Concerts I’ve Been To!

Ok, so I’ve been to a fair amount (90 to be exact) of concerts over the last several years, so I thought I’d post them and tell you what I’ve thought. There some bands I’ve seen multiple times, so that will be listed in parenthesis. In future posts I’ll have to explain some funny stories that happened, because you never exactly know what kind of things can actually go on a at a concert…..but anyways, back to my main topic!

Sarah Evens – eh, nothing special

Kingston Trio – If you like folk music, then this might be your dream come true. When I saw them it was actually their last concert with any of the remaining members of the original band, so if you go to see them now they are all replacements.

Skillet (5)- One of my all time favorite bands, they put on a great show. Especially if you like headbanging, screaming like an idiot, and flames. They put on what is probably one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.

Bethany Dillon – Not really my type of music, she plays more tame girly stuff

Aaron Shust – Good worship music, if you’re into that

Britt Nicole – Pretty good, fun bouncy music

KJ-52 –  This guy is amazing, even if you aren’t into rap (like me). If ever have a chance to go to one of his concerts, DO IT. It’s like a giant party, you’ll have the time of your life!

Disciple (3)- Really rockin’ metal band, lots of fun

Salvador – Unique latino worship band, good if you’re into that type of thing

Tim Hughes – Another worship band

David Crowder Band (4) – Kind of a worship band, but absolutely fun! He brings in all kind of weird stuff, last time I saw him we all ended up square dancing in the mosh pit! Definitely recommend seeing him.

Third Day (2) – Ok

Storyside B – Don’t really remember this one

Parachute Band (2)- I don’t really remember, but I think they were really good

Starfield – Good

Grits – Umm….good I guess if you like heavy rap

Thousand Foot Krutch (5) – Love, love, love this band. Totally awesome in concert!

Leeland (4) – Also a worship band, but very good. I used to be in love with the lead singer

Tobymac (3) – This guy is a blast. Another very fun and upbeat concert

Casting Crowns (4) – A really nice worship band

Phil Wickham (2) – Worship

Mandisa – Great voice and very inspirational

Barlow Girl – Preppy girl music, really not my type

Kutless (2)- They are pretty good rock, but just not my favorite

Newsboys (with Peter Furler as lead singer) (2)- One of the most fun shows with a lot of singing, jumping, dancing and drum wars. Really, really great!

Newsboys (with Michael Tate as lead singer) – Pretty good and funny, just not the newsboys I know and like. They actually are more like a Newsboys cover band then the actual Newsboys, because they sing mostly new music, with very little of the old and well loved hits.

Limeliters – Another great folk band, although they have none of the original band members left

John Waller – Another worship type, good but kinda weird

The Afters – Great concert, great sound

Red (4)- One of my all time favorite bands, amazing metal sound and vocals, and literally to die for in concert! LOVE THEM!

Flyeaf – Pretty good, although you really couldn’t understand a word she was saying

Paul Baloche –  yeah, another worship band

Hawk Nelson (2)- Tons of fun, really cute boy band

Worth Dying For (2) – Not really worth dying for….or showing up to watch

Jeremy Camp – Just ok, although a lot of people love him

Blushing Well – Nobody knows who they are for a reason, cause they suck (although they might have improved since I saw them last, not sure. If you’ve listened to them recently and have a different opinion, please let me know).

Ryan Payne Band – Cute and funny boy band, pretty good

Ryan Star – Wasn’t a huge fan of the music, but he was hilarious

David Cook – Spectacular, although was quite the snob. After the concert he went straight back to his trailer and refused to sign or even associate with anything.

Josh Gracin – Country music at it’s best

Natalie Stovall – Good if you are into fiddle music

A Rude Revolution – Local ska band, fairly good although all the songs sound exactly the same

Reel Big Fish – Foul, obnoxious ska music at it’s best, although they do sound good

Remedy Drive (2) – Cute, good sound, and they do all kinds of insane and crazy stuff on stage

Bluetree – Nobody knows who this band is for a reason…all I remember is they they are Welsh

Michelle Bonilla – Don’t remember much except it was not stuff I liked

Chris Tomlin (2)- Some of the best worship music to be found

Group 1 Crew – Poppy upbeat stuff, not really my type

Lincoln Brewster – A very talented worship singer

Unspoken – Don’t really remember

Relevant Worship – More worship, what else can I say?

Family Force 5 (2) – Another of my favorite bands to see live, they are a blast. It’s like a total dance party, and impossible to dislike

House of Heros (2) – Excellent

Anberlin – Of course since they are one of my two favorite bands, I have to love them. But they were beyond spectacular in concert, and there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to see them again

Taking Back Sunday – Very good, great sound

All-American Rejects – Where do I even start? They were crude, filthy, vulgar, offensive, raunchy, obscene and plain disgusting. They only good thing about the entire concert was them performing Gives You Hell, which kinda rocked.

Breaking Benjamin – Ah, my other favorite band. They were so amazing live, and just really rock their hearts out. Being able to sing Breath live totally made my whole year (yeah, it was that good)

10 Years – I had never heard them before, but was pretty impressed, good sound and lyrics.

Carlos Whittaker – not that great worship

Downhere – ok I guess

Switchfoot (2) – Not one of my favorite bands, but they put on a really good show

Deluge – worship…

John Mark McMillen – pure acoustic-y goodness, with really intriguing lyrics

Sons of Day – they rock, and do a really good U2 cover

B. Reith – this guys is crazy fun and looks like Ashton Kutcher (bonus)

December Radio – Just as good as I thought they would be (which is pretty crazy good)

Tenth Avenue North – I’ve head a lot of raves about them, but they honestly didn’t do much for me. Except for the song By Your Side, which is just a good song

Brian “Head” Welch (co-founder and lead guitarist of Korn) – This guy rocked my socks off!

Bands Nobody Has Ever Heard of Before (3): Lovesick Radio

I had never heard of Lovesick Radio before until one of my friends (who has awesome taste in music and is also an awesome guitar player) sent this song to me. While I thought they were a bit whiney at first, this song really grew on me. The lyrics were powerful, and the song just had a good feel to it.

Loser of the Year

This next song was one I actually got for free off of their myspace (you might want to check it out and see if it’s still up), and really fit was I was going through at the time – a rough breakup.  And what girl hasn’t wanted to let go of it all and say that “boys don’t matter”. Another excellent song, with really really great vocals and sound. Definitely check it out!

Boys Don’t Matter

And this last song was one that I really liked while exploring some of their music on youtube. It’s already been covered by several other bands, and has received a lot of comments that it was an awful imitation, but they don’t know what they are talking about. Listen to it and let me know what you think!

Take Me Home Tonight

Help spread the word about this band’s excellence, they deserve it. They just came out with their first CD, Heartbreak 4 Dummies. I was disappointed to see that they didn’t sell it in either FYE or Hot Topic, maybe they will in the future.

Recent and Remarkable song: Just Friends by Frickin’ A (1)

Ok, to be fair not all of these are that recent, but this is another series of posts about songs that really caught my eye.

I’ve never even heard of this band before, but ran across this song while listening to Lovesick Radio (more about them next)

Who hasn’t felt this way about an ex? And this song phrases the feelings of revenge, resentment and just plain missing someone remarkably well. It made me laugh and reminisce at the same time. While it probably isn’t a song that will change your life like some of the others, it is worth listening to!

CD updates & New Releases

Here are a few new CD releases to be on the lookout for!

July 27th (A.K.A today)

Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold

August 3rd

11:59 by Ryan Star (actually saw him in concert, but that’s a story for another time)

August 17th

Intimacy by Korn

August 31st (lots of good ones here)

Feeding the Wolves by 10 Years (also saw them )

Asylum by Disturbed

Something for the Rest of Us by Goo Goo Dolls

Screaming Bloody Murder by Sum 41

There are some I am really looking forwards too in September, but I will post them as the dates draw closer

Random music and band facts…

Here are some really cool and random facts that I bet you never knew!

• Creed was the first band in history to have four number-one rock singles from a debut album.
• Daft Punk was originally known as “Darling”.
• Benjamin Burnley of Breaking Benjamin co-wrote the song “Shadows” of of Red’s album Innocence & Instinct, and Jasen Rauch of Red co-wrote more than 1/3 of the songs off of Breaking Benjamin’s new album Dear Agony
• Seether is from South Africa
• Billy Idol’s son Will is in a band called Lucas
• Britney Spears’ song “Dont let me be the last to know” was written by Shania Twain.
• Gavin Rossdale (he just came out with a new song called Love Remains the Same) was the lead singer of the band Bush
• Drew Lachey was an emergency med technician.
• Foo Fighters’ named came from the UFO’s that U.S. pilots reported seeing while patroling Germany in WWII
• Goo Goo Dolls’ singer John Rzeznik was gonna be a plumber
• Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong wore Jersey #8 on his high school football team.
• Hawthorne Heights formed under the name ‘A Day In The Life’
• Jon Bon Jovi turned down the lead role in the film version of “Footloose” in order to concentrate on the band and his music.
• Lou Reed underwent electroshock therapy as a teenager in an unsuccessful bid to control his mood swings.
• Michael Bolton was Paula Abdul’s babysitter when she was a child

Funny Songs

Everybody needs a laugh now and then and parodies are one of the best ways to cheer up! Check out these hilarious and brilliant videos!

Big Butter Jesus by Heywood Banks

While this isn’t a parody, it’s quite funny anyways.

Baby Got Book by Dan Smith

A parody of Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot

Don’t Breathe by Anita Renfroe

A parody of Breathe by Faith Hill

Canadian Idiot by Weird Al Yankovic

A parody of American Idiot by Green Day

Things You Don’t Say To Your Wife by Tim Hawkins

A parody of Time of Your Life by Green Day

Best Remakes

Occasionally you find a band that does a really amazing job with a remake. It might not necessarily sound like the original, sometimes even better!

London Bridge by Bowling for Soup (originally by Fergie)

While I hate both Fergie and the original song, I fell in love when I first heard this version. Not only does it sound spectacular, but the band is hilarious!

Apologize by Silverstein (originally by OneRepublic)

Silverstein rocks on their own, but mix them with such a great song, and it gets even better!

Umbrella by All Time Low (originally by Rihanna)

Way better than the original (which I also hated)

Please educate the punkless!

Yes, I’m still having trouble with people who know not of what they speak. I think the problem all stems from calling it punk rock, so people automatically smash the two genres together in their head, and then cannot manage to find a difference. I had to explain to a friend this morning that Flyleaf and Reliant K are not punk bands. The next time someone tells me that Hawk Nelson is the greatest punk band ever (yes, this actually happened) I will have to resist hitting them very hard with a very real and very punk studded object.

So….if you ever hear someone spouting off incorrectly about punk, please take them aside and explain the error of their ways to them. It will save the rest of us a lot of pain and grief!

I came across an interesting issue the other day while listening to several different bands. Is there such a thing as Christian punk?

After much debate and research I came upon an answer….no. Two very important themes to punk music are Anarchy (“Absence of government; a state of lawlessness due to the absence or inefficiency of the supreme power political disorder.” – wikipedia) and Nihilism (total rejection of established laws and institutions, anarchy terrorism or other revolutionary activity, total and absolute destructiveness especially towards the world at large and including oneself, an extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth – dictionary.com). So both of those beliefs/practices go against all standard Christian beliefs, which leads to my answer of no, the two types of music cannot exist together.

In the same way I would also be inclined to believe that while you CAN have Christian metal (Demon Hunter, Underoath, etc), you CANNOT have Christian Black Metal (since it tends to contain satanic beliefs or similar stuff)

Band that nobody has ever heard of: AM Taxi

A few people might actually know about these guys, because they are just starting to gain popularity. I found them a month or two ago when I got a free download of their new single, The Mistake. I didn’t get a chance to listen to it until this past week, when was looking through my music and came across it. When it first started playing I didn’t know what to think….until it hit the chorus. IT BLEW MY MIND to put it mildly! There is something so unbelievably riveting about the lyrics and the emotions in this song.

http://www.myspace.com/amtaxi

I posted the video, and here is a link to the band’s myspace where you can get a free download of “The Mistake”. I would highly recommend that you listen to them, enjoy them, and support them!  While I have not had a chance to listen to any of their other songs yet, or even learn about them, I look forward to doing so!

A Song for Every Mood

Being a typical teenage girl I have a gazillion different moods. The amazing thing is that there are so many different genres of music with a huge variety of bands, so I can have an entirely unique playlist of music according to how I am feeling! I thought I would post a few of my favorites songs for certain occasions!

Stressed out beyond belief:

Whenever I am really stressed out or upset, this is always the song I turn to. For some reason it always makes me feel better!

Excited and Pumped up:

When I’m getting ready for a party, hanging out with friends or want to dance around, this is the right song for the job!

Frustrated/Angry

Somehow screaming it out makes everything better.

Flirty

When I want to get a guy, this song helps give me the confidence!

Break-Up

This song ends things well I do believe..