The Summer of Concerts

I feel like I went to almost all of the big concerts that came near us this summer. I missed Pink, and I'm sad about that because she's great live, but concerts are expensive and you just can't do them all. I still have the Eagles to see in November, and Aerosmith but that's pushed back to 2024 and honestly, I don't hate that. I am kind of concert'ed out.  

In....I don't even know, maybe August, I say The Lumineers with Olivia and her friends. I hadn't ever seen them live and I know a few of their songs, so I was pretty sure I'd have a good time. Can we talk about the ridiculous road construction in Somerset, Wisconsin? It's terrible. They have little to no detours so you're just left to figure it out yourself. I also remembered I hate festival parking. I hadn't been to Somerset in YEARS and I forgot you park in a field. During the day time it isn't a big deal because you can see where you are. At night though, you can't find your car and you realize all of your land marker clues are useless because it looks the same no matter where you are in the field. The great news is my car has distinctive lights and a horn that doesn't sound like everyone elses, otherwise we would have had to wait until the majority of cars left. 

I also forgot how much have 300+ cars trying to get out of one exit when at least half are drunk or at least partially impaired sucks. It is an absolute free for all and you're forced to play chicken with everyone around you. You also have to have stellar peripheral vision because at least one Subaru barreling through the crowd will narrowly miss hitting you. 

Despite parking and driving shenanigans, it was a really good concert. It was perfect weather, a totally clear night, and quite possibly, the most perfect night to have an outdoor concert. 

I also discovered I absolutely love the Lumineers and didn't even know it. They sang all of the things I knew, Olivia and her friends had an absolutely great time. 

Thank god the drive home was much less eventful once I got out of the damn parking lot. It was a late night and it took me a few days to recover. I'm not in my 20s anymore. Sadly. 

In September, Matt and I went to the Twin Cities to see Old Dominion. These tickets were super cheap, for great seats, so I figured a date night was in order. 

Our old asses ended up leaving early because its a two and half hour drive home. It was fine, we still got a bunch of hours to hang out without kids. Shout out to Cass for holding down the fort when we were gone. 

Oh! Let me just say I left the concert absolutely loving "Priscilla like Presley, Block like Party" because she was such a fun time. She has a great live voice and her stage personna was so much fun. 

The last of the summer concerts was 50 Cent, which I was a reluctant attendee. I didn't plan on going to this but a last minute in who was going, but it worked out just fine. Busta Rhymes was the opener and he talked far too much and seemingly did cocaine while on stage. Not even slick about it, and then starts talking about his 15 year old son in attendance. Which, stellar parenting. *eye roll* 

I wasn't sure what to expect with 50 Cent but you know what? He was GREAT. I have all of his albums so I knew all the songs, he sounded great, he looked great, it was a super fun night. 

We left before the last song so we could get ahead of traffic and not get stuck in the parking ramp, and the drive home was pretty uneventful and just fine. I felt good and didn't feel like death the next day, so that was really nice. 

The last concert of the year is The Eagles, and that one is with Jackson, and I won't even tell you how much those tickets cost. Lets just say I would never, but Jackson had money, he loves this band, and it is their farewell tour and he had real FOMO. That concert isn't until November though, so I've got time to pregame it. 

Summer of Concerts: Sam Smith

When I think back to the summer of 2023, the whole year actually, I will remember how many concerts we went to this year. I wouldn't trade it for anything, spending time with my teens is always great because the time is fleeting. Soon my oldest will be in college and it'll be so quiet. And weird.  

One of the concerts we went to this year was Sam Smith, which was a last minute ticket for us. There were seats for $25 so who is turning that down? I mean, really. 

Back in the day I could drive to St. Paul and back (it's about two and a half hours one way) with no problem. Now I have to pre-game and by pre-game I mean I have to take a nap knowing I won't get to go to bed at my usual time of 10pm. I'm old now and I don't even feel bad about it. On this day I didn't get my nap because I had appointments so by the time I got to the concert I was exhausted. 

The opener was Jessie Reyez who I wasn't familiar with, but she was pretty good. 

I've already seen Sam Smith live before and I know that he is a tremendous performer. With that said, I'm not a huge fan of this weird Gloria phase he's in, but you know, do you, booboo. 

Jackson isn't a huge fan but he's a fan of live music, but Olivia really likes Sam Smith, so she was all about this. 

It ended up being a great concert. We left with like five songs left but truly, I was fading fast and having to drive another two and a half hours in the dark was daunting. We were missing the newer stuff so I was OK with that. 

We had a good time though and I'm so surprised it wasn't sold out. He's a great live performer and if you get the chance to see him, especially at $25 for a seat, absolutely take advantage of that! The people watching alone was completely worth it. I'm always a fan of drunk people hanging over balconies and you're just wondering if they are going to go over or puke. It's really a toss up, you know? Either way, it's bonus entertainment. 

Long live through the cruel summer.

We have been having a very busy summer, doing all kinds of things left and right. Our summer kick off was basically the Taylor Swift concert, which was a Christmas gift for them last December. Even if you aren't the biggest Swiftie, I think being able to say you went to the concert of the year is going to be something. 

I'll be honest, I can't remember who the opener was, (maybe Owenn?) but he wasn't great and we couldn't get into it. 

The second opener was Girl in Red and I am SUCH a fan so I was almost more excited about them and they did not disappoint. I wanted more and it was such a great set. 

Of course Taylor came on and everyone lost their minds. Even us 40something moms had a good time. 

It was so great hearing all of the crowd singing along and everyone was so happy. It's a pretty great, uplifting feeling to be surrounded by so many happy people, all enjoying the same thing, and being friendly. 

If I had to critique anything, I'd say there needed to be more monitors for those of us in the nosebleeds. I know there were the two smaller ones on the sides of the stage and one on the far end, but it basically only focused on Taylor, we didn't always get the full effect of the stage. Is it a big deal? No, but for a tour being touted for the visual piece, it would have been nice if everyone had the opportunity to see the same thing. 

Also, we went to Minneapolis night 2 and unpopular opinion, I think the song Dear John sucks so the fact we got that was a giant eyeroll for me. With the lecture of "be nice" when she knows good and damn well people are going to attack John Mayer with or without her blessing. It's like telling a kid to stop that even though as a parent, you're laughing at what they're doing. It's the same thing. I hoped so hard for a Bon Iver duet considering he lives not far from Minneapolis but it wasn't our luck. I didn't care for either surprise song, but I know I'm in the minority with that. 

The real fun came after we left, it began to rain, absolutely pouring, and after walking to the other side of the stadium to find our ride, I got knocked off the sidewalk and curb by a drunk person walking backwards. Do you think anyone, literally anyone other than my two teenagers, would say, "Shit- do you need help?!"??? No. No, and that was disappointing. Needless to say, I sprained my ankle badly and almost a month later, my ankle is still painful. Thankfully it didn't break, I thought for sure I fractured it some how that night though. It cut our weekend fun short though and we ended up just going home the next morning. 

Did you go see Taylor Swift? Is still on your agenda this year?

Bucket List: The Rolling Stones

I know I don't go to as many concerts anymore, but to be fair, Covid kind of killed the joy out of that for me. Well, that and just my inability to drive down and back in one night anymore, it's just getting harder and harder as I get older. Though, when I saw that The Rolling Stones were coming to Minneapolis, and the tickets were in my price range, I immediately purchased two nosebleed seats and told Matt we were going. He's not big into concerts, but he'll at least see a classic rock band, so that works out. 

I've been to two other concerts at US Bank Stadium, Taylor Swift and then the Beyonce/Jay-Z tour, so I was already kind of familiar with the place, and that helps so I don't feel totally disoriented. Though, being in crowds like that is really hard for me and vertigo kicks in and I feel like I must look like a totally drunk person walking around. 

I had gone to a crafting/painting thing in the morning with my friend Tammy, and then as soon as I got home we got on the road to the concert, which thank god, because we hit so much traffic on the way there, it was a total nightmare. And, as suspected, we were in absolute nosebleeds, but you can see I brought my glasses like the old lady I am. 

Opening band was Black Pumas, who were amazing live! Unfortunately, we ended up sitting in a sea of racists, who kept making really rude comments about members of the band being POC, so I ended up singing and clapping louder, just to really piss them off. I think they figured it out because they shut up for the rest of the set once they saw me giving them the bitch side-eye. 

While we couldn't really see the stage (they literally looked like ants down there), they thankfully had the best screens I've ever seen at a concert. I've been to a lot of concerts, but these were far and away the best ones ever. Which, they can clearly afford it, and thank god. 

Also, I know these guys are in their 70s, but they looked so much older. I mean, they've done a lot of living, so I guess that's to be expected. But if you ever want to feel like a complete lazy ass, go watch Mick Jagger run back and forth on a stage all night. I don't think I could have done it for one song let alone an entire show. 

Super sad that Charlie Watts wasn't there, and they played Tumblin' Dice for him, and there was a photo montage of him, and literally everyone around us was crying. Well, except Matt because you know, it's Matt. 

They didn't play all of my favorites, I would have liked to have heard Beast of Burden, and Wild Horses especially, but there were so many great ones so no matter which lineup we got it was bound to be an amazing show. 

Honky Tonk Woman always makes me think of my mom and her telling me about the last time she saw them, which was when I was just little. 

I would have really liked to have gone to this show with my mom, but she was able to get pit tickets for the show in Tampa with my uncle Danny, so I'm happy she got to do that. The Rolling Stones are her absolute favorite, and they remind me of weekends at home with my mom while she cleaned. 

The show wasn't super long, but just the right amount. We started walking out during the very last encore song just so I didn't get tripped up in the crowd of people back to the car and that really worked out for us, traffic wise. 

An amazing concert. A long ass day for me. We got home about 1:30 in the morning and Matt took that day off from work. I slept on/off all day, it took me the entire day just to recover from it but whoa boy- I am not a young gal anymore, that's for sure! 

The Mixtape Tour: also known as Mom's Night Out

I want to start this post and tell you I am not the adult who went to this concert to do something she didn't get to do in her childhood.

My very first concert was the August 11, 1991 stop in St. Petersburg, FL of The Magic Summer Tour. My uncle Ron won tickets off the radio station and gave them to my mom to take me. I was 9 years old and I remember it vividly.

I got this t-shirt and I wore it for pajamas for years. I had two New Kids on the Block tapes, I had a Joe doll (even though I wanted a Jordan doll, but apparently all the stores had left were stupid Joe dolls that Christmas) and I used him in lieu of a Ken doll for Barbie because my mom couldn't afford to get me a Ken doll. I had every NKOTB poster my mom could get out of old magazines at her work. After the concert my mom bought me a VHS tape of the show and I watched it countless times. Honestly, I wonder if she still has it somewhere in her basement.

So all that to say, I've been there and I've done that. I was 100% going because my friend Tammy wanted to go and she bought my ticket.

Tammy is one of my best friends and I'm willing to do a lot for my friends, but I'm also not going to say no to a night out, so there's that.

The concert was going to feature New Kids on the Block but also have appearances by Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Salt N Pepa, and Naughty by Nature. So overall, a pretty fun lineup. 

It turns out I knew a LOT of people going to this concert but I didn't run into anyone. I will say I was taken aback at how completely buck wild some people were in my section. Totally loved all of the 90s inspired outfits and hair because those all required creativity and resourcefulness. Totally could not believe the women around us who were trying to throw their panties. Granted, we were in the damn balcony on the far end of the arena, I have no idea how they thought their panties were going to magically fly across the place but I feel really bad for the people they landed on. 

Anyways. So NKOTB came out and they were OK. It's weird to realize these guys are all pushing 50 so when they come out with injury tape on their shoulder (looking at you, Donnie) or looking like they did not age well AT ALL (cough, DANNY, cough), or pretending they are 21 again with all of the crotch grabs and stage grinding (Jordan? Really?) it's almost embarrassing. I was embarrassed for them. It would be like seeing your dad on stage doing this. No. Just, no. I liked the songs, it was a fun bit of nostalgia but man. No. I'm old and I know it. 

I actually felt bad for Jonathon because you could tell he wasn't into this like they were. I mean he's gay so the 30something women in the crowd isn't in his wheelhouse so that maybe is part of it, but he looks like he's more equipped to live the quiet life. Oh god! And the fake crying on stage! Ugh. Jordan and Joe were both guilty of this and I don't know if it was supposed to be a fake cry or just a display of overly emotional moment? I don't know, but it was cheesy as hell. 

Tiffany came out, did her one hit. It was good, she looked good, she sounded good. She would come out later and sing another two, but honestly I have no idea what they were because I don't remember her ever having more than one hit. 

Debbie Gibson was next, and I'll be honest, I was never into her. I always thought she was lame, but my friend Tammy liked her so she thought that was fine. I will say that when she came out again she sounded really squeaky? Then she did a ballad with Joe from NKOTB and oy. Just oy. 

Salt N Pepa was next and I'm telling you what- they were the highlight for me. I've always enjoyed them and some of my favorite memories involve their tape, Very Necessary. We used to listen to it in our friend's garage and they had one pair of rollerblades that fit nobody and we would take turns and go back and forth in their garage on them. So that was fun. They were great, they rap just as well, and both of their sets was fun. 

The best part? Super impressed with at least the folks around us who knew all of the words and could rap them just as well. I may or may not have had my moments. 

Naughty by Nature were also there and I don't think many people knew who they were? They knew the chorus to "OPP" but who DOESN'T?! Losers without a radio on the 90s, that's who. But anything else? Nope. 

As a whole? It was pretty alright. Would I go again? God no. I've now seen NKOTB twice and I feel like that's enough in my life. I'm not usually a big fan of nostalgia concerts, but it was a fun night out and Tammy had a really great time.

Next concert? I'm taking Olivia and Jackson to see Shawn Mendes on Friday and they have no idea. So that will be fun.

Pink..... my second favorite color

I'm trying to go through my phone photos to share what life is like lately because it is more than doctor appointments, speech therapy, depression, and trying to hold it together. I am VERY fortunate to have really great friends who still hang out with me despite being a little slower and sometimes a little harder to hang out with. I try really hard to medicate and take all of the steps to be fully functional so they don't feel like adult babysitters but every once in awhile I need help so I need to trust the people I'm with, basically. My friends Tammy and Amy are the best ones and they try to get me out regularly and are always touching base with me and I appreciate it a LOT because I'm guilty of forgetting to reach out to people and I kind of fall off the radar and they are always pulling me back.

Bottom line- get yourself some good friends who you know will always actually be there. I have pretty great friends.

So this last weekend Tammy and I went to see the Pink concert. I always have to drive to Minneapolis/St. Paul to see a concert and it's a long drive there and back. I don't mind so much but some nights it's long on the way home, so if I can have someone come with me that's a little easier. Tammy and I went down early so we could have dinner and that worked out well.

The show itself was long, ending a little after 11 p.m. which meant I got home close to 2 a.m. because we had a bathroom break and got snacks to stay awake the rest of the way home. But it was WORTH IT.

Julia Michaels opened and honestly? She wasn't that great and I would have listened to DJ Kid CutUp the entire time because he was actually really entertaining and everyone around us was really getting into it. 

The good  news is we usually end up sitting next to questionable people or people who smell, or people who are so outrageously drunk that it ruins it for us but this time we had some pretty cool people. Well, except for the lady a row down and to the left, we thought for sure she was going to go over the balcony because she was so drunk and really relying on the plexiglass wall and nobody with her was trying to pull her down.

Anyways.

Let me just tell you that this show was easily in my top 5 shows of all time. No question. Tammy and I have been trying to see Pink for like ten years but the tickets always sell out, but Matt bought these a year ago (because I was at an appointment) and we got nosebleeds but it was worth it. Pink puts on an incredible show which is non stop from start to finish.

The other thing were all of the acrobatics which we come to expect from Pink and those skills were on full display in her first number as she swung around on a chandelier. 

I'm not even a fan of some of her earlier stuff so much (I don't hate it but it's not something I'd pick up to listen to, either), but this show renewed the interest in it. 

The only bummer of the show for me was I kind of wish she had done some kind of a medley of song and done a snippet of her first album. I know that one is so far removed from what she does now and even she didn't love it BUT, we remember it and it would have been a fun nod to do even a short medley. 

During "Revenge" we had an Eminem blow up doll which was kind of fun. A video of Nate Reuss played during "Just Give Me A Reason" which was alright. 

Easily me favorite of the show was "Secrets" because I love the song but watching her do the trapeze/acrobatics with a male partner was so beautiful and just went with the song so well, I was kind of bummed when that ended. 

She ended the concert with a final short set with "F*ckin Perfect", a short video to her daughter, "Raise Your Glass", and then "Blow Me (one last kiss)", which was really good. Normally I've been ducking out of a finale so I can get onto the highway before everyone else but I stayed because I saw online that it would be "So What" and "Glitter in the Air".

"So What" was pretty dang amazing and none of my pictures turned out but she literally swung around the arena, like around the entire thing, and it was so fun to watch. I didn't stay for all of "Glitter in the Air" because I kind of wanted to see a repeat of that Grammy's performance and it wasn't that so I took off.

Overall? Amazing concert. I had such a good time and I am so glad I was able to go. Even though I almost peed my pants on the way home. And dropped a bunch of ice cream down my shirt while trying to eat an ice cream cone while driving on the highway. Always an adventure.

We saw The Meaning of Life

This past weekend went by so quickly it hardly seems like it should be over yet here we are... Tuesday. I did get together with some friends though and that normally doesn't happen so it was nice to get out for a little bit without kids.

On Friday I went to dinner and a movie with my friend Tammy and we saw Isn't It Romantic and save your money- it was completely stupid. Not even a little bit funny. We had a good dinner with good conversation and talked about parenting and how incredibly crappy it is as they get older. Truly. I know people (myself included) really struggle through infant and toddler stage and kids being general jerks but honestly- none of it prepares you for middle and high school ages. There are tons of books on handling toddlers but nothing with real life advice on what to do when they hit those ages. Like a handbook. Kid starts smoking? Page 83. Kids vaping? Page 71. Kid has a friend you don't like? Page 33. Things like that. Nothing is out there. No, don't tell me to write one because frankly, middle school is kicking my ass and I'm not mentally ready for high school in what, two years? I understand why boarding schools exist now.

On Saturday we did lunch as a family and then I drove to St. Paul so my friend Amy and I could see Kelly Clarkson on her Meaning of Life tour. It's been awhile since Amy and I have hung out so I'm glad the roads were good, weather cooperated, and I was able to come. We had a great dinner and catching up, too.

The concert itself was really good and I had a really great time. Kelly had two opening acts, Brynn Cartelli and Kelsea Ballerini. Brynn Cartelli is a winner from The Voice and I'll be honest... she was terrible. I know she's young and learning how to perform live and all that but whoa boy. She sang with a cough drop in her mouth so it sounded like marbles and you couldn't understand that. Then she talked a LOT in between songs and she spoke so fast that it sounded like one really long sentence and you had no idea what she was saying. It was just really terrible.

Next up was Kelsea Ballerini who was better than Brynn and you could tell she's obviously more seasoned with singing live but still... she's not at the level of touring on her own yet. She doesn't really have stage presence because she mostly walks the same path, goes up on the stairs a little, and I don't know. It's just not spectacular. She sounded good though and I think her last song was her song with The Chainsmokers called "This Feeling", so I had to record that quick and send it to Olivia because she LOVES that song. She was properly jealous.

Kelly came out next and she was really great. I honestly forgot how many albums she had, I didn't realize her Meaning of Life album came out in 2017, it seems like that is a recent one but then again my concept of time is really warped so it's probably just me. I also forgot how much I love the song "Meaning of Life" and no lie, I kind of teared up a little. I also love "Whole Lotta Woman" and she did that so that was pretty fun. She did pretty much all of her hits (even the depressing ones), and had a great encore worth staying for. Overall I had a really great time, I really enjoyed this concert, and I would definitely see her again.

My drive home was alright, but I did learn even my max dose (so far) of Ritalin is not enough to perk me up so I have to call about that and maybe get it changed. I stopped at my half way point to get gas and snacks so that really helped and I pulled into my drive way at 1:03 a.m. Needless to say, I felt like I was hit by a bus on Sunday. HA!

Florence & the Machine. Epic.

I'm going to apologize for lack of pictures, and the crappiest quality of the two I took. I only had my phone, which was almost dead, so I couldn't go hog wild on capturing memories and all that. 

But a couple of weeks ago my friend Tammy and I had tickets to see Florence & the Machine. I hadn't seen them before but I've always heard really good things about their live shows so when cheap tickets became available, I went for it. 

LUCKILY FOR US, we happened to be in the right nosebleed section because they moved all of us to much better seats fairly close to the stage. 

 I mean, these seats were a lot more money and our original seats were like... top row of the highest set of bleachers. Ha! So that was a pretty cool surprise! It was at the Target Center in Minneapolis, which was completely re-done, and I hadn't been in the new and improved version. I have a go-to restaurant at every venue I see concerts at so I just plan to eat there. Except my go-to for Target Center? Closed. Gone. Adios. 

You know what I ate for dinner? 

A half order of nachos. Like the worst nachos I had ever had. And a bottle of water. Cost? $21. 

 Oh well. So we got our super awesome seats and took a quick picture. Clearly the people behind us weren't the happiest ever. The people in front of us were really nice, two older couples, all of them doctors. Real friendly. 

I hadn't looked beforehand to see who was opening and really it's no big deal because I enjoy watching the opening band anyways- I've found a lot of new and great artists that way.

This concert?

Perfume Genius was the artist.

It was HORRIBLE. Tammy reminded me we once saw and opening band that literally only played bells and that wasn't as bad as Perfume Genius. IT was like.... really bad performance art? I honestly don't know how to even describe it and it went on FOREVER, then suddenly he walked off the stage and was done. It was the most bizarre opening set I think I've ever seen. 

But then Florence came on and you guys- the rest of Florence & the Machine all come out like a beautiful parade, flowing down these wooden stairs... and then Florence comes floating down and starts the show with June, and honest to god- it felt like a religious moment. I am not even ashamed to tell you I completely cried during that song because it's one of my favorites off their new album.

The set wasn't terribly long but decent, she played all of the fan favorites of course. I didn't stay for the encore because I wanted to try to get out ahead of the crowd because I'm always so worried about getting lost or disoriented in an unfamiliar place and people, so yeah. I missed that.

I'm not very hippie like so when it got to the point where she wanted you to hold hands with everyone, give strangers hugs, etc that is a little beyond my comfort zone. I did really appreciate when she told everyone to put down their phones at least for a few songs, that was just really nice. Maybe my favorite part of seeing her live is she has this meek, almost child like speaking voice and then she sings and it's this power house, can take the wind from your chest and it's just so unexpected, maybe that's the charm of this group.

Overall this was a pretty amazing concert and I would 100% see her again.