Friday, July 30, 2010

New Zealand Unite!

It has been a whirlwind of a few days. Wednesday night I saw Crowded House and both of my picks are from that show. Something old. Something new. Both equally awesome. Enjoy.

Crowded HouseFall at Your Feet

I can vividly remember being about seven and waiting impatiently for MTV to play the Something So Strong video. I always had such a crush on Paul Hester. My tastes have evolved a bit, and Fall at Your Feet is definitely a song for my ultimate mix tape. Neil Finn has the most beautiful voice and fantastically moving lyrics. In the sing along part of this song in the show, one of the band members actually turned around and looked at me to figure out who was singing so loud. Give me a break; I love this song!


Lawrence ArabiaThe Beautiful Young Crew

Lawrence Arabia opened for Crowded House. My first though was ugh stupid hipsters with their funky beards. But then there was beautiful singing. The tunes were interesting. I even saw a trumpet and a lemon shaped maracas.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

With a Little Help from His Friends

Last week, I saw Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band at Ruth Eckerd Hall. This is his 11th tour and it was the third time that I’ve gotten to see him. This tour included Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, Richard Page (Mr Mister), Wally Palmar (The Romantics), Rick Derringer, and Gregg Bissonette.

As always, it was a great show. I respect artists that don’t get upset when they’re asked to play the songs that have made them famous. I understand that the 4,000th time that you sing Yellow Submarine might not have the same impact, but for the people in the audience it is special. Ringo always leads a fun, funny, energetic show. This was my third time seeing Ringo live and every time I’ve spent the first 30 minutes in complete awe of the fact that Ringo Starr is really performing just a few feet in front of me. From back in my younger days of watch Help! and A Hard Day’s Night (both Ringo centered movies), I was always fascinated with the charisma and happiness of Ringo Starr and seeing him live is just the same kind of feeling. He watches the audience and interacts with a lot of snarky comments. He has a good time, which in turn makes the experience even more fun. I kept waiting for someone to shout “You’re all red again... Kaili!

The show is always an interesting round robin of all the featured artists and their most famous songs. It keeps the experience interesting. and you get to spend the majority of the night hearing the “special” songs. Watching the ensemble interact and perform each other’s songs is so much fun.

Edgar Winter is crazy talented and has a stage energy that is hard to surpass. Gary Wright talked about going to meditation camp with George Harrison, and then belted out an amazing version of Dreamweaver. Richard Page has a truly amazing voice. It was special to see him because Broken Wings was my first favorite song. Wally Palmar just rocks out on the Romantics tunes. Rick Derringer is one heck of a guitar player, and being from Ohio, it was awesome to hear the full version of Hang on Sloopy live. Gregg Bissonette is impressive and so happy and energetic on those drums that I just loved to watch him drum (even with Ringo drumming right next to him!).

The only bad part of the night was when it was over. Peace and love.

Monday, July 19, 2010

43 Things

A few months ago, I happened across a site called 43 Things, which allows you to list your goals, report if you’ve achieved them, and connect with other people who have similar goals. I had just gotten back from New York, so I was able to add and immediately say that I accomplished something that I always wanted to do. I forgot about the site and my account has been stuck at one completed goal since that time.

I am in this constant existential cycle where I miss school and learning and search out experiences that will help me grow and find more value in my life. I find that when I push out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to try new and different things, I am always the happiest. A few days ago, in the middle of my morning journaling (morning mind clearing complain fest is more like it), I started thinking about things that I would like to do. I thought about the site and wondered what would happen if I set 43 goals for myself for the next year and used the site and my blog to write about them.

I let the thought fester for a few days, and it just keeps sounding better. Right now, I only have 6 items on my list, but I’m going to work at filling them in. I feel like if I pick all 43 upfront,I might pick things that six months from now will end up being too easy. This weekend, I will be completing two of the items and I’m excited to see how it goes.

I like the idea of being responsible to myself. I’m interested in seeing what happens to me in the process of all of this. I plan on having some really silly goals, but I’m also going to mix in things that I have really been putting off and see what happens.

If you want to check out the list so far, it’s available here: http://www.43things.com/person/awdylanis



Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Burn Another Bridge, Break Another Heart

It has been a super crazy few weeks. Life these days is making me feel like I’m in a crazy sideshow acts. I spin a bunch of oblong, lumpy plates on stirrer straws while someone kicks me from under the table. Then, the audience hecks me. So super awesome that it’s not really awesome at all.

Maroon 5 – Infatuation

Say it together now… Oh NO! Not another Adam Levine kick. And yes, it’s true. I’ve been Maroon 5 crazy since the new single came out.



“Get so hot, I forget to breathe, yeah…”

Neon Trees – 1983


I hesitated with this choice because that Neon Trees guy has a really annoying haircut. Then again I was impressed that there’s a girl drummer and that’s always pretty badass.



“Would you trade me out for someone cool?”

Thursday, July 1, 2010

How to Gracefully Disappear in a Room

It was a crazy week with a broken fridge and self-induced drama, but the good news is that I listened to a ton of tunes and really love my choices for this week. They are both a little dark and odd, and I think that’s what I love the most about them. I seriously wish that I had written the long tirade of lyrics in Michael Trent’s song.

The National – Secret Meeting



“And now I’m sorry that I missed you. I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain.”

Michael Trent – Situations


“Sometimes I think that we were made to get frayed and worn out, rough around the edges with our hearts teetering on ledges, not too strong. Sometimes I think we were sent with intent to meet and break each other’s hearts, get pulled apart, and fill the world up with our songs. He said ‘Baby, you feel like home, and I’m so tired of being alone, and I hate that I have to go, but I’m going anyway. There are just some things you have to do, some situations to go through. I still love you, but I’m going anyway.’”