Last day of LiveNation no service fees

Last chance for no service fees with LiveNation (it's only for the month of June), so I just bought my Jack Johnson tickets for his July 9 show at the Meadows/Comcast Theatre in Hartford. I was waiting until today because it was the last day of no service fees - and because it was the last day of the $10 promotion. LiveNation announced 10 days ago that it would sell $10 tickets - no service fees attached - to different shows in your area each day. And no such luck on getting Jack Johnson for $10. That $10 promotion was pretty disappointing for me. Well, the first and last day of that was the Jonas Brothers, and in between there was Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ozzy and Lilith, which are all quality shows, but ones I wouldn't go to. Maybe it'll work out for me next year. Sigh. At least I didn't have to pay the fees for one show, especially after paying the service fees for John Mayer just two days before LiveNation instated no service fee June.

I actually read a good article in Rolling Stone about ticket promotions because of the lack of ticket sales this summer. It mentions the fact that it's unfair to people who bought tickets early and encourages us to wait until the very last minute to buy tickets in case there are deals. I can't find the link online, but it was in the recent issue with Jay-Z on the cover.

Life as a summer reporter or: How I learned to stop worrying and love graduations

(Photo from my college graduation - May 2009)

Last night I covered my 18th graduation in three years. That's what happens when you're an intern, or the youngest reporter, or the education reporter - and I've been all three.

Everyone I know who has to cover a graduation complains about it in some way - they're boring, too long, too hot and all the same. They're right, but I found myself actually volunteering to cover extra graduations for other reporters who didn't want to this year. And now that I'm done covering graduations probably forever since I'm going to law school next year, I don't really know how I feel about it. Relief, maybe. Joy, kind of. A strange sort of emptiness, definitely.

Reporters can leave graduations before diplomas are conferred and after all the speeches, so if you factor that in, the time put into each graduation is about an hour. But also consider the hour it takes to write the story. And sometimes graduations run longer. This year, it seemed like every principal in the state was retiring, so that means longer speeches from some of those principals and from everyone else congratulating and thanking them. Also, in some cases, like with community colleges or tech schools, there aren't many student speakers, so you have to stick around afterward to get quotes. Then there are the graduations where you have speakers and diplomas then a sit-down dinner before more speakers. So let's add all that up and figure I've spent about an entire work week in three years covering nothing but graduations. That's a huge chunk of my life. Of course it feels weird never having to cover one again.

And here's what I learned to love about graduations: They're so happy and full of hope. You've got graduates going off to college or the workforce or more vocational training, and the opportunities just seem endless - and they talk about it. And you've got proud families who may not have thought this day would come. You've got student speakers telling their fellow graduates that they can change the world - and they really believe it. I was definitely a little more cynical by the time my college graduation came around, but I still remember my high school graduation and my senior year of high school when my yearbook quote was Margaret Mead's "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." I could say my high school graduation was ruined since it started outside and had to be moved inside because of the rain (and the front seats my parents got because I was in the top 10 were basically useless because there was a mad rush inside where reserved seats didn't matter), but in general, I remember it as a great day. It's your last day with your entire class, with all the people you've spent your last 4 to 13 years with. It's a day where everyone makes you feel like you've accomplished the greatest thing in the world, and you feel like you can do anything, hence my senior yearbook quote. That's pretty cool for a 17-year-old.

I've seen my share of bad graduations where local politicians and adults talk too long and graduates get restless. I've also seen graduations better organized than others. I've listened to the same songs over and over again (i.e. "For Good" and "I Hope You Dance"). But in the end, it's important to remember that the day is about the graduates, who are starting a whole new chapter in their lives. Even though I left graduations completely exhausted (I often had to park way far away from the ceremony), I couldn't help but feel proud of all the graduates I covered. And they remind me of how I felt at my high school graduation. Their sense of hope and outlook on life is really contagious.

10 days of $10 tickets from Live Nation - Happy Summer!

I think everyone has a routine for when they get into work. For me, it's plug in my laptop, log onto my e-mail then check Twitter updates.

Great surprise today. @LiveNationCT tweeted this: Your last chance to get $10.01 No Service Fee lawn tix to Jonas Brothers & Demi Lovato on 8/13: http://bit.ly/baDd2y Ends at 11:59 tonight!

OK, clearly I'm not going to see the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, but $10? What?

Well, I looked into it, and Live Nation is doing $10 ticket specials to select shows for the last 10 days of June. And June is already the month with no service fees. Sweet!

The offer applies to one show each day from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Tomorrow the deal's for Lynyrd Skynyrd with Bret Michaels. Here's to hoping that it's Jack Johnson's July 9 show in two days. These shows, so far, are all at the Meadows, or Comcast Theater in Hartford.

Side story: I was going to buy my Jack Johnson tickets today, actually because of no service fees, and because I got an e-mail from ticketmaster saying Jack Johnson shows were almost sold out. Think I'll take my chances and wait until the last day of June to see what the specials are. I wouldn't want what happened to me with my John Mayer and Train tickets - I was going to buy a 4-pack mid-May and the next day, the ticket prices went up $5, so I bought them in case they'd go up again. Well, then it turned June and Live Nation announced no fees for the rest of the month. So I ended up paying a higher price with service fees. There's nothing I can do about it now, though, and I got my tickets in the mail, so I'm excited for that show, which is Aug. 7.

Here's the link to the rest of the shows at the Meadows this summer. http://www.livenation.com/Comcast-Theatre-tickets-Hartford/venue/237642?tm_link=edp_Venue_Name_1

And speaking of which, happy first day of summer!

UPDATE on 6/22: APPARENTLY the Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets are the special both today AND tomorrow. Boo. I guess I can hope once more that it's Jack Johnson in two days.

Quintron and Miss Pussycat at Cafe Nine

Everything's better with puppets.

I was pretty excited when I first noticed the shiny aquamarine blue puppet stage with orange curtains set up in the corner of Cafe Nine Tuesday night. As the lights dimmed down and epic opening music started, Miss Pussycat's head appeared over a puppet's body and the show began. The puppeteers, I'm assuming Quintron and Miss Pussycat and maybe an additional friend, swapped a bunch of puppets ranging from a striped cat with wacky eyes to police officer monkeys, spinning a tale about "secret pizza," which appeared, all holy and illuminated, at the end. They even turned the stage set into a giant puppet with hands. Yes.

Quintron and Miss Pussycat started playing right after the puppet show and it was awesome. I caught part of this New Orleans-based band's set at B.O.M.B. Fest last month, which is why I decided to catch this show, but this show was definitely better. Quintron said this was their third time playing Cafe Nine, and my immediate thought was, where was I? It's a more intimate setting, and the sound and lighting just work.


(Quintron and Miss Pussycat standing on the bar)

They played their catchy, electronic, out-of-this-world dance music with Miss Pussycat's wacky outfit and crazy maracas. And they went for over an hour before running to the back of the room and jumping on the bar to rock out. Right where I was standing, as you can see from my photo above. (Note: I'm still taking photos with my cell phone. It works for me.)


(The Goodnight Loving)


The Goodnight Loving, a band from Milwaukee, opened, and a few songs in, I decided I really liked their sound. They were definitely different from Quintron and Miss Pussycat, but the two together for a show was a surprisingly good fit. The Goodnight Loving alternated between a country twang and fun surfer rock, which was pretty cool. Grabbed a vinyl from them on the way out.

Blogger Design Upgrades!

What a week for social media upgrades! On top of these Blogger design upgrades, we've got adorable little soccer balls on our #WorldCup tweets, and we can now like other people's comments on Facebook!

But back to the design upgrades. As you can see, my blog looks completely different from before - and way more awesome. I can thank the new "Blogger Template Designer" for that.

Here are some cool features:
1. It's easy to use. Just hit "Design" and the "Blogger Template Designer" appears above your blog.
2. Better templates. 'Nuf said.
3. Backgrounds. This is really cool. There are a ton of background pictures to choose from on top of the templates.
4. Layout. You can actually choose your layout, and it's not set by your template. And there are more layouts to choose from.

I was actually starting to get tired of Blogger because of the limits on my blog design. (Lack of background choices, difficult layout options, pain to change colors and lines..) But seeing this new "Design" tab on Blogger felt like Google heard my inner complaining and decided to help a brother out.

Here's the link to the Official Google Blog's post on the Blogger Template Designer: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/blogger-template-designer-now-available.html

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Surfer Blood and Hooray for Earth at Daniel Street (6/3)

(Surfer Blood ending their set)

Leisurely review pace.

Very loud - but still awesome - show at Daniel Street in Milford Thursday night.

I was mostly looking forward to Surfer Blood (pictured above) because we've been listening to their album a lot, and it's really good - and perfect for summer. Surfer Blood performed second - in between Hooray for Earth and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - and despite a bunch of technical difficulty, some speaker pitch problems and all of that being amplified by how loud it was, I enjoyed their set. Even with those problems, Surfer Blood has some really good songs, and with that foundation, it's hard to really have a bad performance. It was also being videotaped for a website, so I think that's why they took forever to start playing (lots of mic and instrument checks), but also why they really rocked it. They ended every song like it was the last song (maybe this was because it was being recorded?), and went all out at the end, bringing a drum into the crowd for someone to play and standing in and over the crowd, as pictured above. I didn't mind that my ears felt cloudy after a concert for the first time in years.


(The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Couldn't get a good picture, and the ones that were clearer featured the back of a bald head in the audience, so I decided to go with this cool, blurry one.)

Next was The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and they were really good. Toned down a bit from the Surfer Blood set, but still very danceable. Very good live. I was very surprised by how good Hooray for Earth's electronic pop with lots of synth was, and the fact that I was surprised made their set that much better. Two drummers and lots of musicianship. They were a great start, and great complement to Surfer Blood and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and I actually picked up a CD afterward.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Surfer Blood Tonight!

(Photos of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Surfer Blood from their myspace pages)

Super last-minute post on an awesome show tonight.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Surfer Blood and Hooray for Earth are set to play tonight at at 7 at Daniel Street, on 21 Daniel St. in Milford, and I'm super excited. We've been listening to a lot of Surfer Blood lately, and they're just a fun, summer sounds band. And Pains of Being Pure at Heart is awesome with their noise pop.

Here's the info from the Daniel Street website:

Manic Productions Presents:
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Thur, June 3rd
7PM / ALL AGES / $15 ($13 ADV)
Surfer Blood & Hooray For Earth

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is a noise pop band which formed in 2007 in NYC. They consist of Kip Berman (vocals, guitar), Peggy Wang (vocals, keyboards), Alex Naidus (bass) and Kurt Feldman (drums). If you are into dreamy Õ80s-sounding indie pop then this band is for you! For fans of The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, Black Tambourine, Jesus and Mary Chain, etc. Slumberland Records

Surfer Blood Meet Surfer Blood: they call West Palm Beach home and, while still in their early 20s, have penned an album worth of catchy, summery indie songs that even the most hook-laden power pop band would rightfully be jealous of. Their sound has been compared to Weezer, Pavement and Built to Spill. Kanine Records

Hooray For Earth Hooray for Earth's Momo EP ends the way Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain begins: with a charging bass drum, a flare of distorted guitar and stacked, soaring vocals. Like that record, Momo handily navigates the middle ground between rock and electronic music, layering spaced-out synths over highwire guitars, creating songs that conjure both the past and the future at the same time. Largely the brainchild of primary songwriters Noel Heroux and Chris Principe, Hooray for Earth are masters at swaddling irresistible pop hooks in layers of sinewave electronics.

Find out more at http://www.manicproductions.org/.

Tickets are available at the door. See you there?

B.O.M.B. Fest Review

(Of Montreal performing at B.O.M.B. Fest)

When you combine some your favorite bands with a great place like the Durham Fairgrounds, there's really no way you can go wrong. That's what B.O.M.B. Fest was on Sunday. And it was a beautiful day, which made it that much better.

Of Montreal was definitely my favorite part of the festival. I saw them last year at Toad's Place, but their performance at B.O.M.B. Fest was crazy better. They played mid-day, and I think the outdoor stage was a better setting for their fun, sunny indie pop rock. And they rocked it, really playing to the crowd with lots of danceable songs - including a lot that people knew. And they played my two favorite songs of theirs - "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse" and "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider"! And it wouldn't be an Of Montreal performance without Kevin Barnes wearing a wacky outfit with colorful makeup or a crazy spectacle with guys and girls in wild costumes, doing everything from whipping one another to stabbing puppets with balloon heads to forming a pyramid. Or confetti. And they delivered on all of the above. You really can't watch Of Montreal and not have any fun.

The other two bands/musicians I couldn't miss were Girl Talk and Ra Ra Riot. Both were awesome. This was my third time seeing Girl Talk and second Ra Ra Riot.


(Girl Talk set)

Girl Talk at a festival was a very different experience from an indoor venue. There was still the crazy dancing crowd and the riot onstage, but Greg Gillis, who is Girl Talk, really put it best: He said it was like playing at a party in someone's parents' backyard. I love seeing Girl Talk live because he'll mash up songs you've heard him use before - like parts of his "Bounce That" but also throw in songs the crowd can sing along to, like "Shout" and "Since U Been Gone." Also, you get to see him at work, dancing harder than everyone else and stopping to slow it down every once in a while. He ended with a very heartfelt "Imagine," and with everyone waving their arms from side to side, it was beautiful.

After Girl Talk performed, I was pretty much set for the rest of the festival. That was a pretty nice feeling. But the day was young, and everything we got to see afterward was just a bonus. Actually, that counts the stuff beforehand too.


(Ra Ra Riot)

Ra Ra Riot was really good. So were Cool Kids, who were very fitting, and a pretty good tie-in between the indie bands and Lupe Fiasco. Also matching with those two was G-Eazy, a hilarious but awesome rapper from California whose party lyrics were totally fun. Garrett and I actually really liked him. Like, everyone thought he was funny at first, but we totally listened to his CD (Which he gave out for free after his performance) on the way home. Definitely throwing that on at the next party and waiting to see how many people ask who it is because it's so awesome. We also saw Mute Math, 40 oz. to Freedom and Clarias. The stage setup for stages 1 and 2 was pretty cool because after one band ended, the band on the other stage would be set up and could start right away.

30 Seconds to Mars reminded me that I'm not a 15-year-old emo kid anymore, so we didn't stick around for them. Instead, we saw Quintron and Miss Pussycat, a wacky, screamy and electronic duo from New Orleans. They were a lot of fun. We also took a ride on the Ferris wheel before heading over to Lupe Fiasco's set (which I was totally content with once he performed "Kick, Push" //hip hop class memories).


(Quintron and Miss Pussycat on Stage 3. Just a small group walked over to the stage for them, but they had fun.)

The free carnival rides were pretty cool, though definitely underused - probably because everyone in line was asking other people if the ride was free. I'm pretty sure the Ferris wheel operator's line to me, "It's all inclusive," was well rehearsed by the time I asked him if the ride was actually free. (Maybe that should have been advertised better.) The Ferris wheel was pretty cool because I could see all the stages, and I was in a good spot to listen to States Away playing at Stage 4, which was way out of the way from stages 1 and 2. They sounded really fun, and I was glad the ride was pretty long (we went around maybe 4 times), so we could enjoy at least some of their set, which ended just as we got off the Ferris wheel and started to walk over.

If B.O.M.B. Fest does go down next year, the fourth stage may be too much. I'm sure the bands that played were good, but it's really sad that they got such small crowds. It's like having a birthday party and inviting your entire class only to have one kid show up. (Not that I know what that's like..) I also thought some bands on the third stage got the shaft - I was super sad that M.T. Bearington's set was during Of Montreal.


(View from our Ferris wheel ride)

Another point: I don't understand why there was only alcohol in the VIP area. I could see it being a way to keep booze under control, kind of like how All Points West had closed-off beer gardens, but if that was the case, why wasn't there a non-VIP beer garden-type area? People with VIP tickets only represented a small percentage of everyone in attendance, so the festival lost money on potential sales. The festival obviously had to bring the beer onto the fairgrounds to supply it to the VIP section, so why not sell it to more people?

All in all, though, it was a great festival. It was definitely well organized, and the Durham Fairgrounds was the perfect place to hold it. There were plenty of bathrooms, enough vendors and a good variety, nice local causes allowed to sell stuff (like the Boy Scouts selling delicious Lime Rickeys), lots of benches and picnic tables to sit down and plenty of garbage and recycling receptacles so there wasn't much litter. Very impressive. Plus it was super close to home. And I got to see some great music, which was the point.

(All photos taken from my cell phone. They actually didn't come out too bad this time!)