Remembering the Encores

Who: One Republic with The Script and American Authors When: June 6, 2014 Where: Lake Shore Amphitheater/ Mountain View, CA With: Alex Of Note: Are we old? My friend Alex from work shot me a note asking if I wanted to go see amdlakdoa and adfjdoiadjf on June 6 (or at least that's what I saw - I was in an airport/hotel/something at the time). I checked my calendar, saw that I was in town and said yes. Later I found out the line up which: totally legit, right? After a post-work drive south and a burrito the size of my head, it was concert time. First up was American Authors. They're having a moment, right? I wonder how many people just went through the same thought process I did which was, "Are these guys liars? Can every single day you hear this on the radio be the best day of your life? Wait! What if that's the point? Every day has the possibility to be the best day of your life!" Anyway, the highlights of the set were 'Luck', which has...

Man, you know what I haven't talked about in a while? How hard it was to move across the country. (Geez Jen, SHUT UP already. People move; you are not a pioneer nor are you Fievel with some sort of terrible sob story.) Anyway, as much better as living on the left coast has gotten (who knew spending three hours a day in my car alone was making me miserable and eliminating that commute and putting my office much closer to things that people actually do would make me much happier?), when I first got out here it was rough. And I was lonely and alone and regretting my decision to move because I could not and would not look ahead to a time when it would be better. This is a story about a book club. A couple months after moving here, I finally got acquainted with some of my co-workers; there was a meeting or a birthday cake or something? And one of them, Jasmin, had sent me a friend request on facebook. I gladly accepted. Some time later, she threw up a post that said, "...

Letter / Wild Adriatic Holy crap, how have I not been always listening to Wild Adriatic?  They're SO GOOD. Same Old Story / moe. 'No Guts, No Glory' is definitely my favorite moe. studio offering since 'Dither'.  I've been listening to the whole album, but this one of my favorites. My Kind of Night / Luke Bryan Lasting residuals of the Nashville trip, I suppose.  Also the at bat music of my favorite San Francisco Giant, Brandon Hicks. Stay With Me / Sam Smith Just like everyone else in the whole world, I love this song.  I heard it for the first time on morning radio and was so captivated I just laid in my bed and sobbed at both the message and raw emotion. A Mixtape For the Soul  - This is one of my favorite new sites to follow.  Essentially, people request playlists for certain moods/events/etc. and then they get a playlist, super easily accessed on Spotfiy.  The playlists are all short enough to get through in an h...

Who: The Sing Off Live! The Filharmonic, VoicePlay, & Home Free When: March 15, 2014 Where: UB Center for the Arts/ Buffalo, NY With: Steph Of Note: Steph has set a dangerous precedent for my visits to Buffalo. So, the last time I was in Buffalo, my friend's Steph & Gary did magic things and procured some free, VIP tickets to see the Goo Goo Dolls . It was glorious. As a result, I possibly shouldn't have been surprised when I was in Buffalo for work in March and Steph called to say, "I know we were supposed to hang out for a TV date tonight but I forgot I had free tickets to The Sing Off tour. Would it be okay if we did that instead?" I'm pretty sure I've made my feelings on a capella pretty clear, and my feelings on The Sing Off even clearer . Yes, absolutely that would be wonderful, yes. (Bonus points for the fact that I had bought a ticket to see the show in SF but subsequently had to StubHub it because I ended up being out of town f...

You Got Me / Ingrid Michaelson Featuring Storyman Callin' Baton Rouge / Garth Brooks (but, because this song is impossible to find on the internet, I've actually been listening to some sort of Country Cardio version of it that's quite good) Rocking Chair / The Alternate Routes Asked You Twice / The Alternate Routes Anywhere With You / Jake Owen I Lived / One Republic 

Who: O.A.R. When: May 12, 2014 Where: Creative Live Studios/ San Francisco, CA With: The band, like 6' from me Of Note: You win this one San Francisco; you win this one. Also, you can buy this session! Click here, pay $10 (most of which goes to O.A.R.'s Heard the World Charity!) and play "Spot Jen in the audience!" Okay, so I've been seeing O.A.R. for a long time ; they make me feel like college and summer in Buffalo and like I want to be wrapped up in a warm blanket of Marc's voice and live there. (How is it possible that I've only written about 3 O.A.R. shows? I've seen them at least two dozen times. File under things to rectify, I guess.) Anyway, O.A.R. played three shows at the Independent one May week-end in SF. And in the week leading up to that week-end, they tossed up a Facebook post that said, "We're doing a live stream on Monday and the first ten people who comment get to come." I was one of the first ten to resp...

Who: Up and Coming Country Stars Whose Names I Don't Know Because They are BAD AT MARKETING When: May 23-27, 2014 Where: Broadway / Nashville, TN With: Barb Of Note: One night in Nashville is fun. Two nights in Nashville is a LOT of fun. Three nights in Nashville pushes you to the brink of death. Four nights in Nashville? That makes you a champion. So, because my life is awesome, I had the opportunity to piggy back on a work trip and spend Memorial Day week-end in Nashville, TN. And, since Barb is always up for anything and needed a week-end away, she flew down to meet me. Guys? Nashville is amazing because you can (almost literally) see bands 24 hours a day. Most of you who have been to this space before will understand that is essentially utopia. So, because I figure that at least one of these guys will BLOW UP to be the next country superstar, I'm going to try to document at least some of who we saw. First off, though, fair musicians of Nashville, may I...