It’s a mouthful of a band name, but my middle school emo self loved Cute is What We Aim For so very much. Sadly, the first time I had the chance to see them in concert was about 13 years after I started listening to them. But it was such a great show, and lead singer Shaant Hacikyan was so genuinely happy to meet the fans! When he found out how long I’d been listening to them he squeezed me in a hug so tight that I thought my smile was going to split my face in two. Then approximately five years later I got to see them again! He was just as kind this time around. It wouldn’t be a Cute is What We Aim For show if they didn’t play hits like “There’s a Class for This” and “Moan,” but they also manage to mix it up and play some acoustically, which really adds a special elements to the shows. The band has undergone several lineup changes and they’ve released new music occasionally, but I really hope I get the chance to see them again sooner rather than later. Either way, a real talent, and so impressive live!
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Concert Throwback: One Direction
Today marks the tenth year since pop boy band One Direction was formed, and even though they burned out after five years, and I was a freshman in college, I still loved them deeply and was lucky enough to catch them in concert once. My heart! A friend and I snagged tickets almost a year in advance, and then an hour before showtime I checked a resale site only to find ninth row floor seats for dirt cheap! Clearly, we snagged them up, and compared to the nosebleed seats we originally bought, it was like a dream come true. They sounded so good and had a delightfully long set. It was bliss! Even though I had a great seat, my camera phone was crap, so you’re just going to have to deal with what I’ve got. I hope that someday they all reunite and tour, because I’ll be all over that!
Read moreConcert Review: Bear Hands
The concerts keep on rolling in and I am not mad about it! Last night I had the pleasure of catching Bear Hands at one of my favorite Cleveland venues, the Grog Shop.
Read moreConcert Review: Band of Brothers Tour with Magic Giant and American Authors
The concerts keep rolling in, and this time, I got my favorite concert buddy and her husband to go with me! They’ve been out of the concert loop for a little bit, so I’ve vowed to get them back in the swing of things. To start it off, we went and saw the Band of Brothers Tour which featured co-headliners, Magic Giant and American Authors!
Read moreFirst Concert of 2020!
That’s right folks, I am starting off 2020 better than 2019 solely based on the fact that I’ve already been to a concert! What’s better? The fact that it was Motionless in White, who my sister and I did not see a single time last year. That’s a crime.
Read moreFinal 2019 Concert Review: Riff Raff
I decided to end the year with one more, completely random concert. Riff Raff! Had it not been local, there is no chance you would have caught me there, but I couldn’t resist. I feel like I’m a glutton for punishment.
Read moreAcoustic House Show with Emery
Never in my life have I experienced something quite as intimate as I did on Friday night. With a band, that is. In what I assume is a very rare opportunity, one of my pop punk/emo heroes, Emery, was playing an acoustic show at a house nearby. So I went!
Read more2019 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 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!
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