When: Friday, January 28, 2011 Venue: Velvet Jones, Santa Barbara Accompanied by: Kelly O. Genre: Rock
The buzz around town over the past week via Twitter was that the Foo Fighters were itching to perform their new album live in front of an audience. Heck, even The Bronx, who also perform as Mariachi el Bronx, were in on the fun, posting cryptic tweets indicating something big to happen on Friday. To be honest, I did not read between the lines - and completely believed that the only thing happening yesterday was going to be an announcement of a gig that would have everyone clamoring. Boy was I wrong!! We all knew that we needed to be ready for some sort of surprise to be posted on Twitter, but not a clue as to when. Work being slow and me being bored out of my mind, I was glued to Twitter pretty much the entire morning.
By lunch time, there was no word. Shortly after, a Tweet was posted asking "you guys ready". Um, yeah! Done been ready!! And yet, we were back to waiting.
About 3:00pm, I picked up a message from a friend that it might be in my best interest to head North towards Santa Barbara. I was hesitant because there had been no confirmation of any sort. That's about when the fun began with the "I spy" photos that were being posted by Dave Grohl tweets. By 3:30, I had picked up my partner in crime and we were northbound on the 405, making our way to the 101!!
As we fought the typical LA traffic, and so glad we could make use of the car pool lane, my copilot continuously check Twitter for new clues and messages. We knew without a doubt we were on the right track when we saw the photo of the Big Yellow House sign. And for sure there would be no turning back! The excitement continued to set in! And the traffic tried its best to kill the mood. But we persevered!! After being on the road for a couple of hours, the creme de la resistance was posted and I felt my foot go heavy on the gas.
There were moments when we discussed the possibility of getting there and not being able to get in. But we tried to not let those negative thoughts enter our minds. Besides, we had come this far so of course, we were going to get in. And then it happened. We couldn't have been more than 15 minutes away from the venue when we read this tweet
What?! Are you serious?? I refuse to get upset over this. Santa Barbara is a beautiful town and there are plenty of restaurants...surely, we will make a night of it no matter what. But to be honest, my heart sunk a little. And then I thought about how much it would have sucked to be the person in line at the venue where the number was cut off...can you imagine his or her disappointment? So we just kept on going. And let me tell you, hot damn, I am glad we did!!
TWENTY SIX song set!! The new album, which has yet to be titled, was performed in its entirety and I got to hear it live!! Hell yes! Don't expect a review here from me...that's not what I do. I leave that to the professionals - so if you want to read a great review of the evening, please read this awesome article from the amazing Johnny Firecloud. My opinion of the new album is this - you won't be disappointed. We will find no "Wheels" or "Word Forward" songs on this album. And as much as I love ESP&G, this album pretty much rawks all the way through from start to finish.
As for The Bronx/Mariachi el Bronx - I had never seen them before, but was familiar with the Mariachi alter ego. Mi amiga is a big fan and this band was the reason she joined me on this venture. I have to say, they freakin' kicked ass and I definitely want to see them again. The downside is that we had to view MeB from outside because we didn't have the golden ticket/wristband. But the door was open and the sound was loud, so we caught a fairly decent show. And of course, we had their last CD playing on the drive up and back, so I got my fair share.
Overall, a memorable adventure. Of course, during the show, Dave eluded to more shows to follow soon by saying "see you next week". But that is speculation...or is it? All I know is I have my Twitter settings geared up to automatically text me when certain you-know-who's tweet and/or send me direct messages!! Next time, and there will be a next time, I plan on being within the first dozen in line and shall suffer no more mishaps!!
oh, and they allowed phones in to this venue...so you know what that means!? A lot of cell phone videos on youtube! Enjoy!
Thirty Seconds to Mars/Middle Class Rut When: Friday, January 14, 2011 Venue: Fox Theater, Pomona Accompanied by: Solo gig Genre: Alt Rock
So, Friday I took myself out to see my first music concert of 2011. Well actually, that's not entirely true. I did go out last week to Largo in LA to see Tim Minchin perform and while it was a "comedy" show, his musical talent was mesmerizing. In fact, I should add that to my blog entries and I definitely will. But the show I caught this past Friday was pieces of good and bits of bad.
As for Thirty Seconds to Mars, I've liked their radio play for quite some time. I picked up the 3rd album This is War back in December based off two songs "Kings and Queens" and the title song. But had also downloaded a few songs from the 2nd album A Beautiful Lie. But I couldn't say I was a big fan. I knew just enough of their music to know I wanted to see them in concert. Glad I did but most likely would not do it again.
The gist of it is that when I showed up at the Fox Theater I was skeptical at what sort of night it was going to be. I'm 42 years old and the average age at this show had to be under 20. This isn't to say it's a bad thing, but it felt about as close to what I imagine it must be like to go to a Jonas Brothers or that Beiber boob show...okay, so maybe the crowd wasn't THAT young.
Within the first few minutes of the opening song, I thought maybe I really had made a mistake in attending this show. But I kept an open mind and reminded myself that there were a handful of songs that I did want to hear. I'm glad I didn't bail because by the end of it all, I was impressed. Impressed with the band but more so with the fans. The energy never wavered and the dedication to knowing the music and lyrics was obvious. Granted, part of that energy lent to some of the "bad" but that's just me being old and not wanting to get pushed around or have screaming vocals in my ear. What's ironic is that it used to be me who was the screaming fan annoying the crap out of whoever got stuck in front of me. What goes around comes around.
Jared Leto took it upon himself to call out anyone he thought was not exuding enough energy. At one point, he stopped the show and had the lights turned on in the balcony to single out specific individuals. I'm not sure how effective it was but it certainly got the crowd in a frenzy. And I thought it was funny...as long as he didn't call me out, we were golden. Looking at the set list, I knew 5 out of 17 songs. Chances are, that is probably all I will ever know. And I'm okay with that.
TSTM encore of "Kings and Queens" was fantastic. And when 30+ fans were pulled out of the crowd to join the band on stage, I could only imagine the excitement going on down on the floor. It was pretty cool to witness.
The upside, as far as I was concerned, fell at the first part of the evening with the opening band, Middle Class Rut. I had the opportunity to see these 2 guys a few times when they opened for Them Crooked Vultures in LA and Las Vegas last year. And they did not disappoint with opening for TSTM. When I listen to MCR, I hear a tinge of Jane's Addiction. Some may not agree. But it's my opinion and I'll stick to it. All in all, making the drive out to Pomona on a Friday night was justified based on MCR alone. But at the end of the night, I was glad that I stuck around for the entire show.
Tai's 2010 Musical Mischief I'm fairly certain this is most everything....but there is a chance that I may have overlooked a gig or two...
JAN '10
mmmm, nothing?
FEB '10
Chris Shiflett Acoustic w/ Audra Mae (and Adam Bones) @ Alex's Bar in the LBC
MAR '10
3/11/10 Chris Shiflett - Democratic Disillusionment (talk), Brave New Studios
3/11/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ The Viper Room, LA - was suppose to be the CD Release, but Taylor was a no show. However, we stuck around and were pleasantly surprised when Dave & Rami appeared and good times were had by all!!
APR '10
4/09/10 That Metal Show, Glendale taping (Big Thanks to Nicole for making this happen...two separate tapings with Zakk Wyld followed by Steven Adler)
4/12/10 Them Crooked Vultures @ Kimmel Live
4/14/10 Them Crooked Vultures @ Club Nokia
4/17/10 Them Crooked Vultures @ The Joint, Las Vegas
4/19/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ Casbah
4/20/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ Troubadour
4/22/10 Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders @ Kimmel Live
MAY '10
5/07/10 Bring the Rock w/ Josh Homme @ Largo
JUNE '10
6/10/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ The Bootleg Theater, LA
6/11/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ Alex's in the LBC
6/12/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ Hensley's Flying Elephant Pub, Carlsbad
JULY '10
7/7/10 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants @ Hotel Cafe, LA
7/20/10 James Taylor & Carole King @ The Pond, Anaheim
AUG '10
8/06/10 Styx @ the Orange County Fair
8/11/10 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts @ the Orange County Fair
9/24/10 LA Galaxy v NY Red Bulls - sure it's not a concert, but it was my first soccer game and I loved it! So much so that I am now a 2010 season ticket holder!!
By lunch time, there was no word. Shortly after, a Tweet was posted asking "you guys ready". Um, yeah! Done been ready!! And yet, we were back to waiting. 
As for The Bronx/Mariachi el Bronx - I had never seen them before, but was familiar with the Mariachi alter ego. Mi amiga is a big fan and this band was the reason she joined me on this venture. I have to say, they freakin' kicked ass and I definitely want to see them again. The downside is that we had to view MeB from outside because we didn't have the golden ticket/wristband. But the door was open and the sound was loud, so we caught a fairly decent show. And of course, we had their last CD playing on the drive up and back, so I got my fair share.
