Friday, May 27, 2011

The Summer Concert Season Begins!

It's been a while since my last posting and in the spirit of the summer and following my first concert of the season I figured it was time!  I saw an incredible trifecta of music; The Secret Sisters, Brandi Carlile and Ray Lamontage!


This Concert was so amazing and what was very interesting was the mix of people that the show attracted.  The Show began with the Secret Sisters who are a simple group with spectacular sound.  It is just sisters Laura and Lydia Rogers and a single Guitar that they swap off.  Their music is rich in feeling and sentiment and shows that their country roots are deep in their souls.  You can see that they are truly having fun on stage and they don't care what audience they play to they are there to share their sound!  I bought their CD which for country (probably one of my least favorite Genres) is really good.  On a side note they totally scored points for when I met them to get their autographs.  they were so welcoming and made little conversation with each person.  They commented on how much fun my "green eggs and Ham" t-shirt was.  They are very sweet, a must hear for all!


Next up with the amazing Brandi Carlile.  I have to say that her voice is incredible and makes her sound much older than she really is.  She gives me an Emmylou Harris vibe.  There were some really great parts of her set of which three stand out the most for me.  To begin She and her band went totally unplugged and we were so close that we could hear her clear as day and it was so good.  I have never seen an artist do that ever and My respect for her grew even more; it was like she became one with her audience!.  The next moment was when she had the audience become her back up singers.  that was a lot of fun and was again making her part of her audience.  the last moment that was truly great was her closing song, she covered Forever young.  It was just her, a piano and cellist and it was very sweet and touching version.  She also made a point to sign autographs but stated that she had no intentions of missing one second of Ray Lamontagnes set, not only an artist but a true fan!  oh I definite want to see her again!


Last up was Ray Lamontagne.  I have been listening to him since I first saw him open for Dave Matthews a long time ago! His set was so good.  What I love most about Ray is that he has a great mix of tracks, he gets you on your feet, puts you in your seat and then gets you back up again.  I have to say there is not much that he does that I don't like.  To top it off he broke a guitar string at the start of his encore and passed the time of repair by connecting with the audience; some facts about Ray doesn't tell joke but he can Juggle! I was glad that He ended the show with "you are the best thing" but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the arrangement; I'll get there but I do have the original that I love to fall back on!


So I have to say that this concert was incredible.  I loved just about every moment of the show and I wish that I could somehow go back and do it again! maybe they will come back around again!


Well that a wrap for now.  Till My next musings!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

the overnight shift and all the crazy music you hear

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (that would be by big sigh of Relief).  So I managed to survive a 17 hour day of work.  It was crazy, but we all made it through.  It was very interesting since there were a lot of different people, all with their very own music tastes in one big room!  There was so much to take in!

My day started at about 4pm yesterday and the music was all my own (using my headphones, I attempted to be considerate).  I was listening to pandora and my station was set to Tokyo Police Club.  I got to hear some Passion Pit "Sleepyhead".  This is such an interesting incorporation of sounds and vocals.  It makes you want to jump in with the autotuned voices.

As the night progressed there was quite a mix of music to be heard.  It started with some Patsy Cline.  It was set up as a lead in to how we were gonna deal with the move not going as planned.  The song of choice was "Crazy"  .  This actually became the theme song of the night.


While a classic there were some other such intriguing tunes played the night became a conglomeration of chaos.  Musical chaos it always fun for me but as I learned not so much for my coworkers.  For little bit following Patsy,  I got the stage to pick some tunes and I put my iTunes on shuffle and started off with the Decemberists "rox in the box".  I really like this group more each time I listen to them.  They are like a combination between modern indie rock and traditional Irish music.  Rox in the box, I think, really gives this sense and I think that might be why its my favorite!




Next up was a coworker who had a musical epiphany!  He was recently giving another coworking a hard time for some new music she was listening to, That I have actually given to her, which was Adele.  While he was listing he realized that a song that the really good song that just started playing was one he was mocking her for,  the song was Rolling in the Deep.  I love this song.   It is truly amazing, there is so much feeling it just makes you want to pound your fist on something as you groove to the beat!

The rest of the night there was so much it was hard to keep track.  What was funny was the differing work modes.  Some need loud music and some need no music.  Then there were the one who like the music but not loud just enough to provide a slight distraction.  What I learned tonight is that everyone like their music.  Styles are different but at a balanced level everyone will enjoy it all!

As I take what I learned for the day I'm leaving you with one more song by the Decemberists

Later till my next musings!!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

It's a wrap on my Music Diary

So as my part in the diary project comes to an end it's time to sum up the weekend!  There is a lot to cover so I think I'm gonna miss a few things...haha.  So any way here goes with this mess


Lets start with the something new that I wish I had discovered long before, Tokyo police club.  They are so good.  It was a listening recommendation from Last FM and I have to say it was a good one to take.  Nature of Experiments was my intro to this group and it was perfect!  They are a lot of fun, have a great sound you just have to hear them!  


After that I listened to a bit of Daithi ODronai.  Well he is my cousin and working hard to introduce his sound as far as he can!   I'm possibly slightly biased because I can say that I know him but his sound is amazing.  He with the help of his fiddle, a looping machine and a few other things has developed a sound that is anything but traditional Irish!  He has been on a few of those reality tv talent shows and has gone quite far, definitely a must discover and I encourage everyone to check him out, you will not be disappointed! 

Lets see where to next, oh yeah Deck Space by Kenin.  I found this song through a friend who made me an awesome Mix CD which I promptly copied and put on my iPod.  She really knew my taste in music and I can honestly say that there is not one song on this mix that I do not like.  Deck Space is a great song that is simple in its creating and doesn't leave you behind.  From the eased intro you immediately begin counting time along with the beat and it doesn't stop till the end. 

If you like that the rest of the mix is a little bit of Gomez, Interpol, Bloc Party, Calexico, Jem, The eels ect.  It is amazing  you just need to discover a few for yourself.  A few I didn't mention are 
Alkaline Trio ,
my personal Favorite The Postal Service

 














Aside from those Ray Lamontage made me long to know "Meg White, Tame Impala reminded me that "Solitude is Bliss", and that Metric says "help I'm Alive" so "Gimmie Sympathy" .   There was also an 80's Flashback of Depeche Mode because as we all know "people are people".  But Dave Matthews reminded me of one of my favorite lyrics "I like my coffee with Toast and Jelly but I'd rather be licking you from your back to your belly" man "shake me like a monkey" so fun! 

Anyway It is officially back to the grind that is called work and thus has come to an end of my part of the music Diary project!.  This has been fun and I think that I just may continue it! My last sentence is typed as I listen to some amber Pacific playing Here we stand!



Later till my next musing!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Another day another music diary!

So here I am on a Thursday and I am ready to ponder over the notes of my music diary.  It was a great day for music I must say.  A lot of what I heard today flowed with what I was doing, other stuff really just made the rest go by faster! So where to start....

Well I guess I'll start with a song that really got me through a long and tedious meeting, Rebellion(lies) by Arcade Fire.  This was perfect because as I sat through the meeting I pondered if the music was almost in tune with how I felt this meeting was turning out.  It's such a great song and really kinda talks to you; you can't not tap your foot, or pen along to the beat regardless of who is staring at you.  Just remember they are jealous of your impeccable music taste!

What better way to follow that than with some Passion Pit!  So I found myself at one point, even though on shuffle, I got two great Passion Pit songs one right after the other.  You are totally wondering what they are I know it!  Well the first was Swimming in the flood.
After that I came To Kingdom Come.
Both songs are really great and totally made my day.  What more could I ask for....

Well it definitely didn't stop there for after another meeting I got to hear a great band I only discovered recently and no it wasn't through the commercials they were featured in this past holiday season.  I found them before Holiday based commercials inundated my TV viewing.  What band you ask...why it was Pomplamoose and the song was "I Don't Know".  This duo is so much fun and this as well as their other songs are just well genius.  If you don't know them then you really need to take a listen; anything you find is a lot of fun...Like their lady gaga cover!

Today there was a lot of Xavier Rudd to listen to and well as I do really like all of his stuff the one that I liked the most today was Let me Be!.  This song could not have come on at a more perfect time....I had just finished a training session to come back to my desk with many emails to respond to and co workers at my desk and they all had questions...lots and lots of questions!  

Some other memorable tunes for the day were:
careless whisper - seether
Flathead - the Fratellies
Oh Christine - the cave singers
this years love - david gray
it's beginning to get to me - snow partol
jeremy storm - tame impala
#41 - Dave matthews

So what diary would be complete without an overview of some of the songs that got me home!  Well there was Drive in Drive out - Dave Matthews.  This is a favorite for me and one that was made better because it was live!  That was followed by yet another Xavier Rudd song In Transit then I got a little Perpetual Groove with Three weeks.  All of these songs plus others made the traffic less painful. 

Well that was today....I wonder what tomorrow will bring!  I guess just wait and see!

Till the next musings!

So after reading Trashostereo's blog I decided to jump on the band wagon and work on my music diary.  Yesterday was a very random listening day from the moment I got in the car!  As I drove in I was reminded that I have not listened to enough Rilo Kiley.  Dreamworld made me wish that I was not driving to work but in fact really anywhere else.  That was ironically followed by Dave Matthews singing drive in drive out, the version was live from Richmond, VA in 1996.  I was not at that particular show but I was at one of the shows that year and I remember having the most amazing time.  Yes even now I have a soft spot for Mr. Matthews and his band!

When I got to work among the chaos of training people on how to create hyperlinks in their word documents and zipping files that are way to big for the email system there were breaks of amazing music!  The first song that stuck out for me was Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, I totally forgot that I did in fact have quite a few selections from her, singing One Short Night from the self titled album.

After a few training sessions I returned to a classic that many people don't know about and is very hard to find; It was the band Kara's Flowers (many of you know them as Maroon 5) with the song "Myself".  That song kinda came up just at the right point....I was so done with helping people at that point and this song just let that demon go!  Its a great song to just want to belt out along but in cubical setting probably not the best so I just yelled the lyrics in my head!

The ride home in the rain was made that much better as I listened to both Matt and Kim albums on Shuffle.  If you have not heard them they are so much fun and amazing!  Saw them at the Siren festival last year and it was so much fun!  The songs that are definite must hears are Daylight and Yea yeah (their most well known) but some really great songs that are full of life and fun are Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare, Frank , Lightspeed.....you know what just check out both their albums you won't regret it!

well as I would truly love to continue on I don't want to over do and there is so much left to talk about on Thursday!

Till Thursday night.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Welcome to my blog

I'm gonna start by saying thanks for checking out my blog!  So I have thought about doing this for a while and well now seemed like a good time, no time like the present right?  

So as I sit here pondering my first post I'm watching basketball on mute while listening to some music.  There was a lot of different tunes that came on my iPod today but alas I'm currently stuck on Lady Lamb the Beekeeper's "Up on the Rafters/Bird Balloons.  What I love most about this song is definitely the "bird balloons" portion of the song.  this may be slightly influenced by my best friend who just absolutely loves that part of the song but today I've listened to the entire 10 min and 56 seconds of this song and have a new love for it as a whole.

As I'm about to listen to this song for the 5th time tonight, I'm still drawn by the fact that the only music for the first 4 min and 40 seconds is the sound of her voice.  Where I'm always pleasantly surprised is at 4 min and 42 second when the guitar comes in and her voice is just so raw it draws you and I see how it is that my best friend can love this section of the song so much more.  I guess to truly feel it you have to hear it, I say go ahead and skip through to 4 min and 42 seconds and just take it in.

On that note I'm gonna call it a night till the next day I write.