Weezer and Panic! At The Disco Summer Tour







June 16, 2016

Lakewood Amphitheater

 

Did you dream of Beverly Hills in middle school? Did you write sins not tragedies?  I know I did and that's why seeing Panic! At the Disco and Weezer was a dream come true.

Full disclosure, this wasn't just a nostalgia thing for me. I bought Panic!'s new CD when it came out and it's freaking amazing. I saw them at Music Midtown last year and knew they were going to bring the house down at Lakewood. 

I like both bands, but you could definitely see a divide among the people there were there to see Panic! At the Disco and those that were there to see Weezer. Even in the group of people I went with, some were more excited for one than the other. If I had to chose what side I was on, it would be Panic. 

Y'all, Brendon Urie's voice is actually insane. The sound of his voice and the notes he can hit just blow my mind. He's the only person left of the original band but because he's the lead singer you would probably never guess that. 

I knew all of their old hits and their new songs (again they're amazing, buy Death of a Bachelor) so I had the time of my life jumping up and down and belting out every word. 

They also always sing Bohemian Rhapsody and just absolutely kill it. So that at least got all the non believers up on their feet singing. When they finally played I Write Sins Not Tragedies the entire place went nuts. You couldn't escape that song in middle school, not even the Weezer fans. 

If you ever get a chance to see Panic! at the Disco, do it. Watch Brendon in all his glory doing a backflip shirtless while hitting a beautifully high note. 

The other half I enjoyed way more than I had originally planned to. Yeah I like Weezer, yeah I knew their hits and had bought a few new song of theirs (their new stuff is great too, buy it). But I didn't think I would get as into it as I did. They have been around for sooo long and they are still crushing it. Their presence, their voices and their energy were at an all time high. I loved watching them preform, I loved singing along with them and I loved just dancing to any of the songs I didn't know.

These bands clearly had a special place in our hearts from middle and high school, but how impressive is it that they can still do this to a crowd? That they can still put out new music and tour and people are still losing their minds. I love that they both stood the test of time. That their fans never stopped loving them, that they never stopped loving their own music.

It was, in a word, electrifying. I hope they keep doing what they're doing, singing music they love and playing to fans that love them back.

xx Kristen

This is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco
I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic! At The Disco
Hallelujah - Panic! At The Disco
Victorious - Panic! At The Disco
Miss Jackson - Panic! At The Disco
The Ballad of Mona Lisa - Panic! At The Disco

Beverly Hills - Weezer
Say It Ain't So - Weezer
Island In The Sun - Weezer
Perfect Situation - Weezer
California Kids - Weezer

Ellie Goulding Delirium World Tour

June 6, 2016

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

What a voice, what a performance, what a woman. It poured down rain, but Ellie Goulding brought the house down. 

I think what I loved most about Ellie's concert was how she was unapologetically herself on stage. I guess she's been around longer than I think since she came from the U.K and was big over there before she made it over here. You can forget the sky high heels, Ellie was in her doc martens the entire show or barefoot. She looked georgeous and very much like herself, you could tell that she really had a say in eveything that was going on up there.

She did have a few outfit changes, but her amazing dancers kept us entertained during the transitions and during her upbeat songs. I think having this extra element allowed her to focus more on singing than entertaining. She definitely danced with her dancers as well, but I think having them there really allowed her to let her voice be her main focus.

I really enjoyed myself, even with the rain and the hundreds of wet people that took over the stands when they were washed out of the lawn. She was a good performer, has an amazing voice and watching her live really made me like her more as an artist. She was a little hard to understand with her accent at times, but she looked so happy to be up there so it was okay.

It was just a fun concert to be at. She was a good entertainer and has an amazing voice. I would definitely see her again if given the chance. I was sad that I had to miss her at Bonnaroo later that week, but I heard she killed it there too. I think people don't give her enough credit, I love that her voice is different, that she doesn't sound like every pop star out there and that she's authentic. If Ellie Goulding comes to your town, check her out, give her a chance to blow you away! Also, buy her latest CD Delirium, it's awesome.

xx Kristen

Something In The Way You Move - Ellie Goulding
Burn - Ellie Goulding
On My Mind - Ellie Goulding
Army - Ellie Goulding
Powerful - Major Lazer feat Ellie Goulding

 

2016 SweetWater 420 Fest

SweetWater 420 Fest

Centennial Olympic Park

April 22nd-24th
 

The Food
 

What is a good music festival without some delicious food? I enjoyed some Fox Bros BBQ the first day for lunch and then some pizza from one of those unnamed stands for dinner. When fatigue hit Sunday after my shift I enjoyed a refreshing Bearclaw iced coffee. A coffee truck might seem out of place at a beer sponsored music festival, but caffeine is a must have to make it all weekend long.

The next day I had some amazing parmesan truffle fries from The Fry Guy and some mac and cheese from Mac the Cheese Truck. These two sides were huge and enough to get me through the rest of the day.

The Drinks
 

All the SweetWater 420 you can drink!! They had all different kinds of SweetWater beer, they had Rex Goliath wine and they had some mixed drinks. They also had a soda station that served Coke products and because of that the food vendors were only allowed to sell water.

Things To Do
 

Artist Village
 

There was a fairly large area with people selling art, clothes random hippy items and essentials like sunscreen. It was definitely worth a look, but I never really find anything worth buying, plus you end up having to carry it around the rest of the day.

There were also booths set up by the Atlanta Hawks, Lyft and Snickers. They were promoting their products and giving out free things like a new candy bar and key chains. Mellow Mushroom had a really cool art project set up in the Artist Village. It was a big mural waiting to be colored in. There were a ton of sharpies and we all got to go up and color in a little section! One of the coolest booths there for sure.

The Tasting Room
 

You could buy tokens to get smaller samples of seasonal SweetWater beers or beers that they don't produce a lot of. It was pretty cool to see all of the different beers they have produced over the years, but a lot of the beers tasted the same or were some kind of weird hybrid that probably didn't sell well. Worth a try, but I would rather stick to the tried and true classics.
 

The Music
 

We completely skipped Friday, we wouldn't have made it for many shows after work and we didn't really want to see Kid Rock. We found out the next day that his set was cut short by lightning anyways so we really didn't miss much.

Dawes
 

Ashley and I had seen Dawes together months ago so we were excited to see them here! They put on a great show and we were pretty close to them since not many people seemed to know who they were and it was still pretty early in the day.
 

AWOLNATION
 

I really only knew the one song by them (Sail!), but checked them out anyways and they were amazing! They were super high energy and really fun to watch. It definitely made me want to check out more of their music.

Bastille
 

The headliner for Saturday was Bastille and they were one of the main bands I wanted to see that weekend. We ended up getting pretty close for the show and they did not disappoint!

Ludacris
 

We walked around to a few other bands playing on Sunday, but really I just wanted to see Luda. The last time I saw him was at my freshman UGA Homecoming concert. He was soooo good, his love for Atlanta is the most adorable thing ever and he just kept playing hit after hit after hit. It was perfect and basically everything I could have wanted from a Ludacris concert.

I love going to Sweetwater 420 Fest, even if the lineup isn't always full of people you've heard of, it's a great way to spend the weekend with great music and beer. Something you have to experience at least once if you live in Atlanta!

 

I also volunteered at the festival, you can read about my volunteer experience here.

 

xx Kristen



Volunteering at the 2016 SweetWater 420 Fest

SweetWater 420 Fest is a local music and arts festival in Atlanta sponsored by SweetWater Brewing Company. This year I was very excited to volunteer at the festival and see what goes on behind the scenes.

It was fairly easy to sign up to volunteer, they call it a ticket swap because you get free admission into the festival when you're not working. I had to complete two 6 hour shifts over the three day festival. My friend Ashley volunteered with me and we were able to sign up for the same shifts on the sign up sheet, so it was really nice to be able to do it with someone you know.

Both of my shifts were at the ticketing/will call area on Saturday and Sunday morning. This was nice because then I was able to go off and see all of the bigger bands and explore the festival after my shifts.

They have real paid staff to handle most of the important aspects of the festival, so I felt a little underutilized. We basically handed out maps and spoke with people informing them as to what was going on, that Centennial Olympic Park was closed and where to go to pick up tickets. It really wasn't hard work, but it was really cool to see how everything came together and how much work it took to just get people in the door.

I also got a chance Sunday morning to help with the VIP area of the festival when they were a little short staffed in that department. I cleaned and decorated tables at the VIP bar and helped run inventory to restock the area. It was much more exciting and I got to see how they keep track of everything like all the supplies that serviced the entire festival.

I would definitely recommend volunteering to anyone that wants to go to 420 Fest for free, but don't get your hopes up and think that you'll be super involved in the running of the festival. I do feel that I got a behind the scenes look at the festival, but I don't think I contributed to the event in quite the way I had been wanting to. If I do it again next year, I would sign up for a different part of the festival where I could do more and really feel like I contributed.

Be on the lookout for a second post all about the festival itself and the bands!!

xx Kristen

Dawes Concert

December 11, 2015

Variety Playhouse

My friend Ashley won tickets to see Dawes from an Instagrm contest with Yeah! Burger and asked me to go with her. I had no idea who Dawes was, but I love music and Ashley said she liked their songs and I trust her taste in music. I had also never been to VarietyPlayhouse before so I was pretty excited.

We ate dinner before at TheVortex in Little Five Points. They’re known for their burgers and I had never been. I must say, it was pretty amazing. The atmosphere is super cool too; everything in Little Five just makes you feel like a super hipster basically. After some quality burgers, a pitcher of beer and some quality conversation we took a short walk to Variety Playhouse.

Ashley was so VIP, they had her name on a list. The venue was pretty cool, there was an upstairs that had a balcony with seats and then the entire area in front of the stage was set up as a standing room pit and then a bunch of rows of seats and then the sides were flanked by some tiered platforms. We stood to the right on one of the platforms and had a pretty great view. Also, this place was packed! Dawes drew a huge crowd, which made me excited to hear them play.

We got there just as the opening band was finishing up their set. From what I heard they sounded great too, there were so many people in the band! They had so many instruments going at once, but it worked and the singers were talented.

So it turns out I do know one Dawes song, it’s called Things Happen. It’s a really good song and they ended up playing it first so I think it really hyped the crowd up. I want to take a minute to say that all the band members weirdly slightly resembled other famous people. Ashley and I kept pointing it out and once you saw it you couldn’t unsee it. So that was the only song I knew, but they put on an amazing show. They sounded great and had a lot of energy so it was an entertaining performance.

They ended with a song called All Your Favorite Bands and I seriously fell in love with it. This is why you should always say yes to concerts even if you don’t know the band. There is so much amazing music out there and sometimes you just have to let it find you. 

So thanks Ashley for inviting me and thanks Yeah! Burger for the free tickets!

xx Kristen

Things Happen – Dawes

All Your Favorite Bands – Dawes

When My Time Comes – Dawes

A Little Bit Of Everything – Dawes

Time Spent In Los Angeles - Dawes

Chase Rice JD and Jesus Tour

The Tabernacle

November 12, 2015

There’s nothing quite like a country concert and it has been far too long since I’ve been to one. If you’re a fan of the new country music scene you need to start listing to Chase Rice. He joins the likes of Florida Georgia Line and Sam Hunt in this new era. I’m all about this rock/rap infused country music, and Chase Rice is one of the best.

Before I get into the music, let me just talk about how cool the Tabernacle is. This was my first time at the venue and I was in love. It was a little confusing at first, there are stairs everywhere and we had no idea what lead where. If you went down the stairs you found two huge bars and the bathrooms. Up the first small set of stairs was the pit, featuring more bars and the stage. If you kept climbing you found the balcony with the seats. My friend Allie and I had amazing seats right at the front of the balcony. The view was perfect. My other friends were down in the pit and really enjoyed it there as well. What was really unique about the Tabernacle was all of the art on the walls. It was so colorful and beautiful. It was a rather eclectic venue, and I loved it.

Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea opened for Chase Rice and I lover her every bit as much as him. Her two singles on the radio are Dibs and Love Me Like You Mean It. However, after seeing her in concert I’m for sure buying her album. I didn’t know any of her other songs, but I wanted to. They were so good and she has an amazing voice. She handled some technical issues with grace, covered Rascal Flatts and was just the cutest person. I would love to be friends with her, I hope she keeps climbing, she has some real talent.

Chase Rice

Chase Rice was so much fun to watch. He loves it up there on stage, he loves his songs and his fans. I knew a lot of his songs, but now I want to know all of his songs. He’s a talented songwriter, singer and musician. It felt like you knew him, like he could be one of your friends that you’re just hanging out with.

Some memorable moments of the concert included a mash up of some classic country songs and a cover of Dust On the Bottle (one of my favorite country songs). He also did the most adorable thing with his song Ride. He called up a fan to come on stage so he could sing it to them, but he picked this cute mom that was there with her son. She was so happy and the entire crowd loved every minute of it.

Give Chase Rice a listen if you haven’t. You’re probably already a fan of the songs he’s written for other artists including Cruise and Ready Set Roll. I missed him opening for Kenny Chesney, but I’m so glad I got a second chance to see him preform. It was everything I love about country concerts and I look forward to the next time I see him.

xx Kristen

Dibs – Kelsea Ballerini

Love Me Like You Mean It – Kelsea Ballerini

Peter Pan – Kelsea Ballerini

Underage – Kelsea Ballerini

Gonna Wanna Tonight – Chase Rice

50 Shades of Crazy – Chase Rice

Carolina Can – Chase Rice

I Like Drinking, Cause It’s Fun – Chase Rice
Ride – Chase Rice

X Ambassadors Halloween Concert

Park Tavern

October 31, 2015

Remember when I chose New Politics over seeing X Ambassadors at Music Midtown? Well I got a second chance at them on Halloween! My friend Ashley and I got tickets to the Saints and Sinners Ball at Park Tavern, which featured X Ambassadors as the entertainment.

Thusly, Batman and a jester spent Halloween night surrounded by people in costumes jumping up and down to an amazing band.

The band came out not long after we got there dressed in costumes. They really are a talented bunch of guys and they seemed to feed off the crowd’s energy. The concert was far too short in my opinion, but what they did sing was amazing. The place lit up when they sang Renegades and they killed it. What’s better is that my video of that song ended up on the Atlanta snapchat story. 

I’d love to see them again and hopefully hear a longer set. Their album VHS is great and most of the songs would sound amazing live. If you like Renegades, check out some of their other stuff!

xxKristen

Renegades – X Ambassadors

Unsteady – X Ambassadors

Jungle – X Ambassadors

Gorgeous – X Ambassadors

Lowlife – X Ambassadors

Taylor Swift 1989 Tour

Georgia Dome

October 24, 2015

It finally happened, after being a Taylor Swift fan for almost ten years I finally got to see her in concert. Let me just say everything you have heard about Taylor Swift concerts are true. It wasn’t just a concert, it was a production.

I’m not going to drone on about how much I love Taylor Swift or how amazing she is, because you probably already know.

Shawn Mendez

We got to the Dome a little late so we missed a few of Shawn’s songs, but we caught most of his set. It’s crazy how young he is since he’s so talented! He’s literally the cutest thing standing up there on stage with his guitar. His smile was huge as everyone held up their phone lights and sang the words to his songs. Opening up for Taylor Swift is a big deal, and she made a great choice. He has talent, heart and a bright future ahead of himself.

Vance Joy

Vance is super talented and I was really excited to see him. His stage was pretty cool, I loved his light up name that was displayed behind him. His two singles Mess Is Mine and Riptide are amazing songs, but I was super excited to hear him sing Georgia (for obvious reasons). His music is just so chill and the way he sings always seems like he's making his voice go up and down, but in a melodic way that somehow works. He was also rocking some denim on denim I think, which was wonderful. 

Taylor Swift 

She opened the concert by welcoming us to New York.  Her outfits were perfection, disappearing every few songs for an outfit change. She had a gang of male dancers following her around during each song. They were obviously very talented, perhaps to slightly distract from her dancing shortcomings. Her stage had scene changes and the catwalk even rose up into the air for a few songs. It truly was a theatrical production and unlike any concert I’ve ever seen.

We need to talk about the light up bracelets. Talk about taking a concert to the next level, these bracelets lit up on cue for each of her songs, blinking, changing colors and showing just how many people were at that sold out concert. It was beautiful, a truly impressive display that made you feel like you were part of the concert.

She sang almost exclusively from her 1989 album with a few older songs thrown in here and there. I think the only ones not from her latest album were 15, Love Story, Trouble and We Are Never Getting Back Together. I’m not a huge fan of 15, but I will say it was beautiful watching her hover over crowd with just an acoustic guitar. She also put a fresh spin on Trouble and Never Getting Back Together. Her sound has changed, but she clearly wanted to bring some of her old favorites along with her and found a beautiful way to do it.

She has far too many songs to fit them all in one concert; she stuck mostly to 1989 because it is her ‘new sound.’ It’s different from all of her other albums, especially from her first few. It made sense though, her concert is a production and it needed that cohesive sound. One of my favorite songs she preformed was How You Get the Girl, and that’s probably one of my least favorite songs to listen to on her album. It was amazing though, her dress lit up and there were all these umbrellas and it just looked so cool.

One of the funniest things about her concert was when Taylor would take these long pauses and just look out into the crowd basking in the applause. She did it so often and her faces were just priceless. I seriously love watching Taylor Swift just exist, she has the best reactions. My friend Rachel and I would just look at each other and laugh.

My only complaint of the night, not that it’s even really a complaint, was her special guest. We were in Atlanta, a city filled with country music stars and rappers galore. There is a wealth of talent that calls Atlanta home that she could have called on to join her on stage. Our special guest was Tove Lo. Now I say it’s not really a complaint because I do like Tove Lo, I have her songs and some tour dates didn’t get any special guest! I really shouldn’t complain, but it just seems like such a wasted opportunity.

Overall, this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. The large-scale production value just has no comparison. I’m used to watching bands and singer/songwriters and country artists. They don’t have choreographed dances, they don’t have outfit changes and they don’t have props. Not that one way is better than the other; it’s just different concert styles for different music genres. I had never really been to a big pop concert. It was truly something though; Taylor Swift has earned every bit of that success. She has that elusive intangible quality that can’t be learned. She’s Taylor Swift, what more can I say?

xx Kristen

I know you own her new album 1989, but here are my 5 favorite songs from it:

Wildest Dreams – Taylor Swift

New Romantics – Taylor Swift

Blank Space – Taylor Swift

I Know Places – Taylor Swift

Style – Taylor Swift