#404 How Sweet It Is

Not much to say about James that I haven't already said.  This was my eighth time seeing him.  It never gets old!  It was a great show and I enjoyed catching up with Kathy.  Until next time!

#403 Four Concerts. Eleven Days.

As you may know from reading my blog, I love music and particularly enjoy live music.  Summer brings the requisite musical artists to town, and I usually attend a few concerts during the entire summer.  This past stretch of 11 days broke a record for me - I attended four concerts.  How did this happen? 

Sunday, July 5 – John Fogerty with my Kenny Aronoff

See Post No. 402.

I bought this ticket three weeks before the concert right after I saw the BoDeans. 

Wednesday, July 8 – Mat Kearney (Judah and the Lion)

I bought this ticket the week before the show.  I like his sound a lot and thought it would be a fun, semi-cheap show.  A friend from high school went with me.  He played at the Vogue, which is one of my favorite venues.  Judah and the Lion opened for him and I really took a liking to them too.  They have a unique sound that is described as bluegrass rock.  They are Twenty-Somethings from Nashville, Tennessee (from Belmont University).  After the show I found out they made their first appearance on Letterman in February.  And while flipping channels over the weekend I heard their song “Kickin’ da Leaves” on a Nature Valley Granola commercial.  They are playing in Indy again this weekend at Carmel’s Art of Wine. 

Monday, July 13 – Shania Twain (Gavin DeGraw)

I scored two free tickets to this show the day after Mat Kearney.  I was a quick responder at work.  Yes!  Megan went with me.  I’ve seen Gavin DeGraw several times (my first time he opened for Sister Hazel at the Vogue) so that was a bonus.  I couldn’t resist free tickets and this is supposedly Shania’s last tour.  Good show. 

Wednesday, July 15 – James Taylor

I got this ticket several months ago.  My friend Kathy loves him too and we’ve seen him together eight times.  The first time in 1997 (See Post No. 162), Kathy sat with her mom and I took a date.  But technically we were both there so it counts as “together”.  J  He was classic James.  A laid-back night with perfect weather.  The only imperfection is when we sat down and saw a camera right in out sight line.  What??  They actually sell seats with a camera sitting in front of them?  Luckily his performance stool was just to the left of the camera and I could see him ok, but the stage was split into halves.  Plus Kathy’s view was altered even more by the large man in front of her who wore a hat with a brim.  He finally did take it off.  At intermission we moved down several rows to the right.  We were right behind the sound board area and no one was in front of us.  Back to perfect! 

After my two-week musical extravaganza, I’m ready for some rest.  I love music so much and find it hard to say no to a great show.  Especially when tickets are free!  (For the record – I did turn down Train tickets for July 12.)  I do like to have a balance of some “off” days and just chill at home, but it’s so hard in the summer! 

The next concert I see on my schedule is in November.  I hope to get some rest in the meantime.  

#402 Rock And Roll Girl

Let me make this perfectly clear:  I am neither a stalker nor a groupie.  But I do love me some Kenny Aronoff!  I was lucky enough to see him perform a second time within a month – this time with John Fogerty at the Murat Theatre.  As I wrote in Post No. 399, he mentioned he would be back in town in July.  I promptly bought tickets to the concert and was even able to get aftershow passes. 

I like John Fogerty/Creedence songs but would never have gone to a show if Kenny wasn’t playing.  Nothing against John.  He’s just not on my “must-see” list.  But I am glad that I went.  John is an amazing musician and performer, and I knew almost every song.  He told some funny stories about Woodstock and the Grateful Dead, among others.  At 70, he’s still in great shape and voice.  He played for almost 2 ½ hours straight.  One thing I noticed, more toward the end of the show, was that he played the songs really fast.  Faster than I remember them being on the radio.  I have no idea how Kenny does what he does for 2 ½ hours–he was amazing too. 

After the show Lori and I put on our aftershow stickers and stood by the side door.  After a short wait, we walked down a hallway behind the bar area and made our way into Kenny’s dressing room.  There was a sofa and some chairs, and a table with food and a couple bottles of wine.  He greeted everyone, and greeted me by name (giving me a big hug), and we all stood/sat around for the next hour drinking wine and listening to him tell stories.  He has a book coming out in September and some of the stories will be included.  And he did mention that John plays the songs now like he always wanted them to be played – fast. 

Partway through the story-telling he walked over to me and showed off my skirt to everyone (touching my belly again!) and asked how I keep in such good shape.  (I rattled off that I play tennis, bike, lift weights, etc.)  I checked my watch a time or two, mostly worried that Lori wanted to get home.  We both had to work the next day.  But she seemed as fascinated as me.  I was wondering how long I would stay when a man appeared at the door and said Kenny's car was ready.  This was around 11:30 p.m.  I was sad to go – I could have listened to him all night! 

He said goodbye to everyone and then he grabbed me again and gave me a bear hug.  He told me not to bend over to hug him – he wanted to hug me fully upright.  Haha  Then he said, “I love this woman!”  Now, I know he doesn’t really love me.  He is happily married.  But I understand what he means, because I love him too.  He is an amazing artist and I love his energy, passion and work ethic.  He is the real deal. 

I had told Lori the story of how I met him (at Butler and again at the BoDeans show).  I explained how cool he was and about his infectious energy.  As we walked back to the car she said, “I get it now.”  You don’t fully understand until you witness it yourself.  It’s like the energy transfers to you somehow. 

I need to make something else clear.  In a Post No. 337 I wrote about “dating down”.  I talked about how I prefer to date tall men but that it’s what inside that really matters, and how someone makes you feel.  Again, I’m not a groupie, and am fully aware and respectful that Kenny is happily married.  I don’t know how tall he is – his head comes to the bottom of my chin – but I would totally date him if he were single.  FO SHO.  I guess now I have to create a Kenny Aronoff “Rule”.  Haha  (See Post Nos. 2 and 249.)

Kenny says he’ll be back for another lecture in October.  Come hell or high water, I will be there.  Not as a stalker or a groupie, but hopefully as a new friend.