Muse Kicks Off 2013

When: Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles
Accompanied By: Gabrielle
Genre: alternative/progressive rock

Back in October 2012, I told my friend Gabrielle that I was going to win us tickets to see Muse in January 2013.  Sure enough, I pulled it off and thanks to KROQ, Gabs and I enjoyed an evening of Muse as a kick off to the New Year. The downside is that we made the assumption that Muse would not take the stage until 9pm...I mean, what respectable rock band starts a show before 9pm, right?  So, unfortunately, we missed the first 10-15 minutes...if memory serves correct, we came in after the star spangled banner intro to Hysteria. But aside from that little mishap, Muse sounded fantastic and they did not disappoint on the stage presence. Although, I will say that the stage set up of 2010 was a bit more impressive, but that didn't detract from the show one bit.  All in all, this was an excellent way to start 2013!!

Set List: The 2nd Law: Unsustainable, Supremacy, Hysteria (star spangled banner intro), Panic Station, Bliss, Supermassive Black Hole, Animals, Knights of Cydonia, Monty Jam, Explorers, Time is Running Out, Liquid State, Madness, Follow Me, Undisclosed Desires, Plug In Baby, Stockholm Syndrome, The 2nd Law: Isolated System, Uprising, Starlight, Survival



When: Saturday, January 26, 2013
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles
Accompanied By: Stephani
Genre: alternative/progressive rock

Lucky me...thanks to a friend who decided she didn't want to attend Saturday night's show, I got to see Muse twice this week!  Another amazing show - a slightly different set list and this time we made sure to be there in time to catch the show from the get go.  Life is good!!

Set List: The 2nd Law: Unsustainable, Supremacy, Map of the Problematique, Supermassive Black Hole, Resistance, Panic Station, Hysteria (star spangled banner intro), Knights of Cydonia, Monty Jam, Explorers, Time is Running Out, Liquid State, Madness, Follow Me, Undisclosed Desires, Plug In Baby, Stockholm Syndrome, The 2nd Law: Isolated System, Uprising, Starlight, Survival

Sound City Players

When: Thursday, January 28, 2013
Venue: Paladium, Hollywood
Accompanied by: Gabrielle
Genre: Rock N Roll

Over THREE hours of pure awesomeness. Too much for me to even comprehend. But then the fact that many vodkas & red bulls were consumed that night, it might be a bit impossible for me to remember a whole lot. Fortunately, through the power of the Internet, I am able to piece together most of the evening.

Photos and Videos - by Adrian Garro, Rock Cellar Magazine


Alain Johannes
A Trick With No sleeve (Sound City soundtrack)
Why
Hanging Tree
Reach Out

Chris Goss
She Got Me
Domino
Time Slowing Down (Sound City soundtrack)
Blue Garden

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Heaven and All (Sound City Players)
Red Eyes and Tears
Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll

Lee Ving
Your Wife Is Calling
I Love Livin' in the City (Sound City soundtrack)
Gimme Some Action
Beef Bologna
I Don't Care About You
Foreign Policy

Rick Nielsen and Corey Taylor
Hello There
Stiff Competition
From Can to Can't (Sound City soundtrack)
Isn’t That a shame
Surrender

Rick Springfield
The Man That Never Was
I've Done Everything for You
Love Is Alright Tonite
Love Somebody
Jessie's Girl

John Fogerty
Travelin' Band
Born on the Bayou
Centerfield
Keep on Chooglin'
Bad Moon Rising
Proud Mary
Fortunate Son

Stevie Nicks
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
You Can't Fix This
Dreams
Landslide
Gold Dust Woman


If you haven't bothered to watch the Sound City movie...do yourself a favor and download it immediately. Sure, I may be a bit biased, but it really is an amazing story.  I guarantee you will love it.  If you don't, let me know and we'll check to see if you have a soul.

Official Sound City movie trailer

Rear View Mirror 2012 Recap

A Look Back on 2012...

Since I did a crap ass job on tracking my shows for the year, I had a hell of a time trying to remember what shows I attended, where and who I enjoyed each gig with...one of the main reasons why I started this blog, so I could easily look back and reminisce on the musical magic. Boo on me. I will certainly have to try a lot better in the new year. But for now, here is a recap of 2012:

JANUARY 2012

• 1/6 Mariachi El Bronx, Natural History Museum, Los Angeles (Kelly, Elizabeth, Lisa)

FEBRUARY 2012

• 2/12 Foo Fighters, Grammy Awards, Los Angeles (Kathryn, Nicole, Jose, Linda, Anthony, Maria, Cheryl)

• 2/15 Foo Fighters/Obama Fundraiser, Private Residence in Holmby Hills (Gabrielle, Kathryn, Nicole, Susan, Megan, Sarah and Cheryl)

• 2/25 Chevy Metal, Rock & Roll Pizza, Woodland Hills (Kathryn, Nicole and Wendy)
• 2/27 Red Hot Chili Peppers, Show postponed to August due to Anthony's foot injury

MARCH 2012

• Sadly, nothing

APRIL 2012

• 4/7 American Idiot The Musical, Pantages Theater, Los Angeles (Anne)

MAY 2012

• 5/2 Coldplay, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles (Gabrielle) *Note: Won from KROQ

• 5/5 KROQ Weenie Roast, Verizon Wireless, Irvine - Coldplay, Incubus, The OffSpring, Silversun Pickups, Pennywise, Angels & Airways, The Dirty Heads, Garbage, Awolnation, Grouplove, Of Monsters and Men, Walk the Moon...and Surprise Guest, Soundgarden (Lara) *Note: Big thanks to Nakia for hooking us up with VIP passes and drink tickets!!

JUNE 2012

• 6/3 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants, Echo, Los Angeles (Kathryn, Nicole, and Lara)
• 6/20 Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants, The Satellite, Los Angeles (Kathryn)

• 6/22 DYS, Alex's Bar, Long Beach (Kelly & Elizabeth)

JULY 2012

• 7/12 Shifty/Joey Cape, Slidebar, Fullerton (Kathryn, Stephani, & Paula)

• 7/22 Face to Face Ignorance Is Bliss Acoustic Tour, The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano (Sarah)

• 7/26 Chevy Metal Private Show & Fundraiser, The White House, Laguna Beach (Gabrielle, Kathryn, Nicole, & Wendy)

AUGUST 2012

• 8/10 Jack White, Grammy Museum, Los Angeles followed by a secret show in Boyle Heights (Nicole)

• 8/12 Red Hot Chili Peppers, Staples Center, Los Angeles (Gabrielle)

SEPTEMBER 2012

• 9/8 Incubus/Linkin Park, Home Depot Center, Carson (Gabrielle)
• 9/29 Global Citizen Festival, Central Park, New York - K'Naan, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Foo Fighters, Neil Young with Crazy Horse (Melly, Alana, Tarquin, Aimee Mae, Donna, Lara, Megan, Susan, Amy, Heather, Sarah, Cheryl and Katherine)

OCTOBER 2012

• 10/5 The Black Keys, Staples Center, Los Angeles (Gabrielle) *Note: Won from KROQ

• 10/9 Literary Death Match, Largo at the Coronet, Los Angeles (Kathryn & Nicole) *Note: This wasn't a musical event, however, this was the evening when we first met Michael C. Hall which is totally noteworthy!

• 10/14 Book Of Mormon, Pantages Theater, Los Angeles (KJ)

• 10/25 John Taylor Book Signing, San Francisco Art Institute, SF (Marni, Nina & Sheila)

NOVEMBER 2012

• 11/17 RUSH, Honda Center, Anaheim (Jill) *Note: Huge thanks to Jill for hooking me up for this show! Absolutely A M A Z I N G!!!

• 11/26 Soundgarden, Jimmy Kimmel Show, Los Angeles (Jane, Nicole, Megan, Robert, Steve, & Trina)

DECEMBER 2012

• 12/6 Dave Grohl hosts The Chelsea Lately Show, Los Angeles (Kathryn, Nicole, & Debbie)

• 12/7 W. Kamau Bell, Largo at the Coronet, Los Angeles (KJ) *Note: Again, not a musical event, but definitely noteworthy

• 12/8 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, Gibson Amphitheater, Los Angeles - Linkin Park, Rise Against, Bush, Garbage, Slightly Stoopid, Awolnation, The Lumineers, Walk the Moon, The Gaslight Anthem, Two Door Cinema Club, Youngblood Hawke (Jane) *Note: Cannot say Thank You enough to Nakia for once again being so awesome!

• 12/10 Tenacious D takes on Jazz, Catalina Jazz Bar & Grill, Los Angeles (KJ)

• 12/12 Literary Death Match, Florentine Gardens, Los Angeles (Kathryn) *Note: Another non musical event, but this marked our second meeting with Michael C. Hall!! Also got to meet Keegan Michael Key)

• 12/21 Camp Freddy Night #2 - The Roxy, Los Angeles - Donovan Leitch, Billy Morrison, Dave Navarro, Chris Chaney, and Matt Sorum with Special Guests, Lana Del Ray, Sebastian Bach, Mark McGrath, Vivian Campbell and Billy Gibbons (Kathryn & Nicole)

Camp Freddy Night #2 12/21/12

Sadly, this years Camp Freddy was a bit of a clusterfuck. Instead of 3 consecutive Friday night shows as have been done in the past, the guys ended up doing a 3 night in a row residency at The Roxy in Hollywood.  However, this change certainly did not hinder the sales and all three nights sold out. This year I decided to go big and opted for a Golden Ticket, which included a ticket for each show combined with a sound check and meet and greet with about 50 other fans.  As the December dates approached, I decided to listen to my sad, tired body (having just had my gallbladder out 4 days earlier) and chose to attend the one show that included the sound check and "meet & greet". The other two tickets sold easily enough, and while I really thought I was going to be able to pull off the three shows in true rock star style, the truth is, it might be time to accept that I'm getting too old for this shit.  However, the one night of Camp Freddy certainly helped me regain a bit of that fountain of youth that I thought I was missing.

So if you are wondering who Camp Freddy is...Donovan Leitch, Billy Morrison, Dave Navarro, Chris Chaney, and Matt Sorum.

Camp Freddy, Night #2
December 21, 2012

This year didn't disappoint, and while there weren't any sightings of Billy Idol or Slash taking the stage, we did get to enjoy an evening with Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray), Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), and Vivian Campbell (Dio, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Def Leppard), and Lana Del Ray

I was relying on the magic of the Internet to help me piece together the set list of the evening, but no luck with that.  However, a few covers enjoyed that night were (completely random and out of order): Killing In the Name Of  (RATM), Holidays in the Sun (Sex Pistols), Jailbreak (Thin Lizzy), Rainbow In The Dark (Dio), Wonderwall (Oasis), Roadhouse Blues (Doors), Anyway You Want It (Journey), Sharp Dressed Man and La Grange (ZZ Top)

Sebastian Bach and Vivian Campbell killed it with Rainbow In The Dark

McGrath and they guys took on some kick ass RATM

All in all a damn good night....rocked it as hard as I possibly could and didn't crawl into bed until 3am - which I suppose back in the day was when the party was just getting started, but at 44 years old, this is as good as it gets anymore. I can't say that I'd ever do the "Golden Ticket" action again, but chances are I will be back again for more CF goodness next year. It's just too good to pass up.  It brings back fond memories of the days back in high school, sitting in my boyfriend's garage, watching what was at that time a kick ass rock and roll cover band practice.  Except, The Roxy is a much nicer garage.

Vivian Campbell

Dave Navarro & Mark McGrath

Dave Navarro & Sebastian Bach

Billy Gibbons

Dave Navarro & Billy Gibbons

Donovan Leitch

Billy Morrison

Global Citizen Festival/Larapalooza 2012

When: Saturday, September 29, 2012

Where: Central Park, New York, NY

Accompanied by: Lara, Donna, Mae Mae, Megan, Melly, Alana, Tarquin, Heather, Cheryl, MJ, Sarah, Kathryn, Amy

Genre: All that is good and glorious



Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters, John Legend, The Black Keys, Band of Horses, K'Naan



K'Naan: In The Beginning, The Seed, Wavin' Flag

Band of Horses: Knock Knock, The Great Salt Lake, No One's Gonna Love You, The Funeral

John Legend: Imagine

Foo Fighters: Times Like These, All My Life, My Hero, Learn to Fly, Arlandria, These Days, Walk, Best of You, Everlong

The Black Keys: Howlin' For You, Next Girl, Run Right Back, Same Old Thing, Dead and Gone, Little Black Submarines, Money Maker, Strange Times, Nova Baby, She's Long Gone, Tighten Up, Gold on the Ceiling

Encore: Lonely Boy, I Got Mine

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse: Love and Only Love, Powderfinger, Born in Ontario, Walk Like a Giant, The Needle and the Damage Done, Twisted Road, Fuckin' Up, Rockin' In the Free World

I cannot for the life of me believe that I never posted anything about this adventure... I suppose in 2012, I wasn't as dedicated to tracking my shows. But seriously, what an oversight that was!!

This was the first real WWLD? adventure.  Later deemed "Larapalooza 2012"....

WWLD?

A less than 36 hour adventure to New York to meet up with the FFPB peeps...and what's amazing is that with nearly FOURTEEN of us there, we managed to all meet up and actually hang out!!  Damn, we are just that good!!

FFPB IRL

If you care to know...WWLD? is something that I came up with whenever faced with a question about whether or not to pick up and go to a show. It stands for "What Would Lara Do?" and 9.5 times out of 10, Lara would find a way to get to a gig, come hell or high water. So that is the attitude I decided to take when making my travel arrangements for this weekend. From there it turned into Larapalooza 2012... and, as far as I'm concerned, will go down in history as one of the great FFPB meet ups in PB history.

She is the L in WWLD?

Amazingly enough, I got to do some stuff and things aside from just going to the show...

Seeing as much of NYC as possible in a short amount of time = Adventure

It was all a blur..but we managed to cover a lot of ground. Time Square. 30 Rock. A handful of different bars. Taxi cab rides. More walking than I think any of us ever dreamed of.  (photo in the middle of the collage below are of me with a coworker and his wife who happened to be in NY the same time as me...how we managed to meet up during this expedited vacay is beyond me!!??)

And in between all this....there was a festival. And it was magical. And amazing. And we enjoyed every moment. And it was awesome. It was the icing on the FFPB cake.Granted, we were too far back to really get any good photos, and the photos that I know I have somewhere are no longer to be found...so thanks to the Internet and Google Image Search.. here are a few that are most definitely NOT mine, but help fill in the blanks...

Photo located on zimbio.com

Photo located on zimbio.com

photo located on zimbio.com