country

Garth Brooks and The Deadly Red Bull

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , ,

A few weeks ago we went to one of six Garth Brooks shows in Sacramento. As you may know, I’m a huge fan of music in general… and I believe the best test of how good (or bad) an artist is is to see them perform live. I went into the Garth Brooks experience trying to temper my expectations. After all, he was “in his prime” twenty years ago and for most people, the voice starts to age. Garth was absolutely amazing… he sounded like the Garth Brooks of old and I was completely amazed by his energy… we actually saw him at his second show in one night! He sang all of his old songs… something that really makes me happy because I hate going to see an artist and all you hear is new music that you can’t sing along to!

There was a bit of a disaster, however. You see, for Lent this year I gave up soda… and the concert we were attending started at 10:30pm. I decided that I would try something new and have a Red Bull, to help me stay awake. Well, I was definitely awake… but unfortunately it severely upset my stomach. So much so that we ended up having to leave early, taking our friends with us. Thankfully they were super understanding, but I not only felt physically awful, but bad that they had to miss out on part of an amazing show. Note to self… that stuff is definitely not healthy and I will definitely not be drinking it again!

Willie Nelson

Anna Blankenheim Music , ,

This past Saturday Mike and I headed to the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley to see Willie Nelson. I was really excited about this show because I’ve always loved Willie’s voice. I grew up hearing my dad and his band play Willie’s songs. As it turns out, it was a pretty disappointing show. We got there a little late, but the first band (Shovels & Rope) was actually pretty good. The second band (Drive-By Truckers) was terrible. Like singing off key and instruments out of tune terrible.

When Willie came out, he kicked off his set with “Whiskey River”. From the very first note it was clear that his voice is definitely not what it used to be. He was never really a strong singer, but he definitely could carry a tune… basically every song he did the “sing-talk” thing. It was kinda sad and disappointing, but then again he’s 81 years old.

The Greek, on the other hand, was a pretty cool venue. It’s an 8,500 person outdoor amphitheater with a very cool vibe. The weather was beautiful (although it got a little windy) and the sound was pretty good!

The Greek Theater
The Greek Theater

All in all, the night was a bit of a bust. We left early because we had stuff to do the next day. Like 5 songs into Willie’s set early. Boo.

Favorite Song Friday – “Red”

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Over the past year or so, I’ve begun to doubt Taylor Swift. Her music has become more and more pop, which is fine, but then it makes me mad when she wins country awards. Not to mention she’s not exactly amazing live.

My thoughts about her changed a little bit with her performance of “Red” on the Country Music Awards a couple of weeks ago. I’ve liked the song from the beginning with all of its great color references.

Losing him was blue like I’d never known
Missing him was dark grey all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you’ve never met
But  loving him was red
Loving him was red

This acoustic, harmonized version featuring Allison Krauss and Vince Gill is absolutely stunning and I can’t get enough of it! Happy Friday!

Zac Brown Band 2013 Tour

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , , ,

I know that I’ve been terrible about posting lately, but life has been super busy. When I’m not working (I spent two days in Oregon this week), I’m running (it was peak week – I knocked out 40 miles, including a 22 miler yesterday!). I know, excuses, excuses.

I did manage to fit in a concert this week – I entered a raffle at work and won tickets to see the Zac Brown Band in the Intel Suite! Obviously, I love country music, but this went so far beyond my expectations.

Brig & I At ZBB
Brig & I At ZBB

I’ll start with the bad part of the show… the opening act, Niko Moon. He even has a crappy web page. He’s a rocker, but not like country rock. Rock rock. Which really felt odd – in fact, there were even some boos from the crowd (who came decked out in plaid, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots). You could hardly understand the words to his songs and it completely rubbed me the wrong way.

Zac Brown, on the other hand, was phenomenal. I always judge a band by how well they play live. And man, can they play live. His band includes seven members (two drummers/percussionists, two guitarists, a violinist, a bassist, and of course, Zac Brown). Each of them is absolutely amazing at their instrument and almost all of them stepped out to play something that wasn’t their main instrument. Mid-show they did a great acoustic set that showcased their absolutely perfect harmonies. Some of the jamming they did was spectacular – not only did they play like crazy, but you felt like they were seriously having fun. And like you were a part of their jam session.

Not only did I love their music, but they did some amazing covers including “Enter Sandman” (seriously, a country band that kicks ass on a Metallica song?!), the Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road”, and James Tayor’s “Frozen Man”.

However, their encore was quite possibly the best encore I’ve ever seen a band do. They came out and started with “Uncaged” from their new album by the same title. As that song drew to an end, it just sort of morphed into Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. Like an amazing version of it. From there it morphed into one of the fastest, most impressive versions of Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down To Georgia” that I’ve ever heard. It was absolutely amazing.

I will definitely be seeing the Zac Brown Band again – they’re like the Dave Matthews Band but countrified. If they come to a city near you, it’s definitely worth the price of a ticket!

Same Trailer Different Park

Anna Blankenheim Music , , ,

One of my latest music purchases is Same Trailer Different Park by Kacey Musgraves.

Same Trailer Different Park
Same Trailer Different Park

When I first heard her on the radio not entirely impressed. However, since then I’ve heard a few more songs and fallen in love with her tell-it-like-it-is style of songwriting and singing. She wrote or co-wrote all twelve songs on this album and is credited as a co-producer. She really tells the story in each of her songs, something that is really lacking in a lot of today’s pop country.

While her songs come across as fairly depressing, they’re about real life and real people. One of my favorite lines is from “Silver Lining”: “If you’re ever gonna find a silver lining it’s gotta be a cloudy day. ” Love, love, love it! Definitely a great album worth the money… can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Favorite Songs: “Blowin’ Smoke”, “Follow Your Arrow”, Merry Go ‘Round”, “Silver Lining”, and “My House”.

The Night Train Tour

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , , ,

Last night I went to the last concert of the megaticket series – the Night Train Tour featuring Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, and Jason Aldean. Amber and I went for our traditional In-N-Out dinner before the show. I played with my new curling iron that does these beachy waves… I love it!

Rocking The Waves
Rocking The Waves

I was seriously impressed with Thomas Rhett… out of the three acts, I thought he was the best overall entertainer. He had a natural ease on the stage and got the crowd really involved. I’m shocked to see on Wikipedia that he’s only twenty-three years old… he definitely performs with maturity beyond his years! Jake Owen was really good too… I couldn’t remember any of his songs, until he actually got on stage. Turns out I knew a lot of them! Then it was time for the main event… Jason Aldean. He did all of his big hits and was just a blast to watch. I absolutely love “Night Train“… it’s one of my favorite songs right now! I was exhausted after the show… we sang and danced almost the entire time!

One of the most shocking events of the night happened on my way back from the bathroom… as I was climbing the stairs back to our lawn seats, I noticed a group of people huddled around something on the ground. Once I got closer, I realized it was a person… to be clear, a girl. She was screaming bloody murder and was being held down by a bunch of the rock med people. I have no idea what was going on, but she was clearly out of control. Crazy!!!

It was a great time! This is the last concert on my calendar for the year… unless something pops up before the year ends. We’ll see!

Light The Fuse Tour

Anna Blankenheim Music , , , ,

So I’m a little bit behind with my concert posts… a couple of weeks ago Amber and I headed out to Sleep Train amphitheater to see the Light The Fuse Tour with Keith Urban, Little Big Town, and Dustin Lynch. To be honest, I was most excited to see Little Big Town… I don’t mind Keith Urban, but he’s never been my favorite. In fact, most of his show felt like an epic guitar solo… over and over and over.

Little Big Town was absolutely amazing. I’ve always loved them, but they are phenomenal live. Their harmonies are amazingly tight! They did all of their big hits, and even did a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Listen To The Wind Blow”. I think since I sang harmonies with my dad and sister growing up that I’m drawn to that kind of music… to me there’s nothing sweeter than beautiful harmony!

And now for the obligatory pre-concert picture:

Amber & I
Amber & I

Favorite Song Friday – “All Kinds of Kinds”

Anna Blankenheim Music , , ,

This week’s favorite song is “All Kinds of Kinds” by Miranda Lambert. Seriously, this girl can do no wrong in my book. I love the song and the general message (we need to accept everyone because it takes just about everyone to make things work). Happy Friday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02X8bX_EBv4