FAMILY

I've always known how lucky I was to be a part of a family that was filled of musicians and people who worked in the music business. Maybe that's one of the many reasons why I have always been such a huge fan of all types of music. Growing up, I was always introduced and exposed to many different genres of music so I learned to appreciate it.

My parents always listened to all types of music when I was younger, whether it was the music of the 50's and 60's (my mom's personal favorite), the classic rock and motown genre (thanks to my dad's taste), or recent hits of that current year. To this day (and starting at a younger age) my dad still quizzes me on who sings whatever song is on the radio. My dad actually took me to my first concert when I was 15 years old. We saw The Monkees at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, PA...yes, a 15-year-old wanted to see The Monkees in 1997. I'm pretty sure I was the youngest person there and I was surrounded by middle aged women. Then there was the influence of Uncle Ed, who had been a concert promoter since the 70's and had so many stories to share with me about the different musicians he met over the years and the great shows he saw. Not only is he in the concert business, but he's also a great musician with the amazing ability to play drums or guitar by ear. Once CD's came into play, I always remember Uncle Ed either mailing me CD's or giving me CD's when I visited him in Pittsburgh. I was always amazed with the giant collect of music he had at his house. I spent hours looking through all that music and listening to new music I had never heard of with him.

Then there are the cousins who are also in the music business whether it's working with concerts or being musicians themselves. I'm especially proud of my one cousin, Taylor, who has been in an independent band called Airiel Down for the last six or seven years playing drums. I've seen him play small shows with twenty people in the crowd at small bars, larger sold out shows in the band's hometown of Raleigh, and the most exciting - winning a local contest and being able to open for KISS at one of Raleigh's popular indoor/outdoor venues. How many people can say they've seen a family member open for KISS? Not many.

I decided to post this blog entry from a recent experience I had at my family's house in Pittsburgh over the holidays. I had been in town for our family Christmas get together and decided to stay an extra night to experience the popular annual "Jam Session" that usually took place around this time of year at my aunt and uncle's house. My cousins' friends all come over and any of them who play instruments, bring them over to "jam" with my cousins and my uncle. It was so much fun watching my family and their friends mess around playing all different songs ("Hotel California," "Runnin' Down a Dream," "Ring of Fire," and "The Redemption Song" being a few). For the most part, my two cousins and my uncle were just playing these by ear, which always amazes me. Here are some of the videos I took from the "Jam Session."
Jam Session #1 - Hotel California
Jam Session #2 - Runnin' Down a Dream
Jam Session #3 - Ring of Fire
Jam Session #4
Jam Session #5 with some freestyle rapping
Jam Session - Uncle Ed jamming with one of my cousin's friends

There are probably so many other stories and family members I could talk about in this entry, but I'd be here forever. Overall, this is just a reminder of how lucky I am to have so many different family members in my life who have influenced my eclectic taste in music and have given me so many music memories. With the topic of family and music, I decided to include a playlist of some of my family's favorite songs just to show how eclectic our taste is. It was so interesting to hear from so many family members and see all the different types of music that we listen to. As expected, I think it was difficult for many of my family to choose only one favorite song, but they ended up coming up with one or two. I added one of my favorites to the list. It was definitely difficult for me to choose only one since my collection goes on and on. I also enjoyed hearing the stories that went along with some of these favorites. That's the other thing about music...there are so many songs out there that bring back a memory when we hear them. Along with my family members' names, I also included a YouTube link to as many songs as I could find. Just click on the song if you'd like to hear any of these choices. Enjoy! :-)

Me - Butterflies and Airplanes by The Clarks
Jack L. - My Girl by The Temptations
Jack L. - Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top
Donna L. - (I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You by Elvis Presley
John L. - Juke Box Hero by Foreigner
Ed T. - Jungleland by Bruce Springsteen
Mary Pat T. - The Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti
Mary Pat T. - Your Smiling Face by James Taylor
Taylor T. - Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd
Cydnee B. - Please Forgive Me by David Gray (Live Version)
Patrick B. - Stockholm Syndrome by Muse
Cory T. - We've Got To Live Together by Buddy Miles
Tim L. - Breakdown by Tom Petty
Adam L. - Breakdown by Tom Petty
Ange L. - Dream On by Aerosmith
Sarah T. - Be With You by Mr. Big
Mike K. - Old Time Rock 'N Roll by Bob Segar (ALF version LOL)
Terry K. - Like My Dog by Billy Currington
Pat K. - Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
Pat K. - Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers
Patrick K. - DMV by Primus
Erin K. - September by Earth, Wind, and Fire
Cindy K. - Life is a Journey
Jim P. - Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf
Katy P. - Don't Stop Believin' by the Glee Cast
Ron C. - Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Luanne C. - Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knights & The Pips
Nicole C. - Say Goodbye by Dave Matthews Band
Dominic C. - I Can Change by LCD Soundsystem
Susie H. - Nightswimming by REM
Gina S. - Sympathy for the Devil by Rolling Stones
Gary C. - Indifference by Eddie Vedder w/Ben Harper
Paolo C. - The Zephyr Song by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Izzy S. - Sunshine, Lollipops, & Rainbows by Lesley Gore
Bob D. - Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
Vicki D. - You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone
Vicki D. - Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler
Shannon A. - Sunrise by Norah Jones
Victor A. - Dancing Days by Led Zeppelin
Lillia A. - To Believe by Jackie Evancho
Lillia A. - Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae
Alisia A. - Firework by Katy Perry
Jared A. - Clocks by Coldplay
Jared A. - Paradise by Coldplay
Gavin A. - The Army Goes Rolling Along
AJ D. - Piano Man by Billy Joel
AJ D. - Faster Than My Angels Can Fly by Eric Church
Kristina O. - The Longer The Waiting by Josh Turner
Dan F. - Black Water by Doobie Brothers
Kathy F. - Piano Man by Billy Joel
Michelle H. - A Man Holdin' On (To A Woman Lettin' Go) by Ty Herndon
Michelle H. - Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney
Matt F. - Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
Matt F. - John Brown by Bob Dylan
Anne Michelle F. - Iris by Goo Goo Dolls
Mary D. - People by Barbra Streisand
Mary D. - Evergreen by Barbra Streisand
Meghan D. - She's Got A Way by Billy Joel
Kelly D. - You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift
Ryan D. - Home by Dierks Bentley
Karly D. - Tonight is the Night by Outasight
Jonathan C. - Fred Jones Part 2 by Ben Folds
Kelley H. - Don't Change by Musiq Soulchild
Todd P. - Seven Bridges Road by the Eagles

Social Distortion & Foo Fighters

On Thursday, November 10, 2011, I saw Social Distortion and Foo Fighters at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. I had already seen Social D back in October 2010 at the Electric Factory, but I was pumped to see them again because I loved them the first time around. I was hoping to hear more of their music, but I was pleased with the songs they chose to perform that night. As far as the Foo Fighters, I had never seen them live before. I will admit, I had never been a diehard fan of the Foo Fighters, but I always knew most of their music. I'm pretty sure I can thank my two neighbors, Sean and Mike, for even knowing any of the Foo Fighters music because they were obsessed with the band from middle school on. I hung out with Sean and Mike a lot, so needless to say, I was ALWAYS hearing about the Foo Fighters. After learning that I'd be attending the concert, months before the show, I decided to devote some more time to listening to their music. Well, I listened to their newest CD, Wasting Light, a lot and absolutely loved it. I had also forgotten how many hit songs they actually had over the years. So, by the time the concert came around, I was ready to see them live.

Their show was unbelievable. These guys are so talented and I was in awe most of the show. I had seats in a club box that were right next to the side of the stage, so they were great seats. They played so many new and old songs. It's pretty hard to point out favorite parts of the show, because I'm pretty sure this went into my Top 5 favorite concerts I've been to (and I've seen a lot). One moment that was really unique and had me speechless was when Dave Grohl was standing in the middle of the arena and sang an acoustic version of "Best of You" by himself. All of the house lights were on and you could see every single face in the arena. I'm pretty every single one of those people were singing all the words. It was so cool to just sit back and listen to it. It's one of those moments that I will never forget and it's another reason why I believe music is a universal language between everyone on this planet. Dave went on to sing a snippet of "Blackbird" by The Beatles, and then continued the acoustic set by singing the first verse of "Times Like These" with just him and his acoustic guitar but then once the chorus kicked in, he was back with the whole band for the rest of the song. Another favorite part of the show was the mash up of "Dear Rosemary" into Tom Petty's "Breakdown." I actually got the entire mash up on video...may not be the best quality, but it was still awesome. Overall it was really refreshing to see one of the only true rock and roll bands that are still around. They write and play all of their own music, and they are popular. It's really hard to find popular musicians who actually play and write their own music.

I've included the set lists for Social Distortion and the Foo Fighters from that night. I also included some video I shot that night (with my camera and my iPhone), and some videos I found that were posted by other people on YouTube from the Philly show.

Social Distortion's Set List - Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA - Thursday, November 10, 2011
Bad Luck
I Won't Run No More
Machine Gun Blues
Story of My Life
Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown
Reach for the Sky
Prison Bound
Don't Drag Me Down

Foo Fighter's Set List - Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA - Thursday, November 10, 2011
Bridge Burning
Rope
The Pretender
My Hero
Learn To Fly
(not sure what song came next here...)
Arlandria
Breakout
Cold Day in the Sun
Stacked Actors
Walk
Monkey Wrench
Let it Die
These Days
This is a Call
In the Flesh (Pink Floyd cover)
All My Life
-Encore-
Wheels
The Best of You
Blackbird snippet (Beatles cover)
Times Like These
Dear Rosemary/Breakdown (Tom Petty cover)
Everlong

Social D performing "Story of My Life" (my video)
Social D performing "Ring of Fire" (my video)
Foo Fighters performing "Best of You/Blackbird/Times Like These" (not my video)
Dave Grohl performing "The Best of You" (my video)
Foo Fighters performing "Dear Rosemary" & "Breakdown" (my video)
Foo Fighters performing "Monkey Wrench" (my video)

The Civil Wars

On October 25, 2011 I saw The Civil Wars at The Trocadero Theatre. This was the first time I had seen The Civil Wars live. To be honest, I didn't hear their music until this past summer. I had heard of them a few times on Twitter through some celebrities that I follow and I heard they opened for Adele in her last tour in the US. Well, anyone who is handpicked by Adele has got to be talented. I was hooked from the moment I heard the first song, "Poison & Wine." The Civil Wars consists of two people, Joy Williams and John Paul White. Their harmonies are unbelievable and you would think these two are married or at least lovers because of the chemistry between the two of them, but they're actually both married...to other people. You really feel like they're singing to each other when you see or hear them perform. They have a very raw sound...most of their album is basically their voices, a guitar, an occasional piano and violin. They released their debut album, "Barton Hollow," in February 2011, but they actually released a live album, "Live At Eddie's Attic" back in June 2009. I love both albums, but "Live At Eddie's Attic" is my personal favorite because you get a chance to hear their banter in between each song, which is adorable and quite humorous. It's hard to pick some of my favorites, but if I had to choose it'd have to be, "I've Got This Friend," "Poison & Wine," "Falling," and "Tip Of My Tongue." They also do an amazing and very rare version of the Jackson 5's cover of "Billie Jean." Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any video because I wasn't close enough to the stage, but I did include some live video from some YouTube videos I found. I also included the set list below.

On another note, it was my first time at The Troc, and I was very impressed. The sound was great, and the overall atmosphere was really unique. The Troc originally opened in 1870, and over the years it housed musical comedies, vaudeville, and burlesque shows. I believe they remodeled the theatre in 1986 to be used more as a concert hall. There is so much history in the building and I really enjoyed the old school feel to it. Downstairs is the main floor where the main stage is with a concession stand in the back. Upstairs is the bar area, a balcony seating area, and a smaller stage in the back of the bar where they have smaller acts come to play when there isn't an act on the main stage. All in all, I will definitely be on the look out for some more shows at The Troc because I'm a big fan. :-)

The Civil War's Set List - The Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA - Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
Tip Of My Tongue
Forget Me Not
From This Valley
20 Years
I've Got This Friend
My Father's Father
Barton Hollow
Falling
C'est la morte
I Want You Back
New Song - "Oh, Henry"
To Whom It May Concern
(unknown song)
Poison & Wine
-Encore-
Billie Jean
Dance Me To The End Of Love

The Civil Wars cover of "Billie Jean" (LIVE)
The Civil Wars performing "Poison & Wine" live
The Civil Wars performing "Falling" live
The Civil Wars performing "Barton Hollow" live
The Civil Wars performing "I've Got This Friend" live
More Info about The Civil Wars on Wikipedia