live music Archives - Undefined Declarations

And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

You may have noticed that I have been covering a lot of music shows in my recent posts. You may have also taken a look at my about page where I mention some facts about myself and how I am 30-something. So you might be wondering why I am living a 20-something lifestyle in my early thirties?

While most people my age could be settling down by getting engaged or married, or possibly already have a bunch of kids at school age, I’m still celebrating my spontaneous twenty-something- like days! I like to contribute this to the fact that I grew up and have lived in Saudi for most of my life. And must add; to somewhat over-protective and controlling parents. Who seemed to give a good amount of importance to people’s opinions and judgmental views. You can’t completely blame them though. Saudi society is quite fierce and tough when it comes to conservativeness and liberality. It’s a very complicated topic that I would need to dedicate a whole post to explain it, and it still wouldn’t be enough!

For now, I just felt like I could use some justification for my sometimes immature and crazy behavior 🙂 Like making sure that I don’t miss out on any cool concerts in town and dragging my “more responsible” and mature friends to them.

So I basically didn’t get to do many things that people in their twenties would do. Although I did argue my way around to some cool concerts in Bahrain when I was a teenager (yes, I was rebellious since then!).

Sometimes, I wonder if my late-lived twenties phase will ever end. Because I enjoy it so much that I would never want to live a different lifestyle!

Moving on to Train’s concert, I used to listen to the amazingly talented American pop rock band as a teenager growing up in Saudi. Yes, my parents were not that strict :p So to me, their show was more of a trip down memory lane to my 90’s in Saudi. When life was much more simpler and easier. When all I cared about was which magazines I wanted to get with me from Bahrain when I went there in the weekend. Yeah I was a weird teenager too! But doesn’t everyone love and long for the 90’s? I personally would go back to those years at any given time.

Arriving to the concert venue, me and my friend were surprised at how quiet it was! there wasn’t even any music playing at some point. And while I expected to see other 30-something Train nostalgic fans at the concert, all I seemed to see were teenagers and a generally younger crowd of people who didn’t look like they were old enough to sing along to “Drops of Jupiter”! My friend had also pointed out that it was her first time to see a five year-old girl at a concert 🙂

Nevertheless, Train put on a great show and sang many of their new and old hit songs. Such as “Hey Soul Sister” and “Meet Virginia”.

They also got the crowd engaged in some songs by asking random people to come up on stage and sing or dance along with the band.

At the end of the show, the band left the stage before coming back to sing my all-time favorite hit for the band: “Drops of Jupiter”. I was glad that I didn’t leave when my friend decided to leave after they left the stage the first time, as I would have missed them perform the ever popular and great track “Drops of Jupiter”. I think I was going to break down and cry when I saw them leave the stage before singing my song!

You must have guessed that I was the only person in that young crowd who was super excited and singing along to “Meet Virgina” and “Drops of Jupiter”! Yes, Dubai makes me feel old. But I stand my ground and continue to act and behave like a twenty-something 🙂

I must confess that I did manage to record some good video clips at the show. But since I am still not familiar with posting videos on this blog (more like, don’t feel like uploading them on you tube as I found out that this needs to be done), I will not be sharing my priceless Train videos for now. Who knows, I might get the motivation required to actually upload videos one day 🙂

So, was my one hour and 15 minutes or so of 90’s music nostalgia worth it? I’d say hell yeah! It was worth every second of the warmth and simplicity and joy it brought to my forever 90’s soul.

Since I’m having issues with my photos, I will only post the links for my favorite Train songs. And I will try to upload more images once I sort out the technical glitch.

Enjoy and long live the undying 90’s spirit!

Gourmet Food, Sun and Live Music!

Taste of Dubai is a fun outdoor festival revolving around food and music. It’s held annually at the Dubai Media City Amphitheater; the same area where the Christmas festival took place and I wrote a post about it here.

It was a Friday, and on that day the festival started in the morning and went on until midnight. I didn’t have a set time as to when I would go, but I was glad that I went during the afternoon (around 4:30) and stayed till around 8:45 in the evening. I was also thankful that I put some sun protection cream on my arms before heading out, because it was sunny and the sun cream did help me get a nice tan.

What most of you would be wondering now is what did I eat? Well, let me show you with pictures:

Steak fillet with a crab cake on top from Ruth's Chris Steak House — Steak fillet with a crab cake on top from Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Sirloin Steak Cubes with Potato Gratin from Seafire Steakhouse and Bar

Dulce de Leche Creme Caramel (Asado) and Chocolate Mousse (Ritz-Carlton)

I would have to say that my favorite dish was the sirloin steak with potato gratin from Seafire steak house. It was perfectly made and tasted so good. The other steak I had from Ruth’s Chris steak house was kind of average. Maybe the combination of crab cake with the red meat didn’t appeal to me that much. And although the seafood Phad Thai from Mango tree was good, I must admit that I did regret filling my stomach from their stand, mainly because I had recently eaten there with my dad a few weeks back. And so, a better choice for me during the festival would have been to sample other restaurant’s dishes. Especially the ones that I don’t get the chance or time to dine at on normal occasions.

Another choice that I regret making was the creme caramel from Asado. When I was at their stand, I asked the lady if she would recommend the Dulce de Leche creme caramel or ice-cream, and I went with her answer. However, only to be disappointed and wishing that I had went for the ice-cream instead! Yes, that was what I was thinking the whole time that I was eating that creme caramel, which I must admit that I didn’t even finish! And that folks, is a big deal for someone who never leaves a grain of rice in her plate, because there are millions of people starving all over the world! I was greatly satisfied with my chocolate mousse biscuit-like cake from the Ritz though. I even took the second piece with me home and devoured it the next day 🙂

When I saw that there was a Mexican stand after I had already had my mains and desserts, me and my friend decided to try out Maya’s (the famous high-end Mexican eatery) guacamole. Which we both thought was surprisingly below average.

With prices ranging between 20 to 30 Dirhams for most dishes, I would say that Taste of Dubai is worth visiting if you love food and don’t mind paying that amount of money for a small portion from a high-end, gourmet restaurant.

The main attraction of the festival, well to me at least, had to be the opportunity to sit outside in a park-like atmosphere with the company of good friends and great live music.

And the Jazz Vibes Go On…

It was quite an eventful day when one Tuesday I won a pair of tickets to attend a work shop by the author of the best-selling book: “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”. Since my father was also arriving in the evening on a short visit, and I was planning to take him for dinner to the newly opened Jazz @ Pizza Express in the area where I live.

In Dubai, most people tend to dress up anywhere they go. They are also highly capable of wearing the perfect attire for the event or occasion that they are attending. As I grew up and lived most of my life in Saudi, I always made an effort to dress in a stylish way even when it meant not taking off my Abayah the entire day while I was at work! But living in the fashion hub that is Dubai, is making me realize more each day that my personal style and fashion sense are below mediocre standards. And John Gray’s work shop was no exception to the case in point! I had gone to the mall to have lunch in the food court before going to the venue to collect my tickets, and I was dressed casually in a navy blue sweater with a hint of metallic threads and a pair of black skinny denim jeans. With a star patterned scarf wrapped around my neck in a knot style. Only to discover that my look for the day was more suitable for a rock concert than a relationship expert event 🙂 Most of the ladies were dressed in stylish loose tops and pants, or formal dresses or skirts. I made a note to myself to dress better for the occasion the next time around 🙂

What was titled as a work shop was more of a talk basically. John Gray was the speaker and the audience were there to listen. The talk went on till well after 9, which was longer than the time specified on the ad. Nevertheless, John shared with us some interesting scientific facts about both genders. They would help us in understanding the sometimes vague behavior of men or women. Let me share with you some notes that I took during the talk:

Men never do anything that they don’t have to do. That’s why, if you need your man to do something for you, don’t ask him what he would like to do, tell him exactly what you want him to do. You need to word it in a clear request form, such as saying: “Would you do this for me?”.
The reason men go to their caves (isolated space/room) is that scientifically when a man relaxes his muscles while staying awake, he rebuilds his testosterone levels. The more stressed he is, the more he needs to go to his cave.
Working women tend to have high testosterone levels, which lead to stress. That’s why they need more of the oxytocin hormone to suppress the high testosterone in their bodies.
Suggested words to tell your man to make him feel good from time to time are:

You’re right. And say it with a smile.
That makes sense.

A good romance and communication style are super oxytocin producers. A powerful phrase that a man should keep repeating to his woman is: “You do so much for so many people, let me give you a hug.”

Honestly speaking, although I found the relationship tips and scientific facts that John explained quite useful, I must admit that I found more insights and revelations about men and their ways of thinking in the book: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment. By Steve Harvey. You can find a link to the book here.

Moving on to my meet and greet dinner with my dad…I was excited to find out that the famous Pizza Express chain have opened up a new jazz-themed branch in my residential area: Jumeirah Lakes Towers. Not on the side where I live though, but still close enough for a chilled dinner with friends or family.

I found out from the waiter that they had a soft opening only three and a half weeks ago. But this was their official launch. They had multiple artists perform on their cozy yet lively stage. The pianist (Nathan) on that night was from South Africa. He enchanted the crowd with his cover of Carlos Santana’s “Maria, Maria”….I actually have videos of the performance, but I need to figure out how to post videos to this blog before I can share them with you 🙂

A lady singer from the Philippines did a great performance of the all-time favorite love song “How do I live”. We enjoyed other classics such as “Quando” and “Sway”. The atmosphere was buzzing with life, the staff were very friendly, the food was superior with fresh and excellent ingredients, and the pizza was light and yummy with gourmet toppings.

I was informed by one of the staff at the lovely pizza joint that they will be playing live jazz music every night of the week. As it’s part of the concept of this particular branch. Jazz@PizzaExpress is located in JLT, Dubai. Perfectly situated at the promenade level by the lake, and below the Movenpick Hotel in Cluster A. And as the friendly staff will tell you: “you will hear the music as you walk by, so you can’t miss us!”. 🙂