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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Free Concerts: Summer Jubilee - Alhambra

I was 100 feet away from John Stamos! OK, maybe not that close since I can't gauge distance. So from the point wherever this photo was taken to the stage was how far I was from John Stamos, who performed with the Beach Boys last weekend at the Summer Jubilee in Alhambra.

Summer Jubilee - Alhambra 1


Wasn't he a musician on Full House? I vaguely recall an episode where the Beach Boys guest-starred, I just didn't know they were tight. And ladies, he was hooooooot!

A girl walking by squealed and screamed his name when she saw him on the big screen. The guy she was with rolled his eyes and tugged her to move on.

Another woman suggestively said, "He can be my "uncle Jesse" any time."

"Ewww," said her male companion. "Wouldn't that be kind of incestuous?"

Hahaha! I'm guessing the men aren't big fans.

These photos aren't that great because I had to sneak in the shots. Well, I wasn't quite sure if I wasn't allowed to take photos of just the Beach Boys performing, or if that included no photos at the entire event. So I surreptitiously reached into my purse, snapped photo, put it away, repeat.

Anyway, the photo doesn't show you just how crowded it really was. My cousin and her friends and I didn't show up until about half an hour before the Beach Boys performed so the free tickets for bleacher seats were completely gone. :(

We walked around a bit. Craft booths.


Summer Jubilee - Alhambra 2


Food booths. Of course, after I snapped that photo of Indo Kitchen - Alhambra, I knew I'd have to get something or else Mochachocolata-Rita and Elmo Monster would chide me. I'll eat at the restaurant some day I promise Elmo!


Summer Jubilee - Alhambra 3


So I got the next closest thing, a $4 plate of noodles, fried rice, and pork satay skewers. The satay sticks were yuuuuummy! The noodles and fried rice, however, tasted Chinese, not Indonesian. :( They were good, but I wanted some nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice).


Summer Jubilee - Alhambra 4


My cousin's friend got some roasted corn, except it didn't come on a cob. Odd. I guess it's easier for eating that way, but that ruined all the fun. I forgot to take a picture of their bags of kettle and caramel corn.


Summer Jubilee - Alhambra 5


With my last few dollars I bought a horchata for my cousin and a carne asada taco from the Bun 'N Burger stall. Hey! The prices are 25 cents higher than when they sell at the farmers' market - Alhambra. New increase because of gas, or just for the Summer Jubilee? Yummy and totally hit the spot though.


Summer Jubilee - Alhambra 6


You need a wristband in order to get a seat in the bleachers. Wristbands start getting handed out at 5 p.m. Main performers don't start until 8:30 p.m., although there are three smaller stages with other bands that start performing at 6 p.m. There's plenty of craft and food stalls to keep you busy until then.

Any other child of the 80s out there? Maybe I'll see you this weekend when Foreigner performs on August 2. Kenny Loggins the week after that on August 9. By the way, did you know Loggins grew up in Alhambra? I had no idea.

Random anecdote. When lil' sis was about 3 or 4 years old, she was obsessed with "Footloose." Obsessed. She'd watch Kevin Bacon show the town how to dance over and over again. And she would dance and sing along every single time.

Of course, she swears she doesn't remember this and glares at me the minute I remind her when I start singing:

"Loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose"

Ahahaha!!!

Anyway, free concerts, free admission, free parking, lots of food booths or restaurants within walking distance if you're so inclined. The event is very family-friendly with a moon bounce and other stuff for kids, including a free craft area, on 2nd Street near Commonwealth Avenue.

There's plenty of food booths at the Summer Jubilee, but in case you want to eat at a restaurant beforehand, these are the ones within walking distance:
Charlie's Trio Cafe - Alhambra
Hop Woo BBQ Seafood Restaurant - Alhambra
Indo Kitchen - Alhambra
Perfectly Sweet - Alhambra
Pho 79 Restaurant - Alhambra
Senor Fish - Alhambra
Silver Spoon - Alhambra
Tea Station - Alhambra
Thai Purple - Alhambra

There's also plenty of free parking around the area, so you can dine at any of these other Alhambra restaurants and then drive over:
Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie - Alhambra
Banh Mi & Che Cali Restaurant - Alhambra
Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. - Alhambra
Garden Cafe - Alhambra
Jazz Cat Cafe - Alhambra
Kiki Bakery - Alhambra
Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant - Alhambra
Noodle World - Alhambra
Pho Super Bowl Vietnamese Cuisine - Alhambra
Phoenix Food Boutique - Alhambra (Pacific Square)
PinGo Yogurt - Alhambra
Sam Woo BBQ - Alhambra
Savoy Kitchen - Alhambra
The Boiling Crab - Alhambra
The Hat - Alhambra

Click on the link for the rest of the summer's line-up. If you miss it, Alhambra does this every summer so mark your calendars!

Other things to do may be found in Explore SoCal.

Summer Jubilee
S. 2nd St, between Commonwealth Ave. and Main St.
Alhambra, CA 91801
Saturdays 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Mid-July through August

*****
1 year ago today, Mi Piace - Pasadena (Old Town).

13 comments:

  1. HAHA! Well at least you tried! Shame on Indo Kitchen for not serving bakmi goreng and nasi goreng instead of regular old chow mein and fried rice. It would have cost them more to do so, I suppose.

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  2. I am such a lover of Kenny Loggins. You must divulge everything about the upcoming concert! And wow, bumping into Uncle Jesse, huh?! Very cool!

    I just want to to comment globally on all of your posts: I just went through several months, and I just want to bow my head in extreme deference. And I really do mean "extreme." You are such a talented woman! I have a lot of recipe printing to do from Wandering Chopsticks tonight!

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  3. To elaborate on my comment, and I classify being 100+ feet away as "running into a celeb!" That is how I ran into Kevin Costner, Michelle Pffiefer, and Keanu Reeves! But I actually could not make out their faces. (Hey, I take what I can get!) :D

    Can't wait to hear about the upcoming events!

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  4. This is what I miss about California! There's always something going on and there's always good food involved!

    I was a child of the 80's but never got into Foreigner. I was gaga over Duran Duran though. Used to wear their pins all over my clothing. Silly. LOL

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  5. Dear Wandering Chopsticks,

    Thank you!

    Years ago I'd gone to the summer concerts in Alhambra, but I'd totally forgotten about them. Now here you are with a timely reminder - hooray!

    I am very impressed with the lineup this summer, wow. It looks like they've gotten way bigger. And might I recommend the Fab Four concert? I hope to be there, to see them in person - I have their Christmas CD and it is brilliant fun.

    Any restaurants within walking distance you recommend?

    And many thanks for your continuing great writing and help!

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  6. Oh my, this is the sort of fair that I will be at a lost to what to buy and try- will probably over eat in the process. LOL

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  7. Elmo,
    I finally went today! Will have to visit a few more times before I can do a post.

    PE,
    Ha! That's not really "running into." But I can do a celeb and restaurant post for ya. And thanks for the nice words. You're just too sweet. That made me smile.

    DP,
    Duran Duran was the very first concert I went to. My college brought them in and it cost me a whopping $12! :)

    Odd Lyme/Oddly Me :),
    I've heard good things about the Fab 4, will have to remember to go. That's a few weeks away so I can do some more Alhambra posts. Walking distance from the festivities, there's Hop Woo, which I've reviewed, and Thai Purple, which I have to get around to posting. They both have great specials before 5 p.m. so go for an early dinner and stay until the show. Senor Fish, I've also reviewed. Oh, and Yazmin Malaysian Restaurant. OK, looks like Alhambra restaurant posting week! :P

    Gastronomer,
    Have mercy! ;)

    Daphne,
    I think I kept my eating pretty light, but yeah, there's something about food booths that just makes you want to eat and eat.

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  8. wooo hooo! i can't wait...geez...i hope you liked it. to this day, my roommate thinks indo food is nasty, and this is after i gave him stuff that i think is authentic. but then, he likes olives.

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  9. I love Kenny Loggins too! Glad you enjoyed the Beach Boys. If I arrive at 6, do you think all the wristbands would be gone. Do you think it's appropriate to bring our toddler kids?

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  10. thanks for the post! At last minute, I saw the info and headed out for the Foreigner concert. It was great!

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  11. HEHE you bet i would!

    yep, the nasi goreng looked pretty chinese to me...and sadly did not even look like a good chinese fried rice...mannnnnnn

    at least u enjoyed the sate babi (pork satay) eh? if not, i'd hv to fly there and yell at em hehe (juz a lame excuse to visit u? lol)

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  12. Elmo,
    I liked the fried chicken, but it's rather hard to ruin fried chicken for me. The beef and tongue skewers were too dry. And the burnt palm sugar in the cendol was way too burnt tasting. I'm going back again so I'll see what the other dishes taste like.

    J,
    It's very family-friendly. I added in info about a kid's craft corner and some rides. They're near the Commonwealth side of the street. Wristbands might be gone by 6 if it's a popular show. There's big projection screens on both sides if you don't get a seat. And if you're just there for the live music, you can hear that from everywhere.

    Hong,
    You saw the show! I was too tired to drag myself out to see Foreigner. Well, I could only think of two songs so it didn't seem worth it.

    MCR,
    Ha! You don't need an excuse to visit. But the fried rice was good, just not nasi goreng-style.

    ReplyDelete

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