Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Florence and the Machine

Tuesday, December 14th 2010:

Aah, Irving Plaza...the last time I was here was...um, maybe an industry (as in advertising) party with Chris Isaak back in 1999? So long ago, I can't remember - the shows back then kinda blend together in terms of venue...


And I certainly forgot how small the venue is. At the last minute, I decided not to go with my usual concert boots, and we pretty much hung out in the back for most of the show since again, the place was packed and from our previous concert experience at Hammerstein, we opted to avoid being near people...which worked nicely for this show.

happy Brian

Civil Twilight opened the show and was already onstage when we got there. Cool t shirts again, but the music, at least the part of the set we heard, was a bit too somber for my taste.

That's Vincent D'Onofrio, who announces that this is his kids' first concert, and he's very excited to see the show. 101.9 RXP DJ Leslie Fram on the left

101.9 RXP DJ Matt Pinfield

Florence and the Machine - her 60's-style flowing dress, which illuminated beautifully when backlit. Voice was just as powerful and gorgeous live. Great Britain's Janis Joplin...

This is taken NOT facing the stage: monitor above the bar and the mirror behind the bar - both gave a nice view of what we couldn't really see, but luckily the acoustics were still good

1. Howl
2. Drumming Song
3. My Boy Builds Coffins
4. Girl With One Eye
5. Cosmic Love
6. Blinding
7. I'm Not Calling You A Liar
8. Between Two Lungs
9. You've Got the Love (The Source cover)
10. Strangeness & Charm
11. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

Encore:
12. Heavy in Your Arms
13. Kiss With a Fist
14. Dog Days Are Over





Friday, December 03, 2010

Brandon Flowers

Thursday, December 2nd 2010:

Woo hoo! Another concert in the cit-tay...yes, I really need a slush fund for concerts...


Last time we were here was the April 2000 Smashing Pumpkins show, the one weeks before they announced that they were breaking up. And look-y here, Brian's wearing his Pumpkins shirt ala Halloween costume...


We were introduced to the great sounds of the band Transfer (I actually had to look them up since I couldn't hear who they were...) which would have been just peachy if it hadn't been for the group of German? girls shoving me pretty much the whole set...grrrr!! And of course, probably one of the tallest people there with the biggest afro - don't get me wrong, her hair was ridiculously awesome, but she was like 6'3" or so...concert boots to the rescue.



After the set was over, we didn't hesitate to move away from that section, unfortunately just to find ourselves next to even bigger a**holes (drunk women, mosh pit-mentality spanish-speaking men...). We didn't discover this until after Brandon Flowers comes out onstage. Since I'm the one taking/dragging Brian to shows, I try to make sure he's having a good time, and like Mumford, big asses just happened to be near us - can't escape them for some reason.

In any case, we try to enjoy the show...



1. On the Floor 

2. Crossfire
3. Magdalena 

4. Bette Davis Eyes 
(Kim Carnes cover) - this was just lovely...
5. Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts 

6. Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas 

7. Was It Something I Said? 

8. Hard Enough 

9. Losing Touch 
(The Killers cover)
10. Swallow It 

11. Playing With Fire 


Encore:
12. Read My Mind 
(The Killers cover) (partial)
13. Only the Young 

14. Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont Remix) 
(The Killers cover)

I pretty much lost it during the encore...Read My Mind AND Mr. Brightside remix?! loved it!!!














Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Mumford and Sons

Tuesday, November 16th 2010:

Yet another great concert! minus the behemoth that pretty much annoyed the hell out of Brian and Cliff whom we treated tickets to the show $$$ (yup, not face value this time). Terminal 5 certainly over sells their tickets because that place was beyond packed, with absolutely no room to move or even to retreat to the back - every inch was filled with a body. If possible, avoid going there or at least get there early and secure a spot on the balcony...

wee burgers!

In no rush from our dinner stop at Lincoln Park, we did miss King Charles, and when they came out on stage later, I wished we did get a chance to witness, let alone hear, their set...(see photo below). Cadillac Sky definitely warmed the audience up for a great night of folk music.

Good thing I was armed with my concert boots, for there was no way we were going to get close to the stage, and as usual, we attract the tallest people in the venue, so lots of searching for the best view, usually shifting back and forth to see the stage through people's heads.


Cadillac Sky with Marcus Mumford on drums


tidbit of "Sigh No More" opener


1. Sigh No More
2. Roll Away Your Stone
3. Winter Winds
4. White Blank Page
5. Below My Feet
6. Timshel
7. Gave You All
8. Little Lion Man



the behemoth is the large guy jumping up and down with dark brown curly hair around the :20s mark


9. Lover of the Light
10. Thistle & Weeds
11. Broken Crown
12. Awake My Soul
13. Feel the Tide
14. Dust Bowl

Mumford & Sons joined by Cadillac Sky

Mumford & Sons joined by Cadillac Sky AND King Charles

Encore:
15. Sister
16. Colab (s) with KC and CS
17. The Cave




I've never really been great with reviews, so here are links for more thoughts, photos and videos:

Monday, November 01, 2010

Happy Halloween!


"What defines a nerd? Committing to an awesome Halloween costume
with your best friend? Is that what nerds do?" - Abed,
Community


Saturday, October 30, 2010

It's that time of year again!

Distracted by moving and settling in, we really gave no thought to what our Halloween costumes would be this year...but I refused to go this Halloween without one. Knowing that the day would soon be upon us, I did some brainstorming and came up with these ideas:

Tron
Hit Girl / Kick-Ass
Community mascots

But with less than a week before Halloween, there was no time to make these costumes work (and we both aren't in the best of shapes for those body-hugging ones - damn, those Tron costumes would have been pretty awesome...)

Tuesday night (10/26) rolls around, and as I'm searching movies we've seen this year, I stumble upon Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.



Seeing as how colorful the characters were in the movie, I thought, yes! we could pull this off...so after lots of online searching and express shipping, we turn into

Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers







(it wasn't until after committing to the costume that I found out that there were a zillion Ramona Flowers at the NY Comic Con not too long ago...oh well)

Brian would have been spot on with his clothes if it weren't for my quick buying skills (or lack thereof) on Amazon, not realizing until it was too late that the green Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt automatically got shipped to our old address in West Hartford - DOH!!!! With his Death Cab for Cutie tee as a backup, Brian and I fruitlessly strolled around St. Marks on Friday (10/29) to hopefully find something close. I was saddened to see that one of the larger vintage stores I went to just a mere 9-10 years earlier was no longer there, replaced by "retail space available" and/or a new restaurant (hard to tell exactly where it used to be with all the new changes). I myself forewent with the green gloves (even though I saw them at St. Mark's) and opted for the blue ones I bought just minutes before.

to be continued...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Phoenix at MSG - Inaugural concert!

Wednesday, October 20th 2010:

After the craziness of moving and trying to settle down, we had such a blast at our very first concert as NYC area residents. And I bought the tickets just one week earlier on ticketmaster, at face value no less :)


a quick bite to eat at Lenny's


we missed the Wavves :( but we caught the Dirty Projectors - I liked just a couple of their songs but bought a t-shirt anyways since I thought the design was pretty cool.


a huge sheet was released and floated above the pit area before the band came out



1. Lisztomania

2. Lasso 

3. Long Distance Call

4. Fences

5. Girlfriend 

6. Armistice 

7. North 

8. Love Like a Sunset 

9. Run Run Run

10. Rally 

11. Rome 

12. Funky Squaredance


We certainly were in for a special treat, for none other than Daft Punk joins them on stage during the encore!!! wow, that was beyond cool...

Encore:
13. Honeymoon 

14. La Fille aux cheveux clairs 
(Johnny Hallyday cover)

Encore 2:
15. If I Ever Feel Better 

16. Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger 
(with Daft Punk)



Close Encounters of the Third Kind interlude...




17. 1901 
(with Daft Punk)








Here's a much better write-up and POV of the show...with videos!

Saturday, July 31, 2010

National Dance Day is here!

and we're down the shore!


Thursday, July 15, 2010

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

The Ultimate "Scenic" Route





Green chile, jalapenos, fritos and "the best part of the trip"

Monday, March 22, 2010

2010 Burton US Open Rail Jam








Yikes! Scary collision at :40s mark between Johnny "Lazz" Lazzareschi and Jamie Anderson. Jamie remained motionless for a few minutes having suffered a concussion, but fortunately she eventually got up and greeted everyone with smiles. Apparently, Johnny tried avoiding Brandon Reis, who was riding towards him, and then crashed into Jamie soon afterwards.

Helmets folks, helmets...