I've been to three concerts in the past eleven days. I know, I'm a wild woman. But the concert last night was so incredible that I had to write about it and why it was so much better than the other shows I've recently attended. But instead of jumping into last night, let's set this off in chronological order.
9/11: Rebelution "Good Vibes" Tour: To be fair, I went to this concert after a long day of flying on airplanes to travel to Maryland. I'd slept about four hours the night before and maybe for an hour or two during the jaunt between Denver and Washington D.C. and I felt exhausted before we even got to the show. However, I love Rebelution. I love their chill reggae music and the way I can just sit back and relax (or dance) while listening to them. They're probably my favorite reggae group, if I had to pick one.
Funny story about this show: my sister-in-law Alex and I were walking to Pier Six in Baltimore, where the show was located. We weren't totally sure we were walking in the right direction after parking the car, but it seemed as though there were others walking in our same general direction, so we were fairly sure of our course. In any case, there was a Jewish man in front of us, and since Matisyahu was opening for Rebelution, we thought that maybe the Jewish man was going to the show since he was walking the same way (I know, I know, that's generalizing things a bit, but whatever). Alex and I decided to follow the pair (there was also a tall, pale man with a shaved head walking with him), and we'd only been behind them for a minute or two when Alex realized that the tall bald man in front of us was Matisyahu! How exciting! I was wearing my Matisyahu t-shirt and everything, but I didn't believe Alex because I've never seen Matisyahu without hair. I've seen him both bearded and clean-shaven, but never bald. We were still walking behind these men, so I couldn't see their faces, but Alex was certain. She walked over to the tall man and told him that she recognized him and that we were big fans. All he quietly said was, "That's good" and didn't even turn around to look at me. He turned and walked away from us even more quickly than he'd been walking before. When Alex and I finally got through the gates, Matisyahu's companion came over and apologized, telling me that Matisyahu hadn't meant to be rude but that he'd been resting his voice for the show (he was due to go on in fifteen minutes). I told him I understood, but I'll never forget how cold he was compared to his lyrics about love and peace.
His show was good, as usual, and Alex and I still danced and had fun, but at the end of the show, I couldn't help but notice that the group who came onstage to dance during the last song had evolved from an eager bunch of Jewish children to a party of scantily dressed teenage girls, and I couldn't help but feel like Matisyahu has really sold out. By the time Rebelution was half-way through their set we were ready to be away from the giant crowd and away from the noise (our seats were next to the speakers and the music was TOO LOUD!). We went and sat on the water and listened to Rebelution's melodies from afar before leaving early to get dinner. It certainly wasn't Rebelution's fault we didn't have an amazing time, but Matisyahu had kind of killed our mood. The show was good, but if I get bored half-way through and want to leave, there's probably a problem.
9/13: Blue October "Sway" Tour: I've loved Blue October for a long time. I started listening to them back in high school, and they're one of the few bands that have aged well from my musical collection (in my opinion). We got to the concert a little late, but the opening band was really good. East coasters don't really rock out at concerts, but I did see a few dancing and jumping around, so I didn't feel as self-conscious about doing the same. The sound at this venue (The Fillmore in Silver Springs, Maryland) was spectacular. There was a perfect balance in the sound system between the music and vocals, and I didn't feel like my ear drums were going to burst because of the volume. This show was really fun. I loved the electric violin, and they played a few of the older songs that I knew and a few new ones that I grew to quickly love. This was an excellent show.
9/20: Hanson "Anthem" Tour: Holy crap. The opening band (Paul McDonald)? Amazing. He had a way of warming up the crowd that I've rarely seen. So many people were dancing from the beginning that it made it easy to be hyped about Hanson (if we weren't already)... I get it that this crowd would've been excited anyway because of the anticipation (I've never seen Hanson in concert, but I've been a fan since elementary school), but Paul McDonald blew us away. Then, obviously Hanson kicked butt. Like, seriously. They got us excited. They got us dancing. They got us to scream and sing and harmonize and jump just by asking. I haven't been in a crowd that passionate maybe ever. And they were nice. They were happy we were happy. They loved when we cheered. And they were grateful and humble. My mom, sister, and I waited outside of the show after the concert and had a chance to meet Zac. Oh my goodness. He was probably my first celebrity crush (ever), and I got a picture with him. He was sweet to my sister (who was so excited she was shaking), and he signed our cds. If we would've waited, I'm confident we could have gotten all of Hanson's autographs, but it was late and we were exhausted, so we left after meeting Zac. This concert was BY FAR the best and completely blew the other two away.
9/11: Rebelution "Good Vibes" Tour: To be fair, I went to this concert after a long day of flying on airplanes to travel to Maryland. I'd slept about four hours the night before and maybe for an hour or two during the jaunt between Denver and Washington D.C. and I felt exhausted before we even got to the show. However, I love Rebelution. I love their chill reggae music and the way I can just sit back and relax (or dance) while listening to them. They're probably my favorite reggae group, if I had to pick one.
Funny story about this show: my sister-in-law Alex and I were walking to Pier Six in Baltimore, where the show was located. We weren't totally sure we were walking in the right direction after parking the car, but it seemed as though there were others walking in our same general direction, so we were fairly sure of our course. In any case, there was a Jewish man in front of us, and since Matisyahu was opening for Rebelution, we thought that maybe the Jewish man was going to the show since he was walking the same way (I know, I know, that's generalizing things a bit, but whatever). Alex and I decided to follow the pair (there was also a tall, pale man with a shaved head walking with him), and we'd only been behind them for a minute or two when Alex realized that the tall bald man in front of us was Matisyahu! How exciting! I was wearing my Matisyahu t-shirt and everything, but I didn't believe Alex because I've never seen Matisyahu without hair. I've seen him both bearded and clean-shaven, but never bald. We were still walking behind these men, so I couldn't see their faces, but Alex was certain. She walked over to the tall man and told him that she recognized him and that we were big fans. All he quietly said was, "That's good" and didn't even turn around to look at me. He turned and walked away from us even more quickly than he'd been walking before. When Alex and I finally got through the gates, Matisyahu's companion came over and apologized, telling me that Matisyahu hadn't meant to be rude but that he'd been resting his voice for the show (he was due to go on in fifteen minutes). I told him I understood, but I'll never forget how cold he was compared to his lyrics about love and peace.
His show was good, as usual, and Alex and I still danced and had fun, but at the end of the show, I couldn't help but notice that the group who came onstage to dance during the last song had evolved from an eager bunch of Jewish children to a party of scantily dressed teenage girls, and I couldn't help but feel like Matisyahu has really sold out. By the time Rebelution was half-way through their set we were ready to be away from the giant crowd and away from the noise (our seats were next to the speakers and the music was TOO LOUD!). We went and sat on the water and listened to Rebelution's melodies from afar before leaving early to get dinner. It certainly wasn't Rebelution's fault we didn't have an amazing time, but Matisyahu had kind of killed our mood. The show was good, but if I get bored half-way through and want to leave, there's probably a problem.
9/13: Blue October "Sway" Tour: I've loved Blue October for a long time. I started listening to them back in high school, and they're one of the few bands that have aged well from my musical collection (in my opinion). We got to the concert a little late, but the opening band was really good. East coasters don't really rock out at concerts, but I did see a few dancing and jumping around, so I didn't feel as self-conscious about doing the same. The sound at this venue (The Fillmore in Silver Springs, Maryland) was spectacular. There was a perfect balance in the sound system between the music and vocals, and I didn't feel like my ear drums were going to burst because of the volume. This show was really fun. I loved the electric violin, and they played a few of the older songs that I knew and a few new ones that I grew to quickly love. This was an excellent show.
9/20: Hanson "Anthem" Tour: Holy crap. The opening band (Paul McDonald)? Amazing. He had a way of warming up the crowd that I've rarely seen. So many people were dancing from the beginning that it made it easy to be hyped about Hanson (if we weren't already)... I get it that this crowd would've been excited anyway because of the anticipation (I've never seen Hanson in concert, but I've been a fan since elementary school), but Paul McDonald blew us away. Then, obviously Hanson kicked butt. Like, seriously. They got us excited. They got us dancing. They got us to scream and sing and harmonize and jump just by asking. I haven't been in a crowd that passionate maybe ever. And they were nice. They were happy we were happy. They loved when we cheered. And they were grateful and humble. My mom, sister, and I waited outside of the show after the concert and had a chance to meet Zac. Oh my goodness. He was probably my first celebrity crush (ever), and I got a picture with him. He was sweet to my sister (who was so excited she was shaking), and he signed our cds. If we would've waited, I'm confident we could have gotten all of Hanson's autographs, but it was late and we were exhausted, so we left after meeting Zac. This concert was BY FAR the best and completely blew the other two away.
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