Last night, K and I went to go see Bob Schneider at Floore's Country Store. This is one of our favorite things to do and we really try to go see him every time he plays. We love his music and we also really love Floore's. We had even considered renting it out and getting married there, which I'm sure would have been quite the conversation fodder for my California family especially. There's boots hanging from the ceiling and a ginourmous Texas flag behind the stage. It would have been kind of awesome, but I'm still happy with what our ceremony was.
I love live music. I used to go to shows all the time and every time I get the chance now, I am flooded with memories of other live music events and the desire to add to the list as much as possible. It's tougher now. Southern California was an optimal place to live for going to shows, big and small. San Antonio is not so much. It's a big city, but generally artists go to Dallas, Houston, or Austin when they come through Texas. There's smaller venues, like Floore's, but it's trickier to get it all set up to be able to go out with the baby now. I'm basically content going to see Bob as much as we can here in Helotes and I'd like to see Dave Matthews Band and Ani DiFranco the next time they come through the state if I can. We'll see!
It's so much fun to me to watch other people enjoying the live music in various ways. There's people who crowd the stage, there's those with cameras, there's those who are so engrossed in conversations they seem oblivious to the music, there's those who dance, there's those who watch those who dance... And then watching the band is great too. Just because a song sounds great doesn't mean the band is really into it that night and vice versa. I like watching the small interactions between the musicians and sometimes the sound guy/gal.
Last night was another little milestone for us because we left S with a non-family baby-sitter. Everything went fine but as with any new thing I was a bit nervous. S was of course still up when we got home. I guess he went to sleep but then woke up a couple of hours later and was inconsolable. It just took about thirty minutes to get him back to sleep and he didn't wake up again until this morning. It's a strange thing to leave your baby at home or with someone else. I want everything to go smoothly, but at the same time there is a small piece of me that wants him to miss me a little bit. I want him to have grand adventures as a baby, a kid, and as an adult, but I want him to want to tell me about them right away. And I guess right now the version of that is him stubbornly staying awake until I get home. Hopefully soon it will just be a delighted smile and squeal when he sees that it's me in the morning. Being a mom is tricky. Hard, awesome, tiring, and fulfilling all at the same time.
Maybe we can have a regular date night again because that would be really great for me and K. Yay for free and cheap baby-sitting!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
and when i'm left at home, i'm all alone, but i'd rather be alone with you
I have to say that thinking about what I want to write about and then racking my brain for a song lyric to go with it as a title is immensely enjoyable. I kind of doubt anyone notices this little touch or knows all the songs I'm referencing but it makes me happy nonetheless. This particular one is "Alone" by Lisa Loeb, from all the way back in roughly 1995.
After the movie Reality Bites came out, "Stay" was all over the place even though Lisa Loeb hadn't officially released an album of her own yet. I didn't see the movie right away but I definitely had the soundtrack and when Nine Tails was released, I snatched it up and listened to it until I had every word memorized. The song "Alone" was always my favorite because I imagined I would meet a guy who would scour the sky for me so the stars would shine bright. I did, and I married him.
While we were finishing up the madness of getting out of the apartment, I stumbled across a small pile of cds that I hadn't realized were missing. I have a really bad habit of sticking cds in cases that they don't belong to. This drives my treasure custodian husband crazy and I am wary of taking his cds unless I know I will bring it right back inside when I come home. In any case, there was a mix cd I had made in 2005 because once upon a time people used to think I had good taste in music and someone requested a sampling of some of my favorite songs. Seeing the title didn't jog my memory as to what was included, but popping it in my truck's stereo was like greeting old friends.
I love how music speaks to my soul. When I hear a song, I'm transported back to the first time I heard it or the memory of who introduced me to that band or what was going on in my life when I was obsessively listening to that album. It makes my heart happy. There are a lot of things that make me smile even on the worst day but the three things that make my very heart happy are my husband, my baby, and a capital G good song. We'll go over the criteria for a capital G good song another day my friends.
This weekend, through various conversations, I realized that Ki and I are the strongest we've ever been and it's just such a nice solid feeling to love someone, be in love, and be loved back that I felt like it was worth mentioning. I don't think we're the traditional cutsey couple, but I also think what we have works very well. We do nice things for each other and treat each other with kindness and I just don't get tired of him.
If we have a girl, Ki will need to take her out on dates so the bar for how she expects to be treated is set high. If we have a boy, I need to do the same thing so he knows how women should be treated. And in either case, we need to make sure to continue to treat each other kindly and do nice things for each other and take our kid along so they grow up seeing how it's done. I like that although we are nervous about becoming parents and what the first few months especially are going to look like that we can plan to be intentional about so many things with our little one.
This is going to be great.
After the movie Reality Bites came out, "Stay" was all over the place even though Lisa Loeb hadn't officially released an album of her own yet. I didn't see the movie right away but I definitely had the soundtrack and when Nine Tails was released, I snatched it up and listened to it until I had every word memorized. The song "Alone" was always my favorite because I imagined I would meet a guy who would scour the sky for me so the stars would shine bright. I did, and I married him.
While we were finishing up the madness of getting out of the apartment, I stumbled across a small pile of cds that I hadn't realized were missing. I have a really bad habit of sticking cds in cases that they don't belong to. This drives my treasure custodian husband crazy and I am wary of taking his cds unless I know I will bring it right back inside when I come home. In any case, there was a mix cd I had made in 2005 because once upon a time people used to think I had good taste in music and someone requested a sampling of some of my favorite songs. Seeing the title didn't jog my memory as to what was included, but popping it in my truck's stereo was like greeting old friends.
I love how music speaks to my soul. When I hear a song, I'm transported back to the first time I heard it or the memory of who introduced me to that band or what was going on in my life when I was obsessively listening to that album. It makes my heart happy. There are a lot of things that make me smile even on the worst day but the three things that make my very heart happy are my husband, my baby, and a capital G good song. We'll go over the criteria for a capital G good song another day my friends.
This weekend, through various conversations, I realized that Ki and I are the strongest we've ever been and it's just such a nice solid feeling to love someone, be in love, and be loved back that I felt like it was worth mentioning. I don't think we're the traditional cutsey couple, but I also think what we have works very well. We do nice things for each other and treat each other with kindness and I just don't get tired of him.
If we have a girl, Ki will need to take her out on dates so the bar for how she expects to be treated is set high. If we have a boy, I need to do the same thing so he knows how women should be treated. And in either case, we need to make sure to continue to treat each other kindly and do nice things for each other and take our kid along so they grow up seeing how it's done. I like that although we are nervous about becoming parents and what the first few months especially are going to look like that we can plan to be intentional about so many things with our little one.
This is going to be great.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
music
K decided sometime around January that we were going to see Coldplay when they came to town. He told me he wasn't telling me how much it was because I would try to talk him out of it and we deserved to do something fun and out of the ordinary (at least for us). He took care of getting the tickets and I marked the date on my calendar. When I recently got hired, one of the first things I did was make sure it was alright for me to have that day off so I could spend the whole day getting ready for and then enjoying Coldplay.
The first song I ever heard by them was "Yellow." It is such a lovely song and I was impressed by this band I'd never heard of before. I have every album, including that first one and have consistently listened to all of them. I loved when Starbucks decided to make them a featured artist and we could listen to at least the album XY while working.
Now, let me talk about seeing live music. Nothing else makes my heart come alive quite like seeing a live show. For some reason, I've forgotten this over the past couple of years and haven't been to many shows. But for awhile, I was going to every show I could figure out how to get myself to. I've seen big shows and little ones, bands I knew very well, and bands I never heard of but instantly became a devoted fan of. I've driven pretty good distances and I've gone down the street. I used to have a handful of friends that not only would happily accompany me, but would seek out artists and shows themselves.
My favorite band to see live for a long time has been Dave Matthews Band. They are phenomenal anyway, but live, there's an extra flair. They are thoroughly about the music and that is my number one qualifier for loving a band. I like how they play songs from their entire catalog and they put together songs that you would never think could segue into each other but do seamlessly somehow. They don't do big sets, they aren't showy, they aren't pretentious.
My second favorite show that I've ever been to was Jars of Clay at Spirit West Coast Del Mar the first year that festival showed up in Southern California. They sang their hearts out and debuted an album that had solid bluegrass roots and it was seriously amazing. My dad and I shivered as the sea breeze rolled in, but the music kept us warm enough to be enthralled and disappointed when the set was over.
And thirdly, The Benjamin Gate. This random Christian band that came out of South Africa with one of the most amazing sounds I've heard from ANY band. It is so refreshing to me to hear a Christian band that is also musically innovative because it is kind of rare. Jars of Clay fits in that category and that's one of the reasons why I love them. Anyway, the lead singer had bright orange hair, one of the guitar players had these insane sunglasses that wrapped over the top of his head, and the bass player was all over the stage which is highly unusual for a bass player. The music was fantastic and the band seemed so pleasantly surprised to have a crowd watching and to be enjoying seeing California for the first time. I refused to like Jeremy Camp for a long time because when he and the lead singer of The Benjamin Gate, Adrienne, got married, the band split up. Luckily for him, and me, she recorded a solo album a little bit ago. :)
I've seen concerts where the pyrotechnics and lights and set design seemed way more important than anything else. Or lead singers who really felt the audience should be worshipping them as they sang. Both of these things really annoy me. I'm a music snob. I want people who create music to be doing it for the love of the music, not the love of fame. Everyone should be so lucky to be able to earn money doing something they truly love. The best concerts are given by bands who love what they do, are good at it, and appreciate the audience being there. Anything else is gravy.
Let me tell you, Coldplay brought the gravy.
I really had no idea that a band could combine amazing light effects, fun sets, crazy stunts, AND amazing soul quenching music. They played songs from every album and really rocked out the stadium. This was the first time they'd been to San Antonio, and I do believe they'll be back.
"Yellow" was played as a fast song as giant yellow balloons filled with confetti were tossed through the audience. There were these things that looked kind of like giant lightbulbs that lowered at points and had art, words, or just live footage of the band on them. So cool! During the song "42", there was a live feed of the band that looked kind of like a music video or one of those behind the scenes kind of deals, but it was live feed. I never saw where the cameras where! That's impressive to me, because so often the cameras are obtrusive. Chris Martin played guitar and piano at different points and danced all over the stage.
There was a point where the band suddenly walked off the stage into the crowd. They were walking with a purpose and a specific location in mind but I was still surprised when they walked to a part of the ATT Center that already had instruments for them. There was just enough room for all four members to stand and sing/play guitar. The drummer sang a song, they did the band introductions, and led us in the first known cell phone wave at the AT&T Center.
Song after song... It was truly fantastic. Then at the end, they told us about the other two bands that had played and mentioned that on the way out, they had a little thank you note for us. We each got a cd! It was a recording of part of a show they did on this tour so it's kind of like a little piece of the show right in my truck right now.
And speaking of the other bands, let me tell you that Snow Patrol totally kicks ass. I've liked them for awhile, but I really enjoyed them live as well. And the first band was Howling Bells and they hail from Australia. Please do yourself a favor and check them out! You won't be disappointed. Especially if you like the aforementioned The Benjamin Gate. :)
Basically I feel lucky to have a boyfriend who brought live music back into my life in such a fantastic and over the top way. We had awesome seats and such a fabulous evening. I hope we can make live music a much bigger part of our date nights and whatnot. I have some ideas on how to do that... I'll try to keep you posted!
The first song I ever heard by them was "Yellow." It is such a lovely song and I was impressed by this band I'd never heard of before. I have every album, including that first one and have consistently listened to all of them. I loved when Starbucks decided to make them a featured artist and we could listen to at least the album XY while working.
Now, let me talk about seeing live music. Nothing else makes my heart come alive quite like seeing a live show. For some reason, I've forgotten this over the past couple of years and haven't been to many shows. But for awhile, I was going to every show I could figure out how to get myself to. I've seen big shows and little ones, bands I knew very well, and bands I never heard of but instantly became a devoted fan of. I've driven pretty good distances and I've gone down the street. I used to have a handful of friends that not only would happily accompany me, but would seek out artists and shows themselves.
My favorite band to see live for a long time has been Dave Matthews Band. They are phenomenal anyway, but live, there's an extra flair. They are thoroughly about the music and that is my number one qualifier for loving a band. I like how they play songs from their entire catalog and they put together songs that you would never think could segue into each other but do seamlessly somehow. They don't do big sets, they aren't showy, they aren't pretentious.
My second favorite show that I've ever been to was Jars of Clay at Spirit West Coast Del Mar the first year that festival showed up in Southern California. They sang their hearts out and debuted an album that had solid bluegrass roots and it was seriously amazing. My dad and I shivered as the sea breeze rolled in, but the music kept us warm enough to be enthralled and disappointed when the set was over.
And thirdly, The Benjamin Gate. This random Christian band that came out of South Africa with one of the most amazing sounds I've heard from ANY band. It is so refreshing to me to hear a Christian band that is also musically innovative because it is kind of rare. Jars of Clay fits in that category and that's one of the reasons why I love them. Anyway, the lead singer had bright orange hair, one of the guitar players had these insane sunglasses that wrapped over the top of his head, and the bass player was all over the stage which is highly unusual for a bass player. The music was fantastic and the band seemed so pleasantly surprised to have a crowd watching and to be enjoying seeing California for the first time. I refused to like Jeremy Camp for a long time because when he and the lead singer of The Benjamin Gate, Adrienne, got married, the band split up. Luckily for him, and me, she recorded a solo album a little bit ago. :)
I've seen concerts where the pyrotechnics and lights and set design seemed way more important than anything else. Or lead singers who really felt the audience should be worshipping them as they sang. Both of these things really annoy me. I'm a music snob. I want people who create music to be doing it for the love of the music, not the love of fame. Everyone should be so lucky to be able to earn money doing something they truly love. The best concerts are given by bands who love what they do, are good at it, and appreciate the audience being there. Anything else is gravy.
Let me tell you, Coldplay brought the gravy.
I really had no idea that a band could combine amazing light effects, fun sets, crazy stunts, AND amazing soul quenching music. They played songs from every album and really rocked out the stadium. This was the first time they'd been to San Antonio, and I do believe they'll be back.
"Yellow" was played as a fast song as giant yellow balloons filled with confetti were tossed through the audience. There were these things that looked kind of like giant lightbulbs that lowered at points and had art, words, or just live footage of the band on them. So cool! During the song "42", there was a live feed of the band that looked kind of like a music video or one of those behind the scenes kind of deals, but it was live feed. I never saw where the cameras where! That's impressive to me, because so often the cameras are obtrusive. Chris Martin played guitar and piano at different points and danced all over the stage.
There was a point where the band suddenly walked off the stage into the crowd. They were walking with a purpose and a specific location in mind but I was still surprised when they walked to a part of the ATT Center that already had instruments for them. There was just enough room for all four members to stand and sing/play guitar. The drummer sang a song, they did the band introductions, and led us in the first known cell phone wave at the AT&T Center.
Song after song... It was truly fantastic. Then at the end, they told us about the other two bands that had played and mentioned that on the way out, they had a little thank you note for us. We each got a cd! It was a recording of part of a show they did on this tour so it's kind of like a little piece of the show right in my truck right now.
And speaking of the other bands, let me tell you that Snow Patrol totally kicks ass. I've liked them for awhile, but I really enjoyed them live as well. And the first band was Howling Bells and they hail from Australia. Please do yourself a favor and check them out! You won't be disappointed. Especially if you like the aforementioned The Benjamin Gate. :)
Basically I feel lucky to have a boyfriend who brought live music back into my life in such a fantastic and over the top way. We had awesome seats and such a fabulous evening. I hope we can make live music a much bigger part of our date nights and whatnot. I have some ideas on how to do that... I'll try to keep you posted!
Friday, August 24, 2007
five bands i FREAKING LOVE
1. Plumb
2. Dave Matthews Band (and anything Dave Matthews attaches his name to)
3. Jimmy Eat world
4. Jars of Clay
5. Tegan and Sara
2. Dave Matthews Band (and anything Dave Matthews attaches his name to)
3. Jimmy Eat world
4. Jars of Clay
5. Tegan and Sara
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
a bunch of rambling started by listening to a dave matthews cd
I jumped on the Dave Matthews Band bandwagon considerably after everyone else did. I fell in love with the song "Crash Into Me" upon first listen. It has all the criteria of a song for me to love. Acoustic guitar, lyrics that are deep and simple at the same time, and a crescendo that resolves itself in a lovely way. The first album I really had was Everyday which is possibly a blasphemous fact to most DMB fans. But I also had the whole Lillywhite album downloaded off of Napster before Busted Stuff became a reality.
My friend Rebecca introduced me to the Live at Luther College album one night while a carload of us were headed to Santa Cruz and I realized there was a lot about Dave Matthews I didn't know yet. I absolutely adore that album, the second disc especially. It is on my list of perfect driving albums. It's also perfect for the beach and for listening to while writing (academic OR personal). Someone borrowed it from me and never gave it back, but I will be remedying that soon enough.
A few years back when I was living in Northern California, my friend Tina and I decided on a complete whim to go to Southern California to visit some friends. It was a crazy trip with us taking turns driving like madwomen to get to Riverside, staying on couches in Dan's parent's living room, and hanging out. Dan was playing in a band that happened to be opening for Tim Reynolds in San Juan Capistrano and so we just went to that too. I got my industrial ear piercing practically on the way to that show which was not the best of ideas but it is the only piercing I still have jewelry in, so obviously it wasn't a waste in the end.
It turns out that Tim Reynolds by himself is kind of weird. He's a small man and just a little odd. Breathtakingly talented, but most of his solo music is not acoustic. He annoyed actually that a lot of the people there wanted him to play songs like Stream and he explained (growled) that's how he plays with Dave Matthews, but for his solo work, he prefers the electric guitars and synthesizers he was using. It was weird but I could see the talent although I was disappointed it wasn't more of the acoustic stuff I knew him for.
Tina and I drove him from the venue, slept, and then met up a few hours later to go see Dave Matthews Band. Then we got to see them AGAIN the next night. They played a couple of the same songs both nights, but they basically had two set lists. It was truly fantastic. Later when we talked about it trying to decide which night we would have gone to if we could only get tickets for one night, neither of us could decide. If I had the time, money, and opportunity, I'd go see them two nights in a row again for sure.
K said Starbucks just started carrying two Dave Matthews cds and he wanted to get them. When he told me he got one and it was live, I was curious, and then when he said it was with Tim Reynolds, I asked him to immediately bring it over so I could listen to it/rip it. When we put it in my cd player in my truck, happiness immediately washed over me. I looked at the songs and got a little more excited because most of my favorite DMB songs are on there and it seemed like there were a few of Tim by himself as opposed to the one on Live at Luther College. I have loved listening to it and hearing the little nuggets of conversation Dave offers through the songs. It is a truly fantastic set of discs and not just because my boyfriend effectively gave them to me.
I've been thinking about music a lot lately. For a fairly significant portion of time, it seemed like music surrounded my life. Most of my friends were in bands, I worked at a music store, and I did grassroots marketing for a record label. I worked for a band for awhile and loved knowing what was new, what was hot, and what was coming around the corner. That passion has waned over the past couple of years especially beause I've moved on to other things. I was cut off from my supply of free new music through changing jobs and whatnot and my friends have changed over the years as well. Ever since I started thinking about how this happened and whether or not it was okay, I've had songs stuck in my head.
Getting a chance to listen to this new set of cds came at the perfect time. It has revived my love of the acoustic guitar. I still don't have the cash to fund my music habit in the way I would like. In any case though, my iPod will be getting a lot more use as I rediscover other artists I haven't heard in awhile and enjoy all the new music Mike just brought me today.
It's not bad to change the focus of where your life is it. But sometimes it is really lovely to pick up a habit from the past, dust it off, and put it through some speakers. :)
My friend Rebecca introduced me to the Live at Luther College album one night while a carload of us were headed to Santa Cruz and I realized there was a lot about Dave Matthews I didn't know yet. I absolutely adore that album, the second disc especially. It is on my list of perfect driving albums. It's also perfect for the beach and for listening to while writing (academic OR personal). Someone borrowed it from me and never gave it back, but I will be remedying that soon enough.
A few years back when I was living in Northern California, my friend Tina and I decided on a complete whim to go to Southern California to visit some friends. It was a crazy trip with us taking turns driving like madwomen to get to Riverside, staying on couches in Dan's parent's living room, and hanging out. Dan was playing in a band that happened to be opening for Tim Reynolds in San Juan Capistrano and so we just went to that too. I got my industrial ear piercing practically on the way to that show which was not the best of ideas but it is the only piercing I still have jewelry in, so obviously it wasn't a waste in the end.
It turns out that Tim Reynolds by himself is kind of weird. He's a small man and just a little odd. Breathtakingly talented, but most of his solo music is not acoustic. He annoyed actually that a lot of the people there wanted him to play songs like Stream and he explained (growled) that's how he plays with Dave Matthews, but for his solo work, he prefers the electric guitars and synthesizers he was using. It was weird but I could see the talent although I was disappointed it wasn't more of the acoustic stuff I knew him for.
Tina and I drove him from the venue, slept, and then met up a few hours later to go see Dave Matthews Band. Then we got to see them AGAIN the next night. They played a couple of the same songs both nights, but they basically had two set lists. It was truly fantastic. Later when we talked about it trying to decide which night we would have gone to if we could only get tickets for one night, neither of us could decide. If I had the time, money, and opportunity, I'd go see them two nights in a row again for sure.
K said Starbucks just started carrying two Dave Matthews cds and he wanted to get them. When he told me he got one and it was live, I was curious, and then when he said it was with Tim Reynolds, I asked him to immediately bring it over so I could listen to it/rip it. When we put it in my cd player in my truck, happiness immediately washed over me. I looked at the songs and got a little more excited because most of my favorite DMB songs are on there and it seemed like there were a few of Tim by himself as opposed to the one on Live at Luther College. I have loved listening to it and hearing the little nuggets of conversation Dave offers through the songs. It is a truly fantastic set of discs and not just because my boyfriend effectively gave them to me.
I've been thinking about music a lot lately. For a fairly significant portion of time, it seemed like music surrounded my life. Most of my friends were in bands, I worked at a music store, and I did grassroots marketing for a record label. I worked for a band for awhile and loved knowing what was new, what was hot, and what was coming around the corner. That passion has waned over the past couple of years especially beause I've moved on to other things. I was cut off from my supply of free new music through changing jobs and whatnot and my friends have changed over the years as well. Ever since I started thinking about how this happened and whether or not it was okay, I've had songs stuck in my head.
Getting a chance to listen to this new set of cds came at the perfect time. It has revived my love of the acoustic guitar. I still don't have the cash to fund my music habit in the way I would like. In any case though, my iPod will be getting a lot more use as I rediscover other artists I haven't heard in awhile and enjoy all the new music Mike just brought me today.
It's not bad to change the focus of where your life is it. But sometimes it is really lovely to pick up a habit from the past, dust it off, and put it through some speakers. :)
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