A little behind...

Sorry about that. I'm working on it though!

Nov. 9 - On Friday, I was thankful for...

Music.

I love music. There isn't a day that goes by without music in some way. I listen to it while I work, sing it in the shower, rock out to the car stereo... I was in choir in high school (two choirs my senior year), and have played piano, oboe and violin. In the car with my mom, I grew up listening to Carole King, James Taylor and Peter, Paul & Mary (whom I saw perform live not once, but twice). My dad taught me to love the Beatles and Queen, two bands that I hold in the highest regard. I love musicals and pop, rock and hiphop, and even some country (though, it took awhile; I used to whine about country all the time). Music lives inside me and I couldn't kick it out even if I wanted to.

On Thursday night, Hubby and I went to Madison to see Pentatonix perform. For those not in the know, Pentatonix is an a cappella group. They won the last season of The Sing-Off, an all a cappella competition on NBC (which, sadly, has since been canceled; Heaven forbid we have a show that displays actual talent...). To say they're amazing is an understatement, and they certainly didn't disappoint the other night. 

For those who watched The Sing-Off, they performed the Britney medley, Born To Be Wild, Let's Get It On, Dog Days Are Over, Love Lockdown, OMG, Stuck Like Glue, Video Killed the Radio Star and Telephone (which was their audition piece). For those with their album, they performed Baddest Girl, Aha!, We Are Young, and Somebody I Used To Know (but they didn't do "Love You Long Time" - booooo!). They did a few other songs as well (check out their Youtube channel if you're interested; if you love a cappella, you should fall in love pretty quickly), and were on stage for a surprising amount of time! We even got to sing with Avi and Kevin for a bit while the core trio took a little break. Sooooo fun!

PTX is just one of many concerts I've been to in my life (check out my Musicality page for a taste), and I am so grateful that talented people like them (and their opener, SJ) are willing to travel all across the country (and even the world) to share their musicality with other music-loving folks like yours truly. I'm thankful that music is so prevalent in my life and that if I want to listen to some, all I have to do is open iTunes or head to Youtube and I have a plethora of music to choose from. I'm thankful for music that relaxes me and music that energizes me. I'm thankful for meaningful songs that touch my heart and I'm thankful for catchy pop tunes that just make me feel good. 

All around, I am thankful for music and everything it does for me. In fact, I think I'll go listen to some now. :)

So You're Going To A Concert...

I was recently asked what my concert "rules" would be.  After some thought, the following are some suggestions I have to help make everyone's concert-going experience a bit better.

• If you're going to show up late, make sure you do so appropriately.  At concert venues like The Rave in Milwaukee, it's not really a problem to show up late.  People often move around to visit the bars, check out merch and whatnot, so it's not much of a disturbance.  Just be aware that you may not get the best view of the stage.  If you're attending a concert with assigned seats or visiting a nicer/less informal venue, try to be a bit stealthier.  Or, at minimum, make sure your entrance doesn't sound like a herd of elephants running from a giant pack of rodents.
• Dress appropriately.  I remember getting dressed up (in some sense) for concerts when I was younger, so I get it.  But seriously?  Consider a few things when dressing for a concert:
• No matter what you wear, the likelihood that the artist is going to see you and fall madly in love with you is slim to none.  It's nice to dream, but reality has to kick in sometime, kids.
• You have to deal with whatever you choose to wear.  If it's 20 degrees outside and you're dressed up in a mini skirt and heels, I don't want to hear you complaining that it's cold.  (Of course it's cold!  Did you think you were going to be magically transported from your car into the venue?  Doubtful.)  Also, if you dress like a skank and get hit on all night, don't act surprised or grossed out.  You wanted the attention, you got it.  Basically, the moral is: You chose it, you live with it.  Period.
• Hats are OK if you plan to stay toward the back of the crowd, but otherwise, just leave it at home.  You might think it makes you look cool or fit in with the crowd, but odds are someone is going to secretly hate you because your hat is blocking their view.  This goes for big hair, also.  
• Being drunk is fine; being drunk and obnoxious is not.  I have no problem if you want to get a bit drunk and listen to some awesome music.  Have fun!  But once you reach the point of obnoxious, take my advice and stay by the bar.  If you start screaming, dry humping, bumping into people, etc, the likelihood that you're going home short a few teeth is going to increase.  Most of us paid to see the show.  If our experience is ruined because you just had to push your limits, we might just push back.  And if you're really so horny that you have to get it on RIGHT NOW, take it to your car.
• If you aren't interested in the show, shut the hell up.  Maybe you're bored because you don't know the opening act or because you're "forced" to be there as a chaperone for your teenie-boppers.  It happens, I get it.  But that does NOT mean that you should try to have a full-blown conversation above the music.  Here's a shocker: People around you might actually be interested in what's going on!  I'm not saying everyone should be silent, but shouting to one another about the mundane details of your life isn't going to endear you to anyone.
• As a side note to this, phone conversations at a concert aren't only rude, they're pointless.  The person on the other end of the convo probably can't understand what you're saying or hear you over the music/crowd/etc.  If your phone rings and you HAVE to answer, step into a stairway or something.  Shouting, "What?!  WHAT?!" into your phone is just as disruptive as shouting at the person next to you.
• Last, but not least: Be appreciative.  Don't take any concert for granted; you never know if you'll get the opportunity again!  Artists are busy, and they have a lot of places they'd like to (or have to) be, but right then and there, they are playing for you.  Soak it in!  If you can't appreciate the work that goes into shows, then you're better off watching DVD specials and youtube clips.

What are your concert-going rules?  Anything vital that I missed?  Let me know!

Talking To The Moon

Despite a frustrating day of work (my internet connection was spotty all morning and part of the afternoon), yesterday was a good day.  The hubs and I grabbed some dinner at Chipotle (where the best tortilla chips in the world come from) and then headed to The Rave to see Bruno Mars.  

Here are a few notes from last night's concert:

Janelle Monae

The opener for Bruno was Janelle Monae.  Janelle is a small, eccentric woman with a beautiful voice and a style lost on most of the Milwaukee audience.  Hubby and I agreed that the instruments mostly overpowered Janelle's vocals (and were effing LOUD).  While I could tell she was singing, and that she has a great voice, I couldn't make out her lyrics 90% of the time.  Also, a lot of her "singing" was mostly a-lyrical, as best I could tell.  It was meant to show off her voice, which is great and all, but hard for an audience to get into.  

One fun thing Janelle did was a fantastic cover of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back."  Honest to God, she rocked the hell out of that song.  Not only was it a major crowd-pleaser, her voice was a PERFECT match for a young MJ.  She also did a cover of "Smile" as sung by Nat King Cole (or, as many people know it, the Charlie Chaplin song) that was...  different.  I appreciated her using such a beautiful song, but again, it seemed like the point was merely to showcase her voice, not to connect to the song itself. 

Janelle also did something I'd never seen before: she painted while she sang.  Yes.  Painted.  As in, created a painting.  Nothing spectacular, mind you, but it was an interesting experience.  It was almost like watching her in a non-performance setting.  You could picture her at home, painting and singing, lost in her own little world.  It was a nice break from reality.

Bruno Mars

Bruno made the whole concert worthwhile.  He is fantastic to watch live!  He engages the audience, and in watching him perform, you know you're watching someone who absolutely loves what he's doing.  It was breathtaking to say the least.

It was a mixture of emotions.  Bruno started things off (donning a Harley-Davidson t-shirt and a fedora) by getting the crowd rev'd up (which included a lot of hip thrusting, some of which was in "slow motion"), asked them to put down their cameras and dance along to songs like "Runaway Baby" and "Liquor Store Blues" (which, of course, few did because this is the age of digital media; capture whatever you can, whenever you can).  Along with his own songs, he also played the snippets of other songs he's known for, like the chorus of Travi's "Billionaire" and his part in B.o.B.'s "Nothing On You."

Later, he chose a girl from the front of the audience to sing the last bits of a song to.  She didn't get to go on stage or anything, but the camera was on her, and she was one happy gal!  He wooed the audience with "Our First Time" and wowed us with some amazing a capella harmonies with his backup singers (who were much more like "along-side singers" since they were by no means confined to the background).  

One of my favorite parts of the night had to be when he informed us that the gentleman on stage with him was the voice you hear on the radio and on the album saying, "Oh my God, that was great," during "The Lazy Song" (who may be the same guy in the video, come to think of it).  Bruno took such delight in our reaction to this news, that he kept cracking up a bit, and actually made the audience quiet down so they could re-play that part of the song as proof.  It was excellent.

He ended his set with "Just The Way You Are," which was definitely a favorite.  As people began to file out, I looked for the tell-tale signs of an encore (instruments left on stage, lights not fully turned on, etc).  Sure enough, he came out to do an encore of "Talking To The Moon," my favorite of his songs.  I was almost in tears!  It was a perfect ending to the night.  :)    

The Rave / Eagle's Ballroom

For the first time ever, I decided to spring for the "VIP Balcony" tickets.  My reasoning was that there were bound to be fewer people up there, and it wouldn't be quite as crowded.  While that was technically true, it just wasn't what I was hoping for.

It was ridiculously hard to get a good view of the stage.  Unless you get there uber early and snag some of the balcony seats (of which there are surprisingly few), you're going to be standing.  Since we got there around 7:15 (the show "started" at 7, but Janelle didn't go on until 7:30 or later), we were in maybe the 3rd "row" of standing, so to speak.  I picked a spot where I had a shot of the stage and figured it was good enough.  Until some woman decided she was going to stand right in front of me.  I couldn't even get a good view of the massive screens they had set up!

There was nothing "VIP" about the experience.  I felt they oversold the balcony, so it was almost as packed as the main floor (fewer people, but also less space to occupy); and I would've been able to see the stage better from the main floor.  Totally not worth spending the extra $10-$15 a ticket (or whatever it was).  

The worst part about the whole thing came about 2/3 through Bruno's set: the drunk sluts.  Now, you may think this is harsh, but allow me to paint a picture for you.  

Hubby and I are enjoying ourselves, loving Mr. Mars and all he has to offer, and suddenly there are these girls behind us in shiny shirts, short skirts, and drinks in their hands.  They're not steady on their feet, and are saying things like, "Grenade!  Do Grenade!" and "I don't feel good..."  (Thankfully, the one who said that went away shortly thereafter.)  Then while Bruno's singing "Count On Me," a great song about friendship and being there for people you love, they're saying over and over, "I don't know this song.  Do you?  I don't know it."  (Maybe if you bought his CD and didn't rely on the radio to tell you what to listen to, you'd know it, bitch.)  

"Grenade" finally comes on, and the girls go nuts.  Their screaming was louder than the entire concert itself.  I actually had to cup my ears to block them out and concentrate on Bruno.  I turn to look at my husband and one of the girls is now making out with a guy (who, dear God, I hope was with them).  Not just making out, though.  Hardcore making out.  He had her wrapped around his waist and I thought they might swallow each other or fall over (or both).  During the course of this, they kept bumping into Hubby, who hadn't turned around to see what was going on and was less than pleased when I told him later.  Needless to say, it was nasty.  I've said it once and I'll say it again: if you just want to get drunk and have sex, go to a g-d bar.  People pay good money to be at concerts for the music, not to see some amateur porn.

Anywhoozles, I've also determined that unless someone else extremely fabulous comes to The Rave, this was probably my last show there.  It's just not my scene anymore.  I prefer smaller shows; or at least shows with seats that I can default to or room to move away from loud, drunken bitches...

So that, my lovelies, is my account of last night's show.  Ta da! 

Disney References, Molestaches & Mexican Wrestlers

As you can probably (not) tell from the title of this post, it was a most excellent/interesting weekend.  Allow me to explain.

Disney References: Friday night and much of Saturday was spent studying for my Meteo final, which I took Saturday night.  Now, as I may (or may not) have mentioned, I am not a fan of the professor/instructor for this class.  Within the first few weeks, he put me off by seeming unfriendly and unwilling to accept criticism.  He also didn't give great answers to questions when they were asked (he was one of those, "Well, what do YOU think the answer is?" kind of teachers), nor did he do much in the way of feedback.  Boo.  

Anywhoozles, I started the exam on Saturday night after TONS of studying, and I actually had to give the prof some credit.  For one, the exam wasn't nearly as brutal as it could have been (it was cumulative for the whole semester, which made me think it would be the death of me).  Many of the questions were very straightforward (whereas questions on weekly quizzes had often been hard to follow or tricky), which was much appreciated.  But what really got me was one of the first questions.  I forget what the actual question was, but it was related to water, and it essentially asked, "The concept of blahblahblah relates to the idea that ____________."  Since all questions were multiple choice, I had 4 answers to pick from.  Fortunately, I knew the right answer, so when one of the possible choices was, "All drains lead to the ocean," I actually giggled.  All I could think of was Finding Nemo, and that helped me relax for the rest of the exam.  I got an A.  :-)

Molestaches: Sunday was a lazy day, since it was my first day being done with the semester.  I did almost nothing all day.  But last night was an event I had been looking forward to for a loooooong time.  Yes, my dears, I went to see Bowling For Soup!  They.  Were.  AWESOME!  Fortunately for us, Shank Hall is a smaller venue in the Milwaukee area, so it was a relatively small concert.  As such, a girl in the audience (near the stage) raised her hand.  "Um, we normally don't do Q&A, but what the hell!  What's your question?"  The girl then asked why the bassist had decided to grow a molestache (aka a mustache that makes one look like a molester).

Now, the poor guy wasn't feeling well.  He had almost no voice, but he didn't let it stop him from not only playing, but completely rocking out.  Instead of taking the blow of a potentially harsh insult, he actually retorted with, "Maybe you'll find out later."  I about pissed myself.  LOVED it.  

Mexican Wrestlers:  On our way home from the show, we went through part of downtown Milwaukee.  During this drive, my husband randomly said, "There's a Mexican wrestler over there."  I looked out my window and there was a group of 3 people walking, one of which had a Mexican wrestling mask on (along with the standard T-shirt and jeans attire of springtime in Wisconsin).  "Huh...  So there is!"  

Clearly, it was a fantastic weekend.  Well, aside from a whole day of studying on Saturday.  But still!  At least I got an A out of all that studying.  Booya!

Also, for those interested, Bowling For Soup was a great show to see.  If you get the chance, I encourage you to go!  Not only are their songs fun and full of energy, the band members themselves seem to have a great time on stage, which makes it even more fun for everyone involved.

Oh!  And before I forget, I am now one of a handful of people who can say that they learned of Bin Laden's death from Bowling For Soup.  Random, but awesome!    

Sing... Sing a Song...

So this is random, but I figured it was a good time to give a peek into my weird taste in music.

There are 3 bands/artists that dominate my iTunes list:

• The Beatles - There's really no explanation needed here.  Even if you don't like the Beatles (which is clearly wrong, and you must have some kind of defect that keeps you from enjoying the better things in life), you have to admit that they were pretty iconic.  I grew up listening to the Beatles with my parents, and now I have nearly every Beatles song recorded in my possession.
• No Doubt - This is actually by accident, sort of.  Don't get me wrong - I love No Doubt.  I grew up on Gwen and the gang!  Tragic Kingdom was actually one of the first CDs I owned (the very first being The Score by The Fugees).  But the only reason I have as many No Doubt songs on my computer as I do is because we went to see them play at Summerfest in 2009.  After we bought our tickets, we got access to download every single No Doubt song recorded - for free.  How could I pass that up?
• The Glee Cast - Yes, I am a full out Gleek.  Love, love, LOVE everything about Glee!  The show, the music, the actors...  Everything about it makes me happy in my heart (to borrow a phrase from my bestie).  As such, I own a plethora of Glee songs!

 So, that's probably not too weird, I guess.  Taking a look around my "25 Most Played" songs, Glee easily has the majority of the list on lock-down.  However, also on that list are Chris Brown, Queen, Buckcherry, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, 3OH!3, Incubus, Badfinger and Murray Head.  

If that's not eclectic enough for you, you should see the list of bands I've seen live.  It goes all over the board, from Peter, Paul & Mary (whom I actually saw in concert twice) to Pat Benetar, Sugarcult to Sugarland, and 311 to 3OH!3.  Sadly, I'm getting to the point in life where I'm really not up for the screaming and insanity that many concerts bring (we've left a few concerts early), so the number of shows I'm attending has dropped significantly in the past year or two (though, you wouldn't know it by looking at the past few weeks - sheesh!).  

Anywhoozles, there's really no point to this post, but why not?  (Ah!  Ah!  I said it!  That's the title!)  I leave you with the following random songs that you should probably listen to, just for fun.  Or not.  Your call. 

"Hold On Tight" - Electric Light Orchestra

"Hard To Believe" - VOTA

"We Belong" - Pat Benetar

"Time Of The Season" - The Zombies

"Take A Chance On Me" - ABBA

One Post - Two Thoughts

So, this really probably should be two separate posts, but, that's just not going to happen, so bear with me.

Thought # 1 - Take your ass-grabbing elsewhere!

Hubby and I went to a concert last night (3OH!3, for anyone interested).  While there, I noticed several things that made me feel...  well, old.  

Many of the kids there were dressed in the most bizarre ways.  

• Mini dresses seemed to be a trend.  I saw several of these.  Not surprising, I guess, but it wasn't exactly mini-dress weather.  It was about 30 degrees last night.  And there was a breeze.  
• Also prevalent were shirts that were purposely cut/torn across the front, seemingly to draw attention to the girl's bra (which was clearly visible, if not sticking out of the cuts in said shirt) and stomach.  I saw a few of these, and most of them looked pretty awful.
• Flannel.  What the f*ck is with the flannel?
• Douchebags with baseball caps were also pretty much everywhere.  It's to be expected, I guess, but jeez.

Seeing all of this made me realize that I have grown up.  I don't dress to "impress" at concerts anymore.  I dress to be comfortable - jeans and a t-shirt, usually a sweatshirt...  No makeup, don't do anything special to my hair...  Just... Me.  In fact, as I pointed out to the hubs, I was even wearing knee socks under my jeans to keep myself extra warm.  Call me a nerd or whatever, but I was comfy.

Then he asked the following question: "How many of the people in this crowd do you think own a house?"  

Well, crap.  I looked around, there were maybe one or two other couples who could've been homeowners.  And, of course, a few parents playing chaperon were probably in the same boat.  But mostly, these were high school and college kids.  Most of them likely didn't even have their own apartments, let alone a house.

Then 3OH!3 asked the crowd how many went to the UW...  Holy shit.  At least in the balcony (where we were), it had to have been a good 80-90% who responded in the positive.  No wonder so many people were drunk as hell!

And yet, I could have forgiven all of it, until I saw one of the couples in front of us.

The female was more than likely drunk, as she seemed pretty wobbly (not to mention they were both holding drinks).  The guy was one of the aforementioned douchebags wearing a baseball cap.  And a few minutes into the main event, his hand went to grab her ass and didn't leave her body until she decided to sit down.  It didn't stay on her ass the whole time (though, that seemed to be his favorite part of her body)...  Oh, no.  I saw some boob grabbing as well.  And, of course, they were having a battle of the tongues, right there in front of us.

My thought is this:  Why in the world would you pay $20-$30 each to come to a concert, get trashed, and grab on each other, when you could do it for cheaper at a bar, club or in your own place?  

Seriously.  Grossness of way too much PDA aside, it just seems ridiculous to me to pay that much just to cop a feel or two.  Mind you, the $20-$30 is just for the ticket - jaeger bombs were going for $6 a piece!  PBR was $4 each!  And neither of those are going to get you drunk with one purchase.  

Yes, I know, they could have started drinking elsewhere.  In fact, I'd guarantee they did.  But they each had at least one drink while there, so now that $20-$30 each becomes $25-$35 each.  We're talking over $50 just to come make out?  Here's an idea: GET A ROOM!  It would be about the same (or a little more) to get a cheap motel room - which you can keep for the whole night - as it would to go to a concert for a few hours (and not even remember what the band was like because you were drinking and sucking face the whole time).

Note: Before you go asking me why I was watching, I didn't have much of a choice.  From where we were sitting, they were directly in my line of view while trying to watch the show.  When hands and tongues are flying all over the place, it's pretty distracting.

Thought # 2 - Happy Anniversary, Maxine!

On a MUCH more positive note, one year ago today we adopted the best dog in the whole world.  Maxine has now been a part of our family for a year, and we couldn't be happier!  In fact, it feels like there was never a time BEFORE we had her.  :-)

So happy anniversary, Maxine McPupperkins!  We love you so much!!