come on in.

1. Tonight I am going to see Jay Sean and Dev (pictures soon after). It was originally scheduled to be LUPE FIASCO and Dev but supposedly he has laryngitis. He is also supposedly to be on voice rest. www.twitter.com/lupefiasco he even admits to it on his twitter. Do I believe that? Not one bit, but who cares eh? His new album Lasers is pretty awesome. Go download it. (fyi Dev will be at this year’s Bamboozle Road Tour. the rest of the line-up is yet to be announced). Dev’s Song Booty Bounce is also where Far East Movement got their hook “Poppin bottles in the ice, like blizzard….blah blah). She also likes her bass down low.

2. In one week, TIESTO will be in town. I will be there. One of my faves - ADAGIO FOR STRINGS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EaE0_gQLw0

***Saw PLAIN WHITE T’s!*** @Beachland Ballroom, great venue btw

So they were awesome, played all their old stuff: Hey There Delilah, 1,2,3,4 and of course their newer one Rhythm of Love ;) along with pretty much all of their new album Wonders of the Younger. Pretty cool encore then the lead singer snuck to the middle of the crowd onto an impromptu stage and played Hey There Delilah, RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE.Get back at me for the vid if you want. There’s always some surreal feeling about the whole crowd singing along with a song.

What’s it like in New York City?

Now back to the old shit. So there were two road tours that came by Cleve last freakin summer.

1. The Bamboozle Road Tour - (Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan)

Now this was fun. Everyone did their thing, and then LMFAO came on…totally turned it up another notch for the final act, 3EB. Full of energy, got the crowd into it. SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS.  EVERRRRRYBODY! Then Third Eye Blind took the stage. doot doot doot, doot doot doot doot, doot doot doot. FUN FUN. Their guitarist even looked like Jesus. Note pic below :)

I’m in Cleveland, bitch!

I am Jesus and I live a Semi-Charmed kinda life.

2. The Honda Civic Tour - Paramore, New Found Glory, Teagan and Sara

Good concert. It was my 2nd time seeing NFG in Cleveland. Got to meet them, which was pretty cool. Autographs too! woot woot. I get easily starstruck. Paramore was great. Hayley Williams voice is just great. Good choice for Airplanes with BOB. Too bad two of their members recently quit because they were jealous of her popularity. Boo to you guys. Ride her coat-tails!

So at the end, some shows are Playhouse Square:

• Cirque Dreams - Holidaze Edition - Playhouse Square - entertaining show, still not the same as their permanent ones in Vegas or La Nouba in Orlando. Regardless, the Cirque Dreams (seen Illumination, still need to do Jungle Fantasy) smaller traveling shows are always an entertaining night :)
• 
• South Pacific - Broadway - Playhouse Square - great soundtrack. Good musical - when written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, how could it go wrong? Hell they wrote OKLAHOMA! :)
•  
• Recently saw the Get Up Kids at the Grog Shop. Had their old stuff….and they played it all! Sorta not familiar with their new though. Still fun times!

So I logged in and saw that I had a long ass post about the Lady Gaga show that I didn’t post, and now it wont let me post it. I am post call and can’t sleep.

Dude, I think I am gonna have to just write one liners about these shows. I’ll have to back track it quite a bit to do the past shows. But I’ll so the recent ones. No worries, will write about Paramore, New Found Glory, and THIRD EYE BLIND. yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

• Bruno Mars - At the Grog Shop. Small venue, pretty freakin rad. I got to meet him afterwards. The gal who took the pic didn’t really warn me ahead of time that she was taking the pic, so I look AWESOME.

• Neon Trees w/New Politics and Young the Giant - At the House of Blues, Cambridge Room. Even SMALLER than the other room at the HOB, which I already thought was an awesome place because of how intimate it is. Admittedly did not know of either of the opening acts. But I’ll say they were pretty great live. NT put on a great show, full of energy. I was really close, got yo bump fists with the guitarist. haha Elaine is the drummer, and she was rockin it out. Pretty sexy.
• Rascal Flatts w/Chris Young and Kellie Pickler - At blossom. GREAT show. I love RF. Their new Album just came out! Pic is from the song Mayberry, one of my favorite RF songs.
• Mike Posner w Far East Movement - At House of Blues. LIKE A G6 BITCHES. FM came and really brought energy to the show. They pumped everyone up for the headliner, sorta like LMFAO did this summer when they came. Posner was great live too. Good voice. I got to meet FM. I obviously didn’t get the memo. They like putting 3 fingers up. I also like to wear the same shirt at concerts. haha
• 
• Brooks and Dunn - At Blossom. Old school country at its finest. I had a boot scoot and boogie kind of time. They played EVERYTHING from new to old.
• Ozomatli - Beachland venue. One of my college roommate’s favorite band. It rocked.
• 
• Flo Rida - At Cadillac Ranch/Barroom - THE CLUB CANT EVEN HANDLE ME RIGHT NOW. Man this was good stuff. All for free too! Kiss FM was giving out tickets. Sang all his hits. I got to high five his sweaty hands. It spun my head right round. haha

So I was able to attend the Monster Ball Tour put on by none other than Stefani Germanotta, AKA Lady Gaga on 7/14/10. Going into the show, I had heard from many people that she puts on a great show. She did not disappoint. Like I said in the previous post, she ROCKED THE HOUSE times infinity. The whole show was about 2 hrs and 15 mins, spanning a whole 19 songs. Not only that it was supposed to be a concert per se, it was more in lines of a theatrical production, with a story line of her finding a way to get to the Monster Ball, full with the well-known Gaga style of many outlandish, avant-garde costumes accompanied by different set changes throughout. Speaking of which, the crowd itself was entertainment alone; many dressed up for the occasion. I however, did not see anyone in a dress with a bunch of stuffed Hello Kitty dolls. The whole arena was standing the whole time, dancing, jumping, and “putting their paws up.” Every one in the audience was her “little monster,” she would say.

So Gaga started off the first song as a projected silhouette on a big screen to the upbeat Dance in the Dark. Crowd was obviously into it, screaming, dancing. What can I say? I did the same. She then came out onstage towards the end of the song and the beginning of Glitter and Grease , initially playing the piano that was disguised as the front of a truck. Imagine the hood of the truck being the lid propped up of a grand piano. Don’t imagine. Look at the picture! After the song, the familiar beats to Lady Gaga’s first number 1 single in the US was heard and not long after….the lyrics of Just Dance,” RedOne… Konvict… Gaga…. I’ve had a little bit too much, oh oh oh oh” Of course everyone was singing along, having a grand time.

As I was saying before, there were a good number of set changes. Before Telephone, LG called an actual audience member from the stage and spoke to her – the audience member won something, I forgot what. Of course she played her crowd pleasers as you can see by the list below. She pulled out her vocals for Speechless and You and I, where the only accompaniment was the piano, which she played. Majority of the crowd knew Speechless; I wished I knew it at the time, as you could hear the crowd sing along.  The set for Monster had green tones to it, reminiscent of the musical Wicked, appropriate to the evil connotations to the song. She ended the show with 4 number one radio hits, the current Alejandro, Poker Face, Paparazzi, and then for the encore, Bad Romance, the until recently most played video on YouTube with 245 mil+ (until Justin Bieber’s Baby beat it earlier this week). Boo.

I must say though, this was one of the best shows I have been to. Very entertaining, theatrical production with a lot going on. Good songs to dance to, good choreography. Everyone seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I must say that I did, and will definitely be in attendance for the next Gaga extravaganza.

Been to a few more shows. All of which, I can’t seem to say a bad thing about. This post will be listy, as there are shows in the future that I want to go to. I will list them here. Hit me up if you want to go too!

I need to write about the following:

• In the Heights (musical)
• New Found Glory, with hello goodbye
• Bamboozle Road Tour (Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan)
• Michael Buble
• Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum
• Honda Civic Tour (New Found Glory (yeah, the 2nd time woooo!!), Teagan and Sara, Paramore)
• Flo Rida (free tix from Kiss FM!) *tomorrow

now get ready……upcoming shows at Playhouse Square that I want to go to!!! (who am i kidding? ill be happy if make it to 2 of these)

• Blue Man Group 10/5 to 10/17
• Billy Elliot 11/19 to 12/12
• Cirque Dreams 12/14 to 12/19
• Cats 1/21 to 1/23
• South Pacific 2/1 to 2/13
• Shrek the Musical 3/1 to 3/13
• STOMP 3/18 to 3/20
• Les Miserable 4/5 to 4/17
• West Side Story 5/3 to 5/15

Concertwise, there are a couple upcoming acts I would like to see. Train is coming during the Taste of Cleveland festival. I am on call that day in the ICU, but am currently trying to trade. BSB is coming on 8/27. haha im on call too. They are gonna be at the Nautica Pavillion, so wouldn’t mind just goin on the bridge for a free show. On 9/16 Rascal Flatts is coming to Blossom with Kellie Pickler. I am definitely going to that one. Tom Petty on 8/31. Then in the way future near xmas, Trans Siberian Orchestra…I’ve never been. Heard that its a great show! Sleep time!

So I am working on my Gaga post. It was yesterday. Well I guess since it is past 12, 2 days ago.  

She pretty much ROCKED THE HOUSE. 

Will finish the post tomorrow evening when I am on call from the PICU. Its gonna be a long one, both the post and call :/

An addition, as a reminder, shows needing posts:

In the Heights

New Found Glory

Bamboozle Road Tour (Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan)

Michael Buble

Saw wicked on Nov 19, 2009. It was my first musical here in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square Theater District, supposedly the 2nd largest in the US behind of course, Broadway. I went with a friend of mine; it was her first time seeing Wicked, my second. The show was SUPERB! EXCELLENT! any other superlative you can think of, it was. We both thought it was pretty AMAZING. Having orchestra pit, center, 3rd row seats this time around pretty much topped it off.

Wicked is based on a novel by Gregory Maguire. In short, it is about the origins and upbringing of Elphaba who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The musical follows Elphaba from when she is born, as a GREEN baby, through her schooling (where she initially meets her roommate, Glinda, who later becomes the Good Witch of the South) and finally with her meeting with the wizard. Throughout this journey we are introduced to characters that are ultimately seen in the original Wizard of Oz. Some include Fiyero who in the plays the love interest for both Elphaba and Glinda, Nessarose, who is Elphaba’s wheelchair-bound sister, and Boq who is a student at the university with the hots for Glinda, who tried to set him up with Nessarose instead.

I really want to tell more of the story; its so great, but I don’t want to spoil it. Maguire even gives insight on character that later become the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow. Mind you, this is not anything that the original Oz author had in mind; it is just Maguires take on the novel and events leading up to Oz.

As for the musical score, the songs are all so well composed. The first time I saw it, I had already listened to the soundtrack multiple times. During the musical, singing along was great - like a concert where you know most of the artist’s songs. In addition, was really awesome to see it acted out in front of you. For all this time you have been listening to merely words, not really knowing how everything really pans out. So during the musical there was a lot of “ohhh that’s what she meant when she sung that” and “ohhh its all coming together.” I love so many of the tracks, I would be hard for me to even pick a top five. BUT if I HAD to, if you MADE me, here they are, in no real order because they are all my top picks haha:

1. For Good (top 2)

1. As Long As You’re Mine (top 2)

1. Defying Gravity

1. The Wizard and I

1. Popular

Honorable Mention: Dancing Through Life - sung by Fiyero, love it because it’s so carefree.

So I leave you with my top 2. Go see Wicked when it comes through your city. Its really something else.

Wicked - For Good Found at For Good on KOhit.net

Original Cast Recording - As Long As Your Mine Found at As Long As Your Mine on KOhit.net

So this was my 5th Cirque du Soleil Show, and it never ceases to amaze. The list of past shows include:

1. Cirque Dreams (in a theater venue)

2. Le Rêve (permanent, at the Wynn Hotel in Vegas, not a “cirque” show per se, but by the same producer Franco Dragone, whose imaginative mind created the 10 or 15+ shows that are out there); done over water, like “O.” it was AWESOME.

3. Cirque du Soleil - Delirium (traveling show, arena)

4. Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco (traveling show, arena)

5. Cirque du Soleil - Alegria

So I went to this show on April 10th, 2010 with my friend Jessica. It was an arena show. Overall I thought the show was very upbeat. Music was great, very fitting for all of the acts, never really a dull moment. Wiki does a nice little definition.

Alegría takes its name from the Spanish word for “joy.” Cirque du Soleil’s literature describes the show as “an operatic introspection of the struggle for power and the invigorating energy of youth.

My favorite was hard to pick. It is a toss up between this act called power track and russian bars.

For power track, imagine a LARGE trampoline in the shape of an X. Next image people running down each leg of the X, doing somersaults, backflips, aerials, what have you. Just the set up was pretty cool in and of itself.

For Russian Bars, the acrobats had to balance themselves on a thin bar, supported on the shoulders of two other performers. From this one bar, the acrobat would do a flip to another bar that was supported by two other performers. Its much more amazing when you see it live. Words can’t describe.

The show ended with the song from its title - it’s a great song. I tend to play it a lot because of it’s catchy melody, and the great voice that sings it. Reminds me much of the show. I will leave you with it. Play it…its good!!

Cirque Du Soleil - Alegria Found at Alegria on KOhit.net

Pitbull - House of Blues, October 19, 2009

So this was my first concert at the House of Blues in Cleveland. As I was saying in my Owl City post, I really like this place, with the main reason being that it is a smaller, more intimate venue. It makes it seem like you are right up there with the performer, even when you are in all actuality further away. 

So Pitbull was a great performer. Initially I was having my doubts because I was really only familiar with 3 of his songs. But really, who can pass up a $20 concert?! Reminds me of the Prince concert that I went to about 6 years ago. It was the most expensive concert I have ever paid to go to…about 110 bucks. It was basically me being crazy and pulling the trigger because I knew that Prince was pretty much a legend. IT WAS A GREAT SHOW. My favorite Prince song is 7 (Seven). Go youtube it. Prince is an awesome entertainer.

Pitbull is by no means Prince, but he delivered a great show too! Got the crowd into it! His song at the time was Hotel Room Service, but what got the place bumpin was of course Calle Ocho (I Know You Want Me). Other songs were pretty good too, albeit I didn’t know much of the words. And on top of it all, he raps in Spanish at times! Good beats regardless.

Hey everyone! So I’ve been to a few shows here in Cleveland, concerts, musicals, what have you. I’ve always wanted to talk about the shows afterwards, not so much as a critical review, but moreso to let out what was on my mind. A typed out stream of consciousness of sorts. So I thought maybe a blog would help out with this dilemma. I want to reiterate…I by no means am a musical expert or claim to be one. Its really just what I thought about the shows. I am not asking you to agree or disagree with me. And so it starts. As I have time, I will be writing out retrospectively about the other shows I have seen during my time in Cleveland. It’s pretty random:

Pitbull

Wicked

In the Heights (musical)

Alegria (Cirque du Soleil)

Michael Buble

New Found Glory

and….soon…Lady Gaga. July 14th baby!

I wish that I could go to more shows, but my schedule doesn’t really allow for that. Eh, I do what I can. For some reason, live entertainment really does it for me, especially after a long, stressful day. Case in point: In the Heights, in February sometime. I was on my trauma rotation and those surgeons were fucking pissin me off. On a daily basis. The day was going horribly, I was bitched out by my stupid ass chief resident (a general surgeon) at every opportunity possible, and to top it off, I was late to the show. But after my shift, all that had transpired was a memory. Even before the show, I was able to enjoy some delicious homemade lasagna that my friend had made and packed for me. Thank you :) The show was lively, upbeat, and made my day. Theres just something about it. Something that takes all the worries away.

-

As for tonight, I was able to see Paper Route, LIGHTS, and Owl City (pictured above) at the House of Blues.

Paper Route sounded good. I didn’t know much about them beforehand, but they played well.

LIGHTS is a petite girl who rocks out to electronica beats like Owl City and Postal Service. Shes pretty talented and has a good voice. She plays the her beats on a synthesizer; she also plays a piano guitar thing. Pretty cool. I think her her newest single is Ice. I say that because the crowd was the loudest when she sang that song.

Owl City is pretty awesome. His CD Ocean eyes is pretty awesome. I must say that when I first heard Fireflies, I thought that Postal Service was making a comeback! But then I found out that it wasn’t PS at all. I still liked the sound and got the CD.

As for the concert, he was good. The stage and light show throughout was cool. Somewhat odd that he came out in a white hoodie with feathers attached to it and that he didnt show his face for most of the show, just at the beginning and the end, after the encore. Played most of his songs from Ocean Eyes along with some others that I did not recognize. Disappointed that he did not FULLY play Saltwater Room; it was only a small bit of it. Also, he did not play If My Heart was a House, but I can guess that its a slower song. But its still a good one that I think should have been sung.

Love it when the crowd joins in on the singing. This happened on multiple occasions, and none more than during Fireflies. As I was saying on my FB post, it was a surreal moment. Everyone in the crowd was singing along, or at least mouthing it. Its always fun when the band stops and lets the audience sing.

My top 5 Owl City songs:

1. Vanilla Twilight

2. Saltwater Room

3. If My Heart was a House

4. On the Wing

5. Fireflies (how can I not? Its like saying that you like Lifehouse and not mentioning Hanging by a Moment, their first and arguably best hit, aside from Breathing)

Small intimate venue, good show overall.