And we're off, Summer Concert #1

Well, after looking at tour dates and seeing how things would fall this year, I ended up kicking off a summer of concerts somewhat unexpectedly at the Bamboozle Roadshow at DTE thanks to free tickets from a friend.

I'm glad that it worked out, because it was a good chance to see some good bands with very nice seats. This Bamboozle tour has a bunch of bands on 2 stages rotating time slots with each other on each stop, the list of main stage groups was: Forever the Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Boys Like Girls and All Time Low. Obviously some of these bands have bigger followings than others, but there was a great crowd at the show.

Forever the Sickest Kids came out and put on a solid display of intense music, and set the tone for Good Charlotte to play a nice little set. It was fun to sing along to "The Anthem" and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" again. From there, we were treated to 40 mins of Third Eye Blind. I was very impressed with them. I don't care how old or young you are, anyone can sing along to their classic songs. "Semi-Charmed Life", "Jumper", and "Never Let You Go" are the kind of songs that you remember. Frontman Stephan Jenkins was pretty entertaining too. Speaking of entertaining, in a different way, we had LMFAO. I wasn't as into their act, but it was interesting with a bunch of dancing and other characters. After that was Boys Like Girls, and that seemed to be the highlight for the screaming girls in the audience. They drew the biggest reaction of the night, since they are the most current and popular band on this tour with the younger audience.I didn't stay for the last band as more than 4 hours of alternative rock, classic radio songs from the past and present, and interesting club beats was enough for me. All in all, it was a good experience and a good start to a summer of concerts.

-PK

Jack Johnson-To The Sea

One week ago, Jack Johnson released his latest record and I bought it at Borders. Jack isn't really my favorite artist, but I really like his music. After listening to this latest one, I really have a better appreciation for his style and talent. After a week of this CD staying firmly in my car stereo, I can say that this is easily becoming of my favorite albums of recent memory. Some reviews I've read try to put down the CD and say that it isn't flashy enough or it's more of the same...but what's so bad about that? Sure, much of the CD sounds like the guy we all know, but that's a good thing. There also some cool jams and solo parts on this record, it's great.

The first single "You and Your Heart" is a good opener, but not the best song on the CD for me. I like "At or With Me" because of the feel of the song and the cool ending with a chorus of "ohs". Also, "My Little Girl" and "Anything But the Truth" are excellent because it's just Jack and the guitar, and it doesn't get much better than that.

I hope you check this out and enjoy the great songs from Jack Johnson. Now I need to get myself some concert tickets to this show!

One Liner - Invisible City (The Wallflowers)

Its been a while since I've done one of these, but I was listening to some Wallflowers and a line stuck out to me. "Cheaper lovers make expensive wives" I kinda chuckled when I heard it and thought about it a little. I'm not sure if I've made complete sense of it yet, but I'm sure Jakob Dylan understands it...

This song is from my favorite Wallflowers album, Bringing Down the Horse. It has their breakout single One Headlight, one of my favorite overall songs. It also has 6th Avenue Heartbreak, which includes some vocals by Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz. This entire album is very enjoyable to listen to, so if you haven't heard it at all, I recommend you check it out.

-evb

My Concert Plan: Summer 2010

I'm pretty impressed with EVB's list, and I would love to hit a ton of those. As Eric said, he's been to a lot, and we've spend the last few years going to a ton of shows with Matt Nathanson, Jason Mraz, Counting Crows, Augustana, Goo Goo Dolls, Ben Folds and others. But this summer, I have a chance to really see some artists I haven't seen yet. Some of them come around a lot and I miss them, so I'm not missing them now. Here are ones on the radar for me:

The Verve Pipe and Robin Horlock-June 18 Free show in Plymouth! It's The Verve Pipe!
Dave Matthews Band-June 23 DTE-Need to see them, probably on the lawn.
Mat Kearney-Acoustic, July 11 The Ark-Very pumped for this!
Goo Goo Dolls-July 18 DTE, not totally dying to go, but it would be great to hear the new tracks.
Jack Johnson-July 20 DTE-should I just get a room near DTE? Hah, need to see Jack!
Lilith Fair-July 21 DTE-unrealistic to think I can do this one, but would be nice to hear Sarah McLachlan sing!
John Mayer/Train-July 28 DTE-Haven't seen either live, and I love both bands!

I hope to make most of these happen, I'll keep you updated!