MOG - summer eyes's Posts

i exhibit wonderful self control.

summer eyes — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:10:17 GMT

suprise suprise, yesterday conor oberst and the mystic valley band came to town.... to play a sold out show at the 681 capacity variety playhouse. of course i was there. in the front.... right up under conor's microphone. im sure you would expect nothing less from me... :]

jen and i spent about half the day up in little five points where the variety playhouse is located. its this really cool little neighborhood in atlanta where all the hipsters live. anyways, they have this awesome assortment of shops (vitage, kitschy, fetishy, and a lot of botique type shops selling pricey alterna-wear.) about three hours beforehand we went back over to the variety and scoped out the line. there were already two people in it, so we decided why not and joined them. i must say, we made friends with the first about 8 people. they became our new bffs. it was definitely the most fun ive ever had hanging out with people before the show. when it was about thirty minutes before doors opened, i went with two of my new friends to a pub up the road to use the loo because they wanted to grab a drink. i walked towards the bathroom in the back and lo and behold, mr. oberst was sitting there eating dinner. moggers, you will never know the supreme amount of self control it took for me not to go over there. i didnt want to interrupt his dinner, and look crazy rude doing it. i am crazy, i am obsessed, but appearantly i even have a little bit of dignity. but i am going to have to have a little conversation with the concert gods about my two narrow misses with my fav artists. its just not fair.

the first band that opened was called RIG 1(i thought they were saying their name was red wine, but their name was really RIG 1 lol). and they were just awful in my opinion. AWFUL. straight up CRAP. usually i can find at least one redeeming feature for a band, but with them i couldnt find any. they were a white boy rap band (like some cheap super nerdy beastie boys wannabes) and they just did not fit in. AT ALL. i might have liked them better if they had been opening for someone else. but they just really werent the same style as the felice bros or conor & co. so i iphoned the whole time they played their set.

then the felice brothers played. its the third time ive seen them and DAMN! they never fail to entertain. their brand of rock and roll made everyone want to dance. so we all did. they just put on a really good show. i highly recommend seeing them live if you get a chance. after they played, i was a little worried that conor might not be able to top their set. they were just that ON.

i shouldnt have worried though. conors set of 19 song was the best two hours of music ive ever heard. well maybe. its at least tied with ben gibbard's solo gig i saw last may. but, i think it even topped when i saw him as bright eyes last, i think it even topped when i saw conor with jenny at the ryman! the last time i heard him he played all the songs on his album, and about half of those were slower. and nobody stood up at all until he played i dont want to die in the hospital. this time, he played a good number of new songs, and many of them were faster songs. i stood there in front of his microphone and danced the whole time! it was seriously the most fun ive had at a concert in a long time. conor is just so HAPPY with the mystic valley and i love that. bright eyes music just speaks to me, and the slower songs he does with the mystic valley band remind me too much of his bright eyes stuff, and then it makes me want to hear old BE favorites. the faster songs he does with the mystic valley band are the ones that really shine, and really stand out to me as something new and different from bright eyes. the encore was especially amazing for me, because when he sang danny callahan during the line "you reach out your hand" conor reached out his hand, and i reached out mine, and for all of about three seconds we held hands. our eyes met. we smiled at each other. and in that moment, i swear we were infinite. (lol i have been waiting years to use that line!) it was epic. actually, i like to think it was some small karmic reward for my amazing display of self control. but anyways, it made my night. he didnt hold anyones elses hand or look at them! hah! could i get any lamer?

i did get a set list (again). but i gave it to my friend jen who rode to the concert with me, because somebody very wise once sang in a song "if you love something give it away". so i did.

PICTURES:

the felice bros.

conor oberst and the mystic valley band :]

i took em with no flash, because i love them too much to be rude and flash in their faces (but mainly conor's, because thats where i was located)

set list:

you can find my lovely vid of conor at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAz3NgTsWys

music saves lives

summer eyes — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:49:32 GMT

we've all had those moments where music really helped us get through something. but when i titled this post "music saves lives" thats not what i meant. im mogging today about a cause near and dear to my heart, and one that i think everyone should know about.

music saves lives in a nonprofit that helps link music and people with causes that save lives every day. music saves lives helps to sign people up to donate blood for the redcross and also signs people up to be on the list of potential bone marrow donors for leukemia patients.

i first heard about music saves lives this year when i found out that if you donated blood at a music saves lives blood drive then you could recieve a free backstage pass to the vans warped tour. since i have my embarrasing obsession with pop punk and thus already planned on going to it i decided to look into it. i should probably point out that i was DEATHLY afraid of needles, and i almost passed out when i fell last year and busted my elbow open and had to get six stitches. so my pain threshold is practically nonexistant. yet the pull of a backstage pass to warped tour was just too much for me to pass up. so ipod in hand last june i found myself laying in a chair waiting for a technician to come stick me in the arm so i could bleed for my VIP access pass. well i turned my head once the technician came over to and marked the vein in my arm and refused to watch. i can honestly say that i never felt the needle get put in my arm. it only took me seven minutes to fill up the bag (i was super hydrated) and then it was over. i had my VIP access, for practically no pain!

on the way home i read over the information they had given me... each pint donated can save up to three people, and you can donate blood every eight weeks. most people are eligable (over 110 pounds, 17+ years old and healthy) yet only 5% of the eligible population of the US gives blood. it really kind of hit me that with about thirty minutes of my time, i had possibly saved three people! talk about instant karma!

while my reasons for first donating were a bit selfish, i have gone back to give blood every time im eligible since then. (im eligible to give again tomorrow, and signed up to do it!) i really do think that what music saves lives is doing is a great thing, not only with blood donations but with the bone marrow match making program as well.

if you think you might be eligible, i strongly encourage you to head over to the red cross website to read about becoming a donor or to read people whos lives have been saved. music saves lives encouraged over 12,000 people to donate in southern california ALONE this year. i think that is pretty incredible if you ask me.

ps. my backstage pass didnt really get me backstage everywhere, but i WAS able to get my picture with one of my fav pop punk bands forever the sickest kids, and hang with them by their tour bus :]

i look like someone that has been at an outdoor music fest all day. hot, sweaty, tired, and most of all SUNBURNT!

i mean its not like the raconteurs are amazing or anything.

summer eyes — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:46:40 GMT

right?

because, basically what can i say really about them? jack white is a literal guitar hero, brendon benson possesses the cabability to hold his own against him, and hell, the rest of the band kick ass too?

so wednesday after my college class let out i found myself on the way to the ATL with pam to see openers the kills and the raconteurs on the last stop on their tour. we only got there two and a half hours before doors opened but were still one of the first 10 in the ticketmaster line. not too shabby, considering about 45 mins later i went to put some stuff in my car and the line was beginning to snake around the block. luckily the tabernacle has three sets of doors and i was right beside a set when they opened doors. i speed walked my way to the barrier and spread out my elbows because i knew somehow pam wouldnt manage to keep up. short legs and all.

the kills opened up, and if it was your cup of tea, they were quite good. they were at the very least entertaining to watch. i liked them, they were that sort of grungy rock that i really have to be in the mood to hear, but when i am in the mood to hear it i LOVE it. luckily i was in that kind of mood. the female singer, VV, was particularly interesting to watch as she sauntered and strutted all over the stage waving her leopard scarf around.

after a reasonable wait the raconteurs finally took the stage. i must say, the crowd at this show was wonderful. we were all very into it and enthusiastic, everyone sang all the words on nearly every song. yet even though the show was sold out, and the tabernacle was filled to the brim, nobody tried to push their way through to the front. and that kind of politeness is not something i encounter very often at shows. they were amazing. AMAZING! i dont know if there are really accurate words in the english language to describe how good they were. so i won't try. i will let my pictures and my video speak for me.
"steady as she goes" - from my camera!

pammy before the show.

alison aka "VV"

the kills

brendan.

yummy.

mr. jack white

take a bow.

the top ones look better on my computer, but my editing software made them blurry for some reason? the last two pics look good to me though.

how i almost met jenny lewis...

summer eyes — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:41:36 GMT

well, this is my honorary mog posting after a long hiatus.... computer issues, it was the summer.... and plus i have kind of been in a stagnant place musically. i've just been listening to the same people over and over and over. but how does this all tie in with the title of my post? allow me to explain....

a few weeks ago i found out that jenny lewis, my idol, and conor oberst, the one artist i allow myself to obsess over, were going to be playing a show at the beautiful historic ryman auditorium in nashville. my dear friend pamela (boho-lullaby ) agreed to go with me, and we secured tickets alongside the stage. since the show was on the week of my birthday, it was my little eighteenth birthday treat to myself :]

so pamela and i are driving around by the river, when i spot an attractive couple by a bridge. what first drew me to the couple was their obvious indie/ boho style. the man was wearing a fedora hat, and his petite girlfriend was wearing a flowing maxi dress in a bold black and white print. then i noticed her long, tousseled reddish-brown hair, and he turned and i noticed his ray ban wayfarer sunglasses and long dirty blonde hair, and i turned to pam and exclaimed "oh my god pam! i think that is jenny lewis and jonathan rice!"

now pam is not 100% convinced it was without a doubt them, but all it took was me uttering it aloud for me to believe it. jenny being my idol and all, i think i would know her hair and style anywhere. but we unfortuately were on the wrong side of the road, and after pulling around and jumping from the car (the whole thing took 30 seconds, i swear) they were nowhere to be found. poof! gone, vanished :[

and when jenny took the stage that night, she looked like a ryman songstress of long past. her dress had a definite vintage vibe to it, and as for her singing? i dont think that her CDs do her justice. and her CDs are superb. but live, jenny's crystal clear vocals hold the audience enraptured. i almost didnt want to sing along to them, i was so afraid that my voice would mar the exquisite beauty of her songs. i would have to say my favorites of jenny's set were carpetbagger and next messiah off her new album, and her last song, see fernando, which is also on the new album but one that she has been playing live for a while.

conor came on and from the moment he opened his mouth to sing eagle on a pole, i had goosebumps. i dont think my eyes left him all night, and im sure i had a goofy smile on my face the whole time he played, but he IS my favorite for a reason. coincedentally the mystic valley band is almost the exact same getup he had with his the last time i saw him (as bright eyes) in november, only jason wasnt drumming then and mike mogis was playing with him then. surprisingly enough conor did not preach politics to us, every other time i have seen him he has called bush/cheney AT LEAST one or two bad names :] i was kinda looking forward to it, oh well. i love conor's new album, and even more i love how he changes the way he sings it from on the album. sometimes he holds things out longer, sometimes he singtalks things, either way i LOOOOOVE it. i love live music, and i really hope someone recorded the show.

all in all it was an excellent show, except for pam's shoulder injury. viscious! i must admit i didnt see it happen, i was too busy accepting conor's set list (!!!!!!!) from a friendly stage hand and then protectively clutching it to my bosom to see it happen. or else i would have beat some ass for ole pammy.

i didnt bring a camera, mine was out of juice, but pam brought hers and here are some shots i stole off her MOG: (go read her take here )

the love of my lifetime.

conor's set list. it's mine now!!!

im getting pumped........

summer eyes — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 02:39:49 GMT

ok, so bonnaroo is officially upon me. in less that i week i will be heading up to manchester tennessee to brave the outdoors (four days in a tent no hair straightener?! slim possibility of a shower everyday!!!!??) but most importantly, to EXPERIENCE lots of music! whoo!

i kind of dont know what to expect. i also kind of dont quite really believe im actually going. it just hasnt sunk in yet- that i actually paid pam (bohemianlullaby) back for the ticket, that my parents agreed to me going, or that i will finally get to see so many of my favorite and so many of my most admired acts.

i actually went to a small festival type thing in new jersey in early may called the bamboozle and got to see some of my favorite pop punk acts. but i doubt bonnaroo will be ANYTHING like the bamboozle. they liked my southern accent there, i doubt anyone in tenn will even notice!

gosh, i havent posted in so long. wrapping up this school year has been really hard for me. it was just so draining there at the end. i didnt have time to do anything! but i don't know, i have this feeling that things are about to change. i feel like im poised on the edge of something, like something BIG and LIFE CHANGING is about to happen to me. oh wait- it is. i get to decided where im going to college and what im going to do with my life! fun fun.

well, im super super pumped about bonnaroo :]

even though i doubt ill be anywhere near the front on anything, its still gonna be an adventure! expect an update or two, i'll have the iphone with me and my car charger. nothing (even four day festivals) will ever stop my technology dependence!

btw, the song i tagged this under is just a song i havent been able to get out of my head all day. it makes me wanna dance!

no, i didnt fall off the face of the planet....

summer eyes — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:37:39 GMT

but taking a two month hiatus from mogging is probably inexcusable. what can i say folks? school has gotten tough, i jetted off to italy, and have just basically been going NONSTOP.

so now here is my newest musical obsession... coconut records, jason schwartzman's band. LOVE THEM. love them, looooooooove them :] i found them and have been addicted ever since. its that kind of mellow yet upbeat poppy music that just makes you want to dance. i recommend the tracks "west coast" "its not you its me" and finally "nighttiming", of which you can find a hilarious lip synch of the latter on youtube (done by jason's little bro robert, the lead singer of rooney.)

find their myspace and listen!

fun fact: i literally danced around venice listening to coconut records. all the other tourists thought i was crazy. i probably am :]

i have already converted one person to the magic of coconut records! while the trip to italy was a school trip, i actually didnt know most of the people before we left. i bonded with this one guy when he turned around on the bus and began singing "i will follow you into the dark" to me. then he would sit next to me on the tour bus and we shared our mutual love of bands such as the editors, spoon, and the postal service. i nearly melted because i had met someone who would serenade me with death cab and who likes many of the same bands as me (a very rare thing in the town where i am from)was attractive, kind, and fell asleep with their head on my shoulder, which i found to be adorable. i should have known it was too good to be true, and god is a cruel cruel person to wave all of those wonderful qualities in my face because the person is currently dating some other girl.

gahhhhhhhh.

luckily i have bonnaroo coming up in june to cheer me up considerably....

my best friend and i in venice!

sunday morning rituals.

summer eyes — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:50:42 GMT

ok, so other than normal every day rituals like checking my email, brushing my teeth, etc, one of my sunday morning rituals is checking postsecret for the sunday secrets, which for those of you who are not familiar with postsecret are updated every sunday. i've been doing this for about a year and a half regularly, and today in addition to the secrets there was a valentines themed video with this beautiful song playing in the background as secrets were displayed across the screen. after some googling, i found out the song is called "shh" and is by donora. im gonna post the post secret vid, so enjoy!

life in the pit is vicious.

summer eyes — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:06:09 GMT

wellll. i just got back from a rather excellent hardcore show. i like hardcore shows there because the overwhelming majority of guys there are HOT. and also, most of the people there ARE guys. they have the cute asymmetrical haircuts and skinny pants. the main difference between them and the boys at indie shows is they lack the glasses but have many tattoos and piercings. both have long asymmetrical haircuts and tighttttt pants. i actually went into the pit for about five minutes, was tossed about like a sack of potatoes, then i fell over. i stayed down for a good ten seconds, which was long enough to get slightly trampled. finally some guy took pity on me and pulled me up. i then left the pit (been there, done that, possibly sprained my wrist in the process) and walked outside to safely stowe my camera in my car. I went back inside and just happened to take a backstage detour where i stayed and watched the rest of the show. the sound guy either didnt notice or didnt care that i didnt have a little backstage pass thingy, so i stayed there until i recieved a text from my friends i had gotten separated from saying that one of our friends cassie had broken her foot, could i please come take them home? some overweight dude in the pit had stepped on her and crushed her foot. FAT PEOPLE: if you go to shows, for the safety of others please stay out of the pit, and also stage diving and crowd surfing are probably sucky ideas. luckily by the time i got their text the show was almost over, and id already gotten to chat with the hottie from one of the bands, and caught a drumstick during my time in the pit to boot.

so i drove cassie an hour back home to the local ER (who wanted to go to the ER in ATL? hello gunshot victims.) and just got home from that.

me and hot boy (he had snakebites, or the double lip rings. i have a slight bad boy attraction.)

guilty pleasure.

summer eyes — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:33:46 GMT

sooooo. this post is about one of my favorite bands of the moment, cobra starship. i saw them in spring of 2007 supporting a show for local hometown heros, cartel. before i saw them live i had only heard two songs by them, and i wasnt that interested. i didn't even bother to check out their myspace and learn more. so when they came out on the stage i was blown away. their music is that incredibly addictive, gets stuck in your head, fun to dance around to, pop rock that has elements of/ borders on electro. annnd if that is not enough they have this awesome female band member named vicky t. she plays the keytar and sings backup vocals and is the only female in a group with four guys. props to her!

but anyway, the show they put on was killer. usually at shows where i am not familiar with the band that opens, i dont really get as into them as i would if i knew their songs. but cobra's stage presence was killer. they made a fan of me they night. i even got serenaded during one song where the lead singer gabe (born in Uruguay) came and pointed at me then held my hand and sang in both english and spanish.

the indie snob inside myself hates me for loving a band that was MTV's artist of the week/ band to watch in 2008, but i dont care. even though they have recently become very popular, they are still playing shows at small venues, and keeping ticket prices low (i got tickets for an upcoming show for $12! whoo!) however, the shows are selling out quick, i got my tickets and two days later they had sold out! lucky me, i get to see them in february.

but anyways, if you want some cutesy music to just dance around to (i like to listen to it in the car, and at the gym when im jogging on the treadmill) then try em out.

here is the video for my favorite song off their newest release viva la cobra. its entitled guilty pleasure, and it perfectly describes my feelings for them :]

its also TYPICAL cobra starship. its shows their goofy, fun loving side. i think the videos hilarious.

Juno!

summer eyes — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:04:08 GMT

so last night some friends and i drove 45 minutes to see thie movie juno, since nothing good EVER comes to our local movie theater. as soon as the movie came on and the first song started playing, i knew it was going to be a great movie, on my favorites list.

first of all, the movie. it was amazing. hilarious, sarcastic, and at times heartwarming. the movie is about this girl who gets pregnant by her best friend, and well, i dont think my words can do it justice, and i dont want to spoil it. you just NEED to see it.

another thing that made this movie, aside from ellen page's complete believability as a sarcastic, sometimes naive, SMART yet knocked up 16 year old, is the soundtrack.

the movie featured some songs by people i was familiar with, but a lot of the songs by kimya dawson/ bands she is/was in. i wasnt familiar with those, but as i sat there watching the movie, it really struck me how much they fit. the soundtrack MADE this movie.

and at the end, the two main characters sang a song by the moldy peaches, which played several time throughout the movie.

sonds played in the movie: 1. All I Want Is You - Barry Louis Polisar 2. My Rollercoaster - Kimya Dawson 3. A Well Respected Man - The Kinks 4. Dearest - Buddy Holly 5. Up The Spout - Mateo Messina 6. Tire Swing - Kimya Dawson 7. Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle And Sebastian 8. Loose Lips - Kimya Dawson 9. Superstar - Sonic Youth 10. Sleep - Kimya Dawson 11. Expectations - Belle And Sebastian 12. All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople 13. So Nice So Smart - Kimya Dawson 14. Sea Of Love - Cat Power 15. Tree Hugger - Kimya Dawson & Antsy Pants 16. I'm Sticking With You - Velvet Underground 17. Anyone Else But You - The Moldy Peaches 18. Vampire - Antsy Pants 19. Anyone Else But You - Michael Cera & Ellen Page

Musical Moments of 2007.

summer eyes — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:27:17 GMT

i've always been bad at making top whatever lists. im actually just bad at lists because i cant narrow stuff down, and i always claim "everything" is my favorite.

so, in order not to freak myself out with favorite album, song, etc of 2007 list, im just going to put some of my favorite musical moments of 2007. they could be concerts, moments when i song fit a situation perfectly, things like that. they are just ones that stick out in my mind. to make it easier for me, they are chronological.

sometimes in februaury 2007- i go to my first hardcore show. while the music isn't exactly my favorite, i become enthralled with watching people, erm, dancing in the pit. now i know why people like watching hockey, wrestling, or other abusive sports!

february 22, 2007- the OC ends, marking the end of my four year obsession with it. this show featured many of my favorite bands music on it. coincidentally this is the show that got me into death cab for cutie.

march 24, 2007- i got to see a local ATL band cartel play with boys like girls and cobra starship opening the show. this marks the first time i ever get to go backstage afterwards and meet the bands, this is also the first time i ever catch a guitar pick and thus the beginning of band memorabilia collecting ;]

april 6, 2007- i go to see the decemberists, and am attacked by a giant whale. i add colin meloy's pick to my collection.

may 12, 2007- the ben gibbard show. we all know how this went down: i took my little sister, it was her birthday. johnathan rice talked to her from the stage for a good five minutes, then later ben gibbard gave her life advice, told her happy birthday, and dedicated such great heights, his last song of the night, to her. then he gave her his guitar pick. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE JEALOUS IN MY LIFE. here he is, dedicating the song to her:

may 18, 2007- i go to see bright eyes for the first time, my love for conor oberst's music overcomes my aversion to his long nasty hair. road to joy is undoubtedly my favorite song of the set. oh wait, he played lua too..... hmm its a tie.

sometime in june, 2007- i leave oschersleben germany for munich germany, and endure a 6 hour train ride, during which "different names for the same thing" by death cab for cutie comes up on shuffle and i am amazed by how much the song fits my situation.

sometime in july, 2007- i win the MOG iphone contest. life as i know it changes, and i am the owner of one of the most coveted gadgets on the planet!

september 29, 2007- i go to see rilo kiley, and am front row center. this concert was remarkable because A) i got to hear a better son/ daughter, my FAVORITE song by them B) i got into a fight with a gay guy who tried to oust me from my prime spot. (i was much more fierce than he, i slapped the living shit out of him while he only could pull my hair- HAH!)

november 8, 2007- i drive for 5 hours to wait two and a half more to be front row center at a bright eyes concert in charleston. conor oberst finally cuts his hair! whoo, rejoice. the highlight of the evening is when he TOUCHES MY HAND!

november 25, 2007- my life is consumed by guitar hero 3. much hand cramping ensues.

december 16, 2007 i go to the mistletoe jam, am in the front and there are 14,000 people there. hells yeah, i get a shins set list to add to my collection.

december 27, 2007- guitar hero 3 is replaced by rock band as my favorite video game of all time. i spend four hours with friends playing it, my hand is permanently cramped in a strumming position.

thus sums up my year. its been a good one, wouldnt you say?

oh yeah at last count i had: 10 guitar picks

and

4 setlists.

under the mistletoe.........jam.

summer eyes — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 23:45:55 GMT

sooooo... last night was the mistletoe jam sponsored by 99x atlanta radio station. and the lineup was pretty amazing..... the silversun pickups, the shins, silverchair, and modest mouse. i went with my friends molly, katie, kyle and bryan. also, we met up with pam (bohemianlullaby) and her boyfriend mikey. i was glad we met up with pam and mikey, cause they got there two hours before we did, and we sneakily cut in line with them. now, normally i dont condone that type of behavior, but what can i say? because my car is a gas guzzler, molly was the one driving me and i couldnt really have made her leave earlier. thus we got a really great spot, against the barrier, in the middle rightish. and since we were in the front, the camera guy would always turn and get us on the big screens projected to the whole stadium. our friends katie and bryan unfortunately had seats, and didnt get to stand with us on the floor. (it was general admission there). katie texted me the first time we got on the big screen and said "gah you're all the way in the front! i hate you, you lucky bitch!" the first band up was the silversun pickups. they got the crowd pumped and dancing and singing along. i am very seriously shocked that their drummer did not get whiplash, he was head banging and swinging his hair every which way. they lead us for about thrity/fourty odd minutes in a set that i never stopped dancing to. their female bassist obviously liked my dancing, because she kept looking at me and smiling. and i will admit to being fairly clueless about their lead singer being an actual, umm, man. i honestly didnt know that until like last may, when id been listening to them to for a while already. (taken from my iphone, since my digital camera is too big and awesome to be allowed in that venue without a press pass.)

then was the shins...... they only played a nine song set..... but then again they could have played forever and i still wouldnt have been satisfied until id heard every song they ever wrote and some covers to boot. but i did get their setlist! whoo! and their lead singer, james, looked very scrumptious in a fedora hat. i happen to have a thing for fedora hats. the setlist had several song i liked on it:

but still, i had hoped to hear more off of chutes too narrow, and i also wanted to hear new slang! oh well, maybe next time..... the shins:

then, silverchair took the stage, in what was arguably the best PERFORMANCE of the night. they were the band i was least familiar with their music, but the amazing aussies interacted with the crowd (most of whom were obviously there to see them, from the amount of pushing and shoving and holding on to the barrier for dear life i endured) in a way that was unparalleled all night. the lead singers strip action that flaunted his pierced nipples and chiseled chest to the world did nothing to hamper their performance. later, his growling into the microphone "i want to hear a sexually frustrated moan atlanta" in his australian accent created the loudest, most sexually frusrated moan im sure atlanta has ever heard. sure, he might have been a little drunk, but it only added to his charm.

after an incendiary set by silverchair, modest mouse took the stage to close the show for the night. the roadies set up a ton of instruments, including what looked like (in the words of some chick standing behind me) an anorexic cello. modest mouse is very, very good at what they do. an it might have just been me, but when their lead singer issac spoke it appeared he had a lisp. still, my favorite song by modest mouse had to be the song they closed with, the view. i just love this song, and modest mouse certainly did it justice. they played it with a passion, and it really cemented it in my memory. after that was over, the rowd stood around cheering for an encore, which we never got. it made me sad, because i kinda felt cheated after that. i almost always expect an encore, it was weird not having one. but then they passed out setlists, and i caught one! but so did pam, and we struggled for a while over it until she was like "ivey! you have the shins one!" and i was like "oh, i didnt know i was fighting you over it! i thought i was fighting the girl next to you!" and i let pam have it. cause really, im glad i got then shins one. also cause the shins one was the lead singers hehehehe. actually, i think pams was too. but the night ended with both of us being VERY HAPPY.

modest mouse:

MM setlist:

time to get under the covers, its actually chilly in georgia!

summer eyes — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:12:21 GMT

well, since im going to see them today, i figured what better thing to post for under the covers than the shins covering pink floyd?

yes. only like seven more hours till i see the shins, silversun pickups, and modest mouse! whoo!

wedding songs and the caribbean.

summer eyes — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:47:47 GMT

this week my family got invited to a family friend's wedding.... in the caymen islands! my father's best friend's daughter is getting married on grand caymen this april, and we are going. we've known about the wedding and since we always go on vacations with this family, we knew we were invited! but still, it was exciting to get the actual invite.

which made me think about what the wedding will be like.......and before i knew it i was wondering what their first song would be. then, i got to thinking, if i was getting married, what song would i choose?

and then it came to me: first day of my life, by bright eyes.

yes, women tend to be like this. we plan these things in advance. i even have children names picked out, even though i have no plans to get married anytime soon, or even the slightest idea of who id get married to.

which leaves me with one question, moggers: what was/ would be/ is going to be your first dance wedding song?

in stitches.

summer eyes — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:43:21 GMT

i am literally, in stitches. five of them to be exact.

this morning, like the groggy idiot i am in the mornings, i slipped and fell in my shower cutting my elbow on the tile and gashing it pretty bad.

like, two inches bad.

so while i got stitches for the first time ever, i listened to the shins to soothe me.

i must say, they did the job nicely.

they managed to take my mind off the pain, which was good. and only 12 more days until i see them with modest mouse, siversun pick ups and silverchair! whoo!

im as pumped as i can be without being able to bend one arm :]

i would put a picture on here, but lets just say it was pretty gruesome. so i'll spare you that, haha.

guitar hero has consumed my life.

summer eyes — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:07:55 GMT

well moggers, my one year mog anniversary has come and gone, and i didnt even notice.

why?

because my life for the past week has revolved around a video game that has left me broke with no social life and what i like to call hero-itis, a condition of the hand where the fingers are permanently curled over and it hurts to bend it a certain way.

guitar hero 3 is still amazing. i regretted having to leave it for even a day to go to north georgia for thanksgiving with my family.

i have even put its sticker on my car- which is beginning to look quite junky with all of its various assorted stickers.

near and dear to my heart:

as you can see, that side of my vehicle has a MOG sticker, and apple sign, and the guitar hero logo.

day from hell.

summer eyes — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 02:14:56 GMT

i wont gripe about it on here (too much) but lets just sum it up to say that my day has been less than perfect. i got dealt with shitily (is that even a word) by a good friend and then whats worse, she got two other mutual friends to call me and bitch me out. luckily my best friend macey came and picked me up and helped me through a total meltdown..... but i had to do my thing that i always do when the going gets tough.

and when it gets tough i put my earbuds in and listen to......

you guessed it.....

IM NOT OKAY. by my chemical romance. like 14 times.

yeah, thats pretty emo but it makes me feel better and i bet lizzie does the same thing, i think i remember her saying shes a fan :]

gotta love gerard and his guyliner.

you be the judge.

summer eyes — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:38:51 GMT

whilst youtubing i found this and found it super hilarious.

is it really conor oberst? you tell me, im leaning towards yes. i mean, the voice is uber realistic.

also, on a slightly related note today i wore my bright eyes shirt to school. to my great surprise (and somewhat alarm) my teacher looks at my shirt and goes bright eyes..... thats a band right? and conor oberst is the lead singer.

because my teacher is the definition of a nerd, (pam has him too)he is balding and math obsessed and has numerous moles! if thats thats enough the man has been on jeopardy twice! and he doesnt wear deodorant.

i asked him how in the world he knew this. and he replied, "oh i like to read rolling stone in the library sometimes, if they dont have robotics weekly."

ROBOTICS WEEKLY??

well, he is the head of the robotics team, after all.

under the covers with muse.

summer eyes — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:17:21 GMT

a nice little cover of a classic american folk ballad.

got to love the colorful history of new orleans.

enjoy.

eargasms!

summer eyes — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:35:47 GMT

eargasm: An orgasm of the ear triggered by the masturbation of the eardrum by exceptionally sexy music. -urbandictionary

yes, this is what i experienced whilst standing.......front row and center, throughout the course of the night i was never more than four feet away from conor oberst. in an intimate general admissions venue, that holds a maximum of 428 people precisely.

(sighs just at the remembrance.)

not to say that i did not have to work hard for my ideal spot. mr. oberst decided on this tour not to come to georgia, which would have been a bit more accessible for me. so we (my friend abi and i) drove for five hours to charleston, then got at the venue two and a half hours early, thanks in part to me being a bit neurotic and all in all a lack of anything else to do, because im not exactly great with driections. once i found the place i planned on staying put. so we parked it down outside the venue, where we quickly made friends with two guys named andrew and dillon. the only other people ahead of us were a group of six rather large ladies whose numbers seemed to periodically increase. i hate line cutters! now, nothing against bigger people, but if you are going to take up the room of three normal sized people, you had best act nice and not be loud and obnoxious. and also, youre really just asking for complaints/ mockery if you wear EXTREMELY TIGHT clothes and talk loudly about how much you want to "fuck conor", because in reality you would crush him. sad but true. naturally me, abi, and our newest bffs andrew and dillon were against the large obnoxious girls and made a vow to get past them for the prima locale: front CENTER. (not that it was hard to out power-walk them once they finally let us in the doors. after two and a half hours of freezing our asses off, in addition to having my digital camera taken away, my breath tested for alcohol, and being swatted down with a metal detector. you could possibly say that the security was a bit tight.)

then after waiting another hour, the felice brothers all the way from new york started the show! man, these boys came onstage drinkin mason jars full of moonshine, and you could tell. but they led us in a particularly inspired set, and i must say that they were one of the best opening acts ive seen since art in manila. abi purchased their cd and ive put it on my itunes. a sample chorus i found amusing: "powder your nose, take off your pantyhose, let me love you from behind my daaaaaarlin'!"

after the rowdy felice bros, a man named nik freitas from california took the stage. his music was very soothing, and gentle, which i think may not have worked after such a rambunctious previous set. a lot of people talked during his set, and i think he could tell everyone was getting impatient. his set did pick up however, when macey taylor and nate walcott from bright eyes joined him for a couple of songs. all in all i think his music was nice, but perhaps his set was ill placed. it might have been better to let him play before the felice brothers, because i think then people would have been more respectful.

then, after an agonizing sound check, bright eyes took the stage. it was nice to see them playing with just a few people, because when i last saw them in may conor played mainly things from cassadega, wore a white suit, and was onstage with like twenty other people. while i liked that show a lot, i felt the same way about it as i feel about cassadega as an album: yeah, i like it and i think its good, but it just didnt feel like it was the bright eyes that i first fell in love with. yeah, yeah, bands grow and change, whatever ;] so to see them play a stripped down set of only conor, mike mogis, nate and macey (and a drummer?)was nice. also nice: conor only played two songs off of cassadega, four winds and if the brakeman turns my way. he played a lot of things from his older albums, which rocked because four winds is the only song he played at both the concert in may and the one last night.

conor was wearing what appeared to be a woman's cardigan (or perhaps a very small boy's sweater) over a tee shirt and i must say, he could get away with it and still look yummy. praise god! he also has gotten a haircut recently, and while its not quite the cute little asymmetrical cut of yesteryear, i like it. i didnt take note of every song, but from what i remember, he played three songs off of IWAIM, (another traveling song, we are nowhere and its now, and old soul song) arc of time, method acting, and he even went way back with some like padriac my prince. i think he must have played two new songs, because i hadnt heard them, and yes i own every single bright eyes album ever, because saddle creek/mog sent them to me when i won the contest. also, no one in my line of vision was singing along so possible new songs? i guess so, considering i have also heard it through the grapevine called google that he has been playing some new ones. he also covered a tom petty song last night, which was nice. and even though he forgot the words to you will halfway through the song and preached politics to us for ten minutes, he still managed to make my heart thump with the rhythm of his music and my knees quake and lashes flutter at his proximity. my eardrums throbbed along with his music. (thus the "eargasm".) i must say the highlight of the night for me (other than the fact that he was standing right in front of me, occasionally looking into my eyes, and also came by after the encore to do the whole hand touching and i got to exhange a handtouch type thing with him) is the fact that he played lover i dont have to love AND bowl of oranges. which were pretty much the songs that cemented my feelings for him as a songwriter, way back in the like 8th grade when i got into his music.

and even though the bastards in charge of the venue outlawed any and all digital cameras (thus they made me go put my digital camera with mucho mega-pixels in my newfound friends car until after the show) i still managed to take some rather decent shots with my iphone's camera. so haha bastards! i beat the system!

behold the view i had for at least an hour and a half:

all in all, it was an amazing night, well worth the drive and waiting.

if i had the chance, id do it again.

oh by the way, another reason i went to chareston is because i was interested in the college. because soon, im going to have to make a decision about that. now, ive still got a few more to look at, but i think my mind is made up, and im smitten. college of charleston IS GORGEOUS. founded in 1770, old buildings dripping with spanish moss. i can definitely picture myself spending four crucial years of my life there.

its beauty nearly rivals that of conor oberst's.

hahaha.

just how emo are you?

summer eyes — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:12:33 GMT

over the weekend i found myself at the bookstore, perusing the shelves, looking for anything that caught my eye. while ambling over toward where they keep the postsecret books, an interesting title caught my eye: Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide To Emo Culture. intrigued, i picked it up and flipped open to a random page and started reading. on it were suggested emo movie staples, of which over half are in my favorite movies of all time (ex: almost famous, garden state, the notebook, donnie darko, etc.) as i flipped through this book, i saw many other things that caught my eye. i told myself i was buying it as joke, for my brother perhaps. he is after all, a self admitted emo boy in converse sneakers with conor oberst's first little asymmetrical haircut, who listens to brand new almost nonstop.

long story short, my brother never got the book. ive been reading and re-reading it over and over again. in it i found a hilarious book full of inside jokes. they make fun of every band ive like(d) all throughout the past couple of years. and i'll admit another thing- i was kinda in denial of my love for some of these bands. or being labeled emo, cause ive always kinda associated that term with kids who cut themselves and throw up all their meals. believe me, i cant stand pain and am borderline phobic about puking, so thats just not me. but this book made me admit the fact that yes, i can call it "popular poppy punk rock" all i want, but really i listen to "emo" bands. quite frequently.

and they poke fun at quite a lot of people. do they poke fun at conor oberst's characteristic warble? yes. the ridiculous way people stalk gerard way and the guys from panic at the disco? yes. ben gibbard's tendency to dress like a college professor in blazers? yes. how big of an idiot pete wentz is? double yes. this is not a book for kids whose whole life is that scene and cant see that how they act is kinda ridiculous. i'll admit, i listen to this kind of music a lot. in the past month ive seen boys like girls, the academy is, and cartel. and all at different concerts. but the book wasnt just about the popular kind of emo bands. it talked about my personal favorites, bright eyes and death cab a lot. all my friends who have picked it up, almost couldnt put it down. i have a long list of seven plus people who want to borrow it when i get finished with it.

if i ever decide to let it go :]

so yeah, if you have been (still are) into this genre of music, this book might make you laugh as much as it did me.

life is gooooooooood.

summer eyes — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 02:06:05 GMT

because i get to see:

A) the shins

B) modest mouse

C) silversun pickups

D) silverchair

all at the same show!

also known as the 99X mistle toe jam.

annnnnnnnnnnd i have seats on the floor!

whooooooooooooooooooo!

plus, my bffl pam aka bohemian lullaby is going as well!

this line up is amazing. i cant believe my luck! these four awesome bands, great seats, and it only cost me $40! thats how much the shins tickets were the last time they were in town.

my brief affair with DJing.

summer eyes — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 03:58:23 GMT

my godmother called me up on wednesday and asked me to do her a favor. she heads up the children's activities at our country club, and their DJ for the middle school halloween dance had backed out and if i wanted to make 100 bucks all i had to do was show up with my laptop.

so friday night i found myself setting up for 4 hours of playing rap music and getting pain $25 an hour.

which isnt technically a bad way to spend a friday, considering the fact that i was grounded :]

i did however, play FOUR different versions of the crank that (solja boy) song.

FOUR.

they got more and more excited everytime i played it.

the evening was not all about rap however, i snuck some coldplay in for the "slow dance"songs, and i made them listen to hellogoodbye and my fav dance music, cobra starship.

and i got a weird request to play bohemian like you by the dandies, which i did.

oddly enough they moshed to it.... im still trying to figure out why they did that though.

enjoy this song, in its many different remixes/formats.

learn how to do the dance:

here's my little partiers:

my week, my newest obsessions, and other random things.

summer eyes — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:38:32 GMT

well well well. what a week! i've been out of school for the past week on fall break, and it has really been great. in this time off i have seen four concerts, two movies, and toured one college. so it's not as if ive sat around and done nothing!

ok, so i technically saw one concert right before my break started. last thursday i went to see new atlantic, holiday parade, and between the trees. all of those bands except for holiday parade have the potential to be the next (and sound like the bands) the fray or augustana. it was at the masquerade, my favorite atlanta venue. the masq has three levels, heaven (largest, holds 1000 people), hell(smaller, about 350) and purgatory (tiny little club, less than 100), and this concert was in hell, my fav out of the three. i was really close to the stage, which always makes a concert amazing for me!

then on monday i went to see across the universe, the movie based on the beatles songs. it was an amazing movie, i cried off and on during the whole thing. i must say it is up there in my favorite movies, right alongside almost famous. i would recommend seeing it if you get the chance. i also am quite smitten with the actor playing jude (jim sturgess), he has the whole package for me: 1. british 2. can sing 3. he's SEXY!

then later that night we went to see secondhand serenade, which despite the name is only a guy and his acoustic guitar. but his songs are really quite lovely and romantic. this great band from north carolina opened for him, and they were called rookie of the year. the guys in the band were really nice (also very attractive, which ALWAYS helps) and talked to my friends and i afterwards and sold me their CD for 5 dollars. i've really been enjoying listening to that all week.

then i went off to look at my dad's alma mater, where i will probably end up going when i graduate. auburn university, in auburn, alabama. its in another state, which gets me away from here, but only two hours away from my home so i can come home whenever i want/ need to.

finially thursday was here so i could go to the concert i have been looking forward to for three months. yes, it was none other than the ultimate teeny poppy punky emo rock band boys like girls! i cant help my love for them, i really cant. ive tried, but i just keep finding myself at their concerts with lots of 12-15 year olds and their parents. its ok, it only improves my chances of hooking up with them eventually :] but i stayed after and my friends and i got our picture taken with them and some of the opening bands.

paul, the lead guitarist:

then i chilled out for a day then went to see hometown ATL heros, cartel (of the MTV band in a bubble fame) play. i was excited that a band i have really begun to admire was opening up for them. the band is called the honorary title, and the lead singer (who reportedly dates kelly osbourne?!) sounds a bit like conor oberst at times. except slightly less whiney. but they are a really great band, and if you like bright eyes worth checking out, because they dont sound enough like them to be "copying" them, but the sound is a bit similar and will appeal to bright eyes fans. or at least it does to me. then after they played cartel came out and began their set. it lasted about an hour and 45 minutes, which was amazing but really tiring because i was jumping up and down the whole time. cartel really showed their home city some love, and they didnt stop rocking out while they played. coincidentally i actually babysit the little cousins of the drummer of cartel, kevin. so after the show (during which i caught a pick) when they were handing out the setlists i got one of those also, because i know the drum tech's name and called out for one. it was just a great show and afterward i got to talk to the guys from the honorary title, and thus possibly got to meet/ take a picture with kelly osbourne's boyfriend!

random much? :]

one weird thing i noticed this week: RILO KILEY WAS MTV'S ARTIST OF THE WEEK AND WERE ON LIKE EVERY COMMERCIAL MTV HAD. which freaked me out a considerable bit.

now its back to school, and back to work. ugh.

but yeah, check out rookie of the year and the honorary title. they are my current musical obsessions.

...and thats when i got into a fight at the rilo kiley concert...

summer eyes — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:38:45 GMT

ahh, there is nothing like going to a concert of your favorite artist and knowing all the songs. NOTHING comes close.

so last night, me and my trusted group of comrades, (pam aka bohemianlullaby. and then there was smee mi my bestest friend since like first grade, and of course bratzilla my sister because she bought me the tix for my birthday.

so we headed up to little five points to the variety playhouse. we got there about an hour and a half early and were part of the first 20-ish people in line. after the (finally) opened the doors at 7:30, we went in and luckily got up front between where jenny and blake would later stand. the first opening band, art in manila was rather good. orenda fink is really talented, she played like every instrument throughout the night. me and smee mi were a little upset that they didnt have any CDs for sale, cause they were really great.

then there was grand ole party, who i liked, but all the songs sounded very similar to me. but me and smee mi have the CD now, and i hope to listen to them more. the lead singer played the drums in a style reminiscent of meg white, but she sounded like a female jack. (smee mi says that she sounded like the lead singer of bikini kill, and i have to agree that she did.) if nothing less, their bassist was a hottie in nicely fitting pants (seven jeans for all mankind, good choice.)

then after a bit rilo came out. let me just say this: if i was manly, i would have THE BIGGEST CRUSH on jenny lewis. i really dont see how someone couldnt, because the way she shimmys and shakes is just oh la la sexy. i want to be her! there really arent many words to describe how amazingly amazing rilo was. if you are a fan, go see them live. it is soooooooo worth it. jenny and blake just sizzle on stage. blake is so sexy, but he's so small! i just want to give him a big hug! but there was most def some eye contact going on....

and we all know eye contact is the whole reason i go to concerts.... but really, i just love the music. anyways, rilo had a good set, and bratzilla got blake's set list. they played 17 songs during their set and two for the encore, so nineteen total. some of my favs were the older songs: portions for foxes (because EVERYONE was singing) paint's peeling, and a man me and jim.

then, for the encore they came out onto the stage and began to play....a better son or daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now this is THE SONG that i first heard and fell in love with them for. and it was so amazing and unexpected, because they rarely play it nowdays. (jenny obviously played it just for me because she knew how much it meant to me. im going with that one) then, they played the last song of the night, and out of nowhere this sweaty, smelly, GROSS set of people come pushing their way to the front of the stage where i am trying to record does he love you. this guy completely knocks my ten year old sister out of the way and starts singing. (loudly) then the girl who was with him starts yanking at my hair trying to move me. i reached around and slapped her before she ran away and then shoved the asshole out of my way. then the sweet girl adjacent to me pulled my sister in front of her and her boyfriend so she could touch jenny's hand and see. then asshole comes up to me and apologizes so we spent the remainder of the song standing beside each other singing. he told me after the show that he had cancer in high school and this song is all he listened to for the two months of his life that he thought he was going to die. so i guess that makes it ok, but i still think if hed just asked nicely i would have let him stand beside me, because i understand that certain songs mean a lot to people. now that girl on the other hand had best be glad i didnt find her ass after the show.....

but all in all it was AMAZING!

pictures: (of success)

happy birthday to me?

summer eyes — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:15:58 GMT

happy birthday to me? well, in some ways yes. i went out to dinner with a great group of girlfriends, and had a blast hitting on the yummy valet guys. (plans to meet up them this weekend? mmmm hmmm thanks to my friend bailey yes!) and i got a beautiful camera. big zoomy lens, lots of bells and whistles, the works! i love it, and i hope it will help my fledgling photography skillzzzzz. (because spelling it with zzzz makes me so BA)

this is me and my girlfriends. im wearing a silver dress, in the (somewhat) middle.

but camera and fabulous party aside, something did ruin my special day.

and it wasnt just a hangover.

the GD KAISER CHIEFS!

canceled their US tour..... which i had tix for this upcoming saturday. and this wouldnt make me so mad, but on their last US tour they skipped the south ENTIRELY..... so i just feel like for some reason i will never get to see them.

and we all know how i do so love my brit bands....

oh well. on the plus side i can now buy my own R movie tickets! exciting.

rocco deluca and the burden.

summer eyes — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:26:05 GMT

so, anyways this weekend i went to a concert with my best mate, smee-mi. she is a huge fan of rocco deluca, and since she sucks at driving she bought me and her tickets to the show and begged me to take her. so saturday night i found myself gassing up my car and preparing to battle crazy drivers on the hour long drive to atlanta. (a drive i have only actually driven three times before in my life and frankly one that scares the mess outta me) after making a wrong turn once whilst looking for the roxy and having to use the GPS thingy on my iphone (love that device!) we fin ally got there. the opening bands were... interesting. i like the first one the best, except after a while they started to sound a bit like continuous eighties love ballads. but then they started talking a bit, and i realized, duh! they are gay! (which i know because the bass player said to they lead singer, "baby you are looking gorgeous tonight") so i guess that makes the songs eighty-ish style relevant. the next band, (sorry but i dont remember any names) really sounded like maroon 5. i predict they will enjoy a bit of fame in the next year. but they were alright, and soon rocco deluca took the stage. i must say, that man did some things with his guitar i never thought possible. someone behind me lit one up, and the next hour or so faded into a blur of guitar and moaned lyrics. it was great. it was amazing. he had so much... passion. i think that is the right word for it. he would take his on 3-4 min songs and turn them into 30 minute jams. it was just simply incredible. and he had some amazing backup percussionists. :]

i didnt get to video anything cause i accidentally stepped on my camera and broke the screen :[ but anyway i like this song by him, colorful.

summer is over for summer eyes.

summer eyes — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:06:44 GMT

well, i got back from a merry little jaunt to england late on monday night. i was just on a nice little holiday with my grandmother and brother, touring and seeing the sights. my favorite part about coming home though was seeing my little sister. i had actually missed her! it was so sweet. the first thing she said when i got in the car at the airport was "ivey i got you tickets to go see rilo kiley for your birthday!" aww! now that is love. and knowing what id actually wanted. she was looking on ticketmaster and saw that the tickets were up, so she went ahead and got the credit card from my dad and bought them for my birthday in september! such a smart ten year old!

then it was back to school, where over the summer we had become subjected to a fascist new regime, aka our principle has us on a tighter rope than the north koreans. if you accumulate more than 6 tardies over the entire school year you get you parking permit taken away. also, cell phones and ipods are not allowed, even during free time or moments of quiet study. the teachers will take them up, hand them over to the schools "disciplinary force" and comb through all your pictures and texts trying to find more stuff to get you in trouble. but never fear! even if they take mine up they will never in a million years figure out how to work it. thank you mog for the iphone. bahahah i can set my things on lock with a password! yessss.

now no one can find that party pic of me drinking from a plaid flask....

but yes, one of the things i miss during traveling is being able to check my mog daily. i love reading posts and such.

well, im off to write TWO essays for the new regime and its administration.

i love it when bands surprise me.

summer eyes — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:35:35 GMT

so, today i was doing my usual summer routine of checking all my internet things, and looking for some funny videos on youtube. i probably spend way to much time on youtube. but long story short i found this great cover by one of my cheesy pop-punk-rock-insert-random-label-here band, boys like girls. i love them because martin, the lead singer just has this amazing stage presence, and paul the lead guitarist is just damn sexy. actually, they are both hella sexy. and ive meet them twice and martin is just a cool guy who will drape his arm around you and look very sexy in pictures with you. which is always a plus. but anyway, they are getting too popular and im getting tired of fighting off 13 year olds to keep my spot on the front row at their concerts.

but what did i find? i found an amazing acoustic session with them where they cover the song "let go" of garden state fame. actually, when that song played at the end of garden state it was so well placed and just fit the moment that i almost cried. but yeah, imogen heap's band frou frou did an amazing job with it.

and it just made me happy to see BLG covering it, because its a totally unexpected song to hear them sing. but hey, i think they do it justice.

enjoy.

so, this is not exactly musical, but i felt i should share anyway.

summer eyes — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:08:09 GMT

so last night i came in at 4 in the morning. regrettably, i was not at a rock concert. nor was i out engaging in some illicit activities. no, i was answering the cries of my inner nerd and was at a special advance screening for the fifth harry potter movie.

for those of you that are fans, this movie did not disappoint. i dare say it was my favorite yet. the special effects at the end were most incredible, and it had me curled up in my seat biting my nails, shaking with excitement.

this came as a pleasant surprise because i was hoping that that they wouldnt botch this one up. i did not particularly like the last movie, and while on this one they left a few minor things out, i felt like it was a good length, not too long to be boring but long enough to keep up to the book.

well, also in other news i one the bright eyes/apple contest. oh man. im super stoked about that. luckily my contract with at&t is up, and ive been needing a new phone.....

actually, a lot of really strangely good things have been happening to me lately. last week i went to six flags and spent the day there riding rides, then went to see a favorite local band, holiday parade, open for another local band (cartel, mostly known because of the "band in a bubble" experiment). so i was lucky enough to get to talk with holiday parade in line for a ride, and i got to meet cartel (again) and the lead singer of holiday parade jumped down from the stage to HAND me his guitar pick. i think maybe it was because i was the only one that knew all the words to their songs. i hope that this lucky trend keeps up, and ive been trying to practice good karma. all in all, i think im having the best summer ever.

knocks on wood

i dont quite know what to make of moneymaker.

summer eyes — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 21:08:16 GMT

so...... i just watched the new rilo kiley video, moneymaker. its 12 minutes long and after 9 minutes of porno interviews..... you get to the actual song. its not up on youtube yet, but i got it from this website here if anyone wants to check it out. if you get a bit tired of the interviews just forward it to around the 9 minute mark and you get to the song part.

but really, im just happy to have new rilo kiley stuff and hopefully see them on an upcoming tour. because jenny is TOTALLY my idol.

i heart rooney.

summer eyes — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:56:52 GMT

so tonight was my first concert in over a month. its been tough for me, going so long without my addiction. so tonight i found myself seeing rooney with a group of three of my guy friends (my manterage)which makes me either a) very stupid or b) very bold. but rooney sure did deliver! my complaints were the same as most concerts, i think there should be an maturity limit for people in the front. also, as of tonight i think there should be a weight limit too....

but im not going to complain! tonight was a success. the first opening band was pretty good. they reminded me a bit of old death cab, back in the we have the facts days. the were called rewind, and they hailed from birmingham alabama. they were good, rather cute.

the second opening band (i have committed the cardinal sin of forgetting their name) was pretty good too. their songs were longer and a bit more jam bandy. especially the last one, it was a bit epic and lasted forever.

then rooney took the stage. they opened with "blueside" which i love. i also love the first single off their upcoming album, when did your heart go missing?" which just really really makes me wanna dance. which i did, a lot. with my manterage. who kept getting hit on by the 12 year olds, which made me a bit pissy and start charging money for the girls wanting their pictures with them. bahaha. but yes, rooney. most importantly robert schwartzman. meow. he really knew how to work a crowd, and i was happy because i had secured my usual fav spot of front row, mainly middle but slightly left, which turned out to be the place to be because thats where robert kept walking. and bending down to extend his hands. which i got to hold. for like 5 seconds. and once i even grabbed his ass! oh yeah!

but anyways, i loved the concert, especially the last song, their most famous one, "shakin". and the night was topped off with me getting a copy of their setlist! AND it was roberts set list!

i kept wanting to call him michael, cause that is robert's character in the princess diaries. weird huh?

pictures:

im baaaaaaack. and better than ever.

summer eyes — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:55:07 GMT

well moggers hello. ive missed you very much. three weeks without MOG nearly drove me crazy. im sure i missed some excellent posts. its nice to be back, ive spent the last three weeks lost in translation. i thought i had an okay grasp on the german language, but then i got over there. and realized if its written, i can read it. but spoken.... oh god spoken was a whole other story. i have listened to more techno, no, excuse me, HOUSE MUSIC than i have ever wanted to. its not that i dont like it, its okay, i just craved acoustic guitars after some point. but all in all i love deutschland and would go back in a minute. i loved the fact that you can buy beer and wines at 16. so naturally, i drank. and was as the germans liked to say "drunken" a few times. my host sister, jenny, who stayed with me in october is one of my best friends. we really connected when she came to stay with me, and we picked right back up after emailing over the months. i really feel like she is a part of my family, and i cried for hours after i had to leave her. i miss her so much now! thanks to jenny, i have a new german band i love. the beatsteaks! they are a bit heavier than im used to, but hey! they are german-and NOT house music. which i appreciate. another thing about the germans- they love the song ruby. i cannot tell you how many times i heard them singing it. now that was giggle worthy. all in all, its good to be back. i did miss my car and my air conditioning. but would i go back? in a minute.

also on a side note brits- get ready. i am invading at the end of july. going on a holiday with my grandmother and brother for two weeks. i dont think england is ready for me. but im so excited! your accents are about the most adorable thing EVER. i will probably spend the whole time in an accent-induced high.

bon voyage.

summer eyes — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 23:21:23 GMT

well moggers, tomorrow i go to germany for three weeks. i am staying with my friend jenny, she came over here and stayed with me in october. i hope i'll get into some cool german music, and see some great german rock shows, but who knows? that said, i dont know what my computer situation is going to be, so if you dont here from me for a while thats why.

now, i leave you for the time being with a german song i like to listen to whenever i feel wronged by the opposite sex. which is often, i must have bad taste or something.

i must say, i love the cheesy colored hair and laura croft appearance. silly germans!

my first musical crush.

summer eyes — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 01:33:34 GMT

well, i saw something today when i checked my email that made me sit down and reminisce. normally when after i check my email i browse through the news stories on aol. after looking through some of the music feeds i saw a title that caught my eye. "hanson, still mmmbopping 10 years later." then i realized wow, its been 10 years since hanson was around.... i remember that i had a crush on the youngest one zack, who played the drums, and also maybe on the middle one, but i can't remember. but hanson was my first musical crush. i was like 6 or 7. but that was ten years ago... and now they are ALL married. and, the two i liked both looked amazingly like girls. which is more than a bit disturbing...

but moving on.

i was wondering if any of you cared to share your first musical crush. it really cant be more embarrassing than mine...but please, feel free to try and top mine.

also, just a bit of hilarity for now:

bahahahahaha.

my last of 3 concerts in 10 days.

summer eyes — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:07:58 GMT

so last night, despite the fact that i had final exams today i went to the hellogoodbye and boys like girls concert. now, i have already seen both of these bands live before. i saw boys like girls last time they were in atlanta, and hellogoodbye played a free concert at centennial park a little over a month ago. one thing about this concert is the fact that it was general admission, and by some random act of God my friends and i just happened to be walking by when they opened the doors, which ensured us a spot on the front center left. opening was a band called the secret handshake, they were good, but i wasnt familiar with their music. it always bothers me to be at concerts when i do not know an opening band, because i usually end up liking them a lot.

well anyway, they were good they got us pumped. before i go any further i guess i should own up to the fact that while i love my concerts like ben and bright eyes, concerts sung by people whose lyrics make me think, i also have this soft spot for concerts you go to and you can scream out the words and jump up and down and not for one minute care about what they are singing about. its interesting to go to bright eyes one day then four days later go see someone like hellogoodbye. it makes me appreciate both of them more. then, the rocket summer came out and played their set, which i knew a few of the songs to and enjoyed. especially their song brat pack. plus they had some REALLY cute concert tees.

then after about 30 mins of SOUND checks boys like girls came out. i love them because they are my riding around town with my windows down volume turned up real loud kind of music. plus, they are hot. that always helps. well, since we were on the front we were right up in the action. and i swear, my ribs are bruised from people pushing me into the front of the stage. it was SO packed. and people were trying to jam you out of your spot. i had to hold onto the front of the stage to keep from being trampled. but yeah, i dont know about the rest of you but when i was in my formative years (about 10 or 11) bring it on was THE MOVIE. and there is a scene that comes to mind- cheer sex. its when kirsten dunst's character is cheering and she locks eyes with that guy while during a competition. in the mvie they called it cheer sex, and i think that when you lock eyes with whoever you are seeing in concert is should be called stage sex. and i love it when whoever you are there to watch locks eyes with you. but anyways, the lead guitarist of boys like girls, paul, i kept locking eyes with him. it's funny, ive never before found lip rings attractive.....

but yeah, my friend got a drumstick from them and i got the guitar guy's pick....

and then, hellogoodbye came out. they were awesome, and forrest the lead singer is just so freaking adorable. the only complaint i had is that their set was too short! i would have liked to heard some more from them. but a highlight of the show was when forrest threw me and my friend elizabeth the microphone and we got to sing part of touchdown turnaround..... then we got to hand it back....

then after the show we went and got to talk to the lead singer of boys like girls, who recognized that he'd given me a pick last time they were in atlanta, which was really cool. i would show you the picture, but i look so terrible in it its not even funny.

hellogoodbye:

that video i promised.

summer eyes — Tue, 22 May 2007 01:24:07 GMT

well, here is the video i promised of ben gibbard dedicating such great heights to my sister on her birthday.

i know i said id post it earlier, but ive had exams and end of year projects, the bright eyes concert, etc. so im sorry i procrastinated. but then i think pam posted it also....

mine didnt turn out so great, but someone on youtube recorded it and theirs was so much better!

so here it is!

i'm wide awake, its morning.

summer eyes — Sat, 19 May 2007 14:36:13 GMT

conooooooooooor oberst. i went to see bright eyes last night at the fox, and i have yet to come down from my musical high.

before i tell you about what i liked, let me tell you about some things that pissed me off.

1. when people buy shirts there and then PUT THEM ON. yes, i bought a bright eyes shirt. yes, im wearing it now. but i hate it when people buy shirts at concerts and put them on. i dont know, it seems kinda poser like. maybe thats because the only people i saw doing it were obviously in middle school. and they annoyed me later on too.

2. when people yell out WHILE conor was singing. its ok if you are in love with conor. im half in love with him myself. and im not going to get mad if you yell out that to him in between songs. but when said middle school girls yell out during one of my favorites off cassadega, no one would riot for less, it pissed me off. that song is so beautiful. i was standing there, transfixed as conor is singing it, and when do i hear? "conor i looooooooove you." "marry me conor!" SHUT THE FUCK UP 7TH GRADERS! there is a time and a place for everything, please wait until he has stopped singing to open your mouths. 'k thanks. i love him too, but try to control yourselves! it makes me sad to be a teenager, and i completely understand why people hate it when teenagers are at concerts with them. on behalf of all mature teenagers let me apologize for those that think they are the only ones at concerts and must be rude. i hate it too, but i guess thats a maturity thing.

now, enough ranting.

things i loved:

1. all the instruments. especially the flute. i took flute lessons for eight years, and i have been playing it for ten years now. while i no longer take lessons, i still pick it up from time to time and play it. i am happy to see a contemporary band using a flute in many of their songs.

2. the fox. this theater is just amazing. its built and decorated in this middle eastern indian place style. it reminds me of the movie moulin rouge. (how it looked in the movie, not how the moulin rouge looks in real life. cause ive been there, and it is little more than a glorified strip club) it has this amazing ceiling, it is made to look like the sky. stars twinkle, and somehow if you look long enough you can watch clouds moving across it. conor kept joking about it all night.

3. the fact that the opening band, oakley hall was amazing. ive got to go get an album or two after i write this. and the supporting band was amazing too. gillian welch. one word: banjo.

4. how beautiful he sounds live. god, conor's voice is so unique. i could just close my eyes and get lost in some of the slower songs.

5. how amazing his lyrics are. i was a little worried about how i would like cassadega. while it is definitely a bit of a different sound, it still blew my mind. my friend who got me into bright eyes came with me to the concert, and she wasn't a big fan of cassadega. she a big fan of his old stuff. but after last night, she told me she likes cassadega better now. it's really an album you need to hear live to understand completely. hopefully without screaming ninnys.

6. the last song of the encore. road to joy. while i have always liked this song, it was never a favorite of mine. but last night i heard live, and it was just beyond my wildest dreams. waaaaay beyond. the glorious cacophony that was all the instruments, the amazing melody that was conor's voice. it seemed to last forever. maybe its because i never wanted it to end. but it has not stopped playing (both on my iPod and in my head) since then.

im wide awake, its morning, and im still not over this concert.

me and my tiny asian friend abi.

as of right now, mog is being mean and says there is an error uploading my conor picture.

and then, ben gibbard dedicated the last song to my 10 year old sister.

summer eyes — Sun, 13 May 2007 06:27:17 GMT

well, i just got back from the most amazing concert of my life. ben gibbard. cue sighing. i only got there an hour before the doors opened, yet still managed to be one of the first 15 people in line because it had been raining. this allowed me to get a nice prime location on the front center row. since it was my sisters birthday, i had gotten a ticket for her and our 19 year old cousin took us. ben gibbard was her first concert, and i dont think she was disappointed.

as im sure you know, jonathon rice was the first act. he played a song and then he said something about a birthday, which made my sister let loose a high pitched squeek. after he finished he looked over at her and said,

"how old are you? like 5?" to which she replied,

"im ten!"

"and your name is.....?"

"my name is ABBY!"

then, jonathon rice talked to her about how crappy life was for about 5 minutes. later he and ben played a duet! which i videoed.

the whole time she couldnt get over the fact that she was talking to jenny lewis's boyfriend.(jenny is her idol)

after that, david bazan took the stage. he was good, but im not too familiar with his work, so i didnt enjoy that as much as i should have. i was much too anxious for ben to start.

after a LONG TIME of sound checks, ben finally took the stage. ahhhhhhhhh. please, somebody kill me now. he is just THAT GOOD live. dont even ask me what song he played, they are all so jumbled in my head after the end of the show, which i will get to later. all i know is by the time the night was over my 2 GB memory card was full. he played a ton of songs, because he didnt have a set list. i knew them ALL (except for a cover of harvest moon i think) and at one point he paused and didnt know what to play so i yelled out for him to play brand new colony. to which he replied, "what? comedy?" and i was like no BRAND NEW COLONY!

which he played after recycled air.

then later he did the whole fake walk out thing before the encore.

then he came on and played some more songs, and finally he got to his last song of the night. he turns to my 10 YEAR OLD SISTER! looks at her and says, "jonathon told me that you had a birthday. jonathon was lying to you. life is AWESOME! aside from middle school, but if you survive middle school you can make it through anything else. this next song is dedicated to you! happy birthday!"

then, i very nearly peed my pants.

and he started the opening chords of such great heights. then, when it was over he walked to my sister and handed her his pick! ahhhhhhhhrg, lucky ten year old. ben gibbard is her first concert, jonathon rice talks to her, ben gibbard DEDICATES A SONG TO HER, then hands her his PICK!

and then some people wanted to get pictures with her afterwards. it was very odd.

heck, im taking her to all my concerts if it makes the headliners look my way.

rawr.

oh, i think im going to include the video of his saying this song is for you, happy birthday. but not right now, cause my computer is being slow and mean. maybe tomorrow?

goodnight all- PEACE LOVE AND MUSIC.

the delightful mr. gibbard fled quite quickly after the show :[

me and my sister, the lucky little snot that she is.

cold war kids? on MTV?

summer eyes — Wed, 09 May 2007 21:09:09 GMT

well, i was watching the afternoon sneak today of the real world today on MTV, and when it went off a heard a very familiar sound. specifically, hang me up to dry by cold war kids.

i looked over at my friend elizabeth and we were all "huh? since when did the cold war kids become MTV's hot new artist at the end of their shows?"

its just interesting to see cold war kids on MTV i guess.

and slightly disturbing. maybe they will be the next augustana. thats how augustana got popular. one day i saw them at the end of an MTV show, the next day they were everywhere.

swoon-worthy lyrics.

summer eyes — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:21:19 GMT

so i was messing around on youtube, looking at some concert clips, when i came across this video of ben gubbard playing a cover of his postal service song, brand new colony. i liked brand new colony alright when the postal service sings it, but acoustic it is just more striking to me. this song is so romantic, i think i would swoon (in the style of scarlett o'hara) if anyone ever sang lyrics like this to me. its just so damn romantic.

sigh.

almost famous

summer eyes — Sun, 06 May 2007 21:03:19 GMT

this afternoon i watched almost famous for like the billionth time. i really love this movie. its my favorite, and i just have to sit down every couple of weeks and watch it again. in my opinion, one of the best scenes in the movie is when they all sing tiny dancer on the bus. and william says "i have to go home" and then penny says "you are home". i just love the way it plays out. i also love penny, and i sometimes wish i was like her.

enjoy.

the music playing in our heads.

summer eyes — Wed, 02 May 2007 00:33:55 GMT

today in georgia it was the hottest day of the year. ahh springtime, which means temperatures in the nineties. today was also the special olympics for our school system. various clubs in the school send volunteers outside to the track where we helped set up, and where half of us stayed to man different activities, while the other half stayed with groups of the special olympic contestants. my group of five friends was assigned to a very special bunch of students, the kids who were confined to wheelchairs and whose disabilities were so severe that many could only move limited areas of their bodies. as we helped wheel the kids from station to station, helped them bounce balls, painted their faces, blow bubbles, etc, i could not help but notice one boy kept moving his head and tapping various things (like his his leg or the side of his face). later, after we had wheeled them under the shade of some trees i noticed my friend freddie was looking at the boy in curiousity. i asked him why and he surprised me with his answer.

"i wonder what kind of music that kid must hear in his head. look at him, he sure is rocking out."

i took some time to look at the kid. sure enough, he was rocking his head back and forth to some beat only he could hear. the rest of the day i kept coming back to that same moment under the trees.

how lucky he is in that way, to not even need earphones to block everything out and connect his brain to music. even though his body was defective, i would like to think that perhaps in that small way god girfted him in a greater way than the rest of us. i hope that one day science will help us better understand these sort of special needs.

and while it might seem like some fluke, some kind of coincedence, it is my greatest hope that maybe even though he was isolated by disability, that boy was surrounded by music in his mind. i only wish i could have heard it.

today was an immensely gratifying day. i feel so blessed that i was able to spend a day in the company of some of the happiest people i have ever meet. the simplest things make them so happy. i have never seen children so delighted to come in fifth or sixth place. children so proud to sow you their ribbons, to sing you a song, to preform an impromptu victory dance.

i am truly honored to have spent a day with them.

three concerts in ten days?

summer eyes — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 02:18:29 GMT

holy crap, i cannot wait until the month of may. starting on may 12 and going until may 22, i will see THREE awesome concerts. of my favorite artists!

may 12. ben gibbard :] im very excited about that one, death cab is an old favorite of mine. and i do love his solo work, so seeing him in concert is something ive been looking forward to since late february.

may 18. bright eyes. well, honestly i wasnt so sure about how cassadega was going to turn out. its a bit different sound, but ive listened to it through a few times, and i am completely in love with it. i like conor when his voice is a bit less whiny. i also love the violins in it. so im very glad about that :]

may 22, boys like girls and hellogoodbye. well, i actually met boys like girls. and they were hot, and since ive seen them once before i know that they are going to be great. they have a great stage presence, and i just hope their set id longer than last time. ive also seen hellogoodbye once before, and of course i love them. forrest kline looks completely adorable, and im going to that one with a friend who is completely in love with him. so that should be interesting.

and after that im in germany for a month.

all i can say, is i cant wait for may!

oh jesus, that rhymed. it was not pn purpose, i swear. i prolley should backspaced ot, but ive written too much about it now.

:] but anyways, im excited.

three concerts in ten days?

hells yeah, i can handle it.

favor. (please)

summer eyes — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 01:34:18 GMT

so, a while back i discovered that at a show in 2005 ben gibbard and colin meloy did a cover of go your own way, a fleetwood mac song. i have been trying to find this cover for a couple of days at no avail. you see, i was raised on bands such as fleetwood mac and i love ben and colin's music. so having a copy of this to listen to would really make me happy. (i dont even really care that much about the quality right now- i only wanna hear it!)

if any of you wonderful people on MOG know of some place i could find it, i would be sooooo appreciative. i have already invested god-knows-how-many-hours looking for it.

please help a musical addict out.

thanks loves.

ich liebe deutschland.

summer eyes — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:05:47 GMT

hey ya'll...

i was looking at some tour dates for things bands coming to atlanta when i realized i will not be here for most of june. i will be in germany visiting one of my best friends, my former foreign exchange student. i was wondering if anyone knew of any cool bands/ websites where i might could find out who is playing in germany to see if i could catch a show or two.

if you know, or know where i could find out about this, please comment.

:] danke schorn.