Last concert update of 2010!!

And just when I thought I was done doing concert reviews... I end up at a bunch of shows.

I already wrote about Mae, so I won't cover that again except to say that that was one of the best nights of music in my life. Period. And now on to December:

I'll preface this by saying that I love Twitter. And I love music. These two things have resulted in making "friends" online that I've never met before, but are completely amazing. Of the last 3 shows I went to in 2010, 2 of them were made possible by the kindness of virtual strangers.

December 2, 2010: Ryan Star, Lee DeWyze, Justin Furstenfeld, and Steven Page (Acoustic Christmas, Modesto)

Went with Chris, Nikki, and Mel. It was Mel's first RStar show!

I hated that I sat through a Ryan Star show. HATED IT. But that was the type of show this was. But Ryan was amazing as usual. My surprise of the set... he played "Losing My Religion." I sat there for the duration of the song with my jaw on the floor. I LOVE the way he covers this song. I love REM, and I love this song. Blown. Away. And he did "Last Train Home" my favorite way... stripped down to keyboard and acoustic guitar. Makes me cry every time.

Also, I love how he can make "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" sound completely dirty by throwing it into "Back of Your Car." I laughed my butt off. After, there was an autograph line that really wasn't handled that well by the venue staff. Ryan didn't have enough time to get through everyone, but toward the end he came out from behind the table and started signing as quickly as possible. I took the opportunity to give him the Hanukkah cookies that I painstakingly decorated (I kid you not. The Hanukkah cookies were an adventure in and of themselves). He was excited. It was hysterical.

We slipped back in for Lee's set, and I was thrilled to find out that he sounds awesome live! It was the first time I'd seen him live, so I had my fingers crossed. I loved it. I love him. "Hallelujah" slayed me, and "Brooklyn Bridge" made me cry. So freaking fantastic. I can't wait for tour.

Justin Furstenfeld is the lead singer of Blue October. I am a casual Blue October fan. I know a lot of their music, but I'm not die hard, and I've never seen them live. HOLY CRAP. This was the surprise of the night. He was absolutely incredible. The first song he sang was completely acapella and left us all stunned. He did 2 of my favorite Blue October songs too.. "Calling You" and "Hate Me." I thoroughly enjoyed his set. I would see him, or Blue October, again in heartbeat.

And finally, Steven Page. I was really looking forward to this. I really was. I wanted to hear "One Week" and "It's All Been Done." Well, I got "It's All Been Done." He didn't play "One Week." I think I'm still upset about that. We turned it on in the car as soon as we left, and sang it out. Good stuff.

All in all, it was worth it. A long drive, but y'all know the lengths I go to for Ryan... and Lee was my bonus. So happy that Justin was amazing as well, made it even more worth it!



And that was it for the year. Or so I thought. Until the next week. Through the magic of Twitter and the efforts of "friends" to whom I'm eternally grateful, I went to 2 more shows.



December 8, 2o10: Lee DeWyze (Santa Rosa, CA)

It was a private radio show. One that I didn't win tickets for. But when a few of my Twitter friends, Shelley and Francie got the hookup, I found myself with 2 spots on the list. So I took my sister with me. Time was tight- I got out of work and we hit the road through the pouring rain to Santa Rosa, and got there JUST IN TIME. The venue was pretty cool, and we were able to be right at the stage. Another amazing acoustic set with Lee and Lincoln. He did a similar set as the previous week, with a few additions. My favorite of these additions: "Annabelle". I love that song. And he killed it. One of my favorite moments of the night. We heard "Hallelujah" again, and "Sweet Serendipity," "Live It Up," and more. And of course, my favorite, "Brooklyn Bridge." I want to marry Chris all over again so that we can dance to that song at our reception. Didn't get to formally meet Lee, but talked to him as he was leaving the venue in his van. LOL. Such a good night, and a great girls night with my sis before she moved out of California. I'm happy she got to share it with me!


December 9, 2010: The Daylights and NeedToBreathe (The Fillmore)
I guess I have a few people to thank for this. Lee DeWyze, for playing a show in Campbell. The radio station hosting the show for picking my girl Kayla as a winner, and Kayla and her hubby for giving Chris and me her tix to the Daylights/NeedToBreathe show! I was floored this week by the kindness and generosity of the amazing people I've met in the music scene.

The Daylights are going to be on the Best Cruise Ever, so I bought their album awhile back and loved it. My favorite song on it is "Alive," though I think the whole album is pretty awesome. We got to the Fillmore (one of my favorite places on earth) early enough for us to be in the very front, at the stage. Score! The Daylights were AMAZING live. I sang along to all the songs, danced like whoa, and had a fantastic time. They played "Alive," and I went nuts! They didn't play "Terra Firma," but there's always the cruise! Then came NeedToBreathe.

I've been loving NeedToBreathe for awhile. "Something Beautiful" is such a great song, one of my favorites of the year. Their new album is fantastic, so I knew the show would be great. Little did I know that I completely underestimated it. They don't put on a show, they host a party. I had so much fun during their set! When they played "Something Beautiful" I called my sister so she could sing along too, since she had gone to her new home in Nevada earlier that day. They came out and did "Valley of Tomorrow" completely acoustic. Completely. It was one of the best individual song performances I've ever seen. Chris loved it too!

After the show we wandered out to see if we could find posters (which they didn't have) and to find the guys from The Daylights. Found them! They actually spotted us and called us over because of my shirt. I was rockin my Mae shirt, and apparently they're big Mae fans! We chatted with Svend and Ricky for a bit. We all excitedly made plans to see each other on the cruise! Talked to Rand also, and decided that he and I would start a petition to keep Mae making music! Supposedly we'll be grabbing a drink together on the ship too :) They were cool dudes, and I was happy that they sound so good live. Makes me look that much more forward to the cruise!




And that my friends, ends my concert going in 2010 for real. I was so blessed to get to go to so many shows (17!!) this year. And I'm so blessed to have great concert buddies in my friends and family. I hope that 2011 brings more amazing shows and the opportunity to meet some of my twitter peeps in person!

2011: Best Cruise Ever, U2, and Lee DeWyze (when tour dates are announced) and if I get my wish(es): Switchfoot and David Cook!