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Concerts
UPDATED List of Concerts I’ve Been To (including seeing #TomPetty last week!)
0Last Thursday night, I got to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in concert at the Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. That was something a LONG TIME coming. You see, Full Moon Fever remains, to this day, one of my all time favorite albums. Somehow, though, I never got the chance to see Tom Petty in concert… until last week
His opening act was a young lady named Regina Spektor. Shannon knew who she was. I recognized one of her songs from an episode of Veronica Mars.
Thus, here is the updated list:
*NSYNC (@ Universal’s CityWalk)
Aerosmith
Ashlee Simpson (at Sunfest)
Barenaked Ladies (@ Universal’s Mardi Gras)
Beach Boys
Ben Folds
Bette Midler
Billie Myers
Bon Jovi
Bryan Adams
Cheap Trick
Chicago
Collective Soul
Cumbawamba
Everclear
Faith No More
Fiona Apple (at Sunfest)
Guns & Roses II aka “Axl & Friends”
Guns & Roses (2 times)
Heart
Ice Cube (at Lollapalooza ’92)
Jane’s Addiction
Joan Jett (@ Disney’s Pleasure Island)
Journey (2 times)
Jimmy Buffett (7 times)
Katy Perry
Lifehouse
Matchbox Twenty
Metallica (2 times)
Ministry (@ Lollapalooza ’92)
Nine Inch Nails
Night Ranger
Papa Roach
Pearl Jam (@ Lollapalooza ’92)
Peter Gabriel
The Ramones (@ Lollapalooza ’96)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers (@ Lollapalooza ’92)
Regina Spektor
Richard Marx
Right Said Fred
Robyn
Savage Garden
Sebastian Bach
The Scorpions
Sheryl Crow (at Sunfest)
Soundgarden (3 times)
Sponge (@ Lollapalooza ’96)
Squirrel Nut Zippers (@ Universal’s Mardi Gras)
The Spice Girls
Stan Bush
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tori Amos (2 times)
Van Halen (with Sammy Hagar)
Voltaire (@ The Nightmare Before Thanksgiving)
“Weird Al” Yankovic (2 times)
Wilson Pickett
Acts listed in bold have a link to a blog post or photos from the show. There are other posts, too, but that will have to wait for another concert list update in the future once I finish retroactively categorizing my past blog posts.
Concerts I’ve Been To (As of June 2011)
0As I stated yesterday, I go to concerts fairly frequently. The only thing that is consistent about the music I see performed, though, is that none of it fits in a genre that rhymes with “stuntry.”
Thus, I present the acts I have seen perform live since my first concert at the ripe old age of fifteen…
*NSYNC (@ Universal’s CityWalk)
Aerosmith
Ashlee Simpson (at Sunfest)
Barenaked Ladies (@ Universal’s Mardi Gras)
Beach Boys
Ben Folds
Bette Midler
Billie Myers
Bon Jovi
Bryan Adams
Cheap Trick
Chicago
Collective Soul
Cumbawamba
Everclear
Faith No More
Fiona Apple (at Sunfest)
Guns & Roses II aka “Axl & Friends”
Guns & Roses (2 times)
Heart
Ice Cube (at Lollapalooza ’92)
Jane’s Addiction
Joan Jett (@ Disney’s Pleasure Island)
Journey (2 times)
Jimmy Buffett (7 times)
Katy Perry
Lifehouse
Matchbox Twenty
Metallica (2 times)
Ministry (@ Lollapalooza ’92)
Nine Inch Nails
Night Ranger
Papa Roach
Pearl Jam (@ Lollapalooza ’92)
Peter Gabriel
The Ramones (@ Lollapalooza ’96)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers (@ Lollapalooza ’92)
Richard Marx
Right Said Fred
Robyn
Savage Garden
Sebastian Bach
The Scorpions
Sheryl Crow (at Sunfest)
Soundgarden (3 times)
Sponge (@ Lollapalooza ’96)
Squirrel Nut Zippers (@ Universal’s Mardi Gras)
The Spice Girls
Stan Bush
Tori Amos (2 times)
Van Halen (with Sammy Hagar)
Voltaire (@ The Nightmare Before Thanksgiving)
“Weird Al” Yankovic (2 times)
Wilson Pickett
Acts listed in bold have a link to a blog post or photos from the show. There are other posts, too, but that will have to wait for another concert list update in the future once I finish retroactively categorizing my past blog posts.
Last week I went to a Katy Perry concert (with photos!)
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I have been to dozens of concerts over the past twenty years. (Note to self: write blog post with an updated list of said concerts.) The shows I attend have always been of a wide variety… blues, pop, rock, etc. The important qualifier (for me) for going to a show is that if I pay good money, I want to be entertained.
In seeing so many artists perform, I have learned that there are two types of concerts: concerts that are “concerts” and concerts that are “shows.”
Katy Perry is a show.
I took Shannon to the see the California Dreams Tour last Thursday as a surprise. She had mentioned how much she had gotten into Katy’s music and I’ll entertain anything to avoid listening to more Tori Amos albums around the house. The presentation that Katy puts on is nothing short of inspiring. You could tell that the stage show was as much of a creative outlet for her as an artist as her music.
Katy Perry on stage was having fun and (as a result) her audience did. The energy was infectious and it became hard to NOT get into the show.
Now before you judge… yes: I was a straight married guy who went to a Katy Perry and had fun. The bonus to the show was the fact that I was NOT the primary demographic. The primary demographic at the show was college age girls who all liked to dress like Katy Perry.
Musically, Katy Perry’s got talent. One of the highlights (I caught on tape) was her doing her own rendition of Jay Z’s “Big Pimpin’” and Rebecca Black’s “Friday”. Here’s the video:
ADDED BONUS: I took a photo of this girl taking photo of her friend taking a photo of the show. (I can’t confirm if anyone got a photo of me doing this or not.)
You can check out the rest of my concert photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomcroom/sets/72157626952038956/
AFTERTHOUGHT: Robyn was the opening act. You’d think that you’d play the ONE hit you had if you were touring… but no – she’s one of THOSE “artists.”
The Welcome to Fin-Land Jimmy Buffett Concert at Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach had THE WORST AUDIO
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Oh… the adventures we go on in the magical land of Margaritaville. Sometimes they are the best times you can remember. Sometimes they are the best times you can’t remember (making them epic!) Sometimes, though, they are good times with things that you’d rather not remember.
This was the case with my 7th Jimmy Buffett concert experience. It started with awesome tailgating that looked like this:
But ended with me writing a letter to Margaritaville management and the Cruzan Amphitheatre:
TO: info@margaritaville.com; cruzanampinquiry@livenation.com
SUBJECT: Jimmy Buffett on March 23rd in West Palm Beach. Please Read!Dear Purveyors of the Parrothead Lifestyle,
Close to a quarter of a century ago, I moved to Florida and found myself an adopted son of the beaches, palm trees and atmosphere that can only be found in the Sunshine State. Part of my right of passage into a citizen of this fine state was being introduced to the music, mania and mentality of Jimmy Buffett.
Since then, I have attended six shows (at various venues in Florida) and each has always been, without fail, a memorable experience of epic proportions… until now.
Last weekend was the seventh Jimmy Buffett concert I have attended. It is also my fifth concert experience at Cruzan Amphitheatre. It was, without a doubt, the worst audio presentation I have paid for at a live show.
While it was great to hear all the press via email and banners around the concert that the show would be simulcast on Radio Margaritaville, it seems to me that more focus was needed on clear sound AT the venue itself. Myself, and dozens around me in general admission seating, couldn’t hear a word Jimmy said on stage – and the music was barely audible.
Concert tickets have always carried the caveat of “no refunds,” but this was the first time in over twenty years that I was disappointed in having handed over my money to Jimmy and the Margaritaville Empire.
If someone doesn’t tell you there was a problem, then you’ll never know that there was one. So here I am.
Regards,
Tom Croom
www.TomCroom.com
Living in an Amish Paradise…
1Is it Wednesday already?
Last weekend, I went and saw Weird Al Yankovic perform in concert in Boca Raton, Florida with my friends Lyn and Ryan. Our seats were pretty good – and you can see in this video:
The concert was AWESOME (to say the least.)
Afterwards, we went to Boomers in South Florida. There – Lyn and I tried to kill ourselves.
See?
Since I’m writing this it’s safe to assume I am dead and blogging from the grave. BOO.
Right now I’m SWAMPED with prepping for Anime Festival Orlando and Gen Con… so expect some erratic posts over the next week.
Have Wasabi, Will Travel.
02 years ago
Just a short note to update the world to my well being and the amount of things that keep me busy in life. Last weekend (the 4th of July) was my first weekend staying home in over a month – and things are picking up again. Here is, in no particular order, things of interest in and around my life right now…
- It seems that the discussion regarding my comments about the BotCon “Trade Show” is still alive and kicking. You can read it here.
- Next weekend I will be at Ancient City Con with the team from Wasabi Anime.
- The weekend after that, I am going white water rafting in Colorado. I also plan on making some Man vs. Food meal stops.
- The weekend after that: Weird Al Yankovic concert in South Florida.
- Wasabi Anime has announced Orlandia’s Got Talent for Anime Festival Orlando.
- I’m loving watching season 4 of Magnum P.I. on DVD. Just sayin’
Took a Journey with a Night Ranger to Orlando…
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Last night I drove to Orlando and met a few friends to see Journey in concert. Night Ranger opened – and I’ll be honest, I had forgotten how many songs of theirs I knew. They threw in a few Damn Yankees songs for good measure (which made their set that much more entertaining.)
As a result, the concert list has been updated this morning.
Here, now, are my random thoughts (and with some visual aids!) of the evening:
-The planned group was Shannon and I with my friend Eric driving from South Florida and Ryan, Annie and their friend (I’ve already forgotten his name – I suck) meeting us in Orlando by way of Jacksonville.
-Earlier in the day, I saw by way of Twitter that our friends Karen & Erik were also going to the show – and got in touch with them via AIM so we could meet up and grab food after the show.
-On the drive up, an old friend from Universal (Liz) sent me a message via Facebook that she was also at the show. Shannon and got to run into her for the first time since 2001. (Picture here.)
-Both bands were AMAZING. Night Ranger even played the theme song to the Michael J. Fox eighties classic: The Secret of My Success.
-On the way out of the show we ran into another former Universal alumni, Kathy. (Picture here).
-We had planned to eat at a place called Hamburger Mary’s, but it was closed when we got to Downtown Orlando. The 24-hour pizza place nearby did the trick, though.
-Downtown Orlando is looking MUCH better. With Pleasure Island gone and Citywalk going downhill, hopefully Downtown O-Town will grab the opportunity to come back alive. Now if someone would just re-open Q-Zar and Terror on Church Street…
