EPISODE 224: June Concert Roll Call!

[00:00:01] Speaker A: So yeah, when I have a thought I gotta let it out It's a bright spot that I can't even doubt My opinions, my point of view Even if things are a little tripped and sweet so, yeah, even if you disagree so yeah, even if I'm not in your pedagree so yeah, especially if you [00:00:28] Speaker B: agree [00:00:32] Speaker A: so, so, so, so, yeah. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever and whenever you're listening to it. Welcome to the. Podcast with your girl, Caroline M. Diamond. So I recently have been to two concerts, ones that I was not planning for, but the universe loves me. Yes, it does. Claim it, live it, laugh it, breathe it. And two tickets fell into my lap. The two concerts that I saw was Ariana Grande and then Khalid. So first I saw Ariana Grande and I was there to support my friend Mark, Shout out Mark. And I went with my really good friend Liz. It was so. I don't like to bite the hand that feeds, of course, because I am thankful. I am gracious for free tickets always. We both laughed about this, but they were possibly the worst seats I've ever had at a concert ever. And you know those people who are literally, like, behind the stage, like, in the seats, that's where I was. Like, I was pure stage, right? Luckily, we were first row, so I basically was from almost here to the camera, like, where the stage was. I could basically have a conversation with the drummer. So I can't really tell you exactly what the. What it looked like from the front because I have no idea really what was going on. The screen, content. Every time there was like a little break, there was like a banner at the top, and my head literally was like this, like, crank, crank it. So I don't really know what was happening in regards to how the whole thing looked. So I was watching, like, the dancing and kind of just watching Arianka herself. So first and foremost, of course, that can sing. All right. I don't think that anybody is questioning her ability to do that. Right. Her voice is insane. Like, legitimately insane. When she was doing the Dangerous Woman Runs at the B stage, I was actually, like, out of my body levitating. I had goosey goosebumps and it was just so insane. I do think, personally, regarding the set list, Eternal Sunshine is not my Ari album. Like, I liked some songs. I didn't connect with all of them. I do think there was, like, a couple too many of those, especially because she has come out with three albums in between these tours. And I am a Positions whore. I love Positions. So I would have loved to See my favorite song, Nasty, but that's just me. She did sing Safety Net, which. Amen. I was losing my mind. I was like shaking the side of the Forum. Yeah. And I thought that it was like a really good show. I don't know if necessarily it's something that I'll like, remember for years and years and years. That was my third time seeing Ariana. I saw her, I Believe my Everything tour, her Coachella performance, and now this one. And I will say this, with all of those shows that I've seen, again, the Voice is what's going to carry us. Honestly. Honestly, what I could do is go to an Ariana Grande concert and wear an eye mask and just listen. I don't need to see anything. I don't think that. I have never really thought that like the, the dancing was that like exceptional in a way that I'm like, oh my God, that's like the best show I've ever seen. She's never been a performer in that way. She is a vocalist and that's still who she is. And I kind of felt that with this show too. And that's fine. You know, the dancers are dancing and they're. I'm happy that everybody's got a job, but it's not anything that like for me was groundbreaking, which I think is totally fine. The girl, the doll, the diva. She is smooth. I mean, she is so small and I, I mean, obviously there's like a huge discourse online about her body right now. And you know, I don't, I don't like to talk about females bodies because, you know, people been talk. People talk about my body too and like in a different way. And I, I don't like it. So. But it just. She looks sick to me. She looks sick. She looks like she's not being nourished half the. Half the show. She's sitting on the ground because clearly she doesn't have the stamina to do it. And I just like hope that. I hope happiness and healthiness for her always. You know what I mean? And yeah, that was the Arianka show. And side note on that, it was at the Forum. And I fucking hate the Forum in Los Angeles. And let me tell you why. One is far as fuck from where I live. And there is always traffic getting down there because a concert's always at like what, 6, 7:38pm going that way on the highway on the 405. Even if I take the back roads, it's always a nightmare getting there. Hate that. Hate parking there. It costs. I think $55 to park there. Are you kidding me? You're insane. Third off. The bathroom situation at the Forum is diabolical. It's downstairs, and it is so hot. It is scorching hot in the bathrooms, which, you know, I don't want to be hot in general, but if I am, whatevs. If I am having, like, upset tummy, I'm already sweating. Meet that with the air. Feeling like it's Satan's up in here. It is. It is so hot. Also, I feel I've been to the Forum like, a bajillion times at this point. I think the whole venue. The whole venue was so warm. It was so warm. But then I was thinking, I'm like, oh, is that maybe, like, an artist request? You know, because she is so thin and frail, like, she can't be cold. And also, it's, like, better for your voice for it to be in a warmer environment. Xyz, I don't really know, but I hate the Forum anyway, so next, we saw Khalid at the Greek. And I love the Greek, so switch that up. I do love the Greek. It is in Hollywood. It's up on the mountains, kind of by the Griffith Observatory. The only problem there, I believe, is, like, the parking situation. Even if you Uber or whatever, I did get a 25 parking pass. Meow, meow. And I think it is actually really easy to park there, especially if you're just, like, fucking around and finding out after. It's really easy to get out of there. I love the Greek. I love being outside. I love that venue. I've seen a lot of concerts at that venue. And for Khalid's show, shout out to my. My friend Ali Giroux. She was in that one. She killed it. And I loved Khalid's album. I think that I talked about on the podcast last year about how much I enjoyed his album. And I. I went with Madison, and she was like. I didn't realize that, like, how many Khalid songs I know because he actually has a lot of songs that are hits. And that show reminded me that, you know, I see a lot of. I see a lot of shows, right? And some shows are so exact and particular, and it feels like brain surgery. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just some shows, like, you got to be on your P's and Q, you got to be on this box, in the spotlight, hit you on this one, all that kind of stuff, right? Khalid show really just felt like they were all having so much fun, and you could feel that in the Dancing, it just didn't feel like they were grooving. They were hitting the pocket. They were having fun. And as a dancer, me, it reminded me that, like, not every show needs to be brain surgery. And it can remind you why we like to be at a concert experience, why we like to have fun, why we like to like, just literally just live, laugh, love in the concert experience. So that's what the Khalid show showcased to me, which I like. It reignited my love for dance. So I, like, I really appreciated that. I. I really liked the show. He sounded great. He sounded better than he did at Coachella. He did not sound good at Coachella, but he did sound good at his show, which great. Maybe he was just nervous at Coachella. I don't know his life. I don't know his choices, but he looked like he's having a lot of fun up there. You know, he's. This is his first tour where he's, like, out of the closet, and you could tell he's, like, sitting in his hip and a little. He's definitely feeling do. And I was actually living for it because, again, they all look like they were having so much fun. So those are my random concerts that I've been to the past couple weeks, and I don't have anything lined up for the rest of the year. So if you love me and want me to come see your show, I'm always down to take a free ticket and bring the vibes. Because I'm gonna bring the vibes. The thing is that I'm gonna be up dancing. I'm gonna be up, unfortunately. Unfortunately or fortunately, I will be the Taylor Swift of shows. You know what I mean? Like, she's the thing about Taylor Swift. She is up, she is supporting, she is dancing, she is engaging. Okay? That is who I'm gonna be as a famous person, too, because I am gonna have fun. No doubt about it. Nobody's gotta worry. Be worried if I'm having fun or not. I am. Am I gonna be, like, living my full truth? That is up for discussion. But am I gonna have fun? Yeah. Everywhere I go, period. Two fan favorites are back. [00:10:09] Speaker B: Honey pepper pimento, pineapple, dragon fruit. They're packed. They're so packed. Honey pepper pimento. Yeah, that pimento. Pineapple. Dragon fruit. Bringing that pineapple. They're back. They're so packed. [00:10:33] Speaker A: Which favorite will you choose? This section of the podcast is called currently, and it's everything that I am currently reading, watching, and listening to. As for reading, I'm kind of just in a minute, a Little bit of a reading slump, maybe like a reading break. So I have nothing to report on in that department as of now, but I'm feeling the energy is pushing me forward to another book. As for what I'm watching, we have finished the before series. So it was before Sunrise, before sunset, and then before midnight. And then before midnight is the years later of their characters being together and having kids together. And it kind of again, what I love about this before series is how real it is. And it was basically like, how real does life turn into years later? After you create this life with somebody, after you create these kids with them and then do you still love them? What are the questions that are arising? They have kids now. Who are they as parents? Are they still the same person? What about their work? Does their work like, it was actually like a little too real. I was like, ah, A little too real. Like not in a bad way, but like a little real. So I will say that after watching the series, I think that because it's a trilogy, I like the first one the most, the second one the second best, and the third one the least. But I think that they all have like a place in the realness and the simplicity of what Richard, link later. Richard, we shall link later what he was trying to portray. And I think that again, it was a really beautiful, honest expression of life and relationships. And I love the series. I will definitely be watching the first one a lot, maybe even the second one. I probably won't watch the third one again just cuz I'm like, I rebuke. I rebuke any children coming out of my uterus and any, anything that, that it requires. I. I rebuke. I rebuke. As for what I'm listening to, this could kind of possibly be a hot take, but I don't give a. This is my podcast. So I, I have listened to Olivia Rodrigo in the past, okay. And when she first came onto the scene, obviously it's got to be at least five years now, at least. And when she first came out, I was like, oh my God, like if I were in high school, I would probably love her. You know what I mean? Like, she's talking about like boys and like, like I just. When I first listened to the first album, I liked it, but I felt like, oh, I'm a little too mature for this. Like, this is not necessarily like the battles that I'm facing anymore, but my younger self probably would attach to this and be like crying in my room about it, right? I did. I listened to the Second album. Didn't love the second album. Like, honestly, like, maybe liked a couple songs, right? Because, like, I'm not fully anti anybody. Well, that's not fully true. But I. I can. I can find a little something. A little. The third album that just came out, like, four or five songs in, I was like, this sucks. This sucks. I just don't think that she can actually sing that well. I don't think she sounds that good. And everybody, Everybody is trying to make her out to be, like, the next Taylor Swift, the next big girl, and also that she's punk. Punk the where? Punk. The where. Okay. There is nothing about Olivia Rodrigo that screams punk to me. Not in the way she dresses, not in the way she acts. She's more baby doll. She's more, like, cutesy girly, okay? Like, the kids need to understand what punk actually is. If you want to be Avril Lavigne, then be Avril Lavigne. Okay? But you're not. You're not Haley Williams. You don't sound even close to Haley Williams. Okay, I will say I did save a couple songs off the album, again, because I'm not, like, full anti, but I swear to God, I'm talking right to lens. If somebody at golden voice, somebody got golden voice or Coachella is listening, I need you to hear me loud and clear. I do not want to see Olivia Rodrigo as the headliner of Coachella 2027. I've had it. I'm not watching it. That is a terrible choice. We have lost the idea of iconic legends as headliners. She is not there yet. Now we all think that. Like Sabrina, because Sabrina Carmichael. No. Okay. She also, as we heard in the podcast, I don't think that she deserved to headline Coachella either. We need icons. We need people who have legend status. I don't think that Olivia Rodrigo has it. Bring Madonna back to the desert. Madonna. Okay, That's a legend. That's mother. So I won't be re listening to the Olivia Rodrigo album. I'll probably, you know, listen to the singles that I saved, but otherwise, it's a chop for me, honey. It's a chop. Even though nobody cares what I have to say. I don't give a. I care what I have to say. Thank you so much for watching the podcast, listening to it. Wherever you get podcasts, I haven't hoard myself out in a while. So if you want to be an advertisement giving me some moolah or a little, you know, exchange, I would love to see it and I would love to receive it. And so I bring all those blessings to me. Amen. Hallelujah, Caroline. Hallelujah. So, yeah. Hallelujah. Without further ado, I'll see you next time. So, yeah.