God Knows the World Doesn't Need Another Band...

It has been over a week since my last update. In that time I managed to attend 3 concerts, one of which was actually free. I've come to the obvious conclusion that I love going to concerts. If there is a way to make going to concerts a full time job, I need to find out how ASAP. The only ways i can think really is if you worked at one of the venues or if you were in a band yourself.

Well the free concert I went to was another where Dave had his connections to get onto the guest list...even though (this is the 2nd time) he originally wasn't on the list when we arrived. A couple phone calls changed that and he found out he didn't even need a photo pass to take pictures. When we got inside we saw that it was both really small and really empty. "I kinda feel bad for not paying at a show this small" was Dave's thought.  The venue was the Rock & Roll Hotel (not a functioning hotel according to the website) in DC. The major bands that played were Framing Hanley and Transmit Now.  Two other bands, 3 Pill Morning and Legend of the Fall, were also there. The crowd as a whole was pretty young. Dave felt quite old. HAHA, actually I had stated that I felt old but he kind of glared and said "YOU feel old?" He's not THAT much older than I am. But, yes Dave, you're right. It was fun though. Pretty good music all around from each band. I especially liked the moment when Transmit Now said they just made up the next song and it was a Lady Gaga song.

Bring on the weekend. Saturday, July 31, was the Honda Civic Tour at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia MD. Bands that were here included Kadawatha (we caught the tail end of their set), New Found Glory, Tegan and Sara, and Paramore. The experience went from good to great to amazing as the night went on. This was the first time seeing New Found Glory and I'm sure it won't be the last. They sounded good and had a lot of energy on stage, unfortunately I don't think the majority of people were there to see them so the crowd wasn't as lively as it could've been. But they were still great and I bought a tee-shirt.

Standing in the line for the shirts did make me miss the opening song from Tegan and Sara, but I could still hear it while walking back to my seat. They played a great set and I enjoyed watching them for the first time. I listen to them a lot at home and they for the most part played all songs I like. There was probably just one i don't like too much (Alligator). I couldn't really tell what Jen and Dave were thinking about them. I didn't really think they were their type of music to begin with but Jen claims she doesn't necessarily have a type.  I hope they didn't DISlike them, but I would understand if they didn't like them. Does that make sense? I know what I mean. Do you?

Paramore just straight up rocked. Haley has incredible energy and hardly ever sits still. Well, that is except for two instances. One she just stopped everything and stood still for about a minute. That would be the time where EVERYONE in the place took their cameras and snapped away. It's the time when I was able to get the clearest pictures of her. Jump ahead just for a second to the next day. There was someone at the Lights concert who had actually been at the Paramore concert as well and he showed me a picture he took that looked almost identical to one of mine. Of course it was from that moment when she stood perfectly still. Now, jump back to the Paramore show. After a good bit of "regular" songs, they toned things down a bit. Haley did a cover of a Loretta Lynn song "You Ain't Woman Enough" that will be featured on an upcoming tribute album for Lynn. It was directly after this song they decided to pull out a big red couch (one like the cover of the All We Know Is Falling album, but more reminded me of SNICK from back in the day) and did 3 songs acoustically. This was a nice touch to the show. A few songs after this, the band was gearing up to play their hit Crushcrushcrush, and Haley was not too pleased that people were sitting down. These people included two that were sitting directly in front of me. I was enjoying the break from catching the tops of their heads in my videos, but I understand Haley, and I agree. When the couple in front of me did sit down, I believe that Jen and I kind of looked at each other very puzzled, pretty much thinking the same thing that Haley was thinking.

And then...came the finale. Two songs: Brick by Boring Brick and Misery Business. I have to say that this might have been one of the best encore finishes at a concert I have seen. Usually the bands just come out and maybe play one or two more songs, say goodnight and are done. Brick by Boring Brick seemed normal enough but towards the end of Misery Business things got crazy. Haley decided to find a new singer to help her with the rest of the song so she brought a girl and her friend up on stage out of the front row. The one girl helped her sing, while her friend did the worm. Yes, she did the worm. We have video to prove all this went down. And the entire show ended with confetti falling from the sky making the finish a huge spectacle. Kudos to you Haley for interacting with your fans and putting on a fantastic show.

My pictures and videos aren't ready for me to talk about Lights yet so maybe tomorrow or the next day, but it won't take a week I promise. As always if you want to see any of the videos I have, you can head on over to my YOUTUBE page. Subscribe and know when new ones are added. Also, if you tweet, be sure and follow Haley. Her twitter is @yelyahwilliams . You can also follow @teganandsara as well as @newfoundglory. Next time any of these bands come around, I'm sure to be getting tickets, so let me know if you want in as well! Until next time...