Last week was a pretty long week. The beginning of my week began with sleepless nights, studying, and midterms.
Then on a gloomy Wednesday, May 18, I got a tweet from a friend, telling me that Clara Chung was going to have a little show at UCR, which is about a 10-15 minute drive from my house. I remember this day clearly because it wasn't one of my best days for all I wanted to do was go home and catch up on sleep. The headache I also had that day made it even worse. But on top of all of that, I thought to myself, "Why not? I could use a little fun." So I went to see Clara C. perform at UCR (which was my first time to see her live), and I'm glad I did. In Clara's presence, it's hard not to smile or laugh because she's got a very bubbly personality and she shows that on stage, and in between songs, she'd interact with the audience, which makes her show very intimate and entertaining. And if her silly and bubbly presence isn't enough, her classy voice, her use of her instruments, and her band sound amazing together! If you've ever seen Imogen Heap perform, the way Clara handles her instruments is kind of like that. Sorry, it's kind of hard to explain. haha! You kind of just have to see it yourself. Anyway, let's just say that even if my head was throbbing, it was worth watching Clara and her band perform live. Also, it was worth seeing Digbyholic faces. :)
If midterms and Clara C. wasn't enough for the week, I also went out to see Kina Grannis, which was also my first time to see her live, at the Largo on Friday, May 20, with other fellow Digbyholics. If I remember correctly, I left my home at 5:30pm and filled up my gas tank, and then got some crispy chicken strips from Jack-in-the-Box to eat while I drive off to LA. haha. Thankfully, my drive to LA was not bad. My car didn't breakdown and there was no traffic until I actually got to LA. lol. So I arrive at the venue about half an hour before the show started.
Before the show started, one of the staff who worked there welcomed us all and gave us heartbreaking news. lol. We were not allowed to take videos or take pictures or even use our phones for purposes like they want to show respect to the artist and it's always been their policy. So unfortunately, I can't share exactly how much of a success and how much fun the show was with pictures or videos, which means that I couldn't share the show to my friends around the world. </3 But if we were caught with any of those, we'd be kicked out. So I'll just write this blog. haha.
Anyway, Kina's opening act was "Imaginary Friend," who's real name I forgot, sorry. lol. But anyway, he was pretty good and he was so shy, it was cute. :) After he performed, there was an intermission and Kina was up next.
When it was time for Kina, her band members walked out from behind the curtains on stage left and the audience started to cheer and others would make remarks like, "You're not Kina!" or "Where's my wife?!" haha. Then the band started playing the first song on the set list, which was, "The One You Say Goodnight To." Few minutes later, Kina and her sisters, Misa and Emi, walked out from behind the curtains on stage left with her iPhone, her set list, a wine glass (which later she explained is filled with olive oil because her doctor said that it's supposed to help her voice work better), and a mug of hot water with honey and a rasberry on the bottom that her younger sister, Emi, made for her because she was sick.
Anyway, Kina puts her things down on a stool and runs over to the mic in the middle, puts her set list on the floor, and starts singing the song, while her sisters are singing the harmonies. It was until about half way through the song, Kina told the band to stop playing and said that she felt like she was singing in the wrong key, but in reality, she was doing just fine. Poor Kina was so sick that her hearing was a bit muffled. She described it as like cotton balls and fluffy stuff are stuffed in her head, so it muffled her hearing. haha. It was even funnier though because her older sister, Misa, replied by teasing Kina saying that there's always cotton balls and fluffy stuff in her head. haha. After that, they started the song again and the show went on.
I'm not going to share every single detail about the show, but I will tell you my favorite highlights of the show.
In between her songs, Kina has to tune her guitar, and at one point, she explained that she can't multitask to talk and tune the guitar at the same time, so it was fortunate to have her sisters there to entertain the audience while she tunes her guitar. haha. So while Kina tunes her guitar, her sisters would be telling jokes or dancing. Her band also played along by jamming some tunes. At one point, the band started playing an upbeat tune and Emi started dancing, and Kina glanced over at her sister and got excited, so she started dancing too. lol. And also in between songs, when Kina would take a sip of olive oil, the audience goes, "Ewww!!" lol.
Also, Kina tells stories behind some of her songs and the story of her Grandfather's uke, that was stolen while she was on tour one time, but was replaced by a new uke with her name on it from her street teamers. :)
Other highlights, of course, would be my favorite performances, which were "Message From Your Heart" (first Kina original song I ever heard) and "Without Me," not because they're my favorite songs, but because of the way she performed them. What I loved about "Message From Your Heart" was that she stepped away from the mic and stood all the way to the front of the stage. She also asked the audience to participate and sing along with her. The fact that she stepped away from the mic and came closer to the audience made the show much more intimate and personal. It was an incredible moment and feeling. Pretty cool. Then she walked off stage, but came back for an encore of 2 songs, one of them being, "Without Me." What I liked about this performance was that she really gave this one her all, since it was her last song. She really sang this one with all that she had left of her voice. It was pure awesomeness!
So overall, the band was amazing, watching the sisterly bond on stage was entertaining, her sisters' harmonies were beautiful, and even though Kina said that her voice was not at it's very best, we couldn't even really tell because she did an incredible job. With all of that said, I give her much love and respect for her dedication to give all that she can offer for her fans. Kina is one of the greatest sweethearts on earth! :)
I kind of wish I had stuff like this to say to her though. I was so starstrucked, I didn't know what to say. lol. First time around is always like that, I guess. Oh well... :)
Then on my one and a half hour drive home, eating cold french fries from Jack-in-the-Box to help keep me awake (lol), I was thinking back to how crazy my week was, and I couldn't help but smile at all the good times. It's a great feeling. I wish every weekend could make me feel like that.
Here's a video I found on YouTube of Kina Grannis at NYC, playing "Without Me" with her band. It's just an awesome song and I want to share. lol. :)
