Mixed Tape Monday:Colors

Welcome to another installment of Mixed Tape Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend and remembered to call, visit, or at least think about your dear old mom. 

Today’s topic is Colors:

Song:              Orange Sky

Artist:              Alexi Murdoch

Album:            Time Without Consequence

Song:              Back In Black

Artist:              AC/DC

Album:            Back In Black

Song:              Blue Sky

Artist:              The Allman Brothers Band

Album:            Eat A Peach

Song:              Black Tambourine

Artist:              Beck

Album:            Guero

Song:              Brown Eyed Blues

Artist:              Ben Harper

Album:            Diamonds On the Inside

Song:              Gary Indiana Blues

Artist:              Big Head Todd & the Monsters

Album:            Riviera

Song:              Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye

Artist:              The Black Crowes

Album:            The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion

Song:              Big Blue Sea

Artist:              Bob Schneider

Album:            Songs Sung and Played on Guitar at the Same Time

Song:              Black Cowboys

Artist:              Bruce Springsteen

Album:            Devils & Dust

Song:              Red Dust

Artist:              Calexico & Iron & Wine

Album:            In the Reins

Song:              YellowBlues

Artists:             Charlie Robison

Album:            Beautiful Day

Song:              Soldier Blue

Artist:              The Cult

Album:            Sonic Temple

Song:              Green Light Girl

Artist:              Doyle Bramhall II & Smokestack

Album:            Welcome

Song:              The Deepest Blues Are Black

Artist:              Foo Fighters

Album:            In Your Honor

Song:              Whitewash

Artist:              Gin Blossoms

Album:            Congratulations…I’m Sorry

Song:              Mr. Brownstone

Artist:              Guns ’N’ Roses

Album:            Appetite for Destruction

Song:              Dress Blues

Artist:              Jason Isbell

Album:            Sirens of the Ditch

Song:              Yellow

Artist:              Coldplay

Album:            Parachutes

Song:              Far Away Blues

Artist:              Joe Purdy

Album:            Julie Blue

Song:              Pink House

Artist:              John Mellencamp

Album:            Uh Huh

Read, review, and respond.

Great music awaits!

Concerts

We hear a song, purchase/download some music; it raises our awareness of the band and then we become a fan.  The concert is the culmination of our musical inclinations.  It is the holy grail of the musical experience.  At least, in our mind, it is. 

The concert is the musical equivalent of craps (the game of chance, not Jack in the Box 2 for $1 greasy tacos passing through your bowels)

Some nights go like this:

You purchase your ticket with the expectation that it will be musical bliss and a night to remember.  You get there, fight the crowd, listen to the mediocre, at best, opening act, and wait impatiently for the headlining show.   After what seems like an eternity, out stumbles the drunk/high lead singer, forgets the words to your favorite song, becomes enraged at the crowds displeasure and walks of the stage giving you the double fisted one finger salute. 

While other nights go like this:

You show up at some little dive barbeque joint and begin to think the show has been canceled because there are only four cars in the parking lot.  You go in, order some food and a beer, take you pick of the abundantly available tables and notice two chairs on the stage and a couple of guitars.  You take a seat, sip your bear and out strolls the singer and his buddy and the play for several hours, come sit down and thank you for coming to the show and take your request and play it before the night is over.

I’ve regaled you with some stories of concerts from my past and touted the greatness of Austin City Limits Music Festival but today, I’m going to chronologically list the concerts, to the best of my recollection, I’ve attended over the years.

Year	Band
1983	Quiet Riot
Interesting Facts
7th grade, first concert to attend and broke my ankle that afternoon after being chased by a large classmate who took off his belt and began swinging it at me.  I left the hospital on crutches and planned on going to concert while my mother drove along beside me screaming at me to get in the car.  Being 12 and disabled, mom won and I missed the concert.  I did, however, get the t shirt as a consolation prize from my buddy who I gave the ticket to.
1985	Def Leppard
Interesting Facts
My first official concert that I actually got to attend.  Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX.  Oddly enough, I do not remember much about the concert other than it kicked much 14 year old musical butt.

1985-1989

Tom Petty Stevie Nicks Elton John Don Henley White Snake Tesla The Cult Metallica

Interesting Facts

This period was the high school years and while there are funny stories, time has blurred the lines a bit. One concert I went to with a group of girls and as soon as we got to Starplex Amphitheater, they all had to go to the rest room.  So, they opened the passenger door and all took turns squatting in the parking lot under the shroud of secrecy that was the afore mentioned door.  Don’t worry ladies; your identity is safe with me. Another concert had some of the above mentioned girls and on the way home we got lost and drove around through an amazing fog which we likened to the moors, a Sherlock Holmes reference at the time, and eventually made it home.  Some of attendees were really upset with the turn of events. White Snake concert we bought tickets from scalpers and got totally ripped off but thought we were so cool because we were seeing White Snake. Metallica was an amazing show and the first time I had seen mosh pits and thoroughly enjoyed the frantic pace of the music.  Some fans really enjoyed the show and started lighting the lawn on fire and once security came out, the fire just seemed to move to another location.

1989-1992

Travis Tritt Shenandoah Various country acts at Billy Bobs

Interesting Facts

Some of my buddies were really in to country music and I would often tag along because I had nothing else to do and wanted to make some new female acquaintances. The Shenandoah concert was particularly memorable, not because the concert was good, in fact, I never actually saw them.  I got kicked out of the bar because I was 18 and using a fake ID to buy beer.  My buddies, of course, stayed and watched the show.  The crushing event of the night was that the girl I took to the show also stayed inside and I sat alone in the back of my friend’s truck for several hours.  The night was not a total loss, because I drank all of the beer in the cooler while sitting in the parking lot of Billy Bob’s.

1993-1995

Lots of local acts in the musical mecca of Denton, TX Rush

Interesting Facts

The Rush show stands out for two reasons:To procure the tickets for this concert, my buddy and I left Denton very, very early on a Saturday morning after a very, very, late Friday night to go to Lewisville Mall to get tickets.  We arrived way too early and drove to Braums and got a double order of biscuits and gravy.  While this might not read as funny as it was, we were way hung over and those biscuits and gravy were the magic elixir that restored our health. Night of the concert we pick up our dates, have dinner and head to Dallas.  There is mild drinking, as colleges kids are known to do, and before you know it, we are on the floor of Reunion Arena basking in the glory of Rush.  On the way home there is some conversation of the concert and the girl that I took begins to nod off a bit and then suddenly hurls into and on the door.  We stop and ask if she is ok and she looks at us as if nothing happened and denies what is clearly on her chin, clothes, seat, floor, and of course door.  We get home she gets out like nothing happened.

1995-2005

The Dave Matthews BandMetallica Linkin Park Beastie Boys Pat Green Willie Nelson Jack Johnson Bob Dylan Bruce Springsteen Beck G. Love & Special Sauce Merle Haggard Tori Amos Korn Chevelle Robert Earl Keen

Interesting Facts

All pretty good shows and some artist like Dave Matthews and Pat Green I’ve seen multiple times.  The one stand out concert story is this:A group of folks went to see Willie Nelson at Lone Star Park which is an outdoor horse track.  His stage was set back a bit and there were risers and bleachers that elevated the fans to better see the stage.  I am walking up, wearing loose cargo shorts and minding my own business, when I feel something moving up my leg and heading north central.  I look down and there is an older woman with her hand up my shorts grabbing my junk.  I jump up and swat at her as if she is some form of annoying insect and she looks up, smiles with what teeth she has left and says “Oh, excuse me” as if she had accidently bumped into me as were passing on a sidewalk.  She then turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.

2006-Present

Pearl JamBen Harper Foo Fighters Tom Petty Beck G. Love & Special Sauce Wilco Son Volt Drive-By Truckers State Radio Brett Dennen Bruce Springsteen B-52’s Robert Plant & Allison Krause Joe Purdy Cross Canadian Ragweed The Killers The Tragically Hip The Eli Young Band Pete Yorn Bob Schneider James McMurtry Kris Kristofferson Merle Haggard

Damien RiceDonovan Frankenreiter Arcade Fire The Shins Okkervil River Mason Jennings The Black Keys Ray LaMontagne Queens of the Stone Age Bob Dylan Willie Nelson Van Morrison The Toadies The Killers John Mayer Steve Earle Bjork Iron & Wine Walt Wilkins The Dead Weather The Raconteurs Lucinda Williams Erin Ivey Amos Lee

Interesting Facts

The majority of these artists have been seen at the Austin City Limits Music Festival which is an annual pilgrimage for me.  Some artist I have seen both at ACL and their own headlining tour.

So, there you have it, a little stroll down concert memory lane.  Let me know about some of your favorite or at least memorable concert experiences and who is a must see when they roll through town.

Great music awaits!

Guilty Pleasures!

Today we are going to talk about guilty pleasures.  Musically, that is.  Monday’s blog got a lot of great reaction and so today we are going to bare our soul and let loose our dirty little musical secrets.  Clearly, we have some love for David Cassidy and Howard Jones. 

Several people readily admitted that they did/do listen to some of the music that resides on the list of music you should not listen to.  The majority of those people also admitted that they listened to it when it was new and fresh and did not have the open disdain that might be associated with it today. 

However, we all have hidden secrets that we keep hidden deep on our iPod or tucked away on an unmarked CD.  There are also songs that we are connected to that we will roll the windows down, open the sun roof, or drop the rag top and crank up the tunes.  What are the songs that you will sit in the car, risk being late, and listen/sing until it is over?  What are the songs that you clandestinely listen to but do not or would not openly lay claim to? 

For today’s blog, we will have three; count them, 1, 2, 3 categories:

1. Top(car, not clothing) down & loud
2. Sit in car and be late
3. Guilty & A Little Ashamed

Below are some of my guilty musical pleasures:

Artist	Song	Category	Own CD
R.E.M.	It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)	Top Down & Loud & Sit in Car	Yes
Bon Jovi	Blaze of Glory	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	No
Elton John	Little Jeanie	Sit In Car	Yes
Cinderella	Don’t Know What You Got Tell It’s Gone	Sit In Car	No
Corey Hart	Sunglasses at Night	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	No
Tom Petty	Break Down	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Violent Femmes	Blister In the Sun	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Van Halen	Right Now	Sit In Car & Guilty & A Little Ashamed	Yes
Stevie Nicks & Don Henley	Leather & Lace	Sit In Car & Guilty & A Little Ashamed	Yes
Styx	Renegade	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Foreigner	Juke Box Hero	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	Yes
Journey	Wheel In the Sky	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Beck	Loser	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Butthole Surfers	Pepper	Top Down & Loud	Yes
The Cult	She Sells Sanctuary	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Elton John	Tiny Dancer	Top Down & Loud & Sit in Car	Yes
Faith No More	Epic	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Fine Young Cannibals	Good Thing	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	Yes
Five For Fighting	Superman (It’s Not Easy)	Sit In Car & Guilty & A Little Ashamed	Yes
Gin Blossoms	Hey Jealousy	Top Down & Loud	Yes
Grateful Dead	Touch of Grey	Top Down & Loud & Sit in Car	Yes
David & David	Welcome to the Boomtown	Sit in Car	Yes
Billy Squier	The Stroke	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	Yes
Charlie Sexton	Beat’s So Lonely	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	No
The Moody Blues	The Voice	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	No
Glenn Frey	Smuggler’s Blues	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	No
REO Speedwagon	Time for Me To Fly	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	No
Night Ranger	Sister Christian	Guilty & A Little Ashamed	No

Great music awaits!