Looking Back, Looking Forward

It's about time that I finally sit down here and pull my thoughts together over all that has gone on in the last month or two. I've been keeping pretty busy, but still probably goofing off a little to much in some respects. I sleep hard when I get to that point, but generally not long enough (rarely 8 hours), so I have definitely been tired. I think this needs to come up next time I have a physical, which is due about now. The problem with feeling tired, is that I tend to get less done, feel less alert, think less clearly, get into more trouble, lose and forget things. A case in point, I am missing a 50 mm. lens, one set of keys, and a remote trigger currently. At least I know where the remote trigger is if I can remember to inquire about it when I'm at church. I hope it's still there, anyway.

In August, I was called back to work after a very short furlough, and the callback was rather brief as well. On August 13, I had tickets to the Waking Ashland Reunion tour at Kilby Court and I was working. Fortunately I had know way ahead of time and it was already on my leave calendar. So, on August 13, I was able to rest a little, take the day off and head down to Salt Lake City to see Jonathan and company at Kilby. On the way I stopped at the Gateway to see if Miss Corey still needed a ride, so we visited shortly, and I headed to the venue.Kilby is a very small venue that is something akin to a very large garage. It possibly holds about 200 people or so. It's really cozy. The stage entrance is outside near the entrance, so it's pretty much near impossible not to meet with artists that play there. There is a "courtyard" of sorts with a fire pit (although it wasn't being used on the 13th, since it was summer) and a shed where merch is usually sold. For some reason the merch tables were set up outside in the "courtyard." There were a few waking ashland tees that were pulled from storage in someone's garage, and cd's. I purchase a cd and a couple of tees that were reasonably priced. Several of the openers were there when I arrived, but I didn't see Jonathan anywhere or Jason of Feet, Feet, Feet Parachute, and I had something for them. Eventually I caught up with them and Naked Juice and Bananas (Really, Naked Juice is a drink, look in the stores. LOL)

Larusso opened with an acoustic set, and I always enjoy Aaron's performances.


After Aaron finished his set, The Trademark took over the stage, and the whole venue for that matter. Riley is a bit crazy on stage. The music is a bit on the screamy side for me sometimes, but one cannot say their show is boring. It did seem an odd fit with the other bands, though. At the start of their set, the Trademake guys all were wearing fake mustaches, but Riley just couldn't get the thing to stay on for more that a minute or two. I think that has become sort of a "trademark" for the band, and perhaps I'll ask how that all started sometime. LOL



The next band to perform was Apple Horse from Idaho. I was really impressed with their set and liked their music quite a lot. The only caveat was a song they did having something to do with a unicorn. We were told that there was going to be a piano song, but it was being changed, and it turned out to be my least favorite in the set. It wasn't bad, it just didn't grab me like the others. I do think I'll be purchasing some of their music in the near future. After Apple Horse finished playing, I asked for the set list and was able to get a copy.




Feet, Feet, Feet Parachute was setting up to play next. Jason De la Torre is the lead singer for 3Feet Parachute (like the nickname?) and he also plays with Jonathan's band, We Shot the Moon, so I've seen him a few times before. Last time We Shot the Moon played, he performe one of his songs and I enjoyed it. I have the cd, and I have to say his vocals don't sound quite the same as in the live performance. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't like it, but to the contrary I enjoyed the set a lot.

Then it was finally time for Waking Ashland to play. I had never actually seen Waking Ashland before, though I've seen Jonathan solo, and We Shot the Moon a number of times. Somehow when the original band was together, the timing never really worked out. They played the entire Composure album from start to finish and I loved every minute of it. I took a lot of pics, although with lighting being what it is at Kilby getting anything sharp was difficult at best, so there weren't many I consider publishable. I very rarely record shows for a few reasons, one being that most artists don't allow it, although some that say it obviously don't seem to care and even mug for the camera. I was pretty sure Jonathan didn't mind, so I had the brilliant idea of recording one of the songs. Jonathan has a great voice and great keyboarding skills, and is just such a joy to listen to. (I do wish the vocals had recorded a bit louder.)






After the show ended, I hung about a bit, talked to Corey, Jonathan, and several other people. I had my photo taken with Trevor (drummer for WSTM and FFFP) and Jason
and they showed off their "guns". (Not sure I'll ever get used to that term. It makes me laugh.)

I waited about a bit until I could get a photo with Jonathan before heading for home.


If I recall correctly, that was the night they had freeway (and/or) lane closures and it took a little extra time to get home. Still I made it home sooner than I would have had I gone to work, albeit not by much.

Monday it was back to work, as usual but I had another show to look forward to the following Saturday, August 21. Candlelight Serenade with some of my favorite bands and people all for a good cause. I was excited about it. I didn't need to request the day off, since it was a Saturday, but I did really hope to be furloughed by Friday because sleeping is a little nice sometimes and the doors opened at 10 a.m.

I almost got my wish...

(end part one)

Life is a Blur.

The last week has been a haze. That happens when I'm working followed by a lack of sleep. October 7, I was called back to work. My job is seasonal, and I am far enough up on the list that I am sometimes called back in for the "mini peaks" about this time of year. Still, I didn't expect to be called back until at least the 19th, and since I am usually called back on a Wednesday and not usually before a holiday, I thought it could be later. With that in mind I scheduled a few events for the next week. Things are not about to be simpler. It's amazing how that happens, and I have to say that some of it is my own doing. It's not all bad, and in fact, it should be a great week, but I will need a vacation from my little mini-vacation known as next week.

I've also watched Avalyn a few days this week, and she is finally starting to grow and respond a lot more. She's started to get big already.


On Tuesday, I am leaving bright and early for Las Vegas. My husband has graciously agreed to drive me there. I have a room overnight and a VIP ticket to see Mute Math. I have to say that I really love those guys: not just as musicians, incredible performers but also as nice people. They haven't toured in a while, and I really do miss them. They probably don't miss me nearly as much. ;)

Wednesday, the plan is to drive home and take our time. Hopefully I can be a little leisurely for one day. On Thursday morning, I fly to Denver. My sister lives in Denver, and Relient K will be in Denver on the 16th. How can I pass that up? My sister and her husband are planning to see Relient K's show as well. It should be fun. :) My mom was supposed to be there today, but not sure if it happened. I know she was concerned about snow, and it did snow in Denver this week. I will be in Denver until the 18th when I will fly home. It's not an overly long visit, but I think it will be a good one. :)

On the 19th, I will be seeing Eisley at In the Venue with Say Anything. Eisely hasn't toured in a bit, either, so I am definitely looking forward to it. I did say I would work half a day shift so I'd only have to take off 4 hrs. that day. So, it will be a long one, but I hope a good one, and I'm quite sure it will be worth it!

The 20th, I will be back to work for one day, and then off again on the 21st. On the 21st, I am supposed to work at the show for Fireflight and Remedy Drive with Abandon. I saw Remedy Drive at Creation Northwest and they were sooooooo good. But I will not be able to stay for the show, as I have tickets to see MAE and have had them for a while. I am trying to pull together "Project Touch" (see my last post) so it will most likely be a very long day. I will go back to work on the 22nd, and on Sunday the 25th, I will be working at Todd Agnew's concert. I love Todd and am looking forward to seeing him again.

Fortunately, I have some leave saved up. I am trying to be organized and have started packing and putting things together for upcoming events way in advance, which has made finding things to wear quite a challenge. LOL I just have to finish up on copying and emptying compact flash cards and packing my camera.

That is looking forward towards the future... looking back has been interesting as well.

On Saturday, I went to see Snow Patrol and Plain White T's. I arrived at 11 a.m. since the show was general admission. I met some VERY interesting people. Initially the venue was to be set up with the floor being standing, but a decision was made to
put in general admission chairs on the floor. This actually worked out well for me as we were so close to the barricades and were able to stand there without being squished ito obliviou! :) Kinda nice. Tom with PWT's was ill and almost cancelled his set entirely, but he came out and they played three acoustic songs, "1234"; "Sunlight" and "Hey Delilah." He sounded really good, especially thinking about him being sick. Afterwards, I was able to get their 3 song setlist. :) I really thought I should take Tom some Throat Coat Tea, and felt bad because I didn't listen to that "little" voice. Later I saw the drummer and mentioned it to him wasn't too sure he would have drank it. WE both thought he needed to take care of his voice.

Snow Patrol put on a good show and was a lot of fun. Gary forgot the words a few times, but it was kind of funny. The crowd seemed pretty lively, especially for a seating on the floor type of set up. Most of the time the vocals were really good, although a few times at the outset of a song, he would be off a little, usually a note or two. Afterwards I was pretty excited to get another set list. I let three girls take photos of it. Then I headed up to the merch table and bought a cd. I wanted to buy a PWT's tee that was cute, but didn't quite have enough, so I went to use the ATM. I think I left the set list there when I went. That is when I talked to the drummer for PWT's, and then bought the tee. I started to head out the door, and realized that I didn't have the set list anymore. It wasn't at the merch table and she hadn't seen it. I went back into the arena, and had someone look. I threw someone's drink out for them and I checked the trash. (So, I was desperate! LOL) But I know I had it upstairs and at the merch table, which I had later confirmed by two different people at different times. So the only conclusion I could come to is that when I had it at the merch table, someone took it. It was kind of a downer to an otherwise great day. But I'll get over it. Secretly, (or Not so secretly) I still want it back.



The drive home was very long due to construction and freeway closures, but I made it.
I uploaded pics and fell asleep at the desk. I ate dinner, and uploaded more pics, and again fell asleep at my desk. I got wise and went to bed. This morning I got up early and made it to church being actually on time.



That will be my next blog... See ya soon - very soon indeed.

If you read this, bless you!! :)

Project Touch

You can click on "Project Touch" to go to the event page on facebook.



Please pray for me and for this event and get the word out! :)

Revive!

I had put in to get the day off work yesterday so that I could see Revive in concert.
I was denied. I normally help out in the kitchen for concerts at this venue with this promoter (People for Christ Ministry) so I offered to help until I had to leave for work. I not so secretly hoped the band would be timely and that sound check would be early. :)

I had my alarm set for 7:40 a.m., but I probably woke up hourly for some reason. It was rather annoying as I really needed some sleep. But finally 7:40 came, the alarm went off and I dragged my tired (and rather sleepless body) out of bed and proceeded to get the day going. I said a few prayers along the way.

I cleaned up a little, got dressed, took Mollie outside, and loaded the car.
The plan was to be there at 10 a.m. Then I was going to make homemade potato soup and get a few things ready for lunch. There as much to do as Subway had donated sandwiches for the event.

I left the house by 8:30 and headed for Smith's to get gasoline. Then I had to go inside and get two bags of ice because the one outside their gasoline area hadn't been restocked. This is what happens when one is in a hurry. LOL. Then I realized I had forgotton a pan I needed, so I drove the mile or so back home, got the pan and headed out to Salt Lake City. There was traffic, but it was moving well, and I arrived 15 minutes early. When I arrived I was really excited to see the bus had already arrived, so I figured they were all at the hotel. One wish fulfilled, one to go. :) Then I parked and started unloading my car.

Then a few others began to arrive. Eleanor started some Bear Creek Chicken Noodle, Paula diced an onion for me, and I peeled and cubed 10 lbs. of potatoes ,and started them boiling. Paula set up the tables and fruit bowls. I cut up seedless watermelon. IN the interim my pastor showed up and said he couldn't stay and asked if I'd pick him up a cd, so I said I would. The sandwiches arrived about 11:30. Things went rather smoothly, and everything was ready on time. About 12:10 we started to serve lunch, pretty much one or two at a time. Everyone was taking the chicken noodle. I tried to give it away. Ty (or was that Rich? I can't recall) came back and had some later in the afternoon. I hope he liked it. I think he had some just because he said he would, so that was pretty nice of him. LOL

Then something amazing happened... wish no. 2 was fulfilled. The started sound check. I didn't bring all my camera gear, just a point and shoot (and I hadn't had a chance to charge the batteries) and I ran to the car and grabbed it. Then I went in to listen. Let me say that Dave has an absolutely beautiful voice, and their harmonies were spot on. I know it was probably nothing compared to the actual show, and it was still excellent. I couldn't really get any pics without flash, so I asked if the minded if I took some pics, and was told no, shoot away. The camera wasn't co-operating too well (not focusing and long delays - should have changed the batteries after all) but I did get a few. They all posed for me. It was kinda fun. LOL I asked if I could get some merch and bought a cd bundle for me and the newest cd for my pastor and a sticker.

Then I went back in to see if there was anything I could do to help with dinner. All I really was able to do was chop a bit more watermelon, and put some noodles in boiling water. Still.. I guess I did my part. LOL I think Lynn was fixing Chicken Alfredo - lots of garlic, and it smelled wonderful.







I finally headed for work a little later than planned as I can get a bit gabby at times, and figured it would be close but I might make it. The longest part was waiting at the two lights between the venue and the freeway (who timed those things?!) and the traffic accident about 20 minutes from work. I ended up being 12 minutes late. :( Not good. But no one seems to upset with me yet. I did call to let them know when I got stuck in accident traffic. It was already off the road or it might have been worse.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. LOL I wonder how much soup was left over and what happened to it. LOL Stay tuned... or not. I can see ya'll are on the edge of your seats.

Till next time....

Peace out,
Melanie

Fun Times and Exciting News

Should I post the exciting news first, or the fun times...
Fun times or exciting news? ;)

O.K. I have to spill the beans. Relient K is coming to Salt Lake City!! I was so excited that it took me hours to calm down and get some sleep. But it was a good thing, really. It's just that I saw Thiessen's blog about tour dates, and was preparing myself for disappointment. Instead, I saw June 4, Salt Lake City and did a happy dance (well, in my mind I did a happy dance, anyway.) Murray Theater is not a terribly huge venue. I have only been there one time before to see Secondhand Serenade, My American Dream, Play Radio Play and Rookie of the year show. It is an old theater made into a concert venue, and it's actually kind of a fun place. Tickets go on sale Saturday, and now I just have to figure out for certain which promoter so I know where to get them. LOL

As for the fun times, Saturday was fun - really fun. I started off the day on the right foot, by getting a whopping 2 hours of sleep before heading for Boise. I am quite sure I was barely coherent most of the day. We did have a nice drive and arrived in Boise at 2:30 p.m.

I had hoped for a wee bit of early check in and hoped to be to the venue by 3 p.m., but instead we had to wait until 3:20 for the room to be ready. I probably arrived at the venue around 3:30 p.m., so you know I didn't waste a lot of time at the hotel. It was a nice room, though, at a pretty reasonable price and only .9 of a mile from the venue.


Even with the short distance, I saw a tour bus outside a nearby hotel and a sign that said, Joan Baez, 8 p.m. SOLD OUT! I didn't even know she was touring. I would have loved that show!! LOL Down the street, David Archuleta was playing. I heard there was a long line.

When I arrived at the venue, my husband pulled into the lot and I saw the tour bus, and a red car with two young ladies, so I asked them if they knew anything about the venue. As it turned out, they were from Utah. They said I could hang out with them for the evening. They were pretty big TAI fans. They said they had talked to one of the This Providence guys earlier and I gathered from the description that they had talked to Gavin. They told me the tour manager's name so I could ask him about my camera. He said it had to go through the publicist, so I said I just wanted to take pics of This Providence, and he said he'd put something together for me. So my husband left me with cameras. As it turned out the venue pretty much nixed any hope of getting my dslr in and didn't even want to let in ANY cameras, but I mentioned to the security guard what the tour manager had said. Anyway, he finally went in and checked and I was able to bring my point and shoot in. Phew!! I would have been heartbroken otherwise. My new concert friends let me leave my dslr in their trunk and told me where they were staying in case anything happened and we lost track of each other.

After a long wait, lots of conversations, and having a few buckets of rain pouring down on us, it was almost time for the doors to open. The venue staff came out and wrist banded people before the doors opened which made my day since I had will call. I managed to get to the stage, barely on the right. The stage wasn't really huge. It was a small place, but lots of fun.

First to play was Evan Taubenfeld. Apparently he used to be a lead guitarist/back up vocalist for Avril Lavigne. He was a lot of fun and had an amazing voice. I was able to meet him and talk a bit after the concert was over, and he really was nice. I couldn't bring myself to buy his "Cheater of the Year" tee (name of his song.) I just felt funny wearing it. He said I could put an "X" over "Cheater of the Year." I seriously considered it. LOL

This Providence followed Evan, with a great acoustic set. The concert was acoustic, so both TAI and This Providence only played with two of their band members. Dan and Gavin sounded incredible. The very first song, "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" is not what I would expect to hear as an acoustic song, but they did an amazing job of it. They played "Letdown" acoustic and it was great. I'd been singing that one all day. My favorite though, is the "sappy love song" (Dan's words, not mine) "Sand in Your Shoes." It's just beautiful. The gals behind me knew every word to all of the songs. I could hear them well. I'm sure they have some video of me singing badly (I could not hear myself at all) along with Dan and Gavin. The only bad thing, as usual, is that it had to come to an end.



After a bit of time for a stage set up, it was time for The Academy Is. All of the vocals were a pleasure to hear. William has an great voice. He also takes good care of it (at least before the show. lol) I could hear him warming up during sound check earlier in the day. I've seen TAI about 3 or 4 times, but I still don't have one of their cd's. I will remedy that soon. I would have bought one there, but they didn't have any available.




Afterwards, all of the artists hung out with us concertgoers, signed autographs, took photos, etc. I talked to Gavin a while, talked to Dan some, talked to Evan, and had a photo taken, and had a photo taken with Adam Siska. I waited for things to die down so I could get a pic with Dan and Gavin. Then I waited for the line to die down for William. Finally I got in line and the venue wanted to kick everyone out. So, William said we could just go outside and finish. Oh, and I did meet up with my concert friends who were in the lot with me. The three of us, and a few others stayed outside in the lot and talked to William for quite a long while. He was very gracious.





Finally, my new concert friends, drove me back to my hotel (which was pretty cool as I had planned to walk as I didn't want to wake Ed up.)

As it turned out, Ed was awake. Neither of us had dinner, so he ate some brownies he bought earlier at a stop, and I ate the banana I bought. Great meals. LOL Then at around 12:30 a.m. I crashed as I was completely exhausted. At 5 a.m. I had to get up, take a quick shower, and check out. I wanted to be back in time for church at 10 a.m. Things went well, but there was a hang up at the desk and it took 20 minutes to check out. Ed was less than happy that we were rushing back, so that made me feel a little bad, but I made it to church at 10:30. It was late, but they were still in the middle of the worship part of the service, so things went well overall.

Needless to say, it was an exhausting weekend, but a fun one! I can't wait for the next big adventure. I think that will be this Thursday for Big Daddy Weave. I am working, starting at 8 a.m. Who needs sleep? ;)

Peace out,
Melanie