As a side note, I went through a period of about a decade where I went to almost no concerts. My reasons for not liking it was that it was expensive, I couldn't enjoy the company of my friends while the music was playing, and I thought it sounded better at home than live. I went to a concert, I think it was Rodrigo & Gabriella in Austin, and that completely turned the tide. I have been going to multiple shows each year since then.
Sting & Peter Gabriel, July 9th, 2016 @ United Center in Chicago
I hadn't planned on going to this concert, but one of my friends had a spare ticket. Her friend couldn't make it and I had already planned in being in Chicago. It worked out very fortuitously. I'm not a huge fan of Sting or Peter Gabriel, but I know they are great musicians and huge artists and I wanted to see these two legends.
This concert was different than a normal concert with an opener or two and then the headliner. In this concert, it was both bands on the stage the entire time; a total of 13 people on the stage all night long. It was a fantastic show and some of the highlights were Sting playing Peter Gabriel songs and Peter Gabriel singing Sting songs. Roxanne was one of the highlights, but the show was closed out with Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". The crowd was wild. Well, as wild as much as a bunch of 40somethings and 50somethings could get.
Sufjan Stevens, July 18th, 2016 @ Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, CO
Sufjan has been one of my favorite artists for nearly a decade. I saw him in Austin in 2015 and it was the best scalping experience I had ever experienced. The show was sold out and I didn't want to pay the StubHub prices. I went to the venue, Bass Concert Hall, and walked up to the a guy selling tickets. He said he had one left for $20 and it was front row. WTF? No fucking way! I paid my $20 and walked in. Yep, it was front row, center stage. I had to look around one of the monitors to see parts of the stage. The show was the best, most transcendental, existential concert that I have ever been to. I was on cloud 9 for days after that show. Ever since that show, I knew I would go to any Sufjan Steven show that I could go to.
This show at Red Rocks Amphitheater was my first show in Denver. Everyone kept saying "You gotta see a show at Red Rocks!" and after about 6 weeks of living in Denver, I did. I took too many pictures with it being my first time at Red Rocks, but I can see what the hub bub is about. The venue is absolutely beautiful nestled in between two huge red rocks with the stage below and the view overlooking the plains of Colorado towards Denver. It was threatening to rain almost the entire time with some light sprinkles, but that was a perfect recipe for a double rainbow prior to the show. There were lightning strikes in the background and it was a very amazing first trip to Red Rocks. I have goosebumps right now just remembering it.
The show was absolutely amazing. My 1st Sufjan Stevens concert was a very emotional, personal experience with him. This one was completely different. It was very full of energy and a lot of the arrangements of his songs at this show were completely different than the last show and different from the album versions. One of my favorite things about Sufjan is that he does mix up his songs so much that it is as if you are hearing his songs for the 1st time but there is a strong sense of deja vu. It was completely amazing. He played my favorite song of his "Casimir Pulaski Day" and from this concert, my 2nd favorite song of his is now "Vesuvius".
After seeing two of his shows now, I still will see him any time he is in town. And Red Rocks is definitely the best concert venue in the US. You just cannot beat the scenery, the setting, and the acoustics.
Sufjan is wearing a costume covered in balloons.
Portugal. The Man, July 20th, 2016 @ Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, CO
Yep, you read that date correctly. I was just here 2 days prior. I first found out about them in Austin while listening to Chillville on Sunday mornings. The DJ mentioned that they were from Portland, OR, my absolute favorite city in the US, and that made my ears perk up. I found more of their music and I was hooked.
I never saw them in concert until this show. They were playing with Glass Animals and Glass Animals played first. I had never heard of them prior to the show, but then I recognized some of their songs. I've since become more of a fan of them. The best part about their set was at one point, the lead singer got off the stage, came into the crowd, and sung a song in the middle of the audience. Oh, this also happened to be about 12' from me. The picture below is not zoomed in at all. Great, high energy show. Portugal. The Man came on after Glass Animals. It was a great show as well. I love their music and enjoyed the show, but it was definitely a bit lower energy after Glass Animals. Still a quality concert and I'll be seeing them again later this year in Denver.
Me presenting to you Red Rocks
Radiohead, July 26th, 2016 @ Madison Square Garden in New York City
If you are keeping count, this is the 4th concert in July. Radiohead has been one of my favorite bands for nearly 2 decades. I have opinions on all of their albums and I think OK Computer is one of their best albums and is one of my favorites of all time. I've been wanting to see them for awhile, even during my concert going dark ages, but never had the opportunity. I heard about their shows in NYC and with plans in place to be out of work, I decided to make a trip centered around this show.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The crowd was a huge mix of people who listened to Radiohead while teenagers and a bunch of people where Radiohead was to them as Led Zeppelin is to me. However, I had been walking around NYC all day prior to the show. I don't recommend being on your feet for 13 hours in a single day. I wanted to enjoy the show more, but I was absolutely tired. She was great with hearing so many songs live that give me joy when I listen to them.
Sigur Ros, September 27th, 2016 @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver, CO
I almost saw Sigur Ros in 2003 or so in Atlanta. I had tickets to go see them, but I hurt my knee playing ultimate frisbee so I couldn't go. I sold my tickets to a friend of a friend. That person after the show said that that show was one of the most emotional concerts that they had ever been to. It took me 13 years to experience what they experienced. I was also hyped for this concert because I was in Iceland for 2 weeks about a month prior to the show. I went on a Music Walk of Reykjavik that heavily talked about Bjork and Sigur Ros.
The show was in an opera house which was very appropriate. This was a sit down concert and a very enjoyable one at that. Pictures weren't allowed but I snuck in a couple. I didn't want to take any pictures because I was in the moment and enjoying the show in front of me. The highlight of the night for me was when they played "Glosoli". It is such an amazing song and video. At the end of the night, I'm glad that I finally got to see them and it was a very emotional concert.
The Naked & Famous, October 31st, 2016 @ Ogden Theatre in Denver, CO
This day was great because I did a trifecta: snowboarding in the morning, biking in the afternoon, concert at night. I almost didn't make this show because my best friend, my cat BT, had some health issues. I took him to the emergency vet, they say he hurt his kitty ankle instead of having a blood clot, and he would be OK. I took him home, petted him goodbye, and headed to the show. I luckily got to the Ogden Theatre in time to see the last song of the opening act. I had to wait about 30 minutes for The Naked & Famous to come onstage so the timing was great. Since this was Halloween, many people there were in costumes. Once the band took the stage, they were also in costumes dressed up as Star Wars characters. The lead singer was Princess Leia, the guitarist was Luke Skywalker, another guy was in a Jabba The Hutt suit, Obi-Wan Kenobi was there too, and I have to give mad props to the drummer. He played in a full Chewbacca costume the entire night. He must have lost 5 pounds from sweat in just that show.
Another great concert from the band. They played a lot of my favorite songs and very energetic show as well. The crowd was on their feet and into it the entire night.
And those are the shows that I've seen during my funemployment. Six great shows and I can't wait for more concerts this summer.
