Train's frontman (Pat Monahan) has to be one of the most charismatic performers I have ever seen live. He has the witty lines and the confident stage presence that only come with years of being front and center on multiple stages in front of thousands of people and I absolutely adore it.
The band's summer tour is under way and if they come to your town, do not miss your chance to see them perform live. Each song was more amazing than the last and their clear appreciation for their fans only made the performance that much better.
Standing in the rain for three hours may have made my toes permanently pruny, but it was more than worth it to finally hear "Meet Virginia", "Save Me, San Francisco", and "Drops of Jupiter" live (and to see Pat Monahan's performance style; I truly cannot emphasize how amazing his personal performance was).
The video quality may not be the best (meaning I do not have a steady hand because I can't not dance during a concert), but the sound should be good enough to show you how truly adorable this band is live.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros may be the most adorable band I have ever seen live and, if you get the chance to see them perform live, don't miss out.
The band is currently working on their third album, set to be released sometime this year.
Walk off the Earth is kind of amazing and, from their videos, we already know that they can sing live and have the charisma and charm that would make them great in concert. With all of the requests the band has received, asking them to play in one place or another, they have announced that they will have an online concert (broadcast from their living room) for their fans from around the world.
The concert will take place February 20th (2013) at 8:30 PM (eastern time) and will last for half an hour. Of course, my last Wednesday class does not end until 9:15 (so I will be able to offer no opinions on the actual concert), but you can still get your tickets for the show (prices are based on your donation amount so you should donate/tip as much as you can to support the band [plus they have gifts for the top tippers that you'd really like if you really like WOTE]) and enjoy how wonderfully great this band is.
Check out this site to buy your tickets (before they run out [they keep adding more tickets when they run out and it's an online show so they can't really "run out" of room; you'll probably be fine]), then wait until the 20th for a really awesome show; nothing is more fun than watching the live performances of bands that really love the creation of music (i.e. WOTE will put on an amazing performance).
Some concerts are better in the sun (Michael Franti & Spearhead), some are better in rain (Panic! At The Disco), some are better with a bigger audience (The Fray), and some are just better inside, in a dingy club that smells like beer, sweat, and some unidentifiable floor cleaning solution (Passion Pit).
The first time I saw Passion Pit (June 2010), I had secured a spot on the second step up from the 'mosh pit' and was surrounded by people who never stopped dancing and singing along. The atmosphere was as great as it can be when that many people are shoved together into one room and, honestly, Passion Pit is a lot better when you are forced to sway along with the crowd and Michael Angelakos is only ten feet away; I love outdoor concerts, but there is just something about being forced to dance and having the band be a part of the crowd that you cannot duplicate at an outside or amphitheater concert. At that first concert, you knew everyone was there to see Passion Pit (although I was, admittedly, a little more excited for the opening act; Tokyo Police Club), and they were all so excited that they could not contain themselves. The band was adorable and talked with the crowd, had the audience dancing along with the band, and Michael Angelakos even jumped down into the crowd during a song (not crowd surfing, literally jumping down into, and joining, the crowd). I have no clue what they opened with, only that it was amazing and sucked me in. I do know, that "Little Secrets" is one of the best live performances I have been in, "Moth's Wings" would not have been as good had they not dropped round white confetti (made to fall like moth's wings; how cheesily poetic, and slightly great) during the performance, "The Reeling" and "Eyes As Candles" are best when you can feel the bass in your chest and you don't even notice that you have someone else's beer all over your favorite Converse, their cover of "Dreams" is a great last song, and "Sleepyhead," beginning with the 'stripped down' version, is the best encore song. Ever. I truly adored Passion Pit the first time I saw them, and was so excited to see them again.
The second time I saw them, they were playing at a music festival, and no one showed up until Passion Pit had even begun to perform (which was fine by me because I got front 'row' seats for LP and, subsequently, Passion Pit, but it's still disrespectful to just barge in on the end of someone's performance because they are not well known, yet). The performance itself was still great, they are a great band, but it was just, different. There was a clear separation between the stage and the 'viewing area', a clear distinction between the band members and the audience, and the fans themselves were different (they were impatient and inconsiderate; when you go to a concert, you're not cool, anyone can go to a concert. Shut your mouth because the band will come on when they are prepared. Complaining about the band being on time, rather than early, then turning around and acting like you're their biggest fan only makes you an asshole). They did all their big songs like "Moth's Wings," "Sleepyhead," and "Let Your Love Grow Tall," along with a few of the songs off their new album ("Take A Walk" and "Carried Away"); the only problem with this was that their new album had not been released yet. (Side note/ back-story time!: My friend and I saw Foxy Shazam opening for a band two summers ago, and they were really fucking cool; the trumpet player threw his instrument into the air (like, ten feet up-crazy) and caught it during a song, then continued to play like it was normal, and the pianist was standing on his keyboard, just stomping on it. After hearing Eric Sean Nally explain that this was his first show since getting out of jail for killing his neighbor's dog, we were kind of afraid to be caught not singing along. Before the concert, my friend was worried that they would not be able to sing along to all the words and I assured them that, if you just said "banana," it would look like you were saying the lyrics. When we got to the concert and realized Nally bordered on insane, we began dancing really enthusiastically and mouthing banana, as their biggest fan (some great middle aged man) screamed and cheered in front of us). So when Passion Pit began playing songs from an album that had yet to be released (though it appeared that every hipster in that crowd knew the lyrics by heart), my friend and I looked at each other, then began our enthusiastic dancing and banana chanting. The concert, thankfully, ended with a song we knew ("Little Secrets") because, as much fun as it is to just dance around, it's more fun to know the lyrics and sing along to a great song. Aside from my friend and I looking like assholes (but fun-loving assholes) for a few songs, the concert just was not as great as the first one. The band themselves were different; is this front guy in a suit and tie, stalking across the stage, the same one who was wearing a shirt and jeans that kept bending down to the crowd a few years ago? Their songs were the same, the crowd was still excited, the band still did a great job, it was just a different feeling; like the band's attitude on performing might have changed a bit.
Regardless, Passion Pit is a great band, and I am hoping that they were just having an off night, rather than letting the fame change them. The band is still great though, and their new album (Gossamer) might actually be better than their earlier one (Manners), so don't write them off just because I said they weren't stellar on audience involvement at one outside concert; they are kind of fantastic.
A picture from that first concert: And second concert:
Wiz Khalifa is one of the best performers I have seen. Of course, I say that about most everyone I see (i.e. Tokyo Police Club is better live than recorded, Lady Danville is fucking adorable, Panic! At The Disco is the best performance I have ever seen) but, it is only because, when I pay to see someone perform, I make sure that it is going to be worth my money; Wiz Khalifa is worth the money.
For one, there's the experience of every concert; each one is very different. Wiz's is the first concert I have ever been to where I simultaneously saw three different groups light up their joints. It is the first time I saw a haze stay above the heads of the crowd, at an outside concert, and it is the first time I saw a performance I was dying to see, followed by one I desperately wanted to avoid, though I stayed for my friends benefit (Snoop Dogg is not in my list of top 200 performers. I do not know who is in that list, but I know he does not make the cut. Anyone who has a stuffed dog prance around the stage hitting girls asses with a giant foam penis; no. Everyone knows you're over compensating now. Congratulations on outing yourself.) Where was I? Oh yes, secondhand smoke.
Yes, it is quite possible, and totally plausible, to get high from secondhand smoke. How do I know this? I attended a Wiz Khalifa concert; don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Wiz and think that he is awesome, but he is also a big supporter of legal and recreational weed use. I should have realized something was up when I was at the pizza place after the show and could not quite read the screen on my phone; or maybe when I was driving home and kept slipping between paranoia and incessant giggling. There was no real cue for the laughter either, just two idiots in a car, laughing out of insanity.
When I informed my friend of what I was pretty sure was happening, she stated there was no such thing as a secondhand high and that I was just paranoid.
Me: "DUDE! That's what HAPPENS."
Friend: "'-Blank stare-' *gigglegigglegiggle*"
When we got back to the condo, it became fully apparent, to me at least, that a secondhand high was all too possible.
Me: "That light is flickering; it's really freaking me the frack out. We're in a horror movie. We.
Are going. To die."
Friend: "Fuck. Get in the elevator. GET IN THE ELEVATOR." *one minute later* -gets off
elevator- "RUN!"
Once we were inside, with the door securely locked and all the lights turned on (because that always saves people in horror movies), I was certain there was such a thing as a secondhand high but, as my friend continued to contest what I deemed solid factual evidence, I decided to consult someone who had dealt with many of my outlandish conclusions and ramblings throughout the years.
Me: "Hey mom. Uh, just, you know, a theoretical question, speaking candidly, on theory; is there
maybe a way you could, I don't know, get, uhm, you know, high? From people smoking around
you, I mean, not firsthand stuff, just secondhand smoke, if you're in it, for say, four hours?"
Mom: "Yes... If the content is that intense for an extended period of time it is quite plausible. I
told you he was a big pot supporter. Did you drive last night?"
Me: "Erm, what? No. That would be irrespons-I'mareallygoodhighdriver. It made me focused, I
think. I mean, more focused, than before. More focused than usual...I wouldn't still be high,
would I?"
Mom: "'-Sigh-' Goodbye."
The incredibly long point of this short dive into the chronicles of my unintended debauchery: Wiz Khalifa is amazing, especially live. When I saw him, he opened with "When I'm Gone" (one of my favorites) and immediately captured the attention of the crowd. How many people can play those first few notes on a piano and have kids running towards the stage? It is so difficult for a single performer to command the stage, while still creating a sense of ease and enjoyment for the audience, yet Wiz Khalifa does this flawlessly; he was born to perform. He knows when to mix it up with a slow or fast song, when to throw in a song that everyone knows before he loses the crowd, and when to pump up the crowd and make sure everyone is singing along by the time the chorus rolls around.
He is a naturally great performer and well worth the money to see him perform live. He's rocketing towards fame pretty quickly, and with fame comes higher ticket prices, so make sure to see him while you can still afford it as, the higher the ticket price becomes, the less his real fans will be present; and seeing a performer surrounded by his real fans makes the experience ten times better than seeing that same performer surrounded by the people who could afford the concert (this difference was extremely evident the second time I saw Passion Pit; it makes a big fucking difference). And despite my personal feelings on Snoop Dogg, he is a really, really good performer, and seems completely at home on stage. Plus, it was worth staying for Snoop to see a fifty year old woman grinding on a palm tree to "I Wanna Fuck You" and seeing Wiz come out on stage and sing with him to "Young, Wild, And Free" (even if Snoop Dogg kind of had a coughing fit that made me laugh a little at the start of their performance).
So go see Wiz Khalifa (and I suppose Snoop Dogg, as well), or at the least, get some of his songs. They're pretty great and, behind all his lyrics, there's that sense of freedom, fun, and that ever present theme of staying young forever.
Music caught itself on a snag in my soul when I was young, and it's been there for me over the years with such consistency that I can't imagine not having it in my life. The only thing better than finding good music is attending a good concert. I swear, if I don't go to at least one concert a year I'll combust.
There are some misconceptions about concerts that I've had many people mention to me lately and, if these fallacies are not fixed, you could miss out on some great performances.
1) Concerts are too expensive.
This is just not true; do not let it stop you from seeing a band live because it's not even a good excuse. Sure, there are expensive concerts (I gave up on Coldplay this summer because the least expensive ticket was over $150), but the majority of them are actually quite affordable. When I saw Panic! At the Disco and Fun., it was only $38. The first time I saw Passion Pit, the tickets were only $21, and Graffiti6 had a $12 concert in Atlanta this summer. There are added expenses like $10 parking and one and half hours worth of gas, but it's never not been worth it. Another type of concert experience is a music festival and, though the overall price may seem expensive ($60-$120), you are going to see about four bands/artists a day for 3-5 days; this averages out to a pretty amazing deal, especially as the festivals offer at least two big names a day. Don't tell yourself that you can't go to a concert because it will be too expensive, there are plenty of free and cheap concerts in college towns and big cities.
2) Music festivals are dirty, drug ridden, and sex-filled?
Seriously? If you can get in position to have sex when there are hundreds of people crushed together then good for you; that's impressive. And as far as drugs go, I have never seen anything more harmful than pot, and that is only prevalent at certain performances; not all of them are subject to that. There is a lot of drinking, but it's a concert/fair/outside gathering, there is always drinking. Now, as far as being dirty goes, that's not a fair argument to make to the event organizers. They work to keep their grounds as clean as possible so that they can continue to hold the event for years to come (and if you attend an established festival, it's bound to be better organized, cleaner, and generally safer). There is always a large number of volunteers (who wouldn't agree to a few days of manual labor for some free concerts) who are constantly on the move, picking up trash along the way. Overall, music festivals are a really fun place to see a lot of bands and meet people. The only way you won't enjoy yourself is if you go in with that mind set and decide to hang out in the obviously bad places (don't expect the porta-potty alley to be clean, well-lit, and full of fresh flowers). Also, there are police and firemen milling around everywhere and, the larger the concert, the more protection they have. Some festivals will even bring in military police if they suspect a band will be popular, providing extra security for everyone.
3) There are never any concerts near me.
Unless you live in a college town or a major city, there usually are not concerts next door to you, but that doesn't mean you can't drive to them. Most of the concerts I attend are a minimum of one hour away, but one hour isn't long to drive for a great performance. I would actually prefer that longer drive over a short one; it gives you and your friends time to get excited and then, on the way back, time to talk about the concert and sing along to the album you bought at the merchandise table (always buy something from the merch table to help your favorite band).
