sushisoul

kid cudi did not disappoint. the 20+ hour day, long line, freezing wind chill, and immaturity faded with every song as kid cudi defined exactly what the hype was about. the venue was plush. club nokia. perhaps one of the few venues where every seat in the house is a good one. we posted right behind the VIP seats on some older folk type shit upstairs on the balcony. standing the whole show was not an option tonight. so already, kid cudi was at odds to impress us. cudi came out around 11 and was off to a slow start as he blanked on his lines blaming it on the grey goose he had in hand. oh man, i thought, we were in for a long night.

photo: l.a.weekly.com colin young-wolff

it wasn’t a hard crowd to please (a sell-out, all-age pot fan base crowd), but our crew had higher standards. as he went more into his album, the energy fluctuated with his singing, rapping and talk/hyping. beat after beat, line after line, kid cudi delivered a performance filled with passion and intensity. perhaps his hardest challenge was keeping the energy up with verses that were meant to be melodically sung not overly amped. overall, the balance of his music style and translating it into a live performance was exceptional. there definitely was a surge of energy in kid cudi when special guest kanye appeared for his verse in “make her say” and “the good life.” it’s this energy that should resonate even in the absence of a seasoned vet like kanye. we were really, really lucky for that surprise as he didn’t appear for the show the following night.

the concert came to a climatic end with “pursuit of happiness.” overall, it was a great concert to end the year and that’s coming from someone who has seen common, wale, the roots, mos def, talib kweli, erykah badu, santigold and other experienced artists throughout 09. kid cudi definitely has a lot to bring to hip-hop. it’ll be an interesting trek for the spaced-out kid and his journey.

up up and away…

Segerstrom Hall Orange County, California

after hearing about my visit to see the giselle ballet, Alex the Intern told me about the Shanghai Symphony featuring the pianist, Yuja Wang.

let me preface this by saying, im just a regular dude.  with my schedule, the only events i actually attend are the ones we work.  so i write this as a cultural novice.  an enthusiast

i sat by myself on the promenade circle, seat 57, AA for $40. it was semi-nose bleed, but not.  first, i was on the correct side of the theatre to view the hands of Yuja dance across the piano (an unexpected surprise). The row i sat in had detached seats from the floor and were right on the railing as i happily bobbed my head to the sound. btw, parking was $8.  the hall itself was a acoustic engineering marvel.

the Shanghai Symphony performed Rachmaninov’s piano concerto #2.  Everyone performed w/ beautiful balance.  the orchestra dressed in their blk and whites, while Yuja wore a brilliant green dress.  the orchestra performed w/ composure and poise, while Yuja played dramatic emotion.  the orchestra played to the music sheets in front of them,  while Yuja sat w/ just a piano, no sheets, off the fly straight from the head.  good music.

probably the coolest observation; the mature couple next to me were dressed impecably gowned and suited up. i sat in jeans and jordans.  all of us, enjoying the symphony together.

w/ kokoro,

cidney

Segerstrom Hall

This Tuesday, marks the end of the two-month-long celebration of Chinese art, music, and tradition, Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture, with a sizzling concert with 22-year-old pianist Yuja Wang and the Shanghai Symphony (one of China’s oldest orchestras) at Segerstrom Hall. Carnegie Hall, which you all have probably have heard of, is actually partnering and collaborating with the Sergestrom Hall to bringing the special event to the OC so this is definitely something not to miss.

Yuja Wang

I never heard of the pianist but after watching the videos I am in awe! Her playing is unreal…just look at her hands!!

pay attention to her left hand

YUJA WANG AND THE SHANGHAI SYMPHONY
Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall,
at Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Long Yu, Conductor
Yuja Wang, Piano
The Shanghai Symphony

I will be there Tuesday hopefully with some friends so we’ll dish out a review of our awesome classical experience ASAP!

At your service,
Alex the intern (BRCM), guest contributor

I know we are in the business of sushi but to give our clients and viewers an insight of what we are into when prepping in the kitchen or working in the office, I thought it was only appropiate to show you what type of music we listen to. I am by all means not a professional writer but I do have strong music views, especially when it comes to hip-hop or just good music in general. So anyways…after listening to the Kid Cudi album pretty much everyday since it came out, I had to write a little review about it.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past 3 years, you had to have come across Kid Cudi’s infectious ‘Day n Nite’ single that steamrolled its way from the internet highway onto your radio waves. He made all the proper career moves from releasing a great single to catching the attention of Kanye West to releasing a track on the Transformers 2 OST while at the same time keeping close to his fans on his twitter page. I must admit, with the amount of anticipation and hype surrounding this young man, I had doubts on his debut. Before the album even dropped, I firmly believed that it was going to be a make or break situation for Cudi. If the album was a flop (sales-wise and content-wise) he would fall off the map and be known as just a one hit wonder.

So how did he do? Pretty damn good.  He took the Day n Nite vibe and ran with it. When I mean ran, I mean he ran really really far. Like out of this universe.  So what do you classify this as? Emo Rap? Sure why not. But by all means this is not a negative connotation but the only way to really describe such an honest album.  I had to even reassure my opinion with fellow Cudi listeners. Seems like everyone I spoke to had their own personal attachment to a song’s verse or even a chorus. Let’s admit it. We are growing tired of the typical ‘bragadocious’ rap. Cudi’s timing is impeccable. Well done.

In a time when record sales are scarce and competition is getting fierce (Drake’s mixtape rerelease, Jay-Z’s BP3 and Raekwon’s classic release), the kid from Cleveland did quite well selling over 100k in its first week. Not bad for a kid who started off working retail at the Bape store in New York.

Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon album gets a 4 out of 5 nigiri.

poetry and musical inspiration…

we all know the feelin’ when we can’t wait for something, especially when we know it’s gonna be huge. camp lo is back on the radar with their latest video “Son of a…” to be released on the camp lo / ski album another heist, out 10/20.