Finally getting around to writing this... Erica & Wes go to New Orleans, pt. 2

...aka The Darkness concert that blew our f*cking heads off!! But we didn't sh*t ourselves. (Please reference lyrics to the song Solid Gold to understand this joke.) Most people have no idea who The Darkness are but let me assure you that they are awesome and hilarious and great. They're a British rock band best known for their 2003 song I Believe in a Thing Called Love.

I'm wearing my t-shirt that I got at the concert but you can't see it in the picture. I was so happy to get a concert shirt because they didn't have a merchandise booth when we saw them last time in Dallas.

The Darkness is one of my top three favorite bands of all time; the other two are Goo Goo Dolls and Weezer, and Wes doesn't really like either of them but he does like The Darkness so when they tour anywhere near Oklahoma, we gotta go see them! New Orleans isn't exactly near Oklahoma but whatever. The concert took place at the Civic Theatre, a small intimate venue. Wes got us floor tickets so we got to be up close and personal. Speaking of up close and personal, we saw the lead singer, Justin Hawkins, coming out of his tour bus and into the venue. We saw his front side but he had already turned toward the door by the time I got my phone/camera out.

My chance at being a paparazzi... its Justin Hawkins!! 

Diarrhea Planet

The opening band was Diarrhea Planet. The lead singer more screamed than sung their lyrics so I have no idea what their songs were about. But I still liked them. Wes claimed that their problem was that they had too many guitarists and only one of them could really play. LOL There were four guitarists, one bassist and a drummer. They were loud and fast and reminded me of the bands I grew up on (think late 1990's and early 2000's alternative college rock scene). The night of the concert was the bassist's son's birthday so we all sung Happy Birthday to him while he recorded it on Facebook Live. I would have been supportive and bought an EP but their merchandise booth only accepted cash and I used all of mine on my The Darkness t-shirt. *sad face*

The name of The Darkenss' tour was Tour De Prance and they surely did a lot of prancing and dancing! They are a every entertaining band and you can see how much they love performing. Definitely one of those bands that you have to see live. My absolute favorite song by them, Love is Only a Feeling, is part of their regular set list so that's always my favorite part of their shows. They played every song off their first album, Permission to Land, and scattered in a good variety of songs from all of their other albums as well. Besides doing a terrific job at playing music, they also did a really good job of interacting with the audience. The lead singer chatted with us throughout the show, attempted throwing guitar picks into the chandelier, did some headstands on the drum set riser, and improvised a little bit of jazz in honor of Louisiana's jazz scene. We also had several sing-alongs.

The Darkness came out to perform! After their first song, the lead singer looked out at us and noticed there were significantly fewer of us than he had expected. He explained that their marketing personnel informed him that they had sold out the theater but instead, there were only about 370 of us present. (I'm not sure how he counted us all so quickly.) He blamed it on the Jazz Festival that was going on that same weekend. LOL He seemed only mildly upset but quickly put that aside and did their best to entertain us as if it was a sold out arena. I think they put on a better performance because there were so few of us and they really tried their best to give us a good show. They even came out for an encore! At the end of the show, they distributed everything -- guitar picks, drum sticks, set lists, articles of clothing-- into the audience. Sadly, I didn't catch any of it. Wes and I saw them on their last tour at The House of Blues in Dallas, which was a sold out show, and I think they did better at this tiny venue. This concert was the last of our events in New Orleans. I think it was the perfect way to end our vacation. Good bye, NOLA, you were great! 

Erica & Wes go to New Orleans, pt.1

In late April (yes, yes, I know this is old but I haven't been on my laptop much lately), Wes and I traveled to New Orleans for the second part of our wedding anniversary vacation. (We went to a Judas Priest concert for the first part of our celebration but I haven't gotten around to writing about that, either. I really need to stop procrastinating, don't I?). While a majority of people gather in New Orleans for Jazz Fest and partying, I went for the Alexander McQueen fashion exhibit at the art museum. Oh, and to see The Darkness perform a small intimate show at the Civic Center (more on that next week).

Look at all that powdered sugar. Soooooo yummy! 

We also chose to visit New Orleans for the food. We were only there for three days but we managed to eat our way through several restaurants. My favorites were the beignets from Cafe Du Monde (Wes' favorite was also the beignets) and the oysters from Acme Oyster House. I could go on forever about food but I won't. Please ask to see my vacation pictures if you're interested... we all know how much everyone loves showing off their vacation pictures. LOL

Welcome to New Orleans, Mr. Kirtley! We're honored to host your special occasion and have no doubt it will be a treasured memory. Our dedicated team wishes you a very happy anniversary and marvelous adventure as your explore our vibrant city. Cheers to a lifetime of love and happiness. Warm regards, The Holiday Downtown Superdome Family.

When making our reservations, Wes mentioned that it would be our third wedding anniversary the first night we arrived in town. The hotel slid a handwritten card with two complimentary drink tickets under our room door.  That night when we were at the bar, we met a couple who were also in town for vacation. They got to talking and the woman decided that they needed to be wed before the end of their trip. Her boyfriend agreed and an impromptu wedding took place. The bartender officiated and Wes & I were their witnesses. Our signatures are on a very official bar napkin/wedding license. LOL

As I mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons I chose New Orleans as our destination was the A Queen Within fashion exhibit. I've been interested in contemporary and avant-garde fashion for some time now (thanks Project Runway and your crazy design challenges) and the exhibit was everything I wanted it to be and more. While many fashion houses were represented, I was most drawn to the Alexander McQueen pieces. I'm not a student of fashion so I can't really elaborate on the pieces and their significance but they were pretty dang interesting and so so pretty! 

According to the exhibit, its main objective is to "investigate symbols of womanhood and expand the theme of fashion as art." There are seven archetypal personality types that the designers used as muses - Sage, Magician, Enchantress, Explorer, Mother Earth, Heroine and Thespian. Each archetype had its own section in the exhibit.

Designs for Enchantress - femme fatal, sexy, lustful, passionate, and mesmerizing. 

I don't identify at all with the Enchantress archetype but it was my favorite of the sections. Its display consisted of several dresses, shoes and accessories placed inside of a large corrugated plastic room. The walls of the room had round windows for museum patrons to stick their heads in to view the fashion pieces. Both the floor and ceiling inside of the room was filled with imitation flowers. It was very delicate and imaginative and beautiful. The rest of the New Orleans Museum of Art was entertaining-- it had a nice variety of art and a lot of oil paintings, which I like-- but I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without the fashion exhibit. 

So the highlight of Day 1 was the bar wedding, the highlight of Day 2 was the fashion exhibit and the highlight of Day 3 was this totally rad concert we went to. The concert was so great that it deserves its own blog post. Talk to you guys next Monday!!