Kiosk in San Francisco

Camera time! I went to see Kiosk perform in San Francisco last Friday night. My friends had come along, too, making it a very special occasion to be in the company of great music and friendship. His Majesty was there. Bayramali was there, too. Poor Leva had been so sick, but she and Vahid had somehow managed to come. Beautiful people! Ehsan was there, too, but no Maryam (boo hoo hoo, I miss her!).

Kiosk are taking their new Album, Global Zoo, Bagh-e-Vahsh-e-Jahani, on the road. It's a great album you guys! I got my CD! We had a treat, because the great young Iranian composer and guitarist, Babak Amini was at the concert. Superb!

I went with Omid. He is finishing his last year of graduate studies at Berkeley's School of Journalism.

I ran into so many of my good friends. This is Avideh Zahedi. She is a sculpture artist. She is also a very sweet and funny woman.

I also ran into Maryam and Ali, who were exuberant and joyful as usual. A great young couple.

Hadi had brought his brother Javad, and I got a chance to see sweet Jeerjeerak and Babak, my wonderful blogger friends. Too bad we couldn't see each other more. Left to right, Ehsan, Hadi, Babak, Leila, and Javad.

Out on the patio, were my other friends Lale Welsh, Babak Khiavchi of Kiosk, and Bruce Bahmani. Bruce said his new Rostam comic book is coming out soon. Great!

I tried to get a picture of Leva which she would let me use. It's hard, you know! She is sooo picky!

Kiosk sang their hearts out for us. It was really wonderful. When the song Jaddeh-ye-Khoshbakhti was up, Arash dedicated it to Luna (Shad), the love of his life. That was so sweet you guys. Look at this short clip of one of their new songs.

Kiosk in San Francisco

Deutsche Welle has prepared a report of Kiosk's performance in Bonn during their recent tour. I know several members of the band and a couple of them are my friends. But that's not why I love listening to these guys! I love their music. I'm going to see Kiosk in San Francisco this Friday night. They will be performing in other cities, too. Here's the tour program information, in case you want to catch one of their shows. They are fabulous.

On a less fabulous note, some things have been happening around me which are bugging me. I can't talk about them yet and I don't want to pretend to anything, so I cut this post short and go to bed. I'll come back and write a better post when I'm in a better mood. Yes, I'm having a very human moment! Be good y'all.

The Namjoo Weekend

I've been so bad with my blogs! I haven't written anything here for a few days and I so miss it! My life has been more complicated than usual, that's my only excuse. I have been on a rollercoaster of feelings and thoughts of late, making it hard to sit down and write. So...let's see... How can I make it up to my few loyal fans here?! I will share some pictures and some links with you, that's how! I hope it works!

First let me tell you about a couple of pieces I have written recently. One is a piece I wrote in my series "Kissing All The Frogs" on Iranian.com. The series, you might remember, are about relationships. I have tried being a little bolder in my writing, continuing to write more for myself than for others, as I need the growth challenge right about this time in my life! This one's called Men 101 which I wrote after Women 101. If you like, share your thoughts there or here, wherever feels more comfortable for you.

Next, I wrote a personal review of Mohsen Namjoo's concert in San Francisco this past Saturday night. Here it is. Speaking of Namjoo, I went to a party at sweet Shadi and Ardalan's house this weekend and met him there. Namjoo is truly a remarkable performer, and a shy and observant man in person. So, here are my photographs. Please forgive the haphazard ways in which they appear. I had a really hard time loading photos tonight.

At the Namjoo Concert, Saturday, September 6, 2008. Left to right, actor extraordinaire Behrouz Vossoughi, Alahazrat Mehran, beautiful VOA personality, Luna Shaad, and Arash Sobhani of Kiosk.

Friends at the Namjoo Concert, from left: Payam, Ehsan, Maryam, Jahanshah, beautiful Persian dance artist, Heather Rastovac, Mehran, and Reza.

At the Namjoo after party, from left Ehsan, Maryam, Jahanshah, and Mehran.

Behrouz Vossoughi posed for me at the Namjoo concert.

At Shadi and Ardalan's house...I know something went wrong with my camera here, but looking at the photos, I rather liked this one! From left: Amir Salamat of Beyond Persia, Arash Sobhani of Kiosk, Luna Shaad of VOA, and Ardalan Payvar of Kiosk.

Oh My God! This extraordinary musician, Shahrokh, played nostalgic tunes on the piano and on my heart! He was jamming with the other musicians at the party. Superb!

Beautiful and artistic couple, our hosts, Shadi Yousefian and Ardalan Payvar. Shadi is a successful photographer and a theater actress. Ardalan is a musician with Kiosk and a web designer. Beautiful young people.

From left: Sweet and talented mezzo-soprano and actress Raeeka Shehabi Yaghmai, Ardalan Payvar, and Arash Sobhani of Kiosk.

From left: Raeeka Shehabi Yaghmai, Arash Sobhani, and Mohsen Namjoo.

Mohsen Namjoo and his guitar.