take him to see the show.
it was a sweltering hot sunday afternoon when we went to the shrine. i dressed comfortably, but took along my suit jacket just in case it was a formal affair. it was! women were wearing gowns to go and watch the show-- and men were in their formal wear in the 100-degree weather.
we were starstruck by how many tv stars we saw. people would just walk by and i'd think, i was just watching her on mtv. i'm sure there were a lot more stars that i didn't notice, i was bent on studying this big pageant's production.
the set design was very simple, just huge pillars, risers covered with stairs and a starkly white motiff with black stage curtains at the back. the pageant was made for television, not for a live audience. this means that those choreography of the candidates you see on tv, there's a choreographer with a mic coaching them--"step, step, sway, turn, pose!" all throughout the show. people in black were guiding the hosts where to stand, guiding the women as they walked on the catwalk.
our pageant was produced for a live audience therefore the girls had to learn the moves before the show and there is no prompter telling them what to do! i watched how the women walked during the swimsuit competition, this was how one of our girls did her swimsuit display, i guess she really watched the miss universe pageant very closely. i didn't like the way they had the women do their half turn. it was very abrupt, not at all how a beauty queen usually turns. all the girls seemed awkward doing it!
oh well i will not bore you with too many rants. all in all, the experience of being there, actually watching what you had previously watched on tv for so long was great. even if it wasn't quite what i had expected it to be. at least when i am old and grey it will be another story to tell my grandchildren:)
