When celebrities are going to be at a free event basically in your backyard on a Thursday, you have to go! And that’s what I did! The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sponsored this Likover Lecture to shed light on two areas: abortion and voting rights. So naturally, they tapped two celebrities who are very passionate about these topics: Ike Barinholtz and Busy Philipps!
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2019 Final Concert Review: Ghost
I really hope I’m joking about this, but sadly I may not be. In which case, you read that right. This is my last schedule concert of the year; therefore, it is the last concert review of 2019. But it was a doozy and a highly entertaining one at that! A solid line-up of Texas-based rockers, Nothing More, opening for, as my co-worker described them, the modern 80s rock band, Ghost!
Read moreMy Trip to NYC!
Friends! I just got back from the coolest trip I’ve been on since I went to CinemaCon in Las Vegas almost two years ago. It’s been about five years, but I finally headed back to New York to visit one of my oldest friends. And this time I told her we were going to see as many celebrities that we can muster in three days – we succeeded!
Read moreConcert Review: Bastille
A few days late, but that doesn’t diminish my experience in any way…I saw Bastille over the weekend! I believe it’s my fifth time seeing the band, and they NEVER disappoint! Even though lead singer, Dan Smith, was very obviously fighting a cold, he still sounded spectacular (maybe just a little more audience participation this time around).
The show opened with another one of my favorites, Joywave, who played all their hits like “Destroyer” and “It’s a Trip!,” while incorporating some new tunes like “Obsession” off of their upcoming album, due out early next year. They were definitely donning safety gear, but they were electric and spot on perfection!
Bastille hit the stage a threw out a bunch of new tunes from their latest record, Doom Days, like “Joy” and “Those Nights,” but they also peppered in some old hits like “Good Grief” and “Things We Lost in the Fire.” I was excited they added in a song from their first mix-tape, “Of the Night!” and of course Dan came into the crowd during “Flaws.” The man zoomed right past me and a I took the world’s worst picture of his arm…oh, well!
Look, I may not have been as huge a fan of this latest effort, but there is no denying the talent of this band, and hearing them live is a treat! There are plenty of North American tour dates left, so go catch them if you can!
Fall Concert Review: Angels & Airwaves
After a short break, the concerts are picking back up! Last night I got to see Angels and Airwaves at the House of Blues in Cleveland! It was quite a show filled with a good deal of talent – opening bands included!
Read moreConcert Review: Slipknot
That’s right folks, you read correctly. My sister and I went and saw Slipknot this past Friday. It’s a once in a five or so year opportunity, so my sister made sure we jumped on those tickets as soon as we could!
Read moreSummer Concert Series: Korn/Alice in Chains
Hey all! While it was a slow start to the year with concerts for me, summer has been making up for it generously with some legit tours! And riding into that awesome wave was the co-headlining tour of Korn and Alice in Chains that I had the opportunity to attend last night! The crowds were wild and the music was blaring, so that means I had a great time!
Read moreWestern & Southern Open: ATP & WTA Tennis
Earlier this week, my dad and I traveled down to watch some professional tennis at the Cincinnati Masters! I know that this is technically not a concert, but it’s the only sport and sporting event that I watch and attend annually, so it’s getting documented. Sadly, my favorite player, Rafael Nadal, wasn’t in attendance again this year, but I still saw a ton of great matches and up close and personal to other top players!
Read moreConcert Review: Imagine Dragons
I’m going to start by being honest. At the beginning, I was a fan of Imagine Dragons, and I’ll still sing to newer songs on the radio, but somewhere along the line I discovered that first graders unanimously liked the band, and I that turned me off hardcore. Sure, I’m a hipster in that way, but selling out just really turns me off. So, when I heard however many months back that Imagine Dragons were going to basically be performing in my backyard for the Pro Football Hall of Fame week, I briefly looked into getting tickets. And then I saw those prices.
But fate has a way of working its magic, and one of my really good friends had the hook-up last minute! So I went, and I had a grand old time! It was the closest to a VIP experience I’ve ever had, so that meant close parking, shuttle golf carts, unlimited food and drinks, and oh yeah…fourth row floor seats! The closest I’ve ever been to the stage for a name that big was four years ago when I saw One Direction (no regrets!). It was awesome!
Despite the fact that there were way too many children (Dan Reynolds apologized for swearing at one point), a small thunderstorm delay, and a little bit of rain, nothing got too pushed back and the evening was still very pleasant. I think opener, Bishop Briggs, got shorted on her set, but she made the most of her time belting out her radio hits with swagger. Since I’ve seen her live once before, I wasn’t too disappointed, and she seemed genuinely giddy being able to play this venue.
Imagine Dragons took the stage a little while later and opened with their mega-hit “Believer,” and then pretty much belted out hit after hit for the rest of the set until they ended with their first mega-hit “Radioactive.” Front man Reynolds took a few beats in between some songs to talk about self-love, mental illness stigma, and a moment to acknowledge the horrendous shootings in El Paso and Dayton. All in all, I recognized about 90 percent of the songs played, and was slightly disappointed that “Shots” and “Sucker for Pain” were shortened, acoustic renditions. Ultimately, I was nervous that the band wasn’t going to sound all that great, but the certainly proved me wrong!
An A+ experience for sure!
Epic Concert Trio Review: Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Three Days Grace
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing three spectacular and quite popular bands perform together in one venue, and it wasn’t a festival! That’s pretty rare!
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