live music – Wait…WHAT?

Concert Review >> Funeral Party Kick off Panic! At the Warfield in S.F.

Last week, Funeral Party played the Warfield in San Francisco as a part of Panic! at the Disco’s ongoing tour. The LA-based band played six songs off their debut album, The Golden Age of Knowhere, which was released earlier this year.

Funeral Party kicked off their set in front of a sea of people with the title track from their album. The audience seemed to respond excitedly to the energetic band, led by lead vocalist, Chad Elliott.

Elliott comes off as a passionate, yet seemingly full of angst type front man. He did a great job pumping up the restless (and for those in the pit, swaying) San Francisco audience by telling them that they “looked more badass” than their hometown crowd from the previous night’s show in L.A., which provoked a loud round of cheering from the room.

The band performed a nice cross section of songs from their album, including “Car Wars” and “New York Moves to the Sound of L.A.,” but it was their lead single, “Finale” that got the collective audience moving and clapping along the moment the song started.

Looking back on the night of music as a whole, I found that this tour seemed to be a really good fit and great exposure for a band that’s just released their first album, such as Funeral Party. This was my first experience at a Panic! At the Disco show, but from what I could tell, they seem to appeal to a wide range of music listeners. There were guys and girls from high school ages on up through college, including a handful of adults that could be seen rocking out on the floor the whole night.

Also, performing alongside a band like Panic! At the Disco allows Funeral Party to take cues on what works when performing for a large audience. For instance, I think engaging with the crowd is really important and has a hand in holding their attention for the remainder of a band’s set. I think if the band figures out what songs they can get the audience more involved in that they’ll be a pretty unstoppable live act.

Overall, the whole night was filled with great music courtesy of Funeral Party, fun., and Panic! At the Disco, and is hands down the best tour I’ve attended so far this year.

Funeral Party is on tour with Panic! At the Disco through Wednesday, June 29. For more information on the band, check out their official website.

Originally posted on Blogcritics.

Video: Bonnie Dune Live at Bottom of the Hill

I headed out to San Francisco last night with one of my friends to check out the band Bonnie Dune at Bottom of the Hill. Cory Monteith, who plays Finn Hudson on Glee, plays the drums in the band!

I had heard a handful of their songs prior to the show and really dug their sound. After seeing Bonnie Dune perform live, I can attest that they are pretty awesome! I strongly urge you to check them out if they ever roll through your town!

As always, I brought something back from the show to share with the class! Enjoy Bonnie Dune performing, “Haunting”!

Awesome, right?

For more info on Bonnie Dune, check out their Facebook & Twitter pages.

Wait…WHAT’s Favorite 2010 Concert Moments

In case you hadn’t noticed, I am prone to attending a ton of live shows. I get asked from time to time what my favorite shows have been, and I figured I would pull some of my favorite moments from shows I attended this past year to share with y’all!

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite concert moments from 2010!

“If I Had You” — Adam Lambert, San Francisco, 07.23.2010

This was such an amazing show, I am happy that I was able to land a ticket so last minute! Say whatever you want, but Adam is an amazing live performer. “If I Had You” was one of the best moments of the night!

“Paint It Black” – – Siobhan Magnus, Sacramento, 08.18.2010

Siobhan has a voice to be reckoned with. Her performance during the Idol tour was nothing short of phenomenal. The last big glory note…chills.

“Send Me All Your Angels” — Kris Allen, San Francisco, 04.14.2010

This song holds special meaning to me, and to get to hear it live just really meant a lot. Plus, you really can’t go wrong at an acoustic Kris show.

“Home” — Daughtry & Jason Wade, Sacramento, 05.07.2010

I love Daughtry and I love Lifehouse. When Jason Wade joined Daughtry on stage to sing with the band, I could barely contain my excitement! To make the moment even more special, I was at the show with my Aunt Ruthie who absolutely loves Daughtry, and it was great to be able to share that night and moment with her.

“Missing You” — Tyler Hilton, San Francisco, 04.29.2010

My friend Karen hooked me up with a ticket to check Tyler out for the first time. Man, he puts on such a great show! While he was on the show One Tree Hill, he recorded a cover of “Missing You,” which was one of my favorite songs during college. I was very excited when he performed it at the show.

Continue reading Wait…WHAT’s Favorite 2010 Concert Moments

Concert Review >> Lee DeWyze at Mix 106.5’s Very Merry Mixxer

Last week, Lee DeWyze took part in Mix 106.5’s Very Merry Mixxer alongside Angel Taylor and the popular band, Plain White T’s.

He performed second that night, and kicked off his eight-song acoustic set with “Earth Stood Still.” He followed up with a slightly altered version of “Dear Isabelle.” DeWyze changed up the melody just slightly, making the song sound more upbeat.

DeWyze has found balance in his vocals between a soft and subtle vocal and his larger notes. I definitely prefer the stripped down versions of the songs versus the polished studio tracks, because they showcase his true rough around the edges musical style and folk-pop vocals.

One of the highlights from DeWyze’s set was his take on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” His performance was stunning.

I’ve always really liked DeWyze’s voice on this song, and during this particular moment at the show, I was just in awe. It was a fantastic performance.

The other big highlight of the night was “Brooklyn Bridge,” which DeWyze closed his set with. This song should always be performed acoustically; The sentiment behind the lyrics comes across much more powerful.

DeWyze’s stage presence has definitely come a long way from his American Idol days. He bantered a bit with the crowd about how he had been playing his guitar a little too hard, and how much he’s enjoying playing his songs off of Live It Up.

The one thing that I would have changed about DeWyze’s set would be the order of his set list. He played his current single “Sweet Serendipity” in the middle of his set instead of singing it last, which I thought was odd. I would have rearranged his entire set to make it flow a little bit better.

I found DeWyze to be pretty entertaining. His vocals were really on point, and the crowd seemed to love him.

For more information on Lee DeWyze, check out his official website.

Complete set list:

“Earth Stood Still”
“Dear Isabelle”
“Beautiful Like You”
“Sweet Serendipity”
“Hallelujah”
“Live It Up”
“A Song About Love”
“Brooklyn Bridge”

Originally posted on BlogCritics.

Video: Kris Allen & Lifehouse Perform at the Masonic Center

Last night I attended Lifehouse’s “Smoke And Mirrors” tour with special guest, Kris Allen. One of my favorite bands, one of my favorite Idols…as you can imagine, I had a pretty awesome time.

I brought back some video clips from the show to share!

The first two clips are from Kris’s set. I filmed part of the “Everybody Wants To Rule The World/The Way You Make Me Feel” mash-up . I also taped Andrew DeRobert’s guitar solo during “Is It Over.”

Enjoy!

Continue reading Video: Kris Allen & Lifehouse Perform at the Masonic Center

Darren Criss Performs “Teenage Dream” at The Mint

Over the weekend, my new crush Darren Criss performed a couple shows live at The Mint in LA.

Towards the end of his set, he played an acoustic version Glee’s new best selling single, “Teenage Dream.”

Check it out!

As much as I love his version of “Teenage Dream” on Glee (which may or may not be my new ringtone), I am loving this acoustic version of the Katy Perry song.

I am so happy that Glee has signed Darren on as a series regular, I can’t wait to hear more of his voice!

Video source: 1