cavo's corner

Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Sixteen:

This first entry in the series for the new year! After missing the Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Tour, there was absolutely no way that I was going to miss The Sweet Escape Tour too. In retrospect, it actually worked out better seeing this show. Unless during her first solo tour, Gwen performed some songs from No Doubt’s catalog, she didn’t have that much material of her own to choose from. During this show, she performed material from both of her solo albums, complete with her very own Harajuku entourage.

The concert was at my favorite summer venue, Jones Beach, and I went with @Pasty and @SimTilver. My cousin Denielle had gotten the tickets for us and she also secured us passes to the VIP tent, because let’s face it, we’re VIPs. To be honest, the VIP area was a bit of let down, primarily because after paying an additional $35 for access, the drinks were not free. So, in essence, you paid $35 on top of the ticket price to stand on grass while trying to make it through the opening act — which in this case was Akon.

So, Gwen wound it up, she holla-backed and let us all sweetly escape reality for a hot second. Having just graduated from college, kicking the summer off with my two partners in crime was an epic win.

[[Sim, Pasty and Me killin’ it.]]

[[Gwen winding it up.]]

[[Chillin’ in the VIP section where the drinks were NOT comped…]]

[[“It looks like an Early Winter for us…” I hope so!]]

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Ticket Stub Tuesday, Round Twelve:

So, if I had to pick a winner for “Worst Concert Ever,” this would win, hands down. Let me start off by saying that I did not buy these tickets, I had no desire to see this show — I didn’t even know about it! I am not a fan of The Corrs or Sophie B. Hawkins (who opened), not that I have anything against them, theirs, however, is typically not the genre of music that I listen to. And, collectively, the only songs that I know between the two of them “Breathless” and “As I Lay Me Down.” That said, my friend Raquel’s ex ether won the tickets or obtained them through the JCC that she worked at. I was reluctant about going at first, but the tickets were free, after all, and it was just around this time last year when we saw John Mayer and The Counting Crows at Jones Beach. We had such a great time at that show; a last blast of summer before the fall semester started and it was back to the grindstone. So, I said yes.

There were four of us who went: Raquel, Monika and Jon. We had a lot of fun pre-gaming in ye old Field 4 parking lot. The girls who were parked next to us shared their wine, cheese and grapes with us. We returned the favor by offering them some luke-warm bud light and some chips. They graciously declined. By the time we made it into the amphitheater, we were sufficiently lubricated enough to deal with the three and a half hours of boring music.

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Ticket Stub Tuesday, Round Eleven:

How could you possibly ever top this combo? No Doubt and Blink 182 co-headlining! Maybe if you threw Green Day in there too… This was one of the best shows that I’ve ever gone to. The holy union created when No Doubt and Blink 182 decided to hit the road together was founded in the dreams that all garage bands hope to achieve. Both pop-rock staples hail from SoCal (Southern California), No Doubt from Anaheim and Blink 182 from Poway. And while they each have vastly different success stories, ten years before this tour, both bands would play with each other - Tom DeLonge: “We’re honored to be sharing a stage with them again like we did 10 years ago.”

This concert was like the ultimate homecoming. I had just finished my first year at school in Baltimore and I was returning to the island for the summer. What a way to kick it off! I remember going with Andrea and Joy, although I’m sure I bought four tickets, so who was the fourth? I can’t remember. If you’re that fourth person, I’m sorry! Let me know who! haha. The seats weren’t the best, but the concert was great! I love seeing a show where I’m able to sing ever word of every song… even the new ones!

Both bands were supporting new albums: Blink 182 with their self titled album with singles “Feeling This” and “Miss You,” and No Doubt with “The Singles: 1992-2003” which featured the hit cover of Talk Talk’s “It’s My Life.” Five years later, during the summer of 2009, I would see both bands again, although separately. Coincidentally enough, to date, neither band has released a new album.

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Ticket Stub Tuesday, Round Nine:

One would think that if they’re sitting in the absolute LAST row of the venue, that they would have a horrible time at a show…. quite the contrary with this entry. For the John Mayer / Counting Crows co-headlining summer tour, very special guest Vanessa Carlton opened the show to get the crowed pumped up for a great night of music! I went with my high school concert-going crew: Raquel, Jon and Kristen. This was a bittersweet event for me due to the fact that two days after the concert, I was to leave home and end my summer for freshman orientation at Loyola. We had a blast, and despite the ant-sized Johnny M., the music was huge. What a talented group to get together!

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Ticket Stub Tuesday, Round Three:

After a nearly two month hiatus, Ticket Stub Tuesdays has returned! Today’s entry is my third concert, the Pop Disaster Tour, co-headlined by Blink 182 and Green Day. Two of my favorite bands! This was my third consecutive Blink 182 concert. Saves the Day was the opening act. That’s a bargain for $48.30, right? The show was at Jones Beach and I went with Kristen, Raquel and Jon… AKA Fifth Poser. Also in attendance were Cassie and Ellie, although they were much, MUCH closer to the stage. So close, in fact, that at the end of Blink’s set, they were able to snag some of the ping-pong balls that were ejected from the stage into the audience. I was only close enough to grab some of the Green Day confetti.

CONCERT FUN FACT: Mark Hoppus’ bass ended up in Zach’s Bay at the end of the show.

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Ticket Stub Tuesday, Round One:

For my inaugural entry in a new series, Ticket Stub Tuesdays, I have decided to begin at the beginning, as most people do. The very first concert that I attended was Blink 182 at Jones Beach with Raquel, Danny and Gordon. Bad Religion and Fenix TX were the opening acts. We had an absolute blast!

Venue (as it appears on stub): Jones Beach Theater

Date: Tuesday, 30 May 2000

Price: $30.70

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Blink 182 Reunion Tour - Live at N@JBT

Last night, (9 August 2009), Cassie and I attended the long-awaited Blink 182 Reunion Tour, featuring, Chester French, Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy at Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre. This was my second concert there that weekend, the first being Jason Mraz. Cassie and I were a little skeptical that the rain would hold off, but it did and the show went off without a hitch, except, of course, for Mark Hoppus tripping over a speaker wire, that was labeled “the orgasmatron.” Neither of us really wanted to see Chester French, so we arrived at the venue in the middle of Panic!’s set. They were pretty good, although I really only know that one song of theirs, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.”

I was really happy that I was able to see Panic! and Fall Out Boy at the same time, because I would always get the two confused. Now, I think I’ll be able to differentiate them. Fall Out Boy played a lot of new material, but played their hits: “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” “Dance, Dance,” “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” and “Thks fr th Mmrs.” Pete ~~Wentz~~ Simpson looks like a monkey and he’s actually pretty retarded. Jon’s going to kill me for saying that because he idolizes him, but it’s true, he looks like a monkey with a bad haircut. To be honest, I just don’t like anyone associated with the Simpson Camp (i.e. Ashlee, Jessica, Joe, The Retarded Mother, Ryan Carbrera, Nick Lachey and all of 98°, for that matter…)

My cousin Denielle got us pretty good seats. We were right in the center of the second orchestra section, on the aisle. There were these three really annoying 17-year-old girls from Seaford sitting next to us. Their two guy friends that had closer seats to the stage, kept coming to our row… No joke, Cassie and I had to move about 20 times because of them. That was pretty ridiculous. So, as if I didn’t already hate Seaford or teenagers, that experience solidified those feelings. And Cassie, no, I never was a teenager….LOL.

Blink’s set list held no surprises or right-field picks; it was everything that I wanted to hear after five years of waiting:

Dumpweed

Feeling This

The Rock Show

Go

What’s My Age Again?

Violence

I Miss You

Stay Together For the Kids

Down

Always

Stockholm Syndrome

First Date

Man Overboard

Don’t Leave Me

Not Now

Adam’s Song

All the Small Things

Reckless Abandon

Josie

Anthem Part II

Encore:

Travis’ incredible drum solo, involving some serious aerobatics….

Carousel

Dammit

Unlike Cassie, I was kind of exited about them playing stuff from their last album, “blink 182,” which was released in 2003, mainly because I haven’t seen any of those songs performed live before. This was the fifth time that I’ve seen Blink 182 in concert, more than any other act, (Sara Bareilles is second with four times; Spice Girls, Mika and No Doubt are in third with three times each….), and now I remember why… their shows are always so much fun. I love going to a concert and being able to sing each and every word of every song. I’m seriously contemplating buying tickets to see them again, ether at their other N@JBT date or at MSG. Ether way, I’m so exited for their new album to be released, sometime next year.

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…and after 5 years of waiting, blink 182!

Fallout Boy!

Panic! At the Disco with Cassie!

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