Remembering the Encores

Who: Jason Mraz with B.o.B. and Bruno Mars When: September 15, 2010 Where: University at Buffalo's Baird Point/ Buffalo, NY With: Becky Of Note: holy crap, I am so old Jason Mraz makes up the third arm of the "cute boys with guitars" genre of music that is a rite of passage for all college girls (John Mayer and Dave Matthews being the other two). The first time I heard 'The Remedy', I thought to myself, "No sir, I will not worry my life away!" I was hooked. I'm even a big fan of the largely critically panned 'Mr A-Z'. The song 'Wordplay' was my ringtone for a long time. Anyway, Jason Mraz was coming to UB's FallFest and, though I was clearly not a student anymore, I decided I needed to go. After all, tickets were only $20. It was a gorgeous night in September; there was just a touch of bite in the air and things were just starting to smell crisp, like leaves and apple cider. It was a great night for an outdoor sh...

I feel like this is going to be much less fun than last year's because it is far, far later than most of my readership is watching this.  Damn you, the West Coast. Alright, so we're starting with Beyonce.  I'm not sure I'm loving the gel damp bob?  She is still obviously gorgeous and I can only hope to move one one thousandth  of that well ever in my whole life.  This seems kind of restrained for her?  Just the fog and the chair?  Oh!  Here's Jay-Z.  And there is his hand firmly planted on her ass.  Are they music's biggest power couple of all time?  I'm blanking on any other possible contenders.  So much money talent in one household, yo. Awww, I forgot that LL Cool J always hosts this.  Everyone loves LL Cool J.  Aww, a cold weather joke.  Way to go lowest common denominator, dude.  Reference to his own lyrics!  That only took 85ish seconds. And the first Taylor Swift joke of the night.  Exc...

Standard disclaimer on how this is less fun on the west coast; I am social media unspoiled though so let's see what goes down.  Though, since Justin Bieber has publicly declared that the Grammys aren't relevant anymore, is there any point? Kicking off with a heavy hitter, Adele right out of the gate.  Her hair and make-up look phenomenal and that dress is so much better than what she's worn in the past.  New styling team?  Her pipes remain as impressive as ever though, this song was not one that really did it for me.  Or maybe that spring where I did nothing but listen to '21' and cry on airplanes ruined Adele for me. Is James Corden actually stuck in the stairs or is this a bit.  Oh, it's a bit.  Got it.  Was the point of that, "James Corden is good at physical comedy?"  Because this sequence is not doing a whole lot for me.  I have a lot of of love for James Corden because of a lot of his gimmicks, his appearance in 'Begin Again',...

8pm Why is Taylor Swift co-opting Brit Brit's Circus tour costumes?  Also, that bunny is creepy.  She sounds better than she usually does live though, so there's that.  And, are those clowns with clown hand puppets?  Yes, Tay-Tay, we know.  You're a big deal. (On a side note, I love her song 'Trouble' so much.  But, narratively, wouldn't it have made sense to release 'Trouble' before 'Never Ever...'?) Oh LL Cool J.  I'm liking the hometown shout outs.  Plus, the signature Kangol hat. The lights hanging in the theater look like the lights that Mumford & Sons used during their summer tour. My favorite thing so far?  Panning to all the unimpressed celeb faces in the crowd. Grammys for Grammy!  Aww, LL, that's adorable. Oh Adele, I love you so much.  You may need a new stylist. ELTON JOHN AND ED SHEERAN!! I read about how Elton John told the Grammy people that they had to have Ed Sheeran perform because Ed is just...

Usual disclaimers about how this is much less fun from the west coast and on DVR. I know I say this every time but I love Bruno Mars.  I like that he's traveling with a band of hpye men, though I miss his horn section.  Whoa - how did I miss that Bruno is the heir apparent to MJ?  This dance break is outstanding.  Is the use of pop and locking in reference to "pop, pop it's showtime?" Gigi Hadid is a model, right?  Has she ever had a speaking job before?  I'm not sure this would be the place to start?  I like that she's called out both the electoral college and Melania in the first four minutes.  Though that impression was kind of weak sauce.  Much like the VMAs, I feel like I still know things about music but if the presenters are what the children are into, I am out of touch.  Jay Pharaoh's Donald impression is hilarious though. These three look like they could orchestrate a complicated murder and get away with it, stage a hosti...

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...

Who: O.A.R. When: January 29, 2014 Where: The Bird's Nest/ Phoenix, AZ With: So very many middle-aged drunk men in PING hats Of Note: Sometimes I think my life is weird. So, whenever I travel for work I check to see who is playing in the area when I'm there. In this case, a week of campus visits in Phoenix, AZ meant that I got to see O.A.R.! As it turns out, the Phoenix Open was in town the week I was (which explains the pricey hotels), which is a big deal for golf? I don't know. And the concert that I got a ticket to was part of the Phoenix Open After Party - at a venue they erect just for that purpose called The Bird's Nest. Essentially, they build an elaborate tent/stage thing and surround it with another big old bar tent (the Dierks Bentley Whiskey Bar, if I recall correctly; apparently he's from Phoenix) and like a mini-festival ground. When I got there, there was a DJ who sounded like he would have been at home at Daily Planet, huge vi...

Today, someone on the internet posted a clickbait article, ' What You Were Supposed To Learn Between 2016 And 2018, Based On Your Zodiac Sign '. Here's what mine said: And, that probably makes sense?  Someday, when I'm old and trying to stave off senility, I'll probably recall 2017 as "the year I started at Revel" or maybe "the year I started/tried doing stand-up comedy" or "the year Melissa and Beth finally came to visit me in California".  In the nearer range future, I hope to think of 2017 as "the year I started becoming at least somewhat less of a shitshow" and (in the tiniest, non-jinx-y voice imaginable) "the year Buffalo broke the drought".  And, maybe all that rolls up to 'find(ing) (my) passion again'.  Creating a new type of content has been fun.  Professional life in 2017 has been very rewarding after a 2016 period of stagnation/frustration. But, regardless of the year and what I did/ didn...