Bryan Adams

Me and Ramya went to see Bryan Adams' special solo performance at Recher Theater in Townson, MD. I have seen Bryan in concert a few years ago in NYC alongwith Def Leppard. Ramya had never seen him before and we both are big fans of Bryan Adams for a long time. After putting in quite the work to get two tickets to the sold out show (which included driving all the way to Recher Theater from Fairfax, VA on the day the tickets were released), we were very much looking forward to see Bryan in an acoustic setting performing his long list of hits.

The doors were to open at 7pm. We got there by around 6pm and saw about 60 people standing in the line to get in as this was a standing only show. Good thing we made it early or else we would have been way behind the crowd. The doors opened promptly at 7pm and we made a beeline into the theater to get a good standing position in front of the stage. We were about 6 rows from the stage. So Far So Good! It was only about 8:30pm that the lights dimmed and BA made his appearance in a white T-shirt and jeans with a guitar around his neck. He got down to business by playing a few of his new songs from his new album "11". This is his 11th studio album and hence the name. Most of the people in the crowd didn't know these new songs because the album "11" releases in the US on May 13. But the crowd really got into it when he started playing songs from his earlier albums.

There is something very special and wonderful about an acoustic performance. You get to the bare bones of the songs in the way it was originally written. This night, it was BA's signature voice, his guitar and the harmonica on a few songs. Nothing else stood in the way between BA and his adoring fans. He played his well known hits like Summer of 69, Heat of the night, Heaven, It's Only Love, Cuts Like a Knife, Straight From the Heart, Run to You, Can't Stop this Thing We Started, Let's Make a Night to Remember, The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You. Some of the big ones which he didn't play included Everything I Do, Please Forgive Me, Cloud No. 9, Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven, 18 'Til I Die and more. He played two encore performances and ended the show after about 90 minutes which was too short a set for most of his fans. But, I am sure it was wonderful night seeing BA perform in an intimate setting.

Here are a few pics for those who couldn't see him.

Iron Man

Me and Ramya went to see Iron Man at the Tysons Corner AMC for an early morning show on Saturday 05/03. We both loved the movie. Even though the Iron Man super-hero character is not amongst the most popular ones in comic book history, the movie is wonderful. I am not going to get into the details about the plot of the movie. You can find hundreds of reviews of the movie online. But I can tell you this. There is some sheer thrill in watching a character that you have seen only in comic books and/or TV shows come alive on the big screen. I had never read an Iron Man comic book before but was still excited to see the big screen movie. Here's the official theatrical trailer for Iron Man...




I still remember the excitement in my heart when I went in to see the Spiderman movie a few years ago. Growing up in India, Sunday mornings were reserved to see the Spiderman animated show on TV. I still remember that the show used to be sponsored by a big soft drink product "Rasna". After all the commercials were aired, I would wait for the title song to be played which went like this ... "Spiderman... Spiderman... Does whatever a spider can...". As a kid growing up, Spiderman and He-Man were the most amazing things on TV for me and my brother. I could rememeber all those Sunday mornings as I walked into the movie theater to see the Spidey movie. And when Spidey made his first appearance in the movie wearing his Spidey suit, I was thrilled as a kid in a candy store. Of course, I have seen all the three Spiderman movies that have been released so far. If only they could make He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for the big screen. We can only hope and wish! Here's the lyrics for the Spiderman theme song...

Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out!
Here comes the Spiderman.

Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread
Take a look overhead
Hey, there
There goes the Spiderman.

In the chill of night
At the scene of a crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time.

Spiderman, Spiderman
Friendly neighborhood Spiderman
Wealth and fame
He's ingnored
Action is his reward.

To him, life is a great big bang up
Whenever there's a hang up
You'll find the Spider man.


One more final thing. We are never again going to spend $10 per ticket to see a movie. We saw Iron Man at the AMC in Tysons Corner for $6 per ticket. The only hitch is that you have to see a show before noon. No problemo! If we can save $4 per ticket to see a movie on the big screen, we will do it. I don't see any reason to spend the extra money to see a movie in the evening when they charge regular price which is quite high.

Happy Wedding Anniversary

It was two years ago on 04/30/2006 that me and Ramya got married in Bangalore, India. To celebrate this occassion, we went out for dinner to an Indian restaurant Tandoori Nights in Arlington. We started out with fried papads and chutney. Then came the wine. After that, we shared Mixed Vegetable Pakoras and Aaloo Chaat Papri. The food was awesome.