Train Concert

One of my most favorite bands is Train.  Just something about them and their songs.  It's always a "feel good" moment when one of their songs comes on the radio, or when I listen to them on my ipod.

We got to see them at the NorVA a couple months ago, but it was such an open venue (and me being too short for my own good), I could hear them, but not really see them at all.  And they are such performers!  The shows are VERY entertaining.

So when I heard they were coming to Ntelos Pavilion, I decided to get seated tickets to enjoy the show.  Little did I know I would end up with FRONT ROW!

I didn't take my regular camera, so all of my pics are from my cell phone.  But it was still pretty good, and the seats were phenomenal.

He brought some girls on stage to help out with one of the songs, and they were all super excited.  The tall girl on the very far right (with the tiara on) was sitting next to us.  It was her 16th birthday.  How exciting for her!

Pat Monahan is just an awesome singer/entertainer!

This artsy shot was purely accidental, but has become one of my favorites!

And this is Jimmy Stafford (not Howie Mandel!).  He sure could play a stringed instrument.  He played several (including a ukelele) throughout the show!

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And finally, I leave you with a very short video clip of their most widely and popular song right now, Hey Soul Sister.  I wanted to record the whole song, and should have, but I also wanted to sing and dance wildly, which would have produced a much worse video.  And keep in mind, this is from my phone, so audio and video isn't premium.  But it's still fun and from the FRONT ROW! So here's the first verse and chorus....  Enjoy!

And then it was all over.  Well, not right after that song, but you get the drift....  At the end of the concert, after the encores were played, they threw out drumsticks and guitar picks.  The drummer threw us one of his drumsticks and we caught it!  (Hanging head, I forgot to take a picture of it.............)


Even though it was a Tuesday night (read: work night), it was a most memorable evening!  Can't wait til the TRAIN comes back to town!!


AMW

The Guy Fieri Road Show

I LOVE Food Network. A couple of years ago I didn't think it was possible, but now I'm totally hooked. I can (and do, sometimes) watch it all day. I don't usually cook anything that I see on there, but I certainly enjoy the shows. I even did a post earlier this year about one of my favorite shows HERE featuring Guy Fieri.

Well, he decided to create a roadshow, and came here to our town! We had to go see. What was his show like? Hmm... Well in his own words "It is food, rock n' roll, and everything they won't let me do on TV!" And it was a BLAST! We were allowed to take pictures, as long as we didn't use a flash, so most of them didn't come out very well. But you can get the idea...

This is actually the picture from his website, and ironically, almost exactly how the evening looked!

Here we are ahead of time. We bought these great "Flair Hair" hats that looked like his hair, and wore them to the meet and greet. Everyone else there asked us where we got them, and then started asking Guy's t-shirt vendors if they carried them!

I think this is a pretty good look for me. Don't you think?

At the meet and greet, he signed our books, and then right after this picture, he picked up a silver paint pen, and signed the bills of our hats! He loved them!

We ended up with front row seats (which we didn't know ahead of time), and this was the view! When Guy came out on stage, he saw us in the hats, came over and said "There's my sistas" and gave us a "knuckle-bump"!

The opening act was a flair bartender from Australia. He moved so fast, it was hard to get any pics of him at all. This was the best one.

Of course, the action shots are all blurry, but it didn't diminish the fun!

Guy claims to have ADD. Since he didn't stop or even slow down once, and became easily side-tracked while telling a story, it was easy to confirm his claim.

This was Six. That's how he was introduced, and how he was referred to throughout the evening. He followed along with a camera and projected onto the screen so you could see better!

Guy also did an "American-Idol"-ish thing with members of the audience. Some were good, and some not so good.

But this young man, Jordan, STOLE.THE.SHOW. He was extremely shy when he first got up there, but by the time he was done, Guy had offered him a spot on the TOUR! Such a charasmatic boy!!

He sang and danced! When he was done, Guy was so impressed that he gave him the sunglasses off of his head! They are a big deal to Guy! He doesn't go anywhere with sunglasses!

We also had the pleasure of meeting Brian and his folks. Brian has just gotten back from Afghanistan and is a big cook and Guy fan. When seats got shifted, Brian ended up in the front row as well!

You could tell that Guy whole-heartedly supports our troops, and was thankful for their service. He had given Brian samples of some of the food and drink, and then pulled him up on stage!

Brian's parents were beaming with pride. I'm just sorry my pictures didn't come out better than they did.

I don't really know how to sum up this evening. It was unlike any cooking demonstration I could have imagined. It was pure entertainment for the better part of 3 hours. If you are a Guy fan, then you should definitely try to see this if he comes near you.

AMW

Indigo Girls

Tuesday night, I got to see the Indigo Girls at the NorVa.  You've heard before that I enjoy live music, and like the venue of the NorVa.  This was the 3rd time I'd seen them there, and again they didn't disappoint.  They are such timeless musicians, and reach a broad array of audiences.  Young, older, married, single, gay, straight, black, white, all basis were covered.

The opening act, Missy Higgins from Australia, did a good job of setting the acoustic stage, and getting everyone in the mood.  She even came out on stage with Amy and Emily to sing probably one of their biggest hits "Closer to Fine".  

We ran into some friends there, which sparked running into more friends, and then meeting some new friends.  Being up on the second floor this time allowed us to look down over the crowd and really take it all in.  Surprisingly, it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.

Once again, the NorVa was an excellent choice for a small venue for the Indigo Girls, and a good time was had by all...

AMW

Billy Joel Concert

I should have blogged this a while back, but for some reason I'm just getting around to it...

A few of us met up at the Billy Joel concert on Saturday, June 21st at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater. We had lawn seats, and were told to tighten up the spot, even though there were 8 of us in the little piece of property we were on. We were reminded that there would be 15,000 people on the lawn. 15,000!

As for the show - BJ was the only act. He started singing right around 8:00pm, didn't have an opening act, and sang for 2 1/2 hours. No intermission. He played one instrumental (Rootbeer Rag) to rest his voice, and brought a "roadie" out to sing a song ("Highway to Hell"), but other than that, it was all him.

We all knew all of the songs he sang, and the whole place was singing along with all of them. I couldn't think of any song that I wanted to hear that he didn't play. He was phenomenal! I can say it was probably one of the best concerts that I have ever been to.

He may be a bit older now, but he is still a great artist, and one that I will see again if he rolls back into town......

AMW

Jason Mraz Concert

Saturday night, my friend Kim and I went to see Jason Mraz live at the NorVa. While I knew who he was and enjoyed what I knew of him, I wasn't prepared for the concert.

First of all, I LOVE live music. All kinds. Artists are usually much more open and flexible when you see them live, and there's just something about being in the presence of someone while they are doing what they love to do.

The NorVa is a unique venue. Different than most settings, it was originally an upscale downtown vaudeville and movie theater, built in 1923. In the '60s, part of the Norva was transformed into a retail storefront for Lerner Shops. I don't remember when that closed, but in the late 90's, early 2000, the transformation began to restore the NorVa. Now, it's a small venue that holds about 1500 people. It's general admission and two levels. The second story is not a full floor, but has a balcony around the perimeter, that overlooks the open floor below. Both floors have bars, and limited bar stools/tables. Digital cameras are allowed in *provided* they do not look like professional cameras, and look like your typical point and shoot digital. Unfortunately, Kim found this out the hard way!

As for Jason Mraz.... He was amazing. What's different about him, is his sound. He doesn't have your cookie-cutter sound, and isn't likely to be labeled as anything in particular. He is pop mixed with soulful, jazzy, eclectic, and folky. Throw in a touch of reggae, a splash of hip-hop, and a touch of the blues and you end up with an all together different sound. He is sarcastic (which I personally adore), witty, and generally a funny guy. He interacts wonderfully with his audience, and commands audience participation around every corner. While up on stage, it is apparent he TRULY loves what he does. His supporting band members do a great job, and the end result is a magnificent show. His audience is a range of young teenie-boppers, to folks well into their 40's and older. I can certainly see his appeal to all backgrounds.

I might have overlooked this concert if Kim hadn't asked me to go, and now I am certainly glad that I didn't miss it.

AMW