Whoops, guess I forgot to hit publish last week! Days late but what’s important is: Welcome back The xx and thanks for bringing an upbeat, bright sound this time around. Click play and give a listen to “On Hold,” the first single released off the forthcoming I See You due out January 13. More words HERE from NPR.
I say it often, I am very fortunate for the opportunities and things I get to experience and the last three weeks have been nothing short of amazing (Yes, I still need to write a post about Festival Generation Week from the beginning of the month, such a cool five days). Last week I recapped the week in music that was to me, Coachella East and this past week I was back at it again for round two.
It started on Monday night catching Beach House at House of Blues. I had wanted to see their show for some time and there was a good turnout for show at the beginning of the week. The show was just okay and left me trying to find a bit more energy to stay awake. However, Holy Shit opened up and I have to say, a little fine tuning and these guys are going to be fun to see live.
Tuesday it was time for The xx at The Joint. My first time seeing The xx it got rained out a couple songs in, the second time I just got up and left so the third time I wasn’t sure what to really expect and they did not disappoint. I was floored by how good the show was and as my friend Abby would say, LASERS! There were a ton of them. Definitely caught up with a lot of friends at the show too which made it an even better evening.
Wednesday night, I had this one earmarked for some time; split billing of Local Natives and Of Monsters and Men at The Cosmopolitan. But before that, I had the chance to head over to the CBS Radio studios earlier in the day and catch a mini Of Monsters and Men set. So talented and seeing them in an intimate setting, again, has me spoiled. Now to the show; I had caught a Local Natives show at SXSW and was amped to catch them again and they flat out destroyed it in front of a sold out crowd. These guys are primed for a monster break out this year. As for OMAM, the show was good, the band was on point but unfortunately I think the cool weather and whipping winds made it seem a bit tame instead of a giant sing-a-long dance party on The Strip.
Thursday my body gave out and I had to miss Hot Chip. I was told the show was great and I’m bummed I missed out but my body won.
When Friday rolled around the energy level came right back up as it was all about The Postal Service. Reunited after 10 years since they released Give Up! A chance to see Jenny Lewis again! And LED overload! Definitely was a lot of fun and after seeing Death Cab For Cutie a couple of times, was great to finally see The Postal Service.
Saturday it was a first for me as I attended my first country music concert! I have no idea how many thousands of concerts I’ve been to but until Saturday night that category of country music was empty. Yes, I had seen Garth Brooks’ show at Wynn but that was a show, not a concert. My first country music concert was Kenny Chesney and it may have been the perfect artist to see live. So much energy and an awesome environment, I felt right at home (if only I knew the lyrics to his songs). Add on top of that the concert was two and a half hours which included a four song set with Grace Potter and I was thrilled. After the show it was straight to The Cosmopolitan to catch the second half of the Band of Horses concert. Getting to finally hear “The Funeral” live was a great way to wrap up a two week marathon of concerts.
A special tip of the cap to my friends at The Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock and House of Blues for lighting up Las Vegas the last two weeks with a plethora of fantastic shows. The music scene continues to grow here and we are breaking out of the mold where bands skip Vegas and instead they now crave playing Vegas! Thank you!
Here are some images from the shows. The week would not have been nearly as much fun if I wasn’t surrounded by an amazing group of friends who make every experience that much more memorable. Thanks for being a part of this real life dream with me. The best is yet to come, I promise you that!
Five For Friday, here’s some good tidbits to get you in the right mindset this weekend.
Labor Day has come and gone which means we can all start to get ready for Fall. Yes cooler temperatures, shorter days, hoodies and football are all coming back into season and musically it’s going to be an awesome one as there are dozens of anticipated new albums set to drop. Plus it means at DoYouHearTheMusic.com I can put together a first installment of Jump Into Fall playlists which I hope you really enjoy Vol.I. This one was a bunch of fun to put together and really does include a lot of good rock and roll (Chris Robinson Brotherhood, The Dirty Guv’nahs, Heartless Bastards, Death On Two Wheels, The Sheepdogs) as well as an oldie but newbie for 99% of you from the Belgian, Selah Sue. Give a spin on Spotify and listen for yourself HERE.
Do You Hear The Music? 