On Monday, April 16 my brother and I made our way over to the Fox theater in Pomona to see Bon Iver. The Fox is a great little theater, but I really hate how it’s all General Admission, even if you have a balcony ticket (where there are seats). We ended up getting great seats on the balcony though, so I guess I didn’t mind it too much.

On the way to the show, as is my custom, I was listening to Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago” and their self-titled “Bon Iver.” I started to get a little sleepy, to be honest! I was worried the show would be boring but it was anything but. I couldn’t tell you the complete set list but it was an amazing show.

All Tiny Creatures opened the show and did a great job of making me want to pick up their album. Then Bon Iver came out and opened the show with “Perth.” It seemed like all 9 members of the band that night (save the two drummers) played at least two instruments. With so much talent, you know it’s going to be a good show and it was. The music was so full bodied; there was so much layering and harmonizing going on.

I really enjoyed lighting effects they had going on, too. They had these racks with lights at the end of poles set up in two rows on the stage. At times the stage would go dark and these lights would look like fireflies or stars, it was really cool. You can kind of see them in the picture above, but they’re not lit up.

One special moment was when all the musicians except Justin Vernon left the stage and he played an acoustic version of “re: Stacks.” You could hear the entire audience singing along. For the encore the band came back out and Justin had everyone sing along with him. A great show, definitely see them if you get a chance!

On March 23 my brother and I made the trek to downtown Los Angeles’ Orpheum theater to see The Magnetic Fields perform. I was so incredibly excited to see them and they did not disappoint. We got there a little early and grabbed dinner at Urbano Pizza Bar nearby (you can read my review here) and then headed over.

Our seats were kind of laughably far back but like i said in my review of the theatre, it doesn’t really matter too much. It didn’t help with taking pictures though (as you can see!). The opener, Bachelorette, wasn’t that great in my opinion, but my brother thought she was alright. Here is The Magnetic Fields’ set list (I starred my favorites):

I Die
Chicken With Its Head Cut Off*
Your Girlfriend’s Face
Reno, Dakota*
Come Back From San Francisco*
No One Will Ever Love You
I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies
Plant White Roses
Drive on Driver
My Husband’s Pied-à-Terre
Time Enough for Rocking When We’re Old
The Horrible Party
Smoke and Mirrors
Going Back to the Country
Andrew in Drag*
Quick!
Busby Berkeley Dreams
Boa Constrictor
Book of Love*
Fear of Trains
You Must Be Out of Your Mind
Grand Canyon*
Swinging London
It’s Only Time
Smile! No One Cares How You Feel
Encore:
Tar-Heel Boy
Forever and a Day

A very generous set and I was thrilled they played “Grand Canyon,” it’s one of my favorites. Claudia and Stephen had an interesting dynamic going; she was very personable and friendly whereas Stephen was more reserved and sometimes cranky. At one point someone requested “I Don’t Want to Get Over You,” to which Stephen replied “I haven’t taken requests in over 20 years.” lol I loved that! I hope they come back to LA soon, I’d love to see them again.

The Magnetic Fields

Until I saw the other day that they were scheduled to perform in Los Angeles at the legendary Orpheum Theatre in March. I was so excited, I convinced my brother (my frequent concert buddy) to go along with me and he agreed!

The show is a couple of weeks after my birthday and I can’t think of anything I’d like more than to see one of my favorite bands LIVE. I can’t wait to see them!

Do you like to go to concerts? What was your favorite concert going experience?

My family and I at the Huey Lewis & the News concert!

On August 7, my parents, brother and I visited the Orange County Fair and saw Huey Lewis and the News. They were on tour to promote their new album, Soulsville. They opened with “The Heart of Rock n’ Roll” and then, along with their backup singers, sang some songs from their new album.

Huey and his amazing backup singers.

One thing that bothered me was Huey’s attitude! He seemed annoyed to have to play all of the hits that made them famous and successful, which I didn’t appreciate. I can understand that he might be tired of playing the same songs for twenty years… but come on. Those songs are what made you famous. Be gracious about it.

See the trumpet player at the top left? He was doing that fist pumo the whole night.

Overall, we had a really good time at the concert. They even did an a Capella portion of their songs. The concert was a gift for my Dad for his birthday, and he had a good time, so that’s all that matters!

My brother and I at the Greek.

When we got there an opening band, Fool’s Gold, was performing. I had a celebrity spotting:

Vanessa Hudgens of High School Musical Fame.

Afterwards another opener, Best Coast performed. They were actually pretty decent.

Best Coast

Then Lykke Li took the stage. She was amazing!!

Lykke Li setlist:
Jerome (Wounded Rhymes)
I’m Good, I’m Gone (Youth Novels)
Sadness is a Blessing (Wounded Rhymes)
I Follow Rivers (Wounded Rhymes)
Silent My Song (Wounded Rhymes)
Little Bit (Youth Novels)
Dance Dance Dance (Youth Novels)
Cover: Please Stay (by various, originally the Drifters)
I Know Places (Wounded Rhymes)
Love Out of Lust (Wounded Rhymes)
Rich Kids Blues (Wounded Rhymes)
Breaking it Up (Youth Novels)
Youth Knows no Pain (Wounded Rhymes)
Get Some (Wounded Rhymes)
Encore: Possibility (The Twilight Saga: New Moon OST)
Encore: Unrequited Love (Wounded Rhymes)

My brother and I really enjoyed the show. She is a really great performer. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the night:

Lykke Li show pictures.

I also took video of her performing “Sadness is a Blessing,” which is my favorite song off of her new album:

Lykke Li Performing “Sadness is a Blessing” from Erin Cragg on Vimeo.

Next up is Huey Lewis & the News on August 7!

The concert was on July 24th at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Here is the amphitheater:

Clearly, we had awesome seats.

My new Selena shirt.

Thank god for zoom/monitors!

Click to see bigger.

I didn’t have anything to write the set list down with, but I will try to remember the songs she played (not really in any order):
Love You Like a Love Song
Hit the Lights
The Way I Loved You
Round & Round
A Year Without Rain
Rock God
Off the Chain
Summer’s Not Hot
We Own the Night
Bang Bang Bang
My Dilemma
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
Naturally
Who Says (Encore)

I think I’m missing a couple. She also did the Super Bass cover seen here:

And OMG GUESS WHO SHOWED UP (as predicted by the lady at the Budweiser stand I talked to on my way back from the bathroom earlier):

JUSTIN BIEBER!!

I heard later that her show wasn’t really her normal set since it is at a fairground, too bad. I thought she sounded great though, and the place was PACKED. Everyone had a really good time, and I’d love to see her again (maybe at a different venue next time!)

1. “Baby, I Love Your Way” by Peter Frampton (Frampton Comes Alive!)
2. “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes (single)
3. “Cry Baby Cry” by The Beatles (The Beatles [The White Album])
4. “My Baby” by Britney Spears (Circus)
5. “Babyfather” by Sade (Soldier of Love)
6. “Baby” by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris (My World 2.0)
7. “Baby Love” by the Supremes (Where Did Our Love Go)
8. “Baby, I Love You” by the Ronettes (Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica)
9. “Angel Baby (Don’t You Ever Leave Me)” by Stevie Wonder (Down To Earth)
10. “You’re Just a Baby” by Belle & Sebastian (Tigermilk)
11. “Baby I Need Your Loving” by the Four Tops (Baby I Need Your Loving)
12. “Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)” by Christina Aguilera (Christina Aguilera)
13. “American Baby” by Dave Matthews Band (Stand Up)
14. “What Will Baby Be” by Dolly Parton (Slow Dancing with the Moon)
15. “Don’t Worry Baby” by The Beach Boys (Shut Down Volume 2)
16. “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” by Marvin Gaye (M.P.G.)
17. “Ooh Child” by Five Stairsteps (The Stairsteps)
18. “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey (Daydream)
19. “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (Steppenwolf)
20. “Kids” by MGMT (Oracular Spectacular)
21. “Kids in America” by Kim Wilde (Kim Wilde)
22. “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen (Born in the USA)
23. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses (Appetite for Destruction)
24. “Baby Baby” by Amy Grant (Heart in Motion)
25. “Take Good Care of My Baby” by Bobby Vee (single)
26. “Baby” by Devendra Banhart (What Will We Be)
27. “Ooo Baby Baby” by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (Going to a Go-Go)

The playlist lasted about an hour and a half and everyone liked the idea.

Selena Gomez, Huey Lewis & The News, Band of Horses, Lykke Li, Neko Case, The National, Sharon Van Etten

I’ve been buying tickets like a crazy person for the past two months in preparation for all of the great shows happening this summer! In the past I haven’t cared too much about going to concerts; tickets always seemed too expensive (and I still definitely feel this is the case for the likes of Britney Spears and Lady Gaga). But now that I’ve been listening to more alternative and indie-rock type music, I’ve really enjoyed going to shows to see my favorite bands like Band of Horses. This summer I have so many shows lined up, I can’t wait to see them!

• Jul 24 – Selena Gomez & The Scene at the Orange County Fairgrounds – OK this one is a little embarrassing, but I can’t wait! I love Selena Gomez! I think she’s really cute and I like her songs. I’m not above listening to pop music and she’s one of my favorites. I’m taking a couple of my tween cousins with me and I think they’ll really enjoy it. Her new album comes out Jun 28. Visit her website to see her latest music video for “Who Says.”
• Aug 3 – Lykke Li at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles – I was a fan of Lykke Li’s “Little Bit” EP and she recently released a new album, Wounded Rhymes. I’m loving “Sadness is a Blessing” so far. My brother and I are going to this show together, we saw Band of Horses at the Greek last year, too. Great Venue.
• Aug 7 – Huey Lewis & the News at the Orange County Fairgrounds – Another embarrassing one! But my Dad said he wanted to see Huey Lewis, so I bought him tickets for his birthday. My mom, brother and I are going to go, too. Hey, it’s hip to be square! They had a new album, Soulsville come out last year, so I imagine this tour is to promote that.
• Sep 8 – Band of Horses and Kings of Leon at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA – Apparently Band of Horses is opening for Kings of Leon during their tour this summer, so my brother and I are going to go see them. I couldn’t really care less about KOL, but my brother likes them, so we’ll go together (Are you sensing a trend? I go to basically all my shows with him!). It helps that this show is pretty much in my brother’s backyard, so we won’t have to travel too far. Tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, but I’ll be all over them when they do! I haven’t been to this venue yet, so I’m pretty excited.
• Sep 11 – Neko Case, The National and Sharon Van Etten at the Hollywood Bowl – The show that started them all! This was the first one I bought tickets for. I am pretty much obsessed with Neko Case since I started listening to her Middle Cyclone album about a year or two ago. She hasn’t been touring much lately, so when I saw this come up (I think on her Twitter?) I pounced on it. It helps that my brother likes The National (I think they’re OK) so he agreed to go with me. I started listening to Sharon Van Etten’s albums today so I can get a feel for what she’s about; I’ve never heard of her. I haven’t been to this venue either and it’s very famous, so I can’t wait!

I’m really excited! I’m trying not to look at any other shows to go to (definitely not thinking about seeing Bob Dylan or The Weepies at the Troubador at all) since I’ve spent enough so far but… never say never!

But this performance at the AMA’s last night is possibly the greatest thing ever:

Later this month I’m going to see The Frames at the Avalon Ballroom in LA. I haven’t heard much of their music, but my sister is a fan of theirs and asked me to go to the show with her, so I am. I heard they’re very good live, so I’m excited. A couple of weeks ago The Weepies were playing at the Coach House, unfortunately I was too busy to go see them, I was so disappointed

What shows have you been to?