cavo's corner

Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Nineteen:

I went to this Mika concert with @SimTilver nearly two years ago. It was a bitter cold evening and the two of us nearly froze to death while waiting in line. The show was at Terminal 5 which is so far on the West side of Manhattan that you’re basically in New Jersey. The wind was blowing in off the frigid Hudson River, making each and every second spent in that line excruciatingly uncomfortable. I’m sure that I was dressed inappropriately, as I seldom wear proper attire when I know I’m going to be in cramped quarters. Usually, when I go to concerts that I hold a general admission ticket to, I’m in the thick of things. I.E., sacrifice my comfort in the line for my comfort in the venue.

Per our usual concert schtick, the two of us made a b-line for the bar, where we obtained vodka-based beverages. From there, we secured our position on the floor, waiting (and drinking) patiently for Mika to take the stage. Unfortunately, the wonderful Ms. Sara Bareilles did not open this show, so I’m sure we had to suffer though the set of someone like Rachael Yamagata. As a matter of fact, I think it actually was Rachael Yamagata who opened the show because as I recall, a little Asian girl poured her drink on me. Don’t worry, I bought a drink for the sole purpose of retribution. However, she was so nimble that I lost her in the crowd, so I wound up drinking that ish.

I digress — This was my second Mika show, to date. (Read about the first show here)! The apropos thing about Mika is that, like his album, Life in Cartoon Motion, he himself exudes the persona of a cartoon character. He (and his hair) is larger than life. From the moment he takes stage, you know that you’re in for a good time. As this was the second time I went to see Mika in concert, I had a lot of time to listen to his album. By this point, I knew every song inside and out. While I do recall some new material included in the set-list, everything was pretty straight-forward; there were few surprises.

While this show was part of the “Dodgy Holiday” tour, the only thing “dodgy” about the concert was that stupid girl who spilled her drink on me. Oh, and maybe the creepy construction site next to Terminal 5. Other than that and the bitter cold, this was a great experience. I guess I could have done without the $10 drinks too. I mean, not the actual drinks — those I loved — just the price. I could have done without them being so expensive. But, yeah, despite the chick whose drink ended up dripping down my arm, the shanty bowels of construction next to the venue, the subzero temperature and the ridiculously inflated drink prices, Tim and I had a great time!

[[Mika killin’ it!]]

[[“Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)”]]

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Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Eighteen:

When @Pasty informed @SimTilver and me that she was getting tickets to see Maroon 5 at Madison Square Garden through work, there was no hesitation. We were there in a New York Minute! (Which incidentally is much longer than 60 seconds… in case you were wondering). Only to sweeten the deal was the fact that the one and only Ms. Sara Bareilles opened the show. To hear her Little Voice fill up MSG was pretty exiting.

After Sara played her set, she did a meet and greet on the main concourse of the venue. In between her and Maroon 5, The Hives or The Strokes or one of those hipster bands that begin with “The” played. Needless to say, we took that time to refill our drinks and meet Sara B.

The line itself moved very quickly. There was merch galore to purchase and have signed. If my memory serves me correctly, @SimTilver purchased another copy (I know he already owned the original release, the Japanese import and the iTunes version with bonus tracks…) of Little Voice, so that Sara could sign it. I was content with presenting her with my ticket stub.

Just a few weeks prior to this concert, @SimTilver and I went to THIS show at the Bowery Ballroom, where Sara performed with Jon McLaughlin. We had a great spot on the floor, so I was able to take a lot of awesome, crappy iPhone pics. Upon meeting Sara and introducing myself to her, I whip out ye ole virtual photo album, like a stalker, and show her all of these pictures of her from that show. Creeper much? Epic faux pas, Greg. Epic. So, Sara laughs it off, signs my ticket stub and takes a picture with me. She was very charming. Then it was time for us to head back into the Garden to see Maroon 5.

They played material from both of their studio albums, Songs About Jane and It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.; both of which the three of us spent the entire summer listening to, on repeat, in our cars. During one of the songs, I can’t quite recall which one, Kanye West appeared on stage to perform. I don’t know whether he was invited to do so or if he was in the audience and simply felt neglected, but there he was — raping his heartless heart out.I enjoyed every bit of the concert, even that.

[[Sara Bareilles with Me!]]

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Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Seventeen:

As you may have noticed, a key component of “Ticket Stub Tuesday” is missing…. the ticket stub! This is the only concert that I’ve been to (to date) where I lost the stub in the venue. That just goes to show what a great time I had! @SimTilver was supposed to scan a copy of his for me, but he still hasn’t done that.. uhHum…

This was my second Sara Bareilles concert and first time seeing Jon McLaughlin, both of which co-headlined this show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom on 19 September 2007. Both artists were supporting their debut albums, McLaughlin with Indiana and Bareilles with Little Voice. Having already seen Sara B. once before, I knew what to expect. I bought her album and listened to it on repeat for the first couple of days. (As a matter of fact, her’s is an album that I still listen to over and over).

Jonny M. was exactly what I had expected. Having been paired up with Sara Bareilles, I knew he had to have a mellow, relaxed sound yet at the same time exhibit some sort of poppy hook. I’m surprised that he has flown under the radar for so long; I’m just waiting for him to blow up. in the same vein as John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson, McLaughlin makes for some kick-ass stoner tunes… not that I smoke the reefer. Just speculating. (I’ll submit to a drug test, people)!

[[Jon McLaughlin killin’ it!]]

[[Sara Bareilles playing her little heart out!]]

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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 Fifteen:

@Simtilver first exposed me to Mika and Sara Bareilles at this concert, some two years ago. Since then, we’ve seen Mika together twice more and Sara an additional three times! And since then, both of these artists have changed the way I hear music.

It is of no surprise that these two acts were paired together for this tour, as both are self-taught, melodically inclined individuals who exhibit the very essence of raw talent. Their music encompasses beautiful melodies with lyrics that are far more poignant than “Boom, boom pow,” or “Rah-Rah Ah-ah-ah, Roma Ro-ma-ma…”

I think that one of the reasons that I like both of them so much is that even though they have had great success early on in their careers, they have managed to stay under the radar, so to speak, and have dodged that sell-out/main-stream bullet. Their fan base is very much genuinely interested in the music.

Thankfully, @Simtilver is a concert Nazi, so for this particular show we got to the Nokia Theatre early enough to be toward the front of the line. I am also thankful for the network of ‘line-holders’ that Sim befriended so that we didn’t actually have to wait in the line — we waited at the bar around the corner instead!

The show itself was non-stop energy right from the get go. It was a really fun way to start off the summer and to refresh my musical preferences.

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Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Fourteen:

This definitely wasn’t the first Eren Cannata Band show that I’ve been to, but it was certainly the first for which I was issued a ticket! Eren Cannata is the son of saxophone great Ritchie Cannata, who rose to fame as Billy Joel’s saxophonist in the 1970s and 80s.

My friend Nicole became friendly with Eren when we were still in high school. To be honest, I’m not really sure how they met, but for a while we were, dare I say… groupies? Not me so much as her, but she was a good promoter of his music! He played at intimate venues throughout lower Manhattan: The Bitter End, The Cutting Room and this show at The Knitting Factory.

Eren always puts on a good show, and this one was no exception. Of course I went with Nicole along with Melissa (it was her birthday weekend), Raquel and Monika. As usual, it was quite an eventful night.

[[Inside the Knitting Factory, up in the balcony.]]

[[Melissa, Nicole and Me — I love this shot.]]

[[Raquel and Nicole — ‘New Fancy.’]]

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Ticket Stub Tuesday, Round Thirteen:

So, when I heard that Loyola’s SGA had booked Hootie & The Blowfish for the annual fall concert, my initial thought was, “Wow. This would be so cool if it were ten years ago.” In reality, it was cool. Even though I owned a copy of Cracked Rear View, the only song of theirs that I really knew all the words to was “Only Wanna be With You,” which was, of course, their encore. Indecently, I did not know that the lyric from that song “I’m such a baby ‘cause the dolphins make me cry” was in reference to the football team, not the animal, until this night. I went with Maggie, Lo and Marla and the four of us had a blast! It was definitely a fun way to spend a Sunday evening before the start of that stressful week of classes before Thanksgiving break. Oh, and by the way… I had no idea that Hootie was black. That was probably the most exiting part of the night!

[[Marla, Lo, Me and Maggie]]

[[Hootie & The Blowfish killin’ it in Reitz Arena]]

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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 Ten:

After I left home for college, my first show down in Baltimore was Good Charlotte. This was a very special show to go to, primarily because Good Charlotte hails from Maryland, so they were playing to a home-town crowd with crazy energy! I went with my newly-made college friends, Lindsay and Chris. My cousin Denielle got us great tickets for the event… they were so good, in fact, that we were sitting in front of Billy Martin’s step-brother. This was the first in a string of ridiculous collegiate adventures that I would have over the course of the next for years.

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