Concert Update!

I'm seeing Rodriguez a.k.a Sugarman in a few weeks! (May 17th) Stoked is an understatement. My Mom told me about him after seeing a special on 60 Minutes last year and his story is incredible. Please look it up and watch the documentary that actually shows how he got re-discovered, it's called Searching for Sugarman. This man is a legend and I am SO happy that he's getting the recognition he deserves. By the time the concert rolls around I plan on memorizing the entire album so I can sing along like a fool to my favorite song Sugarman. Another favorite of mine is Crucify your Mind but all of his songs are fabulous and I wish I could come up with lyrics as meaningful as his. All of his songs are autobiographical which is somewhat of a novelty these days! I like being able to feel as if I went through what the artist went through and really being moved by songs. Needless to say I'm beyond excited and can't wait to share my experience with everyone! AND if he is coming to a city anywhere near you, GO SEE HIM! He's 70 years old and I'm not sure how many more tours he will do after this so I (Yes, me!) actually bought balcony seats just so I can see him in person before he's not touring anymore. I NEVER buy seats other than main floor so that should tell you how important it is to me that I see him. In other concert news, Portugal. The Man is coming to House of Blues June 20th and I'm thinking about going. Also, Jane's Addiction is coming with Alice in Chains in August but I'll be in school then (TYPICAL.) I can't wait to graduate next May so I can just go to concerts whenever I want. So if anyone is looking for any good shows coming up, there ya have it!


P.S Comment if you're going to any shows this summer, I'm always on the look-out but sometimes I find out when it's too late! 

~Ava

This is the song Sugarman, hope you like it as much as I do! (Credit to YouTube)

Summer is coming...

And I FINALLY have a concert lined up! I'm going to the Taste of Randolph fest for the first time which is June 14th-16th. This also happens to be my birthday weekend, I'll be turning 21! The Divine Fits are playing and my Mom's friend's son is the drummer (Go Sam!) so it's a must that I see them.  Also, the Joy Formidable and JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound are playing so that's also a plus. The Joy Formidable is a band that I saw at Lolla the last year I attended and they were so cool, they had a giant cat head on the stage! JC Brooks and Uptown Sound are just awesome so I'm excited to see them. He sings the song "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart". SO GOOD, listen to it! Other than this fest, I've got no other shows lined up yet since I'm not attending Lolla this year (by choice). Tickets have already sold out....seriously?! There's definitely something weird going on because when I went there would be tickets up until the weekend of. Oh well, I had a great 6 years and I'm really lucky that I got to see the people that I did. (End rant) Anyways, if anyone is going to any good shows or knows of any, leave me a comment because I need to make up for the year of no concerts! 

~Ava

Mayor Hawthorne @ Park West 5/17/12

This is a bit late due to the fact that I totally forgot about this concert and have been in MAJOR need of attending one! So this is from last May and it was the last concert I went to, which is the longest time I've ever gone without seeing one (not okay!). Anyways, Mayor Hawthorne is great and Park West is an awesome venue. It has this old school lounge type vibe and the inside reminds me of something that would be in New York! The entire venue has tables, chairs, booths, an upstairs section, a full bar and a smaller floor for concerts. The stage wasn't too big, but it was a good size for the venue. I found a picture of it because I'm sure my description is lacking! (Credit to whoever took this, I just found it on Google!)

As you can see, there are plenty of places to sit which was nice because sometimes I like sitting during shows. Now, back to the actual concert. I only knew one song by Mayor Hawthorne but it was fine because it was apparent that the other people only knew that song too! P.S The song is called The Walk and it's great, cheeeeck it out. I have no idea who the opening band was, couldn't even tell ya their name so they obviously didn't have a huge musical impact on me but the crowd seemed to enjoy them! They were kinda psychedelic and I was more entertained by the choice of background patterns that were displayed constantly behind them. Me and my friend explored the rest of the venue, mainly the upstairs because it was really cool and a perfect view of the stage. Mayor Hawthorne finally came on and the crowd instantly went crazy. His band was so cool and they were all dressed to the nine in suits and ties. He has a very old-school vibe, kind of like Bruno Mars. I wish more artists were like that! The concert was great and he was very interactive with the crowd, which was refreshing to see. I really liked how he actually engaged with us and made us a part of the show. Of course, he played the beginning of The Walk when I was in the bathroom. (Typical!) I didn't miss much though and I got to hear most of the song. This concert wasn't on the top of my list, mainly because I knew a small amount of his music but I would still encourage you to see him at some point!

You know what time it is.....picture time!

                                             

See what I mean by the backgrounds? Super distracting.

 ^This was really cool.

 That hair!

 Mayor! So precious.

 This was my FAVORITE thing that happened during the show, they posed for a good 5 minutes during the song haha.

 This one is also great.

Me and my friend Callie! We went to Denny's after, diner food is the best after-concert food. :)

~Ava

Coachella Lineup

So the lineup for Coachella came out last week and I honestly have mixed feelings about it. I haven't been to it yet but every year the schedule is a good indication of some of the bands that will be at Lolla (which I will be attending this year!).  Here's a link to the lineup: http://www.coachella.com/lineup

Coachella is a bit different than the other fests because it's 2 weekends instead of 1 and the same artists play both weekends, which I just found out.  It's also earlier in the year, usually in mid-April.
The headliners didn't blow me away, considering most of them have played at Lolla previous years. I've honestly gotta admit that I have no clue who the Stone Roses or Blur are so that kind of scares me a little considering they're well known enough to be headlining. (BLUR. SONG 2. It suddenly hit me that I actually do know them!) I still have no idea about the other band, but I just listened to their song called I Wanna be Adored and they sound like a typical 80's band from England. Sorry to anyone that is a fan! Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Lou Reed, Vampire Weekend, RHCP, and a lot of the other bands have played at Lolla numerous times. I wouldn't say that I was surprised that RHCP was playing, considering they're from California. I wasn't that impressed with the headliners, but  I WAS impressed with the non-headliners. ( I would refer to them as "smaller bands" but most of them aren't so small anymore!)

 I really like some of the non-headlining bands like Portugal. The Man, Of Monsters and Men, Two Door Cinema Club, Passion Pit, Band of Horses and many others. The coolest thing EVER is that my Mom's friend's son is the new drummer for the Divine Fits, who are playing Coachella for the first time this year! The Divine Fits is a group formed by the lead singer of Spoon, who is also the lead singer in this band. Go check them out, you won't be disappointed! I'm hoping they play Lolla so I can meet them, which would be AWESOME. I've never met anyone at Lolla without having to wait in line forever/pay for their CDs that I already own but forgot to bring. I'm just looking forward to see who is playing at Lolla this summer!   

Sooooooo...are you happy about the lineup? Anyone you would/wouldn't have picked? Has anyone reading this ever been to Coachella? Let me know in the comment box! :)

-Ava

Palladia

This is my first non-concert related post in awhile! Unfortunately school has been putting a damper on my concert-going, but I've been keeping up with tours anyways! I would LOVE to see Atlas Genius with Imagine Dragons at the House of Blues March 4th & 5th but I have a feeling they'll be at Lolla this summer (I hope!). I've also been watching a lot of Palladia, which is the coolest channel! If you have Comcast, it's on channel 209. This channel plays TONS of programs, including Storytellers and Unplugged. It's a great way to discover new bands because they often play full-length concerts and festivals. It's also cool because there's something different every night, whether it's Daryl's House ( Daryl Hall from Hall and Oats has artists come into his house and play music + cook!) or a music awards show. Palladia really has something for everyone and anyone that loves music should definitely check it out! It's kind of a best kept secret because not many people know about it. I love when they feature an entire week of music festivals because they play the ones from Europe, which look AWESOME! Watching them seriously makes me want to jump on a plane for a weekend and experience it. Other programs I enjoy are Storytellers and Unplugged. Both programs feature an artists/band, but Storytellers is a little different because they artists tell the stories behind their songs. I always think it's interesting to hear what one of my favorite songs is really about, especially when the meaning is totally different than I thought. Unplugged is also awesome because the songs get stripped down and you can hear the songs acoustically. My favorite Unplugged sessions are Nirvana and Young the Giant, among others. Nirvana's Unplugged felt special and unlike the other sessions. I liked it so much that I even own it on DVD! Young the Giant's songs sound great acoustic or standard and they have such a cool vibe going. If this post doesn't convince you to watch Palladia then I don't know what will haha but from a fellow music lover, it's the next best thing to a concert! :)

The Black Keys at the Aragon 1/1/11

So this concert was super cool for 2 reasons. 1. It was on New Year's Eve day 2. It was at the Aragon. (See the older post where I rave about it and you'll understand!) I love the Black Keys and regret not seeing them when they were at Lolla for like, 3 years in a row on small stages. Of course, I don't notice them until they become successful. Same thing happened with Kings of Leon! Ugh. Anyways, I'm glad that I did see them before they went on to play stadium shows, which was a sellout move in my opinion but hey. Moving on, this concert was AWESOME. From the opening act to the disco ball the entire thing was incredibly stellar. The opening act was the Greenhornes, which includes the bass player and drummer from the Raconteurs. They were great and I can see why Jack White is friends with them. I'm gonna keep one this short and sweet, enjoy the pics and I hope you can see the videos! :)

Karen Elson-Lincoln Hall-June 15th, 2010.

I've come to the realization that not only is Jack White the coolest but Karen Elson is also extremely cool. For those of you that aren't aware, Jack and Karen were married. Karen started off as a model (she's from England) and then traveled towards music, very successfully I might add! Anyways, this show was the day before my 18th birthday which was so cool! Lincoln Hall is a very small, intimate venue so there could never be a bad seat in the house. I can't remember who the opening act was but they were hippies and they were awesome. They played for about 30 minutes before Karen came out and more people slowly started coming in. Karen came out with a very interesting backing band, which included Patty Smith's son (Meg White's husband). All the band members were dressed in Southern/vintage outfits (Karen wore a long vintage dress) and had a country vibe. In fact, a lot of Karen's songs had a country sound and actually reminded me of Jack's music. Anyways, she was so precious and funny! At one point she had a glass of wine onstage and was sipping it during her set. Her accent is also awesome and I'm so jealous haha. She asked the crowd if anyone knew who Donovan was and my Mom shouted "YES!" very loudly/enthusiastically, Karen just looked over and laughed! Too funny. Karen's most well known song, The Ghost that Walks, was a crowd pleaser and gained the most interaction from the audience. I bought her album after the show and "stole" a poster that was hanging on the wall. (So rebellious! haha) We listened to the album on the way home and all of the songs were ones that she had played at the show. I would definitely recommend seeing her live at some point (not sure when she'll be coming on tour again) and definitely going to Lincoln Hall!

Enjoy! :)

Lead singer of the opening act

Karen's drum set-cool bird!

The only pic I used flash with, I felt bad since we were so close to her.

Patty Smith's son!

This is my favorite! It looks so cool with the glow. Notice the glass of wine! Haha

Cool looking bass player.

~Ava