Review: Tom Petty and Crosby Stills and Nash at the Meadows 8/17

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Crosby, Stills & Nash gave great performances Tuesday night. Both played lots of hits, got the crowd going and showed why they've had staying power, churning out several classics over the years.

CSN got the concert started, and they really felt like a double headliner, not an opening act. The concert was a little later than usual - started at 8 - so there were a lot of people already inside, and it was dark, so CSN could feel like a headliner. They played "Bluebird" and went into "Deja Vu" and got more crowd approval deeper into the set with "Southern Cross" going into "Almost Cut My Hair."

Here's the CSN setlist:
Woodstock (Joni Mitchell cover)
Military Madness (Graham Nash cover)
Long Time Gone
Bluebird (Buffalo Springfield cover)
Deja Vu
Ruby Tuesday (The Rolling Stones cover)
Our House
Southern Cross
Almost Cut My Hair
Wooden Ships
Encore: For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield cover)

It took Tom Petty just about an hour to go on after CSN ended, which felt like a really long time. As the crowd grew restless, though, the crew kept sound checking, and I think they may have changed the camera for the big screens because the stage - Tom Petty, mainly - had a soft glow and looked almost holy in the screen picture. It was a pretty cool effect. If it wasn't on purpose, it worked. The set list worked in that it included the more popular, crowd-pleasing hits - I think I felt the cloud form on the lawn during "Last Dance with Mary Jane" - but saved room for some stuff off their new album, Mojo, which sounds like classic Tom Petty except maybe a little jammier, with more guitar riffs and fewer catchy choruses. After the Mojo interlude, the band went right back to playing their hits with a light version of "Learning to Fly," complete with a singalong toward the end. Then they brought the pace back up with "Don't Come Around Here No More" and ended with "Refugee before coming back to an encore of "Running Down A Dream and "American Girl."

Here is close to a complete Tom Petty set list:
Listen to Her Heart
You Don't Know How It Feels
I Won't Back Down
Free Fallin'
(Not sure what song was after this. I was getting really into the concert and didn't know the song off the top of my head and didn't catch lyrics to look it up.)
Mary Jane's Last Dance
(Also not sure on this next song.)
Breakdown
Jefferson Jericho Blues
Good Enough
Running Man's Bible
I Should Have Known It
Learning to Fly
Don't Come Around Here No More
Refugee
Encore: Runnin' Down a Dream
American Girl

On a side note from the concert, I have to say that the worst thing to happen after a concert - with tons of heavy traffic - did. There was a fire right behind the parking lot at the Meadows, now the Comcast Theater in Hartford. Luckily, I got out of the concert pretty quickly and pretty much ran to my car. Strangely enough, there was another fire in Hartford at a three-family house, and that was in the news, but not this fire. So I don't have any other information on this fire. If anyone who reads this finds more info, I'd be curious to know what exactly happened.


(Picture of the fire)

After running to my car, I drove from my parking spot to the line of cars trying to get out and noticed a pretty big fire toward the back of the lot. Nervously, everyone was pushing to get out. Still no sign of fire trucks or sirens, I got to the traffic light and main road by the time the first fire truck came. We opened our windows to ask the other cars in traffic if they were near the fire and could see what happened. One guy said he was two rows away from it and it was on the tracks. Imagine how scary it must have been for people parked in that area. I'd be terrified the fire would spread to my car. Also, it formed a pretty big cloud of smoke, so it was probably hard to breathe right next to the fire. I was glad I got out of there, too, because with the fire trucks coming in, cars would definitely be blocked. I hope everyone who attended the concert had a good time and got out safely without too much delay.

Review: John Mayer and Train at the Meadows - 8/7

(Blurry cell phone picture of when Pat Monahan joined John Mayer to sing "The Boys of Summer")

Toward the end of his set, John Mayer admitted that "money sucks" and "there's not a lot of it floating around," so he gave a heartfelt thank-you to the audience for buying tickets. "I hope it's worth every penny," he said.

It was.

I know some people spent $80+, but I got lawn seats, so including fees, it came to $40 a ticket. John Mayer and Train were a perfect combo, and really, both are pretty big acts, so it was worth it.

Both pulled out most of their hits, and Mayer and his band jammed for some longer interludes, showing off the musicianship of the band members, including a pretty incredible saxophone player. Mayer even said that it makes a big difference when you have a good band, which is very true. He started with "Bigger Than My Body" and went into "No Such Thing." On top of playing a lot of his more popular songs like "Gravity," "Waiting on the World to Change" and his newer singles, "Heartbreak Warfare" and "Half of My Heart," he also had a lot of audience interaction, talking directly to a couple with a sign that they were just engaged and showing the girls and guys exactly how they dance to jam music. Being from Fairfield, he gave shout-outs to girls from Westport, Easton, Milford, Avon, Cheshire, Groton and Fairfield, places where a good chunk of the audience probably came from. Mayer noted that it's August and the summer's winding down, so he said it's up to you to make a good time. He played on the theme of keeping summer alive as he brought back Pat Monahan from Train to sing " The Boys of Summer." Mayer played for about 2 hours, and Train played for maybe an hour.

Unfortunately, Train felt like an opening band because there wasn't anyone on before them. We got into the venue just after 7:30, which was when the ticket said the show would start. There wasn't another opener listed, but I figured they might throw someone else in. They didn't, so unfortunately, a lot of people were still coming in while Train was playing. Train wasn't even listed on the ticket, and the only way to find out they were playing was by reading articles or looking at Train's website, which listed Hartford on its tour. Train's been around for a long time, and they have a lot of big songs (How 'bout "Hey, Soul Sister" playing non-stop on the radio for the past year?), so it was weird that the promoters didn't include them on the ticket or highlight them more. Even still, they played a great set, with "Marry Me" going into "Hey, Soul Sister" and ending with a big "Drops of Jupiter."

I'm always looking for ways to improve my blog, and a friend said that people want set lists. So, this show I kept note of songs, and I present to you, the set lists. (Note: We missed the beginning of Train, so the first songs aren't there.)

Train (Note, again: We missed some songs in the beginning):
"I Got You"
"If It's Love"
"When I Look to the Sky"
"Calling All Angels"
"Save Me, San Francisco"
"Marry Me"
"Hey, Soul Sister"
"Drops of Jupiter"

John Mayer:
"Bigger Than My Body"
"No Such Thing"
"Clarity"
"Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"
"Perfectly Lonely"
(Jam session with "Ain't No Sunshine")
"Gravity"
"Who Says"
"Waiting on the World to Change"
"Heartbreak Warfare"
"Do You Know Me"
"The Boys of Summer" (with Pat Monahan)
Encore: "Edge of Desire"

Review: Jack Johnson at the Meadows - 7/9

Rapid fire blogging - GO!

After giving back my Bristol Press laptop I have been sans computer and sometimes sans internet because my home internet provider is awful and has a monopoly on Meriden. So I haven't blogged in a while and the shows have backed up. I think I have enough time to get all these done this afternoon, so here goes:

Jack Johnson on July 9. This was my last day at work and a pretty cool way to celebrate it. The show was pretty chill. Above is a photo of the tailgating area before the show. The entire experience was pretty relaxed, and you wouldn't expect anything else from a Jack Johnson show. Inside, he played all his hits including "Bubble Toes," "Better Together" and "Upside Down" as well as new stuff from "To The Sea."

After a pretty chill show, getting out of the parking lot was pretty bad, though. We ran into some obnoxious cars with not-so-chill people yelling from their drivers' seats and traffic even after leaving the Meadows. There were fewer people here than other shows we'd been to at the Meadows, but we realized what the problem was: They crammed all of us into the upper lots because the lower lots were taken up by Cirque tents. So it took us over an hour to get out of the parking lot and then even more time to get to the highway. I hope they never do that again, but we'll see next summer.

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.

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.

Dave Matthews Band kicks off tour in Hartford this weekend

This is where I'll be Saturday.

If you're a Dave Matthews Band fan, you've probably already heard that this tour is a pretty big deal and you should get there: The band is taking a break from touring next year.

The band released this news on May 14 in a post titled "A Message to Our Fans":

"As we feel the excitement building for this summer, we wanted to let everyone know that after twenty years of consecutive touring, Dave Matthews Band will be taking 2011 off. We feel lucky that our tours are a part of so many people's lives, and wanted to give everyone as much notice as possible. We're excited to make this summer one of our best tours yet, and look forward to returning to the road in 2012."

I didn't even realize they've been touring for 20 consecutive years - that's most of my life. They definitely deserve a break. But this also means that this tour is going to be awesome, and I'm really excited that it kicks off in my home state.

Also, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, a throwback R&B, soul band that's definitely worth watching, is opening. Super bonus!

Here's the tour schedule: http://www.davematthewsband.com/#/tour The first two stops are this Friday and Saturday in Hartford at the Meadows.

(Photo from boston.com and I think it's a promotional one because it's on a lot of blogs.)

Tom Petty tickets on sale today!

(Photo from livenation.com)

Got my tickets Friday through a River 105.9 presale, but tickets for the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Crosby, Stills and Nash Aug. 17 show at the Meadows went on sale officially just a few minutes ago.

Went with lawn seats because they're fun and affordable, but the ticket prices range from $29 for lawn to $119 for closer seats. I saw Tom Petty with Steve Winwood a few summers ago, and it was awesome. This is sure to be just as awesome. I know someone who paid $50 to see part of Crosby, Stills and Nash, so this is quite the deal. Also, with a purchased ticket, you get a download of Tom Petty's new album, and after the show, they're releasing downloads of eight live songs.

The show is Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Meadows, or Comcast Theater, in Hartford.

I had a quick review from the last show here: Summer Concert Reviews

Late Weezer/Blink-182 Post

I guess I have a lot less free time now that I'm working. It's been weeks since this show, but I still think it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Blink-182, Weezer and Taking Back Sunday played to a sold-out crowd at the Meadows on Sat., Sept. 29, and at least Weezer and Blink rocked it. Also, I got a press pass from the Bristol Press, so I got to take some sweet photos. The entire show was 15-year-old Freesia's dream come true.

The best concert of my life was probably Summercase 2007 in Madrid, when I got to see Bloc Party, the Arcade Fire, the Chemical Brothers, the Flaming Lips, Air, the Kaiser Chiefs, Lily Allen, James, etc. all over the course of two nights. However, this summer, I got to see my next top 3 concerts: Blink-182, of course, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Vampire Weekend at All Points West and also a last-minute show from Mates of State at Cafe 9, which was intimate and the best $3 ever spent.

8/20 -- The Allman Brothers, RatDog

The Allman Brothers Band and RatDog show at the Meadows, now known as the Dodge Music Center, in Hartford felt like a hippie fest. From the girl selling hash brownies car to car in traffic to the Merry Pranksters bus to the white van with a giant "Ron Paul 08" on the side of it, I felt like I was still in 2008 but blasted to the past in some way. The show was pretty mellow with a bunch of people just happily swaying and dancing to the rock music. Old Grateful Dead fans flashed back to their glory days as they watched their beloved band's founding member rock out with his latest jam band, RatDog. Tie-dye shirts included. The Allman Brothers included a lot of musical interludes in songs and long solos that led to half-hour-long songs, which was cool at times, but after a while, it felt a little redundant. Also, they didn't play Jessica.

8/25 -- Maroon 5, Sara Bareilles, Counting Crows (at the Meadows) and 8/12 -- Wilco, Andrew Bird (at Tanglewood)

I saw the Counting Crows, and they didn't play "Mr. Jones." One of my favorite songs of all time, one of the reasons I was especially excited about this concert, and they didn't even play the one single most people knew from them. They threw in a few "Mr. Jones" lyrics in the first few songs, so I started to worry that they wouldn't play it. I had some hope that they might have been teasing us and would play it at the end, but that didn't happen. Actually, not much happened during their set. Adam Duritz looked and sounded drunk the entire time, and I could barely understand a word he was saying. However, the band had a redeeming factor when they played the most angry, most emotional song I've ever seen live - "Goodnight Elisabeth," the "Fuck Your Christmas" version. That song was incredible. Duritz was emotional, and I think he made everyone hate whoever he was talking to. Still, it didn't make up for the rest of the set feeling too long, especially after a great set by Sara Bareilles.

Sara Bareilles is adorable and extremely talented. (Note: her website is also fantastic and adorable.) An announcer said the nicest thing about her - that in a year, she would have a big stage background of her own, much bigger than the banner she had up at the time, and that she would be headlining these shows. I really hope so. Yes, "Love Song" has become the romantic comedy song, but it's so catchy, and a really good song. I know and love all the words. The rest of her album is great, and she played a lot of it, and just everything about her -- with her simple ponytail, great taste in clothing, soft-spoken-ness and incredible piano skills -- is just lovable.

Maroon 5 reminded me that they were one of my favorite bands in high school, and they really reminded me why. This was my first time seeing them live, but Adam Levine is fantastic in winning over a crowd. He just walks across the stage with this ownership, and he really gets into all the songs. The band played all their singles - I can't think of a radio single they didn't play, which made the crowd happy. They played a lot of stuff from their first album in the beginning, which was great because that's mostly what I knew from when I was a huge Maroon 5 fan. (I think I am again, by the way.) They switched between big singles and some newer songs that some people may not have known. This line-up of songs is really ideal because it keeps the crowd interested, unlike the Counting Crows and their dragging set. Maroon 5 really kicked it up with a lot of power and energy, and I loved it. At the end of the encore, Levine gave a girl in the front row his white electric guitar. She was freaking out, and I was so happy for her. It was probably the best day of her life. It made me like the band even more, not just for their music and their show, but for their appreciation of fans.

A few days before this, I saw Wilco at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. I couldn't see very well from my seats because of the tall people and spacing, but I enjoyed the music, which was really what the concert was for. Their "Jesus, etc." was great, and the rest of their music was just calming and really good. Andrew Bird opened for him, which was perfect because his use of different musical instruments and the musical feel of the whole set was a great transition into Wilco.