cavo's corner

Ticket Stub Tuesday…Round Thirty-Two:

Sorry about the lack of Ticket Stub Tuesday entries! It’s hard to believe that the last concert I saw was Kylie Minogue in October of 2009. Usually, the summer is prime time for concerts, unfortunately, there wasn’t all that much to choose from this summer, until…

One night, @TGH3RD and I were lamenting about having gone so far into the summer without seeing a concert at Jones Beach. I took a look at the calendar and saw that we hadn’t missed Maroon 5, one of our favorite bands, so I ordered us some tickets.

Jones Beach is one of my favorite concert venues. There really isn’t a bad seat in the house. Owl City opened the show to a crowd that consisted of rambunctious preteens, (one of which we saw get arrested in the parking lot) and tweens accompanied by their parents. 

Maroon 5 opened with their new single, “Misery,” which I thought was an odd choice. Although it was released last June as the lead single from their upcoming album, I’m not entirely sure that the song has gotten much airplay. When Adam Levine started singing, my initial reaction was “wow, this guy must have had a rough night.” Clearly, he did not do his vocal exercises before taking stage, because it sounded as if there was a weed-wacker stuck in his throat.

That said, I feel like it took the band a couple of songs to get into the groove of the concert. The set list was a nice blend of songs from Songs About Jane, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long., and even included three new songs from Hands All Over. It wasn’t until the third or fourth song that they started to sound good.

• 1. Misery
  2. If I Never See Your Face Again
  3. Harder to Breathe
  4. Give A Little More
  5. The Sun
  6. Won’t Go Home Without You
  7. If I Ain’t Got You (Alicia Keys cover)
     
  8. Secret/What’s Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner cover)
  9. She Will Be Loved
  10. Wake Up Call
  11. Shiver
  12. Stutter
  13. This Love
  Encore:
  14. Makes Me Wonder
  15. Sunday Morning

I had an epiphany at this concert. I realized that I have turned into that old man that yells at kids who stand up and block his view, or the tool that complains about a girl’s piercing scream. That, or I really can’t tolerate people if I’m sober. I’m going to go with the later on that one.

[[@TGH3RD and Me in the Coca-Cola tent.]]

Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Thirty-One:

Drop your socks and grab your mini-boombox! It’s hard to believe that this was the first time the one and only Kylie Minogue toured the U-S of A. Naturally, as soon as I heard that this Aussie would be touring stateside, I bought tickets. Although having been on the world stage since the 1980s, Minogue was under the radar in the US until her 2001 breakthrough, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” dominated airwaves. Since then, her die-hard fans could only dream that she would come here to tour. 

Having to wait until the bitter-end of the tour schedule, Kylie played the last of her tour dates right here in New York City at Hammerstein Ballroom. Attending the “For Me, For You” tour with me was fellow Kylie fanatic, @SimTilver. Right from the start, there was a fantastic energy in the venue. Minogue’s voice was truly wonderful live, which is rarely the case for most pop singers who opt not to lip sync.

Since this was the last night of the tour, Minogue performed a few extra songs for the audience. Additionally, this concert was recorded and released in December 2009 — Kylie: Live in New York.

Read more about and see pictures from this concert here!

Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Thirty:

This was the fifth time that I’ve seen Blink 182 in concert. The band will always be sentimental for me because theirs was the first concert that I ever went to. After the group went on indefinite hiatus in 2005, it was uncertain whether or not they would ever tour again. At the 51st annual Grammy Awards, the trio announced that they would be reforming and embarking on a summer tour. They also announced plans to release their sixth studio album, but to date, no new material has been released by the band.

Going in, I knew it would be one of those no-frills-standard-set-know-the-lyrics-to-every-song kind of show — and I was fine with that. After seeing No Doubt earlier in the summer and having a similar experience, I knew that I would enjoy the show. I went with @Cassiee. The two of us have been Blink 182 fans from the “Flyswatter” era and had seen Blink 182 at Roseland Ballroom back in the day. We had a great time then and this concert was no exception. 

Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy opened the show. I’m really not a fan of ether band. Each has a couple of good songs, but I never really got into their music. Blink’s set was loaded with shenanigans, as is standard procedure for a Blink show. You would think that these guys would have mellowed out with age and parenthood. Not so much. They’re still all about the toilet humor and four letter words. Their energy was really very good — they still know how to get the crowd going.

The most amazing part came when drummer, Travis Barker, performed his solo on a suspended, rotating platform. It was truly incredible that he was able to play upside down. The show was definitely a fun summer diversion. I hope that they actually do release a new album and go on tour in support of it.

[[Read more HERE.]]

[[Panic! at the Disco]]

[[Fallout Boy]]

[[Blink 182]]

Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Twenty-Nine:

I love being spontaneous. On the Wednesday prior to this concert, I was on the phone with @SimTilver and casually mentioned the up coming Jason Mraz show. The next thing I know, he’s on StubHub ordering these kick-ass tickets. Fifth row from the stage, center orchestra isn’t bad for leftovers. Am I right? 

Check out more concert pics HERE! 

[[Me and SimTilver.]]

[[Mr.A-Z killin’ it!]]

[[Taken with my iPhone… we were that close!]]

Ticket Stub Tuesday…Round Twenty-Eight:

The summer of 2009 was phenomenal as far as concerts were concerned. I was able to see my top three bands: No Doubt, Green Day, and Blink 182. I also saw the amazingly talented Jason Mraz. Too bad, I haven’t really been to any since then! (That’s so unlike me). Green Day is one of the few bands that straddles that punk/rock/pop threshold that are actually great live. I’ve seen the likes of Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, Good Charlotte, etc… and none of them have the stage presence that Green Day exudes. They are true performers through and through. 

The last time I saw them in concert was in 2004 when they co-headlined the “Pop Disaster Tour” with Blink 182. Since then, they had released the Grammy Award winning album, American Idiot and the highly successful follow-up, 21st Century Breakdown, which was what this tour was supporting. I was very excited to see how they have matured as performers as their new material is pretty heavy, focusing on issues such as living in post-9/11 America.

As excepted, they were fantastic and did not disappoint. Playing material new and old, they took to the stage for just under two of the fastest hours of my life. When you become accustomed to playing an album on repeat, you’re not used to how quick each song actually is.

My good friend, (and former co-worker), Mandy  accompanied me to the show. We had seen several concerts together, another one of which was also at Madison Square Garden. We always have a wonderful time together, and this was no different.

[[Mandy and Me.]]

Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Twenty-Seven:

When I heard that No Doubt would be hitting the road and touring during the summer of ‘09, I did not hesitate to buy tickets. Ever since Gwen Stefani returned from her first solo tour (in support of Love.Angel.Music.Baby.) and had her first child, Kingston James McGregor, it was rumored that No Doubt would be recording a new album. Then, Gwen recorded a second album, The Sweet Escape, and had a second child, Zuma Nesta Rock, and the fate of the new ND album was thrown into question.  

Then, like that ::snaps fingers::, Adrian,Tony, Tom and Gwen decided that a national tour would put them in the right mindset for recording this long anticipated album. In addition to a media blitz in support of the tour, No Doubt re-recorded “Stand and Deliver,” the 1981 single by Adam and the Ants, which was featured in an episode of “Gossip Girl.” This was the first time No Doubt had released ‘new’ material since 2003, when they released 1992-2003:The Singles which featured hit-single “It’s My Life,” which was also a cover.

Having purchased my tickets WELL in advance, I was not anticipating on taking a European vacation directly before the concert, returning the night before. My return from Europe was an adventure in itself. After taking a 5 hour train ride from Alassio, Italy to Torino, Italy; an hour and a half flight from Torino to London Gatwick Airport; a 45 minute bus ride (in rush hour traffic) from London Gatwick to London Heathrow; a 7 hour transatlantic flight from London to Newark, New Jersey and (finally) an hour car ride from Newark to the Island of Long, I had less than 24 hours to sober-up, kick the jet-lag and prepare for what would be the first of my summer concert trifecta. (The second two being Blink 182 and Green Day).

 Kari and I went together, freshly rested from our day of traveling. We had a nice little pre-concert, tailgate party in the Parking lot of the Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre. Neither of us really like Paramore, who opened this leg of the tour, so we prolonged party time until right before No Doubt’s set. 

The setlist was very straight forward. No surprises; all singles. The onstage chemistry of the group was crazy. You could tell that they love touring together and love making music with one another.  I can’t wait until they release their new album, sometime in 2010 (hopefully).

[[That I am.]]

[[Me and @Kgroobs.]]

[[Tony and Tom killin’ it!]]

[[Adrian in action.]]

[[Gwen and Adrian.]]

[[The band taking a bow.]]

Ticket Stub Tuesday… Round Twenty-Three:

And so, with this entry, the month of Spice officially closes. This is the fourth and final entry to “Ticket Stub Tuesday” of a Spice Girls related show. And although my entries are chronological, clearly the best was saved for last. Come on! What could be better than seeing the Spice Girls (all 5 of them, no less!) at Madison Square Garden?! That’s right… absolutely nothing.

After it became clear that the lottery system that 19 Management had initially set up was a joke, I asked my cousin Denielle, who has an ill ticket connect, to see what she could do for the show at MSG. Boy did she deliver. Although the ticket says row “X,” the pictures below (many of which were taken with my iPhone) indicate just how close our seats were to the stage. I took my good friend and fellow Spice fanatic Mandy with me to this show. We had previously attended both dates at Nassau Coliseum earlier in the month (1, 2) and just couldn’t resist another round.

Upon hearing that I attended the same concert on three separate occasions, the question that I get most often is: “Wasn’t it enough the first time?” Followed by: “Wasn’t it boring the second and third times?” The answer to both: absolutely not. The first show, I was so preoccupied with taking photos that I missed a lot of what was going on. The second show helped me to enjoy the concert as a narrative, as I was not experiencing it through the lens of a camera.

This concert, my hat trick, if you will, was just down right fun! We were surrounded by celebrities, for example David Beckham was obviously there, as was Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Mel B.’s partner on “Dancing With the Stars.” Everyone was having such a fantastic time in the section that we were in; it was so electric. The audience was treated to something really special during “Mama.” The entire Spice Brood was brought up on stage. Beau, Bluebell, Angel Iris, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz were all present, only missing to the party was Mel B.’s eldest daughter, Phoenix. Showing off his stage presence, Cruz Beckham, on the eve of his third birthday, treated the audience to a break-dance routine. An adorable three year old spinning around on his head… could you die? It was phenom.

At one point towards the end of the show, it hit me: this was probably the last time that I would ever see the Spice Girls perform live. I had missed out on the SpiceWorld tour ten years earlier, the first time the band came to the states. In the back of my mind, I think that was the underlying reason that I will willing to spend, in total, nearly $700 for all of these shows. Do or die. When it came down to it, money was no object. I did not want to regret ever missing the Spice Girls in concert, so I covered all my bases.

There is nothing that I would love more than a full-scale Spice Girls reunion, complete with new album and another tour. Am I holding my breath? Not so much. I understand that each band member has grown and is now focused on their own career and life. They’re all mothers, after all. There were rumors floating around that Simon Fuller was trying to get the girls together for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. That would be pretty epic. And I would definitely cash in my Virgin Atlantic points to go see them.

Whatever the future holds for the Spice Girls, they are very much on the radar. They just won their fifth BRIT Award and are planning a West End musical, tentatively titled “Viva Forever” after their 1998 hit number one song of the same name.

[[Outside MSG. Spice Girls: One Night Only!]]

[[Mandy and Me in all of our spice glory!]]

[[Stop.]]

[[Melanie C., Vikki, Emma and Mel B. during Holler.]]

[[Melanie C. during Holler.]]

[[Victoria during Holler. See? She does sing!]]

[[The girls walking down the cat-walk before Mama.]]

[[All the kids on stage during Mama. Cruz Beckham broke it down!]]

[[Look at how close we were to the stage!!!]

[[Celebration medley.]]

[[Emma killin’ it during the encore!]]