I AM... (Woman, hear me roar)
The first big concert I attended this year was Beyonce's I AM tour. I do not own any of Beyonce's CD's but I've always liked how she sings about women's empowerment. Whenever I hear the song "Irreplaceable," it makes me wish that a man would break my heart just so I can sing with assertiveness and attitude the words, "You must not know 'bout me... I can have another you in a minute..." and tell him to remove his bags from the jag that I bought him. Ok, back to the show. It was well produced and Vegas over-the-top. At one point she was harnessed to the ceiling as she descended upon her fans. I think she sang her entire new album, old hits from her other albums and Destiny's Child as well. Backed by her all-female band, Beyonce put on a lavish show catering to her fans. The great thing about Beyonce is that she is truly a singer. The light show, the production and the crazy costumes do not drown out or distract from her powerful voice.
One of the highlights of the night was at the end of the concert when Beyonce acknowledged members of the audience even saying, "I see you in the purple dress..." and so on. I enjoyed seeing mothers with their daughters and groups of girlfriends having a good time. The one odd thing was that amount of girls/women dressed like they were going to a club-- I guess they all wanted to weartheir "freakum" dresses. My philosophy about concert attire has always been whatever you can stand, dance and sit in for hours.
Concert Facts:
Date: July 9, 2009
Venue: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, Ca
Seat: Lower Level (not floor) section 100's
Opening Act: Not even worth mentioning
Attended with: My friend Stephen who was a stand-in for my sis-in-law Jayne who had a NKOTB concert to attend that day.
Rating (out of 5): 3
VIVA LA COLDPLAY
I'll get to the point. One of the best if not the best concert experience I have had thus far. Coldplay puts on anincredible show and the best part about their show is that everything is centered on the audience. Chris Martin (Coldplay's frontman) is quite endearing and loveable. The band played to a crowd of about 40, 000 in one hundred degree weather and they seemed genuinely grateful for every single fan who showed up. Chris Martin repeatedly acknowledged the crowd even thanking us for coming out on a Tuesday night. He even mentioned Sacramento/Marysville/Wheatland several times. They even played on three stages; the main stage, a small stage amongst the middle seaters and a stage for the lawn seats!
Coldplay sounds great live. One of my favorite performances was when he did a slowed down piano version of "The Hardest Part." When they sang "Yellow", large yellow balloons fell onto the audience and inside were confetti-- it looked beautiful. Another great moment was when they sang "Lovers in Japan" and little butterfly confetti exploded onto the crowd. Of all the great moments in that concert, the most memorable one was when they sang an acoustic version of "Billie Jean" as a tribute to the late Michael Jackson (the concert was just a week after MJ's death). That is one of my most epic concert moments.
At the end of the night, we each got free CDs of their live music from their tour. If I could, I would follow them around the world on tour, but for now, I'll just listen to my free CD and remember that great experience that was the Coldplay Viva La Vida show.
Concert Facts:
Date: July 14, 2009
Venue: Sleeptrain Amphitheatre, Wheatland/Marysville, Ca
Seat: Just three rows shy of being the very back seat (not lawn) - I tried to get better seats.. but they sold out quick!
Opening Act: Can't remember
Attended with: My brother
Rating (out of 5): 4.5 - only because I wish I had better seats.
SAN FRANCISCO OUTSIDE LANDS MUSIC FESTIVAL
Because this was a 3 day festival with 30+ artists, I have dedicated an entire blog for this event (see posting above).
DAY AND AGE DANCE PARTY!
That's exactly what it was. A giant dance party. If you were going to fist pump, The Killers concert was the place to do so. This concert was a blast! I am big fan of The Killers. Their music always puts me in a good mood and the concert did as well. Brandon Flowers does not really interact too much with the audience; however, their music is lively enough to make you want to get up off your feet. Well.. actually.. Flowers had to guilt the people in the seats to get up. He told them "You people sitting down are killing me, we aren't the Fray!"
They sang a lot of songs from their latest album Day and Age and their first album Hot Fuss. They also sang other hits like "When We Were Young." My favorite part of the concert was when they sang "All These Things That I've Done" because confetti fell onto the audience -- I just love that!
Concert Facts:
Date: September 22, 2009
Venue: ARCO Arena, Sacramento
Seat: Floor/General Admission
Opening Act: Some Marriachi band I have never heard of (obviously not worth mentioning)
Attended with: Bethany, Molly and Amy (my usual crowd)
Rating (out of 5): 3.5
The biggest band in the world on the biggest stage ever built for a rock show. Need I say more? Yes. U2's 360 show was a significant and I would say a pinnacle in my concert experiences. I do not think I will ever see a show as grand and as significant as this show. From beginning to end, U2 delivered a stellar performance only elevated by the spectacular light show. The 360 tour has been called the biggest tour ever and by the size of the stage you clearly see why.
The stage itself is something to behold. Dubbed "The Claw" or "The Spaceship," the stage is so massive that it practically takes up an entire football field giving everyone in the arena a sense of being closer to the stage. At the show I attended, there were 90,000+ people and youtube broadcast the show live-- making this one of the most watched live concerts in history. The night was filled with epic moments, from the opening show of the Black Eyed Peas to the very end of U2's performance.
Black Eyed Peas. This is the second time I have seen them live (unintentionally). Despite their empty grade school lyrics, their songs do get the party started. One of the most epic concert moments I will remember for the rest of my life was when Black Eyed Peas brought out a special guest-- Slash! Yes. The legendary guitarist from Guns 'n Roses was there in the flesh playing "Sweet Child of Mine." That was a historic moment.
U2 played for nearly 3 hours-- which is understandable because they have a lot to cover. They played songs from their new album but it those songs did not move the crowd as much as their old hits did. One of my favorite moments of the concert was when they sang "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and of course all 90,000+ of us knew the words and Bono let us sing. It must be an incredible feeling hearing tens and thousands of people singing YOUR song. Of course it would not be U2 without the politics. During "Sunday Bloody Sunday" images of Iran and Iranian women appeared on the screen.
U2 also did a sort of call to freedom for Burmese freedom fighter Aung Sung Suu Kyi while performing "Walk On." There were some odd times of the night when U2 did a whole tribute to space travel... huh? At one point Bono even said "Space travel turns me on." What?
Getting to this concert was a bit stressful and required some money. However, it was worth the trouble, money and so much more. There were also some comical and tense moments. While we were packed in like sardines on the floor waiting for the show to start, several people kept trying to sneak in and stand in front of us. I am short and this is a problem at concerts. My friend Molly and other concert-goers near me were getting umm.. a little violent. At one point, I look over at Molly and I see her in some woman's face and her fists are clenched ready to pop her! It was hilarious! I guess the woman was trying to walk by with her Bono look alike boyfriend. Ridiculous! Needless to say there was a lot of pushing and shoving and yelling. I don't think Bono would approve. :) Nevertheless, the concert was rock history in the making and I was glad and honored to be a part of it.
Concert Facts:
Date: October 25, 2009
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Ca
Seat: Floor/General Admission (p.s. the floor was steel so my feet were limp at the end of the night)
Opening Act: Black Eyed Peas (with surprise guest Slash)
Attended with: Molly, David and Bethany
Rating (out of 5): 5
Wow! You've seen some great stuff this year!
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