Nesian Fest 2012 / Sister GNO

As soon as my older sister Leslie found out about the Nesian Fest concert.....she let us all know.....it was Common Kings, Trey Smoov, and Fiji.....of course I wanted to go!  We actually were all planning on going together.....Leslie, Leka, Patrick, Ova & me.....all the way up until the day of.  Then, Leka flaked out because she had to preform at a ward dance, Ova was still handicap and not able to move, and Patrick had to stay home and babysit the kids....so it ended up being just me and my sis Leslie! 


She came and picked me up and we had such a great time just hanging out together....something that is always fun, but that we don't do as often as we should....we'll have to work on that!  :)


We were hugry so we decided to head to the Gateway Mall and find a place there to eat....since that mall is right by the venue where the concert was going to be....seemed like a good idea.

On our way to the Gateway mall, in downtown Salt Lake, we were stopped at a red light and there was a guy standing on the corner with a big huge sign that said 'GOT ROBBED. NEED $56 FOR A BUS TICKET HOME TO GRAND JUNCTION'.....he was nicely dressed with an aloha shirt and nice slacks.  I'm a sucker for people who have to stand there and beg for money, as soon as I see one, no matter where or when, my heart starts pounding and I just feel this incredible need to give, even if I don't have much.  I guess we get that from our dad.  Leslie and I started talking while we were stopped at that light about how my dad used to always give money those people.  We both remembered very vividly of one time when we were younger and we were telling our dad that he shouldn't give them money because they could go and use it for something bad like beer or cigarettes......he stopped us and told us that that shouldn't stop us from helping them.  We would be blessed if we helped others, and they would be judged for how or what they did with the money.  Very powerful lesson we learned from him when we were young that has stuck with us.....and it's so true!  I always try to help them out if I can.....whether it be a couple dollars, or food....I can't imagine how hard their life has to be, or how low they have to stoop to even have to ask for help that way.....but I know I always feel good when I can help.  Anyways, I didn't have any cash on me at that moment, but really wanted to help this man we saw.  I asked Leslie if she had any cash and all she had was the $20 bill that she was going to give me for buying her ticket.....I told her just to give it to him.  She called him over and handed it to him....he said thank you so much, then looked down at it....saw it was a $20....his eyes got really big and a little teary....and he ran back to his sign, took it down and walked over to the bus station.  I guess we must have given him enough to help him reach the $56 that he needed.  Of course, because we're both cry babies.....we cried and laughed and felt so good that we were able to help someone in need.  Hopefully someday he'll be able to pay it forward!

We got to the Gateway mall and out of all the places we could have chosen to go and eat, we chose this place......

I'd never tried it before....so I thought I'd give it a try.  :-/  Really, I don't know why I keep going to these places that sell Hawaiian food (besides L&L) because they never seem to measure up to my husband's cooking!  He can definitely throw down in the kitchen.....and with all his experience doing booths with his parents, he can cook some mean hawaiian food.  Nothing really compares to his.....really, it's that good!  :)

After we ate we headed to the concert......it was PACKED!  Full from the front to the back.  We got a cozy little spot right up front where we stayed the whole entire time.  It was so much fun! 

The line up was awesome, Common Kings rocked it.....he really has an amazing voice!   He sang some Michael Jackson throwbacks, and hit every single note.....when he sang his songs, Alcoholic & Wade in the Water....the crowd went wild!  His band was fun and they gave an amazing performance! 

After Common Kings was Trey Smoov....I'd actually never heard of them before the concert and to be honest, I wasn't very impressed.  They were no where near the caliber that Common Kings or Fiji is at....and it was kind of sad because they went on too long and people just stopped dancing.  After how hyped the crowd was when Common Kings was on stage....it was a very noticable difference!



Then it was Fiji.  This was the third concert of his that I've been to and I swear he just gets better and better.  He had the crowd pumped up.....he was amazing!  One of my most favorite artists for sure!  He's got excellent stage presence and when he sings, it's almost as if he's just talking....it's just that easy and natural for him!  He did an amazing job.....and I can't believe I didn't get a picture of him singing....must have been too excited to stop dancing and singing along with him to take a picture.  LOL. 

The concert didn't end until like 2am, so after, we just called it a night.  But we had so much fun!  Love spending QT with my sis!  Good times!

                          A picture with my crazy drunk bff Toa LOL                                      and my teeny tiny older sister Les