December 11, 2011 Saturday
Bridget told me that Florence and the Machine were coming to San Diego. I texted Chris to see if she and Betsy were interested. "Absolutely" I got 4 presale tickets and the seats were pretty good. The concert was starting at 6 pm due to the number of performers.
Chris and Betsy drove down early and I drove to the sports arena. There are several restaurants close by and we chose Chili's to eat at before the concert.
Chris bought me a Tshirt (the one on the left above). Gotta love that girl.
First up:
The Naked and Famous
Young Blood
We're only young and naïve still
We require certain skills
The mood it changes like the wind
Hard to control when it begins
.
The bitter sweet between my teeth
Trying to find the in-betweens
Fall back in love eventually
E-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah
An indie band from New Zealand. I liked Young Blood and Punching in a Dream. Check them out.
http://www.thenakedandfamous.com/
Next up:
The Airbourne Toxic Event
A band from Los Angeles named after a section of the book
, White Noise by Don DeLillo. I like All I Ever Wanted and Changing. Violin in a rock band. Kinda like a fiddle in a country band.
All I Ever Wanted
So I can tell you that you’re all I ever wanted, dear
I still feel you breathing while you’re sleeping here
And I shudder when you wake and ask me if I thought I’d be here forever, forever, forever
The Airbourne Toxic Event
http://www.theairbornetoxicevent.com/
A fun band. How often do you see the girl up on the shoulders of the guitar player while on stage.
Changing
All these buckets of rain
I've heard enough about it
You say that I lied
I am a gentlemen
Didn't I ask for a place I could stay
Well, what were we both thinking
The next part just got in the way
You were just always talking about changing, changing
What if I was the same man, same man
The same I always was
The Airbourne Toxic Event
Now for
Cage the Elephant
A Kentucky band that has fun. Matt, the lead singer, has way too much energy.
In one Ear
They say that we ain't got the style,
We ain't got the class,
We ain't got the tunes that's goin to put us on the map
and im a phoney in disguise,
tryin to make the radio,
i'm an anti-social anarchist dyslexic so and so,
they say i'm just a stupid kid,
just a crazy radical,
rock and roll is dead i probably should've stayed in school,
another generation X who somehow slipped up through the crack,
they'd love to see me fall but i'm already on my back
And it goes In One Ear,
and right out the other,
Cage the Elephant
Ain't no rest for the wicked
There ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay
I got mouths to feed
Ain't nothing in this world for free
No I can't slow down
I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
No there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good
Cage the Elephant
A funny side story. When we visited Texas in August, Courtney had Alt Nation on the Sirius Radio while we were riding in the car and this band came on. I was in the back seat and thought what a strange name. Four months later I am watching them and listening to them and I like it.
Death Cab Cutie
An Alternative band from Washington named after a song in the Beatles film , Magical Mystery Tour. I had trouble listening to their songs all during the week leading up to the concert. The net is great for listening to new music so I was doing that.
http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/
The band came on and I had trouble focusing on the music. Not gonna lie- they were my least favorite of the night. They were nominated for a Grammy so maybe it's me.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
AKA What a Life
Someday you might find your hero
Some say you might lose your mind
I keeping my head down now for the summer
I'm outta my mind let me pull the other
I'm gonna take that tiger outside for a ride
What a life!
What a life!
Noel Gallagher
You might recognize the name from Oasis. Noel and Liam were the driving force of that band. I have played (What's the Story) Morning Glory? many times and I always end up in a good place. The split between the brothers has resulted in this and it's good.
http://www.noelgallagher.com/
He played some songs by Oasis too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYdIGOgC14I
Enjoyed the new and old songs.
Florence and the Machine
Everyone was supercharged by the time she hit the stage.
It was her first performance in San Diego and no one was disappointed. San Diego showed her the love and she performed superbly. She came out in heels but those were soon gone so she could dance around the stage. It was almost like performance art. She is very theatrical.
http://florenceandthemachine.net/
The Dog Days are Over
Happiness hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
With every bubble she sank with her drink
And washed it away down the kitchen sink
The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better run
Florence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVRsuuuqoMs
Shake it Out
Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn
And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around
Our love is pastured, such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues strong
But it's always darkest before the dawn
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa
Florence
It was a great concert and most of the bands are in rotation on my iphone and computer. We all had a great time.
December 11, 2011 Sunday
Connie and Russ came down today. It really was a Brown weekend. We are going to Texas for Christmas so they came down and we celebrated a little early. Connie had never been to the the Hotel Del in all the years she has lived in California. Of course at Christmastime it is really decorated and just a fun place to be even if you are not staying there. The grounds are magnificent and everything is top notch.
We drove down to the Hotel Del. They really decorate and put up an ice rink out by the beach. We had lunch on the Sun Deck. It was really good. I ordered a spicy Bloody Mary and boy was it spicy. It was a great So Cal day winter day, highs in the upper 60's with a few clouds. We walked arount the hotel after and looked at all the shops and decorations. It is really a sight to see at night during Christmastime.
Feel the heat
burning you up
ready or not.
Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on.
Some feel the heat and decide that they can't go on.
Some like it hot
but you can't tell how hot 'til you try.
Some like it hot
so let's turn up the heat 'til we fry.
Power Station
The hotel was featured in the movie "Some Like it Hot" with Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon and they have all kind of merchandise for sale relating to that movie. There is also a haunted room and books for sale about that.
Then it was off to taste wine at our local winery. Bridget and Connie had some groupon thing for Bernardo Winery. The four of us were there this summer and enjoyed the wine and a concert. No concerts in the winter but we did walk around and got a chocolate pairing with one glass of wine at the candy shop.
For dinner I made reservations at The Butcher Shop. It's a great local steakhouse.
Of course we ate too much, but it was worth it.
A buzy weekend chocked full of activities, food and family.
