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Obamapalooza Videos

I'm on Vimeo now :) If anyone has an account with them, feel free to add me. That being said, check out me and my +1 on the ticket/partner-in-crime Alex in my wobbly Flip Video Ultra clips from the Election Night rally in Grant Park:

Inside Grant Park: http://www.vimeo.com/2177804

Finally @ The Rally: http://www.vimeo.com/2177848

The Beach Ball: http://www.vimeo.com/2177848

Yes We Can! Yes We Did!: http://www.vimeo.com/2178040

I got footage of his speech, but it surpasses the upload limit for the week so I'll have to do it next Thursday when it resets. That night was so surreal - all of this is. Definitely one of the best nights of my life.

"Obamapalooza" in Grant Park

FINALLY! Here are my personal photos from the now infamous Election Night rally at Grant Park in Downtown Chicago dubbed by many as "Obamapalooza." They start off showing the crowds that were gathering in the early afternoon around 2 PM and ends with the deluge of people leaving the gathering around 11:30 PM:

YES. WE. DID.

Will Paints Barack

This is Will. He braved chilly weather and strong winds to spraypaint a mural of Barack Obama on a piece of a wall on Halsted in Lincoln Park:

I will venture over that way later on this week or next weekend to get a picture of the mural after its completion.

Justin Nozuka @ Martyrs'

After missing him when he was in Chicago 2 previous times this year, I finally got to see my deliciously silky-voiced 1/2 azn booskie Justin Nozuka :-D I had a Flip Video Ultra camcorder on me, so I was able to capture some video of him performing my favorite songs from his CD "Holly" that came out last fall:

"After Tonight"



"Golden Train"

"Ain't No Sunshine"

(This was a cover of the Bill Withers joint - a live performance exclusive)

That last video is a scorcher. Whew.

Goldrush!

This past Sunday I went to the MySpace Goldrush show @ House of Blues. Santogold was the headlining act and let me tell you, that chick puts on one holy badass of a live show. The opening acts were Low Vs. Diamond, Plastic Little and Mates of State. I'd never heard of any of them prior to Sunday, but by the end of the night I was a newly recruited fan of Low Vs. Diamond and Mates of State. Plastic Little was just...yeah. They were extra random and not very good, so they messed up the vibe for a minute. They were backed by DJ Siyoung who was nice with the turntablism and a foxy mofo to boot even though he was small and elfish. I'm sorry - I'm just a sucker for azn boyz who genuinely embrace the elements of hip hop - don't hate!

Anyway, I managed to smuggle my digital camera into the venue so I could get some clear shots of Santogold in all of her wondrously tacky early-90s regalia. House of Blues doesn't play when it comes to cameras - if they find one on you when you go through security, they send you to the gift shop where they hold it and then charge you $5 to get it back after the show. I thought I'd beat the system when I managed to get past security with my camera, but the personnel they had posted by the exits were in straight hater mode for the night: they would actually come through the crowd to try and debo your camera if they caught you trying to snap a flick. I guess because the crowd wasn't dense, they could actually pay attention to what people were doing - because when I saw Nas with Kweli as his opening act on Aug. 31, it was packed. I saw mad cameras in the crowd and almost everybody around me was smoking weed - security was just trying to maintain and make sure nobody got crushed in the mass. I had to take pics with my BlackBerry and they were alright but I was determined to get my camera into the next show I attended @ H.O.B - and the night I do manage to sneak my camera in, security is being a bunch of assholes. Ironyyyyyy...

So yeah, here are my crappy BlackBerry pics from the show:

Low Vs. Diamond went first and got the crowd warmed up

Anthony Polcino, lead guitarist

DJ Siyoung getting it started for Little Plastic

Two of the 3 members of Little Plastic
Dude in the wool shawl was buggin' me out

Mates of State - they're husband and wife
Like a way cooler Captain & Tenille

Kori Gardner from Mates of State
She sings lead vocals, plays Electone and Hammond B-3 electric organs,
Casio synthesizer, and Rhodes electric piano, piano, and occasionally guitar
She was working those keyboards and synths that night

Santogold's DJ - dude was SICK
Too bad I can't remember his name :(

The Dancers
I initially called them Thing 1 & Thing 2
Shorty on the left was GETTIN' it the entire show
The other girl...not so much
Step your game up booboo!

Santogold was gettin' it too
I should have known she could dance
Don't let her demure demeanor in the videos fool you!

This is how the pics looked when she came
over on our side of the stage
The light was coming down at just the right angle
to eff up every shot I tried to take

I like to call this one "Lights Out"
I'm so clever

She did "Creator" towards the end of the show
She let a bunch of people come up on stage
and dance while she performed

I stood for 3 hours straight in 2-week old Chucks that still aren't broken in, so my feet were not happy with me when the show finally let out. I didn't care - I had a great time and I'd do it again if it meant I could recapture the awesome energy and the essence of that night.

More Estelle meet & greet pics

LJ took these on Saturday but he just e-mailed them to me last night:

AGH! I did NOT know he was taking this picture! >_<

This shot is a lot better than the one he took using my camera

Annnnnd I just discovered this one is tagged on MySpace:

Me and LJ posing for Estelle's Atlantic rep
I like this one the best

Some dude with a big, professional-looking camera took some pictures of me holding the poster and then handed me his business card. I don't know if that means I can hit him up and get my pics, or if he was just promoting himself as a free agent @ the event. I want my damn pictures! Prolly have to pay for them shits though >_<>

I met Estelle today...

She was @ the Puma store Downtown on Rush St. signing autographs and taking pictures. I got a poster signed and she took a pic with me:

This is why I don't let people take my picture

My boy LJ didn't count down before he shot the flick
Neither of us were really ready and it shows
Not to mention the humidity wrecked my hair >_<

Why am I towering over her? She was wearing 3" heels and I was wearing flip flops *facepalm* She's very pretty in person - her pictures don't really do her justice. She has braces too, which I though was cool. Not mention, her accent is AWESOME. When I got up to the table she greeted me with "Ow yah dewin' Sis? Wot's yah naim lahv?" I LOVE IT, HAHA. As she was signing my poster, the song "Pump Up The Jam" by Technotronic was playing. She started bobbing her head trying to be low-key, and finally she said "Oi lahv this sohng!" and started singing along. That was a great moment - I mean really, who can resist the pulsing beats of early 90s dance techno? Front all you want, but if you were in elementary or middle school when that song dropped, you WERE on the playground singing it at the top of your lungs, or in your bedroomm, or in your parent's car, or at the school dance in the gym twerkin' it out whenever it played. I see you. I SEE YOU.

If for whatever reason you're not up on Estelle, gets'ta the YouTubes and learn ya somethin' right quick:

Local Flavor: LooseLeaf Lounge

www.looseleaflounge.com

My guy Philip hit me up a couple weekends ago saying that his new spot Looseleaf Lounge (2915 N. Broadway Ave., just north of Clark/Diversey/Broadway in Lakeview) was finally open for business. It's a comfy cafe that specializes in tea/tea-based beverages and organic versions of classic cafe staples. I was really excited, so I stopped by and took some pics of the space so I could share the good news and help spread the word about the spot. Peep game...

There's cozy furniture for patrons to relax, kick back and pirate the Wi-Fi (okay, it's free so it's not really pirating but you can just pretend if you're feeling sneaky)

OR
If you prefer a little elevation, there's a counter for your seating enjoyment as well

OR
You can people watch through the front window. It's like a really small, not-so-secluded VIP section, HAHA.

My favorite thing @ LooseLeaf Lounge?
(besides the tasty beverages of course)
The hand-painted tables. Absolutely gorgeous...

I really need this table (below) in my life


And of course, you can't have tea and/or coffee without the proper additionals. They hooked up a condiment station out of this desk/bookshelf set. I love it!

Like I mentioned before, this place is brand-spankin' new (the walls still smell like fresh paint) so be sure to stop by and show them some love if you're ever in the Lakeview area. They are also eager to use the space for live musical performances, exhibitions and other forms of artistic expression - so don't hesitate to get @ them if you are a musician or an artist looking to showcase your work. It's a nice venue for low-key performances which will draw a crowd that will patronize the cafe, so everybody wins. You can contact the cafe directly at (773) 348-7881 or e-mail the owner at philip@looseleaflounge.com