when we visited santa cruz, we could've gone to the maldita vecindad show in san jose. or perhaps we could have stuck around long enough to see them play at the catalyst in santa cruz. we chose to decline since we would be seeing them with aterciopelados for only $20. the other shows cost more and we're just too damn broke right now.

the concert was at the pacific amphitheatre which is located inside the orange county fairgrounds. entry into the orange county fair is free with your concert ticket so we went a couple hours early to check out the fair. if only amusement parks that have concert venues would do the same thing! before we went to the fair though, we stopped for lunch at native foods since it's only 1 freeway exit away. we went, we ate, we overstuffed. i really didn't have room for dessert but we got some so that nopalita could taste how good it is. mistake #1.

we got to the fair, paid a little more to park in the preferred section (close to the entry gate), and walked around. nopalita wanted to get on some rides so she bought some tickets. the first thing we got on was the tilt-a-whirl which is the kind of spin yourself around thing where you have to lean to one side to get it going. we had it spinning pretty well there and it gave me a slight headache. then we walked through a tiny fun house thing. there was this section of the floor that spins and i wanted to spin twiddle thumbs around but she didn't want to. so i got on there and spun around really fast to show how it's done. mistake #2.

twiddle thumbs and nopalita moved on but i was there, spinning around with some kids behind me. i felt my purse rise up due to the spinning force. *smack* my purse whacked one of the kids behind me right on the face. he was holding his cheek in shock. it looked like he was gonna cry. i felt so bad. i could be in deep shit with the kid's parents. i asked him if he was ok and he couldn't say anything. his friend or brother, whoever he was with said that he's ok. i kept talking to the kid but he didn't talk so i eventually moved on through the fun house quickly to get the hell out of there.

the next ride that we got on was a big ferris wheel. but not big enough to see over the smog. then we had some sweet lemonade drink because it was so damn hot and we needed liquid. the drink was too sweet. mistake #3.

after the drink that we could barely finish, nopalita and i went on one of those rides that spins you around in the air. the shoulder strap safety bars were made of rubber and had absorbed the stench of previous passengers. it stunk! i wasn't strapped in all the way either and was tossed around a little too much. going on that ride made me a bit sick. mistake #4.

i had one more ride coupon and i didn't want to waste it on some small kiddie thing so i chose another toss you around in the air ride. cheap rides are like cheap alcohol. they make you sick. mistake #5.

after that ride i got really sick. i never throw up. never. i always resist it. if i do, you know it's really bad. i have vomited so few times in my life that i can actually remember each incident. a couple years ago i got in a cessna after eating and got motion sickness to the point i had to vomit. not fun. that was the only time in my 20s that i threw up, until today.

i went to the restroom and under normal conditions it would not have made me feel so ill, but the slightest unpleasant odors were intensified in my condition. i held my own though and didn't vomit. i just had to go #1. as i was walking away from the restroom facilities, i felt like i to go #2 so i went back to the restroom. nothing. false alarm. i washed my hands and grabbed a paper towel. it reeked of cigarettes. smelt like 200 packs being smoked at once. it immediately made me want to retch but it wasn't immediate. i had to count to 5 or something. and then it hit. #3. a lot. i flushed. i cleaned it up. i rinsed out my mouth. i drank some water. and then i felt better. a million times better.

we walked onto the concert venue. there was a merchandise stand with some maldita t-shirts. they were selling andrea's cd for a mere $10. they had some small posters but would neither give them away nor sell them. it was still light out but sometime during the concert, the sun would set. i really can't remember when that was. inspector opened up. they are crap. there is nothing special about them. i can't even single out a member with talent. generic ska. all the songs are the same. the guitar and the horn section is the same damn generic chink chink chink ska sound that the uncreative play. the vocalist cannot sing. i don't know why but the crowd really dug a few songs. i guess those were the hits. i really didn't like anything they played.

aterciopelados played and i didn't have anything to capture the moment with except my camera phone. i tried sending the pictures to my email but none of them have gone through. i just wanted to see what the quality is like. i don't expect any of the photos to be useable but damn it, none of them went through! what the fuck?! i am tired of cell phone picture messages not going through. it's a rip off of service. i only took 3 pictures and tried to send them more than once and not a single one of them has gone through. i hate phones to begin with but not doing what it's supposed to do only makes me hate them more.

i haven't seen aterciopelados nor maldita vecindad in years and both are very good live bands. i would even say that aterciopelados is phenomenal. that's why i think tonight's show was just a little off. maybe it was the heat. i know andrea's voice is capable of more. she has a powerful talent and i don't think it was fully utilized this evening. maybe she was holding back. maybe she's just tired.

i think it was during "el estuche" that andrea and urian the drummer brought out colombian folk wind instruments. what i liked about the performance was that there were new arrangements for some of the songs. they were toned down and the percussion was stripped to simply the drummer playing tablas or maracas/shakers and some sort of flat-sounding drum. i could've done with some more rocking songs but it's good to bring new arrangements to the table as it breathes new life into songs well known.

at the beginning of "bolero falaz", andrea conferred with hector over something. you soon knew what it was as she changed some words to refer to the city and sing 'costa mesa'. it just goes to show you that she doesn't know where she is but hector does.

this show was billed as aterciopelados, but it's really part of a tour to support andrea's solo effort. it's a bit confusing perhaps because hector produced the album, the core members of aterciopelados are the core performers on all the songs, the members are the touring band in support of andrea's solo album, and they're performing aterciopelados songs as well. what is not confusing is why the album is andrea solo and not aterciopelados. it's all about her perspective on life now as a mother. these aren't really songs from or for a male or general perspective. these songs have a very specific theme. when hector's solo album comes out, we'll see if it's just as gender specific as andrea's.

setlist:
la pipa de la paz
luz azul
el estuche
maligno
el album
a eme o
baracunatana
rompecabezas
amortiuador
bolero falaz
florecita rockera

maldita performed well as usual. there's something about their songs that makes everyone dance. as expected, the crowd went crazy during "pachuco". the aisles became mosh pits. i knew that even though it was a seated venue, somehow a mosh pit would get going during "pachuco" and that we would have to be on our guard once the song started. the aisles got so crazy that i saw the 3 security guards on our side leave. fucking cowards! it wasn't even that bad. i mean, i didn't get a boot to the head.

there's this unwritten rule about being a member of maldita: you have to wear something on your head, whether it's a proper hat, bandana, a knit item, something. sax even changed hats during the show. it was for the best though. he came out in a very odd orange hat and everything was much better once he changed to a black hat. they played some new songs from their forthcoming album so i'm not sure about the title of those but they were all exciting and lively songs.

setlist:
solin
? (lyrics have titles from different songs, probably quinto patio ska)
to˜o
? (lyrics talk about tacos, barrio, etc)
no les creo nada (sax plays guitar)
pata de perro (sax plays guitar)
? (lyrics talk about the planet and resistance)
el gran circo
el tieso y la negra soledad
un poco de sangre (sax plays 2 saxes at once)
don palabras
pachuco

encore:
rafael
lo pasado, pasado
? (sings "oh~~~~~~")
kumbala