My Evening with Peter Murphy

Getting tickets to the show was an adventure. Not wanting to pay $5 in fees I decided not to pay them online, but hit Greywhale on my way home, although I never made specific plans and of course forgot, so the weekend before the show I decided I would get my ticket at that point, but that day I was so sick and all thoughts and plans left my head and. Monday I started to panic as the show is tomorrow, but I figured I could still get them online. Until I read the bold SOLD OUT, that is. I started calling Greywhale locations and of course, the one by my house was sold out too, but the one in West Jordan still had a few. I called Husband but he was too sick and I figured I could go after work. They close at the unreasonable hour of 6 PM, but I figured if I really drove fast from the trax station, I could make it. Of course I don’t normally take trax on Mondays, but because of being sick I didn't want to risk going to the gym, so I took trax because it's so convenient, or something. Of course the ride home and my train gets stopped behind another train. I keep watching the time slip away, but it's only an extra few minute hold-up, I can make up for that. After practically running to my car at the station I speed to get onto the freeway. Only to come to a dead stop. Traffic is terrible and slow moving, finally when i make it up to the onramp, I find out why. The lights to get onto the freeway are out. My glimmer of hope is fading; I think that it's possible that I could still get there just before they close the doors. Then I see the freeway. Gridlocked. There is no way that trying to wade thro

ugh that mess would get me there in time.

My new plan is to call the venue tomorrow and see if any tickets open up. In the morning I check the online classifieds to see if anyone is selling tickets. Only 2 different people. One wants $75 for his pair, and the other wants $75 a piece. I send a text to the first guy; the tickets are spoken for, but if that falls through he'll let me know. I'm not desperate enough to pay $75 for a $25 ticket and if that's what it would cost me I'll just stay home. As the day starts to draw to a close i start calling the venue. No answer, I also work just around the corner from the venue, so I decide that I'll check it out if I can't get them to answer the phone. After work I walk around the corner, I see people milling about, the front door is slightly ajar, but I decide to head around back, as I could swear I heard music on my way over and if I can't get tickets, maybe I could hear Mr. Murphy sound checking and that would have to be enough. Unfortunately all I could hear was an occasional drum beat even with the venue's back door open to the parking lot, I wanted to get closer, but noticed some other people and didn't want to be asked to leave yet. I went back to the doors and walked in, the entry way was empty and right as I opened the door to inside a girl came in to man the desk. She told me there weren't any tickets but I could come back at 9 and see if there were any scalpers. Gee thanks. I walked out and went back to the back of the building and noticed that the chain link fence to their lot was shared with my work's I sat down and fiddled with my phone, trying to look busy and listen, but I couldn't hear anything, so disappointed I walked over and found that there was a gate in the fence and I could get back to my car that way.

I drove home disappointed. At home I jumped on the internet to see if I could find any other tickets for sale. No dice, but I saw the person trying to get $75 a ticket had lowered his price to $60 in the last hour. I sent a text asking for one at $40. No response. After about 40 minutes I decided I was staying home that night and tried to accept that. Then I got a text. It was from the first guy who had thought his tickets were sold. Since I'm so clever and I only needed one I told him that since I wasn't sure I could find anyone to take the other ticket if he would take $70 for them. He agreed. Now I had to find someone who would be willing to go on about 30 minutes notice. The wonderful Niki had commented when I had posted about wanting to go, so I called her and she was in! I spent a few minutes getting ready and saying bye to the kids and I picked up Niki, we headed to the venue and parked in my employee lot.

We met the nice Darren who sold us the tickets and waited in line. Doors opened around 8:30. The venue was pretty crappy. I saw some old friends who I haven't seen in years, even the boy who had always looked like Peter Murphy, actually when he walked by, for a moment, that's who I thought it was until I realized that this chap had hair and also wasn't as old. Honestly I had expected to see lots of folks that I knew from the old days of Baushas-listening and clubbing, but it was just these two. The opening people weren't much to write about, I liked the first guy okay, but the ultra-goth seeming Ours was too screamy and over the top, also the sound up front was awful and far too loud. Niki and I took ourselves to the back for Mr Murphy.

The wonderful Peter Murphy came out. He is looking pretty old, and his commitment to his thinning longer hair isn't doing him any favors. He began with new stuff, which is actually quite good, but I didn't know it as well (of course) but he treated us quickly to 2 Bauhaus songs Silent Hedges and In a Flat Field. He seemed very personal-able and comfortable, but almost everything he said was unintelligible which I think was mostly the fault of the poor sound system, but you could still hear the lovely British accent and a few words would slip through. His voice was still amazing, he has such a unique way of singing (just now my pandora radio is playing me a Peter Murphy song) and it was amazing to hear again. He played a song called Rose Hunter and said it had his absolute favorite guitar riff in it. Peter Murphy has not been idle, releasing EPs and albums and appearing in Twilight movies as a vampire (which knocked my socks off that I totally recognized him at the theater even in a wig for the brief time he was on-screen).

The section of older songs including Cuts You Up and I’ll Fall with your Knife was brilliant, all the club favorites. I was hoping for a cover of Hurt, but it was not to be and while I was expecting one additional song from the new album, the song The Prince and Old Lady Shade is one of my new favorites. The first encore started with my heart skipping a beat as he began to play Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem, which when the universe kept trying to remind me to buy tickets the week before had come onto my iPod and I thought "Oh wouldn't it be awesome if he played this song?" thinking that since it wasn't in any recent setlists and unlikely to make an appearance, but there it was and he sang it beautifully. Then Ziggy Stardust, he owns that song, sorry Bowie, when he sang that, the crowd went nuts and there was so much energy in it. I was surprised that we got another encore, a cover of some obscure singer and a final Bauhaus song Stigmata Martyr, which while awesome, didn't have quite the same "this is the last song" amazingness that Ziggy did.

It was a great show, and parking just through the gate was super fast which was good since it was soooo much later than I meant to be out on a Tuesday night. There was even a raccoon in my parking lot, staring at us with its wee banded eyes.

I'm so glad that Niki came with me, she rocks the house party and I was glad to have one of my dearest friends to share in the awesomeness of an unexpected concert!

I'm with the Band

So the day started out normal enough. I went to work and through the day I become sadder and sadder that I wouldn’t be seeing Matt Nathanson open for Kelly Clarkson that evening. I had decided that to see him play for 20-30 minutes it wasn’t worth the minimum $50 that the cheap seats would cost and then Husband and I were meant to attend an important meeting together at 7 that night, so really I felt that I should just wait until next time. As Tuesday grew closer to the close, I decided that I wanted to drop by the venue, just to see if anyone would be walking around and I could say hi and maybe I could stand at will-call and listen to a sound check and that could be my mini-concert. The Maverick center has a huge outside area that is fenced from the public that the tour buses and trucks can move around in, which makes it very difficult to see those people milling around that are rock stars or band members, so I didn’t have a lot of hope, but I did have a little. I went to that area and of course my entry was blocked by a nice man named Larry. I chatted with him for a minute, but I saw no movement around the tour buses, so I decided to head into the will-call area that would be open. As walked I noticed a pair heading into one of the backstage side doors, probably venue staff. Since I was walking that way, I have a few seconds to decide if I would try to follow them in, and if I hadn’t decided to, this story would be much, much shorter.


I ran to grab the door before it shut and stood for few seconds to let the pair head in whatever direction they were going before I walked in with the mantra “try to look like you belong here and this is no big deal” running through my head. I have been backstage here one other time, when I purchased VIP Tori Amos tickets that included meeting her after the show, so I headed left and found the dressing rooms, although the only ones I saw, said Kelly’s name on them. I was stopped quickly by a woman with security and asked for my pass, when I told her I didn’t have one, she told me that I couldn’t come back there and I tried to be as reassuring that I understood and that wasn’t a problem. But it was a problem in that I didn’t know where else to go. As walked away I realized I was directly behind the stage and coming from the stage was the sound of Matt’s voice! He was doing the sound check right that minute, but the sound behind the stage wasn’t very good. I did stop and listen for minute but I worried about the security woman leaving her post and seeing me would ask me to leave again. I didn’t know how to get to the front of the stage from where I was, there was another security guard between me and the stage here and I since the area was completely empty, I didn’t think I could stroll by unnoticed. So I walked back the way I had come and went the opposite way of where I had come from. I went down a hallway with a bunch of door and the open room showed a low-light buffet style dinner, there were people milling about and I wanted to see if I could get to the stage so I kept going. Out another set of doors and I found myself by the will-call and a set of bathrooms. I went into the bathroom and washed my hands and listened to the music, although it was still low quality. I stayed here for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. I could hear that a door would open and I would get the clear sound of Matt playing. I wanted to find that door, so I left the bathroom and headed through another set of doors but ended up in a storage area under the bleacher seats. I walked out quickly knowing if it looked like I didn’t know where I was going, I was likely to be kicked out. There was another set of doors, but I could see security milling about through them so I didn’t venture that way, only to find out later, that would have taken me right to the stage and that must have been the door I heard being opened. I would have seen Matt, but at the same time, I would likely be removed as soon as I showed myself a fan and not someone with the band. The music went silent and I started back down the hallway with the doors, as I did, I ran into Aaron, the guitarist. I said hi and he was very taken back. He said he recognized me but couldn’t’ remember my name. I teased him about that and he said he was headed to get some dinner from catering. He held a Tupperware plastic plate with little sections. I asked if it would be okay if I went with him, and he said yes. He grabbed some salad and some of the vegetarian dish, there was a lot of food in steaming silver trays and I watched with interest, taking everything in. We made some small talk about the tour and how he and matt had just flown in from San Francisco earlier in the day because they had another solo show they did without the band. He said they were drawing close to the end of the tour, but they were having a great time. He asked what I did, I told him about having a new job after being a full-time student. He asked where my seats were and I admitted that I didn’t have seats. I explained that being out of work I didn’t have much money and the tickets were pretty expensive. He said he could probably get me a pair of tickets. He was going to go have some down time before the show started but to check at will call after about an hour. He left and I tried to look busy by calling people, I didn’t think I would be able to see Matt’s set because of the appointment, but maybe I would be able to catch Kelly and see Matt after his set hopefully. I spoke with husband and found out that by a miracle, our appointment had been canceled. I was so happy! Now I could watch the show! But I was determined to hang out backstage for as long as possible and maybe get to talk with Matt, pre-show.

So I hung out by the back door, but the nice security guard, Larry, was still out there and I didn’t want him to recognize me and wonder how I’d gotten backstage. So I walked back down the hall and looked into the catered area, but most people had their backs to the door and I didn’t want to be too obvious so I kept moving, back to the bathrooms, and then after trying a door, hung out in an empty room listening to the sounds of people moving around and hoping to hear Matt’s voice. After gathering my courage I decided to just head into the dinner room. I made a point of looking at the food and then after surveying the room and seeing some of Matt’s band and crew decided to say hi. The bassist, Sioban, welcomed me and asked if I wanted to sit at the table. I of course agreed. The drummer, Konrad, was there they were eating dinner with 2 crew members. We chatted and I took some photos of me and the band and they asked if I wanted something to eat. I declined, probably mostly because I didn’t want to take advantage of being where I shouldn’t be, but also because I didn’t think I would be able to hide my shaking hands if I tried to eat. I did grab a bottle of water. James, the keyboardist showed up and I introduced myself and that we had met last time he was in Salt Lake. We played a game where you take a famous person and make their name food related. Konrad scored with Johnny Dipp for an ice cream shop, there was Felicia Del Taco, and several others. My contribution was Carmel Elektra, which considering how slow my brain was going, was a miracle. One of the crew members got a call, and wrote down my name on a piece of paper. I said “Oh, that’s me!” and he explained they were already over the quota of tickets, but that he would try to get me two tickets, I told him I only needed one and I appreciated anything he could do, than he left. The rest of us kept playing the game and chatting, they had some inside jokes, but the conversation wasn’t easy, It was more like coworkers who like eack other and have worked together for a while, but they aren’t best friends, but also, they are guys and conversing might not be the easiest thing for them. The crew member came back and handed me a ticket and I thanked him a few times. Then he asked how I had gotten back stage. I told him I couldn’t say, he didn’t like that, but the band thought it was pretty funny. He asked me to make sure that I leave and go in by the main entrance and not stay backstage and use anyone’s name to sound official. I said that that was my plan. The band were working on the s’mores bar that had been set up and I wanted to eat that, but knew that marshmallows are very messy and I didn’t want to ruin what little make-up I had on. I did make fun on Konrad while he made a mess and soon they were done eating. I asked to walk with them and Konrad said they really check badges by the dressing rooms and said that he would walk me out. He took me from behind the stage to the floor area and I thanked him and gave him a “pre-show” hug, I asked him that since I didn’t know if I would see Matt, if he would tell him I said hi, he said he would. I looked at my ticket and while it was on the side, it was pretty close to the stage, but right now I was on the floor! I could potentially find an open seat and enjoy Matt’s show from there! I would have done this but I had parked in a hotel parking lot when I arrived, since I didn’t believe I would be there too long and I didn’t want to pay the $10 parking fee just to leave before the show started. But now that I would be here awhile, I kept trying to decide if I should move my car or risk getting towed, since tonight would be a concert, I’m sure the staff makes sure people aren’t parking there to avoid the parking fee. Finally I decided that I needed to move it, $10 for a parking fee was less than the $50 that other people would have spent on their ticket.

So I moved my car and went in looking for my seat because the show was getting ready to start, looking critically at my seats, I was about as far from the stage as if I was in the second half of the floor, so I’m glad I didn’t risk being towed just for a similar seat.

Matt began the show with To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts, which is one of my favorites off Some Mad Hope, then came the title track to Modern Love and is also a favorite. I knew from looking at other set lists that he would only play very up-tempo songs in preparation for Kelly Clarkson’s set. I love the maracas on this song, it’s nice to see Matt not behind the guitar. Next came Run, which he sung with the wife of one of Kelly’s band members. She was very good and sounded just like the Sugarland person to me. I spent a lot of that song trying to get my camera to record a video since that’s Magen’s favorite song, but my camera hates me and won’t and then by the time I realized I could record video on my phone, the song was over. Now the sing-a-longs were to start. The standard cover of James’ Laid was lovely and he really got the crowd involved. His banter was hilarious. Picking certain people in the audience he made sure to have a few personal connections so that the crowd would really connect to him. It worked, I could hear a ton of people singing the chorus for this song. Next came Wedding Dress, which I still love the original Winter Dress version, but this song really touched a chord with me tonight and Matt was definitely singing his heart out. Of course, the crowd pleaser, Faster, I kind of wanted to call Hayley and have her listen, since she loves it, but it was probably bedtime anyway and she wouldn’t have appreciated it really. With Faster he mixed in the Monkees Daydream Believer and Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody, which were great tributes and really excited the crowd, although I really thought he was going to break into George Michael’s Faith, and apparently in other shows that has happened, it was not to be here. He ended with Come On, Get Higher and everyone was singing along. It was beautiful. He said he would sign things by the merchandise booth and I got all happy and excited. So after the show was over, I headed to the merch booth, I decided to use my graduation money and buy myself the Matt tote bag. I hung out for awhile but then security confirmed that Matt would not be out until after Kelly performed. Boo. But I figured free concert, beggars can’t be choosers. The concert was good, I thought about how it was my first true pop concert. She seemed very down to earth and while she shied away from the familiar high notes from the radio versions, she sure sounded good to me and while I didn’t know a lot of the songs, there was a sprinkling of the hits I knew from the radio. But during the show my camera died. Apparently even though on the meter it looked like it had some battery, if it shows the meter, that means it’s low. My heart sank thinking I might not get my picture with Matt, but then I resolved to make friends with someone around me and ask them to email me my photo. During the first song of Kelly’s encore I headed back to the merch booth. There was already a long line, behind metal barriers. A few years ago I asked matt that when he became more famous, if we would be penned like sheep the way that Tori does her Meet’n’Greets and he said there was no way. But yet here we are, but luckily he was not across the barrier from us, but inside with us and it was more to keep us in a line, but still, it’s the principle of the thing. Lucky for me they were only letting you in line if you had Matt merchandise to sign, so I was glad that I had something to present. I made friends with the girls behind and they agreed to email me my picture. When I got up to Matt, he got the look of recognition and said “Hey you” and he hugged me. I don’t know if he was hugging everyone, but probably. The same crew guy that had gotten me my ticket was taking pictures and ushering things along. Of course my mind went blank of all the things I meant to say, but I did ask if maybe he played Wedding Dress for the Bachelor performance he had a few months ago, but of course he hadn’t, and didn’t seem to recognize that I was being ironic. I told him that I was glad that he hadn’t needed to fall asleep immediately after the show since that what he did the last time he was here and he talked about how exhausting the shows had been, I meant to tease him, but I’m sure it came out more like a berating, which is apparently how I react when I’m nervous. He signed my bag and told me that he had forgotten my name and when I reminded him he used a very colorful expletive as if he should have remembered. The crew guy said my time was up and I thanked Matt and said goodbye and watched as my new friends, Mallory and Ashlee got their pictures with him, then it was over. My night of craziness had come to an end, now I got to fight to get out of the parking lot and drive home to get 6 hours of sleep in which time I dreamed of Matt and had all the songs running through my head all night. I woke up still exhausted, but it was well worth it.

Two Mornings After

Thanks to my wonderful friend Trish, I was able to attend the James show October 5th. It was rushing all day for me, from kids doctor appointments to dashing to work, to dashing to the sitters, to dashing back home and thank goodness dinner was waiting. Then it was mad dash down town. I think we made it in record time. I was only brave enough to look at the speedometer once, but when Trish drives, you know you’ll be on-time, even if you left late!
It was first time ever going to the Complex, it apparently has 3 stages, and there was another show going on for the local disillusioned, angsty radio station and James. Most of the people we saw were headed to the other show, we only got there about 20 minutes before they opened the doors, but we managed to get a spot about 3 rows of people from the front just right of center. The room was long and narrow, and probably tinier then anything this band has played in a long time. In Europe they play huge stadium shows. Trish and I got our James shirts and settled in. The opening act was a singer/songwriter named Ed Harcourt, whose album I am strongly considering buying. He played the piano, and the guitar, sometimes in the same song and really wailed. Unfortunately the sound was pretty muddy, at least where we were and while I enjoyed the sound, it wasn’t the best place to decide if he was really awesome or not. We could barely understand what he was saying when he spoke. His drummer looked like a young Gregory House, he didn’t look like Hugh Laurie, the actor that plays house, but House, and the bassist chick reminded me of Kate Beckett from the show Castle. Ed was resplendent in his 3 piece suit, those Europeans sure are stylish. His set seemed long, probably almost an hour, but since he was the only opener, he may have been able to play as long as he liked. I made a mental note to check him out on iTunes and hoped to get my picture with him afterwards since he was adorable and I knew that if I did like his music, I would want a picture of me with him.
Just before James took the stage, some loud, noisy drunk joined the group just behind us. How is it that they always know when to come in and how do they always get these great spots when they walk in late? That’s always the way. He seemed like he was completely wasted and I was apprehensive about how his presence would affect the rest of us.
James came out, Tim Booth looked like a pirate with a knit cap, a dark black goatee and striped baggy pants. Almost “Hammer-esque” pants, but they didn’t taper. The first song was Seven and I knew that this was going to be an awesome show. Tim lost his cap quickly and I realized I had never seen him perform before. He likes to dance, and his dancing reminds me of the episode of Friends where Rachel takes Phoebe running in the park, crossed with a seizure. It’s good he’s a rock star, because dancing like that, he’d never get chicks if he wasn’t.
Next was She’s a Star, what a great song. Unfortunately I was getting pounded by the drunk. After several massive elbows to my skull, I turned around to confront. I’m not sure what I was thinking, there’s no way I could have done anything to hurt him, even if he could feel pain at this point, which I’m not certain he would. Luckily before my impulses took too much over, Trish grabbed me and switched spots with me. I shook it off, but this guy’s singing was so loud, that even with the huge speakers in my face, I couldn’t hear very well. After enduring 2 more songs near the man, Trish and I escaped stage right after I said I would rather be in the back then next to this guy. At this point we could really start enjoying things. The first song from the new album come up, 10 Below. It’s a great song and I was so happy that I had purchased this on iTunes and listened to it a bunch of times and it was followed up by the best song from the new album, Tell Her I Said So. Time says what a great setup we had here in Salt Lake, we could drop the “kids” at the concert next door and then the grown-ups could be at this show. Since they were going to be competing with sound, they would play some louder songs. Then my favorite moment of the night. Just Like Fred Astaire. One of my favorite James’ songs. Time mentioned that it was easier to play this song in America then in some other countries they have played since we were so happy. During Getting Away with It I was surprised that to this point, out of 8 songs, I knew all but one of them. I love James, but I don’t “celebrate their whole collection.” I have their best of, their vital album Laid, their new album The Morning After and a few songs from other albums.
At this point, I had seen the drunk guy get to the very front of the stage and push a girl who couldn’t have been more than 5 ft tall and stumble around probably whacking other people the way he had me, then the guy just in front of Trish went after him, I think the drunk guy pushed his girlfriend as well. Trish and his girlfriend were both holding him back, but Trish was doing all the work, maybe his girlfriend wanted him to beat the crap out of this guy. Heavens knows that I wanted him too as well, but I also was telling him it wasn’t worth it. From the stage Tim says, “Cool it guys” and the boyfriend weaves to the front and yells: he’s pushing girls! And Tim asks if there is any security, apparently there were none, so Tim told the drunk to get into the corner. Everyone clapped. And thank goodness he stayed out of the way the rest of the night, I’m sure he was ruining everyone’s experience that he was near. You know it’s bad when the band has to take measures into their own hands to keep the peace.
Next came some songs I didn’t really know so I watched the band. They had a person who mostly played the trumpet. A dedicated trumpet player, I hadn’t realized there was so much brass in most James songs, and a guitar player that also moonlighted as a violin player, and boy was he good! His name was Saul and definitely looked English. Several of the band members looked like someone’s grandpa you would meet at a family reunion. Bald and wearing spectacle-glasses. Only 2 members looked like they were anywhere close to their 30s. There were 3 songs I wanted to hear, I had already heard Fred Astaire, but then they played PS, which I had put on one of my mixes a few weeks ago and was once again in love with it. Often if Tim wasn’t dancing like a maniac or singing, he would stand with his eyes closed, smiling, enjoying the music. At one point, Tim said we were just as loud as a stadium. The crowd seemed really into it. I didn’t see anyone who didn’t look thrilled to be there. During Say Something Tim got off the stage and started walking through the crowd, Exactly where Trish and I HAD been before we moved to be away from the drunk guy. Luckily he spent quite a bit of time in the crowd and started heading our way. He stopped in front of the boyfriend and I saw him ask if he was okay and the guy thanked Tim. Then he was facing me. It was a vocal break in the song and he stood there, arms folded, looking at me. I wanted to take a picture, but I didn’t want to flash in his face, I wanted to hug him, but the man is imposing in a way you wouldn’t think someone so thin looking would be. I finally settled on touching his arm and moving on, embarrassed that I couldn’t think of anything better to do or say. Then they started their hit song Laid. I tried to take a video, but my camera wouldn’t have it. I had to settle for jumping up and down and singing along. I had worried that age was creeping up on Tim’s voice and it wouldn’t be as strong as it was in 1993, but I didn’t need to worry, he hit those super high notes with ease. They left and we clapped and cheered and our encore was awesome. The first song was the first off the new album, a song about a man whose been dumped staring at dust motes trying to forgive the ex-girlfriend. Since the show next door was over they could know play some quieter songs, so this one started out sweet, of course it got loud and vindictive, as it should. Then Out to Get you melted into Sometimes. The keyboard player moved to the front and had some weird handheld keyboard you blow into. Like a cross between a keytair and an accordion. The final refrains of Sometimes: Sometimes when I look in your eyes, I can see your soul” the crowd started singing at the end and then the band stopped playing it was just the crowd singing. Tim stood with his eyes closed and a huge grin on his face. Then it was over. We cheered for a bit, but no more encores. Trish asked one of roadies cleaning up for the set list that had probably been Saul’s. Several people took pictures of the list and we walked out. I was sad that we wouldn’t be able to stay and wait for the band, as I get precious little sleep as it is. But low and behold. There were 6 band members. The only one missing was Tim, but since we had the set list, we went down the line and got everyone’s autograph. I got a photo with Saul and Ed Harcourt was also there so I got that photo with him. He photographs well, I’m pleased with the result. Talking to Saul we found out that after their last album, they did play Salt Lake and we just missed it, so apparently the moral of the story is if there is anyone you would like to see in concert, be on some kind of mailing list. Then Trish and I left, apparently Tim did come out to mingle with fans, but I only got 5 hours of sleep as it was, so while I would have liked to stay, I’m glad I did get some sleep. It was an awesome night and I can’t thank Trish enough for an amazing birthday present!

This Is Cooling Faster Than I Can

(Wow, I am a bad fan, this has been sitting in my drafts for 2 weeks!)

Tori Amos @ Abravenal Hall July 20th
Niki and I headed down town around noonish to check out the meet’n’greet. We’re veterans at this, so we were happy to try and see Tori again, but not freaked out. I didn’t even give much thought as to what I wanted to say and what I would have her sign. We finally figured out how to drive around downtown and saw that there were a handful of people waiting. We were hungry so what are two girls to do? We took off to paradise bakery and had a delicious and comfortable lunch and chatted for a while. We decided it was probably time to get back and rolled in around 2:30. We charmed our way to the front of the barricades by asking and promising not to cut in line. Some people had been there since the morning. Funny little EWFs. We watched some Flight of the Conchords on Niki’s iPod before we were told that the barricades were going to be changed (of course) and so our nice spot of front become a not so great spot in the back in the hot sun. Thanks July! Then more waiting, of course tori was performing at the radio station. I don’t know how it is that I miss those every time. That would be a fun performance, just about 30 of us in that little room. Oh well. She finally came out and this lovely little gay guy almost died, I thought he was going to pee his pants or cry or both. She looked lovely in a black dress and gold leggings. People asked her about her shoes which were tall, making her about my height. She is looking older, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re 45. Her security said as long as we were respectful everyone could meet her since there were only about 35 of us. She went down the line, meeting the people in front of us and moving on. I held onto hope but soon realized that the reason I was now at the front was because everyone else had been a bit smarter and moved to the other side of the barricade and was currently telling Mz Amos their whole freaking life story. She was very kind and didn’t yell at anybody! J Finally she started to work her way back, and of course people were jumping back in and she had written so many requests on her hand that she had run out of room. I had decided to tell her that “Maybe California” a song on her new album really meant a lot to me. I had lots of back story to that, but knew at this point, Niki and I were going to be the absolute last people to talk to her. She took my booklet to sign and asked me my name, and I told her about the song. It’s a song about a mother who is contemplating suicide and tori trying to talk her out of it. It’s quite haunting and beautiful and it’s been bringing tears to my eyes lately, and that’s saying a lot since mostly I’m dead inside. When I told her the song really touched me, she said ‘oh honey’ and reached out for a hug. I was ecstatic, I’m always hugging celebrities, but it’s usually me asking for a hug, so for her to initiate it was cool. She posed for a picture with Niki and I heard another girl ask for “Cooling”, unfortunately because she was now done with the heat and sun Niki didn’t get to talk to her and ask her for a very meaningful song. “Parasol” and that would have been so perfect too!
After that we left, slightly disappointed that we had only gotten the tail end of tori’s attention, but excited for the nights show. Leaving to get some grub and finding out our boys had already made dinner plans without us we picked up some take-out. I was lucky enough to post my pictures on facebook and we figured out how to get the extra pair of seats we had to Niki’s friends. We decided that since parking was going to be an issue we’d ride trax. On board we watched more Flight of the Conchords (I’m converted, really I am!) and realized that it was later than we’d thought. Neither of us cared about the opening band, but we needed to meet Niki’s friends and get them their tickets. Getting off trax right at the venue we walked in to find that the opener had just finished. It must have started right on time and been a fast set. We found our friend Dan and he said the opener had not impressed him too much, sounded like a folksy Genesis (I’m paraphrasing, but I know it was Peter Gabriel’s genesis. I think.) I was suppose to meet up with one of Erika’s friends who also loves tori, but then bell went and we were told we had 5 minutes. We went to our seats. Row 8. Freaking awesome! We’ve been closer, but these were center and not too far back. I was still able to see some drool. Tori come out to thunderous applause. I had tried not to look at too many set lists, I wanted things to be a surprise, but I knew that she would open with “Give” from the new album. It rocked really hard core. Next was the first of several jaw drops. “Body and Soul” my favorite from the last album started. Without a pause she began a version of “Wampum Prayer” that I wish I had recorded, it was different then the album version and the melody even differed. I keep hoping it shows up on YouTube, where were all the people with cameras? That went right into Cornflake Girl, which is a standard, but the crowd loves it and that makes it a lot of fun. Then “Icicle” with the band, another jaw dropper. Tori doesn’t play this song much and this is the first tour it’s ever been with the band. At this point I was started to see a bit of the religion theme come out. This is usually something tori connects with in Utah, but there were so many different songs then we usually see, it made it an interesting new perspective. “Starling” from the new album was okay. I’m not in love, the keyboard sound was cool and the lights were lovely, but, meh, I’m not into it. Next up “Marys of the Seas” I think this may be the first time it’s been with the band, let me check. Okay, 3rd time this tour, but before that it was last seen in 2005, when she was touring solo, it felt fresh and fun. It continued the rock. “Bells for Her” from under the Pink came next, I adore this song with the band and it didn’t disappoint. I would have been happy if the show ended right then, but I got even more! Someone at the meet’n’greet had requested “a sorta fairytale” and I was happy to see it. Even though Niki and I decided not to make a road trip for this tour, it made me think of all the tori road trips we’ve made. “Jamaica inn” rounded out the first part of the set. It was interesting to hear songs from the Beekeeper with the band.
Then the Lizard lounge. I have no idea why it’s being called that on this tour, but it’s the section that tori plays solo. “Cooling” started and I was so happy. I’ve seen it before at the 2003 show before Niki and I got to go back stage and I was able to talk to tori about it. The ‘brambles’ bridge was back! And she did a great mini improve at my favorite part. It goes like this “is your place in heaven/worth giving up these kisses/these kisses” but instead it went more like this “is your everything my love/for me/my love/ for me /you must miss to death these kisses” and it was insanely adorable. I was so happy with the song choice I was ready for a standard, like “Winter” or “Leather” but we got “Etienne” which she played in Salt lake in 2001, but you can NEVER hear this song enough. It so pretty, I swear I want to name my children after tori songs, and this is one of them. So maybe there’s going to be a little Etienne running around my house. Too bad I can’t have Tori sing the name every time we need to call her.
The band came back on and played the re-worked “China” which seems so much more brand spanking new with the drums and bass. Two songs from the new album that I love “Curtain Call” and “Fast Horse” then “Bliss” which was played at the last tori show I saw, but here I realized that this show was really rocking. Not just some times, but all the time. It really seemed to me that it was a more grown up Choirgirl tour. It was a full out rock show with a piano, so much different than the fray show I just saw even though they both focus on the same instrument.

We got to the encore and in contrast to most tori tours, they were not quiet, introspective things. We got "Police Me" and "Big Wheel" which are both very upbeat. So I didn't believe it when the show was over. It seemed really abrupt because there was no sad parting song.

It was over. Niki and I walked aside and took a few pictures with the fountains to prolong our leaving. It had been an amazing day and we'd seen an incredible show. Thanks Tori! See you next time!

How to Save My Life (Cable Car)

The Fray July 18, 2009
USANA is a massive amphitheatre and as such has a large number of seats. I’ve noticed lately with many shows, they offer 2 for 1 tickets. When I got the notice that this would be the case for the Fray show, I asked my Komrade for most concerts, Erika, if she would like to go. She thought for a few days and we decided to get ourselves to the Fray show.
Now, I like the fray, every song on the radio, I’m fond of. I have the first album and after we bought seats to this show, I spent a little time with the new album online while I worked. It’s good.
After week of girls camp, I came home Friday and had homework to finish, and that took some time and then there were Saturday chores. And what I’m trying to say is that I almost forgot about this show on Saturday. Good thing Erika did not. We set out in the sweltering July heat and without being concerned about when the openers were starting we went to sit in the shade and gossip. After Erika was done telling me about her week and the opening band, meese was done playing, we decided to catch the rest of Jack’s Mannequin’s set. We spent a lot of time googling the band on Erika’s phone to figure out how cute the lead singer was. This is still unresolved. They are piano-drive rock, and we like that, so after the lead singer walked on the piano keys, not once, but at least twice, Erika decided that she would get their album. I couldn’t decide if I wanted a shirt or something, so I was empty handed but excited for the Fray. The stage set-up looked cool, but we were so far away it was hard to tell at this stage and we lamented that we wouldn’t be able to see anyone’s face as the band played. They have no jumbo-tron at USANA and this is grave oversight since most of the audience is like a mile away from the stage.
(As I write this, a Fray song starts on my player. It makes me smile.)
The fray started, all I could see of the leader singer was that he looked like an albino. Bald, pale head, white shirt, white suit coat. But it was his voice that impressed me right off. He has a lovely singing voice; they started with an acapella version of Home and I was hooked. And there were some screens! Four conjoined screens focused on the 4 band members. Erika and I started grooving with the rest of the audience to classics like How to Save a Life, Over My Head, and the new Never Say Never and You Found Me, where I introduced Erika to my version of the chorus, (Where was you?/Where was you?) which is very catchy and funny. We laughed about how we knew almost nothing about the band except they are from Colorado. After especially good moments we would say things like “You rock Mr. The Fray!” I liked calling him that, that little albino on stage. I got hooked on the song Little House (which took me days to figure which song it was even though I have it) and heard the Fray’s take on kanye west’s song Heartless. It was lovely, much better then Kanye’s version, I’m sure. There were LED lights on cltoh background that displayed images and white twinkle lights draped from the top of the stage, they made quite an impressive display and made the songs exciting. Erika remarked more than once that we should really read the lyrics for their songs, because they seemed so intense and beautiful, we should really know what he’s singing about.
After the show we were still on cloud nine. We decided to see if we could meet either jack’s mannequin or the fray, not expecting too much. The last time I was at this venue, I was there for Tori and was had to wait across the street from the backstage area and it was crappy and then we had to leave. I wasn’t expecting much more, but after finding a fan who was trying to meet the band with her 15 year old son, we decided to see where this went. I had a lesson in church the next day and I was still exhausted from camp and the day’s activities, but in the euphoria of the after-concert, I didn’t want to give up. After not a very long wait one member of the fray showed up at the gate, Dave. The awesome security guard let us back behind the gate with a promise not to make a run for it. It was oddly disconcerting to hear Dave’s American accent, since he looked so freaking Scottish to me. Erika was able to talk to him about Colorado and to find out another member of the band grew up a few blocks from her old house. After that we didn’t have much to say, but he was very polite. Then the other said member of the band, Ben, came out and signed our tickets and Erika told to him about Colorado and asked him about a local band from there, which sucks, thankfully he thinks they suck too. We discussed whether or not we were breaking erika’s fangirl rule for herself. Which is this: don’t be a lame fangirl for someone younger than yourself. Then Mr. the Fray came out. His name is Isaac, as we found out when we googled the band. We wanted to sound not like idiots. That’s important to us. Talked a bit about Colorado, of which I had nothing to add, of course. I asked for hug and he apologized for being kinda dazed as he had just had a massage (he had the bleary, I-just-had-a-massage face too) and then we took a picture with my phone. He was nice, not at rock star about anything, which is surprising because his band is really huge and he has every right to be a bit smug, but he was totally down to earth. In the picture he looks like he’s sneering, but he was quite pleasant. He didn’t look as much like an albino up close and even has a thin bit of hair, poor dear. Erika asked how old he was and he said 28, and I mentioned that meant she was not breaking her rule and Isaac (because we’re on first name basis) asked what that was all about, I told him and he seemed amused. We took our leave with our picture looking good to let the mom and her son have their moment. She obviously loves the Fray and saw them at a radio performance years ago before they were big. I can’t say anything bad about her, because in a few years, that’s freaking me. I’m going to be the mom dragging my child to the concert and riding the pit and being a cooler than all the other moms (I hope) so kudos to her for not being afraid of the preconceived notion of age and rocking out.
I thanked the security guard, because honestly, he didn’t lie to us, he didn’t try to make us leave and he didn’t make us feel like we were being lame or stupid while waiting to meet the band. I shook his hand and he really wanted us to try and see his metal band play at the “Dog Pound” in a few days. Sadly we didn’t make that show, I’m sure it was a riot.
We walked through the empty venue all giggly from the lack of sleep and excitement of meeting another rock star. I’ve been addicted to the new album online and I’m almost ready to buy it. I want it, but I’m so cheap, but I think I’m almost to the point where I need it and money is no object. It’s beautiful nd maybe even better than the first album.
All I have to say is, Isaac, keep the music coming.

It's a Cruel World, But I'm a Lucky Boy (Girl)

I'm back from a 3 day weekend. This particular 3 day weekend saw me hitting the road for some Matt Nathanson so as to Rock. Erika and I left wicked early Friday morning and she drove all the way to her brother's home in Denver. The drive was pleasant and let me tell you, iPods with hundreds of random songs is the way to road trip. You never know what you're going to get, it's like a box of...well you know.

That evening brought us to Casa Bonita. For you Utah folk, it's the original version of the Mayan. The food is a little crappier but there's more entertainment and weirdness. Arcades and "scary" caves and a little ballroom/bar. We went with Erika's fam and her nieces loved it. We went through Black Bart's cave about 4 times before I bailed on that. They may have gone more. I kinda blocked that from my memory. The thing about Casa Bonita is that they give you endless sopapillas, which if you've ever had them, you know they are awesome. Fried dough with puffy hollow centers that you can drizzle with honey. Unless you are me, then while you are squeezing the honey, you will make the bottle top explode off and cover the table and everyone at it, in a sticky mess. Twice. Okay not everyone was covered in honey, just me. It was rather embarrassing especially the second time. I must have like He-Man grip or something, since even Erika's brother had no problem acquiring honey for his sopapillas. I think it's because I've been working out. I'm freakishly strong.

The food was sub-par, but the sopapillas were amazing (I had 7) and the cliff diving and general goofiness of the place were nice.

The next day we had some time to kill. We wouldn't leave for the festival type show until late afternoon, so Erika decided to go see a movie with her bro and I decided to go to the flea market with Shelley, Erika's sister-in-law and the nieces. It was sunny day, but windy but other than that, it was lovely. I'd never been to a flea market, so it was cool to see the stuff, although after a while a lot of the stuff looked really similar. I kind of wanted a old steamer trunk, but it was $200 and what would I do with an old steamer trunk?

After some lunch we prepared to go. We printed a google map and started the hour and half journey. Shelley had gotten herself a ticket and came with us, so she would finally understand why we have such unholy devotion to Matt. We had a lovely time on the way and made it to the exit in record time. We followed the directions on the map and ended up...nowhere. In the middle of a little city. Not at an outdoor amphitheatre. We pulled over and asked directions. Google maps had failed us again. We needed to hope back onto the freeway and then we'd be right there. We didn't know exactly where it was, but traffic was a nightmare, so we parked at a hotel and illegally crossed under the freeway trying to avoid getting squashed. We headed up a hill and we were there. Apparently the venue did sell out, but I was expecting something large like our outdoor amphitheatre here, which is huge. It wasn't tiny, but it definitely wasn't the size I was expecting, but this is Fort Collins and I guess there aren't as many people to accommodate here.

We missed the first act, which I think was a local Colorado guy named Josh Hodge. Next was Eric Hutchinson, and he was so fun, playing the piano and then his guitar, he was just as good as the songs on the radio suggest he is, and I like that his album is called "Sounds Like This" which I think is pretty clever. We snagged some spots way stage right but had an okay view of him. Most people were set up on the grass on blankets.

Next came out We the Kings. I was immediately struck by just how ugly the entire band was. The lead singer was a red-head with long hair and they all looked like they could just a good scrubbing. They seemed really full of themselves and they employed a great deal of feedback on all the songs. I spent most of the set looking like a smelled something bad and texting nasty things to Erika. Like: "They do realise they aren't Pearl Jam and this isn't 1994." Even the songs I liked from the radio were ruined in their presentation of them. They did play Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" and I love to play that on rock band, so I forgave them and bopped along to that, but mostly it was awful. They should have just played the songs from the album over the PA, then I wouldn't have had to watch the singer take off his shirt and display his nasty tats. But during the set I saw Jon and Konrad on the side of the stage and waived to both of them. It was awesome.

Then it was time for Matt. We were able to move closer to the middle of the stage where I was behind an 8 year old girl. The median age of the crowd I would say was about 13 or 14. Mostly really young kids and some with parents and few older people. There were even some toddlers. It was beyond weird. Maybe because in Utah we have such large families were can't afford to go to concerts and my parents didn't know contemporary music at all, so my perspective is a bit different.

Matt was suppose to start at 8:00, but it was more like 8:20 when his set kicked off. Playing "To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts" and then jumping into "Princess" with Jessie's Girl. I was glad that Shelley would at least know this song, she was rocking out. "Wedding Dress" was incredibly intense and there was a little banter between songs, but mostly things felt a little rushed. Despite this the band was tight. "Pretty the World" and "Still" and then coming out early was "Come on Get Higher" to which everyone sang along. It was impressive to see the crowd sing along to every word. He's definitely getting the attention he deserves.

He announced the last song of the his set. He wanted to play Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" which we had just watched the pilot for Glee with Erika's family the night before, so it was really fun to hear it and Shelley was excited to hear it. I was a bit disappointed with the length of the set, but now was our chance. The other bands had said they would be back by the merch booths to sign and meet people, so I figured Matt would do the same, but he didn't say that he would. That worried me. We jumped out of the crowd and headed to where the other artists were. The crowd was massive. We asked the merch girls at Matt's table what the 411 was, and they told everyone that Matt was sick and wouldn't be coming out, but since they hadn't been there until right before his set and they didn't have any shirts or CD for sell, I wondered if they knew that for certain. Shelley is kind of a punk, so while we were debating where to stand and what to do we walked passed a gap between the metal barricades and the orange netting to keep people out. I had glimpsed Aaron from another angle and Shelley told me to just to walk through and go talk to him. I only deliberated a moment and went for it. I walked in with purpose and while Aaron chatted with someone from the crew, I waited. I wanted to go back and get Erika, but security wasn't far and didn't want to get nabbed. When Aaron was done with his chat we said hello, I reintroduced myself and reminded him of our exploits on the headlining tour. He said he would remember my name next time and I told him not to worry about it. I asked him how long they had been home between shows. 2 days. They are freaking machines. We talked about if the set was short and he told me not that he realised, but they didn't go by the set list at all. They played what Matt was deciding on the spur of the moment. I asked if Matt was sick, and Aaron said he had been but just thought Matt was tired, but he was being the strong leader. We told him we thought the band had been in excellent form and he explained that since they hadn't played together in a few days, everything was fresh and exciting and reminded them how much they all liked playing together. I asked for a picture, we took one and he asked to look at it. He said he wasn't happy with it and we should take another. I told him he had to smile and he said he would try to look pleased. We got Erika a picture with him and he said he was going to go to the trailer. We stood awkwardly around. Konrad was just over the way, but between us was the security guard. He soon realised what we were up to and made us leave. I think he may have waited until Aaron left, but it could have just been that after that we just looked too conspicuous just standing around. We should have tried to walk around and look busy. I decided that next time, I'm getting a lanyard and just having colored paper in every shade so we can look more official.

We debated what we should do, since now the guard was actually guarding and keeping people out of the back. I saw Matt come out. He was talking with someone and we called for him and when he turned I waved. he waved back. and we waived back and forth for a bit. I think he was hesitating whether he should come over or not.

He came over and I asked him where his belt buckle was, I figured this was a good way to remind him who I was and see if he had an comment about it. Wrong question. He responded harshly that he just flew in and didn't have anything on him. He needed to get to bed since they were flying out to Canada soon. He also said that he felt like he hadn't been home in 2 years. Which really he's spend most of the last 12 months on the road and from now until October, he'll be out playing shows. I probably should have told him that my husband spent a year in Iraq and to suck it up rockstar, but he wasn't in a good mood. I had loved his blog about "finding" Depeche Mode and he was quick to say that he'd put up an addendum that he'd liked Depeche Mode since he was a kid but he had really found his love for them recently. I asked about Black Celebration since he said that the production didn't get "sexy" until Violator, and he said that Black Celebration was his favorite, which is mine as well. He was signing and taking pictures with others while we chatted. It wasn't a happy chatting, it was a bit tense, but I was unwilling to let bail out now. I had driven 8 hours to see him play for about 30 minutes, I wanted some kind of appreciation, I guess. He asked the name of the girl who handed up her shirt to be signed. Her name was Willow! This was the first time I'd met someone with my name! She was about 13, I told her it was my name too. Matt said that it was a cool name, she said thanks, and I said Thanks, and he leveled at me: "I know." Ouch! I had the booklet for his last CD in my hand. He asked if I wanted it signed. I said something to the effect of "that's okay" I told him looked really tired. I wanted to say how he should get some rest, I wanted to thank him for coming over at all. But the words wouldn't come and he was dealing with the crowd of tweenage girls that were collecting autographs on their t-shirts from all the bands. I felt like maybe he was just trying to gain some more fans out of people that may not have come to see him, since that's been his habit for the last 8 years, charming crowds as an opener and while he was not in the mood, he understood that was part of his shtick.

Erika said I had my pouty face on. I don't know where she was I was trying to concentrate on not interrupting Matt with other people, but I wanted my picture. That's what I live for. I love the autographs, but it's the pictures I treasure. He looked at me and rubbed my arm and asked if I was okay. I said I was and I departed. The crowd was seething, people had figured out that there was a rock star over here. I watch him talk to people and get photos, only smiling when he posed for a picture. The security guard had to get in front of him twice to help him get out. I thought it was sweet that even when he had that first opportunity to leave, he just went to people on the other side.

I tried to watch Plain White Ts, but I was distracted. The reason I had come was over. Matt had left. I didn't have a picture and I hadn't said anything that I had really wanted to. I was a bit disappointed. We drove home, it was late. I'm glad that we had the other activities with Erika's family, because if it had been a quick pop in and then out to the show and then leaving the next morning, I think I would have been really disappointed in the trip. As it was, I was disappointed in talking to Matt, but the show had been good. I had talked with Aaron after sneaking backstage and while most the of interaction with Matt had seemed forced, I appreciated that he had asked me how I was and I guess I'll have to take what I can get. He's a pretty big star now, I can't pretend that he needs me to help spread the Matt-love anymore, since he finally has radio on his side.

We spent breakfast with Erika's family and then headed out. I had the drive back and it was a pleasant drive. Even after 3 full days with Erika we weren't getting on each other's nerves ( I think) and I was glad that we'd come. The timing of the date of show was perfect and getting to know Erika's family and especially Shelley was really fun. It was nice little mini vacation. All in all, I'd do it again, just maybe not with such high expectations.

Somewhere Only We Know

Exactly 4 years ago on May 12th, 2005, Keane played in Salt Lake for the first time. I was there with Niki and we had a blast. When I found out Keane was going to be back I knew we needed to be there. I forgot about it the day they went on sale, so it wasn't until they had been on sale for hours that I got us some tickets, they were decent and since the show was at Kingsbury, I figured there wasn't a bad seat in the house.

What a day. Picking Niki up and trying to get onto the freeway was crazy. Construction forced us into one lane, and when the person in front of us decided to turn left even though there was a "No Left Turn" and that also meant that no one behind them would get through the light, so I laid on my horn. Several times. The guy in car was obviously irritated and looked like he was going to get out of the car and "have words" with me, but didn't and they pulled forward just enough that I could get around them, but if I'd had a bigger vehicle I couldn't have. There are never cops when you need them.

We headed to dinner at Rumbi's downtown and the food was super yummy. I'm not going to find out how many calories were in that salad, I'm going to pretend that it was good for me because it had lettuce! After finishing we were excited to get going. Too excited apparently. I backed out of the parking space, looking over one shoulder to watch for oncoming parking lot traffic and heard the tell-tale crunch. Great, now I was going to have to pay for someone else's bumper. Again. Maybe this will teach me not to really look. I thought I had already learned that lesson. I got out of the car with insurance in hand and the guy driving the other car looked at his bumper, which was cracked and smudged with my paint and told me not to worry about it. The crack had already been there and he wasn't concerned about the cosmetic damage. My bumper is probably a little more dinged then it already was, but I could care less about a shiny car at this point. I thanked him and we took off, more carefully this time. Looking for parking for Kingsbury we found this parking lot that had a cop and sign that said "Kingsbury hall permits only" so I was going to ask said cop where I should park and he said just to pick an empty spot in the lot. Score! We waltzed into Kingsbury and they must have started promptly at 7:30 because at 7:35 when we got there, the opening act was already there. Helio Sequence, they were good. The drummer was completely nuts. Making crazy faces while playing the throwing his head around. I need to check out their myspace and see what they sound like un-live. They coming back to Salt Lake next month for a show at the urban lounge, so I should know if I want to go to that.

Next came on Mat Kearney, who I am fond of, and after a bit of research found out he has had 4 songs on Grey's Anatomy. That show is a career starter! He was good, he played some new stuff and I debate whether I should get a few more of his songs. He played "All I Need" which was amazing and beautiful, and always melts my black, little heart.

His voice was so crisp and clear and exactly as it is on the recordings. He oozed confidence and his voice soared. He also rocked a cool hat, so another plus for him.

Then it was Keane! The boys came out and played "The Lovers Are Losing" which is off the new album. The one I don't have. I've listened to it many times online over the past few days. I love some of the songs. the rest leave me a bit cold. I was hoping that seeing them live I would get more into them, but the first song was a keeper. And then I remembered why 4 years ago I decided that Keane was the best show I'd ever seen. The lead singer Tom, is a force of nature. He doesn't just sing the songs, he's a real performer. He engages the crowd and jumps around and emotes all the passion in the song. It also helps that his voice is like that of an angel. Then it was some songs from the debut album 'Hopes and Fears' which were a real crowd pleaser. Everyone knew all the words, and at this point I realised I couldn't see a single empty seat. Well, sort of. We were all on our feet, vacating our seats and rocking out. Tom even thanked us for leaving our seats and really getting into the show. I didn't know we even had this many Keane fans in the whole state.

When they started a song from the middle album, "A Bad Dream", I was pleased. I've had this one for years and felt I knew it well. Of course I usually listen to it at work, so I didn't know the words except the chorus, but it was still really good and also made me want to listen to this album more, since I should know it better than I do.

Tom was dancing and playing guitars, he had more guitar changes then Morrissey has shirt changes during a show. This was the first tour and album with guitars. Keane has always been a piano-based band, since Tim Roce-Oxley, the pianist, is really the creative force behind the band. That is what thrust them into the spotlight, being a band that didn't have a guitar. I liked the added element, but unfortunately for several songs, it also muddied the melodies and completely drowned out not only the piano, but also some of the vocals. It could have just been the mix last night, but it made me wish they wouldn't also have the guitar or bass in the background, these songs don't need it, they rock out hard enough without them.

And speaking of rocking, Tim was so intense. He really should have whiplash. He plays the piano with his whole body. That was one of the reasons I loved Break and Repair Method, Paul's piano playing, but Tim take it up to a whole different level. He's head banging his way through the songs and playing up the crowds. He was so fun to watch. Also fun to watch was the 60-something year old man in the crowd. He was tall, which is why I probably noticed him, but he was rocking the air-drums and dancing and singing along to it all. I hope when I'm that old, if my face hasn't caved in, that I can still rock with the kids and enjoy music that's played loudly at 11.

The band got to some more new songs, new songs that I didn't love or even like that well, and I was hopeful. But they didn't come through for me, they sounded a bit Keane-by-numbers for me, in that they sounded like other Keane songs, but without anything to really make them special. At this point I decided that I would download the songs I liked, and leave the ones I didn't. Bless this age of technology where you don't have to spend $15 on an album for 3 or 4 amazing songs.

They finished there set with "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Crystal Ball" and the crowd loved it. They left and people chanted "Keane Keane" and clapped and screamed. It was soooo loud! They came back on, clearly gratified with the crowds appreciation for the show. They played "Is it Any Wonder?" and got the energy going again. After that song I didn't know if they were going to leave or play us one more, but I crossed my fingers and then followed "Bedshaped" which they used to close there last show, and there's a reason. It's beautiful and intense. We walked out the door right by our seats and saw they had a little caution-line barricade in front of the buses, so Niki and I stopped to wait. Stalking rock stars is slow business.

Then we saw my friend from the Travis show, Robert. So we waited by him and his friend at the barricade. There were probably 30-40 people waiting and it was starting to get cold. We only had thin hoodies and the winds were gusty and chilly. Tom came out and I got him to sign my CD booklet and a picture with him. I asked him about whiplash and he said his neck does get soar and sometimes he also gets dizzy and then he just pulls back on the headbanging. He suffers so in the name of Rock. Then we waited. It seemed like they could only come out one at a time, and it was a long line for them to get through. But they were gracious and talked to everyone and took pictures when asked. Next the drummer Richard came out wearing a Utah t-shirt. He was really nice and I told him this show was better then the first one and then when he asked if I had been to the show 4 years ago everyone around me was all "I was there! Me!" but I guess people go nuts when rock stars are around.

Then the bassist/guitarist came out. I was going to have him sign my ticket, since I didn't really want him to sign and he might not have wanted to sign an album that he didn't play on. But he was nice and chatted for minute.

Then we waited more. It was late, after midnight, and I had 2 of 3 signatures on my CD case. I almost wanted to give up. I was shivering and feeling generally like I wanted to lie down, but we persisted. Then Tom finally came out. He said he would go down the line and sign things and THEN come back for photos. I didn't want to wait forever, so I got my CD signed, told him he was such a ball of charisma and we took off. Although I did have to stop and take a picture of his shoes, I didn't get a great look at them but they looked like winkle pickers, which was the rock star shoe of choice in the 60s and has a very pointy toe. The heater in the car worked surprisingly well and we got toasty soon. Very pleased with my most recent encounter with rock stars. I'll definitely see Keane again when they come, and I have already downloaded 4 songs from the new album. And you should too.

The fruits of my labor. The perfectly signed CD.

The Band Who

Last night something happened that I thought I would never get to see. Travis the band playing in Salt Lake. It's great because I've been a long time fan, since there The Man Who album came out in 2000, thanks to friends who knew that Brit pop is something I love.

They've never come to Utah in the whole of my fandom, so I figured it was just a matter of time before they followed my favorites, Gene, and broke up and never toured again.

When I found out they were coming I started listening to the new album online. It's good, a return to the energy of their first album but with more umph. I'm not sure how to put that into technical terms. But I didn't buy the album, by the time I got around to really listening, there were only a few days left before the show.

Erika and I were partners in crime and get there pretty early and ended up very close to the front. It was standing and so there was a lot of shifting as people pushed in and whatnot.

The opening band was Republic Tigers and they were great, it was hard to really hear them well, but they sounded very new wave but with some Killers mixed in and the guys voice oscillated between the deep of Peter Murphy to an amazing falsetto. He sang Blonde's "Heart of Glass" and he sounded like Debbie Harry, it was wild.

Then out came the fabulous Travis. I knew who the lead singer was, and I had looked up the names of the rest of the band, but the crowd obviously knew them all, which really helped me figure out who was who. The bassist, Dougie, came out in a long buttoned up peacoat and was basically a rock star the whole time. Fran was amazing, so full of energy. They rocked out! I was taken so by surprise. Most of their songs are pretty laid back, but none of them were at the show, they were all amped up to 11! The guitarist Andy was jamming on his guitar with his whole body and Fran got up on the bass drum and played his guitar several times. It was great. They played a lot of the new songs at first, which were familiar, and I was surprised at how clearly even up close I could make out all the words. They played almost every one of my favorites, "Writing to Reach You," "Turn," "Closer," "Humpty Dumpty Lovesong" and "All I Want to Do is Rock." During "Falling Down", Fran got off the stage and walked through the center of the crowd. We were too far on the side to be in on that, but he danced with some girl, shook hands, gave high fives, for almost the whole song! It was really cool. We were right in front of Dougie and let me tell you, this guy enjoys his bass playing. He smirked and rocked through the whole show, he was a treat to watch all by himself. It helped that he looked our way and smiled even wider. I like to think it's because I'm so freaking awesome.

It was also the night of the Britney Spears concert just yards away for our venue, so of course "One More Time" made an appearance, it was really fun.

The played "Slideshow" during the encore and on the album after that song is a "hidden track" after you listen to air for 5 minutes a song called "Flashing Blue Light" starts, and i thought "Wouldn't it be funny if they did that song right after?" and they did. To close the show they did "Flowers in the Window" acoustic and it was really lovely.

I bought a cool Travis shirt that I can wear and people will ask me who the heck this Travis guy is, but it's all good. It was great how chatty they were, mostly Fran talked, but Dougie also did a bit, and it was so great to hear their cute Scottish accents. Erika got me a copy of the drummer's setlist, for which I am very grateful, since I didn't know the names for all of the new songs, but now I have it forever!

We booked it to the side of the venue where the tour buses were. It was raining lightly and it was just us and some other guy there trying to meet the band. We walked around the loading area, but there was no sign of life, we even walked into the back of the venue and walked around but most the doors were locked. After a few minutes of serious discussion, we decided that this had to be the place they would come out. We were right, after a few minutes the crew appeared and straighted putting away the gear, including the huge gong used for one song. This went on for a while and it continued to rain and more people came until we were a little group. Finally the keyboardist came out and headed around us the tour bus. A few people talked to him, I decided to focus on official band members. I had brought my "Turn" single if there was a chance of getting something signed, that would be the coolest thing that I had. It also had the live cover of Britney's "One More Time" so it's a treasured possession and I'm really glad that I remembered that I had it that day.

Andy, the guitarist came out and posed for pics and signed stuff, he was cool. Turns out they are from Glasgow, so we could chat about that a little. The drummer Neil came out and he so reminded me of the Irish guy from Braveheart, very similar sense of humor and also the same dark, lanky hair. He was fun.

Dougie came out and was mobbed. Apparently he might as well be the band leader since he gets lots of attention. I can understand that, he's easily the most attractive band member, but mostly it was all boys that were calling out to him and shouting that they loved him. He's probably their man-crush. He was such a rock star on stage and very kind in person. He asked us our names as he signed our paraphernalia and was very gracious with all the people that wanted to get his picture.

After a few minutes Fran came out. The people were respectful, I'm not sure that giving them a CD of your band is the way to go, but I guess if the right person hears it and you don't suck, there's a chance. Still, I think it's dumb, but I'm not in a band. I should be, I decided that since I rock the house on Rockband drumming, I should be some one's drummer. Every band needs a drummer. But that's neither here nor there.

We waited patiently for Fran to work through the crowd. A nice guy named Robert was letting everyone borrow his sharpie to get things signed (what kind of groupie am I that i don't have a sharpie on me at all times?) and we told him we'd take his picture with Fran and e-mail it to him if he took ours. I took his picture and it looked good, then we tried to exchange the camera and it went crashing hard on the pavement. Even Fran said "that's not good." The view screen was all white. I wasn't thinking rationally or I would have tried to take out the battery and memory card, but we decided that it might still take pictures okay, so we took 2 sets of pics of me and Erika with Fran. One with Erika's cell phone and one with my damaged camera. Robert felt really bad, but it was an accident and I wanted a new camera anyway since it takes not so good shots at concerts. After Fran left for the tour bus, I took out the battery and put it back in and it turned on but said the battery was dead (which it was close before, so that could have been natural) but it wouldn't let me view the pictures, so I didn't know if our pictures with Fran had come out or not. Finally I got the screen to work, but it was upside down. Not the worst, but I was hoping for no real damage. We looked and saw that the pictures we took with Fran were there, but the one of Robert and Fran wasn't. I'm still not sure if it was erased or if it's somewhere on the camera. But look! Aren't we cute?

Of course we thought our adventure was now over and we headed to the trax station to get home. But Wait! Even though Erika had gotten the weekday schedule for Trax online that said the last train was at 1 am, the sign at the station said it really left around 11:30. And it was 12:05. Luckily Erika was able to call her friend and she headed right over to get us. Of course while we were waiting we thought some guy was going to kill us, but he just walked on by. Maybe he didn't know that trax was done running too.

So we got home very late and now I'm at work wishing that somehow I could sleep under my desk, but it was so worth it!