I was unsure how seeing City and Colour live would be. Acoustic guitar is one of my favorite instruments but I'm used to some hard rocking concerts. City and Colour is one of my go-to rainy day bands.
Well, there I was a few feet from lead singer, Dallas Green, and I was captivated. My eyes never left the stage. The light show was perfect. Hearing their song's live gave me the chills. Very impressive stuff.
They played a wide variety of their stuff from their first album "Sometimes" to their new stuff and everything in between. Check out their new album, "The Hurry and The Harm" if you haven't already. Amazing stuff.
It's hard to let other people get under your skin when you're seeing live music, but these two very immature young ladies in front of me were watching the majority of the show through their iPhones. They may as well have stayed home and looked up live performances on YouTube. Videotaping, snapping FLASH photography, tweeting and FaceBooking during the show.
I said a few choice things in their direction like, "Give me front row if you don't want it." Or "Put your damn phones down!" Or my most favorite, "AT LEAST TURN YOUR FLASH OFF!"
Then almost halfway through the show Green says something along the lines of, "For this next song, I want you guys to pick up your phones... AND PUT THEM AWAY!"
It was awesome. The crowd cheered. Most people put their phones away. The girls in front of me did for a few minutes then they were back to thinking people cared about their tweets.
It's live, raw talent that you pay money to see. It's years of hard work and struggles you know nothing about. It's music. Stand there, shut up and enjoy it. Disconnect from your phones and reconnect to this artistic reality. This is what life is about: true experiences.
That's one of my favorite things about City and Colour. They are real. Green's lyrics are raw and beautiful and you can find your own connection in each of his stories.
Another thing that I love about the band is how humble and appreciative they are of their fans. I bought a ticket to their show and I got a thank you email with a free download of their newest album "The Hurry and The Harm.'
If you haven't given them a listen yet, I ask that you do. And if the name Dallas Green is ringing a bell to you, you may have grown up in the "emo" boys wearing girl pants age like I did. He was the vocalist and and guitarist for the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. City and Colour is on the opposite side of the spectrum. Enjoy it, and not just on a rainy day.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Sons of the Sea- Get Wet.
 |
| (Some beloved photographs and artwork by Brandon Boyd on my bookshelf.) |
Dive deep in this one, people, because Brandon Boyd is at it again.
Sons of the Sea is Incubus' front man, Brandon Boyd's, new project. With help from producer and friend, Brendan O'Brien, it combines Boyd's lyrical talent and O'Brien's creativity on piano, guitar and bass. Josh Freese was on drums. O'Brien produced Incubus' last three albums and has done work with Pearl Jam and the Killers also.
The EP- "Compass" has 4 tracks that flow ever so smoothly. Close your eyes and you can easily get lost at sea. This is a very surreal 16 minutes of music. Hard to not bob your head and learn the lyrics to these 4 songs.
The official video for "Come Together" tells it all. It shows Boyd and a beautiful dark skinned woman spooning with a milky white background. Barely dressed they are, just as exposed as Boyd's lyrics.
I can't even put this EP into a music genre. It's a genre of it's own. (Okay, time to be biased, this is MY blog.) Every single album Brandon Boyd has been a part of, in my opinion, has had it's own unique sound and THAT is what keeps me coming back for me as a fan. He is one talented guy that is constantly learning, changing and providing us with new sounds.
This album should hold me over until the Incubus hiatus is over.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Pearl Jam: You Wouldn't Understand
Go to a Pearl Jam concert as a spectator and you will witness a gathering almost cult-like. Arms raising in V's... "1,2,3,4, 5 (against one)" fingers flying up in the air, clapping, bowing and headbanging in unison just as the Christians kneel and sit before their God. Except ours is Eddie Vedder and he bellows his grunts and moans and preaches his ever so opinionated word.
It's time for our communion when Ed takes a bottle of wine, drinks it down and passes it around. We give thanks to him and the rest of the bandmates and taste that sweet taste of the sweat pouring off of our face.
Pearl Jam fans are a family. I once heard it was corny to go to a concert and wear that band's shirt. Not at a Pearl Jam show. We appreciate and gawk at all the other Pearl Jam shirts people adorn and wish we had them in our collections.
I've met countless people with so many different backgrounds who love Pearl Jam and hearing how they first heard of them is always a memorable experience.
I'll tell you a little about my Pearl Jam upbringing. It started at such a young age, I was just a few years old when I first heard the Ten album. My mom loved Pearl Jam and her best friend from college, Julie, loved them too. Julie had a daughter my age and the four of us grew up to be best friends and avid Pearl Jam fans.
Our moms are both Ten Club members and have been since it originated. We've seen Pearl Jam at least 20 times combined and each time has been even more special. We even planned a Florida vacation around a Pearl Jam concert.
Finally, October 11, 2013 my mom and I won general admission tickets through the Ten Club. We got to The Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh for their tour opener around noon and were about 25th in line to get in the building. Doors opened at 6 and we rushed to the stage. SECOND ROW. Finally, my mom gets to see her favorite band just feet away.
That feeling is something that I can hardly describe. Your heart beats so fast, you can't stop smiling, the anticipation is almost too much to handle. The band you've loved, know every word to every song they've ever written, will soon be a few feet in front of you playing live. Seeing you as clear as you can see them.
After an hour of stage preparation, and about 4,000 heart palpitations, they finally come on stage. Eddie leads the crew then Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Boom Gaspar and finally Matt Cameron take their places on stage.
It doesn't hit me yet. They play 2 songs off their new album. I'm still in awe. I look over at my mom. She's high. And I mean higher than any drug can get you. She's high on music. High on life. She's truly happy.
Then, we hear the sounds of the familiar and beautiful "Nothingman." I can't even help it. Tears form in my eyes and they stream. And they stream hard. And I'm singing at the top of my lungs and I'm crying and I have my arms in the air. And I look around me. And everyone else is doing the same thing. Happiness, real deep emotions let out through their favorite music.
It's such a beautiful experience to be there with your family. I just met some of these people waiting in line earlier that day and I felt a connection to them. We were safe. This isn't the type of concert where someone will push their way to the front. Or mosh into you without an apology. We deserved these spots and our friends behind us helped preserve our spots.
What's truly magical was being there with my mother. My best friend. My guiding light for the music I love today. People have said, "Your mom is a total bad ass." And man, they're so right.
They played a few songs off their new album but rocked the house all night with hits and old classics and even some rarities. You look around though and you see everyone knows every word to every song. It isn't rehearsed. It's appreciated. It's years of anxiously awaiting their new music. Being addicted to that album. And still appreciating their old stuff. And never forgetting the album that got them to where they are today.
Coolest moment for the Pittsburghers in the crowd (and believe it or not most people traveled from other states to see Pearl Jam on the opening night of their tour) was when Jason Grilli of the Pittsburgh Pirates got on stage and rocked out with the band. Not sure if anyone caught it but Eddie sang "Whipping" to Jason. The first few lyrics are "Don't need a helmet got a hard, hard head." Jason gave Eddie a Pirates helmet and in return Eddie gave him the guitar off his back! Jason didn't leave the stage before giving a really heartwarming speech to the crowd saying we're the best city with the best fans and next year is our year. (Minus some choice expletives.)
They had 2 encores and a total of 31 songs that night. In Eddie Vedder time that was 2 bottles of wine and a Corona. The band was never short of showing their appreciation for their fans. Everyone stood the entire 3 hour show. The last encore all of the house lights were turned on and it was such a surreal feeling to see a sold out beautiful hockey arena full of loving fans waving their arms in sync to their music. Even the seats behind the stage were full and Eddie was sure to not ignore them. He played a few songs singing to the back of the stadium.
I realized being a Pearl Jam fan is actually a religion to us. It fills our souls. I can believe in them and I can see them. Their songs get me through some of the most difficult things in my life. I can relate to their ideas and feel their music deep in my bones. Eddie once said at a concert in Philadelphia, his only commandment would be "Thou shall not be an asshole." Pearl Jam is our church and we'll sing to the choir "Hallelujah, hallelujah!"
It's time for our communion when Ed takes a bottle of wine, drinks it down and passes it around. We give thanks to him and the rest of the bandmates and taste that sweet taste of the sweat pouring off of our face.
 |
| (Eddie Vedder with a bottle of wine & Jeff Ament in background in Pittsburgh, Pa, 10-11-13, Photo By: Tori Atkinson) |
I've met countless people with so many different backgrounds who love Pearl Jam and hearing how they first heard of them is always a memorable experience.
I'll tell you a little about my Pearl Jam upbringing. It started at such a young age, I was just a few years old when I first heard the Ten album. My mom loved Pearl Jam and her best friend from college, Julie, loved them too. Julie had a daughter my age and the four of us grew up to be best friends and avid Pearl Jam fans.
Our moms are both Ten Club members and have been since it originated. We've seen Pearl Jam at least 20 times combined and each time has been even more special. We even planned a Florida vacation around a Pearl Jam concert.
Finally, October 11, 2013 my mom and I won general admission tickets through the Ten Club. We got to The Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh for their tour opener around noon and were about 25th in line to get in the building. Doors opened at 6 and we rushed to the stage. SECOND ROW. Finally, my mom gets to see her favorite band just feet away.
 |
| (My beautiful mother, Lisa Atkinson, and I with our Pearl Jam tickets 10-11-13) |
That feeling is something that I can hardly describe. Your heart beats so fast, you can't stop smiling, the anticipation is almost too much to handle. The band you've loved, know every word to every song they've ever written, will soon be a few feet in front of you playing live. Seeing you as clear as you can see them.
After an hour of stage preparation, and about 4,000 heart palpitations, they finally come on stage. Eddie leads the crew then Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Boom Gaspar and finally Matt Cameron take their places on stage.
It doesn't hit me yet. They play 2 songs off their new album. I'm still in awe. I look over at my mom. She's high. And I mean higher than any drug can get you. She's high on music. High on life. She's truly happy.
Then, we hear the sounds of the familiar and beautiful "Nothingman." I can't even help it. Tears form in my eyes and they stream. And they stream hard. And I'm singing at the top of my lungs and I'm crying and I have my arms in the air. And I look around me. And everyone else is doing the same thing. Happiness, real deep emotions let out through their favorite music.
It's such a beautiful experience to be there with your family. I just met some of these people waiting in line earlier that day and I felt a connection to them. We were safe. This isn't the type of concert where someone will push their way to the front. Or mosh into you without an apology. We deserved these spots and our friends behind us helped preserve our spots.
What's truly magical was being there with my mother. My best friend. My guiding light for the music I love today. People have said, "Your mom is a total bad ass." And man, they're so right.
They played a few songs off their new album but rocked the house all night with hits and old classics and even some rarities. You look around though and you see everyone knows every word to every song. It isn't rehearsed. It's appreciated. It's years of anxiously awaiting their new music. Being addicted to that album. And still appreciating their old stuff. And never forgetting the album that got them to where they are today.
Coolest moment for the Pittsburghers in the crowd (and believe it or not most people traveled from other states to see Pearl Jam on the opening night of their tour) was when Jason Grilli of the Pittsburgh Pirates got on stage and rocked out with the band. Not sure if anyone caught it but Eddie sang "Whipping" to Jason. The first few lyrics are "Don't need a helmet got a hard, hard head." Jason gave Eddie a Pirates helmet and in return Eddie gave him the guitar off his back! Jason didn't leave the stage before giving a really heartwarming speech to the crowd saying we're the best city with the best fans and next year is our year. (Minus some choice expletives.)
 |
| (Eddie sporting a Roberto Clemente Pirates helmet, Pittsburgh, Pa 10-11-13 photo by: Tori Atkinson) |
They had 2 encores and a total of 31 songs that night. In Eddie Vedder time that was 2 bottles of wine and a Corona. The band was never short of showing their appreciation for their fans. Everyone stood the entire 3 hour show. The last encore all of the house lights were turned on and it was such a surreal feeling to see a sold out beautiful hockey arena full of loving fans waving their arms in sync to their music. Even the seats behind the stage were full and Eddie was sure to not ignore them. He played a few songs singing to the back of the stadium.
 |
| (Standing ovation at the sold out tour opener in Pittsburgh, Pa 10-11-13, photo by: Tori Atkinson) |
I realized being a Pearl Jam fan is actually a religion to us. It fills our souls. I can believe in them and I can see them. Their songs get me through some of the most difficult things in my life. I can relate to their ideas and feel their music deep in my bones. Eddie once said at a concert in Philadelphia, his only commandment would be "Thou shall not be an asshole." Pearl Jam is our church and we'll sing to the choir "Hallelujah, hallelujah!"
Monday, October 14, 2013
The Ten Band: A Pearl Jam Tribute Band
I couldn't find a more perfect way to pregame the kickoff of the Pearl Jam American tour in Pittsburgh than seeing a special, more intimate performance the night before in "Low Light."
Close your eyes, grab a drink and dance along to the sweet sounds of Pearl Jam. But open your eyes, look in front of you and realize you are watching The Ten Band, their tribute band.
Frontman, Nick, not only sounds, grunts and mumbles like Eddie Vedder but he does the little side-step shuffle that Eddie is famous for. Nick has all of Ed's moves down to a science. You can't find a "Better Man."
Ray Jay on drums kicks the band into gear. It's "Hard to Imagine" they could find a drummer that can sound just as good as Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam.
Then we have Todd blastin' the bass. How someone can do the riffs that Jeff Ament can produce is wild to me. "Thumbing My Way" is his way of life on the bass guitar.
Curly haired Billy is on the guitar and back up vocals. Stone Gossard would be "Alive" with emotion if he saw how much hard work and dedication Billy does to sound and play just like him.
Finally we have Brian on lead guitar. Mike McCready's twin "In Hiding." This dude can rock out just like his idol.
To encompass each member's talent and come together as a band is electrifying. Seeing these guys live gives the crowd such energy you honestly feel like you're front row at an actual Pearl Jam concert.
I saw them Thursday October 10th at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh the night before the Pearl Jam concert. This was about my 5th time seeing them and it gets better every time.
I seriously get chills when I see my favorite bands live, tears even stream sometimes. Even seeing a cover band did this to me. They are that good.
Very energizing group of guys that can really work the crowd.
You can visit their website or friend them on Facebook. If you weren't one of the "lucky ones" that got to see Pearl Jam live, I'd check these guys out. Just as breathtaking.
Close your eyes, grab a drink and dance along to the sweet sounds of Pearl Jam. But open your eyes, look in front of you and realize you are watching The Ten Band, their tribute band.
Frontman, Nick, not only sounds, grunts and mumbles like Eddie Vedder but he does the little side-step shuffle that Eddie is famous for. Nick has all of Ed's moves down to a science. You can't find a "Better Man."
Ray Jay on drums kicks the band into gear. It's "Hard to Imagine" they could find a drummer that can sound just as good as Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam.
Then we have Todd blastin' the bass. How someone can do the riffs that Jeff Ament can produce is wild to me. "Thumbing My Way" is his way of life on the bass guitar.
Curly haired Billy is on the guitar and back up vocals. Stone Gossard would be "Alive" with emotion if he saw how much hard work and dedication Billy does to sound and play just like him.
Finally we have Brian on lead guitar. Mike McCready's twin "In Hiding." This dude can rock out just like his idol.
To encompass each member's talent and come together as a band is electrifying. Seeing these guys live gives the crowd such energy you honestly feel like you're front row at an actual Pearl Jam concert.
I saw them Thursday October 10th at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh the night before the Pearl Jam concert. This was about my 5th time seeing them and it gets better every time.
I seriously get chills when I see my favorite bands live, tears even stream sometimes. Even seeing a cover band did this to me. They are that good.
Very energizing group of guys that can really work the crowd.
You can visit their website or friend them on Facebook. If you weren't one of the "lucky ones" that got to see Pearl Jam live, I'd check these guys out. Just as breathtaking.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Jammin' Jewelry
Hey guys,
Just wanted to share a piece of me with you. I will be starting my Jammin' Jewelry line soon and want to show what some of the pieces will look like.
I own and have made a few of these pieces and other ones I've seen and want to create my own version.
Here are a few examples of the jewelry I will be making..
First, my beloved Fender guitar pic earrings:
Just wanted to share a piece of me with you. I will be starting my Jammin' Jewelry line soon and want to show what some of the pieces will look like.
I own and have made a few of these pieces and other ones I've seen and want to create my own version.
Here are a few examples of the jewelry I will be making..
First, my beloved Fender guitar pic earrings:
The guitar string bracelet:
Details posted in the future when they go on sale.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Music is Magical
For my first blog, I want to tell you about my first love. It filled me with emotions I've never felt before. It's who I ran to when I was feeling depressed. It's the tool I used to get out my stress. It's the one thing I know won't ever leave me. Music. Hard rocking, bone chilling music.
I was born and raised listening to what I consider great music. Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, The Who and many more are the background tracks to my childhood. One of my favorite memories is of my mother driving to college with me in the backseat about to go to daycare. Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" playing on the radio and my mom turning down the volume each time they sang "Now you're messing with a son of a bitch." Letting me discover music but still with a touch of censorship!
Now do you remember those pamphlets sent in the mail in the 90's where you could pick a bundle of CD's for a decent price? That's where I discovered my favorite band (and they still are to this day, keep reading my blogs and you may get sick of hearing about them). Anyway, As I was sitting in my grandfather's lap he scanned the magazine and picked a few CD's for himself, like Enya and Kenny G, and let me choose a few for myself. I randomly stumbled on an Incubus CD. My life was forever changed.
After a few of my first live concerts, I realized music is something that will forever be in my life. Stay tuned to read my album reviews, opinions on different artists and concert reviews.
This weekend I will be attending the Pearl Jam tour opener in Pittsburgh (hopefully from the first row!) and will be uploading pictures with my next blog.
Tori on Tour: First stop- Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh with special guest The Ten Band: A Pearl Jam Tribute Band.
I was born and raised listening to what I consider great music. Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, The Who and many more are the background tracks to my childhood. One of my favorite memories is of my mother driving to college with me in the backseat about to go to daycare. Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" playing on the radio and my mom turning down the volume each time they sang "Now you're messing with a son of a bitch." Letting me discover music but still with a touch of censorship!
Now do you remember those pamphlets sent in the mail in the 90's where you could pick a bundle of CD's for a decent price? That's where I discovered my favorite band (and they still are to this day, keep reading my blogs and you may get sick of hearing about them). Anyway, As I was sitting in my grandfather's lap he scanned the magazine and picked a few CD's for himself, like Enya and Kenny G, and let me choose a few for myself. I randomly stumbled on an Incubus CD. My life was forever changed.
After a few of my first live concerts, I realized music is something that will forever be in my life. Stay tuned to read my album reviews, opinions on different artists and concert reviews.
This weekend I will be attending the Pearl Jam tour opener in Pittsburgh (hopefully from the first row!) and will be uploading pictures with my next blog.
Tori on Tour: First stop- Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh with special guest The Ten Band: A Pearl Jam Tribute Band.
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