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StereoStef's items Stephanie Stoltz Chavez

9/25/2009

Ting Tings Adidas Paint Party in Hollywood

Last Friday I got a text message stating, “the first 10 people to reply – ‘I want to go’ win tickets to see The Ting Tings tomorrow night.” I promptly replied. I had signed up on a couple of artists’ text messaging lists via mozes.com but I hadn’t really got updates until now. So I went to the website and saw that several people already replied but I was still within the 10 people. Shortly after, I received a text message congratulating me and giving me an email address to contact for more info. I emailed and didn’t hear anything.

Friday night I was at home and checked my email and still no response; I thought it was for the best because I was working on Saturday anyways. So, I went to work and decided to email again and still nothing. I started feeling sad because I saw how fun the Manchester gig was and wanted to be a part of it. I was looking at photos of people covered in paint. This was going to be their “round 2” of the Adidas Paint Party.

I emailed PR again with my phone and got a quick reply. She stated that she had emailed me twice. Maybe my email address was acting up, so I emailed her with my cell number and told her to please text me the info. It was 5pm and I was at work until midnight. It seemed like time wasn’t on my side. I got a text with the address, the starting time (7pm) and a message saying, “have fun!” I’m afraid of rejection and I was scared to ask my job if I could leave early. I told them we were caught up and luckily my request was granted.

I clocked out of work, went to pick up my niece Kristeenah – yes she was the lucky one, and went home to change. We got to the place at exactly 7:01pm. I left her there to wait in line while I roamed the streets of Hollywood looking for parking. I parked almost a mile away, because everything was 1 hour parking, and walked back to the spot as fast as I could, trying to ignore all the dumb text messages (hurry up x 10; Where are you? The line is moving) my niece was sending me. I got in line and we were just waiting. A few workers passed by saying, “you guys are going to have so much fun.” The anticipation was killing me…let’s go in!

They checked off my name on the guest list, gave us release forms to fill out and a ticket to get our Adidas gear. Unfortunately they ran out of my size for jacket but I got a cool Adidas shirt and track pants. There were changing rooms and clothes check. After we were ready, WE WALKed downstairs into this little club with neon lights. They had photos on the walls from the Manchester gig. The DJ was spinning music, people were dancing, refreshments were provided, and a 21+ section with free beer was designated. I ditched my niece and enjoyed a few adult beverages.

Per The Ting Tings website, “the art/paints are going to transformed into collectible covers of our ‘Great DJ’ single.” A curtain was opened where the band was going to perform and girls walked around with trays of bottles of paint. Paint was thrown everywhere, squirting neon colors throughout the crowd and on the black walls. That went on for about 15 minutes and then the band took the stage.

We Walk was the song they started out with. The crowd was jumping and singing along while neon splats shot out in every direction. Great DJ was next and just thinking about it takes me back to that party. That’s exactly what it was; a huge paint party. I kept thinking how lucky everybody in that room was to be experiencing such an awesome event. I didn’t want the night to ever end. I tried to take as many photos as possible without ruining my camera. Actually, I just wanted to enjoy the performance and wish I had brought another camera to record the show. I attempted to take a video with my iPhone and it came out a bit muffled but it still captures the energy of the show. Keep Your Head was my favorite song performed and of course, That’s Not My Name was the highlight of the evening. All in all, this was the most fun I’ve ever had and wish everybody the opportunity to experience this.

Thank you TING TINGS & ADIDAS and everybody else that helped put this event together. I look forward to seeing the CD covers.


9/19/2009

Yeah Yeah Yeahs in Pomona

This was my first time seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I've missed them before and never got to see them in small venue, as I would've liked to. They were playing The Greek Theatre but I didn't get tickets. My friend, MEL, gave me the heads up about the Pomona show. I've never been to The Fox Theatre but I was excited to go because it was way smaller than the other venues. I got tickets during the fan presale.

I was scheduled, on the day of the concert, to get braces. During the procedure, I was feeling a little sore and tired and I actually thought about not attending the show. I ended up feeling a little better during the days and wasn't going to let this little set back stop me from going to the show. A lot of friends were going and I was sure it was going to be a blast...I mean BLITZ.

Just my friend Richard and I were going to go but at the last minute, my friend messaged me that she had tickets to sell for this sold out show. I contacted a few people and my friend Jow was able to go. So the 3 of us headed out to Pomona, drank a bit before, and met up with some friends. We had a good spot and towards the end of the show was let into the pit.

The show was awesome! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs rocked! The crowd was awesome! It was a great performance! I'm not much of a reviewer when it comes to live gigs. I'm not good using words to express the energy of the concert. I'm more of a visual person. I took some photos that can be viewed on my flickr page and hopefully within the next week or so, i'll upload a couple of clips on YouTube.