3 Doors Down: Acoustic Songs From the Basement (February 18, 2014)

 

When I saw the concert announcement for this show, I was pretty much already sold.  I love acoustic sets and I'd seen 3 Doors Down two other times and knew they put on one hell of a rock show - so I was curious to see what they would do acoustically.

After procuring floor seats for myself and my husband, I was pumped and ready.  Listened to pretty much nothing but 3 Doors Down in the car and at home for like three weeks and really got in the mood.  I love the band, but sometimes with new music and the excitement of new bands I move away from some of my old loves - not because I stop liking them, but just because there are other things occupying my attention.  I fell back into love with so much of the music that I loved in the early 2000's and was totally ready to hear this new spin.

Boy, oh, boy, did they not disappoint.  It was like jam session of all of my favorite 3 Doors Down songs, stripped down.  There were no crazy lights and huge stacks of speakers...as there had been when I'd seen them with Breaking Benjamin and Staind or with Papa Roach at our local rock festival a few years later.  There were 5 guys, 4 couches, a couple of random lamps (even a leg lamp!), and a single lightbulb hanging above the center of the stage.  Of course there were stage lights so we could actually see them, and for sound projection, the instruments were, in fact, plugged in - however the stripped set and simple accompaniment worked really well.

Brad's voice was spot on and the vocals seemed all the more powerful set against the simple instrumentation.  Despite saying that he had a cold and apologizing in case his voice broke at all during the show, I didn't notice any issues in that regard.

The set included both a Garth Brooks cover (The Dance) and a Metallica cover (Nothing Else Matters) which really showcased the range that this group can manage.  It also included all the big hits from the boys themselves, including Kryptonite, Loser, When I'm Gone, Away From the Sun, among several others - both classic and newer.

The stage setup was cool - and although we were in the shrunk down event center at Turning Stone casino (they were only using floor seats and the stadium seats along the back wall of the room - the others were blocked and the stage moved closer) the venue felt intimate.  The couches looked comfy and you could have even purchased seats, right up there on the stage, if you were willing to spend about $400 a piece.  A few people did and it was fun to watch one of the guys taking photos with his phone from the stage.  At the very end of the night - after the encore - Brad reached up as he was walking last off the stage and turned out the single hanging lightbulb designed to make this set look even more like a basement jam session.  It was a nice touch indeed and made me smile.  Definitely a fantastic night.

Turning Stone has also incorporated, for some of their shows, giveaways and prizes as well.  On the way in, we were each given a raffle ticket and told to hang on to it.  After the show was over there were signs set up in the halls saying "Drawing this way" with arrows pointing us in the direction of the main lobby where a DJ was set up.  There, you dropped half of your ticket into a clear acrylic bingo ball style cage and just hung out.  Once most of the crowd had gathered, they drew numbers to win one of 3 signed posters from the band, or the grand prize - a signed acoustic guitar.  Neither my husband or I won anything, but it was definitely a cool - if somewhat unorganized (people milling about and we were waiting for everyone to get down there from the show) little perk.  Nice touch by the casino - even if I really think it's probably just a ploy to get concert-goers to stick around longer and possibly wander into the gaming rooms and spend some money.  

While this was the last stop for this leg of the tour, 3 Doors Down is heading back out to do more acoustic style shows this spring and summer.  If you get the chance, I'd put this on my "check it out" list.

Switchfoot...but not Blue October... (January 24, 2014)

When you are performing a concert in Upstate NY (Rochester to be exact) and you live in Texas, and the show is scheduled for January 24, you would expect it to be the weather in Rochester that causes issues with travel...but unfortunately, this time around, mother nature played a cruel joke.  It was cold as shit in Rochester, but no snow was in sight.  The same couldn't be said for Texas where snow was falling and grounding flights all day.  For this show, the members of Blue October were unable to get flights out of Texas, leaving the card one band short of the original lineup.

I was sad to miss Blue October.  Their new album, Sway, is fantastic and I was excited to see them again after a few years...the last time I'd seen them was back in 2006 a festival put on by our local rock station.  Unfortunately, that didn't pan out this time.  Justin was kind enough to post a video on the band's Facebook page apologizing to the fans for not making it out and expressing their lament over not being able to play.  He also mentioned a return to Upstate NY this spring - so I'll be looking forward to that.

That being said, Switchfoot was able to make it - as well as the opening bands.

We were running a bit late, so we missed the beginning of this show, but we were there in time to see Men Men perform.  I've never heard of this band, but there seemed to be a number of fans in attendance.  It's often harder for me to get into a performance if I don't know any of the band's music and this set was no different.  Although I'm sure there is talent, the sound arrangement was terrible - vocals were barely audible and the drums drowned out almost the entire band.  Overall I was not that impressed with their set and it didn't make me want to go find out more about them, as has happened with bands I've seen as openers in the past.

Switchfoot, on the other hand, sounded incredible.   I'm not sure if it was just a more experienced sound tech or a better sound overall but the many issues from Men Men's set didn't carry over to Switchfoot's.  They sounded, as they have both other times that I've seen them, like a polished, yet gritty rock band - one of my favorite sounds.  They played for just over an hour, closing out the mini-festival like feel of this show.  The venue, an old armory, had great acoustics and wood floors that made you feel the bass.

Before Switchfoot hit the stage, we managed to move ourselves closer in the general admission crowd to within the first 10 or so rows of people from the stage - right in the center.  This was both a wonderful and awful decision at the same time.  We had a great view and were really feeling into the show, but immediately to our right after about 3 songs, a mosh pit formed and I was often (as I was in the front of our group) fending off rogue moshers.  Now, fine, you want to get into it and have a good time...I get it.  However, not everyone at a Switchfoot concert is there for that and I feel like there should be some level of, I don't know if respect is the right word...but it'll do for now, for the other concert-goers around you.  Having to literally throw elbows to keep 200+ pound men from knocking my friends and I to the floor certainly distracted a bit from enjoying the show.

Mosh pits were not the only danger in this instance, either.  Crowd surfing was also popular at this show - and one surfer early on, before there was much security between the barricade and the stage - landed flat on his back on the floor after dropping from over people's heads.  The band brought him up on stage to make sure he was alright and also called for more security themselves to come fill the space, but it was definitely another distraction.

That all being said - their set sounded fantastic, the energy was high and they put on a great show.  They played a lot of the hits - I Dare You To Move, Meant to Live, Dark Horses...among many others...as well as a good selection from their new album.

I love this group and have seen them multiple times (this was my third...) and they sound better and better every time.  Can't wait for the next one!

Up next:  3 Doors Down: Acoustic Songs from the Basement

Concert #1 of 2014.....Hanson!! (December 31, 2013-January 1, 2014)

Yes.  You read that correctly.  And my inner 13 year old is screaming and hopping up and down that this is how I spent my New Year's Eve, 2013.

Now, you're right - New Year's Eve is 2013...and I said that it was the first concert of 2014.  For that, you have to blame the band, and my friend, Kate.  Kate pointed out to me that because they accidentally played through midnight, it has to count as both the final concert I attended in 2013 (number 15...), and also the first concert of 2014...so there you have it.

When I heard that Hanson was going to be playing a concert in my town, on New Year's Eve no less, I couldn't believe my ears.  I was immediately excited....but then I realized that I had to find friends who would be willing to go with me.

After convincing my husband to come along, as well as finding that 2 other friends who, I was shocked to find out, really wanted to go, a plan was set.  We were going to spend a lovely New Year's Eve night, reliving our teen years, and just having a great time.

But of course, there has to be a problem.   That problem, in this case, came in the form of geography.  I live in Syracuse, NY - and this was to be an outdoor concert.  In past years we've had all various forms of weather on New Year's Eve.  This year, was sure to be one for the books, however.  The weather forecast was somewhere around the 15 degree mark...with a windchill of about 5.  Yes, 5.  But we were going to brave the cold anyway...we're Syracusans afterall - a little cold can't hurt us.

We packed up the hand warmers...and foot warmers...and coats, and scarves, and long underwear and prepared for a cold, but fun, night.

After a great set by local openers, Rock Bottom Allstars, Hanson took the stage around 10:30pm despite the cold.  Isaac was going through nearly 3 guitar tunings a song because of the temperatures which were causing the instrument to have difficulty remaining tuned.  The crew, however, made the transitions seamless for him and the crowd was treated to uninterrupted music.  Taylor was a master at keeping the crowd going - which was also keeping us warmer - with lots of fast paced songs.  Zac, because of the physicality required by drumming, actually took off his coat and was down to long underwear and a long sleeve tee.  Taylor joked that we all got to see Zac in his underwear as he pointed out the long underwear.

The show was fantastic.  In fingerless gloves, coats, and scarves, the boys were all still able to put on a very entertaining show,  When Taylor asked us all to jump along to a song toward the end, however, I didn't trust the feeling in my feet enough to actually jump.  It was definitely going to take a while to warm up after the show.  At about quarter til midnight, they finished up, and then returned for an encore of a couple of songs.  They, and we, were so into it that we missed midnight.  At about 12:01 the local DJ's who were emcee-ing the concert came out to do a "countdown" which arbitrarily started at 15....but in the end it was an amazing night with my husband and my good friends.  Oh, and Hanson.  Hanson was there too - and they were AWESOME!

Didn't hurt that we were super close too:

Next for 2014:  Switchfoot and Blue October in a couple of weeks :)

Welcome to CJA!!

I'm 28.  I've been to 71 concerts....15 of them last year alone.  I'm a live music junkie and I want to share my love with all of you.  My plan is to post about all the concerts I attend from now on and also to go back into the 'archives' so to speak and share some of my favorite concert experiences of the past with you as well.  As often as I can I'll throw some pictures up as well for your viewing pleasure.  Hell...if I shot any video, I'll throw that in too!  I hope you like all kinds of music, because this is sure to be an eclectic ride!