The Rufus and Ben Experience, part II: Saratoga! The Mountain Winery is a beautiful venue too! While San Francisco's Davies Hall was modern and sophisticated, the Mountain Winery was rustic, serene. You drive up this twisting mountain road, catch a spectacular view of the valley, walk past the vineyards and down into the concert bowl -- a small, outdoor space where we were sitting in the front row! Yeah! It was much more intimate and casual than the SF show. Ben Folds headlined this time. He changed his set quite a bit... did a few piano-only songs, more participatory pieces, and some Ben Folds Five tunes! What a delight!

And now, I'm back! I hope this marks the end of my traveling adventures... for a month or so, anyway. I'm all burned out now, I think I'll just disappear for a while...



Have you seen this woman? Last seen with slender, well-dressed male in San Francisco, on August 23, 2005.

Oh my GOD! Good Vibrations is here! Less than five hours sleep, but must go!!

Hi! I'm in San Francisco! I just got back from the Rufus and Ben show!! Wow!! First of all, Davies Symphony Hall is sooooo beautiful. When all of us were singing together during "Not The Same," the sound was so rich and resonating. Hey, Ben has a drummer and bassist now. Why did they only perform two Ben Folds Five songs? Why? Why? (Okay, I should be more progressive. Ben Folds' music is evolving, and I should appreciate that. :P)

Rufus followed Ben (after a very rousing duet of "Careless Whisper" :P). Sometimes I can't believe how much Rufus can move me, as a vocalist, and as a composer. He performed a bunch of new songs, which was really exciting. Also, the crowd was so captivated... for a lot of the songs, there was just utter silence, waiting for the last note to finish ringing, before bursting out with applause. He did some really exquisite performances of "Poses," "Memphis Skyline" and "Hallelujah." I love all those songs, and when I heard them... oh... my heart...

I participated in the usual meet-and-greet after the show, mingling with fans, meeting people, telling stories. There were a lot of people from the Wiltern shows up here in SF! I got a really great pic with Rufus! I can't wait to post it. :P

Aright, time for sleep. Tomorrow, Saratoga!!

*yawn* It's 2pm on Saturday, but it's still morning-time for me. Working nights pretty much obliterates your concept of time. So does taking the red-eye flight home and landing at 5am! :P

Welp, the important thing is, I'm here. I don't anticipate any Hawaii trips during the month of September. Woohoo! Okay, not 100% woohoo, because I actually had a good time during my last trip out. We finally met our performance spec, so team morale is high! I even got a few opportunities to snorkel! I love that feeling of soaring through the water, of being pulled by the currents. After getting our fill of snorkeling at Captain Cook, John and I discovered a random little beach in Kona, and fell asleep in the white sand. *heart aflutter*

In other news, I'm seeing Rufus and Ben in SF next week! Yay! I was sad to miss the Wiltern shows, though. I even hear that my friends of Millbrook got invited to the afterparty. Sweet!

I'm in California! But only for four days. :( (I arrived Monday morning, then leave again on Friday morning.)

A miracle occured during my last trip out. I got a day off!! My reaction: "It's Sunday, I have no work, I'm on vacation baby!!!!" So I spent the day snorkeling, dining, and cruising in the passenger's seat of John's convertible. It was... magnificent.