Category Archives: Live Shows

Live Shows, Music, Photography

Local Battle

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Last night I was invited to see a co-worker’s band at the Outpost in Kent, OH.  The band’s name is The Heights Band and they were participating in a battle of the bands with other local artists.  The battle called the Saw Kick “Back To School” Battle Of The Bands was put on by local music lovers FTF Concerts & Promoters and Saw Kick Media.

I’ll be honest and tell you that last night I had no idea what to expect.  When I hear the words “Battle Of The Bands” I can only think about Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.  I think of high school rock offs, an immature event full of young kids running around with balloons.  Ok, no balloons.  Seriously though I was not expecting much for the night.

I never had heard of my co-worker’s material before but did hear good things about them by word of mouth in the office.  Based upon that I pretty much showed up for the The Heights Band as well as meet up with some of my fellow office zombies.  I had also promised said co-worker in band that I would do my best to photograph his band’s live performance.

Before I even begin to recap the night I will confess that I did not stay for the whole thing so I will only talk about a couple of the bands I saw including the band I had intents on seeing.

The Outpost was crowded when I showed up, something I did not expect at all.  I really had visions of pulling in to an empty parking lot with just a handful of folk hanging out.  When I saw the amount of vehicles in the parking lot I started thinking that I might need to begin to expect a little more.

$7.00 at the door and I was in.  I arrived right as the first act started playing, All Or Nothing.  These kids had Warped Tour written all over them.  Very scene, very emo, a little punk, and I admit, some of their songs were pretty entertaining.  I got a huge kick out of the cover of “Johnny B. Goode” they dished out.  I was not the only one who thought that way.

My co-worker’s band The Heights Band took stage and blew me away. I was very impressed with their performance and immediately sensed who the winner was going to be that night without even seeing the rest of the bands.  Their mix of southern rock, garage rock, and blues really hit the spot.  They looked very comfortable on stage and for the first time that night the floor was full of people rocking out.  Their set ended with me wanting a lot more.

Professor Greenhouse was the last band I saw perform before I packed up and headed home.  The folk/bluegrass was very appealing and a shocker.  I was not expecting a band quite like Professor Greenhouse to be at a battle of the bands.  I have a feeling if this band can keep it up they will be going places but given the performance by The Heights Band just prior I did not see the folk act taking home a win that night.

I actually said my goodbyes and took off before Professor Greenhouse finished so I was not sure who won that last night but I did discover the my initial gut feeling was right and The Heights Band took the win that night and are headed to the finals.  Good for them.

It was nice to rock out to an evening of local bands.  I really don’t do that much anymore these days.  It was a reminder that I should check out more local acts in my surrounding area and see what is out there.  Not only are they cheap shows usually but also proof how much talent that hides out there unless you are looking for it.

Here are some of the pics I took last night of The Heights Band:

Live Shows

Going to ‘Roo.

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Ticket purchased. If you are thinking of going you better grab a ticket now. I make the mistake of waiting a few minutes after tickets went on sale and did not get the $224 tickets, I had to pay $234….

I am very stoked for this trip and I think my buddy Matt is too from the looks of his latest blog.  We both wait on RADam now to see when he gets a ticket.

Live Shows, Music

Bonnaroo 2009 Plans

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Bonnaroo 2009 is on.

So after talking to my good friends Matt and Adam, the gentlemen I have attended the last two Virgin Mobile Festivals with, we agreed to switch up tradition a tad.  This year we thought we would start off our summer with a bang by hitting up Bonnaroo 2009.

I just posted the Bonnaroo 2009 line up the other day and you can view that HERE.  From what I saw I was overly excited.  NIN, Beastie Boys, Coheed & Cambria, Elvis Costello, Snoop Dogg, Jenny Lewis…the list goes on.  The biggest acts announced would have to be Phish who will be playing two sets (and I could care less) and also someone who I have wanted to see live for years, the boss, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band will be there.

Needless to say the line up is incredible.  I still do not think it can top the 2006 line up with Radiohead, Beck, Tom Petty, and Ben Folds just to mention a couple, but it comes in at a close second.  Of course that will be determined once I am on site at the farm grounds enjoying myself.

Last night while deciding if I could afford it I decided to check out nearby hotels.  You see, I am what they call a metrosexual of sorts (nothing extreme) and I am ok with it.  I don’t camp anymore and I need to look my best and smell my best daily.  I admit it, I take care of myself.  There is no way in hell I could camp out for four long hot days in a tent surrounded by 80,000 people most of which party until the sun comes up  That is not my style.  I need A/C, I need a soft bed, and most of all I need internet so I can update all you wonderful readers of my adventures.

Just thinking about my past adventures in 2006 made me want to go even more.  I decided that this year would be a Bonnaroo year.

Before a ticket was even purchased, I found a hotel and booked it immediately.  The hotel is about 40 miles south of the festival grounds and happens to be a Holiday Inn.  In 2006 when I first went to Bonnaroo my friends and I stayed in a dump hotel called Executive Suites, it was gross.  In 2007 when my friends and I went to Baltimore to see the Virgin Festival we found a Motel 6 to stay in.  One of the beds was missing from the room and the other had a huge hole in it.  At that moment I declared never again would I stay in a dump motel.  Nothing but the best for me and my friends.

I know it is going to be hot, humid, hopefully not rainy, and also amazing.  I look forward to being surrounded by all sorts of people and checking out a huge array of musical talent.  I know that when there is nothing going on at one stage tent, that you can move on and find another.  You can also visit the merchants inside Centeroo (gated area where the bands play) as well as venture out into the camping grounds to check out other vendors.

It’s a controlled environment even if many of the attendees are on not-so-much controlled substances.  The main party starts around noon and sometimes goes all the way till 4am.  There is a good vibe throughout the day that I can not wait to be surrounded in again.  I also know that when it is late and I am tired I can go back to a hotel for the night and catch up on sleep well away from the partying.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow.  Once the ticket is purchased we have 4 months until showtime!

If anyone else is planning on going, let me know.

Here’s some pics I took (well before I had a good camera) from the 2006 Bonnaroo:

Main stage @ Bonnaroo
Some of the only running water found on the camp grounds.
Heading out to the camp grounds to look for vendors.

Oh, in case you are wondering about the hotel room in 2007, I made some ads of my own and sent them to Motel 6.  Enjoy:

70's, 80's, 90's, Electronic, Folk, Hip Hop, Indie, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Rap, Rock

More Bonnaroo 2009 Bands Confirmed

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I have to say that Bonnaroo 2009 is looking pretty good this year. Tickets go on sale this Friday and I already envision a sellout with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street band performing as well as Phish (2 shows mean major hippie joy). I am more excited to see Coheed & Cambria, the Beastie Boys, NIN, Andrew Bird, Wilco, Elvis Costello, Down (seriously???), and Jenny Lewis.

Here’s the current line up taken from Bonnaroo.com:

Tickets go on sale this Friday.  They will run you about $224.50 at first and then will escalate to $249.50 after the early tickets sellout.  Pricey, indeed, but this year Bonnaroo is making it easier for you to go as they have introduced a payment plan.  Call it a rock layaway of sorts…  Here is some info on that:

BONNAROO 2009 TICKETS ON SALE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7th, 2009 AT 12:00 PM EASTERN. PURCHASE PAYMENT PLAN TICKETS.

GA PAYMENT PLAN
General admission tickets will also be available for (5) payments of $50.00 plus applicable fees through our payment plan.

Payment plan ticket fees are $28.90 per ticket, which includes a $6.00 facility fee, $3.00 contribution to Coffee County, $1.00 charity donation, and $5.00 payment plan fee ($1.00 per payment), and service fees.

There is a limit of (10) general admission payment plan tickets per order.

GA Payment Plan Schedule*
Payment 1    $90.90 including all fees    DATE OF PURCHASE
Payment 2    $50.00                                Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Payment 3    $50.00                                Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Payment 4    $50.00                                Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Payment 5    $50.00                                Tuesday, May 19, 2009
*For each GA ticket purchased starting on Saturday, February 7, 2009.

That is a great idea if you ask me. Everyone these days are hard on cash so this payment plan will pull in those folk who may now have been able to dish out all the loot at once.  Keep in mind though that if you do the payment plan and miss just one payment, Bonnaroo will keep the ticket, keep your money, and still bill you for the balance.  I knew there was a catch to this.  Always make sure you read the fine print or in this case the part that says “IMPORTANT“:

IMPORTANT: If, for any reason, any of your payments are declined, in whole or in part, then all of the following will apply: (i) your order and your tickets will be canceled (ii) any payment received as of that date will be kept by Bonnaroo as partial offset for your default, (iii) you will still owe the balance of the full amount due for each ticket and you authorize Musictoday and Bonnaroo to charge your credit card for any balance due, (iv) Musictoday and Bonnaroo will be entitled to pursue all of their legal and equitable remedies to recover the full payment from you, and (v) you agree to pay all costs of collection incurred by Musictoday or Bonnaroo, including legal fees, that they may incur in collecting the balance of each ticket price. Payment plan tickets are subject to all of the other terms of the ticketing agreement.

I can only afford one festival this year.  That is my limit.  So far Bonnaroo is winning me over.  One thing about Bonnroo that deters me though is the camping.  I don’t camp anymore.  I especially do not camp with 80,000 other people with camps set up as far as 3 miles from the venue.

I went to Bonnaroo in 2006.  We stated in a dump hotel but it the the best thing we could do.  We could come and go when we wanted to as we were not jammed into to the camping area like sardines.  Trust me, once you park your car and set up camp you are done.  There was hardly any traffic movement during the whole weekend as if you camped you were stuck.

No showers, no air conditioning, no running water… yeah I am too old for that these days…  I can rock it at an all day long summer festival no problem, but at the end of the day I need a bed with some A/C cranking after a shower.

Just look at the picture below.  The lower half of the picture is the festival grounds.  The top half is the camping community.  There is also an equal portion of the camping community behind the festival grounds too.  Honesty it is an incredible site…

Aerial shot by Taylor Crothers
Aerial shot by Taylor Crothers

With tickets on sale at the end of the week I am really wishing the Virgin Festival line up would release so I can figure out which way I am headed this summer…  I lean towards the Virgin Festival mostly because I have been to all of them so far so why ruin a tradition?  This Bonnaroo line up though has me very interested…

To be continued…

Bragging Rights, Live Shows

Score. (Thanks to Matt @ AddictedToVinyl.Com

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I got a phone call today.

Yes I did.

It was from Matt, you know the guy that runs www.addictedtovinyl.com.  He called me to tell me he got me something.  A ticket to:

Earlier in the week I suggested that he try and score tickets to the Rock Hall Induction Ceremony as I thought he was a Rock Hall member or might have had better connections than I do.  He said he would see what he could do and get back to me.

Well being that good friend that Matt is, he went this morning and waited in line at the Rock Hall and picked up a pair of tickets.  One for him…one for me.

I owe him a Dr. Pepper or something…

Chances are he’ll just put them on eBay to make a profit and not tell me until I am waiting at Public Hall for him to meet me there.  That is how he rolls, no… not really.  He is a good guy regardless of how much he pays me to be his friend.

A big THANK YOU to you Matt.  That was the best phone call I received all day.

The following was taken from RockHall.Com:
On April 4, 2009, the Induction Ceremony will take place in Cleveland for the first time since 1997. The 2009 Induction Ceremony will be broadcast live on Fuse TV.

The performer inductees are:
Jeff Beck
Little Anthony & the Imperials
Metallica
Run-D.M.C.
Bobby Womack

Early Influence Category Inductee:
Wanda Jackson

Sidemen Category Inductees:
Bill Black
DJ Fontana
Spooner Oldham

The 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer inductees were chosen by the 600 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twenty-five years after their first recording is released.

In addition to being honored at the April ceremony, each inducted artist is commemorated at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland Ohio, which serves as a monument to rock and roll’s impact on our culture.  These inductees will be honored – along with previous year’s inductees and hundreds of other artists – with an exhibit and film that serve to tell the story of modern music. 


For the latest information on ticket packages, special announcements and other events, sign up for the Rock Hall e-newsletter!