Sept 29 @ Hollywood Forever

[Colin]

I have been fielding a ton of questions about tickets for this show. They are not on sale yet. The production details are still being finalized. I will update HopeSandoval.com as soon as I hear news about tickets.

[erickrishna]

Hey mister, thanks for looking into this!
It's my birthday that day; I'm staying in LA, and the idea that Hope not only is releasing new music on that day, but also playing live there, at Hollywood Forever, is just so insane to me (insanely great I mean!).
I will check back here in hope that there is some good news!

Are you in the LA area, too? Would it be funky to ask if you could text me any info you find out about tickets for that show? It would be ~greatly~ appreciated! (323) 328-7867 is my number, name's Eric... Thanks for any of your help! Cheers!

[intodust72]

It's my birthday also on the 29th and this is definitely a great present! Can't wait for the album and to see her live in NYC!

[SoftDevil]

Yeah!!! Just bought my tickets for the Hollywood Forever show!

[tikied]

Need 1 ticket please!

I was out of town and computerless when the tickets for the Hollywood Forever show went on sale. Will pay a reasonable price for a single ticket. Have been a fan for many years and am not a scalper. If anybody has an extra, please consider selling it to me. You will see me at the show wearing my Mazzy Star t-shirt and smiling. Thank-you.

[sexyputo]

It seems like this concert is the hottest ticket in L.A. since Michael Jackson's funeral@ STAPLES. Lets see, The King Of Pop & The Queen Of Dreampop both hold rare funeral/concerts 4 hometown Los Angeles only. And just like that Event, longtime fans were/are eager to get a chance to pay their respect in person. Who cares if Hope doesnt talk to the audience. That wont stop real fans, like Michael Jackson's, who camped out overnight 4 a lucky last glimpse and got NO INTERACTION WHATSOEVER! This is, of coarse on a much smaller scale but no less devotional. HOPE gets to sing live, and 4 that alone we should be gratefull.

[SoftDevil]

I tried to PM you, but it looks like my PM is hung up in my "outbox" and has not been sent yet.

let me know. I've got an extra ticket.

[DaveP]

Enjoy the show tonight! Post some good reviews or just reviews.

[nxrm]

It was my first time seeing Hope perform and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There was a problem with Colm's monitor right at the beginning of the show, and as a tech climbed up on stage to fix the problem Hope joked, "Can I wait back stage?" She also had some other things to say during the night. At one point in between songs she looked out over the relatively sedate crowd and said, "Everyone stop moving." A silent shadow up on stage she was not.

I thought the crowd was extremely respectful throughout the show, sitting with rapt attention during songs and enthusiastically applauding following each. There seemed to be a genuine appreciation for what was going on.

Just as the show was winding down and the band was leaving the stage (prior to the encore), someone in the audience decided to take a picture with their flash on...breaking the spell that'd enchanted the evening up until that point.

There seemed to be a lengthy bit of time between the main set and the encore and I was nervous the flash photographer had something to do with that delay, but the band came back out and all was good...until...someone started messing around with the lighting in the Lodge. Didn't really seem to affect the band, but it was unexpected and extremely annoying. The light switches for the Lodge were actually right next to the entrance/exit doors, and even prior to the show folks would lean against them or actually adjust them and the lighting would increase or decrease rather dramatically. Not sure if someone was intentionally messing with the lights during the encore, but there was one point where the lights seemed to be turned up to 11 in there.

I thought the sound quality was good. The Masonic Lodge doesn't necessarily have the best accoustics and sometimes the reverb seemed to take over a bit, but no real complaints about the performances at all.

I also quite enjoyed the projections that played throughout the show (very hypnotic).

Can't say I was expecting or would have asked for anything more from the show (based on reviews I'd read for this tour as well as reviews from shows years ago). Just really glad I finally got a chance to hear & see Hope perform.

Hope everyone else out there enjoys their own show.

[SoftDevil]

Basically, everything that nxrm just said....

This was my first time ever seeing Hope, as well. It was a great show. Hope spoke to the crowd, as nxrm just stated.... commenting on the "sedate" crowd (LOL!), as well as making some cutely strange joke, "where's that baby whale at?" - referring to some very eerie sounds that would eminate from the amplifiers between songs.

The set list was great. I don't have the new CD yet, but every new song she performed was great. She did "Around My Smile", "Suzanne", and "Charlotte" from "BFB" as well. The sound in the Masonic Lodge was not ideal - but it WAS a great venue for Hope to perform at! My favorite performances were the ones with acoustic guitars because her voice was allowed to be more up-front. During most of the show, the electric guitars and reverb effects slightly overwhelmed her vocals.

The crowd respected the "absolutley no photography" rules for the most part. I waited until the very end of the show (during the last two encore songs) before getting up the nerve to click a few pics with my camera phone (no flash!). They are nothing to write home about, but I decided to post them anyway....

[nxrm]

Thanks for sharing those pics SoftDevil. Despite the accoustics, the Lodge definitely suited the show...you're absolutely right.

And...how could I have forgotten about the baby whale sounds? That was a funny moment.

Glad to know someone out there enjoyed the show as much as I did.

[SoftDevil]

It was awesome... I am glad I got tickets and went to see her. Are you going to try and go to The Mayan next month?

[nxrm]

I won't be able to go to the show at the Mayan unfortunately. Definitely looking forward to reading the reviews of the rest of these shows though.

I only just found out that she walked off stage at The Red Room in Vancouver...only three songs in? And didn't come back out? I would have been pissed at whomever caused that (some flash photographer perhaps?). Feel bad for those fans who had their show cut short though...that's for sure.

[SoftDevil]

Yes, I heard about some problem at a show concerning a flash photograph being taken and throwing her off. I am surprised that person made it out of their alive!

I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that show last night - or my priveledge of being there. I heard that if anyone took a pic with a flash, they would be out on their *sses.

I just bought a ticket to The Mayan Club show.

[DaveP]

Thanks for the reviews - I can only hope she stops in KC or St. Louis eventually. We will see.

[warcrow]

Thanks for the impressions guys--wasnt that an amazing show? My wife and I really enjoyed ourselves as well! We were just floored by her performance.

I wrote up my impressions of both the SoHo and Hollywood Forever performances in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=36

...plus, I got to meet Hope last night (still dazed by the fact) and I talk about how that went down!

[SoftDevil]

warcrow, I am thoroughly jealous of your meeting Hope last night!

Nice going!

[SoftDevil]

They were playing some really long blues song with lots of harmonica in it last night before Dirty Blue Gene came on stage. Anyone have any idea who that was? I need to get that CD. Thanks!

[Scarecrow]

^^SoftDevil, the first long blues song they were playing was "Still a Fool" by the Rolling Stones. The poster "razorboy" from mazzystar.nu mentioned that it was an unreleased recording, one of the last things that was ever done with Brian Jones. He guessed whoever programmed that was a huge Stones fan if they went out of their way to include bootleg songs in the house music.

Obviously, I know no bigger Stones fan than Hope so I'm pretty sure that the playlist of pre-show music was programmed by her (and possibly Colm as well). Some really really good stuff that was spinning.

[SoftDevil]

Thanks for that info, Scarecrow! Do you know where I can get a hold of that track? I really thought it was some old blues guy... kudos to The Stones!

[Scarecrow]

I don't have the mp3, but I found it on youtube, I'm sure you can probably rip the audio using one of those youtube to mp3 tools:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LzVcliGicc

It's 10-minute jam version of a muddy waters song. June 26-28, 1968.

Seriously, I've never heard such eclectic and varied taste serve as "house music" before a show. I mean when have you ever heard bootlegs playing at/before official events????

In Chicago the indie kids were too buzzed/tipsy/young to appreciate the good stuff, but in Milwaukee (a relatively older crowd) everyone just kind of laid back and listened to the "Hope and Colm mixtape" before the show. It was the perfect "mood-setter," seriously.

Kudos to the stones, but Kudos to Hope for introducing us to this one.

[SoftDevil]

Kudos to the stones, but Kudos to Hope for introducing us to this one.

Amen to that!