Hanson Concert Birmingham, Alabama October 26th, 2009

If you had asked me three years ago if I ever thought that I would see Hanson I would have said no. If you had asked me if I thought I would have seen Hanson every year for the next three years I would have called you crazy. But that is what happened. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, I got to see Hanson. When we got to the show, we waited in line. There were two opening acts, Sherwood and Steel Train. They were actually the best opening acts I have ever seen with Hanson. At the time, I only knew one Sherwood song and that was Middle Of The Night. They played it! After they were over, their singer said he would be out at the merch table talking to people. I walked out there and he signed my poster and thanked me for buying a lot of merch. Ha! Then it was time for Steel Train. I only knew one song by them as well and that was Road Song. They played it too! Then it was time for Hanson. When they came on, I was so excited. They played - Where’s The Love - Great Divide - Get Up And Go (AHHHH!!!) - Thinking Of You - Running Man - Got A Hold On Me - Been There Before - World’s On Fire - Carry You There - Penny And Me (AHHHH!!!) - This Time Around (AHHHH!!!) - Use Me Up (Zac Solo) - These Walls (Taylor Solo) - Oh Darling - Waiting For This - Crazy Beautiful - A Minute Without You - Can’t Stop - MMMBop - If Only - Lost Without Eachother - Hey - Sweet Home Alabama with Steel Train and Sherwood This set was such a great mixture of songs. But it still does not top my first Hanson show.

Eddie Vedder Day Two Nashville 6/18/09

So it was time for night two of Eddie Vedder at the Ryman. I swear, he puts his heart into every show he does because this show was just as stellar as the first night. On the second night, my cousin and I were seven rows back from the stage. I thought I was about to cry because these seats were so close. During some points at the show, I did cry. Eddie opened with Far Behind, which is my favorite song off the Into The Wild soundtrack. Then he played Sometimes and a cover of Girl From The North Country by Bob Dylan. After that he played I Am Mine. That is of our favorite Pearl Jam songs. I feel bad for the people that had to sit by these two teenage girls freaking out over a song. We wanted to stand up so bad. But, alas, we could not. But it was the best version of that song I had ever heard, even though, at the time, I was biased because I had only heard it one time. Then he played I’m Open(!), Man Of The Hour, Dead Man, No Ceiling, Guaranteed, Rise, Soon Forget, Hide Your Love Away, and Wish List. Then it was time for Lukin. He played this song super fast and for the first time that night, the crowd was on their feet. After Lukin, he went straight into Porch. Once again, the crowd was on their feet. They were so involved with all of their handclaps and singing of the lyrics that it was truly magical. This was probably, hands down, the best version of Porch I have ever heard. Then he went off for the first encore. He came back out and played Society with Jerry Hannan, Throw Your Arms Around Me, The Golden State, and Elderly Woman. He stopped and talked to us about the new Pearl Jam album. He told us it was coming along great and he was about to play us a new song from the new album. He played The End and about had me in tears because it was so beautiful. He went straight into ARC, which is the best live song I have ever heard in my life. I have heard it three times live to this day and each time is just as magical. Then he went off for his second encore and came back out to play Hard Sun. It was great, of course. So that wrapped up my two nights with Eddie Vedder at the Ryman. I wish he would come back. Only time will tell……

Eddie Vedder Day One Nashville 6/17/09

When my mother told me we were going to see Eddie Vedder, solo in Nashville, I was so excited. He was going to be there for two nights and we were originally only going for the second night. But, the night before the first show we decided to go. I love spur of the moment concerts like that. Not only was I excited about going to see Eddie Vedder, the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, I was going to see Eddie Vedder in The Ryman Auditorium. The freaking Ryman Auditorium in Downtown Nashville. One of the most important buildings in all of Nashville and Eddie Vedder was playing there. It was such an exciting moment for me to actually be there to see Eddie and to be there with some of my favorite people, my mother, my aunt, and my cousin. While we were out in the line the security stressed to us that cameras would not be tolerated. If you were caught with a camera, it would be taken away and you would be escorted out and not allowed back in. When we walked in, we were briefly searched. The extent of the search went as far as security asking us if we had a camera. Anyone could have easily lied. After the security encounter, we ran directly for the merch table to get the poster. If you were a Pearl Jam fan, you would have an understanding of why getting to the show early to get a poster is important. After we got the posters, we went to our seats and waited for the show to start. The seats in The Ryman were really cramped. I feel bad for overly tall people that have to sit in those seats. Liam Finn was the opener for this show. This was the first time I had ever heard of him and I was really impressed. His wife, Eliza Jane, was also with him. She has awesome hair. I think it is awesome that Liam is multi-instrumental and he is so cute! I do not remember many of the songs he played, but I do remember Second Chance and Plane Crash. They were just splendid. During the set change, this guy that was sitting by us asked my cousin and me how old we were and how long we had liked Pearl Jam. We both answered 13 and since we were born. He laughed and asked us our favorite songs. My cousin [Molly] answered with Better Man and Elderly Woman. I answered with Brother and Gremmie Out Of Control. Needless to say, the guy was more impressed with my answers because those Pearl Jam songs are not as popular as the ones my wonderful cousin answered with. After that lovely conversation, it was getting really close to show time. Then, the lights dimmed and the crowd roared with excitement and then Eddie graced the stage and everyone sat down…. Sitting down? At a concert? I was really confused. There ended up being appropriate times to stand up, so it got better. Eddie opened with Walking The Cow. Pearl Jam covered it a while back but they had never played it live. To this day, as a band, I still do not think they have played it. So this crowd got lucky that they got to hear it live because it would be one of the only times they would ever get to hear it (of course if you followed the tour, then you would probably hear it a few more times). After that amazing opener, he played Sometimes with a Brain Damage by Pink Floyd tag. If the crowd was not stoked yet, that definitely put them over the top. The crowd cheered. The next few songs were Trouble, Thumbing My Way, Gone, Far Behind, No Ceiling, Guaranteed, Rise, Poor Girl, You’re True, Driftin’, and Hide Your Love Away (Beatles Cover). Then it was time for Better Man. Eddie told us that he was originally not going to play this song but he decided to play it Nashville Style. And he did just that. It was extremely different than any version of this song I have ever heard. As a crowd, we tried our best to follow along with him, but we failed miserably. After that he did a stellar cover of Let My Love Open The Door (Pete Townshend). Then he played Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town. During this song, I experienced one of my numerous favorite concert moments. Like I said earlier, we were sitting down at the show. During the middle of the song, this guy decided to get up and stand at the balcony rail. He had his arms in the air and was singing his heart out. The security lady kept getting in his face to try to get him to sit down, but he just kept on singing and flapping his arms in the air. (The part of the song he put his arms in the air for was “ I just wanna scream HELLO! My God it’s been too long. Never dreamed you’d return but now here you are and here I am!”). When it was time for the HELLO lyric, it sounded like we were in a church choir. We were all in unison and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard in my life. After Elderly Woman, Porch was played. For the first time that night, the crowd stood up and rocked out. Eddie made an acoustic song sound like an electric one. The crowd’s harmonies were so beautiful. When the song was over, we all clapped louder than we had the entire night. Then it was time for the first encore. He came back out and played Society with the guy that wrote it, Jerry Hannan. It was great, of course. Then he continued with a few more cover songs. He played Throw Your Arms Around Me with Liam Finn. My aunt had her moment because that is one of her favorite Pearl Jam covers. The Golden State by John Doe and Believe You Me by Bad Radio were both played as well. Then he played Wishlist and Arc. That was the first time I had ever heard ARC live and oh my gosh. It was beautiful. You have not heard the beauty in Eddie Vedder’s voice until you have heard him play ARC. After ARC was over, it was time for a second encore. Because one encore is not enough. For his second encore, he played Hard Sun with Liam Finn. That was just cool. He and Liam perform so well together. There was one day where he pulled up a little girl on stage to sing with him. I think her name was Lily. She was so excited. Hey, if that were me, I would have been excited too! I know her parents were proud, also! This night was definitely magical and it was an extremely life changing moment for me. As the kids from the movie School Of Rock say, “One great rock show can change the world.” And that is exactly what happened.

Bayfest 2008

My second Bayfest was awesome! I saw Saving Abel, P.O.D., Puddle of Mudd, and Buckcherry. Saving Abel performed first and they opened with In God’s Eyes. Afterwards, they played Beautiful You, New Tattoo, Trying To Clear My Head, 18 Days, Drowning (Face Down), and Addicted. They are not the best band I have ever seen live but they were not awful either. After Saving Able was P.O.D. It was the first time I had ever seen them and I did not really know what to expect from this Christian Rock band. In 2008, I was only 13 and I was alone in the pit. When the all of the moshing started I was extremely scared. I will always be thankful for that one dude that started shielding me from everyone. Out of all of the shows I had been to up until that point, that was one of the bloodiest pits I had ever seen. I was fortunate enough to come out with a small bruise on my leg. P.O.D. opened with Boom! Afterwards, they played Set It Off, Addicted, Kaliforn-Eye-A, Without Jah Nothin’, Youth Of the Nation, Lights Out, Shine With Me, Condescending, Southtown, Celestial, Satellite, I’ll Be Ready, Alive, God Forbid, Bullet In The Sky (U2 cover), and Rock The Party (Off The Hook). They also played a song with Deftones that I forgot the name of. They put on a solid set. After P.O.D., it was time for Puddle Of Mudd. Kid Rock was playing at the same time as them and there was hardly anyone there for them. So that made it a lot better. I had a feeling that they would open with Control, and what do you know? They did!! Afterwards, they played Away From Me, Famous, Nobody Told Me, Blurry, TN.T. (AC/DC Cover), Livin’ On Borrowed Time, Out Of My Head, Breed, (Nirvana Cover), then they encored with Psycho and She Hates Me. What little crowd was left went absolutely insane for Psycho. Not going to lie, it was funny. And the last band for the night was Buckcherry. Their humor was insanely funny and they were very dirty. If you have small children, I do not recommend taking them to see Buckcherry. They opened with Dirty Mind and followed it with So Far, Broken Glass, Lit Up, Rescue Me, Don’t Go Away, Too Drunk, Next 2 You, Lawless and LuLu, Onset, Everything, Sorry, Crazy Bitch, and they encored with Cream. At some point during Crazy Bitch, Josh Todd started talking about reproducing and procreating. Like I said earlier, if you have small children, think twice about letting them go see Buckcherry.

Hanson Birmingham, Alabama October 7th, 2008

I never would have thought that less than a year after my first Hanson show, I would ever see them again. I remember asking my mom for the tickets for my birthday. I was at my birthday party, in front of all my friends. I was opening my cards and I opened one without a name. I asked whom it was from and no one answered. I opened the card and something fell into my lap. I read the card first and it said “Hope you have a rockin’ birthday. Love, Mom and Dad”. I opened the paper in my lap and it was Hanson tickets. I warned everyone at my party to cover their ears and I proceeded to scream and jump up and down like a little girl. Then I hugged both of my parents and thanked them profusely. When the day finally came, once again, I was extremely excited. When the day came, of course, I ran out of school and went on my way to Birmingham for the show. When we got there, we waited in line for a while. Then the doors opened and I ran into the venue and stood in the crowd. The first band, Everybody Else, was on. They were so adorable! When they were over, I went out and I met their dorky drummer. He was nice. I went back in and I waited for the next opening act to come on. They were called The Veronicas. They were not my favorite band but it was probably just because I wanted Hanson to come on stage. But of course, they were on Hanson time and were late coming out. When they finally came out, they opened with Something Going Round. Then, they followed it I Want To Take You Higher, Been There Before, Follow Your Lead, Where’s The Love, Great Divide, Strong Enough To Break, One More(?), Love Me, On The Rocks, Where Did It Start, Blue Sky, A Minute Without You, Cried(!), Running Man, Oh Darlin, MMMBop, Can’t Stop, Hey, Crazy Beautiful, and Watch Over Me. They encored with The Ugly Truth. Holy cow was I excited for that encore. That is one of my favorite Hanson songs. The show great but it still can not top my first Hanson show.

Projekt Revolution 8/3/08 Atlanta, Georgia

I never would have thought that a year after I saw Linkin Park for the first time, that I would be seeing them again. Not only was I excited for Linkin Park, but I was incredibly stoked for Hawthorne Heights, 10 Years, Atreyu, aSHES divide, The Bravery, and Chris Cornell. The first band of the day was Hawthorne Heights. They played Niki FM, Ohio Is For Lovers, Rescue Me, This Is Who We Are, Pens and Needles, and Saying Sorry. This was their first tour after Casey Calvert passed away, so the screaming songs did not scream. They talked about him a lot, too. After HH was 10 Years. The played Russian Roulette, 11:00 AM (Daydreamer), All Your Lies, Prey, Beautifu, lDrug of Choice, Actions and Motives, So Long, Good-Bye, Waking Up, Wasteland. After 10 Years it was time for Atreyu. They played Doomsday, Right Side of the Bed, Falling Down, The Crimson, Bleeding Mascara, Slow Burn, Blow, When Two Are One (Told the crowd to start a circle pit), Ex's and Oh's, Becoming the Bull, Lip Gloss and Black. You never forget the first time you ever see a band. That is all I will say about them. After Atreyu was aSHES dIVIDE, but before AD, was Street Drum Corps. They were loud and gave me a headache and I do not normally get headaches. Ashes Divide played The Stone, Denial Waits, The Outsider (A Perfect Circle), The Sword, Forever Can Be, Stripped Away, The Prey, Enemies. After them was The Bravery. I do not know all the songs that they played but I do know they played, An Honest Mistake, Time Won’t Let Me Go, Believe. Believe was really good and I wish I could go see them again. After them was *drum roll* Chris Cornell. My mom and I were so freaking excited. He played Cochise, No Such Thing, Outshined, Spoonman, Hunger Strike (With Chester Bennington. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!) Watch Out, Like a Stone (Acoustic), Fell on Black Days (Acoustic), Show Me How To Live, Be Yourself, Long Gone, Black Hole Sun, Blow Up the Outside World, Rusty Cage. Then it was time for Linkin Park. They played
One Step Closer
Lying From You
Somewhere I Belong
No More Sorrow
Papercut
Points of Authority
Wake 2.0
Given Up
From the Inside
Leave Out All the Rest
Numb
The Little Things Give You Away
Breaking the Habit
Shadow of the Day
Crawling (Chris Cornell AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!)
In the End
What I've Done
Faint
Bleed It Out

Disturbed Five Finger Death Punch, and Art Of Dying Birmingham, Alabama 2008

So my first Disturbed concert was good. I was really surprised with the guy to girl ratio. In the security line, they split us by gender so we could be searched. There were probably 15 girls at the entire show, including me. I was not as surprised with the kid to adult ratio because most parents would not bring their children to a concert like this. I honestly think I was the only kid there. I was 12. Anyway, the first band was The Art Of Dying. I had never heard of them at that point (I have now) but I thought it was really cool that they drove all the way from Ontario, Canada to play for us. They played Crime, You Don’t Know Me, Raining, Let The Fire Burn, Fits Of Clarity, Die Trying, Them Bones (Alice In Chains cover), Completely, and Get Thru This. I really wish they would come back around so I could see them again. After AOD, was Five Finger Death Punch. When I saw them, the only song I knew by them at that point was The Bleeding. I later found out that they played Ashes, Salvation, The Way Of The Fist, White Knuckles, Bad Company, and The Bleeding. Their first album, The Way Of The Fist, is honestly one of my favorite albums ever and I have seen them once since this show and they still bring it. After 5FDP, was Disturbed. They opened with Prayer and followed it with Liberate, Perfect Insanity, Voices, Just Stop, Remember, Deify, Stupify, Land Of Confusion (Genesis Cover), and The Game. They encored with Inside The Fire, Stricken, and Down With The Sickness. During the show, David [Drainman], started talking about ghosts and how the venue was haunted. It was not that scary, though. This show was really loud and there were a few thousand people in a steel shed the size of a school gym. Can we say awesome?