Presumed to be awesome.

I'm focusing on the positive, so let's talk about awesome, happy-making things! :D

First awesome, happy-making thing: DARREN FREAKIN' CRISS!!!! I got tickets to see him play a show in L.A. on March 26th to benefit the AIDS Project L.A. Awesome music for an awesome cause!!! (There are, by the way, a few tickets still available at that link.)

It's going to be a small show, only 150 tickets being sold. Even better? We ninja-ed tickets a day before they were announced publicly and managed to score MEET AND GREETS WITH DARREN FREAKIN' CRISS!!!! Ahhhhh!!!! Even 24 hours later, I can barely contain my flail!

And betterer still? I get to enjoy all this awesome, happy-makingness with mah girls, _lisalisa_, coolwhipdiva and azewewish!!! So. Much. Happy. Making!!!!

This also means that Darren has given me the perfect excuse for a much needed weekend in L.A. So, heads up to my other L.A. chicas, brunch on Sunday, March 27??? Y/Y? *beams*

Second awesome, happy-making thing: ( Adam Freakin' Lambert! )

( My t.v. shows have also been awesome and happy making lately. )

More awesome, happy making: my friend Sara is in town from Nashville and I'll be seeing her tonight. Sara is one of my oldest friends ever and I love that, no matter how much time passes, we can always pick up as if we had just seen each other the day before.

( And, finally, awesome, happy-making for my peeps in the Houston and Austin areas: )

I finally conquered my humongous To Do list! I'm all packed and ready to head out at too damn early in the morning for L.A. Yay!!!

I am SO looking forward to a long weekend with my best girlfriends, rockin' the last two shows of Adam Lambert's Glam Nation tour, seeing Darren Criss (twice!), Monte Pittman's solo show, showing llandaffaz and Vivian around L.A. and doing all the touristy things that I never do anymore, spending some long overdue quality time with editorzon, azewewish, _lisalisa_, coolwhipdiva and sabrinagb, fitting in some holiday festivities, and all the other assorted shenanigans that are sure to ensue! I'm expecting lots of alcohol to be consumed, plenty of glitter thrown in the air, lots of great music to dance to, great conversations and abundant laughter. Good times shall be had! See y'all on the flip side! :D

(Oh, and thanks for any of those good thoughts sent my way today. The good juju definitely helped and all ended well! Hopefully that will be the last time I'll have to deal with the jackass ex-boss.)

The awesome thing about being unemployed? Mondays don't suck nearly as hard as when you need to crawl out of a weekend and into a Monday morning at the office. Silver linings, man! :D

So, since I'm doing the non-suck version of a Monday, I'm gonna talk about sparkly things! *beams*

For instance, the lovely weekend I just had! On Friday I went to see The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 with V on the huge Cine Capri screen! I loved it! I was so damn impressed with Daniel's, Emma's, and Rupert's acting too.

On Saturday I went to Bruno Mars' show and he was AMAZING (just the way he is! *g*) No, really, he killed it. If you get a chance to see him live, I highly recommend that you do.

And then, to cap off a weekend of musical awesomeness, I was able to go see Jerrod Niemann's show last night and it was so much fun! (I'll probably make a post about the show later, but the short version was: damn good times!)

But, wait! There are even MOAR SPARKLY THINGS!!!

✶ The PTB at Glee recently announced that the Glee Live show will hit the UK in the summer with the full cast, plus Darren Criss (Blaine) and Chord Overstreet (Sam). Which is awesome, but since I'm not in the UK not particularly awesome for me. But, and this is the sparkly part, they also hinted at good news for the U.S. coming soon! I'm choosing to believe that this means another Glee Live tour in the U.S. next summer!!! *bounces* Seriously, this show was pure JOY and if it tours again anywhere within a reasonable air fare, I'm totes there!

✶ Speaking of shiny Glee related news, I got my tickets for Darren Criss's show in L.A. at The Roxy on December 18th!!! That's the same night of Monte Pittman's show, but since Darren goes on earlier, I think that with a bit of fancy driving we can totally make both shows. That's the plan, anyway. Two Adam Lambert shows, Monte's solo show, and now Darren's show!!! There will be so much musical fabulosity packed into this trip to L.A.!!!

✶ NIN's remastered re-issue of Pretty Hate Machine is going to include a cover of Queen's 'Get Down, Make Love'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can preview the LP, including the cover of "Get Down, Make Love" at that link. Sweet jam on crackers, I need this in my life now!!!

✶ ( This AMAZING fanvid of Adam Lambert set to Scissor Sisters' Filthy Gorgeous is one of the best things to happen in my life!!!! )

*fans self* (And, bonus!sparkle, I'm going to see the Scissor Sisters in April in Atlanta!!!!!!!!)

✶ ( Debauched!Adam is my favorite! )

✶ So, Johnny Weir is judging that new Skating with the Stars show??? Gods, that show looks as if it's going to be painful to watch. But I sort of feel compelled by Johnny's sheer fabulosity to make some room for it on my DVR. *laughs*

✶ I had an awesome workout with my trainer this morning. But I'm pretty sure that if I don't get up and take some ibuprofen now, I may not be able to move soon. *hurts so goooood*

♦ This weekend I'm off to San Diego for my cousin's wedding. I can always count on this particular branch of the family to throw one hell of a party when they marry off one of their daughters. So while I'm glad she's happy and all (blah, blah, blah) what I'm really looking forward to is (1) the opportunity to break out some fabulous formal wear and (2) the open bar!!! *g*

♦ In 8 days I will embark on my Glamtastic Vacation of Glittery Awesomeness!!! 3 cities, 4 Glam Nation shows, and 8 fantabulous days filled with several of my most bestest friends and as many damn good times as we can pack into a vacation!!! I cannot wait!

♦ I got a new camera for the trip! While I love my camera with the magical zoom lens, it's a bit unwieldy in crowded spaces like concerts. So I got a tiny camera that fits into the palm of my hand! Or my pocket! ( It's so small and shiny! )

♦ What is the key to wearing black tie well? Go commando underneath. It adds an air of mystery. Oh, Matt Bomer. I do love you so! I also love Neal a lot. And Peter. And Mozzie. I miss Elizabeth though. There needs to be more Smokin' Hot Mrs. Suit in my White Collar. But, overall, this show entertains me immensely! *loves*

♦ Speaking of immensely entertaining: Kurt Warner is going to dance in the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars!!! *laughs and laughs* Oh, Kurt. Also, apparently you can't put Baby in a corner anymore. *g* I'm kinda looking forward to this show now!

♦ I'm again walking in the AIDS Walk Phoenix on October 3rd. I realize that times are tough out there, but any contribution, no matter the amount, really does make a difference. If it's your will, you can donate to my AIDS Walk efforts here.

♦ ( Pretty! And sparkly! )

Life has gone from good crazy to just plain crazy this week, but I'm steadfastly refusing to concentrate on anything but the sparkly until next week. So, let's talk about Adam! *beams*

I flew into Burbank on Tuesday to meet up with coolwhipdiva for the two shows in Orange County. We had so much fun!!! On Tuesday night I had upgraded our tickets to 5th row, center, in the pit. The seats in the pit were crammed in so tight you could barely move, so it was a good thing that security let those seated there rush the stage and stand at the barricade, otherwise it would have been impossible to dance. And, really, how anyone can sit through this show without being compelled to get up out of their seats and shake their ass is beyond my ability to comprehend. Believe me, J and I danced. *g*

Costa Mesa is the closest that this tour is getting to L.A. (at least as the schedule currently stands), so it was very much a hometown crowd for Adam and all the band and dancers and they all had lots of family and friends in the crowd. And, OMG, they all looked so freakin' HAPPY. Adam had this silly grin on his face for a good part of the show! And, even though the sound mix was a little off that night (hello! I'd really like to be able to actually hear Monte during his guitar solo!), it was still just so much FUN watching them have so much FUN!











( Costa Mesa - July 27, 2010 )

On Wednesday, _lisalisa_ joined us. The shows were part of the OC Fair, so we spent the afternoon at the fair, checking out the exhibits, avoiding anything fried on a stick, drinking frozen margaritas, and just catching up and enjoying some much needed hanging out time! It was awesome! Before the show, we found a table and some wine, and I did up our make-up and glitterfied the three of us in the middle of the fair! We were very sparkly! *g*

I had an AMAZING view. I made friends with the security folks on my side of the pit and they let me stand at the edge of the barricade on Tommy's side of the stage, actually kind of between the barricade and the stage. The sound mix was thankfully much better on Wednesday night. And everyone was just on FIRE! Monte jumped into the pit for one of his guitars solos. Tommy was looking especially pretty. Adam's vocals were stunning. It was fantastic! And Adam's encore of Whole Lotta Love that night is my favorite next to Fantasy Springs. Just incredible!
















( Costa Mesa - July 28, 2010 )

Costa Mesa was DAMN GOOD TIMES!!! Now I need to get ready so I can make my flight to San Diego in a few hours. coolwhipdiva has promised me tequila shots and believe me when I tell you I can use them. Tomorrow I fly back home, meet up with editorzon at the airport, and then dance until my feet fall off at the Lady Gaga concert! And then on Sunday, another Glam Nation show here in Tempe. After that, I'm planning on sleeping for days. As soon as that happens, I'll come back and fill y'all in on how life outside of Glam Nation is sucking hard. But, for now, I'm gonna get my glitter on, hang with my girls, drink myself silly, and dance until I just can't anymore! *nods*

My mom and I went to a matinee performance of "In The Heights" today. And we had the extra treat of Lin-Manuel Miranda joining the cast as Usnavi for the performance! He was AMAZING!!! The entire cast was spectaculur. The music made me want to get up and dance! I laughed and cried and thoroughly loved everything about this show!

The tour hits L.A. next week, with Lin-Manuel Miranda. If any of my SoCal peeps get the chance, go see this production. You won't regret it. It's damn good times!

All week long I kept thinking it was one day later than it actually was. So I was very happy when today actually WAS Friday! I'm feeling a little frayed around the edges, so it's a good thing that the work week is wrapping up and that I'll have a few days to tie those frayed edges off.

Last night was helpful for some much needed de-stressing. I met up with llandaffaz at a new (or new to me) taco and tequila bar. The tacos were yummy and the tequila was plentiful! They had so many to choose from and I intended to make my way through quite a few of them, but then I tried a pomegranate tequila and I was sort of amazed by its deliciousness so I didn't get any further than that. Pomegranate tequila! Who would've thought. I actually feel kind of blasphemous just typing that. But it was SO GOOD! I definitely have to go back, though, and start working my way through their extensive tequila menu. Surprisingly, I don't consider this a hardship at all! *g*

It was also lovely to chat with V. I love it when new fandoms bring not only awesome new sources of entertainment but also wonderful and amazing new people into my life! Good times, indeed!

Tonight after work several of us are heading out to an evening Spring Training game. This thrills me immensely!!! I can't believe that we're more than half way through March and I haven't made it to a spring training game yet. How is this even possible? It's tragic, I tell you! Tonight, though, there shall be baseball! Exciting! And, if the stars align properly, I may even get to see my D'backs in a spring training match up before the month is out. *fingers crossed*

Weekend plans include taking The Nieces to the Renaissance Festival tomorrow, which should be fun. And then on Sunday, editorzon will be in town! Yay!!! I have no idea what we'll be doing, but I'm sure it will be nothing less than FABULOUS!!!

Speaking of fabulousness, is anyone in Austin catching Muse's show at Stubb's tonight for SXSW? If you are, you HAVE to come tell me all about it! I promise not to be too jealous of you. *g* I just want to hear all about what I'm sure is going to be an AMAZING show!

You know what else is AMAZING? The Hong Kong release of Adam Lambert's CD includes a condom, for your entertainment!!! *laughs and laughs* This is the most awesome thing ever!!!

So, what's amazing and fabulous in your world this weekend?

Picture via @studsandstripes.

At some point do you think Adam Lambert will stop completely blowing my fucking mind every time I see him on stage??? I sure as hell hope not. Last night's show at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio was siiiick!!!

Adam was rocking the witchy-shaman-rockstar look with peacock feathers and blue hair extensions and charms and all kinds of craziness that combined was both ridiculous and amazing. The band also looked hot -- Tommy was dolled up in bright red lipstick and was sporting his newly all-blond do; Monte was rockin' a poncho *laughs*, yeah, I don't even know, but he shreds the hell outa that guitar, so his questionable fashion choices are totally forgiven; Longineu, gods bless him, decided that a shirt was not necessary so all his gorgeous ink was in full display; and Zack was looking sparkly behind the keys.

The venue was a relatively small one, about 3500 seats, and it was sold out. The crowd was pretty damn eclectic for an Adam Lambert concert, much of that due to the fact that it was hosted on tribal land, so many of the prime seats were reserved for tribal leaders and their guests, most of whom I think it's safe to presume are not hardcore Adam Lambert fans. I was, though, happy to see more gay men represent than I remember seeing at Gridlock! There were also a good number of husbands in the audience who looked as if they were there against their will. We had great seats -- stage left and just five rows back. I'm not sure whether it as the mixed crowd or the fact that Adam's fans seem to skew older, but there were too many damn people in their seats. I don't even know how that's possible when you're at a concert and the music is practically demanding that you get up and shake your ass! Thankfully our little section of the floor was up and dancing nearly the entire time!

( Set List )

Vocally he just killed it. The performance was perhaps a bit dialed down to suit the mixed crowd but it was still 100% Adam, fierce, and completely entertaining. He did a bit of a costume change, or rather a costume enhancement, after "Sleepwalker" I think, and came out wearing a crazy feather collar thing and a fedora. It is perhaps one of the most fabulously gay outfits I've seen him wear and I loved it!

There wasn't a song I didn't love. FYE kicked things off with great energy; "If I Had U" is just too damn fun to resist; I'm pretty sure it's scientifically impossible to feel bad about yourself or the world or anything really when listening to either "Strut" or "Sure Fire Winner"; "Soaked" was just gorgeous and haunting. After that he slowed things down with acoustic versions of WWFM, "Mad World," and "Broken Open," all of which were stunning. He turned it up again and rocked the hell out of "Music Again" and "Sleepwalker." He was seriously like a man possessed during "Fever." Amazing. And I cannot even tell you how much I love seeing him perform "Down the Rabbit Hole"!

And while all of that was AMAZING, what I will likely never forget from this show was his acoustic performance of "Whole Lotta Love." If you haven't seen this video yet, do it! The video itself isn't fantastic, but its the best audio I've found so far. Whatever. You have got to hear this! No, really. Even if you're not an Adam fan. Listen. This here is an old-school rock and roll jam session that just transports you to a whole different universe.

( ETA: Slightly better video of Whole Lotta Love )

Blew. My. Fucking. Mind. I don't even have words for that. That right there is musical genius! He fucking stripped "Whole Lotta Love" down to its blues roots that predate Zeppelin and then rocked the hell out of it ala Jim Morrison or some shit! I don't even know! I just know that it was phenomenal! I am not even exaggerating when I say that hearing that live was something like a religious experience. Even just now rewatching it, I'm caught somewhere between awe and chills and OMFG that's sexy as hell!

Needless to say, between the non-stop dancing and the mystical transcendence of WLL, I was wrecked by the end of the show! But you know it was a damn good concert when you look and feel as if you've spent the last couple of hours having really fantastic sex!*g*

My pictures weren't that great, mostly because taking good pictures would have required that I stopped dancing, and I was having none of that! But I'm putting them here anyway. And I know that many of y'all are far more talented than I am, so if you want any of these in full version to play with and make pretty, just let me know.

( Witchy-Shaman-Rockstar Adam! )

A few other thoughts on the weekend: There was some fabulously entertaining people-watching opportunities this weekend. Perhaps even on par with the Lady Gaga concert. The difference I think is that I'm pretty sure that the boy at the Gaga concert in the amazing red leather corset and studded collar already had those items in his closet; and I'm also quite sure that the one with the rhinestones around his eyes wore them that way when he went out clubbing the weekend before. Some people this weekend, however, just seemed as if they were trying too damn hard. Like I'm pretty sure that the 50 some year old woman sitting next to us had to Google most of her chain metal and pleather get-up. (Dear heavens, it was horrid!) And, judging by the highly incongruous scowl that was on her face the entire night, the woman in her late 60s sitting (and molting!) next to my mom obviously did not understand the meaning of the sparkly feather boa she was wearing! I mean, really, you're wearing sparkles and feathers! How can you be scowling at the same time!!! *boggles* It was FASCINATING!!! *laughs*

I was also amused to discover that Adam and the rest of the band were staying on our floor. I was not amused, however, at fans who seem to think that basic manners do not apply to the object of your fannish devotion. No, it is NOT appropriate to go up to band members (or Adam's mom!) when they are trying to eat breakfast! I'm pretty sure the body guard really does mean NO when he says it and blocks your path when you try to push your way in to the elevator with Adam. Yes, taking pictures of Adam's car because it happens to be parked out front IS in fact creepy as hell! Jeez, fandom, your mothers would be proud, I'm sure. *shakes head*

Lucky me, my mother WAS actually there with me and she had no reason to be embarrassed. :) Other than a smile hello when we passed them in the hallway, we kept our flailing to ourselves and left the band in peace when we found out they were our neighbors.

And, finally, I am so glad that, in addition to my awesome mom, all these good times were shared with coolwhipdiva and _lisalisa_!!! They are my partners in crime when it comes to all Adam-related shenanigans and I love them for it!!! And for many other reasons too, of course, because they are two of the most fabulous women on the planet! *mwah*

It was also so much fun to meet some of the folks that, before this weekend, I had only met online! I loved chatting with llandaffaz -- we MUST get together again soon! I was sorry to not have more time to spend getting to know zoniduck and to have missed so many of you, but we will have to remedy that at the first opportunity!

ETA 2d: I'm going to be adding the better videos from the show here as I find them. Mostly for my reference, but feel free to enjoy them too!

( Fantasy Springs Vids )

I didn't actually get lost on my way back from L.A. It's just that this week has been certifiably insane, and I haven't had a spare moment to come here and properly exclaim over my fantastic weekend!

coolwhipdiva and I co-hosted an early Mardi Gras party on Saturday, together with hurricanes (dear heavens, the rum consumed!), jambalaya (J outdid herself! so yummy!), lots of beads (although there weren't nearly enough accompanying bared boobs *sadface*), king cake direct from NOLA (I'm pretty sure azewewish is now tasked with throwing the next bash), good times with a whole bunch of truly amazing friends, and the awesome music of one Cassidy Haley! It was a blast! As you can clearly tell from this hilarious picture:



( Obviously the rum was flowing freely! )

And then Cassidy showed up and proceeded to rock the hell out of The Living Room of Acoustic Awesomeness.



He sang several songs off of "Little Boys and Dinosaurs," including Burn, Whiskey in Churches, and Daylight Breaks He also played some of his new material that will be on the CD that's slated to release next month -- The Spindle and Foolish Boy. I probably won't remember his full set, but I know he also did This Time and Dying to Live and his newest Cheesy Love Song, which I'm not sure if that's what it's really called, but it was fantastic!

He was AMAZING live! I am more excited than ever for his new CD and upcoming tour!!!

Also, just for the record, Cassidy is very, very pretty. And he has incredibly white teeth. *g*



( Moar Cassidy! )

In addition to being amazingly talented and just really fucking pretty, Cassidy it turns out is just a lovely person, so nice and personable. He is ridiculously charming!

Here's me, being ridiculously charmed by Mr. Haley! *g*



One of the guests also video recorded most of Cassidy's set. She's unfortunately turned off the embedding code, but you can see them [HERE].

( ETA: Vids now embedded. )

In addition to fabulous Mardi Gras festivities, on Sunday we got together for a Super Bowl party at Casa Hooker. It was amazing beyond my ability to adequately describe to watch the Saints win that game, AND to watch it with my girls! We screamed our throats raw, and there were more than a few tears shed. Sean Payton has balls of steel, man; and Jeremy looked SO happy *pets*; and Drew is just too awesome for this world! It was, in short, AH-MAY-ZING!

The entire weekend, in fact, was AWESOMER!

:: I'm in L.A. for the weekend and thoroughly enjoying hanging out with my girls! Last night was a quiet and relaxing night in at coolwhipdiva's, with a yummy dinner courtesy of azewewish's awesome culinary skills, plenty of wine, amazing company, and the happy discovery of what is sure to be a new television obsession, White Collar. In all, a most excellent evening!

:: I finally managed to snag tickets for Lady Gaga's L.A. show in December! \o/ I'm not sure why, by that entire process was a huge clusterfuck. After a useless single ticket presale, wrong information up on Ticketmaster, hours spent trying to process a purchase premised on said wrong information, several frustrating calls to customer service, and learning that, despite said ticketing fuck ups, the show managed to sell out in less than a day, I was able to find what I hope are good seats in the 6th row from a third-party vendor. Go me! I am SO looking forward to this show and rocking out with _lisalisa_!!!

:: Today has thus far been completely chill, with painting my nails being the most ambitious thing that I have accomplished. Later today there will be some shopping for costume accoutrements while hanging, again, with the awesomest of women! And tonight's plans include tickets to see "Naked Men Singing." I'm told that the show is exactly as advertised: naked men, singing. What's not to like about this premise???

In sum: good times are being had! Hope y'all are having equally fantastic weekends!