I have been to several concerts this summer. It may be safe to say that I am Concert-ed (I made that up) out. While each one was super fun in it's own way, I think I will be happy to take a break from it all for a while... Unless Ben Folds or Brandon Flowers decides to come here... Or Steven Page... Or The Hip.. Or.. ok, i'll stop.
I have decided to give you lucky people a rundown of each of the shows I went to. In no particular order:
She and Him- Royal Oak Music Theater
I am shocked that I was able to find video from this concert because security was SO tight regarding cameras and recording devices. Every 5 minutes someone was getting yelled at for taking pictures. The show itself was awesome. Zooey Deschanel is adorable and has an incredible voice and can rock a tambourine! Dennis and I had a great time despite the PACKED in crowd, smelly people and being crazy tired from being on our feet for so long.
Gaelic Storm- The Ark in Ann Arbor
First off, if you have never been to The Ark for a concert, you need to. It is by far, the coolest place to see a live show. It's intimate and relaxing and you feel like you are in someone's basement. It's just really, really cool. Secondly, the majority of you probably don't know who Gaelic Storm is. In short, they are a ridiculously fun Irish band that Jeff and I adore. We love them a lot and they make us happy. To see a band like this at The Ark was such a treat. They talked to the crowd, told stories and just rocked the place. It was such a good show! The following video isn't from our particular concert, but it is just a taste of what a fun group they are. It's a true story about how the lead singer (Patrick Murphy) got into a fight with Russell Crowe years ago. Jeff and I love this song! Also, the boy off to the side, in the blue shirt is Peter Purvis. He is crazy, CRAZY talented. I am pretty sure he can play every instrument there ever was. Oh, and I have a real big crush on him. He's so cute.
Barenaked Ladies- The Toledo Zoo
It's kind of weird to see a concert at a zoo. It's even more weird to see a concert at a zoo, in Ohio. Ohio-ans are different. The seats we had (the actual seats, not the location) were so uncomfortable. Giant metal bleachers, ugh. This was mine and Carrie's first post-Steven Page BNL show. They sounded great and were just as fun as ever. They still sing some Steve songs. Some are done really well ("Old Apartment"), others are not ("Sound of Your Voice"). We had a lot of fun and it felt SO nice to be back laughing, dancing and listening to our most favorite band ever. The video below is from that show. It's also mine and Carrie's (lybf) favorite BNL song and believe me when I say, we were ecstatic that they played it. Ecstatic.
Tom Petty- Palace of Auburn Hills
This was an extra special concert because my whole family was going. Mom, Dad, Dennis, Jay, Natalie and myself. An occasion like that hasn't happened in a very long time. Unfortunately, my dad ended up getting really sick and wasn't able to go, but he was with us in spirit!! I was sick as well, but was able to enjoy myself. This is one of those concerts where you just know EVERY song they play. Seriously, everyone knows every song. It's so much fun! They sounded awesome and Tom Petty's voice is exactly the same as it was years ago. We had some super fans in front of us that danced really wacky and were on their feet the entire time, but I can respect that because they were having fun. Not only that, but they provided Dennis and I with some extra entertainment and when you go to a concert, there SHOULD be super fans. That's what it's all about, right? This video is from our show. I chose "American Girl" for my mom because after all, she is An American Girl!
Barenaked Ladies/Kris Allen- Pine Knob (DTE, whatever)
This show had a bit of drama, to put it lightly. We were asked to sit down by 3 different people (1 of which wasn't even in the correct seats) during Kris Allen and during BNL. Sit down? At a concert? No. I paid good money to see these people. I am a Proctor. My parents are Tom and Carol Proctor, I KNOW how to act at a concert, seeing as I have been to countless of them. YOU DO NOT SIT DOWN AT A CONCERT. Aside from that crap, we had a fantastic time at this show. Kris Allen was great and sounded amazing. Natalie and I were so excited to see him and he did such a good job. He sang a bunch of songs off his album and did a few covers as well, including "Man In the Mirror" and "Heartless". I can honestly say that I can't wait to see him again.
BNL were fantastic as per usual. They sang a few songs that we haven't heard them play in years and I love when that happens. We had great seats for this show and that made it even more fun (even though we were asked to sit down and politely declined). Kevin sang "Sound of Your Voice" again and thankfully it wasn't as horrendous as the first time I heard it. Though, I still wish he would just stop it. They have found their groove without Steven and I think that's great. But I have to admit that I still miss seeing him up there, doing his super kicks and hearing his voice. Each of the following videos were from our concert.
And seriously, go ahead and tell me Kris Allen isn't adorable. He's so handsome.
I picked an adlib clip for BNL because it's about Pine Knob and it's fun.
Green Day- Pine Knob
I have been to several Green Day concerts (the first one, being 16yrs ago, as was pointed out to me by Dennis). One of the things that's sort of frustrating about them is that they tend to do the same show over and over and over again (all while sounding great of course), so much so that we pretty much know when Billie Joe is going to say certain things. I am so happy to say that this was not the case last night. FINALLY they changed it up (for the most part) and did SO many old school songs, we were losing our minds. It was SO. Much. Fun. We were on the hill, which was a lot of fun. There were no people being holes around us (with the exception of one girl who would NOT shut up) and we brought a picnic basket and a cooler and relaxed. They sounded fantastic and we danced and sang at the top of our lungs and it was just a really awesome time. I love when bands change their set list. I LOVE it and I was so happy they decided to do that. Billie Joe swears A LOT. He also says "MICHIGAN!!!" a lot and "AAAAAAAAA OOOOOOOO" and it's fantastic. The video is from last night's show. This is the only one I could find, otherwise I would have put a song from Kerplunk! or one of the older songs on here.
My summer concert extravaganza has ended and I enjoyed each and every show. I love music and I love people who appreciate music. Just remember the next time you go to a show that everyone is there for the same reason; to listen to the band and enjoy themselves. No one needs to be knocking anyone else for whatever it is they are doing. Just sing, dance and be merry, people!
