meriones | Entries tagged with concert recap

Ushered the Gaelic Storm concert at the zoo tonight and was inspired by all the dudes in kilts to post this photo. You're welcome. ;P

Gaelic Storm play the zoo every year so I decidd this year I would actually sign up to work their show. Glad I did because they are very entertaining. I don't think a lot of people that follow me here are familiar with the duo Ant and Dec, but the banter between songs was very Ant and Dec like.

My favorite line of the evening? "Speaking of hurting people's brains, this next song is dedicated to Justin Bieber." There was also this great bit during one of their songs that happens to be about a racehorse donkey. At one point that got the whole audience to mime the racing a horse movement with their arms. He looked at everyone and said "Wow! You look absolutely stupid." lol made all the better with his thick Irish accent.

Oh, and they had four Irish step dancers come out and dance for a song which was a fun treat.

Boyz II Men concert at the zoo tonight. SO AMAZING! I knew I was gonna love it but they went above and beyond my expectations. So so good - I miss hearing harmonizing vocal groups in top 40 music these days.

Opened and closed the show with Motown Philly which was strange but I can't complain because I love that song. Highlight for me was teaching the history of motown with a medley complete with that old school behind the mic stand choreography. They could have done that the entire show and I would've been happy. Several other covers as well. Lonestar's Amazed, The Goo Goo Dolls Iris, Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me (I had a Glambert moment over that, I ain't afraid to admit it lol) and then when their back track cut off they did an impromptu a cappella cover of Yesterday. Beautiful.

And Shawn kept trying to karate chop the mosquitoes. Sadly no bats went diving under the stage lights. That always gets an amusing reaction out of the band on stage.

Basically it just made me miss *NSYNC even more than I already do and now I want Justin to finally get his act together and agree to a reunion tour. Because you know the other four guys would be up for it if Justin agreed.

Oh, and the opening act was awesome as well. Local beatboxer by the name of Heatbox. He had foot pedals where he'd record his opening beatboxing rhythm and play in on a loop while he sang and did other sound effects over the top. Highlight was when he covered The Doors "Riders on the Storm," Flight of the Bumblebee, and the theme music to Tetris. It was so cool how he kept speeding it up and then at the end started miming the falling game pieces with his hands. I cracked up good over that!

Next week at the zoo is my final concert of the season - Gaelic Storm

Typed this out last night but LJ wasn't working so here it is now...

Jack's Mannequin show at the zoo. This was the one I was looking forward to most out of all the show's this season as it's most closely resembles the type of concert I'd go to anyway. I had seen Something Corporate open for Good Charlotte back in 2004 so it was nice to experience that vibe once again as it hasn't changed much. Andrew still rocks out on piano with his two microphones (has there ever been an explanation as to why he has two? I always find it amusing how he jumps back and forth between the two every five words.) jumping on top of the piano and stomping on the keys. And lots of lulzy spaz dancing which I can always appreciate. The only thing different is back then he had an upright and now it's a big ol' grand!

One fun bit was when they decided to change their name to The Bird Show for the night. A few songs later he continues the joke about the name change and almost on cue you see something dart over everyone onstage and Andrew was "did a bird fly over my head just now?!" Guitarist responds "uh, I think that was a bat." Cue the band changing their name to "The Bat Show" lol

Steel Train was great as well. I knew I'd dig them when first song it they had two dudes banging on drums. The lead singer bantered a ton and chatted back and forth with the audience which was great. Best part was when he was interrupted by a plane flying overhead and made a reference to the bar scene in the movie That Thing You Do. He also decided that the zoo venue was like Red Rocks but cooler, and yelled "WERK!" in response to something an audience member said in return. I was like "he just said werk. SOLD!" lol. And during the very last song all four members of the band were banging on the drumset which was awesome.

Florence + The Machine concert at the zoo tonight, so quick recap before I go to bed (gotta be back at the zoo by 8:15 tomorrow morning for a tour of the new penguin exhibit!). Got in while she was doing a soundcheck party for some radio station contest winners. Was happy to hear "The Dog Days Are Over" because I knew I would have to leave before she got to that song.

After the soundcheck she went to do an interview and they ended up in the amphitheater bathrooms while the opener did soundcheck. It was amusing because guests were starting to come in and some were all "OMG she's right on the other side of that door" so I played with them being all "OMG she walked right by me and her dress touched me!" lol and then they finished up right as I was at the door refilling my water bottle so I got yet another quick meeting with her. I didn't know she was so tall! I'm about a half inch shy of 6 foot even and she was close to the same.

Opening act Hanni El Khatib was awesome! Kind of a mix between The Black Keys and The White Stripes. In fact one song I could totally hum the guitar riff of "Seven nation Army" over and later had a very "Fell in love with a Girl" type vocals. I definitely planning on checking out his music when I get the chance.

And then Florence + The Machine. She had changed into this really flowy "red riding hood" red dress/cape thing and it reminded me of Adam's Sleepwalker coat and now I want her red dress as well. She had a wind machine and stage fog and she just spun around dancing with it flowing and fluttering around (sometimes with an added tambourine, sometimes jumping around and banging on a drum) with her being all adorable like. I wish I was able to bring my camera with when I usher because it was so wonderfully visual and photogenic. And wow girl has got some powerful vocals and can hit some high notes! Like she made some sounds I don't think I've ever heard come out of a human before! And it's crazy how loud and big her vocals are when you hear how softspoken she is when talking.

And we left just as the thunderstorms were rolling in. Really pretty drive home watching the lightning along the horizon.

Okay, really need to go try and get some sleep. I'll come back and fix any typos and maybe add some stuff tomorrow.

Day 04: Describe in detail the best concert you've been to

Sorry, but picking a "best" concert is just an impossible task. Each show has it's own special moments and unique qualities to it. That being said, I've already written a concert recap for nearly every show I've ever been to, so I'm gonna link to the two recaps I'm most proud of. Surprise surprise they are my Glam Nation recaps: Mystic Lake Casino and Walnut Street Bridge

And yeah, I really need to start working on my Linkin Park recap some day soon...

( The Prompts )

Over 6000 words worth of recap for your reading pleasure, with at least half of it actually being on topic! I probably could have cut out all the spots where my mind wandered, but what's the fun in that? lol

( Party on a Bridge! A Magical Bridge of Hope and Wonder!! )

Current photo in the lead in the Barnyard Animals category for the zoo's official photo contest. My photo is also a finalist in this category, was running in first on day one of voting in fact, but this photo is my second favorite photo of the entire competition and I would rather see it win anyway. My favorite photo in the entire competition, and what I hope wins the grand prize, is this awesome coral reef photo. LOVE IT! Actually was my desktop wallpaper for a week or so.

Anyway...I've been doing a terrible job updating this month, haven't I? Today at the farm was the one day all summer absolutely all the volunteers were present, and so it was group photo day. I bring my tripod and we set up on the farmhouse staircase. Four of the volunteers were afternoon arrivals, so they were photographed separate and I get to put my horrible photoshopping skills to work combining us into one photo. Goody.

Read the latest guest comments during lunch. I had a good time reading all comments flowing with praise at how awesome the bird show and Dave is. And then there was a quick glimmer of jealousy that these people actually got to see Dave do a show for once. Only one Dave show all year while with some trainers I've seen them do the show half a dozen times. The shows are still great without Dave but man, are they absolutely amazing with him. That's the only time you get dueling parrots, random "Pants on the Ground" references, imitations of vulture food, superhero strongman skits, bad British accents (well, besides that one entirely Harry Potter themed birdshow lol), OTT facial expressions and enough ridiculousness to make me nearly fall to the ground crying with laughter.

I also ushered two concerts this month. Last week was George Thorogood and the week prior? HANSON! One of the most interesting shows I've ushered at the zoo yet. Number two right behind Reel Big Fish. I mean really - you know you're in for a treat when most of the ushers come dressed like this. I just wish I had gotten the pigtail memo. It was also the only time I've ever seen a line before doors at a zoo show. And they were there lining up since 3 in the afternoon! In the heat and humidity and pouring rain. For a reserved seating show! Hanson fans are hardcore, y'all!

( nearly getting struck by lightning for MMMBop - totally worth it! )

9 more days until I'm seeing Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta in concert again!! SQUEEEEE!!!

Current Mood: tired

The show was a month ago tonight, but I finally got this thing posted! It ventures into tl;dr territory, is a bit image heavy and I make way too many random references. I linked video/photo to all of them to help those out that may have no idea what I'm talking about, lol.

And if you manage to make it through the whole thing there's some downloadable audio/visual fun that you may enjoy. ;)
( Welcome to Glam Nation... )