Cody Simpson Is In Da House! And Probably In Your Living Room

I have to admit that when I first got the invitation to the Cody Simpson concert at the House Of Blues in Downtown Disney last month I had no idea who he was. Was he another Disney protege? A Nickelodeon star? One of my daughter's friends having an elaborate birthday party? Which is why I initially ignored it, until I asked my 13-year-old if she wanted to go and she let out one of those little gasps that's usually reserved for the premiere of a new Harry Potter movie or when I let her get the grande size at Starbucks.

My daughter describes Cody as the "Australian Justin Bieber" and I think that's pretty accurate. And judging by the fawning crowd of teenagers gathered outside, it looks like he might be on his way to honing in on some of the Biebs' action.

Waitin' on Cody

(In fact, Bieber's manager Scooter Braun was at the show and attracted a fair amount of attention on his own. Was he checking out the competition?)

Cody's music seems to be straight-ahead teen pop; catchy choruses, simple beats and slick choreography - perfect for the legions of tween and teen girls screaming and professing their love. It was hard to fathom that the object of all this attention is only 14-years-old, a fact that the older girls behind me – who appeared to be 17 or 18-years-old – didn't seem to mind. (I believe I heard my daughter refer to them as 'Cody Cougars.')

You should have heard the screaming

The show started much later than they had said on the invite, which I know was a problem for some of the other parents there who had younger kids. However, for my teen and her friend it was nothing but excitement – besides, they remarked, they often stayed up much later than that just doing homework. Plus, they were extra amped because they managed to score a couple of seats near Cody's entourage and chatted up a couple of his friends. I think I heard the words 'hot' and 'awesome' mentioned. They sure were disappointed when I had the sudden urge to sit right between them and start talking about homework.

The 'Meet and Greet' that was promised afterward turned out to be disappointing, a long wait and then a rushed photo with Cody while standing in front of a backdrop. There was also a stern warning not to take any of our own photos, which was confusing since one of the staff just previously had told us we could take a quick shot if we used our camera phones. Overall I think his staff could have been a little friendlier and a little less militant, especially in light of the fact that some of these kids had been waiting for hours for this moment.

In the end, the late start and their rushed Cody moment didn't seem to dampen the spirits of my daughter and her friend, who thought that going to a concert at Downtown Disney on a school night was pretty cool, and hey – a hug from Cody Simpson is a HUG FROM CODY SIMPSON. There'd be a lot to talk about on the 8th grade lawn the next day for sure.

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The concert was sponsored by Dove Go Fresh and the 'Don't Fret the Sweat' campaign. I received two passes to the concert and transportation was provided to and from the venue. No restrictions were placed on the content of my review nor was the posting of a review required as part of my participation in this event. All opinions are 100% mine. 

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A Night Out With Dolby, The Black Crowes and a Digital Frame to Giveaway? Sounds Great!

Update: 12/16 - The winner has been picked! See below.

Last weekend we were invited by Dolby to check out their Surround Sound Truck and be their guests at the Black Crowes concert at Club Nokia. Hard to resist, especially since my husband and I have been eager to check out the scene at LA Live, the new entertainment complex adjacent to the Staples Center. A little Dolby demo, a little rock and roll and a date night without the kids - much better than the fast-food and laundry I had originally planned.

The Dolby Truck is touring the West Coast to show you what Dolby sound can do for your home theater, PC and even your cell phone. You're probably already familiar with Dolby sound at your local multi-plex, but Dolby in your home theater could do wonders for your cinema experience. Imagine seeing your favorite movie and hearing the guns firing right past your head! Or, in the case of the movies I've been seeing with my teen girls lately, hearing the sounds of true love brewing. Hey, you have your movie-going experience and I have mine.

The Dolby Truck, which we visited across from the Staples Center, is a mobile home theater outfitted with a huge screen and killer sound system - pretty much what every guy wishes he had on a camping trip! We were treated to a clip of Angelina Jolie's thriller, Wanted, and the sound was very impressive - so impressive in fact, that I rented the DVD last weekend after initially not wanting to see the movie at all. Although I have to say part of that reluctance is that I just figured it was about another kid that Angie and Brad wanted to adopt. Who knew it was about assassins?

We also saw what Dolby sound can do for your PC, since more and more people are watching movies and TV on their computers. I do - I'd much rather watch a Judd Apatow movie in my office through a pair of headphones than worry about turning down the volume every time I was afraid my daughters would hear a penis reference (which in his movies is around every 2.5 seconds. Yes, I timed it.) Unfortunately, I'm a die-hard Mac girl and the Dolby sound is currently only available on PC's, but hopefully someday in the future Apple and Dolby will join forces. Perhaps we'll need Clinton to broker that deal.


Something my husband and I were amazed by was the incredible sound that Dolby has managed to bring to the mobile phone. We listened to a Chocolate LG Touch through a pair of headphones and the sound blew us away - even better than what I'm able to get out of my iPod. Plug in a pair of headphones (I just used my ear buds) and listen to a demo featuring Ciara here. Switch the Dolby to 'on' and 'off' to hear the difference.

Again, sadly, the Dolby sound isn't available on the iPhone, my device of choice at the moment. Curse you superpowers and the forces that keep you apart!

After overstaying our welcome at their super truck (they're nice people, and didn't even ask us to leave after we'd watched the clip of Angelina taking out all the bad guys like fifty times) Dolby treated us to the Black Crowes concert at Club Nokia. Before heading over to the venue, my husband and I decided to splurge on a meal at one of our favorite sushi restaurants, Katsuya, one of the many places to eat in LA Live. Their food is sublime, and if they had made a movie of us eating and put it to Dolby sound the only thing you would have heard is us saying, "Can you believe how good this is?" over and over again. Well, that and "What the hell was Tiger Woods thinking?"

The concert itself was awesome - it was the first time seeing the Black Crowes live. Of course, since I spend a great deal of time writing about celebrities, I couldn't help wondering what exactly went wrong between Chris Robinson and Kate Hudson? And what does he think of Alex Rodriguez? I don't know why, but after all that, and after I mistook a peace sign on the stage for a Mercedes logo, my husband kept telling me to stop thinking out loud. Geez.



To top off our great evening, Dolby gave me a digital photo frame to give away to a lucky reader. This is one of those nifty things that you could maybe load up with lots of photos and music and give to a loved one as a gift to remind them of you. I was heading towards another Tiger Woods joke but I'll stop now.

If you want to win, leave a comment telling me where sound is most important to you - at the movies? In your home theater? On your PC? (Keep it clean - I don't want any references to those home movies you shot back on Spring Break.) Leave your comment before 11:59pm on Sunday, December 13 and I'll use random.org to pick a winner. (Entries from the continental U.S. only, please.) Good luck! May the next sound you hear be my voice announcing you as the winner. In Dolby, of course.

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Update: 12/16: WINNER PICKED

I put all the entries into the random list generator and let it do its thing.

AND THE WINNER IS...


Congratulations to Bernadette Batts of Bern Baby Bern! Bernadette, please email me and let me know how to get your digital frame to you!

And thanks to everyone who entered - I have lots more giveaways coming up, including a really big one.


tags: dolby | la live | black crowes | katsuya

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The Jonas Brothers at the Roxy: Like the Rolling Stones, Only Much, Much Closer

More than a few years ago when I was a teenager, I won tickets to see the Rolling Stones on the local radio station. I popped out my retainer, put on my rainbow suspenders, grabbed a friend and headed down to the Forum in Inglewood. We took our seats, ten rows from the stage. We were so close I could see the sweat on Mick Jagger's face, and if I was a little more aggressive back then I would have pushed that woman aside who scored Keith Richards' guitar pick. It was, and still is, one of the most amazing concerts I've ever seen, and the closest I ever came to a band as huge as the Rolling Stones.

Until Friday night, when my two tween daughters and I went to the private Jonas Brothers concert at the Roxy.

(Okay, calm down all you music snobs out there - I'm not comparing the two bands musically, but you have to admit that in terms of popularity, the Jonas Brothers are eliciting the same type of frenzy that the Rolling Stones did in their day. So, put down that bat.)

The concert was a kickoff for American Eagle's new 77kids clothing line. We were invited guests of 77kids, and were treated like real VIPs - a rep from the company met us outside, gave us wristbands and whisked us in a side door. We were one of the first people inside, so my girls grabbed a place right up front, so close they were leaning on the stage If you've ever been to the Roxy you know what a tiny place it is, so the idea that they would even be in such close proximity to - gulp - the Jonas Brothers had my girls excited beyond belief. My 12-year-old spent the first 45 minutes calling all her friends on her cell phone. I think every conversation started off with, "Okay, okay - guess where I am?" and ended with three omigods and a high-pitched squeal.

From a parent's perspective, the concert was a brilliant idea, and a huge success. The staff of 77kids and the staff at the Roxy were beyond accommodating and really, really nice - something you don't often see at music venues. It was a big change from the Ting Tings concert we took our daughter to a few months ago at the El Rey, where the security staff was unbelievably rough, and rude - they tried to take my daughter's gum away since no gum chewing was allowed inside. Forget weapons and bottles - one can only imagine what damage a 10-year-old could inflict with a stick of Orbit.

When the concert started, it was still hard to believe how close we were, and with only a few friendly security guards between us and what is probably the biggest boy band in the world right now. I was standing towards the back of the crowd while my girls stayed up front by the stage - but by 'back' I mean I was at most fifteen feet from the stage. It was hard to get across to my girls just how crazy this was, how millions of tween girls (and older) would give their right, tattoo-free arm to be in their shoes right now.

Well, here's where I admit that I actually like the Jonas Brothers, and can actually sing along to couple of their songs. While I'm not sure about the whole purity ring thing, they seem like genuinely nice kids who really enjoy what they're doing, and make a real effort to connect with their fans. They put on an energetic, heartfelt show, not that that made any difference to the fans that night; I have a feeling they could have come on stage and combed their hair and the crowd still would have gone wild. Both of my girls got to touch Nick and Joe's (or was it Kevin and Joe's?) hands as they reached out to the crowd, something I know I would have killed to do at the Rolling Stones concert but what was beyond impossible without being knocked unconscious by one of the Hells Angels.

And in what I can only describe as karmic or sort of full-circle-ish, at the end of the concert my youngest daughter scored a guitar pick from Kevin Jonas. As I said, like the Rolling Stones only much, much closer.

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Check out the 77kids line here, where you can actually put together an outfit for your kid right there online. Ingenious. And the best part? Not a thong or midriff-baring tank top in sight. In other words, clothing for kids that is actually appropriate for kids. What a concept.

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Thanks to Mollie Lange, Steve Coulson and Beth Blecherman for making this night possible!

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tags: jonas brothers | 77kids american eagle | roxy sunset strip | tweens

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