http://bit.ly/LPfyt
Beyonce at MSG. Soooo good. Been wanting to see her for a few years and finally got my chance. No "Suga Mama", but I managed to get over it. Jay-Z making a surprise guest appearance helped!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction
Review on Examiner
NIN/JA review. Shout out to the hot guy in the 12th row who was by himself. I would have talked to you but you were too busy buying beer in between bands and then disappeared after NIN. Oh well.
NIN/JA review. Shout out to the hot guy in the 12th row who was by himself. I would have talked to you but you were too busy buying beer in between bands and then disappeared after NIN. Oh well.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Saturday, April 04, 2009
I'm officially an Examiner!
Just got a position at Examiner.com writing about concerts! I never thought someone would allow me to junk up their site with my thoughts :O
LINK
I'll probably be posting there more often than here. But keep checking back on this page because I may write stuff for this site once in awhile should I feel like it!
LINK
I'll probably be posting there more often than here. But keep checking back on this page because I may write stuff for this site once in awhile should I feel like it!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Papa Roach is On the Mental
Metamorphosis is out today. If you happen to like a CD containing hard rock songs with catchy hooks and singalong anthems performed by handsome men who kick your butt in concert, by all means, go pick it up!
Buy here
Listen here
Buy here
Listen here
Monday, March 16, 2009
Britney's Circus
Friday the 13th I did something I never in my life thought I would do. I attended a Britney Spears concert. By choice!
Years ago when she hit the scene, I was a hater. I thought every song I heard was unbearably cheesy. Basically, since "Slave 4 U", it's been a different story. Now I will freely admit, on the internet, in full view of all, that I am a Britney fan.
I arrived a bit late due to the massive traffic I had to endure once I got off the exit for downtown. As a result, I missed about 1/2 of the Pussycat Dolls' set, which to be honest was not a problem for me. I wanted to arrive early enough to get a taste of what they were like, but by no means was I upset I didn't have to sit through the entire performance. I walked in during "Buttons", which is the only song I like. The exotic music behind the cheesy lyrics reminds me of the "We are Siamese" song from Disney and I loved that song as a little kid so that may explain it.
When I saw that she was touring and that she was going to be playing the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, I thought "Why even front on myself. I want to go to this." I paid for the mid-priced ticket, $84.55 after fees, and could not wait to see the spectacle that this show was sure to be.
Even though I find them to be total pop tarts (basically a group of 5 Britneys), I found myself actually respecting their abilities. From my limited knowledge which is, sadly, gleaned from Diddy's Making the Band show on MTV, it's hard not to appreciate the hard work one has to put into keeping an even mediocre career going in the pop music world. The hours at the gym, the hours spent learning choreography, traveling, recording...you have to be extremely driven just to accomplish the basic requirements that need to be met if you want to be even semi-successful. So even if you aren't a fan of the majority of the Dolls' songs, you can't say they don't work hard to at least give you a decent visual, and extremely sequin-y, performance.
In between the Dolls and the main act, members of the Big Apple Circus came out to entertain the crowd with standard circus tricks while we waited for Britney's crew to set up. Then around 9:30, it was showtime.
After the giant center ring-wrapping screen finished playing the intro video of a wisely chosen wicked Queen Perez Hilton psyching you up for the show, Britney made her grand entrance. As she is lowered into the center of the ring, you definitely feel a starstruck whoosh come over you. It was the same feeling I had when I first saw Madonna. It's just like "Woah! There she is!"
Britney's setlist consisted of mostly songs spanning from "Slave 4 U" to the present CD "Circus." As I mentioned, I'm not a fan of the early stuff so much, so this made me happy. I even liked the songs I hadn't heard on the radio before.
The show itself is definitely not for little kids. If you are expecting family-style entertainment, this is not where you're going to find it. It's not quite as risque as say a 90's era Madonna show, but there are definitely some things you'll be asked about if you bring a youngin'. Although at this point, I can't imagine her fan base includes many under the high school age anyway since for the last few years her music and image have changed quite a bit since the days of "Sometimes."
The show makes reference to a circus of course, with Britney performing in a lion's cage for "Piece of Me", or being the girl who is sawed in half for "Ooh Ooh Baby" for example. Later, she steps up the sexy. Well, I mean if you consider straddling on a swing made of two men for "Touch of My Hand" while blindfolded, giving a lapdance to a lucky guy during "Breathe on Me", or coming out dressed in a stripper police uniform while brandishing a nightstick for "Womanizer" sexy. The only truly old school song she did was "Baby One More Time" remixed to have a hip hop flair to it.
One of my favorite moments of the night was actually not even a live performance. It's a video she made where she lip synchs Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" while partaking in an Eyes Wide Shut-style masquerade house party. If you get past the seductive visuals of the video and really listen to the message of the lyrics, you start to realize this tune is more than just a cool 80's song revamped. It totally applies to her life and the hard lessons she's had to learn about how much people can really suck. Watching her attack the song with a vengeance gives you the sense she's taken back control and everyone better watch out. A better description of how I felt watching it would be "YOU GO WITH YOUR BAD SELF!"
Was the show mostly lip synched? Probably. Do I care? Not really. I didn't come to this show to witness the shock and awe of her vocal abilities anyway. I don't regret the money spent on this, because she gave us all what we came for- glamorous costumes, excessive glitter, dancing, and most importantly, a 2 hour escape from reality. I was there to be entertained. And entertain she did. Thanks Britney!
My terrible media acquired via cell phone:
View from my seat:
Being lowered into the center ring:
Britney yelling at us.
After the giant center ring-wrapping screen finished playing the intro video of a wisely chosen wicked Queen Perez Hilton psyching you up for the show, Britney made her grand entrance. As she is lowered into the center of the ring, you definitely feel a starstruck whoosh come over you. It was the same feeling I had when I first saw Madonna. It's just like "Woah! There she is!"
Britney's setlist consisted of mostly songs spanning from "Slave 4 U" to the present CD "Circus." As I mentioned, I'm not a fan of the early stuff so much, so this made me happy. I even liked the songs I hadn't heard on the radio before.
The show itself is definitely not for little kids. If you are expecting family-style entertainment, this is not where you're going to find it. It's not quite as risque as say a 90's era Madonna show, but there are definitely some things you'll be asked about if you bring a youngin'. Although at this point, I can't imagine her fan base includes many under the high school age anyway since for the last few years her music and image have changed quite a bit since the days of "Sometimes."
The show makes reference to a circus of course, with Britney performing in a lion's cage for "Piece of Me", or being the girl who is sawed in half for "Ooh Ooh Baby" for example. Later, she steps up the sexy. Well, I mean if you consider straddling on a swing made of two men for "Touch of My Hand" while blindfolded, giving a lapdance to a lucky guy during "Breathe on Me", or coming out dressed in a stripper police uniform while brandishing a nightstick for "Womanizer" sexy. The only truly old school song she did was "Baby One More Time" remixed to have a hip hop flair to it.
One of my favorite moments of the night was actually not even a live performance. It's a video she made where she lip synchs Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" while partaking in an Eyes Wide Shut-style masquerade house party. If you get past the seductive visuals of the video and really listen to the message of the lyrics, you start to realize this tune is more than just a cool 80's song revamped. It totally applies to her life and the hard lessons she's had to learn about how much people can really suck. Watching her attack the song with a vengeance gives you the sense she's taken back control and everyone better watch out. A better description of how I felt watching it would be "YOU GO WITH YOUR BAD SELF!"
Was the show mostly lip synched? Probably. Do I care? Not really. I didn't come to this show to witness the shock and awe of her vocal abilities anyway. I don't regret the money spent on this, because she gave us all what we came for- glamorous costumes, excessive glitter, dancing, and most importantly, a 2 hour escape from reality. I was there to be entertained. And entertain she did. Thanks Britney!
My terrible media acquired via cell phone:
View from my seat:
Being lowered into the center ring:
Britney yelling at us.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Jimmy Eat World- Clarity X 10
Jimmy Eat World is currently on tour playing all of their album Clarity in honor of the 10th Anniversary of its release. I went to the show knowing about 75% of that legendary CD, which I'm actually embarrassed to admit. But I know they'd forgive me if they knew. I doubt if I had made it front row and Jim looked down and saw me feigning lyrical knowledge that he'd stop the show and have security kick me out of the venue. He just doesn't seem the type.
Anyway, I managed to get a clip of each song they played. In an unexpected move they played a few other selections as an encore, also shown below. Enjoy my short little shaky films:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/starstruck76/sets/72157614391858570/detail/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/starstruck76/sets/72157614391858570/detail/
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Blink 182 news!
The Grammys have managed to coax blink-182 out of their five-year hiatus — sort of. The punk trio will appear at this Sunday’s ceremony… as presenters. A Grammy rep confirmed to Rock Daily that blink-182 will take the stage in some capacity, but wouldn’t elaborate on the details. Blink last appeared together onstage in December 2004, two months before the band went on an indefinite hiatus. Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker went on to from +44 while Tom DeLonge formed Angels & Airwaves.Following the 2008 jet crash that nearly took the life of Barker and DJ AM, Hoppus had blogged that the he was hopeful that a Blink reunion might be on the horizon, and recently admitted that he and DeLonge were once again friends. The revelation that blink-182 would reunite to present together at the Grammys was casually thrown into a roll call of other presenters added to the event, including Kate Beckinsale, Green Day, LL Cool J, Natalie Cole and Diddy.
Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/02/05/blink-182-reunite-to-present-at-grammys/
This makes me so happy. Their last proper CD is one of my favorites of all time, and when they broke up I was so sad. They were just getting interesting, straying from their usual formula (most notably with "I Miss You" and "Violence") and I was really looking forward to hearing the next thing they would come up with. But then bam! they broke up and splintered off into +44 and AvA. While I enjoyed what those bands had to offer, their stuff never quite hit the spot like Blink-182 always did. Here's hoping they come back and record soon! I know plenty of people who'd like to see that happen!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Metallicaaaa
Sunday night I went to see Metallica play the Prudential Center in Newark. I'd never been to this venue before so I was looking forward to seeing what it was like. My experience was pretty pleasant. The website made it very clear where parking was allowed, how much it was going to cost you, gave directions right to your lot from the highway, and had the convenient option of paying ahead so you didn't have to carry the cash on you. It was all accurate info, so getting there and dealing with that part of the evening was a breeze. That was a pretty good start to the night.
I intended to get there in time to see at least a little bit of Machine Head, but failed due to the fact I decided to purchase my t-shirt before showtime. The shirt is exclusive to my show, mentioning the city and date, so I was afraid it would sell out post-show. So, no Machine Head review for you.
My seat was 20th row on the first level mid-arena. This worked out perfectly since the show was, as it was last tour, in the round.
Setlist:
That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
Creeping Death
Harvester Of Sorrow
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Blackened
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Die Die My Darling
Breadfan
Seek And Destroy
For once I knew all the songs! Usually there are one or two old numbers where I sit there like "What?" but enjoy them nonetheless. You'll also notice that nothing from St. Anger was played. I guess they, like many fans, want to pretend that CD never happened. By the way, I have an accurate setlist not because I remembered it perfectly, but because with the purchase of your ticket also came Death Magnetic and the ability to download your entire show in mp3 form from their official site. Pretty cool.
Anyways, Metallica is just as great as I expected them to be. This was the 7th time I've seen them. James asked the crowd if it was anyone's first time and quite a few responded much to my surprise. Also present were lots of children with their parents, which always freaks me out.
The stage set was all black, with Death Magnetic coffins that would rise and fall throughout the show. I was particularly impressed with the use of multi-colored pyro. I had no idea fire could come in such intense blues, greens, and reds. But apparently they did and figured out a way to bring it to their show which was quite awesome, especially during the climax of "One." At the end, for the house-lit "Seek and Destroy", they unleashed giant black beach balls emblazened with the Metallica logo onto the crowd, which people promptly scrambled for as the band kicked them out into the crowd.
The highlights for me were "Harvester of Sorrow" and "Die Die My Darling" because I haven't seen them play those for years. They constantly change their setlist to keep their fans on their toes, which is something I wish all bands would do. Especially for those of us that go multiple times on one tour.
There weren't really any lowlights for me. Except the couple next to me seemed to be more interested in texting the whole time which was distracting. Their loss! One thing I missed is not hearing AC/DC as the entrance song. I believe I read that the song they now play before running out onstage is by Saxon (?)
After the show, they hung out on the stage forever, throwing out tons of guitar picks and drumsticks to the hardcore fans who stuck around to watch their every move until they left the stage. Lars also grabbed the mic to mention they'd be back in the fall to rock Madison Square Garden, which is sure to be a great show again I'm sure.
As for any post-show meetings, none occurred. I attempted to meet them outside but due to the fact this was their last show, cars had picked them up at the gated exit and had whisked them off already. Shame, because James Hetfield is at the top of my "Must Meet" list!
Anyhow, enjoy video other people took from my show:
"One" (here you can see the pyro pretty good) and again (whole song)
Seek n' Destroy (bouncing beach balls!)
I intended to get there in time to see at least a little bit of Machine Head, but failed due to the fact I decided to purchase my t-shirt before showtime. The shirt is exclusive to my show, mentioning the city and date, so I was afraid it would sell out post-show. So, no Machine Head review for you.
My seat was 20th row on the first level mid-arena. This worked out perfectly since the show was, as it was last tour, in the round.
Setlist:
That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
Creeping Death
Harvester Of Sorrow
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Blackened
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Die Die My Darling
Breadfan
Seek And Destroy
For once I knew all the songs! Usually there are one or two old numbers where I sit there like "What?" but enjoy them nonetheless. You'll also notice that nothing from St. Anger was played. I guess they, like many fans, want to pretend that CD never happened. By the way, I have an accurate setlist not because I remembered it perfectly, but because with the purchase of your ticket also came Death Magnetic and the ability to download your entire show in mp3 form from their official site. Pretty cool.
Anyways, Metallica is just as great as I expected them to be. This was the 7th time I've seen them. James asked the crowd if it was anyone's first time and quite a few responded much to my surprise. Also present were lots of children with their parents, which always freaks me out.
The stage set was all black, with Death Magnetic coffins that would rise and fall throughout the show. I was particularly impressed with the use of multi-colored pyro. I had no idea fire could come in such intense blues, greens, and reds. But apparently they did and figured out a way to bring it to their show which was quite awesome, especially during the climax of "One." At the end, for the house-lit "Seek and Destroy", they unleashed giant black beach balls emblazened with the Metallica logo onto the crowd, which people promptly scrambled for as the band kicked them out into the crowd.
The highlights for me were "Harvester of Sorrow" and "Die Die My Darling" because I haven't seen them play those for years. They constantly change their setlist to keep their fans on their toes, which is something I wish all bands would do. Especially for those of us that go multiple times on one tour.
There weren't really any lowlights for me. Except the couple next to me seemed to be more interested in texting the whole time which was distracting. Their loss! One thing I missed is not hearing AC/DC as the entrance song. I believe I read that the song they now play before running out onstage is by Saxon (?)
After the show, they hung out on the stage forever, throwing out tons of guitar picks and drumsticks to the hardcore fans who stuck around to watch their every move until they left the stage. Lars also grabbed the mic to mention they'd be back in the fall to rock Madison Square Garden, which is sure to be a great show again I'm sure.
As for any post-show meetings, none occurred. I attempted to meet them outside but due to the fact this was their last show, cars had picked them up at the gated exit and had whisked them off already. Shame, because James Hetfield is at the top of my "Must Meet" list!
Anyhow, enjoy video other people took from my show:
"One" (here you can see the pyro pretty good) and again (whole song)
Seek n' Destroy (bouncing beach balls!)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Photos
I just realized I posted some photos awhile back and never mentioned them here:
Tesla
Rise Against/Alkaline Trio/Thrice/Gaslight Anthem (Rise Against was AMAZING)
New Found Glory (these are kinda terrible)
Tesla
Rise Against/Alkaline Trio/Thrice/Gaslight Anthem (Rise Against was AMAZING)
New Found Glory (these are kinda terrible)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Random complaining.
Well, I tried to get a ticket to see Jay-Z in DC at Warner for the big Inauguration show that's been publicized on Yahoo! LOL at me thinking that would happen.