Concert Q & A

I was driving to work this morning rocking out to the radio and had several flashback memories of some great concert experiences.  So I decided to share them with you in hopes that you will share some with me!  These are really hard to answer


Most memorable concert moment: It was "The Rising Tour" which occurred shortly after 9/11.  Bruce asked for total silence in the audience, and when he had all 20,000 of us paying full attention he played "Empty Sky".  The whole night was a combination of a good time and sad time mixed together.  Very unique atmosphere.


Least favorable concert:  George Michael.  Not because he wasn't good, but because every female (other than me) in the audience was screaming at the top of their lungs the whole time and I couldn't even hear the music.  I wanted to leave but was there for a friend so I stuck it out.


Who puts on the best show: If you know me at all, you already know my answer :)  Bruce, of course!


Concert I wish I could have seen: The Doors, I was born ten years too late; and Queen.  I don't know how I missed them out of the hundreds of bands I've seen, but I did :(

Best concert I never saw:  Led Zeppelin, I still have my two tickets and have never totally forgiven Jon Van B.

Biggest outdoor concert:  Cal Jam II

Smallest inside venue: The Quiet Woman restaurant in Laguna Beach (about 50 - 75 people), Kenny Loggins dropped by and put on a show for some locals, so fun!

Best seats at a concert:  Front Row at VAN HALEN in '81, omg - talk about amazing, Eddie is one of my top 5 guitarists

Loudest concert:  Ted Nugent, love him or hate him - he's very entertaining


Most mind blowing concert:  Pink Floyd! (i was 17, under the influence of LSD & red wine for the occasion and it truly was an incredible night under the stars, i was fearless back then)


Worst concert experience:  Losing my sister for several hours at an all day concert featuring the Rolling Stones.  I was frantic to find her and finally, right before the Stones came on, there she was.

Most frightening moment at a concert:  Same Stones concert as above.  I was near the front, the crowd rushed and literally lifted me off my feet, I was screaming because I was being crushed and no one cared.  Then this big, strong "angel" came out of nowhere (picture Clarence Clemons), lifted me up and out of the crowd (I was only about 125 lbs back in the day!).  After he put me down and I thanked him I looked back again and he was GONE.

Best concert experience:  Impossible to narrow it down.  I will say I got a thrill when David Bowie smiled at me.

Artist seen the most times: Again, if you know me.....Bruce (23? 24?  lost track)

Most embarrassing concert moment:  Falling asleep at Pat Benatar.  I was bored after sitting through Quarterflash and Night Ranger (no offense to either band).

Funnest concert moment: Had to be during Bruce, but there are so many fun moments in all his concerts, hard to pick just one.

Best "goosebumps" moment:  U2, "Vertigo Tour", when Bono was talking about co-existing and loving our neighbor, and peace, etc. then started playing "One" the young man next to me held my hand for a moment (he was Middle Eastern) and we both had tears in our eyes.

Concert I regret:  Def Lepard, only because it was stupid of me to go with the person I went with - we got there late and had crappy seats.



Best concert of all time:  Michael Jackson.  It was the "Bad" tour and Michael was at  his peak in every way.  I know this sounds corny, but I truly did feel like I was in the presence of someone very special.  The energy of his hardcore fans infused everyone else that was there and the THINGS HE DID on that stage were literally magical (he'd walk up a set of stairs, disappear in a puff of smoke then be back on the opposite side of the stage in a different outfit in a matter of seconds, like 5 seconds or less).  His DANCE MOVES, the way he held the audience captive.  His humility.  It was an experience I'll cherish forever.  RIP MJ.  (again, love him or hate him, he was one of the best, if not the best, entertainers of our time).
http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/2008/05/one-i-missed.html

I'm Going to U2 Tonight!

Will Review Tomorrow.....

U2 Has Set Dates for Rescheduled N. American Tour:

Well its almost a year away...but I'm already looking forward to it.

This weekend I will be seeing BAD COMPANY with Paul on vocals :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 21 Denver, CO Invesco Field (formerly June 12/10)
May 24 Salt Lake City, UT Rice Eccles Stadium (formerly June 3/10)

June 01 Edmonton, AB Commonwealth Stadium (formerly June 23/10)
June 04 Seattle, WA Qwest Field (formerly June 20/10)
June 07 Oakland, CA McAfee Coliseum (formerly June 20/10)
June 17 Anaheim, CA Angels Stadium (formerly June 6/10)
June 18 Anaheim, CA Angels Stadium (formerly June 7/10)
June 26 East Lansing, MI Spartan Stadium at MSU (formerly June 30/10)
June 29 Miami, FL *Sun Life Stadium
previously Dolphin Stadium (formerly July 9/10)

July 05 Chicago, IL Soldier Field (formerly July 6/10)
July 08 Montreal, QC Hippodrome (formerly July 16/10)
July 09 Montreal, QC Hippodrome (formerly July 17/10)
July 11 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre (formerly July 3/10)
July 14 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field (formerly July 12/10)
July 20 East Rutherford, NJ New Meadowlands Stadium (formerly July 19/10)
July 23 Minneapolis, MN TCF Bank Stadium (formerly June 27/10)

No U2 4 OC

Wow.  My neighbor is blasting "U2" right now.  Its the first time I ever even heard music coming from their house!  Its because tonight was the night they were to perform here in So. Cal. at Anaheim Stadium.

Oh well....next year Bono will be better and I will get great seats and it will be worth the long wait!

Bono Has Spinal Surgery!

U2’s Angel Stadium shows could get postponed  (this is my concert...)

Bono has undergone emergency spinal surgery in Munich after injuring himself during preparation for the next North American leg ofU2’s 360 Tour, according to Reuters and BBC News.

The singer-activist, who just turned 50, is expected to remain at a specialist neurosurgery clinic in Germany for a number of days before flying home to Ireland for further recuperation.

Of course, this casts serious doubts on whether Bono and the band will be ready for its June 6-7 shows at Angel Stadium. Already the June 3 launch in Salt Lake City has been postponed. Were he back in action in time, the Anaheim dates would now kick off the tour — though I wouldn’t bank on that. Even if he were ready to perform again in two weeks, would it really be advisable? Could he possibly be at his strongest again? Postponing seems the smartest move.

After that, U2 is slated to play Denver on June 12, Oakland on June 16 and Seattle on June 20. The British press is also wondering if Bono will be recovered enough to face a headlining appearance at the annual Glastonbury festival on June 25.

U2 manager Paul McGuinness advises fans to monitor U2’s website for the latest updates. “We will make plans to reinstate the dates as soon as possible,” he said of the potential for postponements, adding that it was “unfortunate that we’re inconveniencing fans” and that it was causing disruption to the band’s 400-strong crew.

Photo by Steven Lovekin, Getty Images.

Please get better, Bono!  We (I) love you!

The guy who put this video together did a great job of combining all the clips he could find of U2 doing this song dating back to the early 90's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

U2 adds dates for more US tour !!

Sweet, I guess I was meant to see them closer to home in June vs. last night at the Rose Bowl.  Just hope Bono's voice holds out, it was cracking...



U2 360° TOUR 2010 North American Dates

6-June Anaheim, CA
On sale soon

12-June Denver, CO
On sale Nov. 6

16-June Oakland, CA
Presale opens Oct. 27th
On sale Nov. 2

20-June Seattle, WA
On sale soon

23-June Edmonton, AB
Presale opens Oct. 27th
On sale Nov. 2

30-June East Lansing, MI
On sale soon

03-July Toronto, ON
Presale opens Oct 27th
On sale Nov. 2

06-July Chicago, IL
On sale soon

09-July Miami, FL
On sale soon

12-July Philadelphia, PA
On sale soon

16-July Montreal, QC
On sale soon

19-July New York
On sale soon

The next best thing to being there...

....watching U2 on YouTube live.

U2 Tickets for sale - Face Value for THIS SUNDAY @ Rose Bowl

Unfortunately I am selling my U2 tickets because I just don't have the desire to go.  If you or anyone you know wants these, let me know ASAP.

I am selling these at face value plus the convenience fee ($23.00 each) the Fast Delivery fee (2.50 each) and the processing fee (4.00 each). I have the invoice if you want to see it. The total for two tickets is $555.50

GREAT SEATS!
Section 7-L, Row 5, Seats 13 & 14

Paypal only. Will email you tickets after purchase.

U2 360 Tour

Well the tour has been underway for almost a month now, slowly making their way across Europe and heading towards .... me! I can't wait for Oct. 25th. This monstrosity of a stage will be interesting to see in person.

This was fun:

I took this off Facebook where my buddy Pete had tagged me. What you do is, using only song names from ONE ARTIST, answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title.

Since Pete already used my favorite artist, I will use a different one.

Pick Your Artist: U2

Are you male or female: Wild Irish Rose

Describe yourself: Dreaming with Tears in My Eyes

How do you feel about yourself: Mysterious Ways

Describe where you currently live: In God's Country

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Van Deimen's Land

Your favorite form of transportation: Fast Cars

Your best friend is: Grace

Your favorite color is: Red light

What's the weather like: It's a Beautiful Day

Favorite time of the day: 11 o'clock Tick Tock

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

What is life to you: Everlasting Love

What is the best advice you have to give: Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own

If you could change your name, what would it be: Desire

Your favorite food is: Crumbs from Your Table

Thought for the day: Love and Peace or Else

My motto: Walk On

I Got Them!

UPDATE! UPDATE!
THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE NEWS!!!

MY SISTER IS THE BEST SISTER ON THE PLANET!

After getting seats (see below) I immediately got back in line on Ticketmaster to try and get even better seats at the HIGH price. I thought, no way will I get them. I waited 24 minutes and up popped a pair of great seats...I called my sister and said "T, do you want to pay $96 for good seats or $251 for great seats?" she said "you only live once, get the good seats and we'll sell the others". So now I have these seats:

Lower Level Section 7, Row 5, Seats 13 - 14

My sis has lots more $$ than I do but still, it is her generosity at paying the majority of this that allows me to go! I wish everyone had a sister like her! I LOVE YOU, THERESE!

Earlier post:

Man, I was lucky. I hit "find tickets" the exact moment they went on sale and four minutes later had my seats. Then I tried again to get two more (you can never have too many) but here I am 20 minutes later and still waiting.

The question is, are these good seats? I think they are but its hard to tell exactly from their seating chart:We are in Section 1-H, Row 32, Seats 101 - 102. I have tried viewing seating charts and can't tell if I have good seats or great seats but dang it I ain't complaining! I GOT TICKETS!

Jeff, I am so sorry you didn't. Starr???? What's up girl? Fill me in, did you get tickets?

tomorrow, 10:00 Am

Tickets Go on Sale for
U2

I'll be doing the usual, posting a sign on my cubicle that says:

"ON BREAK, PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB"

Then I'll be simultaneously on the phone and on-line with Ticketbastardmaster to try for two good seats.

wish
me
luck

Disappointing Concert News

I'm not happy about these two things:


1. Do you know who's opening for U2 when I see them in October? "The Black Eyed Peas". No offense to any Pea fans out there but I don't like their music and don't want to have to sit through it. Yuk.




2. I was so excited to hear that the original members of Bad Co. (minus Boz Burrell who died in 06) are doing a brief tour this summer. But my excitement was short lived when I checked the schedule:

They aren't coming West! Dang it! I am disappointed.


DATE CITY/STATE VENUE
June 17 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live
June 19 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre
June 20 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
June 23 Raleigh, NC Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
June 24 Virginia Beach, FL Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
June 27 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
June 28 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
July 1 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 2 Canandaigua, NY CMAC
July 4 Atlantic City, NJ Resorts Atlantic City

Another Rant About Ticketmaster

Tickets for the local U2 show go on sale next Monday. I should be happy, thrilled, ecstatic.

Instead I feel nervous, anxious and angry because obtaining concert tickets is such a negative experience. In some ways its like playing the lotto - a few get lucky, but many will walk away with NOTHING. Its grossly unfair and the ticket industry’s greed is disgusting.

I’m not referring to the price of tickets (that’s for another day), what infuriates me is how ticket scalpers (aka ticket brokers or agencies) buy huge quantities of tickets than turn around and sell them for two, three or even four times face value. It forces fans that want choice seats to shell out big bucks. Its just plain wrong!

Its at times like this that I ask myself, where the heck are Eddie Vedder and Trent Reznor when you need them?

Remember back in 1994 when Pearl Jam addressed Congress? They clearly spelled out what goes on behind the scenes. They did an excellent job of showing the world how greedy and unfair it is to have one company, specifically Ticketmaster, controlling ticket sales for all the major events in the USA You can read the transcript here, its very informative. Peal Jam went to bat for their FANS and I will forever be grateful for their efforts and willingness to make changes (Eddie, I’d like to thank you in person, call me!)

Then there’s Nine Inch Nails. Those guys took things a step further and made sure their fans had a fair shot at getting GOOD seats at face value! Trent Reznor does a great job of summarizing how NIN deals with this issue (read the article for details of the hows and whys, I found it very enlightenting):

"We have essentially stopped scalping by doing these things - because we want true fans to be able to get great seats and not get ripped off by these parasites."

Once again, my personal thanks to Trent (you have my number, lets do lunch!)

I am seriously considering starting a grassroots movement to put an end to unfair monopolization of concert ticket sales!! Anyone want to join me? Lets do it!

U2 on Letterman - FIVE NIGHTS IN A ROW!?

Hmmm, that's a tad odd, don't you think? But am I complaining? Heck no. But it will be hard to stay up that late to watch it.

Here's something more about it that I snagged from the U2 Exit Blog:

U2’s newly announced Late Night With David Letterman residency — they’re playing the show every weeknight from March 2 through March 6 — is “unprecedented,” according to the press release I just got. It also seems a tiny bit, well, desperate. Does a band of U2’s stature really need to work that hard to drum up interest in their new album? (No Line on the Horizon comes out March 3, a fact you will no doubt be hearing frequently if you watch Letterman that week.)

Hey, maybe they do. Nobody can count on guaranteed album sales these days, obviously, and I can’t really begrudge Bono & Co. for doing everything they can to remind their fans of their latest project. I bet I’ll end up tuning in for at least a couple of nights that week just to see how U2 is sounding, anyway. How about you? Is five nights in a row overkill, or are you thrilled to be getting so much U2 in a single week? What songs do you hope they’ll perform, once they get current single “Get On Your Boots” out of the way?

- Simon Vozick-Levinson, EW.com

A Powerful Moment in Half Time History

Get On Your Boots !!!

So, its out - U2's new single, "Get On Your Boots".

I've heard it once and need to listen at least three or four more times to see if I like it. The first time through I was thinking "where's the unique newness here? this seems like the same old stuff...." But I need to give it a better chance.

One lyric that jumped out at me:

you don't know

you don't get it do

you don't know

how beautiful you are

Have you heard it yet? What do you think?

U2 News

Bono has been awarded the "Man Of Peace" prize by the Nobel peace laureates for his work in tackling African debt, poverty and disease. Meanwhile, according to the Wall Street Journal (citing regulatory filings and sources) the band have moved to sell 1.6 million shares in Live Nation for $19 million as part of their $25 million 12-year deal with the promoter they signed in March.

U2 have announced that their 12th studio album, No Line On The Horizon, will be released on March 3rd via Interscope. The band were recently in London shooting a video for the first single.

(taken from the 80's Nut Newsletter)

Shakespeare and U2 - I'm Up for That

U2 the musical: it’s a beautiful day for Bono and the Bard

It’s the Bard meets Bono and is the hottest musical in Burbank California this month. A US theatre company has mixed U2 and Shakespeare to create hit musical As U2 Like It.

Matt Walker, the show’s creator, said: "Even though Shakespeare and U2 are nearly 400 years apart, there’s such a similarity in the language they use. They share common themes too which include love and loss, heartbreak and politics."

See online : Sunday Tribune

Ken Sweeney Entertainment Editor

I need to check into this since its in my area!  

Yep, I can imagine this as a U2 lyric:  "What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."