; Fun! Fun! Vancouver!: August 2008

Friday 29 August 2008

Renaissance Fest, Me Lords and Me Fair Maidens?

I don't know what y'all got planned for the long weekend, but I know where I'll be!

The BC Renaissance Festival!!



Aye, it is no lie, fine Sir!! Come hither with me, let me be thine guide!!

I bid thee adieu until another fort night, where chance may have it, we will reconvene and meet again upon a midsummer night's dream!

Friday 22 August 2008

For My Eyes Only: A Night With Sheena Easton

"Let me take you somewhere, you've never beeeeeeeeeeeen....." - Sugar Walls



So, Wednesday it was pouring rain. I bought my gate admission tickets to the PNE, a local fair that takes place every summer for two weeks. The cost was $15, but I managed to get the discounted rate at $12. Move To This and I stood at the front of the stage, awaiting the arrival of one Sheena Easton. We were both sooo excited! I personally never would have dreamed in a million years I'd get to see Sheena perform, let alone for $12!!!



She was a bit late, having trouble getting across the border, but it was worth the wait! She started with a song that I wasn't familliar with, but it kept repeating the word "Celebrate" in it. Yes, she looked older, but the girl is pushing 50 so give her a break, right? She can still pull off a fantastic bitch-face if she wants though! We tried to give her one back but really, who can compete? We did however, manage to give her an arm-crossed snap of the fingers the way she does it in so many of her videos. She then went into The Lover In Me, which had us screaming for more!



She approached the edge of the stage and shook some of our hands, including Move To This! Lucky bastard!! I was feeling a bit snubbed by her and it made me sad. But when she sang her other hits like Almost Over You, U Got The Look, and Sugar Walls, I was feeling better about things!

She actually talked quite a bit, poking fun at her age and how people constantly confuse her with Sheila E. (During the performance, she did break into a few lines from The Glamorous Life, much to my delight and amusement!)


NOT Sheena Easton!!

She also started talking about how in her day, there was a thing called "records." At this point, I jumped up and down and waved my copy of her album "A Private Heaven" around so she could see it! She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me and said, "Gimme that baby!!" and came over and took the album cover and showed it to everyone, then struck the same pose as on the cover, i.e. the fist under the chin pose!!



So much hilarity, so much joy. I did not feel snubbed any longer! She performed the Kenny Rogers duet, We've Got Tonight and a medley of Burt Baccharach songs, which infuriated me cause she could have been singing Modern Girl or Swear or even Jimmy Mack for all I cared at that point, not stupid Burt Baccharach songs! Is that even how I spell his name?! Who cares!!!



Everyone cheered when she erupted into Strut!!


My favourite song was next: Telefone!! She told the crowd that the song was older than cell phones. Older than text messaging and answering machines. She explained that there was once a time when you would call someone and WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REACH THEM! "It's so sad that I have to explain the meaning of this song because I am so old!!" she shouted before breaking into it in all its 80s glory!



And of course then led us all in a Morning Train sing-along!


She then faked an encore and ended the 90 minute show with For Your Eyes Only.


(Singing For Your Eyes Only)

Afterwards, she approached the edge of the stage again to shake people's hands and this time, I managed to get a handshake!!! Yes, that's right, I shook Sheena Easton's hand!!!!!



Best. Week. Ever.