Nicki Minaj

     Inspired by Rosie and Sophia Grace's youtube video of themselves wearing tutus and rapping Nicki Mina's "Super Bass", my sister and I had to see Minaj perform live while "repping" our own tutus. We are exactly like the little girls in the video because we love pink and we love rap (she is clearly the one who raps, and I'm her "beat girl ). When my birthday and college graduation occurred at the same time she knew the best possible gift for me would be Nicki Minaj tickets!

FLASH FORWARD

     We went crazy at the Nicki show! We wore grown up dresses instead of little girly tutus, but she was still the rapper and I will always be her beat girl. As you can read from the buildup, costumes were basically the highlight of the show. In fact, Nicki changed costumes four times during her (umm 45 minute?) show.
     For her show opening, (which was one of the best I have ever seen) Nicki donned the stage draped in a heavy, black robe while dancers wearing black robes and masks hunched around her. The backdrop exploded with images of flames coming through arched, Gothic windows. She began by giving a mosaic speech about her journey into music, "In the beginning there was a girl.", she said. The rest of the evening was more or less cat suits and tutus. Her songs coordinated with her sets and costumes for example, "Beez in the trap" she wore Generously cut "jeggings" in front of a graffiti covered set. Seriously, I am impressed by her thematic song presentation and commitment to her show.

Lefty Collins live at The Downtown Tavern in Gadsden

As far as Jazz is concerned,Lefty Collins has a robust amber-bock, bass-guitar,wild-medly sound. They perform a hy-brid of classic rock and original songs. Most of the people at the bar know the band and are here to see them. But,the crowd is thinning out as their tunes get louder and wilder through the night.

The vocals jut off the stage like angry kamakazai song birds and the guitarists jam on as hard as their fingers will carry them. There is a wild beating coming from David Green on the drums,which pulls the band onto tempo as well as thrusts them forward faster and faster. Lefty Collins' show starts out as jazz with a little rock then evolves into crunchy,gritty,up tempo jazz parading out of Nola, herself.

Young the Giant

Drinking Beer

with Potential Employers and Minors

     I saw Young the Giant at a small performance space in Memphis, TN where they appear to have a young following of high school kids and their parental guardians. It was an all ages show, but they served beer; so of course, my friends and I got smashed with a bunch of teenagers and midlife crisis. Before the band donned the stage we were mingling (within our legal limits) and I had a pleasant conversation with a man who needed a personal assistant at his publishing house, which remained unnamed. I then proceeded to explain to this man that I was not only 5 drinks deep, but I hate answering phones and doing menial tasks. I believe my exact words to his suggestion of making a calendar were, "Oh that sounds terrible! i just don't give a sh**, I seriously just could not care if I tried." 

     Finally, the house lights dimmed and we returned to our respective parties, as a sea of teenyboppers flooded the floor.

     Young the Giant has some amazing radio hits including "My Body", "Apartment", and "Cough Syrup". Ironically, the crowd was filled with people who have never had their own apartments and mostly likely can not related to the lyrics "I am waiting for this cough syrup to come down". I'm a big fan of the band, so I was reasonably excited to see them perform and the young crowd was energetic, while not having a Justin Bieber-like level of emotion. The band was surprisingly energetic given their small performance space and I found myself singing along to songs I didn't even know! OK, so that was the alcohol singing, but I think Young the Giant has a niche for writing songs with a very singable hook or chorus. 

      They performed songs from their debut album, which is aptly entitled "Young the Giant". Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar),Payam Doostzadeh (bass) had a playful way of dancing around the stage while they played and had surprising ease at keeping the music melodic while still straying from the studio recorded sound. Vocalist, Sameer Gadhia, proclaimed his lyrics and hooks with passion and, what appeared to be, self restraint to keep himself from bounding off the stage into the audience. The kids in the crowd were going wild and hanging on his every word (a few claimed to be rolling on moli, but I seriously doubt that). After we believed the set was over I turned to my friends and asked if they had played "My Body", which is their Platinum hit. Thank God! The band returned to the stage to perform their last song "My Body" and it was great. I think it was a cheap stage trick to act like the show was over, then come back to play their biggest hit, but I loved it!

      Absolutely, stop what you're doing go listen to, download, purchase, follow, and buy tickets to Young the Giant!

If You're Not Standing up, You're a Freakin' Narc!

SLASH

                Every music fan has that moment of rebirth when they remember the first time they heard a song, when I heard “Sweet Child of Mine” performed by Slash and Myles Kennedy I had that “fall in love with rock n roll, again” feeling!

          Slash’s performance at the Tabernacle was monumental, going from his gnarly backdrop featuring naked angels and demons to his confetti filled encore. When the band first took the stage I thought the audience was mostly populated by classic rock fans; because, I saw middle aged people and a guy holding up and original Guns n Roses album, but as they performed I realized that they had a hearty young following, as well. Fans, young and old, knew every word to every song performed by Slash, Myles Kennedy, and two of the best bassist I had ever heard. The fans I had a chance to speak with agreed that they would love to see a Guns n Roses originals reunion but, they blame Axl Rose for being too hard to work with. So, we all worshipped the rock n roll Gods at the solo feet of Slash for the night!

The sound quality for a live show featuring about ten amps was freaking unbelievably good and Myles’s voice was smooth and powerful. I was surprised when one song made room for a lengthy four minute guitar solo from Slash, and still held the audience begging for more.  Clearly, the collective efforts from the drummer and bassists worked to maintain the energy level between face melting Slash solos and chart toppers such as “Apocalyptic Love” and “Dangerous Beautiful”.  The audience was so amped up during the show we had no choice but to throw up our horns, scream, and party like we don’t have anything to do tomorrow.

Slash, in his iconic top hat and haggard black tee, does a rock n roll show you could die happy after seeing!

Foxy Shazam Concert

Foxy Shazam Melted my Face!

I recently had the thrill of seeing famed Guns and Roses guitarist, Slash, live in ATL at the historic Tabernacle.

Slash was introduced by a band called Foxy Shazam, which was basically a shock-rock band whose set looked like a live action episode of "Super Jail". Foxy Shazam featured their popular radio-played songs “I like it” and "Holy Touch", which were uproarious rock n roll riots! I had heard their music before so it was easy for me to sing along; though most of the crowd didn't know their songs, everybody got into the music and atmosphere.  The band's brightly colored wardrobe and brassy bleached hair lent to their visually stimulating set. Lead singer, Eric Nally, and keyboardist, Schuyler Vaughn, jumped across the stage and leapt up on the keyboard with quick agility not found in nature. Their unnatural energy was channeled into the audience when Schuyler Vaughn crowd surfed while playing the keyboard! The music was received by the audience with enthusiasm and open arms.

By the time their set ended and Slash took the stage, the audience was primed and ready to freakin' Rock!

“I used to have a heart

Man something was there”

-Holy Touch

“That’s the biggest black ass I’ve ever seen

And I like it!”

-I Like It

John Poor Band

I wrote this album review!

Jon Poor Band

When I first heard Jon Poor Band I had the idea that they juxtaposed rock and folk in order to purposefully create their own sound, but after more consideration I found that the music gives its creators depth otherwise not found in similar bands. Their folk-rock hybrid is similar to the sound found in popular “jam bands” such as Wilco and Widespread Panic. It is no wonder Jon Poor has a song named after the band, Wilco, because the folk-rock tone of this band regenerates the newly found popularity that folk music has enjoyed.  Also, to acknowledge classic rock inspirations, Poor’s song “I Dream in Sound” is reminiscent of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show’s “Cover of The Rolling Stone”. But, Poor individualizes his music through his use of very personal lyrics and grudge-worthy use of synthesizer.

Their compulsory rock ballad is the narrative of a lost or failing relationship, and is reminiscent of every friend we ever had crying on our shoulders and whimpering about their breakup. With a blend between folk harmonies and rock distortion synergizing his sound, Poor personalizes the song “Bring Me Down”.  The band has a surprising perspective on rock; they lead with introspective lyrics and simple repetitive sounds then, shift to almost jarring guitar solos. The song “I Dream in Sound” diverges from what the listener expects in a song that will start off with solo guitar and vocals. The introduction uses a solo guitar and repetitive sounds, but surprisingly they incorporate drums and a heavy alternative-rock tone, which later shifts even heavier with their gnarly use of a synthesizer. All of the tricks and sparks of rock music composition are abandoned in the song, which is this album’s name-sake, “Out in the Woods”. Here, Poor introduces a subtle duet between male and female vocals, which begs the listener to give him affirmation of the man he is today and grant him a day in the woods.

NOTEWORTHY LYRICS

“I got demons of my own

But baby I want yours”  –  “Back Half of a Wilco Song”

“What was it I said to get you so upset

Did I hit your trigger baby?…

now your just bringin me down” – “Bring Me Down”

I Forgot How Phones Work

Alright, this blog will be dedicated to me, Brook, and all of my misadventures.

     My first tale will about the infamous period of my life know as "Second Semester of my Senior Year". During this period I experienced chronic severe migraines and was prescribed a plethora (5 prescriptions) of nerve pills and other medications; at one point my neurologist treated me for hypertension.

(Pause for dramatic effect)

     Those of you who are knowledgeable of prescription medication and have noted the title of this blog already know that I partied while on blood pressure medication, and this is an extremely dangerous combination. Let the misadventure begin!

     Groggily, I open my eyes while trying fruitlessly to murder my alarm clock. Two questions come to mind: Why is my alarm clock going off in the middle of the day? and How did I get into my bed? One of these questions is immediately answered when I see that it is in fact 8:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. I decide to consult my cell phone in an attempt to piece together my night via text messages and phone calls. According to the 2 a.m. text messages to random frat boys I discover that I was super trashed last night, however I can not explain how I got so wasted on just one drink. Wait, was it just one drink? Oh, Hell!
     As I stumble toward the kettle to mix up a little instant coffee I begin having brief drunk flash backs, which reveal that I not only drank more than one drink, but I was the proprietor of a beer run. Only my best friend, and partner in crime, who was present last night, can solve this mystery. So, I text her and begin grilling her with a web of in-congruent questions including: I'm sorry, did I eat all of your biscotti? Did I try to get that guy to drive me home? Is someone mad at me? and the quintessential, Where is my car?
     It is taking us the course of the morning to piece together the entire night and come to the conclusion that drinking while taking blood pressure medication caused some sort of mental roadblock.

     Among other things, I ask her why I called some guy 4 times in a row at about 2 a.m. She explains that she left her phone at his house and I was helping her find her phone. I am legitimately concerned for her and inquire if she ever did find her phone. To which she simply replies "Yes, I'm texting you, duh."