Marriott Rewards Treats Members to Demi Lovato and DNCE Concert

By Cindy Robinson

Last week Marriott Rewards members were treated to a free concert by pop superstars Demi Lovato and MTV VMA Best New Artist, DNCE. Marriott Rewards members had to log in to their rewards account, select the event, apply a special code and they could request a free pair of concert tickets. The concert took place at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles for about 1,700 concert-goers near the J. W. Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels. Guests over the age of 21 enjoyed complimentary cocktails during the hour-long concert which featured a special duet between Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato on DNCE’s latest hit, Toothbrush.

DNCE will release their self-titled debut album, DNCE, in November. Demi Lovato just wrapped up her co-headlining Future Now tour with Nick Jonas.

The Marriott Rewards program has just completed its merger with the Ritz Carlton Rewards program and the Starwood Preferred Guest Program. It’s free to sign up for the Marriott Rewards program and the points you earn during your hotel stays are valid for far more than just hotel rooms. If you’d like to sign up so you can join the fun next time, stop by Marriott Rewards to start earning points.

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Happy Birthday Robin Williams

Today dear readers, I’m giving all of you who read this one chore to do today. However you watch movies, whether it’s on your phone, by popping in a DVD, viewing digital files on a laptop or tablet or browsing sites like YouTube or Vimeo, go find a Robin Williams movie, a classic TV show, or some comedic interview clips, watch them and laugh. LAUGH! Enjoy the incredible legacy that this amazing man left for the world to enjoy. Robin Williams would have been 65 today. It’s been almost two years since he passed away on August 11, 2014. The world is a less funny place without him and 2016 has certainly been an incredibly difficult year so far.

What are some of your favorite Robin Williams movies? Or TV shows? What is that one movie you can always watch and know it will make you laugh? For me, it has to be Mrs. Doubtfire. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched this movie over the years but it will always make me laugh and always be among my favorites. So do yourself one favor today, stop and laugh. Let Robin Williams help you achieve that goal today. Happy Birthday Robin Williams! We all miss you. #RobinWilliams

 

My Chemical Romance To Reunite?

Let’s face it folks, 2016 has been a supreme bitch so far. The Grim Reaper has been running rampant stealing away precious lives like David Bowie, Alan Rickman, The Eagles’ Glenn Frey and Prince among others. Violence and terrorism has circulated the globe non-stop from attacks on gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando to trucks crashing into Bastille Day crowds in Nice, France. That asshat orange-colored buffoon is being allowed to run for President of the United States.

Then, today, my cold, black, heart began rapidly beating a crimson color filled again with hope and joy after My Chemical Romance posted a 30-second cryptic video teaser on their newly revamped website at the same time their social media pages were updated with the new logo and video post. The video concludes with the date 9.23.16. New merchandise is available online and of course at Hot Topic. The new logo featuring a cross, MCR and the letter X, or Roman numeral ten were quickly interpreted as a sign of resurrection to celebrate the 10th anniversary of My Chemical Romance’s iconic 2006 album  Welcome to the Black Parade.

The only other solid news that came out today from major news outlets is that the band will re-release the Black Parade along with some previously  unreleased material. No other word on what else may be in store for this deeply missed band.

For those lucky enough to attend Comic Con in San Diego this week, I would bet you won’t get much more than a sheepish grin from Gerard Way as he signs for both Dark Horse and DC Comics on Friday, July 22nd. Here’s a little flashback to my time at Comic Con 2009 when I literally got stuck in a human traffic jam as security halted us to allow Hall H to empty out. When I turned around to see who else got stuck I found Gerard & Mikey standing behind me.

Gerard & Mikey Way, Comic Con 2009

I count myself extremely lucky to be an Angeleno, because I know if shows do happen, they will happen in Los Angeles. Like the rest of you, I don’t know exactly what My Chemical Romance has in store for us for the last half of 2016 but my best guess would be some tour dates to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Welcome to the Black Parade. Will it be a one-off tour to honor this album? Will there be new music? Only time will tell but you can bet if Gerard Way, Mikey Way, Frank Iero and Ray Toro are reuniting for some shows, my happy ass will be camped out on the sidewalk!

Killjoys, make some noise!

Edit: An update after yesterday’s cryptic teaser video. Today, the band made the following statement on their Facebook page, “We’ve been really touched and blown away by the response to the teaser trailer. We are not touring and there is no reunion planned – only a release for the anniversary of The Black Parade.

Thanks so much for continuing to keep MCR in your minds and in your hearts.”

So, at this point killjoys, the only noise is the sound of hearts around the globe breaking again…

Jack & Jack and Melanie Martinez Pump Up the Wango Tango Village

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by Cindy Robinson along with Contributor Sydney Robinson

102.7 KIIS FM in Los Angeles held their annual Wango Tango concert last weekend at the Stubhub Center in Carson, CA. So let’s do a little wrap up from the weekend! Life On The Scene attended the Wango Tango Village, the FREE daytime festival and concert featuring up & coming artists such as Jack & Jack, Melanie Martinez (from season 3 of The Voice), Daya, Laura Marano and more. There was a ferris wheel, food & beverage tents from Coca-Cola, Sprite, Guerrero Tacos, Magnolia ice cream and a fabulous pink primping tent from Soap & Glory.

Did I mention ice cream? Magnolia had amazing flavors like avocado, purple yam, lychee, guava, coconut and mango. Super delicious and well worth the wait in line for a free ice cream cone of your choice. Right now it looks like their ice cream is only available at Ralph’s locations across Southern California (as far as the West Coast is concerned anyway) so make sure you stop by and pick some up this summer.

 

Soap & Glory’s Body Butter and Pillow Plump Lip Gloss

Then there was the Soap & Glory pink primping tent. They provided a great little break from the hot sun where you could sit & relax for a few minutes while primping ladies touched up your make up, applied fake tattoos and gave out some great cosmetic samples like The Righteous Butter Body Butter and their Pillow Plump Lip Gloss. The body butter leaves my skin soft and I’ve received compliments on the nice fresh scent. The Pillow Plump lip gloss leaves your lips tingling as it gently plumps them up while providing a super shine with a hint of color. Recommended for those age 15+! Soap & Glory is availble at a variety of your favorite retailers like Walgreens, Target and Ulta. This hot UK brand is set to take over the USA this summer so go grab some of their fun products to try on your next shopping trip.

The highlight of the day was for sure the music! The day kicked off with internet superstars Jack & Jack and judging by the screams and mayhem their adoring fans loved hearing fan favorites like How We Livin’, Like That, Wrong One, Shallow Love and California. These guys put on a fun concert and it’s great to see how their stage show is growing and evolving. Their 2nd album is expected to be ready for a fall release so check back for more information on that. They also have some additional shows coming up this summer including Milwaukee’s Summerfest on June 30th, a special performance at BeautyCon LA on July 9th, the Show of the Summer in Hershey, PA on August 20th with Shawn Mendes and tons more to come from these adorable guys!

Melanie Martinez sent her legions of fans into a frenzy performing hits like Crybaby, PityParty, Dollhouse, and Carousel with lots of look-a-likes dressed like her in the crowd. Melanie will be on tour for all of June & July across the United States so the Wango Tango Village was just a warm up for her. Check out all of her dates on her website.

It was great to see the power of Jonas is still strong as Joe Jonas stopped by the Wango Tango Village with his new band DNCE to host a quick meet & greet with a lucky handful of fans and took to the stage to pump up the crowd. Sadly, they didn’t treat us to their massive hit Cake By The Ocean but judging the by the throng of girls following Joe’s every move during the brief appearance DNCE is headed destined to become a smashing success.

There were also fun performances from Laura Marano, Shawn Hook and Daya. Friends of ours who attended the evening Wango Tango concert with artists like Zayn, Ariana Grande, DNCE, Demi Lovato and Gwen Stefani said it was an amazing concert and Gwen rocked the house.

If you’ve never attended a big iHeart Radio event like Wango Tango, the iHeart Radio Festival or a Jingle Ball concert – do yourself a favor and go to one of these fun events! It’s a long, long, day (or weekend depending which one you go to) but it’s such a great opportunity to see your favorite artists in a festival setting and check out some new emerging artists. All in one day you get to see more than a dozen acts and it’s just an incredible experience.

 

Troye Sivan Taking Over The World

Blue Neighbourhood is the debut full-length album from international chart-topping Australian artist Troye Sivan. “It’s all autobiographical,” says Sivan. “It takes place in both the suburbs of Perth where I’ve grown up, which I consider to be my blue neighbourhood, but then also in this fast-paced, crazy, whirlwind life that I’m now living in hotel rooms and planes.”

For fans of the South African-born Troye Sivan it’s just the next amazing step in all the success he’s had to date. With more than 4 million fans on his YouTube channel and another 4 million on Twitter he’s set to explode worldwide in 2016 as his fan base just keeps growing at a phenomenal pace.

Troye has a packed schedule ahead of him as he has a performance at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas this Sunday, May 22. Last week the young artist was announced as the recipient of “Kia’s One to Watch,” an honor established last year to support and highlight emerging artists. You can visit the Billboard site daily to see new clips of Troye preparing for the performance and talking about what it means to have this opportunity.

Troye will also be stopping by The GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater in Los Angeles on May 24th for an intimate conversation surrounding his debut album, and rising career, moderated by Scott Goldman, Vice President of the GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares. The conversation will be followed by a special performance.

On top of that, he also announced plans The Suburbia Tour of the United States with dates running through October and November. Go visit Troye’s site for a full list of concert dates and links to buy tickets. Grab them quickly, they will be gone in a flash! Life On The Scene looks forward to covering Troye’s events and watching his star explode globally! #TroyeSivan #BlueNeighbourhood #GrammyMuseum #BillboardMusicAwards

Wango Tango Village 2016 Lineup Announced

Wango Tango recently announced the lineup for their 2016 daytime village concert. The lineup includes Daya, Jack & Jack, Melanie Martinez and more!

Here at Life On The Scene we’re a little perplexed as to why KIIS FM has Jack & Jack and Melanie Martinez kicking the day off. I don’t think KIIS is familiar enough with their teenage audience to realize the frenzy these artists will cause. A brief 40-second appearance by Jack & Jack at last year’s iHeart Radio Festival in Las Vegas drowned out the DJ announcing their arrival and clearly overshadowed George Ezra’s set. We were really surprised they haven’t been confirmed as performers for this year’s iHeart Radio Festival! They have millions of rabid followers and their debut album is on the way.

KIIS FM’s Wango Tango Village stage lineup has been announced! You can see Daya, Shawn Hook, Laura Marano, Jack & Jack and Melanie Martinez live outside StubHub Center on May 14th at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA.

The Village will be open from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and it’s FREE to the public! Don’t miss your chance to see them all live. And who knows… Maybe you’ll have a chance to win tickets to Wango Tango.

You can read more here and enter for chances to win tickets to Wango Tango, backstage passes for both the daytime village and the nighttime concert: http://www.kiisfm.com/features/wangotango-2021/articles/15/497484/wango-tango-village-lineup-14646175/#ixzz47XHRsywt

Who are you most excited to see at this year’s show? Life On The Scene can’t wait to bring you coverage from the event! #Jack&Jack #WangoTango #KIISFM

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Chris Hemsworth and Oscar® winner Charlize Theron return to their roles in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, an epic action-adventure in which they are joined by Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain in this pre-quel to Snow White and the Huntsman.

Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen—including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain)—only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love. When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable…unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another.

Universal Pictures presents THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR arrives in theaters nationwide on April 22, 2016. 

The cast of the film is currently making the promotional rounds for the film with a busy week of Los Angeles activities next week including the Los Angeles premiere of the film on Monday, April 11, 2016 at the Regency Village Theatre, 961 Broxton Ave., Los Angeles, CA along with appearances on the Late Late Show with James Corden on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, April 14, 2016

 

Easter Clearance at Walgreens

I found a great deal on BIC Spring colored markers at my local Walgreens today. They were on clearance for 90% off, just 9 cents each! I grabbed 6 of them for a whopping total of 54 cents!

Some items such as candy were still 70% off but most were 90% off including Easter baskets, Easter grass, decorations, plastic Easter eggs for the Easter hunt, etc.

Stop by your local Walgreens and see what you find. I know my daughter will be excited to have more BIC markers. I guess it’s time to print out some more free adult coloring pages. You can also visit the BIC Markers website for great craft ideas and some printable coloring pages.

Let us know what kind of deals you find in in the comments below.

Saving a Pigeon

by Cindy Robinson

Neither of these pigeons are the one in the story. These are photos I took before which are entitled “Stumpy & his girlfriend”

Neither of these pigeons are the one in the story. These are photos I took before which are entitled “Stumpy & his girlfriend”

I think I inadvertently saved a pigeon’s life over the weekend, or at least saved it from being maimed and minimized its trauma. Let me rewind a little bit first though.

My daughter and I had plans over the weekend which kept morphing and changing into different plans. Our first set of plans for Saturday didn’t work out the way we’d hoped but later in the day we did indeed have some good fun. Kudos to singers Troye Sivan and Nick Jonas for being awesome young men! We love you guys.

As our plans evolved we found ourselves in a different part of Los Angeles that we don’t normally frequent and in an area I normally consider a pretty nice area. We were hungry and opted for a quick stop to escape the traffic and avoid the long search for a new place to eat. We saw a Costco so decided “Yes, quick & easy.”

It was the craziest damn Costco we’ve ever been to! I won’t name the location because I probably know people who frequent this as their regular Costco. It was like all those bizarre people you see in the bad Wal-Mart photos and videos had escaped to Costco over the weekend!

It was a fest for people watching! There was what I assume, a homeless couple enjoying a pizza with their shopping cart of haphazardly packed belongings next to them. They seemed normal enough, until the man got up to go get something and proceeded to make this bizarre series of noises as he walked between the tables and again as he returned to his seat. But then he just engaged in normal conversation with his lady companion and the table next to him while he was seated.

At the  table next to us was a big guy with a hearty laugh, ear buds in, enjoying some show on his phone, who enjoyed burping – repeatedly, loudly, and without excusing himself, like he was at home on the sofa in his underwear watching TV.

A couple of tables away my daughter is certain she spied a popular Youtuber who had his hair up in a ridiculous man-bun with a woman’s little claw hair clip. I so wish I had scissors handy but my daughter thought it looked good!

At the table in front of us was an older man with grey hair and a boy or young man who appeared to be an older teenager with perhaps some sort of mental disability. At first the boy was sitting at the table with the man eating their pizza. Then the boy sat on the ground and began feeding his pizza crust to the pigeons which of course made them flock to him. At one point, the man got up and left the table to go get something. Then suddenly the boy had a pigeon in his hands! He’d caught one and it looked like we he was grabbing the wing with force like he had intent to do damage. I just automatically yelled out “What the hell are you doing?” And he released the bird while several large and small feathers remained in the boy’s hand. Everything seemed to go silent for a few seconds and then the normal chatter of people eating lunch returned. The man came back to the table and the boy showed him the feathers he’d gotten. I was just sitting there a bit stunned. The man didn’t acknowledge that he’d seen anything go awry but they left a few minutes later. Then it dawned on me that I’d actually said that out loud and I asked my daughter if I had been loud. She said I was and that people stopped to look for a moment but it got him to release the bird.

Some readers may think “it was just a bird” or “pigeons are totally annoying at Costco” or “well, the kid has a disability”. Just because it was one of millions of pigeons doesn’t mean it’s OK to harass and torture it. Just because someone has a disability doesn’t mean they get to skip knowing right from wrong if they are able to process that information. If pigeons are a pest at Costco it’s only because you, the patrons of Costco have taught them to be that way by feeding them and teaching them to seek food from humans instead of finding it as they should. I’m super guilty of this because I like birds, I like it when they are curious and come near me and I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit there and let some kid torture a bird or anything else for that matter.

As for the kid, he did seem to have some disability but did seem functional enough to know right from wrong if he had been taught that. I guess that was the scary part for me. The older man – father, caregiver or whatever he was didn’t even address the kid sitting on the ground trying to catch the pigeon, didn’t clarify to him anything about right or wrong so if the boy can’t grasp that it’s wrong to harm a small bird maybe some other time he won’t understand it’s not right to harm something or someone else.

We sat there kind of shocked for a few minutes and then we figured the poor bird probably flew off to a tree to shit himself crazy with fear after his little ordeal. I couldn’t help but wonder if other people would say something in a situation like this? I wish I’d said something to the man but they left before I came out of my shocked state. But that is me, if I see something strange happening, I will likely say something about it, whether it embarrasses the people I’m with or not.

I didn’t even intend to write about it, and it doesn’t really fit with most of the things we write about at Life On The Scene, but after a few days it’s still sitting in my thoughts going “damn, that was kind of crazy!” so here it is. I just hope the pigeon is OK.

March Movie Madness with Tom Hiddleston and Henry Cavill

What movies are on your list in the upcoming weeks? Here at Life On The Scene we are stoked for the imminent release of Sony Pictures Classics, Hank Williams biopic, I Saw The Light starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen. While I am not a fan of country music, the lure of Tom Hiddleston taking on yet another varied role is too much of a draw to miss out on!

DC Comics, Batman v Superman flies into theaters on March 25th, and while I’m not completely sold on Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill’s Superman is stunning and the jury is still out on Gail Gadot as Wonder Woman. It promises to be a great thrill ride into the darker side of the series. Henry Cavill will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 17th and local Los Angeles area residents may still be able to grab a ticket to the taping by visiting 1iota

In May, comes the next movie from Marvel, Captain America: Civil War starring Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. Without a doubt, we’re #TeamIronMan and look forward to the battle amongst the Avengers in this film.