Summer Concert Preview- Eat Travel Rock's Picks

Ok everyone.  Time for MY picks of the shows I am most excited about over the next couple months.  They are ALL over the place.  So listen up!

Phish- (July 18-20)  Calm down everyone.  I know, I know.  I have avoided this mega tour since 1995.  And today, it's finally happening.  I have always enjoyed Phish's studio albums, especially in high school and college.  I have been super anti-jam band basically because I lack patience and don't wanna hear a 18 min song.  But I have relented, and thanks to a free ticket, I WILL be attending a show this weekend at Northerly Island.  It's all happening folks...

Down With Webster- (July 24th) Subterranean in Wicker Park.  My favorite Canadian band (and also besties) are back in town.  I am SO excited for this venue, mainly because it won't let in their usual under 21 screaming girl fans.  These 6 guys are so talented and their style covers hip-hop to rock to pop.  They are awesome to listen to and not bad to look at.  They give Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber a run for their money at all the Canadian music award shows, and sell out shows to thousands of screaming fans in the Great White North...Yet are still under the radar in the US.  So get in while you can and see them up close and personal... because they are going to be HUGE here soon.  Mark my words.  

Panic! At The Disco-  (July 25th) Northerly Island-  If you're unfamiliar with Brendon Urie (lead singer) and how hilarious this man is, you're missing out.  Check out his Vine videos.  But more importantly, the band rocks.  Their newest album (Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die) is a hit, especially with tracks like Miss Jackson and Vegas Lights, and Far Too Young to Die.  It's more electro-pop than their past albums, and if you like Fall out Boy you'll love Panic! as they're the cooler, sexier, bad-boy LA version of the Chicago band.  

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Aug 23rd) United Center-  Honestly, I can't... Can't being to explain how FUCKING PUMPED I AM FOR THIS!!!!  Out of the hundreds of shows I've been to in my life... Tom Petty may be number ONE.  Dead serious, can't top it.  I've never heard such badass guitar riffs and instruments fill an arena more than when I've been at a Tom Petty concert.  He's a legend... so is his guitarist Mike Campbell.  Case closed.  

Zac Brown Band (Sept. 13th) Wrigley Field- I know, y'all were wondering where the country music was on my list.  Fear not.  ZBB is my favorite modern day country artist.  Part Southern Rock, part jam band, part bluegrass, ALL hardcore talent.   Zac has some of the strongest vocals in the biz and he can shred the shit out of an acoustic geetar.  Whether you're a "country" fan or not, you will not be disappointed seeing this Georgia crew tear up the Friendly Confines.  

The Rolling Stones: Need I Say More?? (2013)

It has been an unacceptable amount of time since I have last shared with you. Plus, what kind of music blogger would I be if I didn't fill you in on one of my most life changing musical experiences? On May 28, 2013 I had the honor of seeing The Rolling Stones, arguably the world's greatest band, in concert. It was a total fluke. I was sitting at Dublin's Bar with my singer/songwriter friend from Nashville, Jesse Rice, when I got the call from my friend, Aggie: "Kel! I have 2 extra ($600) Stones tickets, I'm picking you up in an hour!" Jesse and I couldn't believe our luck...especially since we're both intensely devoted fans. Was this really happening? Were we really about to see Mick, Ronnie, Keith, and Charlie... live (and alive) and in concert? This was just too much. We showed up 2 songs into the 3 hour set...during my favorite Stones track, Paint it Black. My level of elation was clearly visible. I ran to my seat and my heart was pumping while I was jumping up and down like a school kid... with a mile-wide smile plastered across my face. Jesse was in utter disbelief. He never thought he'd get to the the Stones live... needless to say we were both the epitome of giddiness.

Fascination is an understatement. To see in person, a band that has accomplished so much; a band who has cultivated and forever changed the very foundation of rock and roll, gave me noticeable goosebumps. Fascination also describes my attitude toward the ability the band still has, after 50 years, to just fucking rock out. Jagger was floating and hopping around the stage as if he were a 20 year old athlete. Ronnie Wood was more cut up that guys my age who work out every day. Keith Richards, even though he looked as if he was about to decompose on stage, killed it on his guitar. No one can do with a guitar what Keith Richards can do, and so effortlessly. He makes some of the most simple riffs seem so complex and gut wrenching. As Jesse, a guitarist himself, said, "He gets so much out of so little." All four of them were hard core rock stars, through and through.

As far as vocals are concerned: I was much more impressed than I initially believed I would be. I've heard several live renditions of "Sympathy For The Devil" over the years and I've always been, not only disappointed with Jagger's vocals, but with the vocal arrangement as well. But to my pleasant surprise, his vocals on EVERY song other than "Sympathy" were incredible. Literally have not changed since the studio recordings. "Sympathy" was still an unfortunate let-down, as it's one of my favorites and I really hoped it would have been closer to the original. But hey, you can't always get what you want....

Some of the key moments from the set list included, a transcendent performance of "Wild Horses", the groovy "Miss You", and the United Center shaking, "Honky Tonk Women". My favorite performance, by far, was "Gimme Shelter"... it was just so mesmerizing....the intro guitar and the "ooh oooohhhss" were palpable through my entire body.... and don't even get me started with the endless wailing verses "War, Children... it's just a shot away;" all the screams and howls were perfectly orchestrated and executed.

So after this show I was rating it one of the top 5 shows I've been to in my life, maybe even top 3. But I kept saying... it just would've been even cooler if we were closer... or got to meet them. Wellllllllllllll my friends...... Here's a fun tangent. Let's just say I have 3 rock idols; Eddie Vedder, Mick Jagger, and John Fogerty. The fact that I've become friends with Eddie over the last couple years has almost been too much to comprehend. I surely didn't think I'd have encounters with my 2 other rock god idols... especially since, well, they're kinda old. So much to my surprise, while I was just sitting ON a booth at Studio Paris, May 29th, I see the unmistakable face and tiny frame of Mick Jagger walking toward me... and sits...DIRECTLY NEXT TO ME. Pardon the expression, but I pretty much shit my pants. I'm not one for EVER interrupting a celebrity and I think asking for fan pics is super gay... I am VERY "anti". But this was MICK FUCKING JAGGER. Fortunately, he saw me first and smiled. I told him I loved his show and that it was basically life-changing. He was very pleased and asked my name, shook my hand ,and gave me a hug. Then in his adorable London accent, asked if I wanted some champagne. Ummm, yes please!!! He poured me the glass himself and we "cheersed" each other. It was one hell of a moment... and the sweetest champagne I've ever tasted.