Butterfly Rain

It was not a typical Thursday. My friends and I closed down our laptops with a bang, headed to the nearest exit at 3.oo PM. Grateful to escape an afternoon that promised to be filled with tedious, yawn inducing meetings, we sensed freedom and adventure. We were going to Dusseldorf, Germany (centre of the universe) to see Coldplay in concert at the Esprit Arena!!!!  

We could not have planned our trip more perfectly. 2 1/2 hours later we pulled up in front of our little hotel rated #1 by Tripadvisor (the Max Garni hotel) and were greeted by its delightful owner Christian. He immediately guessed why the four of us were “visiting” Dusseldorf on a Thursday and handed over four free tram passes, a couple maps and keys for each of us (“in case we got separated to open the door at any hour.”) Three blocks to the tram, a 20 minute ride through the burbs, we spilled out onto the platform one hour before showtime, marveling at German organisation and how this would never happen in Belgium. A ‘couple’ caipirinhas later we staked out our territory on the ”floor level”. ‘Chriiiiiiiiiis!!!’ (Chris Martin) we yelled, adrenaline pumping with excitement as we strained for a glimpse of our favourite lead singer.

The concert was simply AWESOME.  Difficult to find other words to describe it. It was my second time in a year seeing this fab four from England take the stage with their alternative  music and touch of edge. Their ‘Viva la Vida’ tour is regarded as one of the best concerts of 2009, and it is no wonder why they have sold out stadiums for almost one year straight.  Coldplay is among a dying breed of big star studded rock bands that appreciate the power of their fans and put their heart and soul into their live performances. 

Happy memories!

We played ‘balloon volleyball’ on the floor, sang an acoustic tribute with the guys to Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ when they suddenly appeared at the back of a stadium to be closer to fans who seemingly had the worst seats in the house. (Talk about lucky people!) We did the mobile phone wave (well, attempted to do so) and hushed to a near silence (all 40,000 of us) as thousands of coloured paper butterflies fluttered down in the night breeze to the haunting lyrics of  ’Lovers in Japan’ and ‘Death of all his friends’. 

Check out the band’s photoblog of the big night in Dusseldorf here! http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=482

 ”By the way, on the way home, Chris was saying that it was one of his favourite Coldplay shows ever. Good work Dusseldorf!” said Anchorman on coldplay.com.

Viva la vida! Viva Coldplay!

My tribute to MJ

It’s only appropriate as a child growing up in the ’80s to spend a couple minutes paying tribute to the King of Pop.  Acknowledging Michael Jackson as the ”greatest entertainer that ever lived,” (Berry Gordy, Jr. Motown Records at his memorial service today) is probably not far off the mark. Yes, Michael Jackson entertained us – in all senses of the word – with his music, gift for dance, quirky and mysterious ways, down to his last day and farewell – gold casket and all.

I am emotionally drained. It’s been almost a week and a half since Michael Jackson left us for Neverland. The flood of media coverage, fan tributes and special magazine editions are seemingly endless. Having just spent the last two hours watching his memorial service, I feel almost as tired as if I had been there with family, friends and 11,000 of Michael’s fans in the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  My eyes are swollen and a pile of kleenex sits on the coffee table having traded text messages with a friend during the service making fun of ourselves at how fast we succumbed to the emotion of the moment. I thought it was great when Brooke Shields reminisced about teasing Michael about the question we always wondered, “What’s up with the (white sequin) glove?!” 

I may not own all of his albums but I own ‘Thriller’ – in cassette form – and am proud to be one of those millions of fans that contributed to its success as best selling album ever.  Upon reflection, every Michael Jackson song I have ever had the honour to listen to has brought me joy. As a little girl growing up in the Virgin Islands, I remember dancing barefoot and carefree to ‘Beat it’, a family favourite and running joke with my Dad and sister. ‘Billie Jean’ was always a music staple at school dances and who still does not like ‘We are the world”? ‘Man in the mirror’ gives us pause to think how we can all strive to be better people… 

Imagine ‘Don’t stop ’til you get enough’ – and a whoop of cheers, moonwalk dancing wannabe’s and 800 colleagues paying our own spontaneous tribute to the King of Pop at our summer company bbq last Saturday, 27 June one night after his untimely death. With it, the song brought a smile and a memory for every person in that room.

The joy of MJ’s music is what I will always remember and be thankful for. Admittedly, my Thriller cassette is a little worse for wear so I’m going to join the millions of fans around the world and download a new version, along with the rest of his foot tapping, moonwalking, energetic repertoire. May Paris, Prince Michael and ‘Blanket’ live happily ever after with their father’s music rights and top his listing in the Guinness Book of World Records for ‘most charities supported by a pop star’.

Thriller – number one record ever sold

750 million records sold

13 #1 singles; plus 4 more with the Jackson 5

13 Grammys

Hall of Fame twice (as Michael Jackson, with the Jackson 5)

He discovered the moonwalk driving through Harlem and stopped to watch street dancers and asked them to teach him

“Greatest entertainer in the world”? Michael Jackson has my vote.  

Thank you MJ. 

“If music be the food of love; play on”

- William Shakespeare  

I used to regularly cross swords with my piano lesson teacher.  “Count out loud!” she would insist in an exasperated voice.  I would resentfully ping a couple wrong notes to irritate her further until the lesson was over so I could play again by ear. 

Ironically my grandmother was a well-established pianist and teacher.  With two grand pianos in her living room, the family would delight in listening to her play.  She always believed my creative and rebellious side towards the piano had potential. Armed with gifts of chirpy sheet music from “The Sound of Music” and a little Hayden and Bach thrown in, I would relish banging out the notes – MY way.

Friday night, LeJaguar and I had the spontaneous opportunity to hear Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky play Janacek, Prokofiev and Chopin.  At 36, Lugansky’s inspiring repertoire has gained him worldwide acclaim. We were awed by his ability to hit the perfect notes in his interpretation of these great classics entirely by ear.  It was also a reminder how important it is to make the effort to hear live performances.

The keyboard may now be closed on my ebony and ivory future as a concert pianist, however music continues to bring joy to my life.  My collection of favourites is as eclectic as my personality.  Alicia Keys, ColdPlay, Moby, Garth Brooks, Jem, The Fray, Duran Duran, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Akon, Faith Hill, Andrea Bocelli, Vivaldi, Mozart and many, many more…

Whether it’s dancing around the living room with friends, singing off-key in the car, leaning over to hold a sure hand at a concert or dancing until the wee hours of the morning, there is an association with each artist and song: a memory of the person or people I was with, the circumstances and emotion of the moment.

And when all is quiet, the Bose stereo system turned off, the iPod stuffed into my coat pocket, if I listen carefully and tune my ear, I can still hear my pianist grandmother practicing (but not counting out loud).