By now I'm sure that you are well aware that nothing makes me happier than live music. Although I don't have pictures from all of them, here are my summer concert favorites.
Coldplay
Greg Laswell
I can't say enough about how much I love Greg Laswell's music. He's also a fellow Twitterer. Being the super fan that I am, I happened to notice early one morning that he had offered up some free tickets, via Twitter, to his Dallas show happening that night. I retweeted his message and sure enough, I was magic #15 which equaled jackpot! Not only did I get a personal tweet thrown in my direction, I also got my name on a VIP list with a plus one attached. The rest is history...this photo was taken on my iphone - no zoom needed for the concert-going elite like myself.
One of the great perks to the Texas lifestyle adjustment has been having a car! It's so nice being able to jump in, run your errands and enjoy a little personal space at the same time. And by enjoying personal space, I mean turning the music up as loud as I want (without annoying the person 6 inches from my face on the B train) and convincing myself that I could totally audition for American Idol if I only had the guts to sing like this in front of people. Because that's what everyone does when they're alone, right?
Right.
So in continuing with my favorite summer things countdown, it only makes sense that I would let you in on what I've been using to release my inner rock star.
4. Kings of Leon - Only By the Night I know what you're thinking - I bought that album last year; they won a grammy for it like 8 months ago; yada yada yada. Truth is, I've had this cd since January of this year - and I listened to the couple of songs that I knew, but I never fully bought into it. However, early on in the summer a group of friends talked about getting tickets to their summer tour. Never wanting to miss a concert, or risk being the one who doesn't know the lyrics, I popped the cd into my car stereo. And I haven't taken it out...in about 4 weeks.
It started with an obsession of the song Frontier City. Then I slowly branched out to Revelry, Manhattan, and Be Somebody. (Because Sex on Fire is so 2008.) The whole cd sounds great with my busted car speaker in the backseat. It might even be to blame...I'm not really sure how that happened.
My summer countdown would not be complete if it didn't include weddings. This weekend marked the end of wedding season for me this year. My whole Texas summer social calendar has been dictated by my blonde buddies’ wedding schedules. We’ve had parties and showers galore, but nothing compares to the thrill of the big day…even if you’re not the one taking the leap!
Mrs. Ali Schmid
Mrs. Stephanie Chapman
We kicked off the big events with a joint bachelorette party with a surprise spin...a spin around a pole that is! A great bonding experience for a group of innocent and out of shape friends. Let's just say that it's much harder than it looks and we left with an equal amount of bruises and laughs.
As usual, Robbie let the DJ know early on in the night that he would be the one calling the shots. From when to play "Disturbia" to the right time to dim the lights, Robbie always brings his A-game to make sure his friends have the most fun and memorable wedding ever.
I have to admit, it’s been a little difficult to keep up with my pursuit of new music when I’m not pounding the New York City pavement everyday with my earbuds. I’ve also had KISS FM radio to brainwash me into believing that there are only 10 songs out in the world right now; 25% of those being by Lady Gaga. You are wrong Kidd Kraddick, you are wrong.
That’s my short list of excuses for not keeping up with A Musical Snack this summer. And since I’ve woken up to realize that it’s mid-August and summer is nearly over, I've decided to give you a recap of all the things that I’ve loved this summer but was too selfish to share with you. In no particular order...
1. (500) Days of Summer
Love, love, love this movie. It's the perfect blend of romanticism with a heavy dose of reality. Throw in a great soundtrack that mixes Indie with 80's and I am sold! Unlike my usual self, I've only gotten to see it once (as I write this, I'm watching 17 Again for the fourth time), but you better believe I'll be buying it as soon as it hits the Red Box. It will charm your socks off.
2. The Time Traveler's Wife
Look out Twilight, there's a new love story in town...and it's a lot steamier. They say you learn something new everyday, and I've learned that I apparently have a weak spot for sci-fi romance novels. There's something so romantic and tragic about this story, and it's just downright creative. I'm a little embarrassed that I never know about these books until they've been made into movies, but brace yourself Nicholas Sparks, because this is the next Notebook. I'm about 80 pages away from being done and I'm stretching it out as long as possible...I'm always a little sad when I finish a book that's grabbed my attention as much as this has. But consider yourself warned - it can be a bit graphic...that's all I'm going to say.
You didn't think I'd lay out all 10 things in one post did you? I haven't blogged in over a month, give me a little credit for at least getting back on the saddle. And stay tuned, more witty and exciting entries to come...
Coldplay
