Alicia Keys MSG Concert Review

June 18th: ALICIA KEYS at Madison Square Garden - In sharp contrast to the intimate performance by My Brightest Diamond the night before, was Alicia Keys' Vegas-styled extravaganza tonight at Madison Square Garden. Four background singers and six dancers complemented a full band behind Alicia, wearing tight jeans that showed off her bountiful thighs, as she alternated between pop star and pianist, at times performing moves with her dancers or just letting her piano and voice be the show without any distractions. The huge stage was adorned with massive screens across the top (the center sometimes split into two images) and below, a semi-dome that parted in the middle for Alicia to enter and exit the backstage. The glitz began with a short film featuring Cedric The Entertainer as a preacher instructing Alicia to go out and share her gifts with the world followed by the whirlwind combo of "Ghetto Love" (originally recorded with dancehall artist Cham) and "Waiting For Your Love" (a bonus track on the digital version of the 'As I Am' album). Amidst the flurry of movement, the music seemed to get a little lost and was a bit muddy to the point where I could hardly tell what songs were being played. There was some improvement afterward which could very well be due to the songs being more familiar to me, but the pace slowed a little also. In fact, the best songs of the night were ones that Alicia sang at her piano with very little excess. The dancers and background singers all got their time in the spotlight though, the girls performing "Lady Marmalade" and male vocalist Jermaine Paul covering Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up" while the dancers showed their moves. Jermaine also won the approval of the arena singing three duets with Alicia including taking Usher's place for the #1 duet "My Boo". The excess all came together on "Karma" which got a James Bond makeover with her dancers as faux Bond girls. The night ended on a high note literally as Alicia's piano rose out of the end of the stage near the center of the floor for the second encore so she could deliver a passionate version of "If I Ain't Got You". Both she and piano ascended above the floor seats as the song reached its zenith as if being called to heaven. The bombast was befitting of a local girl that after months of touring had finally come home.

Set list:
As I Am (intro)

Ghetto Story

Waiting For Your Love

Where Do We Go From Here

You Don't Know My Name

Teenage Love Affair

Lady Marmalade (Labelle) (background singers only)

Heartburn

Sure Looks Good To Me

How Come You Don't Call Me (Prince)

Butterflyz

Prelude To A Kiss

Superwoman

I Need You

Wreckless Love

Diary (duet with Jermaine Paul)

Tender Love (Force MDs) (duet with Jermaine Paul)

My Boo (duet with Jermaine Paul)

Unbreakable

Like You'll Never See Me Again

Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1) (Marvin Gaye) (Jermaine Paul solo)

Feeling U, Feeling Me

Go Ahead

A Woman's Worth

Karma

The Thing About Love

Fallin' / It's A Man's Man's Man's World (James Brown) (medley)

Encore one:

No One

Encore two:

If I Ain't Got You

120 minutes

(read more concert reviews at http://blog.myspace.com/sextonseven)

It's closing in on us

Le grande fete is closing in on us. I believe the first participant is already in T&T and the next contingent is scheduled for July 4th. I hope that everyone is looking forward to this reunion as we are in TO. I can already smell the sea and hear the waves brushing gently against the shore. God willing we will be there with our game faces on and for those who couldn't be there we will send you pictures. KB and Chris and Jay (with his new toy) we hope that you are ready and up to the task. Cheers everyone

Global warming is a sham.

At least that's what most Republicans would say. How they would respond to something like this happening for the first time in human history would be interesting to hear. They'd probably ask if there's oil under there somewhere they could drill for.

Perfect family movie...

Now everybody knows Pixar and how great their movies are (Finding Nemo, Cars, The Incredibles, etc). But when ANY movie scores a 97% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 93 on Metacritic.com, that is officially a must-see, even if you aren't into computer animated kid movies about robots. As of this post, Pixar's Wall·E is doing just that. Out of 143 reviews so far, only 5 are negative. Hope you get a chance to check it out! It opens today. (June 27th)

Memorial Day Weekend.

Just thought I'd share some pictures from Memorial Day Weekend at the cottage upstate of Allison, Bella.... and Judy driving! =o)

Shape-shifting skyscraper?

Now this is bizarre and cool at the same time. What happens if it shape-shifts too fast? Do the people in the building get nauseous? Is each floor's movement controlled by an office owning that particular floor? Are there pre-set configurations so that the building doesn't appear to be a jumbled mess of abstract goofiness? Only in Dubai (home of "The World", a man-made island archipalego) would they come up with something so outrageous. And for the extremely rich. Check it out here. Don't forget to check out the little video!

Car powered by H²O!

Wow, the oil companies are not going to like this one. Maybe they will kill it the way they killed GM's first electric car, the EV1, that came out a decade ago in California and Arizona. That's right, GM had 100% electric cars for lease way back in 1997. They killed the vehicle under suspicious reasons. (see the movie/documentary Who Killed The Electric Car?)

Anyhow, this car shown runs on water. Any type of water. Go to the beach with a jug and you've got "fuel" for you car. Amazing!

Nader shoves foot in mouth...

His interview with the Rocky Mountain News was full of so much race-based ignorance, one doesn't even know where to begin to break it down.

• Obama "talks white"? Why is it anytime a black person speaks with proper annunciation, diction and grammar, that person is considered to be "talking white"? That if a person articluates an idea with clarity and perfect vocabulary, that person is "talking white"? Only white people talk that way? Since when is proper English related to one's race? So my Korean co-worker who speaks proper English is "talking white" too?
• "Ghettos"? Is that term still even used anymore? Not good when someone who is for progressive policies uses a word pulled from the last century. All I know is "The Projects" and "The 'Hood" is common terminology for what used to be called the ghetto.
• And since when is Nader an expert on urban issues that blacks are concerned about? And why should Obama focus so much on these issues? Is he not running for President of the United States? He needs to be concerned about issues for all Americans. But according to Nader, that means he has to "talk white" to do that. I didn't know gas prices, healthcare, the war in Iraq, and education where white-only issues.
• And if Nader was so progressive, he'd use Google to research and find out that Obama HAS addressed the very issues he says he hasn't heard him address already. Within this calendar year in fact (as this person was able to find with Google).
• "He wants to appeal to white guilt. You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful." Did it ever occur to Nader that Obama is half white and maybe he is appealing to simply the concerns of all Americans? Sure Nader may only see Obama as black, but nobody ever asks Obama how he sees himself. Maybe Obama sees himself as neither black or white and as such he doesn't have to appeal to only black or white voters. Maybe Obama sees himself as a President for all Americans and doesn't box himself into any one set of issues (i.e Civil Rights) the way Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are categorized by many people.
• And why is it that McCain gets a free pass on all of this nonsense? Because McCain is white, he shouldn't be concerned with what goes on in the "ghetto"? He shouldn't be concerned with black voters period? When Bill Clinton was appealing to the issues of black voters, was he "talking black"? Puhlease.

Okay, I'm done ranting.

Award-winning Photography.

Chance are that when you're the owner of a classic car for a decade or two, you will have a memorable picture of you and the car. Well, here's a photographer named Matteo Ferrari that photographs people and their classic cars to recreate the original photo decades later. The work is called "Automotive Monogamy". Excellent pictures. (Winner of 2007 ARTE Award)

(Ummmmm...his other pictures haven't won any awards. I'll leave it at that. LOL)

My ideas for gas prices.....

Gas....can't live with it, can't live without it.
This is idea #1
.Gas is subsidized. So, gas becomes part of my taxes. I fill my car up and use a government card to "pay" for it. At the end of the year, I am charged for the gas but at a certain amount per litre depending on my income. So, fo those who are in lower tax brackets, they pay less per litre than those who are really rich. Lets face it, if you have a Ferrari, you don' care about how much gas costs. "No need to worry, my accountant handles that." to quote Biggie Smalls. If you are a working stiff living from pay cheque to pay cheque, gas is a big deal. Ok, so this idea is very heavy on paperwork and is kind of socialist (oooohhhh the "S" word) but it would even some things out that some of us absolutely need.

This is idea #2
I should be able to buy a few tanks of gas at a time. I should be able to load a card with gas at $1.29 per litre and buy 1000 litres if I want. You kind of "lock" in a price for a certain amount of time. The oil company gets it money upfront and really, this is what they are supposed to be doing. The gas that is in their underground tanks at the gas station is already there. How its worth more tomorrow is beyond me. They drilled, sumped, refined and delivered it at a certain price. If oil goes up tomorrow, then the gas that is in the barrel becomes more expensive, not the gas that is already delivered to the station.

Idea #3 - last one - I swear
No oil company can own a gas station. Gas should be sold at retail outlets that allow - No - MANDATE variety. So I pull into Bob's gas station and Bob offers Sunoco, Exxon, Shell and other varieties. Now I have theoretically made a bidding situation in my favour. If Shell wants to sell gas that day, they will have to be lower than the others - or offer another benefit (cleans engine as I drive blah blah blah).

So? Whaddaya think?
Oil company execs, feel free to use these ideas at your will!!

Ultimate Roller Coaster.

Now who was it that got sick at Great Adventure during the 2000 Reunion? I think it was on The Great American Scream Machine. Well that roller coaster is a kiddie ride compared to this one at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

The "Top Thrill Dragster" climbs to a height of 420 feet (42 stories) before turning and plunging you straight down at a record-breaking 120 mph. While twisting! No refunds if you are sprayed by recycled food from the person sitting next to you. Or from yourself.

Obama watches You Tube?

Either that or an aide showed him that Keith Olbermann You Tube video I posted a few days ago. His plan to crackdown on speculators and the Enron loophole...and his blaming of former Republican Sen. Phil Gramm can't be a coincidence, can it? The fact that he's also McCain's co-chairman and economic advisor does not sit well with me personally.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday said as president he would strengthen government oversight of energy traders he blames in large part for the skyrocketing price of oil. The Democratic candidate's campaign singled out the so-called "Enron loophole" for allowing speculators to run up the cost of fuel by operating outside federal regulation. Oil closed near $135 a barrel on Friday — almost double the price a year ago.

$300 million prize...paid by your taxes.

For someone who is so against big government, did he even ask the American public if it was okay to spend $300 million of tax payer money to an auto company that should already be doing this without any money incentive to begin with? You'd think auto companies would want to do this regardless because the cars itself would sell like hotcakes. I don't know, maybe someone can explain the logic of this idea to me.

The presumed Republican nominee is proposing a $300 million government prize to
whoever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing
technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the
country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil
dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State
University in California.

Maybe McCain can kill this dumb project since he is all for reducing pork-barrel spending. Killing this $350 million pig of a project would save him from having to further spend our tax money....and net $50 million in the process. If I could bottle and sell common sense, I'd be a trillionaire.

Joining in on the fun!

I have nothing really to type right this moment, but I could not resist joining in on the fun! Looking forward to posting and reading some interesting stuff! I know, if anything, my Chris will make it exciting and fun every day!

Concert King.

For those that don't know, Sean is the undisputed King of Concerts. With a stack of stubs taller then his goddaughter/niece Bella, he no doubt has been to every concert venue in Manhattan. And breaks down each one in depth on his Myspace blog. Bro, you are bananas! And we won't even talk about your comic collection. Nor Gerry's either.

Sextonseven's Concert Blog. (It's also on the blog list on the right)

Did somebody say karaoke?

Jay, if this was coming out sooner, sounds like it'd be right up your alley.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Love to sing? A Japanese toy maker will soon sell a portable, personal karaoke machine so you can belt out your favorite tunes anywhere, and without having to wait for the microphone.

However, I just have this feeling that any karaoke session will never compare to the one during the 2002 reunion in Orlando...

"U don't have 2 be rich 2 be my girl. U don't have 2 be cool 2 rule my world. Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with. I just want your extra time and your..."

95 Degrees. Yankee Stadium.

A Valentine's Day gift of tickets to a Yankee Game seemed perfect. June 7th. A game against Kansas City. Yankees should kick butt. Weather should be nice for a family trip. Bella's first Yankee game. (And possibly her last at Yankee Stadium.) That was until we saw the 7 day forcast for the week. Nice weather in the 70's and then all of a sudden.... +20 degrees for Saturday and Sunday! Oh man. Upper Tier seating, this is not going to be good. Sure enough, we get to our seats and upon sitting down, our legs knew what it was like to be roast bake. Looked up and not a cloud in the sky. Game temperature was in the mid-90's. But wait, which way is west? Alas, in a matter of minutes, the sun was going to pass behind us and we would be in shadow, unlike the poor Upper Tier suckers who were sitting on the first base side. They were guaranteed sun right through the 9th inning.

Elise and Bella go hide underneath at the concession area where it's cooler until the shade comes around the 3rd inning....leaving me to chit-chat with some drunk albeit cordial dudes from Binghamton, NY, one of which was shirt-less. (Luckily they were sitting in the wrong seats and had to leave before Elise and Bella got back.) After which we ordered up some frozen lemonade and watched a thrilling game where despite Andy "Horseface" Pettitte giving up 10 earned runs, the Yankees keep battling back to tie it going into the 9th inning. Upon which Mariano Rivera gives up a lead off home run to start the inning. Only to be saved by Johnny "Dirty Jesus" Damon driving in the winning run and finishing the day going 6-for-6. Putting a smile on Bella's face and making her a Yankee fan for life.

She made lots of friends around us. (Couple of more pictures in the slideshow on the right if you scroll down a bit.)

No more free drinks.

Yep, US Airways is going to charge you for juice, soda, coffee and bottled water. A whole $2 per beverage!

Better get used to carrying lots of singles next time you fly. US Airways is now terminating free drink service. No, not free mini bottles of Jim Beam and cheap Chardonnay, we're talking about all drinks, including soda, fruit juice, coffee, and bottled water, which will soon cost $2 each. Presumably tap water, which may or may not be contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria, will still be free.

Soon you are going to have to feed a dollar into a machine to use the bathroom. Next up will be an extra fee for seats near the front of the plane. Then a fee to use the overhead bin. Then a fee to use the fold down tray table. Then a fee to switch the light on, use the air vent, or to press the flight attendant call button. Then a fee for boarding less then an hour before the flight. Last will be a fee for fresh oxygen. And a tip for the pilot and crew....or risk a bumpy flight and landing.

Reunion 2008

After one year our reunion 2008 is only three weeks away. I hope everyone is excited as I am to get together and relax in Tobago. I hope a good time will be had by all. Too bad not everyone could make it but I am sure they will be sorry after we report on the ball we had in good "ole" T&T.

[Edit - fixed the title from "208" to "2008" - Trininuyawka]

Tall Ships

Yesterday, on a nice bright, cool day we set out to see the tall ships in the Toronto Harbour. I believe that these ships sail around the Great lakes and dock at several ports on these occasions. There were six in port and three really big ones which were: The Blue Nose which is featured on the Canadian dimes. It was a magnificent ship which was made up with a lot of mahagony and very well kept. It seems that it does not go out on the open seas but just hugs the shoreline of the lakes on its way back to Lunenberg, Nova Scotia and is used only as a tourist ship, offering 2 hour cruises. The next two ships were The Pride of Baltimore from Maryland, and the US Brig Niagara which is based in Erie, PA. The original of these to ships were involved in the war of 1812. The Niagara is now a sailing school. My only regret was that I could not see them with the sails up. Apparantely when they leave shore they are hoisted and judging from the brochures, it would be something worth seeing.

[Edit - Here are links for pictures of the US Brig Niagara and the Bluenose II. Very majestic! -Trininuyawka]

Check your junk mail...

Hey everybody,

I sent out a batch of invites but chances are they will end up in your junk folder. (Or you might not even get it if you only receive E-mail from known contacts.) The invite will appear to come from me in the subject, but it is routed through the blog website and will look like this:

Trininuyawka (no-reply@google.com)

If the @google.com domain is in your "blocked senders list", you will never get the invite so make sure it's not there. Anyhow, I will resend invites later on today.

BTW, to post comments, the blog will ask you to log in or create a Google account. (Also makes you type in some cryptic word.) This is to prevent anonymous people from blasting unsolicited ads and propaganda to various blog accounts throughout the internet.

Thanks!

-Trininuyakwa

Curse lobbyists and the oil companies!

You know it was only a matter of time before politics got on this blog. But this video should make you downright vex, even if you don't live in the U.S. The oil companies have one big monopoly on the market and with lack of regulation and oversight, they can price gas at whatever price they want. Rants in the comments section is allowed.

When push comes to shove...in China

When it comes to trinis, I can see few of them having the patience of Job to take on dis kinna ting. I shall never again complain of crowding on the NYC subway F, E or 6 line. What's funny is that at the 1:00 mark, people are STILL trying to see if they can fit somehow! "Aye fella, yuh cyah see it eh have no room leff?" Oh, and I love the white gloves. First Class all the way. Incredible!

What is a blog?

Well, what you're looking at is a blog! =o) For those of you a little deficient in internet lingo, here's a quick definition from wikipedia, an online encyclopedia.

A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

If any of you have questions about posting, don't hesitate to drop me a line!

-Trininuyawka

Props to Jay Carrington!

Gotta give props where props is due. Thanks Jay for coming up with the original DNN concept/logo! Did a little tweakage on it to get it just right. ;o)

-Trininuyawka

Welcome to the DNN blog!

This is our new blog for all that is DuChaussée in the world. The family tree spreads far and wide all across the planet and what better way to share news and keep in touch than with the internet! Slowly but surely, invitations will be sent out to all family members so that everybody has access to the blog and can add posts at any time. We hope that everybody will take advantage of it as a way to not only share important events that occur in our lives, but also as a way to socialize and comment on world events be it political, social or just about any kinna ting dat yuh like. This blog will be only as good as what we all put in it so let those creative writing juices flow and don’t be shy with the pictures and video clips!

For all our friends who wish they were part of the DuChaussée family (via direct branch or pumpkin vine), we hope reading this blog will make you feel like one of the family. Far better than trying to find one of us who is single to shack up with!

To anybody else who happens to come to this blog by accident, please enjoy the bacchanal!

-Trininuyawka (a.k.a. Chris)

P.S. Don’t forget to leave comments with any posts but please be civilized. Allyuh know how trini does like to get on when dey vex!