Remembering the Encores

Who: Jeremy Jordan When: May 4, 2014 Where: Feinstein's at the Nikko/ San Francisco, CA With: My hacking cough Of Note: I am ready to declare Jeremy Jordan a national treasure. Oh, sad neglected website. Since we last saw each other, I've been to ten different cities and seen six or seven shows. I didn't mean to neglect you; I promise. It's just... sometimes life gets busy (these last couple months have been more heavily weighted to the "mogul aspirant" side of my "mogul aspirant/ live music enthusiast" spectrum). No matter. Tonight, I had the esteemed privilege of seeing Jeremy Jordan at Feinstein's at the Nikko Hotel, here in SF and I want to say things about it. I "discovered" Feinstein's last month and determined it one of the coolest places in the city - the bar area is adorably damask and pink and the performance area feels markedly like a NYC cabaret. When I checked out their full schedule and saw Jeremy Jorda...

If You Don't Love Me / The Wild Feathers Up In The Air / The Revivalists Heartbreak Dream / Betty Who Dice / Finley Quaye & William Orbit 

Who: White Denim with Clear Plastic Masks When: February 5, 2014 Where: The Fillmore/ San Francisco, CA With: My head cold? Of Note: Breaking news: Cowboys might be the new lumberjacks So, Wednesday, I stayed home from work because I was dripping snot all over the place and now that we're in an open office, I didn't want to snot all over my co-workers. When my boss called to ask if she could drop something off at my house for me to transport to San Antonio the following day, I consulted my calendar and said, "Oh, crap. I have to go to the Fillmore tonight," then confirmed that she could drop off some very exciting Composition correlations (I think) for me to hand carry to Texas the next day. I figured a night where I had a raging head cold and a 6am flight to prepare for was the perfect night to take in some rock & roll. As it turns out, I was right! (Plus, props to the bartender at the Fillmore who served me a giant glass of ginger ale without making...

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...

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...

It's been a while since I've done one of these!  Here's some stuff I've been listening to. The Dirty Guv'nahs / We'll Be the Light This is one of those songs that makes me want to say, "Hey  moron, why haven't you been listening to this for forever?"  'Put your hand in my pocket/ I'll be your favorite song' may be my new favorite lines of music ever. The Colourist / Little Games Patrick Sweany / Them Shoes American Bang / Wild and Young Every time I re-watch the TV show 'Greek' I get super into this song. HiFi Superstar / Sunday Afternoon Marie Miller / 6'2" I cried in my car the first time I heard this song.  So, there's that.

2013 is going down in the record books as "the year I moved to California". There's been a lot of good that's come with that: professional success, proof that I could do it, a pretty kick-ass cross-country road trip, the opportunity to be somewhere else and think about personal reinvention, a profound appreciation for public transportation. But, there's been a fair amount of bad as well: being lonely for the first time in my whole life, a little shake up of my self-perception as a result of that loneliness, some family shitshow nonsense that I'm not close enough to fix. But, despite whatever else happened, like most years, I saw some incredible live music in 2013. Picking a Top 5 was difficult, but these are the shows I'll remember most from this year. Apparently, I was looking for comfort music this year, because 3/5 are old favorites. In no particular order: John Mayer - July 26, 2013 "And then, John Mayer. Holy shit, John Mayer. This ...