End o' Week Musings

I'm finally feeling caught up on my sleep and I know I'm going to be exhausting again by Monday! But then, who needs sleep when there's so many cool things to do?!

Last Friday, my friends Kady, Jessica and Keith invited me to join them for the Prince concert at the L.A. Forum. I have long been a fan, as his musicianship is very impressive. Did you know that Prince can play more than 30 different instruments and played a lot of the music himself on his albums? He also is very versatile and not just a pop phenom, but can hold his own in the blues, rock and more.

Jessica had gone out earlier in the day and bought each of us grrrls a purple boa to wear to the concert and Kady bought each of us a Prince symbol necklace when we arrived at the venue. We were ready for fun! Kady said the seats were quite high up, but they turned out to be in a good spot, as the "front" of the stage faced us, as did Prince for most of the show.

Prince was fantastic. He did an assortment of tunes, along with a medley of most of his hits. The audience whined as he kept stopping to go to the next tune and finally Prince stopped-- "I have too many hits," he laughed and went on.

Alicia Keys joined him on stage for a wonderful duet. Also, his backup singers were fantastic. One did a gorgeous blues number while he was changing and she held out a note so long that I felt like I need to breathe! It was a terrific concert. Thanks again my friends!

Saturday morning I made it out to the Renaissance Faire- tired, but ready to perform. We had a good day and then in the evening, Ad Hoc Consort played for an Easter service at an Episcopalian church in Ontario. We were in the choir balcony by the pipe organ, so I got to see our director as he played the organ-- he was quite amazing.

Just before midnight we went out on the roof and watched fireworks (fireworks for Jesus-- how cool is that?!) while our director rang the huge church bell. After the service we were invited to the Parish Hall for refreshments, which turned out to be a huge buffet complete with desserts and good coffee. We also toasted Easter with mugs of imported German beer. I had just a little bit because I was tired and still had to drive home.

Sunday, tired still, I trudged back to the Faire for more. It was a quiet day, as the crowd was down, but still fun. My friend John turned up, so when we finished performing for the day, I wandered around with him until we had enough. I got home, changed and then went to Millie's with my mom for dinner, after which I went straight to bed.

This week I interviewed Louis Posen, owner of Hopeless Records and the founder of Sub City and its Take Action Tour and recordings. He was very interesting and pleasant. It's so refreshing to hear from someone who actively seeks ways to help others-- over the past 10 years, Sub City has given more than $2 million to more than 50 non-profit organizations!

I also visited the Clayton Brothers Studio to speak with them about their upcoming exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. Nice guys, interesting work. I found some of their pieces quite beautiful with one glance, but most of them made me want to return to look at them again to see what more I could discover. I want to go to the exhibit too because I was able to see one of their installation/sculptures that will be set up in the museum. It's a replica of a laundromat with sound and everything, which will be smaller than it really is, but still big enough to walk into. Look up the Clayton boyz on the Web to get a peek at what you else you might see.

Today finds me in my tiara and royal jewels toasting Kate and William's nuptials. Some of the ladies in my department are also dressed up-- we have too much fun here, don't tell! I will be joining Carin and Tom at Maggie's Pub tonight for dinner and more royal revelry.

Speaking of revelry, tomorrow is the 34.5th Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade. I will be working as an announcer for an Internet and cable television broadcast-- I'm sooo excited! Please come say hello if you see me. And here's the best spot for all the info:

http://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info/

I will be going from the parade to the Renaissance Faire to attend the wedding of two of my musician friends, Fred and Joyce. It's actually more romantic than the royal wedding, as they truly make beautiful music together.

Later, I'm planning to go to Bogfest, a free concert featuring the Poxy Boggers at 8 p.m. near the pool at the Doubletree Hotel in Monrovia. Everyone is welcome, come out and join the fun. And then back to the Faire Sunday. If I'm not pooped and get out early, I will trundle out to the Coffee Gallery in Altadena for the opening of Richard Davies' art show. His work is wonderful and he's a sweetie!

Next week I have lots of little things to do, plus I'm planning to catch Anchored and Black Label Society at the House of Blues in West Hollywood on the 6th.

In rotation this week: Meatloaf, Carbon 9, Britney Spears, Otis Taylor and Silverstein.

Photos we got 'em: Two photos of my friend Joanne's talented Westie Colonel in his agility class at the Pasadena Humane Society. He loves showing off and has a lovely personality. Also two pics from the Web that made me smile.

Thought o' the Week: Celebrate. Maybe you're not into the royal wedding or attending a parade, but there's lots of other things to toast. I'm happy to have a decent place to live, a job that I love and wonderful friends and that's something I celebrate every day. So give it a little thought, pick up your cup of coffee, glass of juice or whatever and cheers! to life! and

Keep on rockin'

Mickie