Remembering the Encores

Who: Gary Lightbody (of Snow Patrol) When: August 2, 2015 Where: Swedish American Hall/ San Francisco, CA With: A room full of people in varying states of emotion Of Note: This is a story about how I cried in public. Snow Patrol is a band that I have a lot of emotional bullshit tied to. For years, one of their albums (it rotated) was my 'go to sleep' music. And, the first time I saw them (in PARIS) served as kind of an ending for me, the end of a period of mourning from a failed relationship . I can still clearly remember tearing up during 'This Isn't Everything You Are' and feeling so very triumphant during the last chorus because the message that despite all the pain and heartache, that's not all you are provided a tidy end to my, "and now we move on," narrative. So, when I saw that Gary Lightbody, Snow Patrol's lead singer, was doing a solo show in SF, I immediately bought a ticket. That man's voice is magic. The set was a g...

Dear Internet, I have a gift for you.  On Saturday, I decided that I just could not take the city any more.  I needed to get out.  So I took a drive down the coast, did some fantastic outlet shopping, pushed a cart around a giant suburbs Target, etc. - and it was glorious. While I was driving, I found a sandwich baggy of CDs in my car, put there when I drove across the country.  A potpourri of old favorites, unlabeled disks, and some of my mix CDs from college (oh, you sweet summer children who do not understand the joy of getting your first computer with a CD-RW drive and the power it held!).  I blindly grabbed one and put it in. Have you ever wondered to yourself, "I wonder what music Jen listened to when she was 19 and wanted to feel all the things?"  If you knew me in college, have you ever thought, "What were all those terrible songs that made Jen cry her entire sophomore year?" And so, I present to you, "Bastard Little Duck": an eloquently...

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...