Remembering the Encores

Welcome back dear readers!  Would you like to read about my reactions to a television program that aired several weeks ago?  I thought so! Okay, so why on earth is this only one night?  Didn't they sell out the tour last year and so it should have been their month long thing?  Plus, Pentatonix has been at the center of almost every pop culture moment for the last year.  And Pitch Perfect has made a capella even more relevant than normal.  This one night affair is a travesty.  The world needs more a capella, damnit. I hope Shawn Stockman calls someone "big baby".  AND WHY IS THERE NO BEN FOLDS?!?! What a capella judging credentials does Patrick Stump have? Is Ben Folds' lack of availability the real reason it's only one night?  Why are we a full two minutes in and haven't seen Nick Lachey's dreamboat face yet? Okay, opening number... Here we go!  Ew, that girl has purple hair and I don't like it.  Jewel just looked super confu...

Who: Phish When: October 27, 2014 Where: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium/ San Francisco, CA With: Matt, Joe Of Note: Holy crap! There are more words written about Phish than are probably even countable ( some of them by me !). Instead of adding to the discourse, I'd like to offer some letters to my fellow concert goers. Dear Matt & Joe, Thank you for being so baller, getting a great spot in line allowing you to get optimal "old people seeing Phish" seats in the balcony. And, thanks for letting me tag along! Love, Jen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Shirtless Dancing Guys in the Front Row of the Balcony Section 218 (I think), Thank you for being aesthetically pleasing and dancing like crazy. I much enjoyed it. xoxo, Jen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Girl With The Crazy Five L...

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