Concert – Page 50 – Concert Katie

American Idol Concert Gavin DeGraw Photos

TIC Christmas Show

Katie December 4, 2011 0 Comments

Thursday night was TIC’s annual Christmas Concert. It was once again held at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT. I usually love going to the Oakdale, but that night I had a particularly angry bag check woman. First, she yelled at my because my bag couldn’t be around my neck when she checked it. I’ve been to 250+ concerts and have never had a problem just holding it open while it was still attached to me, so the fact that she got so rude about it was completely uncalled for – as this is apparently a new rule. Then she asked if I had a lens piece in my purse. I said no, it was my camera and she said she’d have to see it – then went off about how it WAS a lens piece. Maybe I’m mistaken, but when I hear “lens piece” I think – removable lens. Not a thing that is attached and can not be removed from my camera. She and another guy were saying I’d have to check my camera and pick it up after the show – but then she asked someone else (who looked a bit more official) and he said it was fine. The rule is generally no professional cameras – ie cameras with detachable lens. Mine is not… and I brought it to a show at this venue before and had no problems. *shrug*

The show was supposed to start at 7, but the doors to the theater didn’t open until 7! Usually this isn’t a problem, but I was pretty exhausted and hoping to be home by 11 to get a decent nights sleep for the first time in days.

Christina Perri took the stage at about 7:20. She had performed last year as well but was upgraded from performing only 4 songs to 7. 3 of them she had done last year as well, but now she has an actual album out! She also threw in a Christmas song and she and her band donned Christmas hats during that one song. Her song of choice was John Lennon’s Happy Christmas, War is Over. One of the new songs she did (that wasn’t done last year) was 1000 years which is on the Twilight soundtrack. She said one of her new years resolutions was to have a song in one of her favorite movies so she was glad that happened for her.

Next up was Gavin DeGraw. To be honest, I was a bit shocked he was the second act and not The Fray, but I guess I don’t have as much of an idea of Top 40 popularity as I thought I did! Gavin’s set was similar to when I saw him last month in Pennsylvania but of course a bit shorted. Gavin did 7 songs which was most of his singles and a couple others thrown in. He didn’t do any Christmas songs, and he had no problem commanding the crowd. He is a great performer and I am glad that he went from someone on my “must see” concert list to someone I saw perform 3 times this year!

Then it was time for The Fray. Unfortunately I am not familiar with their stuff at all and have not been able to figure out what their first song was based on the notes I wrote for it. They did 8 songs, several from their new album which will be coming out in February. For one of the songs, the lead singer, Isaac, called a girl up from the audience on stage. He said he had someone specific in mind and was surprised when she was actually there. One of the band members had found her on twitter and they had her come up on stage and gave her a teddy bear for a song (The Christmas Song). I thought that was pretty cool and a new way to interact with fans using social media! Also during one of the songs Isaac went through the crowd, and I was right on the aisle of my section and that is right where he walked by! The girl in front of me had a sign and he took it from her! I am not sure what it said,but she was so incredibly excited that he took it. (And I think he stuck it in his back pocket!)

Finally it was time for the headliner – Miss Kelly Clarkson! Kelly is also on my list of artists that I had to see live – one of the only Idols that I am a fan of that I’ve yet to see live. Kelly did 8 songs and was great – really high energy and I liked that she talked a lot with the crowd about the songs. At one point she apologized for talking too much – but I really like when artists tell little stories or anecdotes about their songs and why they wrote them or put them on the album, etc. For instance – after Stronger she said that she loved the song but there was nowhere to BREATHE when singing it live! She also added a christmas song to her set – I’ll Be Home For Christmas. I was surprised that her set was so short, but she will be back next month and I am really looking forward to seeing her again and with a full set!

After all was said and done, I made it home just before midnight so I was able to get a little bit more sleep than the previous couple of nights but I am really looking forward to sleeping in this weekend.

Setlists under the cut for all 4 acts!

Concert Honor Society Photos

Honor Society New York City!

Katie December 2, 2011 4 Comments

Wednesday night Honor Society played a hometown/homecoming show at the Webster Hall Marlin Room in New York City. The train ride there was fun, as we ended up sitting next to the bathroom and a drunk kid broke the lock on the door so we ended up having to keep an eye on the door whenever anyone went in and had to stop a couple people from walking in on someone else lol

Doors were already open when we made it to Webster Hall (and we walked past a block that was blocked off because Obama was in town) so we made our way inside. They were REALLY thorough with checking bags. Like to the point where it was kind of wrong that the lady was pulling everything out of our bags (I offered to take it out for her because I’d prefer her NOT touch my stuff and she said no and started grabbing everything herself. How rude!) And she took my sharpie from me. I’m pretty sure it was on its last leg anyway, but still. The fact that she even FOUND it in my jam packed purse was kind of ridiculous. (And I assure you I was not going to use it for anything inappropriate – I usually have them in there just in case I find someone I want an autograph from and to be honest I didn’t even really know it was still in there!) While I was getting everything torn apart from my purse Alex came over and tapped me on the shoulder. I don’t know why because when I turned he wasn’t facing me to talk to me or anything haha.

Sunderland was already playing by the time we got inside, apparently their mics weren’t working in the beginning of their set but we missed that. Alex Goot went on second and then The Trace. Honor Society took the stage at about 9:30 and played the same set as they did in New Jersey. There was so much fog being pumped in (something that ALWAYS has me sneezing the next day, I don’t understand it) that it was nearly impossible to get a photo with a flash and without a flash the guys were moving around a bit too much with the poor lighting to actually catch a decent photo. But the show was high energy, as always, and we got a video of Over You. I think I may have to edit some of it down to upload it to youtube but I will post it once it is up and running so you can all check it out and fall in love with Honor Society… It was a bit bittersweet though because we had gone from seeing them at the Knitting Factory, to selling out Irving Plaza, to selling out Gramercy Theater, then Irving Plaza again (without the help of the Jonas Brothers) and then Nokia / Best Buy Theater in Times Square… so to see a 500 capacity show not quite to capacity was kind of sad. HOWEVER the Times Square show was a weekend and this was a Wednesday so that may have had something to do with it because it was a school/work night – but still…. frustrating that it seems so many have moved on 🙁

After the show we bolted to the merch table to be first in line for the meet and greet, but still had to wait almost an hour for them to come out. We had never been first in line before so that was pretty cool 😉 I told the guys it was my 30th show and Mike and Andy told me that that made me an Honor Society veteran! And I told Andy about Hanson’s beer and he said he’d have to try it when it became available lol (I still can’t believe they’re doing that but whatever)

We were able to grab a drink at Grand Central before hopping on the 12:15 back home. Of course the train stopped on the “wrong” side – aka the inbound side with the HUGE gap. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it being half asleep but I managed. Also – I’m going to have to give Webster Hall an F on being ADA compliant because no one ever responded to my email about getting a seat and it didn’t even look like anyone was around who worked at the place to ask (aside from the bag checking lady who did not seem like she was someone I really wanted to deal with!)

Concert Honor Society Photos

Honor Society Mexicali Live November 29

Katie December 1, 2011 0 Comments

Honor Society is hitting the road this fall in support of the Salvation Army on the Rock The Red Kettle tour. Tuesday night they played Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ. It was a raining night which made the drive there a bit of a pain in the butt, but I made it with time to spare before doors and soon was comfortably sitting at a table along the side in what was a hybrid of handicapped seating and reserved restaurant seating. I ordered a bite to eat for dinner and waited for the show to start!

Honor Society was also selling Alex’s drum head that I guess had broken or decided to be replaced for $60. Would have loooved to have it (even though $60 was all I had in my wallet) but the women in the door just before me snatched it! So close! Ah well. Not sure what I would have done with a huge drumhead anyhow.

There were 4 opening bands – each of which treated us to a cover – Hollywood Ending was up first and did Jonas Brothers Year 3000. Sunderland was the second band of the night and did a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s The Middle in their set. The Trace was up third and performed a cover of Foster the People’s Pumped Up Kicks and Alex Goot treated us to TWO covers – Vanessa Carlton’s 1000 miles (after watching White Chicks this weekend – that had me cracking up) and a medly of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and Firework with Taio Cruise’s Dynamite thrown in for good measure.

Honor Society did not end up taking the stage until 10pm, when the show kicked off at 6:30. As much as I love being introduced to new bands (they were actually all decent at this show, surprisingly!) 4 opening acts is just a bit too much. They played for about an hour. The set was a mix of new and old, as they are promoting their latest EP, A Tale of Risky Business Part 2. They also threw in a cover of Jane Says by Janes Addiction and threw in a little Justin Timberlake (!!) in the middle of Over You. (I do not support Justin’s acting career but would love to see him come back to music, particularly with NSYNC. I’ll keep dreaming)

The guys were all dressed in matching suits for the show which was quite a change from their usual stage clothes, but certainly a welcome one! After the show we waited for the meet and greet and got through in less than an hour, which I think is some sort of record! The guys all asked if I’d be going again to the NYC show (of course I am!) and said it was nice to see me again. I feel like I should be writing more about this show but I am just SO exhausted (Not sure why I thought 3 shows in a row – with reviews starting the day of the 3rd show here on the blog were a good idea!)

Setlist under the cut and a review of the NYC show to hopefully be posted tomorrow 🙂

Action Item Concert Photos

Action Item

Katie November 22, 2011 0 Comments

Sunday night we decided to check out Action Item’s final show of the Stronger The Love Tour in Sayreville, NJ. New Jersey is where the band is from so we figured it would be nice to see them at their hometown show. Little did we know that it was a bit more of a marathon than a show! Doors were at 3:30, so we thought we’d be leaving by 8pm to head home (mostly the reason why we opted to go – it was an early show) but we were WRONG. Band after band was taking the stage…

But before I talk about the stage – let’s go back to the beginning. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts to pick up some food and use the restroom and while we were there – Forrest from Burnham was in line buying stuff! We didn’t end up saying anything to him though. Then once we parked, the guy doing parking said we weren’t close enough and told us to park even closer to the car in front of us. Then the MOM in the car wanted to get in the trunk, so I backed up for her (keep in mind she was lucky we were still in the car!) and then she told me not to pull back so close the next time, instead of thanking me for moving back for her! EXCUSE ME? You may be a Mom, but you are not MY mom (thank god) and I only did what I was told by the parking guys. In fact, I had parked farther away before the guy instructed me to go closer! 😛 (sorry, had to vent)

Finally doors opened and the guards offered a seat to a girl in front of us who had a full leg brace on (and a mini skirt.) When she refused a seat, we asked if I could have one and they said no – because the other girl had on a full leg brace. And I was like “So? My brace goes up to here” and pointed on my leg where it went to. And they seemed confused (sorry, I had on PANTS and not a Mini Skirt. It is November after all) and then we told them I had CP and then they were like “OH! Do you need help with stairs? We can take you inside” Uh, really? How about giving us the time of day the FIRST time we ask for help. Or just been like “Why do you ladies need chairs?” rather than making it seem like I was not as important because I didn’t have a full leg brace on and was wearing pants. (Sorry this review is more me ranting than anything else!)

We got inside and about 4pm the first band took the stage – The Call Out. They were local from New Jersey. Next up was Reverse Order. They were kind of cute but probably much too young for me (the theme of the evening lol). Up next was Hollywood Ending, which was kind of confusing because last month they were on later in the show… but what the heck do I know. Next up was my hometown favorites, Kicking Daisies. Then Memphis High and Megan and Liz…. (we had no idea Memphis High would be there. Not that we knew about the first 2 bands either!) And we were hoping at this point there would be an end in site with Burnham hopefully taking the stage next!

Before Burnham came on stage, Duran from Kicking Daisies asked if he could sit with us, so of course we said yes. He got mobbed for a bit but then he and Ben sat with us in the handicapped section for Burnham’s set! We got pics with them too. That was pretty neat. We also decided it is damn near impossible to get a photo of Forrest because the kid never stands still! I managed to get a couple of halfway decent ones… Not sure how but I guess if you take enough pictures eventually one is bound to come out alright.

Then it was finally time for Action Item! The gap between them and Burnham seemed ridiculous, but I don’t know if it was because we were anxious to get on the road home or if it really was that long. The setlist was the same as the show in CT and we were expecting some pranks, but nothing ended up happening – although a couple of fans gave out hearts to everyone in line and instructed us to hold them up during the song Home – which was of course written about being in New Jersey. A couple hearts did appear in the crowd a bit early – but there were TONS in the crowd once they started the song. It was really cool to see. The guys seemed to be choked up as well (though I was kind of hoping for a full on cry haha) and Anthony took a photo of the crowd with the hearts.

We ended up leaving right after the encore and didn’t bother to stay for the after show meet and greet, but then we had a fun time spending nearly 10 minutes trying to get my car out of the parking spot! The car next to me parked crooked and there wasn’t enough room for me to back up and cut the turn to not hit the car on the other side of me… so Christine had to get out and direct me to move and finally we got out – I was kind of scared we’d be stuck there forever… and we had a bit of an audience too. I hope they enjoyed my driving skills.

Concert Photos

Katy Perry California Dreams tour November 15, 2011

Katie November 18, 2011 8 Comments

On Tuesday night I went to see Katy Perry. It was a VERY last minute decision, but I’m glad I made it. I’m not the biggest Katy Perry fan, but I figured that her show would be a bit over the top and entertaining – and it was. Plus, I wanted to see if she really pumped in the scent of cotton candy into the venues. (Either she did or the $10 cotton candy they were selling smelled very strong!)

Opening act Ellie Goulding went on at 7:30 and played a 45 minute set. I felt like this was too long for her – I lost interest about 5 songs in. Not that she didn’t have a good voice, but a lot of her songs were a bit more mellow and it didn’t really get me excited for what was to come. After Ellie was done, DJ Skeet Skeet DJ’ed. This seemed to be a bit ridiculous – do kids today really need to be constantly simulated? What happened to bringing up the house lights and just playing music throughout the arena? (Am I old?) He kept saying how Katy would be on next so I thought that meant as soon as he was done her curtain would drop. Nope. The lights went on this time and we waited some more for Katy to hit the stage. I think her set started about 9:15.
Then the screens started playing the story that would go on throughout the show. (For some reason I really like these stories for costume changes more than I like random stuff tossed on the screen in between sets, even if they are a bit silly, and Katy’s certainly was.) Katy was working at a meat place but the butcher was mean (pretty sure it was played by the brother from bleep my dad says) and got mad about how she was cutting the meat so he told her to leave. She saw a cupcake shop and fell in love with the baker’s boy… then she fell asleep and kitty purry (her cat) was gone so she had to go find her and ended up in this candy land like place. (I am pretty sure the butcher’s boy was Nick Zano). The story continues throughout the show with her trying to find the cat and silly things happening that were then incorporated in to to the show and her songs.

After eating a brownie from some mimes and “feeling sexy” she ended up saying she wanted a guy to join her on stage. First she was talking to a boy that she thought was young, but his father said he was 21. She said if he was 21 the father wouldn’t be with him and I guess the father said he loved her too. Then she mentioned how she would go to jail if she had a boyfriend that was 15 and was looking for older boyfriends but not really older boyfriends haha. Then she had said the first boy to take his shirt off could come on stage and the boy she pointed to hesitated so she picked a different boy, Marty. Then was saying how she liked his name because it was like Back to the Future and she kissed his cheek and then told him to kiss her cheek back but then in her in-ear monitor she was told that her husband had showed up to visit her. That set everything up for I Kissed a Girl and the first “hope my boyfriend don’t mind it” was changed to “husband” and she showed her ring finger.

She also floated to the back (where we were) on a piece of cotton candy, which was cool. I really like how a lot of artists are using tricks like this now to get closer to the fans in the back.

Overall, the show was very entertaining and happy and bright (though I’m not sure how appropriate it was for the younger crowd that was there… but I’m not their parents) and a lot of fun. During Hot And Cold, she changed her outfits over and over throughout the song which was very interesting and entertaining (in a “how’d they do that!?” kind of way)

Between DJ Skeet Skeet and Katy they were showing tweets on the screen, if you included the hashtag #HartfordDreams. Apparently also using this hash tag meant that your twitter photo may end up on the HUGE screens behind Katy during Last Friday Night. Which I did not realize until my friend was like “LOOK! It’s you and Oscar!” (my twitter photo). Of course I wasn’t quick enough to snap a photo of it so I guess Ill be looking for other photos or videos – but if you are going to a show and tweet with the hash tag – keep an eye out for your twitter photo being on the huge screens behind Katy for this song! (Perhaps this warning was in other reviews but since it was so last minute that I decided to go, I didnt prep myself for anything!)

Setlist under the cut!
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American Idol Concert David Cook Gavin DeGraw Photos

Gavin DeGraw & David Cook November 5, 2011

Katie November 11, 2011 0 Comments

Saturday night’s show seemed like it took forever to come! Doors opened late and we were greeted to the opening act of Canaan Smith. I wasn’t sure what to think about him… he came out with a HUGE silver microphone necklace on which he hung on the mic stand.. and then he sang country songs. (Although one of the songs he did sing about how he was country and rap so I guess it all started to make sense at that point) When I came home, I looked him up on Google to try and find some fun information about him – and I found out that he was on a season of Amazing Race! I love the show but hardly ever remember who the contestants are as soon as they are eliminated, but when I came home and said that name “Canaan” to my mom – she remembered that he was the one whose girlfriend did not want to go down the slide at Atlantis! Once she said that I remembered him. (The poor girl was afraid to go down and he could not convince her and they ended up losing the race because of it! But they are still together if anyone was curious!)

Then it was time for Gavin DeGraw. I’m not all that familiar with any of his new stuff, mainly because I am a slacker and never listen to the CDs I buy… (I really need to work on that) but his set was a mix of new and old so I was able to hold my own with the older songs. He threw in a couple of bits of covers during his set – The Script’s Breakeven and Bruno Mars Grenade. He also sat down at the piano without his band backing him and said that he was going to sing a song that he liked to sing back when he was a teenager and how his brother and him would play songs at the gym after it closed and one of the guys there had told him some profane things that women would do to him if he learned a few songs, but at the time he didn’t know what that meant. He went on to do a cover of Let’s Get It On. He also commented that he was a bit sick so some of the high notes he wasn’t able to hit – but that when he was ok he couldn’t really hit those notes either! I sat down for his set but most of my row stood at their seats, which made me a bit nervous for when David came out because my balance isn’t too hot to stand at my seat, but if I could lean against the stage I’d be fine.

Fortunately, when David came out the row did all go against the stage so things were fine! (My feet were asleep and killing me by the time David’s set was over, but that was ok!) I thought it was interesting that he started and ended the set with the starting and ending tracks from the new cd – Circadian and Rapid Eye Movement. At one point near the end of the set, the band was going to leave the stage and David told them not to leave. Since it was a full house – he was going to add a song that wasn’t on the setlist – a cover. He asked if we wanted some Fog Hat, but when the response was less than stellar he decided against that. He told the band that they were instead going to do Whitesnake, which was something that they had done in sound check but never live before and that it might suck. Once it was over he said that he now felt like they were a band that could play at a wedding and went in to part of “Celebration” and then talked a bit about a Father / Daughter dance being Butterfly Kisses and how he had a better song! And then he went in to Bar Ba Sol lol. I have to say the highlights of David shows are always him talking to the crowd. At one point another gang from CT was yelling how they were from Connecticut and still had no power. David said he didn’t mean to be rude, but all he heard was “wat wat wat” (read that like the Charlie Brown teacher talks!) and they tried to say it again but he still couldn’t hear and then he said he could go on with the Charlie Brown teacher voice all night, but he wouldn’t. He seemed quite overwhelmed that the show was a sell out (or near sell out) and thanked us for standing by him and waiting for the new album to come out because they took so long to do it, he had no idea what the state of the music industry would be when he got back. And also he thanked us a few times for supporting live music. (Also worth noting one of the roadies had a clown mask on and kept bringing stuff to the stage. Creepy!)

The show was definitely a blast and I am glad that I made the trip to go!

David Cook – VIP Experience

Katie November 10, 2011 0 Comments

A couple of months ago I got an email that David Cook would be touring with Gavin DeGraw. The closest they were coming to me was York, PA, about 5 hours away – but it was on a Saturday. David was also doing a VIP package which included a M&G. (As well as access to sound check, a Tshirt and signed photo). When I clicked the link in the email I saw that ticket were already on sale so in a panic I ordered a VIP package and ended up with Pitt tickets, but I wasn’t sure if it was first or second row. Either way, I figured first or second row + VIP perks would be worth the trip!

A couple days before the show I got an email that I needed to be in PA by 2:45pm! It ruined my plans to sleep in because I needed to give myself a couple of hours buffer just in case I ran in to traffic. I left the house at 8am and only ended up hitting about 30 minutes of traffic and was able to nap in the car for about an hour before I had to get ready for everything.

I picked up my ticket and it was FRONT ROW! And then waited in the lobby for the others with VIP until it was time to do our thing. Wade from Ground Ctrl came by and said we’d be getting our laminates and then going to soundcheck. It took what seemed like forever to check everyone in (125 people!) and then we headed down to the theater where David was already doing soundcheck. When I walked in he was covering Billy Joel’s Moving Out. Then he asked if we wanted some FogHat and they did Slow Ride. He finished his soundcheck by singing Goodbye To The Girl and told us that we’d have to leave (the 3 songs was such a tease!) to do the M&G.

We all went back upstairs and waited in line for another really long time. (Actually, I didn’t really wait in line I sat – big thanks to my new friends Mary Ann and Debbie who held my spot for me!) Finally we were let in the room for the M&G and when we were about 4 people from the front the band decided they needed a potty break. David had been given what I believe to be vodka? But it was in a trick package so he’d have to figure out a puzzle before he could open it. Someone teased that didn’t he used to be a bartender? And he said yeah.. but where do you think it was? The Magic House? lol

Then the band came back and pictures resumed, until he decided the Queen song playing was unknown and sounded like a sitcom theme song and ran over to the iPod to switch up the playlist! (Then we realized it was not taking so long because the fans were dilly dallying – it was David running around that made the wait so long!)

I told David about my suit with Toad’s Place about what happened at his concert in 2009 and he said he was sorry that it happened, but “good for you” that I did something about it and that they are actually going to be putting handicapped measures in place and he gave me a big hug and again said he was sorry and I said not to be because we helped a lot of people because of it.

At that point it was about 5:30, 5:45 and Doors were set to open at 6:30, so I hung around waiting for that… more about the show coming in tomorrow’s post!!

Concert Photos

Mat Kearney November 2, 2011

Katie November 4, 2011 2 Comments

Wednesday night Mat Kearney brought his tour to Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT and I was lucky enough to be in attendance! I went with one of my friends I had met through Hanson, Lauren. It was weird to be sitting in the Cafe at Barnes and Noble just 5 minutes before doors opened – walk by Mat on the street on the way to the venue – and then got inside to be about 2nd row on the floor. (Hanson shows showing up 5 minutes before doors means you are way in the back, if you want second row you probably should have gotten in line the night before) I opted to sit on the side of the venue for the show though.

The show started at 9 – doors at 8 – which seemed pretty late for a show during the week (not that I couldn’t handle it, but I do appreciate getting a good night’s sleep before I have to go back to work the next day haha) but was all wrapped up before midnight.

The opening act was called Leagues (http://www.leaguesmusic.com/) and I was quite impressed with them. I’m usually not in to openers but Wednesday night I was! The lead singer mentioned how the band has been in our position before – forced to stand through openers that we didn’t necessarily ask to see but that he hoped we would like them. He also said he would be dancing like and idiot so we were more than welcome to as well. The only thing I didn’t like about their set was there was this one light that kept going off like a camera flash on the stage. I’m not sure if it was Leagues idea or the lighting guy (as it did go off during Mat’s set as well), so I won’t hold it against them.

Then it was time for Mat! He came on stage a little after 10pm and started his set with Fire and Rain. I was really only familiar with the stuff he did off of Young Love, his latest release, fortunately since that is the album he is promoting, it made up about half of the set.

He stopped a couple of times to talk with the crowd – asked who went to Yale (Toad’s Place is right across the street from the Yale campus) and when a couple people cheered asked why they weren’t studying. Then he asked about mascots… A few in the crowd were from Fairfield U and their mascot is a stag so then there was a bit of a debate about whether he’d rather hang out with a stag or a bulldog. There also were screams for America – which I do not believe was originally on the set list… so he did it and also added a bit of Chasing Pavements to the end of it.

Later he talked more with the crowd and this time the UCONN students got a little rowdy an when a big UCONN HUSKIES chant started going he commented about how he had now completely lost control of the show!

Before going to the show, I read a few reviews so I would know what to expect. Each of them said something like, “I had read he’d go in the crowd and sing, but I didn’t think he’d do it at my show. He did.” And.. despite having read the reviews (AND I talked to a friend who had seen the show already), when I saw the crowd getting larger and larger as the night went on, I thought to myself, “he’s never going out in the crowd” But sure enough, he did! I can’t remember now which song it was during.. but it was after America and before She Got The Honey so I guess that narrows it down to 3 it might be. (Although me not remembering helps keep the suspense for anyone who still might be waiting to see their show!)

I also sneaked a peek at the set list during the encore when I moved up closer because the crowd had thinned out a bit. He was going to do my 2 favorites from the CD (Ships in the Night and Hey Mama), but in between them was “Pumped Up Kicks” I am not sure if him doing America earlier made him need to cut a song out (although I think he did cut another one out in the main set) or if he needed to be off stage by a certain time. It would have been nice to see that cover, but I was pleased with the encore just the same since he closed it out with my faves!

I received free tickets in order to do this review from One2One Network. All opinions are 100% mine and I was not asked to write a favorable review. I was not otherwise compensated.

The complete setlist is under the cut!

Mohegan Sun Reality Check: Katie Stevens

Katie October 26, 2011 0 Comments

On Sunday afternoon Katie Stevens had a performance at Mohegan Sun Casino as a part of their 15th year celebration and their Reality Check series. Visitors were treated to a short set by Katie, a Connecticut native made famous on Season 9 of American Idol.

She started her set with the Maroon 5 / Christina Aguilera cover of Moves Like Jagger, then went in to a Jill Scott song, Hate On Me. She also did Adele’s Someone Like You. After that she did a short Q&A session with the crowd where she was asked about her upcoming music (she is working on it but she doesn’t want to rush to put out something she doesn’t love and back 100%) and how she keeps her hair looking so great!

Her set then continued with the Beatles Oh Darlin, Who You Are by Jessie J and she finished her set with Etta James’ At Last.

Katie has an amazingly powerful voice and I wish her the best out in LA and working on her new material!

A video clip of Oh Darlin:

After her set, she did a signing for those interested. She is a total sweetheart AND she likes my name. I wonder why? 😉

Action Item The Stronger The Love Tour

Katie October 24, 2011 0 Comments

Friday night, my friends and I went to see Action Item at The Space in Hamden, VIP style. Only 25 VIP tickets were available for each show and included dinner with the band before the show! Unfortunately, on the way to the show I was in a car accident, but I’ll expand on that in tomorrow’s post!
I got to VIP a bit late, but they were doing group photos when I got there so I hadn’t missed much. There was pizza to eat and soda and then Anthony and Brian did an acoustic set of 3 songs. Then the guys all mingled with everyone and took photos and chatted.

At 6pm doors opened and at 6:30 the first band was on – Voted Most Random. They aren’t technically on The Stronger The Love tour but were added I think by the space. I wasn’t too impressed with them – especially since they enjoyed spitting water on the crowd. Maybe I am just getting old, but I found it disgusting.

The next band up was Hollywood Ending. They are up for Radio Disney’s next big thing, and I enjoyed their set. They also announced they were going to do a cover and my friend said “please don’t let it be Katy Perry” (As voted most random did a kesha cover and if there is one thing we dislike more than kesha and katy perry it is bands covering kesha and katy perry) and it turned out that they did the Jonas Brothers Year 3000!

Days Difference was up next – I had seen them once before. The music was SO LOUD for the set I could barely hear the lead singer so I can’t really say much. We we right by the speaker all night and my ear plugs have been missing for quite some time now so I am just keeping my fingers crossed that my ears do eventually stop buzzing!

Next up was Burnham, the brother band from Vermont who I do enjoy. Unfortunately, the mic was still not very loud and I couldn’t make out most of what they were singing! They did do a cover of Bruno Mars’ The Lazy Song (edited, of course!)

Then finally it was time for Action Item! This is their first headlining tour and Connecticut was their first SOLD OUT show! (in fact, it was oversold by 20 tickets) The lighting absolutely stunk in the venue so pictures all had to be edited and even still aren’t that great. The show was very high energy and a lot of fun – it was nice to see them in a headlining situation after having seen them open for Honor Society twice a couple of months back.

After the show all the bands were hanging out to sign and take photos – but I had to get home to call the insurance to get the claim rolling on my car damage!