nearly midnight [lawrence]

there are only a few artists i'd travel two and a half hours to see on a random tuesday night; neko case is one of them.  not only because i've enjoyed her music for several years, but hearing her perform live is nothing short of magical.  in an era of auto tuning and twerking, it really is amazing to watch a live performance from someone with honest talent.

neko was on tour promoting her new album, which holds tracks already climbing up the list of my favorites. although we didn't share the eye-locking moment we did back in 2007 it was still an amazing show, and i'm thankful cameras take significantly better photos than they did six years ago.  if you've never heard of her, please check her out.  i'm partial to the song "hold on, hold on", but if you stumble upon her new album first, check out "night still comes," "local girl," or "ragtime," a few of my favorites from the new album.

mail delivered [memories]

last week i got to relive a bit of 2003

to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album "give up" the postal service" went on tour, and stopped in kansas city. not wanting to miss this opportunity i, along with a few friends, went to the concert.

the album isn't one of my all time favorites, but the sentimental value it holds is priceless. ten years ago, i made the decision to switch majors and enter into architecture school.  a decision that meant a huge shift in my life.  not only was about to toss the last three years of college down the drain and start over, i was entering a very hard field. one that meant many extra hours of work, including all-nighters in order to finish projects.

one of the ways to get through the the late nights was to listen to music on itunes, a new feature for the at the time.  not only did i make several new friends that year, but they introduced me to several new bands, one of which was "the postal service."  hearing their songs instantly takes me back to 3am in studio, cutting bass wood, and drawing on velum rushing to get everything done before the critique. as stressful as those night were, i wouldn't trade the experience for anything, mainly because those nights house so many great memories.  one of the bands providing the soundtrack for those thoughts..."the postal service"


a look at me in 2003:

and a few shots from the concert:

austin city limits [festival]

and now for some highlights from the actual festival:

- great shows on friday from first aid kit, tegan and sara, florence and the machine and the black keys
- banh mi's from the food court
- water filling stations and cooling fans
- purchasing an official acl koozie, fueling my new obsession for these objects
- being in an instagram rich environment
- chicken cones from the food court
- being well prepared for the rain on saturday
- purchasing a water proof blanket
- finding waldo
- random conversations with complete, but friendly, strangers
- jack white performing "seven nation army" on saturday night
- an amazing performance from the civil wars on sunday
- watching the avett brothers put on one of the best shows i've seen at acl
- chad smith from the red hot chili peppers playing drums for the avett brothers for a few songs
- reliving most of my childhood by rocking out to the the red hot chili peppers as they closed the festival
- hanging out with friends

 

 

austin [city] limits festival

this year found me traveling to the great city of austin a fifth time to attend the acl music festival.  what can i say, i love the music and i love the town.  my gracious austin host knows this, and thoughtfully plans out the weekend so we not only enjoy the festival, but also take in places and restaurants she's discovered the past year.  two very different sides of the same city. for that reason i've decided to split this annual post into two different ones; one focusing on the town, the other, the festival.  also, as i find myself ever glued to my iphone, i took way to many photos for just one post and needed to divide it up a bit.

some [city] highlights this year:

- having an influx of gluten free, organic, and vegan food items
- drinking kale smoothies
- walking 2nd street, and seeing a very well done pedestrian friendly street scape
- discovering new restaurants, including whip in and walton's fancy & staple
- live music everywhere, including the wine section of whole foods
- spending an evening at the highball, a retro style bowling alley/bar
- sitting in the studio of my favorite morning radio show, the bobby bones show
- chatting up and befriending bartenders, and having them give you the inside scoop on "the bats"
- great coffee every single morning
- spending time and catching up with great friends
- inside jokes