With all that has gone on I have a "who gives a fuck" attitude towards money (on most days--I do still have my occasional "Oh shit where is all the money going" days).
This has led to doing things I may normally not have done.
For instance: $200 to see Train. I typically hate spending more than 50 bucks a seat on a concert (with the exception of Rick Springfield of course!!)
I wanted to see Duran Duran and was too cheap to buy the shitty seats at over 100 a ticket. And I regret it. So I am trying to just suck it up and just do things I want to do.
The Train tickets were for decent seats at a venue that doesn't get great reviews but I decided at the last minute that if seats were still available ...well then I was going!
The DJ had really hyped Patrick Monahan's voice...maybe it was the venue but I wasn't overly impressed. They sounded good but not omg good. Overall I really enjoyed the show (although I am not sure I would go to that venue again...horrible bleacher seats and there was an echoey sound). My disappointment came with the length of the show. It wasn't even 90 minutes. He made a comment about his age and not doing the silly "leave the stage and come back out thing" and just did the encore with the set. Fine, I can live with that. But I guess I can't help compare every show to a Rick show and this dude is a year younger than me...and a full 21 years younger than Rick....c'mon! Rick gives his all and I felt this guy kinda phoned it in. His energy wasn't half of what Rick's is and then he cuts the show short by 10 minutes?? wtf! I guess he could have been not feeling well so I should cut him some slack, it's just this was the most expensive show I had planned, so I wanted my money's worth. See them again? nah...only if it was free.
Next up we got free tickets to see Daughtry. Free SECOND row tickets. Now I don't really know a lot of his songs...I could only think of 2 before we got there. But that didn't matter. The energy from being in the second row and from seeing a guy who loved his fans and loved performing more than made up for that. He did leave the stage a lot, which was somewhat distracting and a little odd. He wasn't gone long, not even long enough to pee, so who knows what that was about. So overall I'd say I enjoyed this show as much as Train, even though I LOVE Train's music and Daughtry's genre isn't really my thing. See him again? Free? Absolutely!
That reminds me we also got free tickets to see the Gin Blossoms a few months back. It wasn't an overly memorable concert and the singer's voice kinda gets repetitive...like his songs all sound really similar. I mean everyone has "their" sound. We both just commented that the sound of his voice was almost becoming grating...well not quite grating. We just didn't want to hear it anymore. It was an outdoor concert and our seats were also pretty good, so bonus points for both of those things. Would I see them again? Sure if it was free.
That brings me to another shorter (20 mins) free really small outdoor venue we went to about a month ago. Andy Grammer. I had no idea who that was. Saw it advertised on a fb group and there was a video clip and I recognized the songs so why not? It was great! He played acoustically and his voice is amazing. It was like watching a street performer, that's how small the area was. He only sang his hits.. he has a few (4?) and one new song which was also catchy. He came across as very sweet and genuine. Truly enjoyed performing this way because that's how he started. I would definitely love to see him in concert with a full band and I'd even pay for it! ;)
(In case your wondering he sings Fine By Me, Honey I'm Good, Good To Be Alive and Keep your Head Up) If you listen at all to pop radio, you will know all of those songs.
Time for a break, can't put this up today anyway because I haven't seen all of the concerts I have tickets for yet. Still to come -- Counting Crows, Rick with symphony, Psychedelic Furs and Village People.
So I kept this page open on my computer to just keep typing as the shows happened...and guess what?? it wasn't autosaving! Now I get to do those 3 concerts again...I also have added another concert since then but luckily for some reason thought that might not have saved so I had copied/pasted that one. These new versions may be slightly shorter as I am now a little pissed to have to do them again!! :(
Here I go again....
Counting Crows. They were scheduled to play with Live, but there was also another opening band from Wisconsin (can't remember their name). I had written a lengthy review about this one because the whole day just sucked, but now you will get a slightly abbreviated version (lucky you!). I had hurt my back and it was only just starting to feel good enough to even attempt the nearly 2 hour drive to the concert, let alone sitting for a few hours. The only comfortable position was laying down or walking. The annoyance began by discovering California has toll roads, I had googled a route and didn't notice it mentioned it was a toll road. $8.25 to save about 10 minutes. So much for this being a cheap show (was $35 for both seats). Needless to say we took the other route back home. The tickets said the show started at 6:30, so we got there around 5:30, had ate dinner that we had packed and headed in. The venue was brand new and pretty cool. There was a big lawn where booths were set up for food and booze. There was also a bunch of corn hole games set up. Very fun atmosphere. The beer was ridiculous (I had written the price but can't remember exactly now...like $17 for a 29 oz beer). We headed to our seats at 6:30, only to discover the unknown band was starting...they sucked, my back hurt sitting so we headed back out to the lawn, you could still hear from there and it was more comfortable. Dave had heard of the band Live, he said they were good, even though he only knew one song. Finally around 9:30 The Counting Crows started. Keep in mind, we both have to work the next day, it has already been a long day and we still have a long ride home. I had been wanting to see them for years but always avoided going because of the cost and being afraid that since I really only liked August and Everything After that I may not enjoy the show. That's why this seemed perfect....cheap tickets so disappointment would be less. However, with my sore back and the long day I had a lot invested now and I needed it to be a good show.....sadly it wasn't.
This was their 25th anniversary tour and he started the show by saying he wanted to do something special. He was going to give background on some songs. This got me excited, I love Rick's acoustic show with background info. Maybe I should have known better since their music is so somber but the background stuff was a tad depressing. Maybe it was part of his show or he was really depressed but I actually told Dave I wouldn't be surprised to hear he killed himself the next day because he was so depressing to watch. Telling the stories he would pace or sit on speaker, raking his fingers through his hair and taking his glasses off to wipe his eyes, then holding his face in his hands. Super theatrical? or really depressed? The worst was the background on a song called Miami. I looked up the lyrics afterwards so I could put them here .but I guess he was just talking before it started, it sounded so beautiful, I thought it was part of the song...I knew when he started the story it wouldn't end well for me, I could tell it was going to be about breaking up. He said something along the lines of making a mistake and wishing you could just go back and take all of the hurt away...luckily our row was pretty empty because I let out a huge sob , uncontrollable and couldn't help but cry. Dave put his arms around me. It was just too close to what he's said, how I have felt..a million times since last October. If it was just that I could still say the concert was good, my history isn't his fault. But literally every song from the August album was screwed up. He changed lyrics, He changed rhythm. It was really annoying. Dave pointed out that he may have changed the other songs too because I thought it might be a big fuck you to fans who weren't "true fans" just August fans. But I knew at least 2 of the other songs and they were sung right.
In case you are wondering what I mean...he changed the lyrics "we talk like lions but sacrifice like lambs" into something about kittens and puppies! And he added wham bam thank you maam get your money back at the door...or something hokey like that to the chorus of Omaha. Mr. Jones was really changed up rhythmically, and so was Rain King. Maybe I am the only one but I go to a concert to hear my favorite songs, sing to them, dance to them....the way I am used to hearing them! Is it too much to ask to play them right?
Well I think I wrote that better the first time, but not much I can do about that...stupid computers.
Would I see them again? that is a strong FUCK NO!
Oh...how could I forget...the icing on this long ass night was after the show I went to use the bathrooms. They had nice air conditioned trailers with about 4 stalls in them but the lines were long so I decided to just use the port a potty (I had used one earlier and it was really clean because no one was using them). So it's nearly 11 pm, very dark and the potties aren't near the lights. I squat and feel some spray on my legs, I assume I am not back far enough (remember my back hurts, squatting can be tough) and scoot back a little. I finish my business and go to throw the toilet paper in the hole. Only there is no hole...apparently port a potties have lids...BLACK lids...and some moron shut the lid...who the fuck touches anything in a port a potty, let alone the lid?? and why would you close it?? Why do they even have lids? Why are the lids black?? So many questions!! So I come out with God knows what look on my face...Dave is concerned, I keep ignoring him as I head to the outdoor sink..no paper towels...I run into the trailer..also no paper towels... I remember I have tissues in my purse, Dave is still questioning if I am ok. I take the tissue and start wiping my ankles, telling him I am sure I will find it funny one day but right now it's not. He thought I was going to whip my skirt up and start taking care of a surprise visit from Flo, he was so relieved that I was just wiping my ankles. And maybe that's TMI, but I bet you always check the lid when you use a port a potty in the future!
Next up.. Rick in San Diego with the symphony. Again this version will be abbreviated (hard to believe that last one was shorter, right?). Again absolutely loved the venue. Once again corn hole game was available, as well as life size Jenga, is this a new trend or a California thing? Outdoors near the water. Gorgeous weather, got a bit chilly when the sun went down (72). Luckily I had brought a long sleeved shirt but still needed to get a hot chocolate. I wasn't sure what to expect but ended up really loving the show. Dave agreed. The first half Rick wore a suit, his pants were way too big, he kept hiking them up (no belt?). After the intermission he changed into jeans and seemed more comfortable. Some of the songs were even more awesome with a full orchestra, some you couldn't really tell and he also played some without the orchestra. My favorite part was getting to hear songs that he typically only plays in a medley, like State of the Heart. I had forgotten there would be fireworks, which I assumed would be after the show but they started with his final song, Jessie's Girl and it was really cool!!! That was significantly less info than my first draft...you're welcome!
Would I see him again? Decided to go for it and see him at the OC fair about 2 weeks later. So, duh!!
Psychedelic Furs with X and The Fixx.
This concert was at the OC Fair, we had never been so we made a day of it. It is super huge. We decided to splurge and eat fair food...yummmm funnel cake! We watched pig races, some acrobats and looked at all the farm animals. Lots of fun, though a bit warm, which was weird since it was only 80 and it was 110 back home! There was also a petting zoo right near the ampitheater, and it was the best petting zoo ever! Goats (big ones and itty bitty ones), donkeys, deer, chickens, wallabies!, llamas and baby pigs! We got a selfie with the llama that I really love!
We had debated on delaying going into the show because we figured X would be first and neither of us had a clue who that was. After hours of walking around we decided to just head in. Turns out The Fixx was first and were only given 30 minutes to play. We really enjoyed them. It quickly became apparent that the crowd was there to see X. We didn't realize it was an LA band and that explained how literally, 8000 people were on their feet for the entire time they played. Although their music isn't my cup of tea, 80's punk band, the crowd's enthusiasm was infectious. It was pretty fun to see so many people having an awesome time. They played at least an hour.
The crowd seemed to enjoy the Furs, even if not quite as much as X. The lead singer is very eclectic and fun to watch. My favorite part was listening to 8000 people sing Love My Way...and not just the chorus. He stopped the music and it was really cool to hear all of those voices together. I enjoyed the show, not realizing I knew more songs than I thought. To top the evening off we got a free ride with our concert tickets on the big wheel (not a ferris wheel, more like the Eye in London). It's normally $10 a person to ride so we thought why not avoid the line to get out of the parking lot and take a few minutes to ride, even though, again, we both had work in the morning and we still had a 2 hour drive ahead of us. It was pretty neat, but certainly not $20 neat.
Would I see any of the bands again? $30 was a good deal to see so much music but...Probably not but definitely enjoyed the whole day.
Village People...this was a very last minute concert and thankfully not terribly expensive, though in retrospect 20 bucks a ticket was way too much. The show was at a local casino (thankfully we didn't drive to see this!). We went with our friends. Touch of Honey opened, pretty sure her only hit was Boogie Oogie, which granted is a great disco song. She is a bit weird....which is ok, just stating that. She dressed in a sort of Asian costume for the first song and did some weird thing with fans. Her voice was good, and her attitude amazing. She invited anyone and everyone (the crowd was so small that our balcony seats were upgraded for free to floor seats) onstage to dance with her. I really wanted to go but no one would go with me...next time I go alone. Life is too short to not just do it! I enjoyed her show, even if her songs were a bit on the overextended side.
The Village People...now that is another story....turns out it's really the Village PERSON. Only the lead singer is an original, he's quite arrogant too. Again the songs were way too long....like 7 minutes long. Perhaps if it had been a 20 minute show of just the hits, it MAY have been more tolerable, but it was just not good. Even watching the leather dude dancing with his 6 pack abs didn't entertain me. My advice....even if it's free....SKIP IT!!
And finally....Rick Springfield, Greg Kihn, Tommy Tutone and Loverboy, at the OC Fair. ast minute decision because lots of tickets were still available and thanks to Goldstar got 2 for less than 50 bucks.
We got there early so we could get another selfie at the petting zoo (hey it was REALLY fun the first time). I got one with a rambunctious goat and one of the two of us with a donkey. Absolutely loved their petting zoo!!
The show started with Tommy Tutone. I only knew 867-5309, but his other songs weren't bad, he only did 2 other originals and a cover. 20 minute set is perfect for a one hit wonder. After he was done we spotted him walking around near our section (everyone else was oblivious..I would have been too if Dave hadn't pointed him out).
Next up Greg Kihn, he came off as very personable. Sang the 2 songs I know (Jeopardy and The Breakup song) another catchy song and a new song, which was actually pretty good. He made a joke about still getting checks in the mail thanks to Weird Al. Another short set, that's the way it should be when you didn't "make it big". (Just remembering how much better the Village People would have been if their songs weren't 7 minute versions and they stuck to the big hits!).
Loverboy. We saw them at The Greek Theater with Rick a couple years ago. Very energetic show, and since the tunes were a little familiar from hearing them before, I guess I enjoyed it a bit more. The music is a little heavier, less pop than I like but I enjoyed it. Got some good video of an old dude in the crowd dancing up a storm! People watching is still the best part of a lot of these concerts! See them again? I think once was enough but I wouldn't skip a Rick show just to avoid seeing them a third time.
Rick --- his band was the back up band for the first two bands but it didn't affect (or is that effect?-stupid english language!) their energy for this show. Siggy (the guitar player) has soooo much energy and somehow Rick not only keeps up with him but surpasses him....at SIXTY NINE!! I really enjoy their onstage antics!
I didn't mention it but at the symphony show he was already talking about his birthday which is still almost 2 weeks away as I write this (8/23) and he prompted us to sing Happy Birthday to him....same thing this show. It is always funny to hear the comments from people around us when they hear how old he is. This particular show he ended up unbuttoning his shirt because supposedly he was cold because it had gotten so wet with sweat...the gasps were audible ...his abs are amazing...at SIXTY NINE!! Then he took the shirt off to put a new one on before he headed off stage and into the crowd. Damn he looks good. His energy level is still so insane. This isn't a crazy fan talking...everyone says it...how is he 69?? Needless to say, it was an awesome show as always! I do wish he'd leave the "Bruce" song out of his medley...it may have been funny in the 80's but it isn't a good song and it isn't funny anymore....**gasp** did I just say something critical about my Ricky?? Would I see him again? Really?? Do you need to ask?
We did skip the free ride on the wheel...it seemed like a once was enough type of thing!
Thanks for reading such a long post. It was really fun seeing so many concerts, we actually searched other fairs in the area to see if anyone else we might like to see is playing, but nothing so far!
Hope you like our selfies as much as I did!!
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