summer eyes
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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:
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!
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In matters such as this one, it doesn't matter if you do something for selfish reasons. Just as long as you do it. Grats to you for putting your fear of needles aside and helping others (I know that fear of needles can lead one to paralyze). Excellent concept we should all be aware about, thanks for bringing it to our attention.
yeah, it really is incredible if you think how few people really do donate. and i know in my town our local red cross is almost always in short supply of blood, they sometimes have to buy blood from other areas. i think most people are just unaware of the situation.
This is a very cool and very worthy cause. Blood supplies are short everywhere, and the more ways to get people to contribute, the better.
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.
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Looks like a steady rollin good time. And did she spend their show on stage w/them? She's slinky. I am unfamiliar with the kiils. Thanks for the glimpse.
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lol ivey. and i mean i actually l-o-l-ed reading this. especially the "infinite" part. you are completely and totally 100% forgiven for seeing panic!
great review. and nice pics. the brothers felice and the mvb are just lovely. love that one of simone! (by the way i still want to see this supposed picture of you and simone that you speak of.)
now get some rest. rejuvinate. and get pumped for bss! aaaaaggggghhh!!!!!! (sorry. i'm still pee-in-my-pants excited.)
oh pam. i actually HAVE been waiting for years to use that line. ever since i read perks for the second time in the ninth grade. i actually read it in middle school first but didnt appreciate it. freddie helped me see tha error of my ways.
you know what? i have yet to read that book. i should really get on that.
and no pictures of jason? :/