My First Concert?: Avril Lavigne

My first concert is somewhat up for debate. In my current list of 90 concerts, I include a festival called 'Doheny Days.' 'Doheny Days' is a festival put on inside Doheny State Beach. If you're unfamiliar with Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, CA you shouldn't be. You might be familiar with the classic Beach Boys' song "Surfin' USA" you may recognize the lyrics   

"And down Doheny Way...
...Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A."

The band Everclear headlined.
Everclear is actually a band I got the opportunity to see perform a couple more times, years later. I saw them at a Jack FM concert and on the first Summerland tour that they now do annually. It's a fun 90s nostalgia tour. They were touring with Gin Blossoms, Lit, and Sugar Ray when I went.
Everclear "I Will Buy You A New Life"
I was there, so I'm counting it...

However, I'll have you know that the first concert I can actually remember is

Avril Lavigne! I was a 6th grade kid diving head first into music. This was the first concert I anxiously awaited. My first ticket stub to ever arrive in the mail. (Sadly a ticket stub that was lost in a tragic iron on ironing board accident. Where I thought I had the brilliant idea to iron my wrinkled ticket. Which resulted in a blacked out ticket.) One of 3 concerts I have no stub for. Doheny Days, Avril Lavigne and David Bowie.

Did I just say David Bowie???!!!
I did...
but we can get to that in another post.

I must have told just about everyone and their grandma the fact that I was going to see Avril Lavigne. I was going to see Avril Lavigne! The thought really resonated and I was stoked. It's when I first was acquainted with all the ritual of a concert.
May 1st 2003 (thanks Wikipedia for that date)
I went to see Avril Lavigne with my cousin Anna and a girl named Taylor who was Anna's neighbor that she babysat.  The openers were G.O.B. and Simple Plan. Honestly I barely remember the openers because I was a hardcore Avril Lavigne fanboy super #1 and my only business being there was to see her.

I was just a 12 year old, not quite that influenced by what my friends thought yet. Unfortunately, I had to let go of Avril Lavigne as I got older because I wanted to be "cool" and Avril Lavigne was not something that I was allowed to like if I wanted to be cool.

Since the days of Jr. High rejection and worrying about what people think, I have grown to love and appreciate her music again. I don't care what people think anymore. If it sounds good to me I'm listening to it! And so can you!
And at the time I saw her I really really liked what I heard. Even now I feel slightly embarrassed to face that she was an inspiration and even a celebrity crush. I remember at 12 I was as tall as her; just 5 feet tall and during the performance of her show she ended up on some guys shoulders... 5 foot tall 12 year old me was so jealous. You know... because I had so much going for me with my sprayed red hair and ugly green button down shirt. I think I even painted just my pinky nail black. To be fair this was a fashion statement my homie Ozzy Osbourne makes. He probably pulls it off better than me. I'm a big Ozzy Osbourne fan, and was back then as well. I kept a binder dedicated to just pictures of Ozzy. I was also proud of my Ozzy shirt in 6th grade. I was "that kid," the best kind of kid! I've even shaken his hand... and no, not just once... but again something for another post. I've already said too much.


 
Yeah, I may of not had that much going for me, but she's married Chad Kroeger of Nickleback now (eww). Her loss. Besides, Alex A.K.A. Partner In Crime A.K.A. Biscuit is much prettier than Avril Lavigne. Who by the way coincidentally happened to be at that concert as well. We were both floating in the pit of an Avril Lavigne concert almost a decade before we met each other. A Mission Viejo boy and a Huntington Beach girl together at a Long Beach show. How wild is that? It's no wonder she became my concert buddy!!! 

Avril Lavigne pretty much played her entire first album with a sprinkle of cover songs to kill time. It was only her first tour. So all she had was her debut album 'Let Go'. Beyond her first album I continue to like some of the music that comes out of her. I'd like the opportunity to check out one of her concerts again. It would be super nostalgia.

Epicenter Festival 2015

Who played?: Hopsin(missed), Suicidal Tendencies (walked in on last song), P.O.D, Limp Bizkit, KoЯn. Was it epic?: Yes!



Another concert bites the dust. How did Alex know what to get me concert tickets for Christmas?? hmm... I wonder....After two and a half-ish months of waiting, I finally found myself at the Epicenter Festival. Just a tad bit on the late side, though. Me and Alex rolled in fashionably late (nearly two hours). This wasn't much of a problem because we were enjoying each other's company before the show. We were having fun loli-gagging. I do regret not seeing Suicidal Tendencies. Well I saw em' but we got in with about 5 minutes of their set left. After getting ourselves parked and through a few tedious security steps, then FINALLY into the under belly of the fabulous Forum. It was a nice feeling feeding into the floor of the forum, we were close, VERY close. The  perfect place to be. I've almost gotten too used to nose bleed seats, it was so refreshing to be on the floor. I can't say too much for Suicidal Tendencies. I will need to try and make an effort to see them the next time I get the opportunity. I've always thought Suicidal Tendencies was a cool band and they sure do have a large following. I feel like when you're at any sort of hard rock show you'll be sure to see plenty of Suicidal Tendencies shirts. Before them there was Hopsin that I missed as well. Personally, I had never heard of him, but just the other day I did a little search on Youtube and I can really get down with this guy. He's a Rap artist. Check THIS and THIS out. It's pretty dope.

Surveying the audience I could feel the decade that these bands dominated. I was just a child in the 90's so most everyone had a number of years on me but the great thing about any concert is that we are all their to enjoy the same thing; age doesn't matter, race doesn't matter, all that matters is the music. Everyone gets to hangout with their favorite band.

Moving onto the P.O.D. set; the first band that I was able to catch. They sounded really good live. The songs that I know by them were distinctly recognizable. They did not sound sloppy. I just wish I was more into P.O.D. but it was fun to hear songs like Boom, Youth Of The Nation, and Alive.

House of Pain followed P.O.D.; what a weird vibe that performance had. I say this because the audience seemed misplaced with the band. House of Pain holds a place in music history and putting them in that lineup makes sense on paper but in fact it just felt like people were too unfamiliar with their body of work aside from the massive hit Jump Around. Because after all they came to get down, so jump around , jump around. Which was actually a really fun song live. The audience definitely perked up during that song and there was chatty murmurs when Everlast performed his solo 90s mega hit What It's Like. The performance of that song was really disappointing to me though. He seemed to put very little effort into performing it. Although I feel like we took the wind out of their sails with the lack of enthusiasm for the majority of the performance. 


Now moving into last two performances of the night. These two bands were the ones really getting me stoked for months to see. Limp Bizkit was a phenomenal show. They had so much energy and an audience that was just eating it up. Fred Durst really took command of the stage. He left no stone un-turned with the audience making sure everyone was feeling involved with the show. Fred Durst not only was all over the stage but he was also very chatty,.There was a lot of dialogue and it felt really personal. They opened up the show with Thieves which is commonly mistaken as their own song but it does exist originally as a Ministry song. Here is a funny video of Jon Davis actually getting upset about the cover,because people commonly think it's a Limp Bizkit original. Third song in for Limp Bizkit was My Generation. I believe by this time a big LIMP BIZKIT light up sign lowered into the backdrop. It was very sweet! Then there's the crazy Wes Borland (guitarist) looking crazy cool,and taking as much command of the stage as Durst. Limp Bizkit reminded the audience how much they rock as they dished out hit after hit. "This song was never mine, it was always yours" said Durst as they led into My Way. This could have ended my night just fine. I would have honestly been happy. But then they rip up Killing In The Name a Rage Against The Machine hit, it was a nice tip of the hat to a band that paved the way for bands like Limp Bizkit and KoЯn. Rollin', Break Stuff. It got heavier and crazier, mosh pit to my left, mosh pit to my right. There was blood.  

It was hard getting this far as excited as I was to see KoЯn; I'm very excited to write about the show. It was just their second show into their 20th anniversary tour. I feel so fortunate to have seen KoЯn perform their self titled debut album in full; the album that started it all. It is not only huge for me to finally see KoЯn but I'm much more a fan of the raw emotions that were pouring out of their early works.

When I mention raw emotion I want to put that into perspective. That night I was able to bare witness to KoЯn performing the song "Daddy," which is just the 3rd time they have performed it to date. It's been a long time since they've played a lot of classic songs that night but "Daddy" stands out as something a bit more significant. Jonathan Davis of KoЯn has been unable to perform it live because it is too emotionally taxing for him. The song is about a lengthy period where Davis had been continuously molested by his neighbor. Despite going to his parents and despite explaining to them what was happening, they did not believe him. So even after going to his parents he continued to be sexually molested. In the recorded track, Davis breaks down and cries. It's some real stuff which is what I love about KoЯn. It's not just young adult angst, it's a music filled with real and honest pain.

I must say, thank goodness Head was back on stage. Believe me, I love all the guys: Munky, Fieldy, Head, and Jon. Too bad David Silveria hasn't managed to walk back into KoЯn. Whatever..... I've heard that it's his own doing but it truly wouldn't have been the same if Head wasn't there. If you didn't already know, Head is one of the two lead guitarists. He left, found Jesus, cleaned up his act  and spent time raising his daughter; very legit.Blind, Ball Tongue, Faget, Shoots and Ladders. These are just some of the songs that make this album mean so much to me. KoЯn was a band that I didn't get into at first. Now, KoЯn must reside somewhere in my top 10 favorite bands. I watched their DVD 'Deuce', which is a fun documentary DVD full of concert footage, and just handheld self shot footage of the band. Once you get to know the band, and see where the music is coming from, it become something else entirely. KoЯn grew on me and easily became one of the most important bands of my life. 

If there is anything, ANYTHING at all that I would say that was too bad about KoЯn's performance is that it was rushed. Understandably, they were part of a festival lineup. I'm pretty sure they ripped through the album quicker than they would at other shows and I know we got 2 less encore songs than the performance before us. I understand though, it's nothing they did and thank god I got to hear Falling Away From Me and Freak On A Leash. But I could have gone for SO MUCH MORE. :-)


On a very cute note, Munky's kiddo rocked out stage left all night with dad.




A sore neck, a sore throat, and happy memories. Yep... that's a concert well done! Except beer spilled on me and cell phones in my field of view... I could have definitely done without that...

10 to 100

Tomorrow night marks the first concert since I started my blog. This concert also brings me just 10 concerts away from 100. It's a big one! As mentioned in my 89 concerts and counting post. I will be seeing KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies, P.O.D. and a few others (See Right) at the Epicenter Festival. This concert will bring me back to the recently renovated 'fabulous' Forum in Inglewood, CA. The first show I saw at the Forum actually re-opened the venue; The Eagles: History of The Eagles. What a fantastic performance that was! Truly hope I get to see the Eagles live at least a few more times.

On a non music related note: I actually saw Louis CK at The Forum in January with opener Todd Glass. A common saying is "it's who you know." Turns out that evening I really knew the right person because I went from nose bleeds to sitting on the floor behind the lighting board. That spot also garnered free soda. It was epic and seeing Louis CK was great. However, I think I'll stick to clubs for my future comedy endeavors. It's great that Louis CK can fill half-ish of an arena but it wasn't that fun to see him at one.

Since my last post I have purchased tickets for Kid Rock, with opener Foreigner. It's really sad because in no reality should Foreigner open for Kid Rock, But the sad fact is that Lou Gramm the iconic vocalist for Foreigner is no longer with the band. The guitarist for Foreigner, Mick Jones is the lead now. It's just not the same. I felt the same way when I saw Journey (walked out two songs in, was really only there for Steve Miller Band anyways. sooo yeah...) For me, the front man is everything, and rarely does replacing the lead singer work. Another great example is for the Sublime with Rome concert. Again, you have such an iconic band that was so known for their lead singer. Somehow AC/DC got away with it and there's a couple other bands out there that seemed to have somewhat gotten away with it.

 

I also got myself some Shania Twain tickets. It's been 11 years since she's been out on the road. And according to her it will be her last.
Watch the announcement she made on Good Morning America (youtube link)
As I mentioned in my last post County Concerts I managed to see Shania Twain In Vegas just this last year.

So tomorrow night will bring me back to Sketch Town U.S.A. A.K.A. Inglewood.
!!!!Look forward to next Friday's post, where I can dive into my first full concert review that's fresh in my mind!!!!
Hopefully I can just make it out of the pit in one piece. My girlfriend, Alex, will be joining me and she is very concerned for her life. To be honest, I'm not sure how well I can hold up in a KoЯn pit but if I break anything it will make for a great story! aha

The following concerts are paid and accounted for:
Epicenter Festival tomorrow night!
Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney in July
Kid Rock and Foreigner in August
Shania Twain In August
AC/DC in September

Country Concerts

As it was mentioned in my first post, '89 Concerts and Counting,' my girlfriend/partner in crime, Alex, is very much in love with country music. This was often a source of conflict when we first starting going out. I was born and raised on Rock N' Roll, and Heavy Metal; with just a sprinkle of 1980s and early 90s music. country music was the enemy growing up to the point where I truly found country music as something I just could not stand. country music wasn't the only genre I was raised to be closed off to, but it was definitely high on the list. 

It's been 4 years that Alex and I have been together, we just celebrated our 4th anniversary of being together March 4th. To this day I have hang-ups when it comes to country music. I must admit that I have actually grown to appreciate country music for what it is. I guess that's what happens when a genre is suddenly everywhere you go. It's really just because I love my girlfriend, she tries to give my music a chance, and I try to give her music a chance. I feel like it's made me wiser about music though. I now know more about a genre that I completely shunned most my life. I could hardly name a handful of County artists, and could recognize very few songs. Now I actually like a couple country artist, and can even sing along to a number of songs.

When it comes to a country concert vs. a Rock or Metal concert there are a variety of similarities. There are however key differences. Most Rock concerts I attend are for bands that were active back in the day, so that tends to bring an older audience to the concerts. This is a huge distinction I notice about country concerts; the majority of the audience is younger. There also tends to be a big gender shift. country concerts are very female heavy whereas Rock concerts tend to be heavier in males. I think for these reasons you'll find a very energetic vibe at country concerts, the tailgates are down and the parking lot is always vibrant and full of life. That's not to say Rock concerts aren't full of energy. But Rock concerts are full of career minded folks who are a little more grown up and probably don't have the next day off (unless it's a weekend). Then of course there's the cowboy hats and boots; however there is the same amount of denim, aha...

So I've been to a number of these lifted truck, American flag, corn bread and biscuit shows that my neck is in fact a little more red, and my beer belly a little bigger. I  have seen some country music legends as Jimmy Buffet, Tim McGraw (whom I've seen twice), Lonestar, Shania Twain, Dwight Yoakam, Blake Shelton. Meanwhile I've been privileged to have see contemporary country superstars such as Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean (who I've seen twice), Florida Georgia Line,  Cassadee Pope, Kenny Chesney, Tyler Farr, Jerrod Nieman, Keith Urban, Billy Currington, Love and Theft, Kara Kramer, Laura Bell Bundy, Sheryl Crow. and most recently Eric Church. That's what I've seen so far, but the list continues to grow.

I currently have tickets to see Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney perform live. and I hope to catch Shania Twain during her final world tour that was just recently announced, I know it can't possibly be as good as her Vegas show which was incredible and full of Vegas magic, but I adore a number of her songs and look forward to seeing her again.