Summer Concert Series - ACL 2008 Friday

I am not sure if we are still in Summer or not but last weekend was a three day event known as the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Diana and I attended it and after three days of music, sunshine and dust we made it home yesterday at 4 A.M.

I am going to cover this in three blogs to make sure that the festival isn't under appreciated. First and foremost, you can see all of the pictures on our Photo Site. I got up and drove to Austin on Friday by myself to attend the first day of ACL. Diana was stuck in Dallas for Friday due to work so I arrived in Austin at 10:30 and rode the shuttle to Zilker Park for the event. I met up with my cousin Micheal and his girlfriend while there and stood in line with them while they got someone from 'Vampire Weekend's autograph.

We set our chairs up to watch 'Asleep at the Wheel' and followed it up with a band I had never heard of called 'What Made Milwaukee Famous'. If you have the time, check out their music. It was fairly entertaining and made for some good listening.

One of the things I really appreciated about this type of festival is the varying degree of talent that shows up. Along with the fact that the styles are so eclectic, you get to find things you aren't familiar with. After 'Milwaukee' I broke from my cousin and went and took in Jakob Dylan. I knew the name but wasn't familiar with his stuff and was pleasantly surprised. Ironically, his father closed out the festival last year and was not very good from what I hear so to see him playing was a treat.

I wasn't the only Dallas resident to be attending the show. Erin drove down as well and after Jakob Dylan, I met up with her to watch a singer by the name of Patty Griffin sing. She was very Melissa Ethridge and at one point I looked over and saw a pair of legs in the crowd that were hairier than mine but were somehow attached to a woman of considerable girth. Crazy Lesbos.

For those who don't know, I am a closet Country fan and the 'Eli Young Band' played at the Austin Ventures stage. I went alone again but didn't care because they put on a hell of a show. I even ended up buying one of their albums on Saturday.

The final show of the night, and my second favorite performance of the entire festival was 'The Swell Season'. I met back up with Erin for this one and got much closer to the stage than any of the other concerts. It was getting darker so the temp was going down and was a nice end to the night. This is the duo that won 'Best Original Song' at the Oscars for the song "Falling Slowly" from the film 'Once'. Glen Hansard is one hell of a guitarist and can sing too. He played an acoustic Van Morrison cover where he strummed the hell out of his guitar. His duets with the other half of the band, Marketa Irlova were great and they really play well off of each other.

Sadly, this ended my first day at ACL due to the need to go pick up Diana. I had some time to kill and went to grab some dinner when I stumbled across an original A-Frame Whataburger that was decorated with a retro theme. I was so hungry from the day but I was patient after ordering my food and was paid off with an awesome meal that rivals some of the other Whataburgers I have had. There was a nostalgia to the whole thing.

The high or Friday was about 92 degrees. It was hot but not unbearable though I really appreciated every $8 24oz. Heineken I drank and the tea at the end of the night could not be refilled fast enough.

That is all,

Newt

Summer Concert Series - Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick

Well, I was almost going to wait until later to post this because I was feeling lazy but I felt blogging about a July event in August was just not responsible.

We celebrated Diana's Birthday on Sunday by going to dinner at Gloria's Mexican Restaurant on Greenville. A bunch of friends came along and we had a grand time. Afterwards, about half of the group went to SuperPages.com center for the second 80's rock out that we have been to this weekend.

We arrived a little late so we only saw two or three Cheap Trick songs. No big loss, let me tell ya. Heart came out and really put on a great show. Bad thing was I just kept imagining Guitar Hero song riffs when Barracuda was sang.

Journey finished out the night. For those of you who don't know, the lead singer of Journey, Steve Perry, left the band in 98. They have since replaced him with this guy: Arnel Pineda. He was the lead singer in a Journey cover band from the Philippines. And I'll be damned if he didn't rock out the house and bring a young vibe that has been missing. We saw them last year and this was a hell of a lot better.

We don't have any more concerts lined up until ACL in September(eat your heart out Thomas).

That is all,

Newt

Summer Concert Series - Bryan Adams & Foreigner

What a night. Last night we did a double feature of 80's goodness with an outdoor concert featuring Bryan Adams & Foreigner. I bought $10 lawn seats and I have to say that this was probably the best concert I have seen for the money spent.

My $10 got me lawn seats that were pretty close in relation to the stage. Bryan Adams is the man in terms of hits and for an hour and a half he played them all. The coolest part of the night was when he stopped playing to ask that someone from the audience come up on stage and sing with him. He looked around the front rows and found a woman, Jill, to bring up on stage. His choice was great because not only was she from Chicago(boos erupted from the crowd) but she was entertaining. I don't remember which song they sang but she knew the words and during the course of the duet, she rubbed up on Bryan, they bumped butts, and she shook her booty while he played the guitar. It was awesome.

Foreigner did a really good job as well. The lead singer wasn't the original but he looked like he had stepped out of the 80's with his long hair and colorful open chested shirt. They played all the hits from 'Urgent', 'Dirty White Boys' and 'Jukebox Hero' and a couple of lesser known. I wrote a blog on the awesomeness of this band a while back that you can read here.

It was a blast to see and I can't recommend them enough.

That is all,

Newt

Summer Concert Series - Rascall Flatts

Well, we went to see Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift on Sunday. Talk about a crazy concert. When we go there, there were were more people at the Superpages.com center than I have ever seen at that place. Also, the most number of skirted 19 year old drunks.

The concert started with a duet of dudes that were boring. Taylor Swift came out pretty quickly afterwards and played all of her hits. The great thing about seeing Ms. Swift was the fact that there was a guy at the concert with his girlfriend that was getting so into the music that he was singing along with 'Tim McGraw' and 'Slammin' Screen Door'. No, it wasn't me but I was right behind him.

Rascal Flatts put on a hell of a show. It literally started with a bang as they had a screen where a meteor was shown flying towards the screen and when it hit, sparks flew and the band came out. Damn, they have a lot of hits. It was an awesome concert that I didn't expect that much of.

The only real problem that we had during this concert was that there was a large amount of 19 to 21 year olds who couldn't hold there liquor. Between 15 and 20 girls started drinking before Taylor Swift came on and didn't stop. They started on a blanket in front of us and there were a few of them that wouldn't stop cycling out to go get drinks.

When Rascal Flatts came on, their friends joined them and they were so loud that we could barely hear. They kept taking over our space and one of them was so close to me that I got some of her sweat on my arm. For some reason, they started a brawl that broke up a big portion of the group. They were still being annoying though so we finally had to move.

Here's a question. Why the hell would 20 people spend $30 to stand around and talk? Why not just throw a huge party with a cover and be done with it? Teenagers are stupid.

That is all,

Newt

Summer Concert Series - Death Cab

Tuesday continued the SCS 2008 with a Death Cab for Cutie concert and all I have to say is "Ha Ha Thomas. In Your Face!!!". Diana was out of town so I had to go to my back up wife, Erin, for company. To start off my "date", Erin and I went to a Hibachi grill for dinner. That turned out to be a bad idea. Not because the food was bad but because it put us behind so late that we missed most of the opening band, Rouge Wave.

We did actually make it to see the last two songs and those were pretty good. We also got up as soon as it was over and hit the shirt table where I stood in line for 10 minutes to get my lovely new shirt celebrating the greatness of DCFC. My "date" got us beer and we went back to our seats.

So, here is a funny little story. I have been feeling a little bit older due to going to these concerts and seeing all of these younger concert goers enjoying themselves. Not only does it make me remember being that age but it also causes me to realize that I am getting older. So, I guess you can say that I am the creepy old guy at the concert and here is the proof.

Erin and I were sitting in our seats and I looked over two chairs at a girl who had bought and was wearing the girl version of the shirt I had just purchased. I thought this was a funny coincidence so I looked over and said, "Hey, I like your shirt." She didn't realize I was talking to her but our eyes met and it hit her that I was looking at her so she said, "What?"

I said again, "I like your shirt" and she got very uncomfortable and said, "Oh...thanks." I realized she didn't understand what I meant so I said, "No, because I have the same shirt. See?" This didn't seem to make her more comfortable so I just said "OK, sorry. Just ignore me" to which Erin threw in, "Just ignore him, he talks to everyone." Talk about uncomfortable.

Luckily, the concert started and I was able to forget the incident with all of the freakin' awesome music. Best concert I have hit so far. The music was consistently great, very small amounts of time between songs, and they played all of their hits. This is the concert that I tried to see 4 years ago in Houston and luckily it was worth the wait. So Thomas, when you finally do see DCFC, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

That is all,

Trinity

Summer Concert Series - Flashback

So, I have been talking about all of my concerts this year and thought I would go back and discuss something that happened to me and my HLM, Jessica and Natalee when we had the unfortunate luck of going to a Death Cab for Cutie concert in Houston back in college.

Back in the day we got the opportunity to go see DCFC in Houston at a dive bar. We bought tickets months in advance, drove 11 hours to Houston and stayed at Jessica's parents house. That Saturday, rain hit. Not pouring rain but a drizzle that was consistent and didn't want to stop. We headed for the concert around 5:30 or so and stood outside in an alleyway for over an hour while Mother Nature urinated on us.

Just before the doors were to open we saw movement at the front of the line. Finally, we were going to get inside where there wasn't rain. Yippee. Then disaster struck. Like a game of phone, people began to say that the concert was cancelled. Were they lying as a joke? Was this some plot to move up in line? Could the Gods be that cruel?

SERENITY NOW!!! A transformer blew and the bar had no power. The band could not play. It was like that song "The Day the Music Died." How could this happen? We were cursed. In defeat we had to walk away. It was a cruel world.

We made the best of a bad situation and took in a show at the Houston Improv that had Pablo Francisco and a couple of other no name funny acts. It was enjoyable but disappointment leaves a bad taste in your mouth that even laughter can't get rid of. The car ride back to Lubbock was one filled with disappointment.

This story has a point that will be apparent in my next post.

That is all,

Newt

Summer Concert Series Part 3

Well, the Concert Series continues. We went to see Chicago and the Doobie Brothers on Sunday and this is the first outside event we have been to so far. It was held at Superpages.com Center(Formally Smirnoff Music Center) and it was fairly warm outside.

The opening act was some weird Latin singer who sounded like Enrique Iglesias and Josh Grobin's love child. Not so much. The Doobie Brothers were the middle act and I have to say that they put on a pretty good show. Below is a video of the old ladies who must be die hard Doobie Brothers fans. Sorry for the tilt but I thought I would be able to turn the video and I can't.

One of the more interesting things was the fact that there was a lady that had to have been in her 70's and when the music started, she was up dancing. She started drawing a crowd and it got pretty big. Erin took video but, lets just say Erin is no Spielberg and I didn't want to put it on here for fear people would start getting sick.

Chicago was a slight disappointment. You could say that they weren't "My Inspiration". The initial set was mostly stuff no one knew with a couple of semi-well known songs. They played a few of there hits but decided those had to be mashed together so we would get 2 song mash ups instead of the total song. The encore was the best part because along with the hits, they brought the Doobie Brothers out and started playing with them.

All in all, it was worth the $10 we spent for the tickets.

That is all,

Newt

Summer Concert Series Part Deux

Well, if you read my last blog, and who didn't, you know that the VAUGHN SUMMER CONCERT SERIES 2008 has officially kicked off. So, Thursday night, my lovely wife and I journeyed to the heart of Dallas to see one of the bands the kids are all listening to, Augustana.

Now, I originally heard of Augustana when I was listening to Kidd Kraddick one day. I have since stopped abusing my self in this way but there was the one benefit from it as I heard of this band. They played an acoustic set on his show and I liked the sound of it so I bought the album.

They are now on tour for album number 2 and the tickets were $15.50 so I was all for going to the show. Apparently so were a lot of lesbians and people under 21 as the majority of the people there were underage or rug munchers (affectionately).

The concert opened with an Irish gentleman named Paddy Casey that was a one man guitar show. He was hellishly hard to understand when he talked but he had an awesome voice and did an acoustic cover of "No Diggity" that was great.

Wile Sweet Orange was up next but I don't recommend them. Their instrumental music was great but I couldn't stand the singer and his mike was turned up so loud that all I walked away with was a ringing in my ears.

Augustana is probably best known for their radio hit "Boston" that got a lot of play last year. They did an awesome job and I would recommend them highly. I am pretty sure the lead singer did a couple of lines or some other narcotic before he went on stage because he was constantly adjusting his hat and had a weird habit of smoothing out his hair. Who cares though because the entire band put on a hell of a show. The most amazing thing was how versatile the entire band was musically. They jumped around on instruments, most of them sang, and they looked good while doing it. I would have bought a shirt but it was cash only.

I always like going to the House of Blues and this visit was no exception. If you haven't checked out Augustana, I recommend them for some light listening.

That is all,

Newt

Summer Concert Series 2008

Well, it is officially summer as the Vaughn 2008 Summer Concert Series has kicked off. We actually started this one off with a double dose of music and theatre. On Wednesday, Diana and I took in the Broadway musical "The Drowsy Chaperone" and followed that up Thursday with a little trip to the House of Blues Dallas for Augustana.

The Drowsy Chaperone was one of the most interesting musicals I had seen just from the way the story is told. It begins with a lonely, depressed narrator who is so down that he decides to listen to an old recording of a play titled "The Drowsy Chaperone." He would start the record and then give a play by play of the show throughout. His comments would range from, "The music is lovely in this but I have to warn you, ignore the lyrics" to "I have to go pee" and all the while you could see his love for the show. Of course, the show was actually being performed on the stage.

What was most interesting was that the narrator interacted with the play as it was being performed. The performers never acted as if they saw him but he constantly paused the record and moved in between the actors to tell us interesting tidbits about them. He also joined in on some of the songs, which was hilarious.

The best gag that was employed was the use of the record as a storytelling device. It would skip and the actors would get caught in a loop of the same song, the narrator would stop the record and replay pieces of it to show the audience something, and at the intermission(of the record, not the show as there wasn't an intermission) he accidentally started the next act with the wrong record and we were shown some old Japanese musical that had a song called "What is so interesting about Asians."

That is part one of the Summer concert series. It will continue tomorrow. If the "Drowsy Chaperone" comes to town, go see it would you?

That is all,

Newt

I do know why I didn't come...'cause I was at a concert

Whoohooooooo!!!! I just finished watching Norah Jones live in concert at Nokia Theatre. What an awesome show.

The show started at 7:30 and she and her opening act, which was a solo guitarist, came out and performed three songs together. This goes to show you that some times it is a good idea to show up to a concert for the opening act. Then she left the stage and let the opener, a guy named M.Ward from Portland, get to it. He was very talented but his music was a little slow and melodic. You can check him out here.

Norah came on with her band, The Handsome Band, around 8:30 and played a good hour and a half. She mostly played her new album, which I have yet to listen to. So I wasn't familiar with the songs. She mixed in a few of her older stuff to keep the flow. She has an awesome voice which is great live. She encored with "Don't know why" and ended with a Willie Nelson cover. Great stuff.

That is all,

Newt

Getting Stoned

Where has the time gotten too? I apologize for being so distant recently. Wednesday started the Trinity and Diana Summer Concert series. Dallas just got a House of Blues and Joss Stone was there on Wednesday. We have had tickets for a while and I have been really anticipating this concert. Why? Well, I am totally hot for Joss.

The concert was really good. The HOB is a great venue and really designed interestingly. It was standing room only so we showed up a little late and saw half of the opening act, a guy named Ryan Shaw. After seeing a couple of his songs, I was disappointed that we missed him. Joss went on around 9:40 and played for about an hour and a half.

Damn that girl has a voice on her. She sang most of her new stuff off of the latest album and didn't go too much off of her first two CDs. She had a lot of fun on stage and looked damn good doing it. I couldn't stop singing her songs for a couple of days. My one complaint was that she kept her bangs in her eyes and it made it unable to see her face. Other than that it was an awesome concert and I loved seeing it.

And to prove how British she is, she drank tea the entire time she was on stage. And she said Bugger. God, British girls are hot.

That is all,

Newt

An Evening with Bill Clinton

As some of you may know, I am a lucky bastard when it comes to winning crap on the radio. Tuesday was no exception. I played a random game on a talk station I listen to(105.3 Free FM) and won two tickets to hear Bill Clinton speak at the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie. Democrat Diana was out of town so my dear Elephant supporting cousin Kristy and I went to hear him last night. Much to our surprise, we actually enjoyed it.

I have fallen away from the Republican party somewhat over the last couple of years and have become quite passive in politics. I think this allowed me the ability to enjoy what President Clinton had to say.

It was a very un-partisian speech. His main topic was discussing Americas Global image and what he felt were some important issues and how to face them. There wasn't any Republican bashing and very little Democrat praising. Instead he went over the numbers(more than likely skewed in his favor) of how America is viewed around the world and how we could be doing more to fight AIDS, Tropical diseases, Global Warming, etc. He laid out a case for peace through talking and his opinions on avoiding war when possible.

The night consisted of a speech of about an hour and a half followed answering questions that the audience had submitted. The host for the night was extremely irritating, constantly kissing butt. He actually said, "When I told people I was coming here to host this event they told me 'you're the luckiest guy in the world' and 'this is the greatest day in your life' and as I stand here I have to say that they were right'. Imagine a Inside the Actors Studio for the President.

We did leave before it was over, but that was because I had to work early and needed to sleep. I am very happy to say that the evening exceeded my expectations.

That is all,

Newt

You went to see The WHO???

Thats right folks, Diana and I rocked out oldie style on Friday night and went and saw The Who. That legendary rock band that gave us such hits as 'Pinball Wizard', 'Who are you', and 'My Generation', and it was awesome. The Pretenders opened up for them and they were just so-so but The Who rocked the house.

For a band that only has two of its original members, they were on. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend are old but they jump around on stage and can still play like they are in their twenties. When they played 'My Generation' it blew me away. They played for two hours and really knew how to throw a concert.

There were 5 screens suspended above the stage and as the songs changed, the screens would alternate images that went along with the songs. During 'My Generation' the largest screen had images of different races and moments in history that cycled throughout.

Some funny stuff...we saw one woman that, as the Who were about to finish up, she was reaching her hands out and crying. There was no reason really, she just couldn't contain herself. We also say a woman that got so into the music she was thrusting her hand out and singing when no one else was.

All and all, an awesome concert and I can now say that I have seen The Who in concert.

That is all,

Newt

Concert People are the Greatest

Man, what is it about a concert that will make people do such crazy stuff? Is it the 100 degree heat? Is it the $7 beer? Is it that they will sit on a grassy knoll just to hear "Open Arms"? Yes. This weekend my little buddy Thomas, and his lovely bride came down to let their dog pee on my couch. Oh wait, scratch that. They came to watch a concert of epic proportions that was Journey/Def Leppard.

We got lawn seats and they ended up being pretty decent. But the amount of crazy that surrounded us was unbelievable. Case in point. Lets say that you are standing at a concert with a bunch of friends and its around 9 o'clock. Def Leppard has just started playing and all of the sudden that 15th beer hits you and you gotta go. What do you do?
a) wait for a song you don't like and run to the restroom
b) hold it no matter how long it takes because Dammit, Def Leppard rocks!
c) whisper to your wife that you need to pee and get her to hand you a cup

Well, if you said C then you must have also seen the dude in the Union Jack shirt whip it out and take a leak while his wife and friends casually blocked the view. And what do you do with said cup of pee? Well, you sit it on the hill and ignore the fact that it spilled.

Along with this lovely sight was the pasty whiteness that was the fat ladies ass that Jessica saw as the woman decided underwear weren't really her thing. She was nice enough to try to hide under a blanket as she did it.

All in all, the concert was pretty good. I am not as big a fan of Def Leppard as the rest of the crowd was, but Journey rocked it and that's all I needed. There was also the story of the Alcohol triplets, but I don't want to blow your mind. So I will just let Thomas tell you that one.

That is all,

Newt

James Blunt

So, last night we got to go see James Blunt. He was playing at the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie and we got to watch most of it on the jumbotron because we were sitting in the nosebleed section. I have to say that there really isn’t a bad seat in the house though, and the music was pretty clear.

A few little tidbits for those of you who weren’t there: I would say that about 85% of the attendance was female and half of those hadn’t had their first period. You could tell the age group because no matter what I did, the constant smell of Fruit Roll-Up was in the air, although we were lucky enough to sit next to the smoker who didn’t take a shower yesterday.

The music was awesome. I don’t know if they play the same set at each concert but not only did he play his entire CD, he also plays a few new songs and a couple of covers. The music had good transition and he had excellent stage presence. The new songs make me really look forward to his next CD. The entire show was entertaining and he ended the show with “Beautiful”. I think more girls had an orgasm at “Beautiful” then any porn movie that I have ever seen.

My favorite part of the show was probably when “No Bravery” was played and he played war footage from Kosavo. It was the one song that no one screamed “You are Hot” or “Marry Me” as if he would just stop mid song and go “Yes, I will marry you.” And on that note …

That is all,

Newt