Snapshots of Jack White // August 2014

KC is a really big Jack White fan. We go to so many concerts, but Jack White has been pretty elusive... up until this year. The Buzz (our local alternative station) hosted a Jack White show at the Midland in August. We were so excited, and amazingly managed to get tickets before they sold out!

Before this summer I would have called myself a Jack White fan... but with his Lazaretto album release I became a lot more intentional with my listening.. and became a much bigger fan. Which ended up being great timing, since we later got tickets for mid-August. I think a lot of this is because I tend to prefer the Raconteurs style, to the Dead Weather style which has been a little more prominent in the past five or so years.

The venue is an old ornate theater that has been turned into the perfect place to see live music. The inside is gorgeous, full of chandeliers, marble columns and draped curtains.

The tickets were nearly all GA so we were standing, and we were luckily able to find spots at the top of the first railing, which made for an amazing view of the stage!

It was also kind of fun to be in the crowd where everyone is getting really into the music.

We usually get seats and don't have that experience. (though there are good and bad things about that. :) )

The music was incredible. I suppose that's kind of a given. But I don't think it's possible to imagine how incredible it is without actually being there. Every song, even ones I didn't know, were just flawless. His energy and his band's energy was relentless, and every song was made that much better for it. The crowd knew what they were there for, they soaked up every second, I've never seen a more energetic audience.

It's clear that these people love what they are doing. Just the fact that White was frantically calling out song names as they played, and it didn't change the quality a bit was incredible, and that much more thrilling to the audience.

For those of you who have been hearing about any of White's social media exposure might have been hearing about his 'scowl' or 'Sad Jack White Face' (referring to the look of disdain frequently photographed on his resting face, especially at baseball games), you won't find that expression in the room when he plays. He's concentrated, he's passion filled and you can even catch him smile.

Another thing buzzing around social media was his hair cut. He has looked a lot like Johnny Depp for the past 15 years... but he recently got a Elvis Presley meets undercut type of 'do. Many people were criticizing it on social media (even from a picture where you can't fully see it), claiming that he looked just like every other hipster rock group front man. Oh you fools, Jack White is only ever Jack White. He debuted this look at the Kansas City show, and I can tell you that it didn't make a bit of difference to anyone.

Before White's set began it was announced that he wanted to discourage the over use of cell phones during the performance, and would make his professional live photos available for free download and use the next day on his website. I think that's really awesome. I did take a few of my own, just to have them, but it really helped me enjoy the show more! So the pictures you see here are from his official website, and were photographed by David James Swanson.

Set list: ( * denotes personal favorites ) - set list via The Pitch.
Fell in Love With a Girl (The White Stripes)* ( here )
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes)* ( here )
High Ball Stepper 
Temporary Ground* ( here ) 
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)* ( here ) 
Weep Themselves to Sleep* ( here ) 
Missing Pieces 
Top Yourself (The Raconteurs)
Cannon (The White Stripes)
Ball and Biscuit / How Many More Times / In The Mood (John Lee Hooker)
Blunderbuss 
We're Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes)
Love Interruption 
I'm Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes)
____
Icky Thump / Man On The Silver Mountain (The White Stripes)
Lazaretto* ( here )  
Astro (The White Stripes)
Sixteen Saltines 
Three Women* ( here ) 
Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs)
Hello Operator (The White Stripes)
Would You Fight for My Love? * ( here ) 
The Hardest Button to Button / That Black Bat Licorice* / Screwdriver (The White Stripes)  
( here )
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)

Others I love that were not played: 

Old Enough (The Raconteurs) 
Hands (The Raconteurs) 
Level (The Raconteurs) 
Together (The Raconteurs) 
Carolina Drama (The Raconteurs) 
Jolene (The White Stripes)
Portland Oregon - Duet with Loretta Lynn 
I'm Shakin' (Blunderbuss)
Love is Blindness (The Great Gatsby Soundtrack)
Rolling in on a Burning Tire (The Dead Weather, Eclipse Soundtrack)
Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine (The White Stripes)

While the entire band is extremely talented, I now have the hugest girl crush on Lily Mae Rische, the vocalist, violinist and mandolin player of the group.

 Extreme talent.

Overall I would say that the show was incredible, definitely in my top four! - and that's including having beer spilled on me during the opening song, all the pot and watching someone pass out! :)

Have you seen Jack White live?

What is your favorite song?

All for Now,

Alexandra

Snapshots of One Republic & The Script // August 2014

When One Republic's song 'Counting Stars' came out, I was obsessed... I kept thinking, I just want to hear this live. So when we heard that they were coming to KC, we decided to buy tickets and try our hand at another pop concert. And I am surprisingly glad that we did.

The show was at Starlight Theater, a venue that we haven't visited for a normal concert, or at all in quite a while. It is a really nice outdoor venue. There are plenty of seats, the atmosphere is wonderful and it is a beautiful location.

The show was on a weeknight, so we weren't really able to make it to see American Authors.... but we did catch all of The Script's set before One Republic went on.

I don't know a lot of The Script's music, but I do like what I know. I especially love their song 'For the First Time'-- possibly because it was so relate-able during my college time. I just feel like I can really connect to the message of working your hardest through life, even when it seems impossible. And how you need your loved ones most during those times. So, hearing this live was also really cool for me. In general, they put on a really good show, I wish it would have been dark when they went on, but it's summer in Kansas... or Missouri I guess. :) The lead singer kept running through the crowd which was fun, because it was a huge place, and he wasn't just weaving through the front section. At one point he asked for people who had been hurt by an ex to volunteer their phones for the next song. He took a phone from a girl in the front and called her ex and sang 'Nothing' to him through the phone. It was unexpected and a crowd pleaser. I bet that her ex wasn't expecting that! :)

Before The Script left the stage they really praised One Republic, saying they were 'true musicians'. At first I thought, 'ok, that's nice they like the band they are touring with.' 'Everyone, sort of does that...' But once One Republic started performing, I realized that they were beyond sincere about what they had said. These guys really can sing, play and perform. I was honestly amazed by the talent up on that stage!

One Republic went on after it got a bit darker, they started with a screen down in front of the stage, which left the audience with a silhouette effect, with strategic moving light bursts. It was possibly the coolest concert intro I've ever seen.

After that the show continued with many songs I've heard and haven't heard. But the whole time I was amazed at how evident it was that these men had serious vocal and instrumental talent. It wasn't full of autotuning, lip syncing, or low effort performing... this was the real deal. Now I have a handful of new songs to add to my iTunes library as well.

There was one point in the show when they played 'Come Home' and showed images of Kansas City on their screen. It was really emotional (not even being a KC resident), and also just really neat to see the sky line, the plaza fountains and the shuttlecocks up on screen. :)

They also did an incredible mashup of M83's 'Midnight City' with their own 'Good Life'. Which I know does sound like it would work, but it does. 

Aside from the incredibly tall, incredibly high people in front of us's crazy swaying and groping... it was a really great show, and a really great night! I really look forward to listening to more music from both bands, and I think I would even go see them live again! --and that's high praise, especially for an impulse-buy kind of show!

It should also be noted that this is the first time we have seen people we know at a concert or heard they were there and didn't know it ahead of time. Fun. :)

Have you ever seen The Script or One Republic live?

What is your favorite song?

Thanks for Reading,

Alexandra

Snapshots of Vampire Weekend // The Crossroads // June 2014

A few weekends ago we went to the Vampire Weekend show in KC. It was a great show and the Crossroads was a fun new concert venue for us. 

As soon as the show was announced, we knew we needed to buy tickets... it would sell out fast and would definitely be a great show. We'd had several other shows pass by and sell out, that we were pretty sad to miss... So rather than let that happen again, we decided to go right away, and I am so glad we did.

We have several friends who are really into Vampire Weekend, and it turned out that one of them wanted to go with us! So we went to a concert with a friend, which is really rare and fun! And it turns out that he is super into Vampire Weekend. It worked out really well, and was a good time. 

We got to the venue and found a place to stand. It is a really open outdoor area that is fenced in behind a block in the Crossroads Art District downtown. It has several bars, is connected to the restaurants and is outfitted with port-a-potties ... joy. The ground is sloped which made it easy to watch from many places, and it eventually caught a breeze. The ground is covered in wooden mulch, which is relatively comfy to stand on, but definitely retains the heat from the day after the sun goes down. 

We watched the opening band Cults, which I wasn't familiar with. I was really pleasantly surprised though! I'm excited to look into their music more over the summer. It's pretty rare that I enjoy and opening band so much without knowing their songs. :) 

About 45 minutes later Vampire Weekend came on. They played their current singles and most popular ones from the past albums pretty quickly, but still really held the audience. I was impressed with their ability to move back and forth between such different songs so easily. They covered quite a range and I found it highly entertaining. 

We also tried some of the pizza from Grinder's the shop connected to the venue. It was really good and everything else they had looked and sounded amazing. :) I almost got a Strawberry Daiquiri... but it wasn't quite frozen yet. We'll have to go back sometime for lunch or dinner.

Toward the end of the show they played a song called 'Horchata' which always makes me think of my friend Brittany (from B. Michelle Bake Shop) and her husband Tyler. It was a little bittersweet because they were driving across the country to Boston the next day, and staying permanently. Or at least as permanently as you can when you are in your early 20's. :) But it made me smile. 

The venue was strange in that you didn't exit through the two large gates where you entered, but through the Grinder's restaurant connected to the venue. I felt a little like veal.... but it really didn't take too long to get back to the car. Can I just add that owning a small car is so awesome when it comes to public parking.... you can fit into all of those awkwardly small parking spots, especially when parallel parking is involved, compact car garage spaces and places where the other two cars are parked super poorly ... it's pretty great. 

Now, I want to download some more Vampire Weekend music, and check out some of Cults' stuff too.

What is your favorite Vampire Weekend song? 

Have you ever seen them live?

What is the best concert you've ever been to? Or best venue?

Check out more concerts we've been to under the 'Music' tab, above.

Thank you for Reading!

Alexandra

Snapshots of Fitz & the Tantrums at Power & Light // May 2014

For locals or those of you who have read this blog for long enough, KC has a really great music scene. Specifically alternative music shows through the Buzz. We have been to many of their shows in the past Mumford & Sons (twice), Beach Ball 2013 (Phoenix, Alt-J.. ) etc... but haven't really ventured out to many of their smaller shows. We finally did, and I am so glad. I will be on the lookout for more FREE- $10 concerts in the future! They are typically pretty big names and really great shows from what I hear. 

A few weeks ago we spontaneously took a trip to Power & Light for our first $5 show, Fitz and the Tantrums.

We had never actually been into Power & Light, but it is a pretty neat outdoor area surrounded by bars, a bowling alley, restaurants etc. The enclosed area is perfect for concerts and events. 

Since it was sort of a last minute decision we missed part of the opening band (The Night Terrors of 1927), but still got to hear some as we found our spots on an upper level railing. It was pretty hard to tell what their style was, but I am finding the more I investigate opening bands after concerts, the more I like them. So I am excited to investigate them too and update you. I can tell you that they love performing.. even on no sleep! They had such energy and you could tell they were so happy to be playing this show.

Not too much later Fitz and the Tantrums came on. KC and I only know a little of their music, but we were so into this concert! They had some really great stage presence and were so much fun to watch! My favorite was watching Noelle Scaggs, the female vocalist and tambourine player dance and sing. She had SO much energy! Hearing more of the music and watching them dance definitely made me want to download new songs to add to my library!

Later that night the keyboardist posted one of my instagram pictures from the show. So cool. :) 

What is your favorite Fitz & the Tantrums song?

Have you seen them live? 

What concert are you excited for this summer?

Thank you for Reading! 

Alexandra