Music

Legends of Summer

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , , , ,

Last Friday I headed to Candlestick Park with Adam and Eva to see Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z on their “Legends of Summer Tour“. I’ve seen JT in the past and his show was amazing – even if you don’t like the music, he is a great performer. After reading Jay-Z’s book “Decoded” I became a fan, as he discussed in great detail the meaning of his songs and lyrics. I’m convinced he’s a really smart dude.

The sound was less than stellar, partly because Candlestick Park is such a huge, open venue. I didn’t realize until after, but this tour is strictly a stadium tour, which I think is an interesting choice. The show itself was awesome. I think the really neat part for me was how they wove the show together. Instead of the traditional opening act, they had a DJ for about an hour. He was not the best in the world, but came up with some good (and interesting) song combinations. “California Love” by Tupac followed by “All Night Long” by Lionel Ritchie, anyone? Then the show kicked off. The stage setup was great – it was this massive shiny red stage that they projected all sorts of things on depending on the song.

Stage Setup
Stage Setup

There was definitely some thought put into the flow of the show – rather than JT doing a set and then Jay-Z doing a set, they innerwove their music. This was really cool for me because the two styles of music, while different on the surface, actually flowed really well together. They also made it super easy for the guys to switch back and forth via a trap door/elevator on the stage. Most of the time, you never saw the guy leaving. It was a great show as evidenced by the following picture:

This Is What Fun Looks Like
This Is What Fun Looks Like

Finally, we had something really cool happen as we were leaving the show. We were walking through the parking lot when we heard sirens. Around the corner came roaring a couple of motorcycle cops, cars, and two black SUVs. We started trying to figure out who it was when Adam flashed the shaka (ie. hang loose sign) and none other than Jay-Z popped his head and arm out the window to give it back. Too cool!

Favorite Song Friday – “SexyBack”

Anna Blankenheim Music , , ,

Today’s favorite song Friday pick is a throwback to 2006 and a shout out to tonight’s upcoming concert. Yup, it’s “SexyBack” by Justin Timberlake. I’m so so so excited about the show – it’s at Candlestick Park and features Jay-Z. Stay tuned in the next day or so for the concert review!

“SexyBack” was the ultimate summer jam… it came out in July of 2006 and was super catchy. Happy Friday!

Les Misérables Review

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , ,

I have just realized that I’m a little bit behind on my blogging. Like a month. I’ve got all of these drafts started and just not published. As part of my birthday present this year, Mike gave me tickets to see Rock of Ages back in January and the Les Misérables in June.

I always love going back to the Community Center Theater in Sacramento because of my time singing with the Sacramento Choral Society. It was one of the first BIG stages I sang on and I’ll never forget walking out on stage during one of the first rehearsals and just seeing a wall of red (it’s fairly steep and the seats are upholstered with red fabric). I have so many great memories there and absolutely love seeing shows there.

I absolutely loved the musical (I’ve seen it before) – it’s  one of the few musicals I’ve liked in movie form as well (so much so that I bought the movie). The cast was great – I don’t think there was a poorly casted singer in the whole ensemble (usually there’s at least one that irks me). The stage, costumes and lighting were great – it was just as wonderful as I remembered it.

I’m beginning to think I need to find a musical/opera buddy other than my husband… he’s been a trooper. I’ve been trying to build up to his first opera… we started with Cats, then Rock of Ages, now Les Mis. His review was that it was a little “dark”. Well… that’s sort of opera in a nutshell. If he didn’t like a slightly dark show in English, I really doubt he’ll like some rage aria in another language. At least he tried!

Favorite Song Friday – “Just Give Me A Reason”

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , ,

This week’s song that is stuck in my head is “Just Give Me A Reason” by P!nk, featuring Nate Ruess (from the group fun.). I fell in love with P!nk when I saw here with JT (she can seriously SING) and saw f.u.n. on SNL. Nate Ruess has an amazing voice… his range is huge! P!nk actually wrote the song as well – she is so talented!

I love, love, love this song. And the video is sexy!

Favorite Song Friday – “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On”

Anna Blankenheim Music , ,

It’s that time again, and this week’s song has seriously been stick in my head. It’s from the Pistol Annies album and is called “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On”. It’s one of those bluesy, all girl songs and I can’t get enough of it!

Unfortunately, there’s not a video yet, so we’ll have to make do with the lyric video below.

Annie Up

Anna Blankenheim Music , , ,

I know I said that I would be reviewing Blake Shelton’s new album, but while I was buying music, I decided to give the Pistol Annies new album, Annie Up a try.

Annie Up
Annie Up

I love, love, love this album. The songs are all written by some combination of the three girls in the band, which I love. The first track, “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On” is possibly up there as one of my favorite songs ever… it’s a bluesy and has some amazing harmonies. I love the lyric, “Give me tall, dark, and handsome, mix it up with something strong, I feel a sin coming on”.

The rest of the album covers everything from broken hearts to true love. I seriously love this album – I give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Favorite Songs: “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On”, “Blues, You’re A Buzzkill”, “Loved By A Workin’ Man”, and “Happily Unmarried”

Favorite Song Monday – “Boys ‘Round Here”

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , ,

I can’t wait until Friday to post this… ever since the concert last Friday this song has been stuck in my head!!! I love Blake Shelton on The Voice, and seeing him sign live made me love him even more… this song is seriously catchy!  I really want to be a Pistol Annie so I can sing “Ooooooooh, let’s ride” over and over again in perfect harmony! No, seriously, I love the harmonies and the cool little guitar groove. I gave in and bought the album – review coming once I listen to it.

The video is hilarious… how can you go wrong with a cow, a blinged out rooster, a pig, and a bunch of rappers doing the Dougie?

Happy Monday!

 

Locked And Reloaded

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , , , , ,

Last night was the first concert on the country mega ticket… Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley on the Locked and Reloaded Tour. We headed out to the Sleeptrain Amphitheater for the first show that I’ve been to at that venue since high school. We got there a few hours early and enjoyed some tailgating time. The people watching was amazing and we got to see a ton of really impressive trucks.

Brigitte & I
Brigitte & I

I absolutely love concerts on the lawn… don’t get me wrong, some shows are not set up for that, but this one was perfect. We had a blast hanging out and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the show. Dan (Brigitte’s husband) took a moment between artists to educate me on where real cowboys keep their money…

Cowboy Boots
Cowboy Boots

The show itself was really good… the opening act was Joanna Smith, who I honestly hadn’t heard of before this. She was pretty good and sang for about twenty minutes. She was followed by Randy Houser, who I absolutely love. I was a little bummed… he didn’t do “Anything Goes”, which is my favorite song of his.

After that, Dierks Bentley came out. He was super high energy and although I was a little skeptical of his live singing ability before this (I wasn’t all that impressed with both his and Miranda’s performance on the ACMs), they both kicked butt live. He did a really good job of interacting with the audience and I think my favorite song he sang had to be “5-1-5-0”.

Finally, it was time for Miranda Lambert. She was absolutely amazing – like much of her music, her show is centered around strong women who are normal people (she even said at one part “I’m a normal girl – I eat chicken fried steak, I drink beer, and I shop at Walmart”). Brigitte and I even commented that she seems like someone we would hang out with – just a normal girl who loves what she does. She had an amazing amount of energy and sang every one of her big hits, along with some newer songs from her latest album. About halfway through her set she was joined on stage by the Pistol Annies, her country girl band. They were so good… they have these really tight harmonies and sing some great songs!

It seemed like Miranda was finally done and was getting ready for her encore. The stage went dark and we heard “red red red red red red red red redneck”. Yup, out came none other than Blake Shelton himself, accompanied by the Pistol Annies to sing “Boys ‘Round Here”, which is his newest song on the radio that is constantly stuck in my head. It was such a great finale!

The weather was absolutely beautiful and perfect to kick off this concert series… I can’t wait for the next one!