Butterviews

OK. Here’s where I show how I’m a baaaaad baaaad blogger. The wonderful One2One network sent me to see Yanni Voices live. And I completely forgot to write about it until just now. I have no idea what’s happened to my brain over the last few months.

Actually, that’s not true – I know exactly where my mind has been. Building my business, my husband’s unemployment, and the fact that due to summer and aforementioned unemployment, I am never alone. Ever. It’s starting to make my brain cells deteriorate. Mea Culpas to both Yanni Voices and One2One.

Anyway. I got to go to a Real! Live! Concert! With my husband. Date night, woot! When I was asked to review the Yanni Voices CD, I was very pleasantly surprised, because I loved it. Although, I can be a little critical when it comes to music. I was REALLY surprised, though, when my Eminem-loving husband loved it too. So, I was excited when this opportunity presented itself. It almost didn’t happen – my mother had been admitted into the ICU 2 days prior. And since my dad was a little, oh, distracted (ya think?) we abruptly didn’t have a babysitter! Our kids both have special needs, and so we can’t just call up the local teenager. However, my best friend, Amy, came to the rescue, and watched the kids for us.

I knew where the Nokia Theater was – so that wasn’t an issue. In addition, traffic wasn’t too bad, surprising if you know the L.A., Staples Center area. The problem came when we got there. First – we had to find an area to get cash. I had completely forgot that we’d need to pay for parking ($25 – ouch!) Then we had to circle a few times before traffic allowed us to actually get in the correct lane for parking. it was a little crazy down there, since there was something going on at Staples Center too. Eventually though, we were able to park.

Here’s an aside… Why do people act as if no one else exists? We were directed to our parking spots by attendants. We then had to hold up the entire line, because we couldn’t pull into our spot, as our neighbor decided to adjust his suit, and mess with other stuff in his car, while leaving his car door open all the way. He saw us. He didn’t care. Rude.

Anyway – we had no problem getting our tickets, and in we went. It was a HUGE crowd. I don’t know why I expected less, but it was HUGE. And alcohol was sold. $13 beer hurts my husband. Funny, it didn’t stop him from buying it – heh.

I’d never been to the Nokia before. It was lovely. With our seats (it’s a very deep theater) I was afraid I would regret not having brought my little binoculars… But they had bigscreens so that wasn’t an issue.

Ok – two things bugged me about the concert. One, totally a Yanni thing, the other, a stupid people thing.

The only criticism I have of the concert itself? Part of their set lighting. There was this one middle spotlight that every once in a while pointed straight out, at us, the audience. We were nearly directly in the middle, and so that was a light beam that pierced straight into our skulls… This is a problem when you and your husband are migraine sufferers. We actually thought for the first five minutes that we would have to just leave, but then the lighting changed and we were good. That light came back every so often, but not enough that we had to leave. But we both had to take our meds to make sure we didn’t get a migraine.

The other thing? The crowd. The dude behind us talking – loudly – on his cell phone? Should be shot. And also? I don’t know who the first chair violinist was (I can’t find musician info on the website,) but the crowd went wild when he soloed. Now, the first time? Great! Show your appreciation, ’cause you obviously know who he is! Not that we did, but I can appreciate love of talent. However – every.single.time. is not welcome, because then I couldn’t hear most of his solo.

The rest of it though? Amazing. Simply amazing. The talent, the musicians, the lighting (other than that one,) the singers, the compositions – just a fabulous wonderful, exciting show.

My favorite part though has to be Yanni himself. When you watch him during… He just glows. You can see that he is having just such a wonderful time. I felt… I don’t know… Happy for him I guess. You could just see how much everyone and everything meant to him. Like a kid at Christmas. It was something special to be able to observe.

Afterward, I was invited to the VIP backstage thing. However, we couldn’t figure out how to get there from where we were, and the ushers and other Nokia staff just looked at us blankly. We just decided to go home and count our blessings, rather than make an issue of it. We hung out outside for a little bit (I needed the air after the crowds) and I took some pictures. Then, we headed home – and totally got lost on the way to picking up the kids. Sigh.

Thanks, One2One and the peeps at Yanni Voices! It was a special date night for my husband and I, and I appreciate the opportunity.

One2One did, indeed, arrange for my tickets to the concert, and provide VIP Passes. I did not receive compensation beyond that for my post.

I have another one from the people at the One2One Network. They sent me the new Yanni Voices [CD/DVD] to review. I should add that it comes with both a CD and a DVD – I’m just reviewing the CD.

EQUATION: Yanni – a memorable name in instrumentals and composition is known for his sweeping music. This time around, he threw a curveball… He has brought vocals to the forefront. The CD takes some of his classic stuff as well as new music – but introduces four vocalists: Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas, and Leslie Mills. All of them were discovered and mentored by Yanni. The album was released on March 24th. The Yanni Voices world tour kicks off in the U.S. on April 10th.

PLUS: There’s music and then there’s music. Due to my background, I’ll admit, I’m biased to this kind of orchestral music. I just am – can’t get around that. The composition is gorgeous, the instrumentals amazingly executed, and the vocalists are so talented I’m surprised we’ve not heard of them until now. There’s a little of everything tempo wise, so it’s not the same feel throughout. Each piece feels as though it’s a complete story – so when you move on to the next, it really feels like a new story. As for the individual tracks – while all of it is great: Track 1, Omaggio (Tribute), made me cry. Tracks 3 & 4, Our Days and Never Leave the Sun, both made me want to dance for my husband. Track 5, Before the Night Ends, is just plain beautiful.

MINUS: I’m not sure if it’s a plus or minus, but my husband listened to it with me, and his response was, “You can’t tell it’s Yanni.” The other minus I would say is – really – you’ve got to love it. I don’t think it’s a “so-so” kind of thing. I think you’ll either love it or hate it, it feels like that kind of extreme to me.

EQUALS: A positive review. A rave, actually. I simply love this CD.