Saturday, August 2, 2014

Atlanta Monumentour

After months and months of waiting to be reunited with my favorite band, the day finally came. On July 30, 2014 the Monumentour finally rolled into Atlanta at the Aaron's Ampitheatre at Lakewood. I left my house around 1:45 and arrived at 2:30 to a group of about 100 people waiting outside the venue. There wasn't really any line so I just made my way up to where people were waiting to enter the lot and line up outside the gates. So on cue at 4 PM, the security let us charge for the gates. I ended up around 5 people back in one of the four gates. But one of my main problems was that people had friends up in front and they would just go meet up with them after not running. GA queues like U2 and Springsteen have it right with the numbering system. Although there isn't as much planning in the Paramore/Fall Out Boy lines, it would be helpful for some system to not let people cut in line. During the 2 hour long wait in front of the gate I had shades of Parahoy when someone came back with water they bought for all of us in line. People like that make the wait so much easier and make everyone happier.

I had been to this venue less than a week earlier for Warped and while I thought that was hot, when the clouds went away the temperature starting soaring and were a main component of more people passing out than I've seen before. The gates opened at 6 and as usual I had the worst security lady checking our tickets. For everyone 3 people in other lines to get in, one of us got in. It wasn't too terrible as I ended up about 4/5 rows back between Hayley and Jeremy. So out of the 4 shows I've seen, 2 were on Jeremy's side and 2 were on Taylor's side but this was the closest I've been to the center.

After another 2 hours of long and hot waiting, New Politics finally graced the stage. Lead singer David Boyd, guitarist Søren Hansen and drummer Louis Vecchio started off with a song from their self-titled first record, "Give Me Hope" which was followed by one of my favorites from their new album Bad Girl in Harlem, "Berlin." Following Berlin were four more songs from the latest record "Fall Into these Arms" which featured crowd surfing from Boyd, "Just Like Me" which featured break dancing from Boyd, "Tonight You're Perfect" my favorite song which included an inspiring speech about how music affects your life from Boyd and finally crowd favorite "Harlem". The band ended their energetic set with their 2010 hit "Yeah Yeah Yeah" 

Right after dismantling New Politics equipment, the Paramore screen started playing Pong and the crowd became antsy for the first headliner. Now I consider myself a pretty diehard Paramore fan (I don't really like the term parawhore) but it seemed like the paramore crowd was a bit lacking compared to the Fall Out Boy fans. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of Paramore fans but it seemed like the people who weren't diehards of the either band were there for mainly Fall Out Boy. That's not a diss on the crowd; I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd for this show. A lot of people my age and older were in the pit with me. But nothing rubs me the wrong way more than a fan who labels themselves as "diehard" or "hardcore" but is truly nothing of these sort. For example, there were this group of a few girls, some actually wearing some of Hayley's outfits, who I overheard talking about how much they LOVE Hayley and the "rest of the band." During the wait outside the gates a local radio station had a booth and we're playing their station. They'd play songs like "Fancy" and "Problem" and this group of girls knew every word by heart but when Paramore played "For a Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic" and "Part ll" these girls weren't singing along. Now I don't know if they just didn't want to sing but they were singing along to "Still Into You" and "Ain't It Fun" so I guess that's all you need to know to love the band. Sorry for the little rant, on to the review of the performance. 

Hayley, Williams, Taylor York, and Jeremy Davis along with touring members John Howard, Aaron Gillespie and Justin York walked on to a very staticky intro and quickly bursted into 2013 hit, "Still Into You". While I might not be the biggest advocate of this song, it does kill live along with getting a great crowd response. 2007's Riot! hit "That's What You Get" started with a small drum intro which then followed to another Riot! song and my 2nd favorite Paramore song, "For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic". During these first few songs I got some good eye contact with Jeremy and all three members were getting the crowd rilled up. 2009's Brand New Eyes first single "Igorance" was preceded by a Hayley speech talking about the band turning 10 years old, how grateful the three of them are for their fans and how they're stronger they are tan ever. 2005's All We Know if Falling lead single "Pressure" followed with the return of the Pressure Flip after Jeremy's surgery. The Twilight Sountrack Hit "Decode" followed with a pretty good crowd response and lead into Brand New Eyes Hit single "The Only Exception". I'm not the biggest fan of either of the songs but they were performed pretty well while all 3 shine on both songs. What followed was my 3rd favorite Paramore song, "Last Hope". This song always means a lot whenever I hear it, especially live. Even though I've heard the song 3 times live, I hope they never take it out of their setlist or at least not for too long. The "mystery song" that has become a standard was "Brick By Boring Brick". I don't hate the song but I would have preferred "Emergency" or especially "Born for This" to get another showing. Crowd favorite Riot! Hit "Misery Business" had it's outing with a solo by fan "Alan" who did quite a good job. This bright and happy crowd moment quickly turned dark by one of the best moments of the night, "Let the Flames Begin" into it's sequel "Part ll". It wasn't quite epic as the first performance of this performance on Parahoy, but it still had so much energy and was pretty perfect. Self-Titled track "Proof" was second to last and led into the massive summer-hit "Ain't It Fun"

Although this was my least-favorite Pararamore show I've seen, probably due to crowd and the other great performances I've seen, it was still spectacular and further proved that they cannot put on a bad show. Hayley, Taylor and Jeremy are on top of their game and are going to keep climbing the ladder of success My top 3 moments of the night were "For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic", the speech/"Last Hope" and "Let the Flames Begin" into "Part ll". This was a near perfect performance that I got to see pretty close up. I can't wait for their return. But I sorta hope they hit the studio first. 

Before I left for Fall Out Boy I left my spot to get some air, sit and a drink. I wish I could have been close up but I didn't want to put myself in danger after seeing so many people pass out. I headed back to the pit and ended up 30ish rows back on Joe's side. They started off with the first track off 2013's Save Rock and Roll, "The Phoenix". It was a pretty epic opener which led into 2007's Infinity on High's, "The Take Over, The Breaks Over" and 2005's Under the Cork Tree's, " A Little Sixteen Candles, a Little More Touch Me". Both songs are some of my favorites that I've loved for years. The songs that followed were "This Ain't a Scene It's an Arms Race", "Alone Together" and Death Valley" which were all solid performances. Next was my first favorite song "Sugar We're Going Down". The song brought back many feelings of nostalgia and it was a memory I don't want to forget. "Sugar" was followed by one of my favorite songs off the latest album, "Miss Missing You" which lead into the Andy vs. Patrick Drum off to "99 Problems" and "N****s in Paris". The drum off was a major highlight and I had so much fun while they drummed to one of my favorite all-time rap songs performed by Kanye West and Jay-Z. The band then ran through great performances of "Dance, Dance" and my favorite Save Rock and Roll song, "Young Volcanos". The band the played a decent performance of "Just One Yesterday" featuring Lolo and then an awesome performance of one of my favorite childhood songs "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy?" which like "Sugar" brought a feeling of nostalgia. Following "Grand theft Autumn" was my favorite moment of the night, a cover of "We Are the Champions" into an EPIC performance of "Save Rock and Roll". The band then played a disappointing performance of "I Don't Care" but an epic performance of 2013 hit, "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" which is one of my least favorite songs on the record. The encore consisted of "Thanks fr th Mmrs" and usual closer "Saturday" which rocked off the half roof. 

As a now casual fan, it was great seeing Fall Out Boy live. The top 3 highlights were "We Are the Champions/Save Rock and Roll", "Sugar We're Going Down" and "Young Volcanos". They were my first favorite band and I was obsessed back in the day. I may not like them as much as I used to but it was good seeing them play live and it's another name I can cross off the concert list. 

All in all, Momumentour was perfect. All three bands played great and I got to see my favorite band up close and personal for the 4th time. Sure I would have loved to change some of the setlist but they did what they needed to, play the hits for the fans that liked the other bands. I do feel like Paramore took more risks playing songs like "Last Hope", "Part ll" and "Proof" instead of playing hits or singles like "CrushCrushCrush", "Monster" and "Now" while Fall Out Boy stayed mostly with hits or songs they've been playing live constantly. This isn't a knock on either performance. They both exceeded expectations and pleased me constantly. 

Here are some videos from the show

New Politics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN0TRVm3O-E

Paramore -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4DMjIHl6XU
Fall Out Boy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYwdoVjiQpQ

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Warped Tour 2014

Well that was my first and probably last. I got to see We Are the In Crowd, Bad Rabbits and Mayday Parade. And others but those were the only I really enjoyed their music a good but. I bought a shirt from the WATIC M&G but they did a schedule change and put it before their show while I was waiting at their stage. I had no service so I couldn’t check twitter so I missed out on a picture with them :( I’ll get over it though. I did get to do the signing so now I have a signed poster ( I’ll post it with the other stuff I got). I missed Yellowcard since they were playing the same time as WATIC and we left before echosmith because the weather was bad and the schedules got delayed so we didn’t know when they’d play and we were tired. All in all it was a great day, a bit too much screamo, but great. By far the best part was when Tay high-fived me when I have her the TMNT figure I got her. It was Mikey of course ;) I was mad because I only bought 4 and I left out Jordan.
I was really surprised about Mikes reaction to his turtle. Can laughed and said “nice”. Tay said “YES” and high -fived me. Rob laughed and said “awesome”, after I apologized Jordan said no problem and laughed but Mike just said “thanks” with a straight face. I was hoping for a great joke :(
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Sunday, May 18, 2014

Ghost Stories Review

Ghost Stories Review
All that I really constantly heard about the 6th album from Coldplay was that it would be more stripped back and comparable to their first album, Parachutes.  I questioned this move, not for me, but for their audience they gained from songs like Viva la Vida and Paradise. I would easily welcome back the early version of Coldplay, but would everyone else? Doing experiments like this is what eventually drove artists like Bono to insanity for relevance. Would the same happen to Martin? We will have to see, but now on to the music.

I got home from school one faithful February day and performed my usual check of Twitter. To my fanboy excitement, I see Coldplay tweeting about a brand new song. I sprint to my laptop and search for this new song Midnight. I press play and my Coldplay life changed. What is this??!!?! This isn’t Coldplay! This is the love-child of Bon Iver and *the good version of* Radiohead, but I love it! I binge-listened to this song for a couple of days until the first single, Magic, was released. I enjoyed Magic but nowhere near the level that I loved Midnight. This was getting me pretty psyched for the album. I prefer these two songs to the first two singles of 2011’s Mylo Xyloto, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall and Paradise.

A few weeks later, Coldplay headlined the iTunes festival in Austin, Texas during SXSW. They played Midnight and Magic but also debuted the album’s lead track, Always in my Head and Another’s Arms. I only listened to the tracks once in order to keep them fresh but loved them on the first listen.

It wasn’t until late April that the next Ghost Stories single was released. A Sky Full of Stars was unlike any of the songs heard so far from the album. This Avicii-produced EDM/Dance track quickly became my summer anthem. This song sounded like it could have been on Mylo Xyloto, but it would prove to be much needed positive and optimistic song for this deep, emotional album about Martin’s marriage troubles to then wife, Gweynth Paltrow.

May 12 was the day all Coldplay fans were looking forward too; the album finally was streaming on iTunes. This wasn’t any ordinary stream; this stream came with a virtual “tour” of the album’s artwork.

The album starts off with charming guitar work from Jonny Buckland which leads into Martin’s painful lyrics. He leads with lyrics of a haunted lover “I think of you/ I haven’t slept/ I think I do/ But I don’t forget.” From these lyrics, listeners can sense the pain Martin felt during the end of his relationship with Paltrow. This is another great opener for Coldplay among the ranks of Life in Technicolor, Hurts like Heaven and Don’t Panic.

The second track is the lead single, Magic. This song leads off with a strong performance by Guy Berryman. This is one of the more encouraging songs on the album while Martin sings lines like “And I just got broken/ Broken into two/Still I call it magic/When I'm next to you” and “And if you were to ask me/ After all that we've been through/ Still believe in magic/ Oh yes I do.” It seems like this track was written during a time of hope for the couple before the inevitable split. Overall this track shines and has led to success in the charts.

The next two tracks are Ink and True Love. Ink continues with more of an upbeat sound compared to the end of the album while True Love is more somber. As much as I enjoy these two tracks, especially True Love, Martin’s simplistic are more prevalent than any of their previous albums. Not that it’s a bad thing. Some of the lyrics are moving while being simple. This is better than some scholar writing lyrics that only more educated audiences would understand. That’s the beauty of Coldplay and their songs. They have songs that are accessible to anyway; be it 2002’s The Scientist,  2005’s Fix You, or Ghost Stories’ Ink, where Martin sings “All I know is that I love you so/ So much that it hurts.” Martin’s lyrics can be summed up as simple, but effective.

Fifth on the album is the first song released from Ghost Stories, Midnight. This song is still fresh every listen for me. Bands making moves like this are what I love best. The vocoder used by Martin makes this track even more haunting yet beautiful to make this one of the most unique and also best Coldplay songs of their eighteen year career.

The next track is a song debuted at the iTunes show at SXSW. Another’s Arms is another track quilty of weak lyrics, but it is the most somber song of Ghost Stories. Throughout these lines, Martin is really saying that there is only one true love for him. Maybe Chris still loves Gwynth? Or maybe he can’t get past her.
Track 7 is sort of a blast from the past. The track Oceans sounds like it could very well have been on Coldplay’s 2000 debut album, Parachutes. While this is my least favorite song on the record, I still enjoy it; much better than the worst songs on Mylo Xyloto anyway.

Following Oceans is the 2nd single, A Sky Full of Stars. Like I said earlier, this summer anthem is a much needed breath of fresh air for the second half of Ghost Stories. Good to see that Martin still believes in love.
The final track on the album, O, is also my favorite. This beginning of the song is a secret track, Flyn On, featuring Martin’s daughter Apple and her friend Mabel. The instrumental, especially piano, is the best on the album. The song ends on an optimistic note when Martin writes “Maybe one day I'll fly next to you.”
The three Target Deluxe Edition tracks are all good, especially Ghost Story, which is one of the best songs on the album.

This album, while amazing, does seem more like a Chris Martin solo record. While Berryman does have a strong role throughout the album, Buckland and Champion are underutilized. Buckland does have some great work on songs like Always in My Head and True love, but overall he doesn’t seem to put his mark on this album. Champion is probably the least promoted. On Ghost Stories, Champion uses a drum machine instead of a kit, which makes it seem like Champion is absent most of the record. But the good thing is the songs that sound a bit un-human still shine live.

Coldplay still know how to bring it. It is hard to think about what the future will hold. It’s hard to see Coldplay doing a full world tour off of this album, but will they? I think the only way that’ll be possible is a follow up release next spring lending to a summer/fall tour playing some songs from GS but mainly focusing on the newer album.

Overall, this album is very pleasing and a nice step-back from Mylo Xyloto. It’s good to see some old Coldplay again mixed with some modern EDM.

Song Rankings
1. O
2. True Love
3. Midnight
4. Another's Arms
5. Ghost Story
6. Always in My Head
7. A Sky Full of Stars
8. Magic
9. Ink
10. All Your Friends
11. Oceans

12. O (Part 2/Reprise)

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Arcade Fire Review!

Me and my 5 other friends made the trek to Atlanta on Friday night to go see one of my favorite bands, Arcade Fire. We got to the venue at around 7:20, just before the first opening band. They were offering $10 to get off the lawn and onto the seats. I wanted to but everyone else said no  ::) but it turned out not to be a very big deal because I doubt all 6 of us could have gotten good seats together anyway. The first "band" got on at 7:30 and let me just say this. That had to be the worst music act I've ever seen in all my life and probably will ever see. I like some weird music, but the Tune-Yards were just the opitmy of bad, strange and annoying. Some their lyrics included "No water in the water fountain, no side in the sidewalk, no phone in the phone booth" ugh. Up next was the DJ "Kid Koala". This guy was AWESOME. He used actual vinyl, no headphones, and rocked it. The best part of his set was ending it with The Moon Song. So amazing.

Arcade Fire started off around 8:50 I think and ended at 10:50. Wasn't expecting them to play that long and was very, very happy they did. Here's the song by song

Reflektor - Really cool opening this one. The song is even more awesome live than on the record. 
Flashbulb Eyes - I might be one of the only people I know that like this song, but I thought it rocked live. 
Neighbourhood #3: Power Out - my favorite AF song is even more epic live. The extended outro was KILLER.
Rebellion (Lies) - another favorite from the first album. So great to hear all these songs live. One member ran off stage and into the lawn *couldn't even tell who* and we ran over and had a jumping circle around him. One of the highlights of the show. 
Joan of Arc - really happy to get this one. The My Body is a Cage outro was just epic. 
Get Right - YESSSSSSSSSSS. So happy they started to play this. So dissapiointed that this was left off the album. Such a killer track live. 
Month of May - One of the best songs on their worst album. So much going on with the screens and lights made this a sight to see
The Suburbs & The Suburbs Cont. - good song. Nothing really special to me live but it was solid.
Ready to Start - one of AF's few true rockers. pretty good live. 
We Exist - a pretty good dance-able track. Really enjoy it on the album and live
Neighbourhood #1: Tunnels - any track from the first album kills live. Really great to hear. 
Intervention - really happy to get this one too. The Antichrist Television Blues outro was also great
Haiti - great song live. A lot of people talking and leaving during this one  :P
Afterlife - my favorite song from Reflektor was awesome live. A top 3 moment of the show
It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus) - didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did but this one was really good live. 
Sprawl ll (Mountains Beyond Mountains) - one of my least favorite AF songs. Didn't enjoy this one but my friends did  :P

The Fake Band "performed" Hey Ya! *which I called earlier that night!* and Tequila on stage stage leading into
Normal People - I consider this and Ready to Start the band's two main rockers. Very great live with a lot of jumping from the crowd.
Radio Free Europe - got a cover from R.E.M. that I was expecting last week with Bruce. 
Here Comes the Night Time - my second favorite song from Reflektor KILLLLLLSSSSS live. 
Wake Up - this has to go down as one of the best concert endings ever. I would never get tired of this song closing AF no matter how many times I'll see them. 

Highlights: Power Out, Afterlife, Here Comes the Night Time and Get Right. The Crowd *not as much weed as I thought  :P *, getting to see a member up close. 
Dissapointments - my friends knew only a few songs  :P

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Bruce Springsteen Atlanta 2014 Review

We got the venue at 4:30 and had our usual Bruce tailgate. Got some subs and enjoyed the shade while people were blasting Bruce in the parking lot. We lined up to get in the venue at 6:30 and got in around 6:45. We took our decent spot on the lawn and waited for the show. Nothing much more to talk about, so on to the show!

1. Clampdown - really like this cover of the Clash song. Bruce and Tom trading vocals along with some impressive guitar work
2. Adam Raised a Cain - YES! I really wanted to hear this song, one of my favorites from Darkness. I've never seen Bruce kill it on the guitar this well before. This song really shows off his guitar prowess. But after this song he said something that would make my heart stop. "I'm feeling the River tonight"
3. Ties That Bind - great way to start off a River night. Already saw it in Jersey, but I love this song so much that it sounds great no matter how many times I'll hear it.
4. Jackson Cage - YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. One of my favs from the River and it rocked live. I started to feel that this night would be very, very special .
5. She's the One - surprisingly one of the few songs from BTR. Heard it in Jersey and unlike Ties, this song didn't do it for me as much as the first time. Still rocked but wasn't as good as hearing it for the first time.
6. Independence Day - wow. what can I say about this. The band started to go off-stage and I became very confused. Bruce heads over the piano and plays the first few notes to this song and I'm floored. I couldn't believe he was playing this. Ken man-tears up for the first time at a concert, but not the only time during this show  ;)
7. High Hopes - very energenic and brought the casual fans out of their seats. My dude Everett killed it  :D
8. Just Like Fire Would - really happy that he's been bringing this back to the set. Fit very well with the River songs.
9. Tougher than the Rest - Awesome pick from the signs. Always great to hear Tunnel of Love songs and this one is my favorite!
10. Cadillac Ranch - are we about to overdose on the River?!?!?! Bruce seemed to have a lot of fun during this song as was the crowd. Not one of my favorites from the River, but still a quality song especially live.
11. Trapped - YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Another crowd sign. Great emotions from Bruce during this song and he pulled off the vocal very well. Awesome to finally hear this song live.
12. Point Blank - dear lord can this get any better?!?!? One of the best songs off The River but I guess the crowd didn't think so. A lot of casuals left during this song.
13. Heaven's Wall - ugh. Not a huge fan of this song and didn't want to hear it but it wasn't as terrible live.
14. Seeds - meh. second time hearing it but still good live.
15. Death to My Hometown - meh again. 3rd time hearing it. Would of rather had a song from Greetings or Wild and the Innocent.
16. Wrecking Ball - third time hearing this one but I didn't mind. Really love this song and it's great live.
17. Shackled and Drawn - same with Wrecking Ball this was my 3rd time hearing it and I still enjoyed it. Very fun song with good crowd interaction. Cindy kills it yet again!
18. Ghost of Tom Joad - LET US ALL BOW DOWN TO THE ONE KNOW AS MORELLO. Hearing this on the record and hearing this live is two completely different things. The guitar solo is like nothing else I've ever seen. THIS GUY TOOK OUT HIS AMP PLUG AND PLAYED IT ON HIS HAND. WTF!?!!?!?!? SO EPIC
19. The Rising - not a fan of the song. Didn't enjoy hearing it a 3rd time.
20. Badlands - It's what Badlands is. No matter how many times you'll see this, it'll be one of the most energetic songs of the night. Great way to end the main set.

21. Drive All Night - I've seen Jungleland in Jersey, but this was different. This is the only the 14th time this has been played with the ESB since The River Tour. I honestly can't describe my emotions to this song. This was the second instance of mantearing. I had my hands on my head the whole song. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Top 5 song I've ever seen live from any artist.
22. Born to Run - How does Bruce toy with my emotions. He brings me up from the most intense moment of the show with Born To Run. Same as Badlands. No matter how many times he plays it, BTR is great ever time.
23. Ramrod - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Perfect way to cap off the River songs. Was a bit weird without Stevie but I've been craving this song ever since I first listened to it. Easily a top 3 song from the night.
24. Dancing in the Dark - probably the best rendition of the song I've hard in my 3 songs. Awesome job with the kid putting her on his shoulders and trading off lines with her. That's how you bring a kid on stage, not to awkwardly sing "Waaiiitinggggg on a sunyyyy dayyyy"
25. Tenth - Same league as BTR and Badlands. A lot of fun and will never get old
26. Shout - Really shows off the full bands power. Great cover and surprisingly, the best crowd interaction of the night
27. Highway to Hell - really excited to hear this US debut but not sure how I feel about it ending the show. Really wish he came out for a solo Thunder Road. Oh well, cool to have an energetic ending.

Didn't take any crappy video. But I have some crappy pics for you guys!

The crowd was ok. It seems that the more expensive Bruce tickets get, the older the crowd gets. I thought the other 2 crowds I was at were old but they had nothing on this crowd  :P

It was a shorter Bruce show, only 2:45. There was also not much crowd interaction. Bruce was much more serious last night which lent to a very serious setlist, which was great because my other 2 shows were more "hits" and party. The venue wasn't great but this show barely falls behind Jersey 3 2012. Seeing the songs from the River along with Trapped, Adam and Tougher than the Rest made this the best Springsteen setlist I've seen. It probably would have been my favorite if I was closer and/or in an arena. oh well, still a great show which I ranked 6th on my concert list.  8) This better not be my last Springsteen show.

oh yea forgot to mention something

[size=99pt]NO WAITING ON A SUNNY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/size]

Monday, April 21, 2014

twenty one pilots Review!

We left the house pretty late, 5:45, so I knew we'd have a pretty far back spot on the floor. We arrive to the venue at 6:45 after a bunch of traffic. We line up behind the venue that spanned 3 sides of a city block. We get into the venue at 7 and end up a few rows in front of the bar area. Hunter Hunted started around 7:30 and rocked the house. They played 6 songs and impressed the hell out of me. I even ended up buying their 5 song EP....THAT THEY SIGNED!  8) after their set we had a 20 minute break til NONONO who sadly disappointed me. Pumpin Blood was fun of course, but the rest of their set left a lot left to be desired. They didn't have any stage presence compared to Hunter Hunted and didn't react with the crowd as much. Can't wait to get Hunter Hunted's first album later this year. After about a 30 minute wait the lights turn off and the instrumental intro for Implicit Demand for Proof starts and the crowd goes crazy with the 3rd best jumping of the night. Their is a massive push to the stage and we run up. My small lady friends almost got trampled but me and my other tall friend protected the ladies. Tyler and Josh come out with masks and suits on and start with my favorite song, Guns for Hands. I've never seen so much energy from a crowd! The band followed with 3 other songs from Vessel: Migraine, Ode to Sleep and a personal favorite, Screen. After Migraine the band makes a costume change from the suits to the Skeleton costumes which lead to another crowd push in and after Ode to Sleep Tyler changes to his moms robe and Josh puts on the shirt he'd wear for the rest of the night, which Tyler would later do. Following Screen, the band would play older songs that the crowd didn't react to as well but I loved: Isle of Flightless birds from the self titled album and Anathema which followed with another crowd push in and Forest from Regional at Best. Up next came a cover of Mad World by Tears for Fears which was really cool. They put a drum pad on Tyler's piano and Josh played while Tyler sang. Up next came the hit from Vessel, Holding on to You which got a ridiculous crowd response along with another, smaller crowd push in. The ending "Lean with it, Rock with it" chant was one of the most intense moments I've had with a concert. House of Gold was up next, which I recorded and will put on youtube tomorrow. Up next was Semi-automatic which was pretty intense with the drum solo at the end in the crowd which lead to a larger crowd push in. The Run and Go was the next song which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Ending the main set was crowd favorite Fake You Out. The jumping was probably the 4th best of the night. The dual drum solo at the end was like nothing I've ever seen. If I can find a video of it I'll post on tomorrow. Tyler then follows with a speak talking about his dream of the crowd leaving before the encore and telling us not to leave. He also told us that he thanked us for letting him turn his journal in to these songs and telling us "thank you for liking weird songs". Up next was the best song of the night. The opening piano of Car Radio starts, leads to ANOTHER crowd push in and I know what will ensue will be legendary. The slower beginning of the songs is finished and the electronic beat kicks in and the crowd has the BEST jumping session of the night. I've never screamed lyrics so loud and been in a crowd like that. The guys end with Trees which kicked as and was the second best jumping session of the night. The band thanked us and tol dus good night. 

After the show we went downstairs to get merch, I got a shirt and wristband. We also got the meet Hunter Hunted and got the signed EP. 

Highlights: Car Radio, Guns for Hands *my favorite song*, Anathema, Forest, Fake You Out + Drum Solo. But honestly, the whole set was a highlight. Seeing and meeting Hunter Hunted plus getting the signed EP. The crowd was also awesome with the best jumping sessions ever
Not-So-Highlights: Bunch of casual fans who just wanted to push up to the front before the band got on stage. and NONONO was disappointing live
Both: The crowd push ins. It was great to get closer but it was dangerous for my friends. Luckily we all ended up OK and no injuries.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

PARAHOY! Review

It's sad that exactly 4 weeks ago from tonight, I was jamming out to Tegan and Sara, my favorite Canadian lesbians. But here's my review from that epic weekend

Let me first start this off with talking about my relationship with Paramore. I first started to love them back in 2010 after discovering their "hits", That's What You Get, Misery Business, Brick By Boring Brick, etc. But after getting impatient with a lack of proper musical releases, besides a 2011 EP, and proper touring in the states, I stopped to listen to them as much. That all stopped in late 2012 when the band announced they would be putting out a new album in 2013. The first single off the Self-Titled album, Now, dropped in late January and I was brought back to be a hardcore. I was antsy during the lead-up to the early April release and got another track off the album, Still Into You, when it was played live at South By Southwest in Austin, TX. Still Into You is probably the most popular track off the album so far, but it's my least favorite. I appreciate radical changes in music as much as anyone but this was a bit too far for me as a Paramore fan. I understand the message and love that Hayley, Taylor and Jeremy had the courage to release something like this. It showed their faith in the band it's amazing fanbase. But the album dropped and I loved the rest of it. From Fast in my Car to Future, I still can't get enough of this album. The band announced an Atlanta date for the tour, but I was gutted to see that it was the night before my finals. My dad said I couldn't go so I had to wait for another tour. Late July, I see a rumor that the band will be announcing an arena tour for the Fall. One warm July morning I wake up to a video announcing tour dates. At the end of the video the tour dates start to scroll down. I see two dates for Florida pass and think that will be it for the southeast. But then to my surprise I see Nashville pop up at the end and my hearts stops. Finally after Nashville, I see Atlanta, the last date of the Self-Titled Tour. I freak out and buy a ticket that afternoon. But in order for General Admission, you had to buy it with a credit card and show up at the show with the credit card in order to get it. I was in a dilemma because I would be going to this show alone. A little dissapointed, I buy a second row seat around the "50 Yard Line" of the arena. Time passes and November 27th comes around.

Instead of a few sentences about the show, how about I post my short review I made

So I had a seat on the second row around the middle of the arena. I HATES seats so I was sorta depressed with not being close up. BUT IN A CRAZY TURN OF EVENTS, there was a man asking for one seat so he can stay for his daughters. Tyler, knowing GA would not be sold out, sold it to the man for 30 dollars and then purchased a GA seat for 45. As soon as I walked in, the doors open. Sadly I didn't have enough time to purchase merch. I rushed the floor and ends up 6 rows back on Jeremy's side. 

I had to wait an hour for the opening acts to start. hellogoodbye was AWESOME but Metric was just ok, even though their guitarist was incredible. 

so the lights go out and the intro go Grow Up starts and the crowd goes crazy

Highlights: Grow Up, Daydreaming, Last Hope, Brick by Boring Brick, Ain't It Fun, In the Mouring, Misery Business, and Ignorance
- getting so close after selling seat
- the band's energy. I've never seen anything like them live
- being the last show of their biggest tour yet
- the crowd was tiny, I was one of the taller people there

Not-so-Highlights - Still Into You
- the crowd consisted of a lot of casual fans who knew only the hits
- Hayley had strep
- because Hayley had strep, they had to cut 2 songs 
- NOT GETTING MERCH  

and a few pics

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Day 1: We left the hotel at 8 AM with around a 2 hour ride to Miami. We parked our car in an off-site lot, to save money of course. But after an hour and a half of waiting for the shuttle I began to really worry about getting to the ship. Thankfully, around 11:45 the shuttle picked us up and drove us 10 minutes to the Port of Miami. We got off the bus and I had a grin on my face that wouldn’t leave all weekend. There were Paramore shirts as far as the eye could see. I was in heaven. It took only 20 minutes to get through customs and we were on the ship! We bought our soda pass so we didn’t have to keep individually charge on our cards. Side Note: Drinks cost A LOT. We definitely got our money’s worth with the unlimited pass. We got our lunch and sat on the upper deck waiting for the 3PM safety briefing followed by some walking around when I met Hayley’s boyfriend Chad from New Found Glory. We got our safety station and I was a bit worried. The stage was on the 12th deck in the middle of the ship, as you could see by one of the pictures I posted before I left, but our safety station was on level 6 in the lower level of the big theater where I would see Tegan and Sara, Shiny Toy Guns, Bad Rabbits, New Found Glory and mewithoutyou. The briefing ended at 3:15 and we all speed walked up to the 12th deck. To my surprise, the front of stage area wasn’t too packed yet, probably because the show wasn’t until 5 :P . I found my spot, about 9 rows behind Taylor and endured the what-I-thought was a long wait. The clock hits 5 and with the sun still out, Paramore hits the stage. They start off with one of my top 5 favorites For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic. Followed by Emergency, a song that hasn’t been played since 2011 and the first surprise of the night, I Caught Myself, the better of the two Twilight songs IMO. They ripped through a set containing songs mostly from last year’s Self Titled Tour, Fast in My Car, Now, When It Rains, In the Mourning, Daydreaming, Ain’t it Fun along with the usual hits That’s What You Get, Ignorance, The Only Exception, Brick by Boring Brick Pressure and Misery Business. But the best surprise of the night was the live debut of the B-Side Escape Route from the Self Titled sessions. After a great show, my dad * who watched the show from the back* and I grabbed some dinner. I was exhausted from the previous day and the show I decided to make it an easy night. I decided to sample each of the three concerts of the night then call it early to save some energy. First was the LA band Shiny Toy Guns. I was pretty impressed with their show; I was hoping they would have CDs for sale but alas they didn’t but I planned on seeing them again. New Found Glory was not impressive live. I started to enjoy some of their songs but they did not translate well live. You couldn’t make everything out, the noise coming from the amps just sounded like a large BANG! I caught then end of Tegan and Sara’s set and they were as good and adorable live as they are on the record. Love the Canadian lesbian twins!

Day 2: I expected Saturday to be the laid back, lazy day, and boy was I wrong. The day started with a trip to the Merch Store where I purchased a Parahoy! shirt, mewithoutyou shirt, a mewithoutyou CD, 2 Bad Rabbits CDs and a Parahoy chain thingy :P Then we grabbed some lunch and saw the singer from Bad Rabbits and singer and drummer from New Found Glory. The activities started around 1 with Cocky Basketball qualifiers. Definitely look up Cocky basketball on youtube, one of the best videos out there. Next was Belly Flop with Jeremy and Doug Benson. There were flops galore, with the eventual winner being the soon to be King of Parahoy, RAINBOW BEARD. Following that was Musical Chair with New Found Glory. This wasn’t you’re normal Musical Chairs; each round was different including the Twerking round, Bobbing for ducks round, the dress up round and the blindfold round. After that was over we headed over to the Pool deck for some PARAOKE! I was not expecting this to be as much fun as it was. I lined up about 30 minutes before the start because I knew Paramore would be the guest judges ;) . I’ve never seen so many great singers do karaoke in my life. They performed all the hits with crowd and band interaction. In the end, a 14 year old girl, who was actually one cabin down from me, won with Still Into You. After getting a bite at the Italian restaurant we headed over for Doug Benson. There were many great jokes made including jokes Rainbow Beard and the soon to be Parahoy! catch phrase, WASHY WASHY, HAPPY HAPPY, SMILEY SMILEY, which is what Norweigan workers would say before spraying you with hand sanitizer before entering the buffet. The place was packed due to the increase in popularity of Mr. Benson after the Belly Flop, so we ended up pretty far back. Later that night we got our seats in the theater for the concerts tonight hosted by Shiny Toy Guns followed by Tegan and Sara. Shiny Toy Guns were awesome again and Tegan and Sara put on a fantastic show, probably my favorite non-Paramore show of the weekend. During the show the ladies were handed a giraffe hat which was for Tegan who loves giraffes :P and received a Springsteen picture and shirt and got a “BRUUUUUUUUCE” response from me and my dad 8) . After a long day, we settled in our room for the night. 

Day 3: This was island day. We planned on getting off the boat around 10 and staying on the island til 1ish. We went to get a quick bite to each at 9:30 and started to walk back to the room. But as I was walking past the stage I saw that half of the front row was already taken. I told my dad “I’m going to go over there.” We walked down to the room to get sun screen and a very large water bottle and I settled in for the longest wait of my life. Thank goodness there were some awesome Paramore fans I got to chat with, incluing RAINBOW BEARD ;) Finally after a few hours of waiting and some sing-a-long, at about 1, I see some orange hair on the 13th deck. HAYLEY HEARD WE WERE LINING UP AND SINGING!!!!! She came down to visit and talked to us for a bit, telling us that we were in for a treat but also told us that they would be debuting All I Wanted :( Unfortunetly I was about 3 people back :P It was so cool her being that close and talking to us.  Shortly after that we got a visit from TAYLOR!!! He did the same and had a quick visit and chat. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of that :( After a few more hours of getting burnt while waiting, 8 PM hit. An immediate surprise started the set; fan favorite (One of Those) Crazy girls started the show getting its live debut! That would be followed by Self Titled opener, Grow Up. What ensued would be my favorite back-to-back I’ve ever seen. The band cranked out my two favorite Paramore songs Never Let This Go, first play since 2010 and Playing God , first play since 2011* my favorite*. Following that two pack were two hits, CrushCrushCrush and Decode aka the Twilight Song. Then things got crazy; Miracle got its 19th play, first since 2010, Turn It Off, first time since 2010. The crew then brought out stools for Hayley, Taylor and Justin *back up guitarist and Taylor’s brother*. They dusted off Franklin for only the 6th time ever and first since 2006. After that epicness the band played all the Interludes off the Self Titled album, I’m Not Angry Anymore, Moving On and Holiday. Following the Interludes, the band played 2 songs off Paramore, Proof and Last Hope *One of my top 5 favorites* Proof was only played in the Spring so I missed it :P but Last Hope was played last fall, although I could never get enough of that song. How about another ridiculous surprise?? Conspiracy was dusted off for only the 27th time and first since 2009. Rounding up the main set was Hello Cold World aka the song where Hayley and I sang to each other ;) and the hit Still Into You which is still really fun live. The encore was very interesting and surprising. The band cranked out a live classic Let the Flames Being with the Oh, Father outro consisting of Taylor spraying water on his drums and blasting them straight in front of me getting the rows in front of him damp :P Following Let the Flames Being  was its sequal off the new album, Part II. That was really awesome to see live and I hope they do it again! All in all, it was my favorite concert of all time and it will be hard to beat. Front row with all those rarities!!!! And I cought Jeremy’s pic, although I have seem to misplaced it :( :( :( After that we relaxed for a few hours and ate. We checked out Jeremy’s awesome DJ set for a little while and called it a night

Day 4: The final day did not fail in entertainment. The day started at 11 with bingo with Shiny Toy Guns which was very entertaining. After some lunch we checked out some New Found Glory and they left a lot of be desired again! Following that we checked out the Cocky Basketball finals with Taylor who didn’t seem to take competition seriously while getting out first of 7 and being pretty hilarious while doing so. It pretty much reassured him as my favorite band member and possibly favorite musician. I’m not sure though, I do LOVE Hayley, Bono , Chris Martin, Springsteen, Brandon Flowers, the list goes on. Tegan and Sara played an awesome acoustic set on the Pool Deck where I got a good spot and stayed there for the much anticipated Paramore Q&A. The Q&A was probably the best thing besides the 2 Paramore shows. The questions ranged from silly, what posters you had on your walls?, to very serious, what advice do you have for young teens struggling to get through the hardships you had to go through? Following a quick dinner, we made sure to get there early for the second set for Doug Benson who was luckily moved from the lounge to the threater so I didn’t have to choose between him and Bad Rabbits. Benson walks out with two santatizer bottles, you’ll see in a picture :P, and yells to the crowd “WASHY WASHY”, the crowd responded with “HAPPY HAPPY” and the everyone finshed with a “SMILEY SMILEY”. Benson proceeded by spraying the crowd :D . Next was the funkiest and one of the most energetic shows I’ve been too hosted by the awesome Boston band Bad Rabbits 8) . For the last show of the vacation was the awesome band mewithoutyou who is actually Hayley’s and Taylor’s favorite! They were great and near the end of the set Hayley came out to sing a song she features on which happens to be my favorite! 

Well, that’s pretty much the highlights of the greatest weekend ever. 

let's see if some pictures work

First Paramore show

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Shiny Toy Guns night1 

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New Found Glory night one

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Tegan and Sara night 1 pictures were bad :P

Belly Flop with Doug Benson and Jeremy

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Paraoke 

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Taylor

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Hayley 

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Jeremy 

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Shiny Toy Guns night 2 

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Tegan and Sara night 2 

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Hayley meeting us on Sunday 

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Paramore night 3 

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Some Jeremy love, didn't get enough pics of him! 

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New Found Glory day 4

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Cocky basketball

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Tegan and Sara day 4 

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Paramore Q&A

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Doug Benson with the Washy Washy bottles 

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Bad Rabbits 

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mewithoutyou

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With Hayley 

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Here's Rainbow beard with Doug Benson and Jeremy 

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sorry for the pictures. If you want to see them just copy and paste the url