best of the best

For my last blog of the semester, I would like to share some of the most memorable concerts that I have been to. Now I have been to a lot and do not have pictures from them all, but here are some of my favorite ones.

Warped Tour is always a good time. I have been to three of them. At the first one, I got thrown around in a mosh pit. The next one there was a tsunami is Cleveland and most of the performances had to be cancelled or shortened. Because of the rain, the people who run Warped Tour told everyone there that they could go to any other Warped Tour in the country for free. So we did of course. We went to Pittsburgh and it was different from anywhere else, but it was a lot of fun.

The Grog Shop is my favorite place to see shows in Cleveland. I have had many good times there and have seen and met a lot of really cool bands. One of my favorite bands to see there is Halifax. I've seen them at the GS about four times. They put on an amazing show and are super nice.

Another great show I went to was Taking Back Sunday and Angels and Airwaves. This show was awesome, but I had broken my leg a month earlier, so I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

These next few pictures are of some of the people in bands I have met. They include; Jared Leto, Paul Wall, Jess Margera, Shane Told (of Silverstein) , the band Aiden, and Steve Bays (of Hot Hot Heat).

The last show I would like to share with you has been one of my favorites. In August I saw Jack's Mannequin and Paramore, two of my favorite bands. That was my fourth time seeing Paramore and they did not let me down. They put on such an incredibly energetic show, everyone was left stunned.

i've got friends who...

The semester is almost done and I have not yet decided if I will keep blogging on here or not. I will no longer have to do it for class, but I have found this pretty enjoyable. When I first heard we would have to blog, I was apprehensive. Now that I have been doing this all semester, it's pretty enjoyable.

In case you couldn't tell from my posts, music is pretty much my life. That is why I chose it for my blog topic. I could not think of anything else that I was more passionate or knew more about than music. If we would have been assigned a topic, I would have been less apt to keep up with the posts, and my writing for them would be under par. I think that with this blog I have written some of my best work, I even got a post published in my school newspaper.

The title of my blog is la la lie. It is a Jack's Mannequin song. The lead singer, Andrew McMahon was originally part of Something Corporate, one of my favorite bands. His current band started as a side project and is now as big and SC was.

Since I liked Something Corporate so much, I didn't want them to not make music anymore. So I didn't listen to Jack's Mannequin. I had heard their first sigle Mixed Tape and like it, but never listened further.

It wasn't until I saw Paramore in concert this past August that I fell in love with JM. They opened for Paramore, and I was hooked. I had an old iTunes gift card and bought their album. I didn't stop listening for about a week.

The day we had to set up our blogs I was stumped on a name. La la lie had been stuck in my head all day, so I went for it. It just flows nicely.

I don't really know what the song means, but I love the lyrics.

I couldn't write a blog about music without having a musical title.

808s & Heartbreaks

I have been waiting for today for a long time.

Kanye Wests' new album is in stores today.

Kanye West is my favorite rap artist. Most people do not like him because he is cocky and thinks he is the greatest performer on Earth. That's why I like him though. To me, he is the best and he is a lyrical genius. When he came on the scene in 2004, his music changed the rap game.

I am especially excited about the album because it wasn't supposed to drop until December.

The album is available today, but I was able to download it last night.

I love it. I can't stop listening to it.

This album is different from any other Kanye album I have heard. It seems more personal and real. His first single off of the album LoveLockDown premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards in late August. His new single Heartless just came out.

If you are any kind of fan of Mr. West, you will get this album. You will enjoy it.

Riot!

It's Thursday night at work, I'm bored. I brought my Ipod with me to keep me awake and entertained.

The band for the night, Paramore.

They are my favorite band. They are from Franklin, TN, there is a song on their first album dedicated to their hometown. The band started in 2005 and has only gotten bigger since.

Many people think the band has sold out, but that happens with every band. You can't expect a band to stay at the bottom forever.

Whether they sold out or not, I love them. I have seen them live in concert four times in the past two years and I have not been let down yet. The second time I saw them I had the great pleasure of meeting the band. They were incredibly nice. The lead singer Hayley Williams was the friendliest person, and she was complimenting the fans like they were the superstars.

If you haven't heard the band yet, crawl out from under the rock you've been living under and youtube them! It will be worth your time, trust me.

Open Mic Night

As I stated in an earlier blog, I am the Music Chair for my school.

For one of my programs I did an Open Mic Night. It was held last night and was very successful.

We have done Open Mic Nights in the past and the people who perform and attend usually enjoy themselves. This Open Mic was different from all the other ones we have had in the past. This one was for charity.

We worked together with our Service Advisory Board to get donations for local food banks. We had a poetry and music category. There was one winner from each category.

The winners were determined by how many votes they received. The votes were counted as 1 non-parishable food item or $1.

There were 94 votes counted and out of that, $28 was raised. The total amount of food raised was 215lbs!

The show was fun in many ways, I love seeing the talent we have on campus, and I like doing things for charity.

Next semester we hope to have a talent show, where people can display more of their talents.

life and loss, one song at a time

I recently finished the book Love is a Mix Tape.

I'm still in awe.

This book is incredible. Out of all of the books I have read, this is my favorite. I have read a lot of books and it seems strange that this simple, new-age book is my favorite. But it is. As I read, I kept marking pages with quotes that moved me, there are a lot of little paper strips poking out from the top.

Rob Sheffield lost his wife after five years of marriage. You learn this from the beginning. And while tragic and heartbreaking, this is not what the book is all about. Rob and his wife's relationship was bound by music. From the moment they met, through their time together, and even after she passed away, music was their rock.

They made mix tapes for each other constantly, for all occasions. Sheffield says in the book that he bought a china cabinet and instead of filling it with dishes, he filled it with tapes, and that cabinet still couldn't hold all of the mixes he had.

Of course it was hard for Sheffield to be ok after losing the love of his life. It was also hard for him to listen to music again, something he had done 24/7. But it was through music and those mix tapes that he was able to be ok again.

This book is inspiring. Sheffield is a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. He wrote this book with such a casual dialect, but it is beautiful. I want to write like this. My goal as a journalist is to write the way Sheffield does.

If you have ever loved and lost someone, or made a mix tape, read this book. Borrow it from a friend, the library, or buy it off of amazon.com like I did. Just read it. You will have a whole new appreciation for music.

Election Day.

I'm going to stray away from my usual music talk and bring up politics.

Today is election day. Duh. It's all EVERYONE has been talking about since before March.

And I'm sick of it. I am ready to punch the next person who brings up the election, in the throat.

All I keep hearing about is, make sure you vote, who did you vote for, republicans yay, democrats yay, STOP! It's annoying.

Leave people alone and let them make their own decisions on who to vote for, or to vote at all.

And also, when did it become ok for people to ask one another who they're voting for? From what I can remember that's a personal right and decision to keep that to yourself. Some people just don't get it.

Regardless of who wins, I can't wait till this day is over. I just have to prepare myself for the backlash of the losing party.

NACA. The Ride Home.

Needless to say, the ride back from Peoria was not as fun as the ride there.

By Sunday, we were all getting tired of being around each other, and tired in general.

For the first four hours, I got to drive the 15 passenger van, something I had never done before. It was scary, but were still alive.

We did play another game of Apples to Apples, but it didn't have the same flair as the one on the ride there.




Also on the way home, we saw gas for an even cheaper $1.69!

Everyone slept most of the way and kept to themselves.
No one really fought over music, the radio was on for the driver and everyone else played their ipods.

Playlist for the ride back:

Radio:
Adele-Chasing Pavements
Starting Line-Islands

Ipod on Shuffle:
Jack Johnson-Same Girl
Houston Calls-A Collection of Short Stories

You Can Have Whatever You Like

The T.I. song was our theme for NACA.

NACA is a giant conference for all of the college programming boards in the Mid-West. The purpose of it is to see showcases of bands, musicians, comedians, and special acts perform so schools can book them to come to their schools.

We were there Wednesday-Sunday. And we were BUSY! Everyday we started at 9am and didn't finish things until about 12:30am.

The conference was a blast though. Even though it was busy, it was fun. We went to a few boring educational sessions, but most of our time was devoted to watching performers and getting to hang out with them, and getting so much free stuff. I know, it sounds horrible right? I even got to meet Mr. Belding. If you don't know who that is, brush up on your 90s pop culture.

We booked some pretty sweet acts for the Spring semester, if I do say so myself.

It was especially great to get to know the other people on the board better over the five days. The stories and inside jokes we have, are priceless.

I also got to celebrate my 21st birthday at NACA. I thought this was going to be horrible and not fun, but it was the complete opposite. It was pretty cool to go to the bar with the performers.

There were a lot of schools at this particular conference. We were able to meet some interesting people. I even got to meet Chi Omegas (my sorority) from other schools.

I had an amazing time at the conference and cannot wait to go next year.

NACA. The Ride There.

Ten hours in a 15 passenger van.

That is how my Wednesday went. We set out for Peoria, Illinois around 1 on Wednesday. The ride was ok at first, we all talked for a while, then everyone drifted off to sleep.

When we woke up it was time to get gas and switch drivers. We got dinner in Indiana where we also saw gas for $1.89!

On the van we were bored, so we played a game of Apples to Apples to pass the time.

We arrived in Peoria around 11 pm. There was an hour time difference that we couldn't really get used to.

Agreeing on the music for the ride was no easy task. We would play one persons ipod, taking requests, then switch to another persons ipod. When that didn't work, we tried the radio. Eventually everyone gave up and played their own music.

My playlist for the ride:
Ipod on shuffle, which included:
Jack's Mannequin-Bruised
Lil Wayne-Lollipop Remix
MXPX-Secret Weapon
Big D and the Kids Table-Shine On

It was a long ride, but it was fun.

Don't Hibernate!

Here at Marietta College we have what is called the College Union Board, or for short CUB.

CUB is responsible for brining all of the entertainment to the campus, such as musicians, comedians, hypnotists and many other entertainers. CUB is also in charge of Little Sibs and Family Weekend, and Doo Dah Day and Homecoming.

The CUB board is comprised of three executive members, and eight chairs. Together they work to bring many things to campus.

I am the Musical Entertainment chair for CUB. So far I have had two musical performances, Jason LeVasseur (right), Poncho and Spence, and Johnny Red and the Skammunists.

It is hard at times to make sure everything gets done, but it is a lot of fun getting to work with the other board members and the artists that come to the college. CUB board members have committees and are always looking for more people to help out with events.

Over the next five days, 8 of the board members will be traveling to Peoria, IL to attend NACA.

NACA is a giant convention for us to preview all of the new and upcoming acts there are. We book most of our talent through the convention.

So over the next few days, I will be keeping everyone updated about how NACA is going. We leave tomorrow and then embark on a ten hour drive to Illinois.

The Streetlights are Always On

I've said it a hundred times, and I'll say it again, I have been to a lot of shows.

And everytime I go to a really amazing one, I'll try to think of the top five best shows I've been to. It's pretty much impossible. I have been to dozens of incredible shows and each time I go to another one, the list gets bigger.

The list got bigger on October 12, 2008. At the World Famous Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, OH, I got the opportunity to see one of the craziest shows ever.

Ska band Streetlight Manifesto tore the ballroom up, for lack of a better word. From beginning to end the intensity of the crowd and band were non-stop. The crowd had the 7-piece covered on they lyrics too, knowing every single word.

To someone like me who enjoys the band, but doesn't know every lyric, the show was actually intimidating.

Every person that came out of the giant mosh pit was covered in sweat (both theirs' and other peoples') and sometimes blood. My boyfriend suffered bruises to his legs and a sore neck from jumping around.

I stood off to the side and watched the chaos. Had I been in the pit, I would have broken something, no doubt.

Even though it was a scary show, the band really performs and I would definitely see them again, and maybe make my way into the pit.

Batman in the House

As I blogged about before, I went to the Boys Like Girls concert at WVU.

There were a lot of people there of all different types. There were country kids, scene kids, prepsters, and a lot of others. Even Batman was there!

Ok, so it wasn't really Batman. It was just some girl dressed up as the DC Comic superhero. I can't really say why she was dressed the way she was, but she seemed to like the attention she was drawing.

I have never seen anyone dress up at a show before, unless it was Halloween, and she was about 25 days short.

I'm Gonna Bang Them All Night Long

Bongos that is!!! Get your minds out of the gutter!

I am now the proud owner of a set of bongos. I have wanted them for a few years now. I love percussion instruments and these were the perfect fit, shape for me. They also required the least amount of hand-eye coordination!

These were yet another birthday present from my wonderful boyfriend. He knew how bad I wanted them and then bought them for me.

When I saw he had gotten them for me, I was happier than a kid at Disney World. I immediately started playing them, and didn't stop for a few hours!

After my fingers started to hurt and my mom got sick of hearing them, I stopped playing them. But not for long.

I brought them back to Marietta with me and fully intend on playing them in my dorm, even if the boys across the hall slam their doors with aggravation. I may even get ambitious and have a jam session in Gilman!

But don't get your hopes up =]

So if you hear loud, obnoxious, bad bongo playing, it's me!

permanent love

I love music, duh!

But I also love tattoos. I have two and plan on getting a lot more.

My first one is not music related but special to me.

I have one on my wrist though that is about as unique as they come. It is a music staff, trebel clef, with the notes DAC. Those are my initials. Each note length corresponds with how many syllables are in each of my names.

I love this tattoo. It hurt really bad, but it is like a fingerprint to me. A lot of people have told me they are jealous because their initials don't fit into the musical alphabet. I guess I'm just lucky!

I plan on getting other music related tattoos, like an old microphone (the kind that hang from the ceiling), and a gun shooting out the words 'let love in', a Goo Goo Dolls song.


Side note: If you want or are planning on getting a tattoo, make it meaningful!!!

love is a mix tape

I love mix cds. I have probably over 100 at home and on my computer and ipod. They can put you in a certain mood with the music on them. I have made a lot of the past few years, but my favorite ones are the ones that are made for me.

It's special when someone makes a mix cd for you, it shows that in some romantic, funny, or other way, that person is thinking of you. And it's nice to be thought of.

My friends and I used to make them for each other for birthdays and holidays. They were my favorite gifts, and still are. I would be content with only getting mix cds as gifts from now on, I love them that much.

My birthday is in a couple of weeks, so I celebrated with the people at home. MY boyfriend got me some pretty awesome gifts. He also made me a mix cd. It made my weekend. I love seeing what songs he puts on there that make him think of me. But enough mushy stuff!

Rob Sheffield is a writer for Rolling Stone and a music geek. He wrote the book Love is a Mix Tape. The book uses about 15 different songs to tell about a very special relationship he had with a punk-rock girl named Renee.

I haven't read the book yet, but will have an update/reaction when I do.

Until then, I'm going to keep making, getting and listening to mix cds, because they really are love.

You Never Know What You're Gonna Get in West Virginia

Pop-rock bands Cute is What We Aim For and Boys Like Girls played at the MountianLair Student Center at WVU on Sunday.

I had never been to WVU until Sunday, and I'm sad about that. It is a huge campus, but still gives you that small town West Virginia feel. The student center is insane. My favorite thing was the country flags suspended above the eating area. The main level resembles a food court at the mall. There is a 'grand staircase' that led to the small auditorium where the bands performed.

The first band that played, Lights, was not my cup of tea. The singer seemed to be stuck in the 80s and insisted on putting her hand in the air at every chance she got. This was her 6th day on her first tour, but WVU's crowd was the best ever.

Cute is What We Aim for played next and the were awesome. I had been wanting to see them live since they came out a few years ago, and they did not disappoint. They played hits new and old including my favorite "The Curse of Curves" and ended their set with their first hit song "There is a Class for This".

Boys Like Girls took the stage around 9:30pm. Earlier in CIWWAF's set, myself and some others noticed the floor and light fixtures shaking violently. We figured it was just normal from the crowd and the music.

Boys Like Girls started off strong in their performance. But after about three songs, the house lights came on and the band informed the crowd that the weight of the crowd jumping and the bass from the music was too much for the floor to handle.

We were dangerously close to falling through the ceiling.

There were physics majors behind us who were actually calculating the amount of force it would take to break through the ceiling!

The band and the crowd were not happy at all. The show still went on, but it went on as an acoustic show. After the announcement a collective shouting of 'Bullshit" resonated throughout the crowd.

I love acoustic, but wasn't expecting to hear the rest of the show performed that way. The next six songs were performed by the lead singer and his guitar.

After a while he said, "We're going to stop embarrassing ourselves now, this is our last song." The show ended early, and left a lot of 12 year olds disappointed.

The performances were good, but the show as a whole was under par due to the near death circumstances.

Free Ringtones

I have 36 ring tones on my phone. And I didn't pay for any of them.

I use the website myxer. It allows you to download ring tones to your phone for free! You can also download pictures from your computer to set as backgrounds.

Many of you probably already know about this site, but for those of you who don't, try it! Why pay three or more dollars for a 10 second song clip. On myxer, your ring tones can be up to 1 minute long.

You can get virtually any song you're looking for on this site, and if you cannot find it, you can upload the song if you already have it on your computer.

The ring tone comes to your phone as a picture message, so make sure you are able to receive those before signing up.

Video Killed the Radio Star

These days it's more like reality killed the video stars.

When MTV first premiered in 1981, Video Killed the Radio Star was one of the first songs they played. It was their way of saying that music television was the next big thing. And it was. MTV was huge, there were music videos, and lame game shows that now-big stars used to host.

Things aren't like that anymore.

MTV sold out. They traded in their declaration to play music videos for horrible, brain decaying reality shows. Very rarely does one see a music video. Even on the video countdown show TRL, they have resorted to playing only snippets of the videos.

Luckily stations like MTV2 and vh1 have picked up the slack of MTV's lack of music. I honestly do not remember the last time I watched MTV and was satisfied with what I watched.

The High School Musical movies have more music in them than MTV has had in the last 3 years.

How many Idols are there?

I'm not going to lie, I like reality tv. There's something about watching people make fools out of themselves, that just really brightens my day.

But really, how many more does there need to be?

American Idol is in it's what seems like 18th season, and I have to ask, how many idols can there really be? Most of them turn out to be one hit wonders, and sometimes the runner-up ends up doing better than the winner! I understand there are a lot of talented people in America, but they don't all need a chance to be and Idol.

This goes not only for Idol, but for many other reality shows. How many survivors can there be? Or how many times can people dance with the stars?

TV producers need to go back to the basics and stop trying to exploit hundreds of people. Yes my guilty pleasures would be gone, but then I would be able to watch reruns of Full House and Mary Tyler Moore. And I am ok with that.

break the truth with more bad news...

There will be extra large scars when former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, recovers from the severe burns he received in a plane crash last Friday.

Barker, DJ AM, and four others were involved in the crash. The plane crashed shortly after take off from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in Columbia, South Carolina.

Barker and DJ AM are expected to fully recover, but sadly the other four passengers, pilot and co-pilot, and two close friends of the survived, died on impact of the crash.

Both Barker and DJ AM are in their fans, families, and fellow musicians prayers.

Last Saturday my boyfriend came to visit me at school, and he told me about the crash. I was really sad about it. Even if I don't know a person, I still get really sad when I hear about their death or injury. This article was so vivid and descriptive, I can't even imagine how they must have felt while the crash was happening.

All weekend we followed the story and were happy to find out he would be ok. My boyfriend is a drummer, and we love the music Barker has made over the years.


For those who don't understand the title, it's part of the Blink 182 song Reckless Abandon.

Girl Power!

Girls are everywhere. Really they are. Especially in music. Within the past year more women than ever have made their way into the music scene.

I've never been advocate for Women's Rights and gender equality, which may be bad because I am a woman, but nevertheless I actually like that so many female vocalists are out right now.

I was thinking of new music to download and when I made my list, all but two of the artists were women. When I watch late night vH1 music videos (one of my favorite things) I see an abundance of female singers.

Three of my favorites right now are Duffy, Kate Nash, and Adele. They all have a very different sound, but their lyrical content is amazing, and definitely worth listening to.

Even in my World Music class there are a lot of women from different cultures who play music just as well, if not better than the men. We watched a video of Liu Fang a Chinese Pipa player, and she blew my mind. The instrument she plays looks incredibly difficult but she makes it look like tying your shoes.

So look out boys, the girls are making their way to the top.

Burn Up or Shut Up

Over the summer I fell in love with the Jonas Brothers. I own their CD's and have giant poster proudly hanging in my room. Yes, this may make me lame or a sell-out, whatever. They are truly talented musicians.

Pretty much everyday I hear a new complaint or insult about the Jo Bros. And I have come to the conclusion that the people who make fun of them are just jealous. These three young men are making more money than most of us ever will in our lifetime, and they are making good music that millions of people love. And so what if they're on the Disney Channel, they're on MTV and still get made fun of. And most people grew up watching the Disney Channel anyways.

Their music is aimed mostly at teenage girls, but myself and most of my friends rock out to 'Burnin' Up' in the car, and were 20. Their music is clean also, there is no swearing, or inappropriate content, so parents can be happy their children like them.

Some people can't even let them get away with being pure. Russell Brand, the host of the 2008 Video Music Awards on MTV, made fun of them for wearing purity rings. While I don't wear one myself, it's wrong to make fun of someone for a choice like that, and made him look like an idiot.

For all of the haters, either burn up, or shut up. It's ok if you don't like them, but don't knock them for living the American Dream, because you would too if you could.

Cleveland-Ohio's Music Capital

As I have said before, I have been to a lot of concerts in the past few years. One thing I've noticed is that in Cleveland (my hometown), there are more concerts than in Columbus and Cincinnati. I find this odd because being from Cleveland, I don't think of it as being a large booming city with a huge musical following.

Every time I am on www.ticketmaster.com I look for concerts in the Cleveland/Akron area and also the Columbus area, since it is closest to Marietta. And every time I am surprised to see that Cleveland remains dominant.

Just because Cleveland has more doesn't always mean they're better. Some bands do not go to every city and play, sometimes they only go to one of the major cities (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati). This has resulted in quite a few road trips to see the bands I want to see.

As surprising as it is though, it makes me happy that my city really is the music capital of Ohio.

Concert Going 101 The Final Instalment

Well here it is, the third and final instalment of Concert Going 101. I hope that everyone has learned something and they will put these tips to good use in the future.

Another thing that bothers me is when people wear a shirt of the band they are going to see. Obviously we know you like that band or you would not have spent money on a ticket to their show.

It's cool you want to promote and show love for the band, but do it at school, or the mall, just not the show.

Also if you buy a shirt from the show, good job! You are helping out the band and that is always cool. Here's a tip, if its an opening band or a lesser known band buy their stuff, it will be cheaper and people will wonder about who the band is on your shirt.

But if you buy a shirt from the show, and then put it on right after you buy it, that's lame. It will most likely get sweaty and gross from just being at the show and then you have to wash it before you can wear it. And do not just fling it over your shoulder and expect to have it at the end of the night, I have acquired many shirts that way.

If you're worried about losing your merch, loop the shirt through your belt loops, even if someone tries to grab it, you will feel it. You can also wait until the end of the show to buy stuff.

My last annoyance is doubling up band t-shirts and hoodies. I find no real reason for anyone to have to wear the same band on a shirt and sweatshirt, at the same time. Spice up your life a bit, and wear two different bands, it will make you seem more musically inclined.


Well that's all I have for my concert guidelines, but have no fear I'll keep posting my musical insight.

Concert Going 101 Part 2

I'm back for Part 2 of Concert Going 101. This time I'll be talking about how to act while in the crowd of a show.

Unless you're at the venue super early to get in the front, you're going to have to make your way up close. There are a couple of ways this can be done.

The first way is to push through the crowd relentlessly, my friends and I used to do this when we first started going to shows. Most of the time the people surrounding you get really angry, I almost punched a girl in the head once!

DO NOT try to use the age-old excuse "My (insert family member or friend here) is up there I need to find them." It's the oldest trick in the book.

Instead of getting to the front by being rude, be nice about it. If people look like they're staying in the same spot the whole night work your way around them, just don't block their view. Also, wait till the bands actually start playing and the crowd starts moving, this will allow spaces to open up and you to move in closer.

Moshing, and crowd-surfing are pretty much inevitable at a show. There's no real way to prevent it other than to move away from the people who start the mosh pit. I've been hit in the head plenty of times by random crowd surfers, so don't get angry if you get a Chuck Taylor to the head, just help them along the sea of hands.

One thing that's always bothered me is when people cheer for no reason. Unless you think the stage crew is doing an awesome sound check, save the clapping until the performer(s) take the stage, you don't want to wear yourself out too soon.

That's all for this section of Concert Guidelines. Stayed tuned for the third and final instalment.

Concert Going 101 Part 1

I like to think of myself as a concert connoisseur. I would say that in the past 4 years I have been to more than 100 concerts, or shows as i prefer to call them. Through the years I have learned a few Do's and Dont's when it comes to shows.

Number One
Appropriate Show Attire

- Jeans
- T-Shirt
- Tennis Shoes (flats are also acceptable.)

You always want to be comfortable at a show, if you're not you won't be able to enjoy the music fully.

Inappropriate Show Attire

- Flip flops
- High Heels

- Skirts
- Low cut shirts
- Purses

Unless you enjoy getting your feet stepped on, or losing your shoes, don't wear flip flops.

On the same note, heels at a show are just dumb. Your feet will hurt and you will hurt others and that's just bad karma.

Skirts and low-cut shirts set you up for indecent exposure, so unless you want to pull a Janet Jackson at the 2004 Superbowl (1), cover up. And if you plan on crowd-surfing, it allows creepy people to cop a feel, not how you want to remember seeing a band you like.

A purse is a bother at a show. Its like babysitting a small child, if you lose it you're basically screwed. Try to leave as much in the car as you possibly can, the only essentials you need; cell phone, money, keys and camera, can all fit in jean pockets.

That's all for installment one of Concert Going 101, up next being courteous while in the crowd.







(1) http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/02/superbowl.jackson/