그요일 아침: "friday i'm in love," a famous song by the cure... last nite was the depeche mode concert @ the shoreline amphitheatre, the 1st show'f the 3rd (n' final?) leg'f their current touring the angel 2005/2006 tour. 'twas a really exciting nite. i don't go to rock concerts as often as i used to, back in my early days'f college. i hurried home from werk. b4 i left, i tried to call the beautiful kaela hwang, but she didn't answer. when i got home, she wasn't home, so i tried to go to the bank. @ 1'f my banks, my atm card was rejekted. it's been like that 4 a while, i 4got, but i dunno why. b4, i just assumed it was a temporary thing, but i'll need to look further into this. then i went to 'nother bank n' withdrew $40 in ¢a$h in case i wanted to buy a (ripoff) concert souvenir (or 2) or refreshments. then i headed back home, hopefully to meet kaela. however, just b4 i got home, she called me back n' told me to fetch us some dinner cos she was still on her way home. i headed out to el pollo loco to use a gift checks ¢oupon to buy 1 big burrito n' get 1 free. 'twas a really good deal! i bought 1 ultimate grilled burrito ($4.49) n' got 1 twice grilled burrito ($4.99) 4 free. the ¢a$hier didn't take my ¢oupon 'way, so i can use it 'gain. what a great deal! well, i brought the fud home, n' kaela had just gotten home. we let sooni in from the back yard ("backyard"?) n' ditched her in the house, as we drove off in a rush to mtn view (mountain view). on the drive, we ate the twice grilled burrito, (messy). traffik up (the) 101n wasn't 2 bad, n' i was happy to use the carpool lane.
as we approached the shoreline amphitheatre, after passing all sorts'f corporate offices, i was reminded'f the amphitheatre's beautifully natural setting. wow! it smelled so nice! it took a while to get parking in the grassy, dusty lot. each'f our assigned seating tix s'pposedly included a $4 parking fee, but i think ne1 could park in the lot 4 free, so i guess our $4 fee was more like a donation to some kind'f "gen'l parking fund," sumpthin' like a tax, u know? that's such an aeroline thing to do, but i guess i'm glad we had parking n' realise i would've been grumbling if there'd been an attendant demanding $4 in ¢a$h. 'twas pretty exciting, walking thru the beautiful parking field to the amphitheatre.
kaela n' i noticed that depeche mode fans certainly r a special breed. most ppl were our age or older, looked very professional, looked very college.edukated, looked alternative but classy. that ain't ur typical rock band fan description, eh? however, there was always sumpthin' a li'l uppercrustily highbrow 'bout depeche mode's eurochicness!
[later] 오후: well, kaela n' i got to the concert in time. we got to enjoy the festivity'f the amphitheatre. it's like disneyland 4 rockin' adults. they have all sorts'f only mildly overpri¢ed fud n' beverages (after spending the season on the slopes, i realise that fud can be more overpri¢ed, altho' it shouldn't), souvenir stands, promotion booths, n' (quasi telegraph ave) jewelry stands. i was interested in buying a depeche mode messenger bag ($40), but they were sold out. instead, i bought kaela a nice, fitted ringer tee (black w/ white ringer n' white "mr. feathers" logo) n' a army green tour (more masculine) t.shirt 4 myself. yah, of course, they were both overpri¢ed, but they're fun, n' i enjoyed feeling like a kid 'gain. i haven't really cn ne'f these things 4 ¢heaper on ebay. after briefly checking out the 1st opening act group "she wants revenge," we walked out'f the seating area back to the festivities area. i bought us a kona brewing co. longboard lager n' saw our friend allen tang w/ his gf. we went back in to watch the 2nd opening act "scissor sisters," a total 1980s style band. wow, it was like being in a time warp, as their sound n' look were so authentically 1980s! wow. they were just ok, tho'... i enjoyed the flashback but wouldn't say they're all that great. they sounded like a band i'd hear in the background @ a bar in tahoe. i don't mean that as 2 much'f a putdown. they were ok, just not great.
well, kaela n' i took a few bathrm breaks b4 depeche mode came on stage. wow, what an awesome show. i'd read in pro sound n' lighting industry zines (magazines) that the show'd be visually stunning, and wow... it was! the special effekts (or whate'er u call'em) were so much better than well... i think... ne other concert i've been to! it was like the cirque du soleil of elektronic lighting equipment!
[later] the setlist? u can find that on "home" - depeche-mode.com:
i knew the lyrics to most'f the songs, n' it's more fun that way. i expekted a 2nd encore from the dokumentation'f their recent shows, but we only got 1. maybe that's due to the 2 opening acts (instead'f 1, i think). well, 'twas a big mass exodus from the amphitheatre to the parking lot, but the exit from the parking lot was honestly less painful than i expekted. apparently, the amphitheatre management is smart 'nuff to know how to layout some good exit routes to disperse the crowd. that's kewl.
2day, i had a harder time waking up than i expekted. i walked sooni. i went to werk. i wanted to go to the turbo kick box (tkb) class @ lunch @ the nearby 24 hr fitness, but my cowerker asked me to have lunch w/ him, so i totally accepted cos it's nice to have friends @ werk. he n' i talk 'bout martial arts n' have a bit in common since we're both alumni'f both berkeley n' sjsu.