Today, July 7th, I received one of the greatest surprises in my life. I decided, last moment, to go to the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California - it's always been a yearly ritual, and today being the last day of the fair made it even that much more desirable.

When I arrived, I discovered that Sheila E would be performing at the fair with Pete and Juan Escovedo. A guy gave me a free ticket into the fair, and the concerts (6:00 and 8:00) were free as well, so I like to think I saw her essentially free of all costs, which is pretty amazing once you think about it.

Anyhow, I got in line around 4:30, and received a very decent seat - I was about 40 feet from Sheila and had a gorgeous side view of her for the whole 45 minutes of each set. She seemed to have a great time, always smiling, and did some GREAT drum solos. I'm betting that the majority of the audience came to see her, she received most of the applause. The band knew it, too.

The best parts of the evening were when Sheila had her solos, singing and playing the drums. At the 6:00 show, she sang something I didn't recognize (I caught a line about a girl dreaming about money), but then she launched into the chorus of Love Bizarre! It was great. During the second performance, she sang again, even rapped, and then did a few lines from Kiss.

Needless to say, the music was fantastic, and now I'm really looking for some Pete Escovedo CDs. I've never liked jazz much, but the performances today blew me away.

I was ecstatic. I can't believe how lucky I was to catch her. She seems like a wonderful person, and I was totally captivated by her, as was everybody else there. I'm kicking myself for not bringing a camera.

Did anyone else see the show(s)?

Damn. This was an unannounced gig. No info anywhere!

Here are Sheila's upcoming gigs;


July 20, 2002
Sheila E. & The E-Train
Hot Summer Nights
Chance Park (Marina Del Rey, CA)
Concert: 7:00pm
www.beaches.co.la.ca.us

July 21, 2002 (3.00pm)
Sheila E. & The E-Train
At the Hyatt Regency in Monterey
You can find more information at: www.smoothjazz.com

July 24, 2002
Sheila E. & The E-Train
Fashion Island, Newport Beach, CA
Concert: 7:00pm

August 3, 2002
Sheila E. (w/ All Star Girls Band)
Wave LA Concert (UCLA)
Concert: TBA

August 12-18, 2002
Sheila E. with Pete & Juan Escovedo
Tokyo Blue Note (Tokyo, Japan)
2 shows nightly

jseven said:

I know. I have to keep pinching myself to see if it was for real. The only way I know that I wasn't dreaming is that it's mentioned on the fair website.

http://www.alamedacountyf...lfair.html

Click on "Concert Headliners" and scroll down to July 7th. There's even a nifty little photo of her.

well thanks for telling me damn it...pleasanton is my hometown...errr...

If I'm not mistaken,I'm pretty sure that Sheila's father plays San Jose sometime this summer.It will be a free concert in the park (downtown SJ).Perhaps Sheila will make a surprise appearance?

Review and pictures of this concert


http://balder.prohosting....anton.html

GlamA said:

Very cool site GlamA !!

SHE NEEDS TO COME TO NEW YORK!!!

Wish I had been there...!