Concert 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!

MTV Video Music Awards Recap & Review

As a person who only tolerates top 40 music, I should really stop watching this program, because the VMAs are truly a top 40 showcase. With that being said, I forwarded through probably 80 percent of the show, stopping only to see the nominees and winners, along with the performances by Lizzo and part of the Jonas Brothers. I am always impressed with Lizzo’s pipes and stage movement, and I am always morbidly curious about the Jo-Bros.

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Concert 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!

Warped Tour 25th Anniversary – Cleveland

The concerts continued this past weekend with the Warped Tour 25th Anniversary kicking off at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I will say, back when I heard there were going to be a select few shows this year and Cleveland was one of those locations, I was definitely going no matter what. Truth be told, the lineup was pretty weak in terms of the amount of bands, but what it lacked in numbers it made up with killer performances and access to the museum.

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