Lacey & Erica go see My Chemical Romance in concert... twice!!!

 

My Chemical Romance announced a reunion tour back in 2019. ❤ The closest they'd come to Oklahoma was Dallas, TX. Only a short drive away! Lacey and I knew we had to go. Lacey waited by her laptop hours before tickets went on sale in hopes of getting a pair... and we did!! They were the worst overpriced seats; the nosebleed section of the gigantic arena, BUT we got tickets!!! 😁 Then the concert was postponed in 2020... and again 2021. I was afraid that they'd just cancel and refund everyone. But then they announced the tour will be starting in 2022 with new dates. And guess what?? One of the newly added dates, the first date of the North American tour actually, would be in Oklahoma City at the Paycom arena. Oh boy were we excited!!! So excited that I bought us matching shirts and painted the band's logo on the back. ❤❤❤❤ Lacey once again waited hours by her laptop, counting down the minutes until tickets went on sale. She got us really good seats at a reasonable price. YAY! It was official, time to grab our eye liner because we'd be seeing our favorite emo band in concert twice!

The opening band at the OKC concert was Dilly Dally, a terrible band that no one liked. Lacey said they were okay but she is just very generous. It was a group of women who screamed sounds and pretended they knew how to play their instruments. The second act was Coheed and Cambria. Wes loves them and was jealous I'd be getting to see them. I vaguely remembered hearing them on the radio in the mid-2000s but didn't know any of their songs. Turns out, they're amazing!! 🎸The lead singer had a ton of rad guitar solos. They also had a spinning thing on the drum set that projected lasers!

After a VERY long wait accompanied by what sounded like a low-flying helicopter, but was supposed to be "the swarm", My Chemical Romance finally came on. 🎤They sounded exactly as I remembered from our college emo days. They were loud, manic, and passionate. I have never felt such a sense of community at a concert before. I know music speaks to a lot of people but I, personally, have never really felt a deep visiceral connection to a set of lyrics. Well, that changed at the concert. I felt all the feels! I truly felt a sense of oneness as we all sang along. 🎶 It was so extremely powerful hearing an entire arena singing "we'll carry on," and declaring that we are "awake and unafraid." 💀 It was definitely an experience I will never forget. Their set was mostly songs from the Danger Days album, which was a little odd since most of the hits were off of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and The Black Parade. It was their first show so the sound could have been better but I didn't notice until Lacey & I were talking about it on the way home. If I had one complaint, it would be that the lead singer relied too much on the distortion machine, but he did tell us that he was having vocal problems that evening.

A month later, Lacey and I were in the American Airlines arena in Dallas, TX for show number two. We didn't get any merchandise at the OKC show because the line was miles long and the t-shirt designs frankly weren't that cool. 😕 We decided that we should buy something from the Dallas concert since we've been to two shows (what kind of fans would we be without t-shirts?) We decided to skip the opening bands to get dinner from the concession stands and wait it out in the extremely long merch line. I wanted a shirt with the tour dates on it but the only design I liked didn't have tour dates. 😑 The Paycom arena had some neat balloon and chalk art for the band (that we sadly didn't see until on Instagram the next day) so we decided to walk around the American Airlines arena in search of art. There was none. We made it back to our seats to see the last few songs of the second act, Midtown. They were decent. 

My Chemical Romance came on and played a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SHOW than the one we saw in Oklahoma City. They played almost twice as many songs and mostly from the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and The Black Parade albums. The set list seemed to have an order to it. It felt like they were testing out songs to play at the OKC show and were much more refined, and less chaotic this time around. They sounded 100x times better! I guess they had plenty of practice between August 20th and September 28th. The best part was that the lead singer let go of his reliance on the distortion machine. The tradeoff was that this concert felt more robotic and as if the band was at work. The OKC show felt more intimate because they'd stop every few songs and talk to us or the lead singer would tell a personal story. The Dallas show was all business, song after song with no breaks. It didn't have the same energy or sense of community as the OKC show did. I still felt moved as we all sung along but it was a different vibe. It was so strange to see the same band play two entirely different shows on the same tour, and only one month apart. I'm not sure which experience I enjoyed more. Now that Lacey and I have seen AFI and My Chemical Romance, we just need to see The Used and we'll have the trifecta of emo under our belts.

Wes & Erica's Vacation Photo Album - Ghost - February 2022

 

Ghost

Volbeat

The main reason why Wes & I ended up in Nebraska was to see Ghost in concert. [Who knows why they chose to play in the middle of nowhere in the Midwestern United States, but they did... and I'm pretty sure they didn't enjoy it. Don't feel bad, Nameless Ghouls, I didn't like Nebraska, either.]  Back in August of 2021, Wes found out that Ghost would be touring in 2022. Ghost is the last band on his "must see live" list so, obviously, we'd have to attend a concert. The closest they'd be playing to Oklahoma was Texas, but those shows were on dates that conflicted with Wes's job's blackout dates so he wouldn't be able to take time off work. The next closest concert venue was the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE. We haven't travelled to Nebraska so we thought this might be a fun opportunity to cross another state off our bucket list.

The concert was great! 🤘 I have never heard of Ghost, so to prepare myself, I added them to Pandora and listened to a bunch of their songs. This is the same strategy I took before we went to see Judas Preist and Iron Maiden. LOL Of the three, I'd say I enjoyed Ghost more than Iron Maiden but not as much as Judas Priest. Wes loved it!! He said they played all of the songs he wanted to hear (except for maybe 2 but he knew they wouldn't play those songs anyway).

The opening band for the concert was Twin Temple. They're a jazz/rockabilly duo who's show reenacted fake & silly satanic ritual. They came out and anointed us in the name of Satan, then sang a few cheesy songs (with lyrics that included, "let's all love Satan," "I'm evil" and chanted 666), then closed with another cult-like ritual. It was pretty terrible, extremely weird and overall cringeworthy. Wes said the performance was supposed to be a gag, like a Saturday Night Live skit. The only good part about them was their saxophonist, who was really talented and made me wonder why he's working with them. LOL

After that disaster, the real show started. The tour featured Ghost and Volbeat, but Wes didn't tell me that it was a double headliner show. I spent all my time listening to/familiarizing myself with Ghost and didn't know a single one of Volbeat's songs. I didn't even know that Volbeat was a band until they came on stage. (Yes, I'm a terrible "fan".) Volbeat was SO GOOD! They were loud but not screamy (like other rock/metal bands), they were super fun on stage and smiled & waved a lot, and I actually liked them more than Ghost. 

They had a large screen that showed videos that went along with their songs. The best one was a song dedicated to the lead singer's wife and children that had random mixed media collages. The other one that was really good was the song dedicated to the lead singer's late father. Sadly, I don't remember the names to these songs, but I took lots of pictures. LOL Other thoughts - One of the bandmates looked like an older rock & roll version of AJ from the Backstreet Boys. They brought out a jazz pianist and saxophonist for one of their songs and jazz metal became my new favorite thing. Volbeat cured my stomach virus. I felt terrible all day up until about their third or fourth song. 

I enjoyed Volbeat so much that I decided to start listening to their music when we got home. I have to admit they are amazing live but awful on the radio. Wes says that they are overly produced on their albums, but the lead singer has such a good voice so that makes it really unnecessary. I completely agree. The singles I heard sounded like Puddle of Mudd, Staind, and all the other disgusting rock bands I don't like. I am so glad I saw them in concert first.

At a little after 10pm, Ghost came on. The arena was pretty empty (maybe a little over half capacity) until then. It filled up a bit but there definitely wasn't the crowd that the band was expecting. I think that affected their vibe and energy of the show. Ghost's "gimmick" is that the lead singer is the leader of a band of nameless/faceless ghouls. Everyone in the band is covered from head to toe in costume. The lead singer is, too, and he wears face paint and a latex mask. I loved the ghouls--they interacted a lot with the crowd and played around with each other--but I kind of felt bad for them. Their costumes and gas masks seemed super uncomfortable under the stage lights and pyrotechnics. The lead singer told us that after the show, instead of partying, he'd be taking a violent shower. I totally would, too! LOL 

The lead singer had a few costume changes. My favorite was a glittery teal tuxedo jacket. He wore bat wings in one of his costumes but didn't flap his arms like a bat, which was a little disappointing. I enjoyed all of the lasers and confetti. One of the confetti cannons shot out fake bills with the ghouls' faces printed on along with gold confetti. I tried to catch one of the bills but couldn't grab one. 😞 I was also really close to getting a guitar pick but it landed right next to the woman I was standing next to's foot and I didn't want to fight her for it. LOL

They played all their popular songs (which I actually knew, thanks to my pre-concert research). They played Wes's favorite songs of theirs and he really enjoyed the concert. His only complaint was that they played a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman," which is funny because he loves Metallica so I would think he'd enjoy the cover. I hate Metallica and even I enjoyed it. 😂 We both thought the setlist was a little short. I think they only played ten songs. They did tell us that they were running short on time in the middle of the show. They implied that it was the fault of city curfew, but I think they weren't having as much fun performing for us as they usually do in bigger cities, so no encore. Even with the abridged setlist, Wes & I had a good time and enjoyed the show. And now, Ghost is a regular feature on my Pandora station. 

Wes & Erica see Iron Maiden in concert

Iron Maiden - Legacy of the Beast tour - Saturday September 21, 2019

I officially have my second metal concert in the books! Wes & I drove to Dallas over this past weekend to see Iron Maiden on their Legacy of the Beast tour. I know nothing about Iron Maiden so during the drive, Wes curated a selection of their greatest hits for me to familiarize myself with. I can't really say with certainty that I like their music. But, Wes is a fan and he said that their concert was top notch (actually, he said it was "really good" because he would never say "top notch" LOL). He also said his three favorite songs from the concert were Fear of the Dark, Trooper (one of my favorite performances of the night as well because that was when Eddie, the mascot, came out and had a choreographed sword fight with Bruce, the lead singer), and Number of the Beast (even though it annoyed him that everyone was singing along and drowning out the band).

 The opening band was The Raven Age. They are a metal band from somewhere in England (aka not famous here). Wes said their ability to play music was good but their song writing was crap. I thought they were pretty terrible over all. They really wanted to involve the crowd and promote their new album, Conspiracy, but I don't think very many people knew of the single they just released so their attempts at getting everyone to clap to the beat and sing along didn't work out very well. But they said the word "conspiracy" so many times that I actually remembered that was the name of their new album. Good advertising technique, guys!

All metal bands practically sound the same to me (clearly, this is not the type of music that I listen to regularly) so all I have to go on is the look and feel of the concert. And the concert felt really good. It was outdoors in awful heat and humidity but everyone was friendly, excited, and in a genuinely happy mood. The crowd was pretty diverse but all of the random concert goers were chatting with each other without judgement. Wes got several compliments on the band t-shirt he was wearing. I sat next to a young man (who asked my permission to vape but still was polite enough to step away to do it even after I assured him it was okay) and his father. They both were very eager to tell Wes and me about Iron Maiden, their song catalog and this concert's set list. At one point during the show, Bruce came on stage with a sword. I turned to Wes and screamed, "OMG he has a sword!!" The father heard me and tapped me on the shoulder, gave me the rock & roll sign of the horns and a face that read "of course he has a sword now head bang with us!" and I couldn't stop myself from screaming as loud as I could and bobbing along with the rest of the crowd. Why can't strangers be this nice all of the time?

The set design was really cool. We weren't very close to the stage so I couldn't get good pictures but they had large screens hung up all over so we still got a decent view of the show. The stage was multi-storied so the lead singer could run around and climb up onto the various tiers. Bruce has a lot of energy!! You would never believe the band was in their sixties from the way they played and interacted with us. The show started with Winston Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech and a life sized replica of a Spitfire plane flew onto the stage. I knew at that point that my like or dislike of their music didn't matter; this was going to be an entertaining concert. There were lots of lasers and pyrotechnics (including a HUGE Icarus model that burned down at the end of Flight of Icarus), a costumed Eddie in stilts, and a new backdrop was revealed at the beginning each song (the best one being an incredibly detailed inflatable demon's head). Bruce did a handful of costume changes, coming out in various hats, masks, a cape and props. Costume changes are the best! Anyway, it was a fun experience and I am really glad we got to go because Iron Maiden was on Wes's bucket list of bands to see live. 

Wes & Erica go see LP in concert

I was super excited when I saw the wrist bands because it matched my sweater. Cheetah print for life! 🐱

So here it is, guys, the first travel blog post of the year. It only took until March for Wes & I to find a reason to leave town for a weekend. I found out that LP was coming to Dallas and decided that we had to go. An added plus - Wes likes her music, too! You might not recognize her name but I'm sure you are familiar with her music. Apparently, her songs have been in a several tv shows (I don't know which ones because I don't watch tv) and a few years ago, one of her songs Night Like This was the featured weekly download for iTunes (I think it was also on an Apple commercial but I'm not for certain). We also ventured to Dallas to revisit Malai Thai Kitchen. We went for dinner when we stopped at Ikea last December and saw that they have a really delicious brunch menu. Since the concert was on a Sunday evening, we thought that would be the perfect opportunity to also get brunch. 

The forecast showed winter weather (light snow & some icy spots) for the day we drove down to Texas so we left home super early. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, I was cold and sleepy. The big bowl of congee that I ordered off the brunch menu was just what I needed. Congee, or Chinese rice porridge, is one of my favorite foods. Sadly, the only place where I can find it in OKC is at dim sum. We don't go out for dim sum much so I rarely ever get it. My mom isn't a fan so she doesn't cook it, either. I was SO DAMN EXCITED when the waiter brought out my steaming bowl of chicken, broth, egg, bread, scallions and rice. It was warm and hearty and tasted like everything that was right in the world. Wes ordered the Thai omelette. He liked it but said it was a little too sweet. Oh, and there was zero snow/ice on the roads. Our weather forecasters suck. LOL

I only took pictures of the lobby because the rest of the hotel did not look this nice.

I didn't plan anything else for the day so after brunch, we just checked into the hotel and lounged around all afternoon and into the early evening. Wes booked us a room at the Highland. The lobby looked super swank and upscale but the rest of the hotel wasn't all that great. All other parts of the hotel were Wild West-themed to the extreme. Every piece of decor in our room was cowboy-related and it looked sooooo tacky. And our room had zero amenities. No microwave, no coffee maker, nothing that could be used to make food. They did have room service menus lying around everywhere... hint hint. 😏 I wasn't a fan of our room but what made me give the Highland a bad rating was the valet service. Parking was valet only. And there was only one valet attendant. And he was not very attentive. If you require all of your guests to use valet, then you should probably hire more than one grumpy guy. The valet attendant was never visible when we pulled up and he didn't answer when we called for the car from our room (we just kind of stood around outside for several minutes hoping my car would eventually get parked or pulled around). Maybe I'm too middle class to fully appreciate valet parking.

For dinner we ate at Aw Shucks, which was the second restaurant of the day where I absolutely loved my food (fried oysters and coleslaw) but Wes did not enjoy what he ordered (fried catfish and fries). We usually share the same culinary tastes so this was weird. The place was known for its take on shrimp cocktail. The shrimp was mixed in an avocado, lime, cilantro and tomato relish and poured into a beer mug, which was very Instagrammable but not easy to actually eat. The restaurant was basically an open kitchen surrounded by patio seating. The patio was enclosed in a tent-like structure but it was still ridiculously cold. The staff was super friendly and the security guard complimented Wes's hair (which happens way more often than you'd think).

After dinner we walked across the street to the Granada theater for the concert. I was not a fan of the Granada's aesthetic. I think it has potential to be a really nice event space but it chose to keep its old and dirty look. I guess it mostly hosts indie artists so the building's vibe was very grunge. What bothered me the most was the unfinished paintings on the walls. It seemed as if the artist had original intent for a sprawling mural but then said, "Oh f*ck this", and went home. LP's opening band was a husband and wife duo named Sam & Jim. Wes and I agreed that they were awful. Think of the most annoying, sugar coated, married couple you know. Now think of them on a stage singing. That was Sam & Jim. I think they only played for 45-minutes but their cutesy anecdotes and songs about their life together seemed to last a hellish eternity. 

All tickets were general admission and we didn't get there super early to be in the front so my pictures aren't that great. Sorry.

LP finally took the stage and she was everything I ever wanted in an artist, and more. Her performance was sooooooo good. Her vocal range is amazing. She is the only person I know who can rock out on a ukulele and make whistling sound sexy. This was one of the few concerts where I felt, wholly and genuinely, the intent of the music. I actually felt sad when she sung a sad song. I felt truly joyful when she performed a happy song. She performed mostly from her latest album Heart to Mouth and barely any from Forever For Now, which is my favorite and the album where I discovered her. I thought she sounded better live than on the albums but Wes disagreed. His favorite song she performed was Recovery, which she did acoustic. I liked every song she performed and I got a kick out of her cover of Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire. She didn't talk to the audience much but she did interact a ton with the front row. People were handing her cell phones so she could take selfies and record herself singing. Fans also handed her letters and signs. At the beginning of the show, someone threw a bouquet of white roses at her. They didn't throw the roses to her but at her. Another concert goer threw their phone at her. Who does that? So rude! She took it all in stride and kept on performing. 

This is usually where I end day #1 of the trip and save the second day for another blog post but we didn't do much on day #2 of our trip so I will just keep the two days together for one journal entry. We had lunch at the Original Market Diner. It had good reviews online but neither of us enjoyed our meals. I think the restaurant survives off its regular customer base who have been eating there for so long that they don't realize that the food is not good and over priced. Wes got the raisin bread French toast, which he said tasted like bargain brand bread you get on sale at the grocery store. I got their blue plate special, which was meatloaf on Mondays. I love meatloaf and have never had one that I didn't like... until now. The "meatloaf" had the texture of SPAM and it tasted like fast food hamburger patties. It was all filler and preservatives. Instead of ketchup or barbecue sauce, they poured this runny tomato broth (with soggy vegetables) on top of the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It tasted fine over the meatloaf but it completely ruined the mashed potatoes. 

Our last stop was Buc-ee's. There's a new location in Denton now!!! So we will for sure be stopping in every time we go to Dallas. LOL Buc-ee's is the best convenience store in existence. We always meander around for  way too long and buy too many snacks but its a good thing. I always want Buc-ee's merchandise but we're trying to keep our house minimalistic. But, man it was hard to resist that stuffed animal! Besides the hotel and lunch, I thoroughly enjoyed our first mini-vacation of 2019. I am really glad that I saw LP live. She is one bad ass rocker chick!

Kesha brought her Rainbow tour to OKC...

Free flower crowns & body glitter were passed around to everyone.

...and it was one of the best things ever! She played at the Zoo Amphitheater on July 2nd, 2018. I went with my coworker friend, Audrey, and it was my second Kesha concert. The first time I saw her, I went with my friend, Michelle, and she still spelled her name Ke$ha. It was at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles in September of 2011. That was only seven short years ago but, boy how things have changed! All of us... Kesha, myself and Michelle... are completely different people now. It was rather amazing to see how Kesha has changed as a performer.

How it was in 2011.

The show she put on in 2011 was a party - her set design screamed grungy house party, she drank beer (instead of water) in between songs, she barely even sang her songs, there were backup singers & dancers everywhere and at the end of the show, she encouraged us to all go home with the people sitting next to us. At the time, Michelle & I were in our twenties and a party in LA was what we needed.  I looked back at some old pictures and that concert was great.

Fast forward to the concert last week. Completely (COMPLETELY) different experience. Kesha sang all of the words to each one of her songs and she played the guitar! It was really neat to hear "rock" versions of her older pop songs, such as Blah Blah Blah with electric guitar and an actual live band & vocals. Auto-tune and backing tracks were out and raw performances with instruments were in! There were still back up dancers, glitter and confetti but the show had purpose and meaning. She stopped in between songs to tell us about her struggles and encouraged us all to spread kindness. The visuals from the set design transported us onto Kesha's planet where she reminded us all to be ourselves, unapologetically and without shame.

Her set included a massive space shuttle which she walked out of adorned in a glittering white crown and cape. She started the show with her feminist anthem, Woman. After that song, she explained a sticky predicament she was in - the Zoo Amphitheater does not allow cursing and will charge a fine to all artists who use swear words, but 99% of her songs include swear words. Being Kesha, she gave a huge middle finger to Zoo Amphitheater management and carried on with her foul language. I don't think it offended anyone. She sang many songs from her latest album but sprinkled in some of her old songs as well.  She entered the space shuttle a few times and each time reemerged with a more colorful outfit. At the end of the night, she gave us a two song encore, including an extremely emotional rendition of her song Praying, and showered us all in confetti.

I loved her performance in Los Angeles; as much fun as that was, I think I enjoy the 2018 version of Kesha so much more. As we go through change and the growing pains that accompany life, we often wish we were still young and carefree. But going to this concert reminded me of all the greatness that comes from our pain and experiences. We all weather our own personal storms and with the right mindset, we come out the other end stronger and braver. Thank you Kesha for reminding us of that.

Wes & Erica go see Judas Priest...

...for our wedding anniversary because nothing says romance like heavy metal music. HAHAHAHAH! Before we start, let me note that this happened months ago. Our trip and the concert was on April 26th but I've been too busy (or lazy) to write this until now. I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic this evening.

The concert actually worked out as an anniversary trip because the traditional gift for the third wedding anniversary is leather and each of the three bands that performed all were spectacularly clad in leather. Its like they knew we were coming!  Rob Halford (of Judas Priest) is one Wes' top three metal singers. Sadly, I think the other two have passed on. Because of this, when Wes found out that Judas Priest was coming to town in April he decided that we MUST be there. Heavy metal isn't exactly my preferred type of music but I agreed to tag along. We watched an early Judas Priest documentary and listened to their new album, Firepower, on the drive to Tulsa. I felt like I needed some sort of education before stepping foot into the concert arena. LOL But seriously though, it was a great show and also gave us an excuse to travel to Tulsa. Any excuse to leave work and take a mini-vacation, right?

Up close and personal! We were in the third section! 

Since we like to pretend to be foodies, we stopped at a Korean fusion restaurant for dinner before the concert.  Wes got the kimchi burger and I got the bulgogi tacos. I'm not sure if Wes enjoyed his burger (he's a bit of a hamburger purest) but my tacos were so delicious. We misread what time attendees were allowed into the concert venue so we had some to kill after we ate. We hung out at Barnes & Noble where to got a rad rainbow unicorn named Fuego. I found it fitting.

Since this would be my first ever metal concert, I had zero expectations. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The bands and other concert attendees were exceptionally friendly. I guess the crazy clothing, tattoos and "bad attitude" is all just part of their stage presence. The first band to perform was Black Star Riders. They consisted of two members from Thin Lizzy and some other dudes. The lead singer tried really hard to engage the crowd but to no avail. He wanted us all to clap and sing along but I don't think anyone was familiar with their music, which was an odd blend of Irish folk song and hard rock.

The next band was Saxon. I've never heard of them but they are apparently very well known among the heavy metal community. Saxon started performing around the same time as Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden made it big on the national and international scene but Saxon was the more popular band locally (somewhere in the United Kingdom).  I think Wes was almost more excited about their appearance than Judas Priest's. Everyone perked up as soon as the lead singer stepped on stage. These guys are in their sixties and seventies but you would never know from the energy they emitted on stage.

After a long wait (that included a stage prop malfunction), Judas Priest came on stage. They opened with the title track of their new album, Firepower, with the lead singer dressed from head to toe in gold colored leather with fringe. Their entire performance was amazing and Rob Halford is my new fashion icon. The stage had everything you could imagine - smoke/dry ice, lasers, a gigantic projection screen, numerous props, and many many outfit changes. Rob wore ten different leather jackets throughout the show. They performed a good variety of music from each of the albums throughout their long career. Wes noted that the stage set and Rob's jacket matched the era that the songs they preformed was from. The band had a hypnotizing stage presence. I didn't know any of the words to their songs but I shouted along anyway. For two hours, I became one of heavy metal's biggest fans. Wes' favorite song that they performed was You Got Another Thing Coming and his favorite part of the show was toward the end when Glenn, the band's guitarist who can no longer play on tour because of his Parkinson's disease, came out to play the last few songs. This was a big deal and the crowd went crazy! The outfit changes, while much less significant, were my favorite part of the concert.

The concert was a lot of fun and most importantly, Wes enjoyed it immensely.  He said getting to see Saxon perform was an added bonus and then Glenn coming out to play the last few songs of the Judas Priest set was the cherry on top of an already amazing sundae. (Okay maybe I said that thing about the sundae and he just said, "The whole show was really cool," but I know that's what he meant.) And the music has stuck with me. We saw the show about a month ago and I still have Firepower on my iTunes on regular rotation.

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 & Lacey go to the OKC Zoo Amphitheater.

This is the second week in a row that I blog about an activity that I experienced with dear ol' Lacey.  I should probably blog about her more since she's one of my two best friends and we hang out quite frequently. Lacey had her 31st birthday recently and I reminisced in her card that we've experienced a whopping 15 birthdays together... fifteen. We met in middle school, became friends in high school, were dorm mates in college and our friendship continued to grew from there. Now into adulthood, we're still thick as thieves.

For her birthday gift, I took her to the Weezer & Panic! at the Disco concert. She loves Panic! at the Disco and I adore Weezer. It was the perfect pairing. The concert was outdoors at the Zoo Amphitheater. The venue opened at 4:30pm so concert goers could queue up early but the doors didn't open until 6:00pm. We got there around 6:15pm and, I kid you not, the line was already miles long. We had to park pretty far away from the venue, walk all the way there, then walk past it & down a few blocks to get in line. Lacey set her FitBit goal to be 10,000 steps and she met her goal! I usually enjoy a good walk but this was in Oklahoma-style 95 degree (aka insanely humid) weather so it was super uncomfortable. So, a word of advice for those of you going to a concert at the Zoo Amphitheater... get in line right at 4:30pm to avoid all the madness! LOL

When we finally got into the amphitheater, it was really nice. I've never attended a concert there before so it was a nice surprise. The stage is large and can be seen from all angles. The landscaping is a sloping hill with stone steps and many trees. We stood toward the middle and off to the side in the shade but still had a good view of the stage. And, the best part, it was okay being short (a major problem I have all the time) because we stood on a hill & were automatically taller than the people in front of us. The opening band was Atlas Genius. I've heard a few of their songs play on one of my Pandora stations. They were pretty good but we missed most of their set due to standing in line. (;_;) No pictures were taken.

Panic! at the Disco put on a great show. The lead singer did a back flip off the drum set & they even had a brass horn section!

After Atlas Genius' set, I ventured toward concessions for funnel cake and water. Sadly, they only accepted cash payment so I returned to my seat empty handed. But then Panic! at the Disco came on and, in our excitement, I forgot all about my hungry tummy. They were good. Like, really really good! I last saw them in the early 2000's when they opened for Motion City Soundtrack. I was not impressed with them at that show but tonight was a different story.
       During one of their songs, the guitarist from Weezer randomly walked into our section with his bodyguard and stood pretty close to us. I really wanted to take a sneaky candid picture but he never turned toward us. I stopped paying attention to him for a while and when I looked back, he had already walked away. He probably only stayed to listen to half a song.

Anyway, moving away from my fangirl moment and back to Panic! ... They played mostly their newer songs but a few of the classics, too. Lacey got to see her favorite song by them played live. They had a brass horn section, which was awesome. And, for one of the songs, the lead singer and drummer had a drum-off. It was like dueling pianos but dueling drums. Best part of their entire set! At the end of their set, the lead singer confessed that when he was 10 years old, he stole a cassette tape of Weezer's Blue Album and learned all the songs and that is what turned him on to rock and roll. And now, his band is opening for them so it made him "Victorious" (which is the song that they closed with). 

After Panic! at the Disco's set, all the youth left. LOL I would reckon that about 1/5 of the audience left before Weezer even came on. They missed out. Weezer was great and had the absolute best laser light show that I have ever seen! The light show was actually too good. I couldn't take any pictures because the lasers were too awesome and the lights were too bright and the projections were too in your face. LOL They had a huge screen (pictured above) that played music videos and 90's montages. There was the Weezer logo, tie dye, Treasure Trolls and Air Jordans. Their lighting director and tech crew definitely stole the show. 

I thought they would play a lot from their most recent White Album but they played mostly their classic songs and singles. A few years ago, Wes & I saw Weezer at Win Star Casino and their entire set was classics and singles so, tonight I wanted to hear some of newer stuff but, it was still a really good set. My only complaint would be, they did a few "best of Weezer" mixes that was the chorus of few songs played together. It was kinda cool but I would have rather heard the entire song. And, on a few of the songs, I feel like they missed the transition... like two of the band mates were still playing "El Scorcho" but the other two moved onto playing "In the Garage". They came out for an encore and the lead singer did a cover of Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." Then the band joined him for an acoustic version of "Island in the Sun" and then an all out rock-your-socks-off "Buddy Holly." Ah-mazing!

I'm on the left. Lacey's leg looks chopped off but she just has her legs crossed.

In the end, awesome night. \(^_^)/ Lacey & I had heaps of fun.  (We wore our matching infinity skirts and I'm sure our bitchin' fashion sense aided in our enjoyment of the concert. Hahaha!) Weezer is one of my favorite bands. It was my second time seeing Weezer live and I would go see them 5 more times if they were to return to Oklahoma. I'm still in awe over their laser light show! I wish I could have taken some pictures to show you. But song-wise, Lacey wins... I think Panic! at the Disco had the better set. They were just so damn good. I guess they must have known it was her birthday so they put on a good show just for her!