Proclamation!

I'm pretty sure that I've made my feelings about flash mobs clear in the past. I love them. I want to take part in one. Plus, to have a flash mob combined with the 'Hallelujah Chorus'? Well, let's just say that I can't listen to this piece of music without getting goose bumps. I officially declare the start of the holiday season!

Concert: Chris Isaak

Yeah, he was SO close that I could have touched him. Instead, I had my camera in one hand and my Blackberry in the other trying to snap pictures with both. We've seen Chris Isaak play before but he always puts on such a good show that we were compelled to get tickets to his Red Butte performance again this summer. If you aren't familiar with his music you should definitely check it out. He's a rockabilly good time, yo!

Here's a video of the song he did as the encore of his concert last week. Enjoy!

Imogen Heap's New Album

Imogen Heap's new album Ellipse will be released on August 25th but you can listen to it on her website now. I've listened to it a few times already and quite like it. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Red Butte Garden Concert #1 (for me)

Monday night, in front of a sold out crowd, three awesome bands took the stage in the picturesque amphitheater. This show marked my first Red Butte show of the season and it was terrific. Friends had secured an incredible spot in the line so our blankets ended up about five blankets back from the stage.


I packed a picnic that included these Smoked Chicken & Sun-dried Tomato sandwiches. They were scrumptious! Our friends Anna and Brian brought a picnic too including marinated cucumbers that were like crack. I could not get enough of them.



First up was Ra Ra Riot. The band members looked to about 12 years old but we still like them. The lead singer also bears a strong resemblance to our friend Alex.


Next to take the stage was Andrew Bird. His music was full of violin (or is it fiddle?...not sure if I know the difference) and whistling. Some of his songs reminded me of Devotchka. Check out this clip:



Death Cab for Cutie was up next. Their set had lots of the crowd up on their feet swaying to the music. The light show and fog machine were nice additions to music. Overall, it was a fabulous way to start my outdoor summer concert schedule. Next up....the Wallflowers!

Red Butte Garden

It finally occurred to me that to reread my ticket confirmation email today from my Red Butte Garden concert ticket purchase. I've been waiting for them to mail me the tickets and thus far, no go. Turns out that it states quite clearly on the email that I can pick them up at the Garden or they'll hold them for me at will call.


I had another appointment in Research Park this afternoon so afterward I stopped at the Garden to grab my tickets. I'd forgotten that the Indigo Girls are playing there tonight. I could hear their sound check from the parking lot. So, after I picked up my tickets I walked around the garden to get a closer look.

The music sounded terrific and I could see the line of concert-goers waiting outside the gates for the doors to open. I wished that I'd bought tickets for tonight's show. But alas, I had not. So, I wandered around until the Garden closed and took a few more pictures but missed a bunch of potentially terrific shots.

A hummingbird was hovering so close to my head while I was watching the sound check but by the time I got my camera out it was long gone. I also missed getting the shot of what appeared to be a squirrel/terrier mix. It was a damn big squirrel!

MADE

My daughter recently sent me the link to this video from MTV's Made, with a note asking if I recognized anyone in the clip. Unfamiliar with the show, yet intrigued by my daughter's note, I started watching the video. As soon, as I heard that whiskey voice, I instantly recognized 'Rouge' as the little sister of one of my daughter's friends.

The last time I'd seen this kid was when I was shuttling a car full of them down to Raging Waters for the afternoon. Rouge was up front in the passenger's seat making small talk with me like a 30 year old. I distinctly remember her asking me what I did for a living (she must have been 10 years old at the time). Their family moved away from Salt Lake years ago but needless to say, I got a kick out of the video clip. Plus, I thought her song was pretty good too.

MADE - MTV Shows

Summer Concerts

I know people have been complaining about the sudden onset of heat in Salt Lake this week but all it makes me think about is summer concerts. I look forward to these shows on all those long, dark days of winter. I've attempted to compile a list of venues and their offerings so that you can fill out your calendar now and not miss a single, awesome show.

The best place to see shows is at the Red Butte Gardens Concert Series. This is the most beautiful venue and you can bring in your own picnics. I'm going to five shows and contemplating a couple more. Many of the shows have sold out so if you want to go you'd better check the schedule and order now.

Another favorite is the Twilight Concert Series at Gallivan. This one is free! Unfortunately for me, they are on Thursday nights and I have roller derby practice on Thursdays. I sometimes get resentful about this. I did skip practice one night last year to see Neko Case (she's playing Red Butte this summer).

While not an outdoor venue, the Peppermill Concert Hall in Wendover is a pretty good venue and has some interesting acts. Lyle Lovett skips his outdoor visit to Salt Lake this year to play Wendover on Friday night. Also, the B-52s and Pat Benatar will make stops in Wendover this summer. Stop snickering. I saw Pat Benatar there two summers ago and she killed it! The lady has pipes. Still.

I will find any excuse to get up to Snowbird and Live Music at Snowbird is just another reason to get a room at the Lodge and enjoy the spectacular scenery and some good tunes.

I missed this one last year but hope not too again. The Park City Jazz Festival is a great time. If you've got some extra cash, I'd recommend splurging for the VIP passes. You get killer seats and access to snacks and drinks all day (yes, those kind of drinks). The VIP passes are absolutely worth the money.

A victim of the economic downturn and budget cuts, the Salt Lake City Jazz Festival won't be free this year but I'm willing to throw down for killer jazz at Washington Square. Are you?

I'm sure that there are venues that I'm missing. If you know of any please let me know and I'll add them to the list. Until then, I'll be busy planning dynamite picnic menus to wow my friends.

You Know You are Getting Old When....

Yesterday I went to the roller rink to meet up with some women who are thinking about trying out for Salt City Derby Girls at the end of the month. Retired skater, Mannarama also joined us. While we were skating, the young girl in the booth at the rink kept making birthday announcements over the PA system "Happy birthday to Lindsey, she's turning 10 today, this next song if for you". My birthday is this week so Manna and I decided to get in on the action so we skated over to the booth. The conversation went as follows:


Manna: It's my friend Axta Grind's birthday on Wednesday. She's turning 29 again. Will you play Freak Out by Le Chic?

Booth Girl: *typing on her computer* We don't have that song

Manna: How about Blondie's Heart of Glass

Booth Girl: *types Blondie in the search* We don't have that one either

Me: How about anything by Pat Benatar?

Booth Girl: Who?

Me: Pat Benatar?! You know, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Heart Breaker, Hell is For Children

Booth Girl: Nope we don't have anything by her

Manna: ABBA, you must have something by ABBA

Booth Girl: We've got Dancing Queen and Take a Chance on Me

Manna: Great, play Take a Chance on Me


Manna and I skated feeling dejected and old. We might need to push for 'Oldies Night' at the rink. I'd happily supply suggestions for the play list. I still can't believe that girl didn't know who Pat Benatar was.

Musicovery - You've Got to Check This Out

Musicovery is a visually stunning music site which enables listeners to check out music from many different genres to fit their mood. You choose your spot on a scale between energetic and calm and dark and positive then Musicovery will graphically display songs from various genres within your parameters. Listeners even get to select music from a certain decade or they can restrict music offerings to certain time periods. Handy links beside each song direct listeners to where they can buy the song if they'd like to add it to their collection.

The website says that Musicovery is also available on Wii, PSP3, and certain Nokia mobile devices. I would highly recommend that you check out this cool site.

iTunes + iPod

I held out for a really, really long time before I bought an iPod. I'd had Creative mp3 players and been satisfied with them. But, a series of misfortunes including, a house break-in, a basement flood, and one that just crapped out resulted in my recent purchase of an iPod.

I have to admit that I fell in love with the sexy exterior as soon as it arrived. I downloaded iTunes and started adding music from my library. I also loved the podcast feature and enjoyed several episodes of This American Life while on a recent road trip. My little love affair was going along swimmingly until 3 weeks ago when my laptop was infected with a virus.

I finally have my laptop back and have reinstalled iTunes. I plugged the iPod in and figured that I could transfer the files on the iPod back into iTunes. I was able to do this with my Creative players. But, apparently that is not the case with iTunes.

I'm already kicking myself for not backing up the iTunes library so don't bother with that suggestion. I've added more regular back ups to my list of new year's resolutions. I can't believe that some smarty pants hasn't already figured out a way to do this. I'm about to start researching. If you know how to do this with some 3rd party software let me know!

Goodness!

Tomorrow night I'm going to see Goodness at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. Goodness broke up years ago but they've gotten back together to do a few shows since August and it just so happens that they are playing this weekend while I'm in Seattle visiting Lauren.

Here is a video of one of their songs:



Here's a link to lead singer Carrie Akre's website.

James Hunnicutt in SLC Wednesday Night

James Hunnicutt, a singer/songwriter/musician from Seattle, will be in Salt Lake Wednesday evening (November 19) playing at Burt's Tiki Lounge. James plays rockabilly, rock, & punk. He has an amazing voice and is a terrific guitar player. I had the opportunity to see him play at the Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas this past August during RollerCon. Believe me, it will be worth a venture out of the house. I'll be there and hope you will too!



This is an exciting week for me musically speaking. I'm going to see two of my favorite artists this week. More on the other show in another post!