Social Distortion

Well this was definitely an "out of my element" kind of show, but I was really excited to experience it. I had heard of Social Distortion, but never really knew any of their songs. My friend, Steve, introduced me to them when he invited me to go to the show in Philly with a few of our other friends. Like the music lover I am, I had to download some of their songs so I would be somewhat familiar with the music at the show. I ended up downloading their Greatest Hits CD and I must say I enjoyed the music. I had never really gotten into this genre of music before, and I was glad I took the plunge. We went to the show at the Electric Factory on October 29th and had an awesome time. It was also a great show to people watch...lots of different types of people there. I was pleased to hear that Social Distortion ended up playing a lot of the songs from the Greatest Hits CD. In the days of auto tune, lip synching, and choreography, it was refreshing to see a band who's been around for thirty plus years who know how to play great music. I included a couple of their videos below if you've never heard them before.

Social Distortion - Story of My Life
Social Distortion - Ring of Fire (LIVE)
Social Distortion - Ball and Chain

TFDI Tour

The TFDI (Totally F-ing Doin' It) Tour featured three singer/songwriters, Tony Lucca, Jay Nash, and Matt Duke. These three musicians had toured in the Fall of 2009, and decided to tour again this year. I saw this tour in September 2009 at World Cafe Live in Philly, and absolutely loved them. The last tour, they each came on stage and did their own set by themselves, and then at the end of the show, they all performed each other's songs together (one song each). Their harmonizing was amazing, and they had such a good vibe together that they recorded an EP called TFDI earlier this year. This time around, the tour came to the Tin Angel, and they started off the show together on stage singing a few songs that they recently wrote and recorded together (they'll be releasing another TFDI CD soon). Throughout the night, they stayed on stage to sing each other's songs, but there were also moments when the other two left the stage to let the one musician sing a few of his songs on his own. My friend, Joanna, and I actually volunteered at this show to work their merchandise table, but we were still able to enjoy the show and we had the opportunity to hang out with all three of the guys before and after the show. They are some of the most down to earth and hilarious musicians I've ever met. Their voices are so refreshing to listen to, especially when they harmonize together. If either one of these guys come to town, I highly suggest catching their show. For the ladies out there, they are also very nice to look at, which doesn't hurt either! lol I've included a video that the boys posted which was mostly filmed in Philadelphia at the Tin Angel show I was at. I also included a video they made from the first TFDI Tour which is the first time the phrase "TFDI" was introduced. These guys actually film a lot while they're on the road and some of the videos are quite entertaining.

The Introduction of TFDI
TFDI Tour at Tin Angel in Philly
TFDI performing "Hurtin' Kind" LIVE

Quest For Glory Tour

I went to the Quest for Glory Tour on Friday, September 10, 2010 at The Tin Angel. It featured three fantastic female musicians: Bess Rogers, Lelia Broussard, and Allison Weiss. I had seen Bess and Lelia before, but had not seen Allison. As usual, I did download some of her songs beforehand. All three of the ladies were not only extremely talented musically, but they were hilarious, too. You can tell they are all very close friends and the feed off of each other perfectly. I'm not sure if I have ever laughed so hard at a show. They also helped out on harmonies for each other's songs, which I always love to hear. I actually think they would make an awesome all girl group. :-) Each one of them has something different to offer, so all together, they put on a great show. During the show, each audience member fills out an application in order to be knighted at the end of the show. So, at the end of the show, the ladies randomly choose an application and that person comes on stage and is knighted. I thought it was a very cool way to keep the audience involved in the show. After the show, the ladies all hung around and chatted with people, signed autographs, and took pictures with fans. They were absolutely sweethearts and I will definitely be catching each one of them when they're touring locally...and you should, too! :-) I included some pictures from that night. If you want to know anything else about them or download some tunes, I'm sure you can find their music through a quick search on iTunes or Google or you can search for them on Facebook (each of them are on there).

Bess Rogers

I discovered Bess Rogers last Spring when she was playing a tour with Lelia Broussard. I was already going to the show in Lancaster, PA because of Lelia and I saw Bess Rogers on the bill, so I thought I'd check out some of her tunes before I went to the show (I like knowing at least some of the music for all the acts I'm going to see). Well, I really liked her sound, so I purchased some of her songs on iTunes. After seeing her live, I bought all of her music and I still listen to it often. Bess and Lelia are playing a tour again together (with Allison Weiss) and she'll be playing at the same gig I'm going to this Friday, Sept. 10 at the Tin Angel in Philly. She has a lot of upbeat songs with a lot of ukulele playing, which creates a really cool sound. I really enjoyed her live when I saw her in Lancaster last April. She pretty much played the ukulele almost the entire set, which was neat. You don't really hear that type of sound very often. So, I put some links below to check out more info on Bess and to check out some of her music. She is definitely refreshing to listen to, and if you enjoyed Lelia's sound and like Bess' sound, you should definitely come to the Tin Angel on Friday night. I know I'll be there because these are two extremely talented ladies. :-)

Bess Rogers' MySpace Page
Bess Rogers' Official Website
An article written about Bess Rogers
Bess Rogers' Official Video for "I Don't Worry" (really cool video)
Bess covering Pure Some Sugar on Me (hilarious and soooo good)
Bess performing "Travel Back" (just her and a ukulele)
Bess performing "Dirty Lies"

Lelia Broussard

This is above and beyond, one of my favorite female artists of all time. I fell in love with her voice the first time I heard it. I actually discovered Lelia's music about five years ago. I was checking out a friend's MySpace page and I saw that Lelia had left a comment on their page, so I clicked on Lelia's page and listened to her music and loved it! I read her bio and found out she spent a lot of time in Philly (along with NYC, LA, and Louisiana). Like many of my other favorite musicians, Lelia is an independent artist and in the "singer/songwriter" category. Her voice is just about perfect...soulful, bluesy, and pure. She has a few CD's out, and you can find them all on iTunes. Lelia will also be releasing a new album on November 2nd, which I actually donated some music to her Kickstarter project to help her produce/record this new album. As most of you know, I'm a huge supporter on independent, struggling musicians. I have so much respect for them. Another great thing about Lelia, is she personally answers emails and when she sends update emails out to her fans on her email list, she personalizes the email. So, you know she truly appreciates all of the support from her fans. As far as links to songs, this is going to be hard, because I love every single one of her songs, but here we go :-) PS - She is ALWAYS on tour and comes to the Philly area a lot, so check her out! She'll actually be playing at the Tin Angel this Friday, September 10th.

Lelia Broussard's Official Website
Lelia Broussard's MySpace Page
Lelia Broussard's Official Music Video for "Scared to Feel"
Lelia performing "I'm Not Waiting"
Lelia covering "Single Ladies" (one of my favorite videos)

Airiel Down opens for KISS

This past Sunday, August 29th, 2010 Airiel Down opened for KISS in Raleigh, NC. KISS conducted a contest this summer for bands to compete in order to open for KISS. Fans had the opportunity to vote on event.com for their favorite band to open in their hometown and then two weeks before the show, KISS took the Top 5 bands and selected which band they would like to open for them in that select city. Well, Airiel Down's hard work (and the fans' hard work) finally paid off because Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons chose Airiel Down to open in Raleigh. Obviously, being a huge supporter of not only my cousin, but Airiel Down as a group, I had to find a way to get down there. Luckily I had some other family members who wanted to make the trip as well, so we road tripped it down to Raleigh on Sunday morning. We met up with even more family and friends down in Raleigh for the show and we were ready to cheer on the boys. Airiel Down played four songs ("Black Flag," Gorilla," "Quick," and "Hurricane Warning") and absolutely rocked it. We were all so proud of Taylor and the rest of the guys. It was such a huge moment for the band and we're hoping this helped them gain even more fans. The only downfall was the lack of stage time, but we didn't complain. We were still extremely happy with what we saw and we felt it was well worth the wait. We stayed around for KISS and I must say, they put on quite the show. Not sure if I'd go to another KISS concert just to see KISS, but we enjoyed their show to say the least. I included some pictures above of Airiel Down in action. (These were all taken by Tim Szczesniak. With the exception of the picture of Taylor and all of the family who made it to the show.)

Andrew Hoover

Andrew Hoover is another one in the singer/songwriter category. He's got an unbelievable voice that is different from most you hear on the radio. I found out about him when I was watching one of Tony Lucca's YouTube videos, and Tony was at one of Andrew's shows supporting his fellow musician friend. I immediately was drown to his style and voice, and HAD to check out his music on iTunes. I ended up buying the whole album, which is one of those albums you can listen to all the way through and not skip one song. He's from Fairfield, CT, but has most of his shows in small venues in NYC. He is best described on his MySpace website BIO... "Andrew is a solo musician, though he voices several instruments in his live shows. His unique slap guitar style carries inspirations from the bass and percussion instruments, giving his songs a groove and rhythm not often associated with singer-songwriters. His vocal style is raw and original, colorful, and dynamic. Andrew takes his cues from a variety of his heroes including but not limited to Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Marc Broussard, Ray LaMontagne, Raul Midon, James Morrison, and Martin Sexton."

Andrew Hoover's MySpace Page
Andrew Hoover's Official Website
Andrew Hoover performing "Think About"
Andrew Hoover performing "Back At One"
Andrew Hoover performing "Soul Sucker"