Every Avenue

Today, I am going to change my focus a little bit. Instead of telling you about the concerts I have attended, I would like to speak about the bands I listen to.

As I have said before, I am into various types of music. This means it will be just about impossible for me to tell you about all of my favorite bands in one post. So in each post, I will tell you about one or two.

The first band I would like to write about is a band I have recently started listening to. It is a band that I can listen to over and over without getting sick of. This band is called Every Avenue.

Every Avenue writes music that is a mix of pop, rock, and alternative. Many people refer to their music as emo pop. They formed in Michigan in 2003. So far this band has made an appearance in the 2008 Vans Warped Tour and toured with other bands such as, Hit the Lights, Farewell, Mayday Parade, All Time Low, and The Maine.

Their band has a total of five members. David Ryan Strauchman is the lead vocalist and plays piano, Joshua Randall plays guitar, Jimmie Deeghan also plays guitar and is the backup vocalist, Matt Black is the bassist and backup vocalist, and last but not least, Dennis Wilson plays the drums.

A couple of my favorite songs by Every Avenue are Tell Me I’m a Wreck, Happy the Hard Way, and I Forgive You. These three songs are from the bands album called Picture Perfect. This album was released, most recently, in 2009. This album speaks about broken hearts and relationships that the band members have had to endure.

If you listen to bands like All Time Low, The Maine, Mayday Parade, The Summer Set or The Friday Night Boys you would enjoy the music by Every Avenue. If you enjoy this band I would be happy to recommend other artists to you or you could simply go onto iTunes and look at the section that says “Listeners Also Bought.”

If Every Avenue makes an appearance at the mall near me I will be able to post a picture of them in action. :)

Brad Paisley H20 Tour

This year for my Birthday my parents gave me tickets to see Brad Paisley in concert. The concert took place in the Susquehanna Bank Center. I don’t think I have ever been as excited for a concert as I was for this one. Steel Magnolia, Josh Thompson, Easton Corbin, Justin Moore, Darius Rucker, and of course Brad Paisley performed at this concert.

There were two stages on which these artists performed. There was one stage outside the venue. Steel Magnolia, Josh Thompson, and Easton Corbin performed on this stage. My family and I were able to get really close to the stage for these performances. I felt like each artist could really connect with each person with this stage.

When each artist finished their performance they would run off the side of the stage. Over here there was a roped off section. The artists would stand inside and signed cowboy hats, pictures, and shirts. I wasn’t fortunate enough to get a signature but I did get a high five from each of the three artists.

Next, my family and I walked into the stadium for the main performances. We decided to buy drinks before we went to find our seats. When we were finished with our drinks we went to find our seats. When my Dad looked at our tickets a spark went off in his eyes. He informed us that we were in the sixth row from the stage!! When we got to our seats I could not believe how close we were to the stage.

The first person to perform on this stage was Justin Moore. I did not know many off his songs but I still enjoyed his performance. He was full of life and his songs were all different. When he played Backwoods I was finally able to sing along with him.

Darius Rucker was the next up, I knew a bunch of his songs. He sang his more popular songs such as, History in the Making, Don’t Think I Don’t Think About it, and Alright. Then the last song he played was Purple Rain, originally performed by Prince.

Finally, Brad Paisley was up. His entrance was very cool and very original. On a big screen it showed a pool and people’s legs, Brad’s guitar coming up out of the water, then Brad himself swimming. The Jaws song played and finally you see Brad climbing out of the pool. At the same time Brad Paisley climbs onto the stage.

Everybody was screaming and cheering. The first song he played was one of my favorites, Water. I was able to sing along to most of Brad Paisley’s songs. I had listened to him since I was little. The first song I ever heard by him was called Whiskey Lullaby. I had forgotten that it was sung by him and then he performed it at the concert.

He also connected with the audience very well, especially with the people in the front rows. My Dad was able to get wonderful pictures of him. Though, at one point during his performance he ran to the back of the venue and performed for the people with the lawn seats.

Towards the end of the concert I ran up to the edge of the stage. It was an amazing experience and I wish I could relive it. Then, Brad threw a pick in to the crowd right by where I was standing. It fell onto the floor and everyone around me was searching frantically to find it. I looked down and I saw it! I bent down to grab it right as the person next to me saw it. I grabbed it and she stepped on my hand. It hurt but I didn’t really care because I had gotten the pick!

Then, at the very end of the concert all of the people that had performed that day came onto the stage. It was like a big party because they brought a bar onto the stage and gave the artists beer. They looked like a huge family and it was great to see this. Then, all of the performers ran along the edge of the stage and high fived everyone. I got to high five all of them except for Darius Rucker. It was one of the most amazing nights of my life. If I got the chance to see Brad Paisley in concert again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Bamboozle

Whenever one of my friends asks me what I am up to, my most frequent answers are listening to my iPod and searching for concerts to attend. This, among other things, has added to my wide variety of music interests. After searching the web for so long, I finally found the perfect concert…Bamboozle.

This year was my first year ever attending the Bamboozle Roadshow Tour. I went to Six Flags in New Jersey for this event. It is an event where multiple bands attend and perform.

At Bamboozle I saw Boys like Girls, Forever the Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Third Eye Blind, and LMFAO. Before I went to see the bands, my friends and I walked around the park. We went on roller coasters, water rides, and of course picked up some food to eat. This added more excitement to the event.

When we finally got into the stadium we were able to make our way down to the floor right up by the stage. When the first band, Forever the Sickest Kids, stepped onto the stage and started playing their music, I could feel my heart skip a beat. After listening to their music on my iPod and computer so many times, it was incredible to be standing less than thirty feet away from them.

Each band got the crowd to wave their hands in the air, jump up and down, and sing along to their music. No matter where you looked there were always smiles on the people around you. At some points of the day mosh pits formed, though, no damage was done. A big circle would form and kids would run in and out of it. I thought it was pretty funny when the security guards started pushing kids into the mosh pits.

Out of all the bands that performed that night, I would say my favorite performance was by Boys like Girls. I was able to sing along to every single song and they just kept a huge smile on my face. They also let their emotions show and showed everyone there that they are only human. I believe that this makes fans love them even more because it shows them how much this music means to them.

If you love music as much as I do and you like alternative and rock music, I would definitely recommend Bamboozle to you.