Queen!

Last night, I was up way past my bedtime at the Verizon Center in DC to see Queen + Adam Lambert.  And Oh my goodness, was it awesome!  It was sort of a last minute thing, as a friend had an extra ticket, and as this same friend says "I come from a place of yes" so I said yes. I'm a fan of Queen, but I'm by no means a die-hard fan.  I only know the singles that everyone knows.  However, that's ok because those are the songs they sang. 

Adam Lambert as their new front-man is amazing.  He went through 7 costume changes in about 2 hours, which is impressive enough.  But one of the costume changes required 5 inch platform heels which he succeeded in dancing around in.  Pretty talented!

What was even cooler was their inclusion of Freddie Mercury into their show.  While Brian May played one of his songs, they used old video of Freddie singing along and projected it on the big screens above his head. So it appeared as though they were dueting again.  Such a cool idea to remember a giant that had such an impact on the music world.

I gotta say, it was up there in the list of concerts I've seen.  I mean, any concert that starts with a giant robot (see above : ) has to be pretty awesome, right?

Mendel Sings it Out

When I was stuck in New York, I had the pleasure of seeing 2 Broadway shows and a taping of Live! with Kelly, all of which were lovely in their own ways.  However, the real reason I was in New York was to see Brandon Uranowitz in his very first show at Feinsteins @ 54 Below.  And I have to admit, I've never been so happy to see a solo performance in all my life!  I had the very best time, and left having the biggest smile on my face.  He definitely made me a very happy girl!

A few months ago, Brandon - who played Mendel in the Falsettos production I keep gushing about - announced he'd be doing a few shows at Feinsteins and that this would be the very first time he'd ever done something like this.  Because I loved him in Falsettos, I bought the ticket immediately.  Also, I knew from some digging that famous friends sometimes show up un-announced as special guests, and I had hoped that this would be the case.  Then a few weeks ago, he announced that Stephanie J. Block would be joining him for one night only - and somehow I got lucky, that it was the night I'd be there. Woohoo!

Even though I was excited about the show, I was still a bit nervous.  I don't really like going to events like these alone.  Making awkward small talk with the person you've been seated with is just odd.  But again, I got lucky and was seated with 2 other theater-nerds that were there by themselves as well.  We spent the hour leading up to the show gushing about our love for Broadway and specifically Falsettos.  If that wasn't enough, we were graced with the presence of Andrew Rannells and Christian Borle who were there to cheer on Brandon and Stephanie.  I must admit, I got a little tongue-tied at that point, and had to make a serious effort to not continuously stare at their table - which was about 10 feet away!!! (I was so good at trying not to embarrass myself that I missed the chance to sneak a smile at Andrew when I heard his voice as he was heading to the men's room and I was heading to the ladies...Why can't I be not me for like 30 seconds?!)  This seems to happen a lot at 54 Below, and if I lived in the city, I think I'd go broke just hanging out to see who I could spot going in.

The best pic I could snap of Rannells and Borle...

Anyway, enough about my crush on cute Broadway stars, it was finally time for the show to start. And here's where I gush.  If he hadn't said that this was his first time doing something like this, I would have thought he'd been performing like this for years.  He was unbelievable!  He was funny and sweet.  He told hilarious stories about himself and his life, while singing the beautiful music of Bill Finn.  He shared the stage with Stephanie J. Block, his partner and another friend, and sang gorgeously with all 3.  He was gracious to his friends in the audience that came, as well as everyone else that was there to see him.  To put it simply, he was absolutely fabulous! He represented the music well and also was able to throw a lot of himself into the show, which is always a trait of a great performer.

In the end, I left thinking  that all I want to do is sit down and have lunch with this amazing man. And I hope that he realizes just how well he performed, because if he never does this again, I'll be super sad but super happy I got to see him at least once.

Tveiter Tots

So apparently, fans of Aaron Tveit call themselves Tveiter Tots.  Clever, right?  Well, before this evening's concert, I don't think I would have called myself that.  However, after seeing him at the Barns at Wolf Trap (VA) tonight, I'd definitely, proudly call myself a Tot.  He was fabulous in concert!  He has a beautiful voice, which I knew about already.  But he's also very funny and very personable.  He told a few cute stories and chatted with people in the audience.  At one point, we were all singing "Do you hear the people sing?" from Les Mis together.  Thank goodness it was the one song from that show I actually know!

He even sang "The Streets of Dublin" which is one of my all time faves.  The only thing I was sad about was the fact that he didn't sing a single song from Next To Normal - the show that made him famous.  Also, a show I adore!  Seriously?!  But I'll forgive him for that, because the rest of his set list was awesome!  

Friday Five

1. This one is just a personal preference.  I'm SUPER DUPER HAPPY that YouTube and EarBuds exist.  Because of these two genius inventions, I was able to disappear blissfully into the world of Broadway while ignoring 2 co-workers have a terribly ignorant fight over who's worse Clinton or Obama.  (Just putting my 2 cents in here - TRUMP IS!!!!)  Anyway, not having to listen 2 these 2 stubborn people go at it for 20 minutes is the highlight of my week : )

2. I'm not entirely sure how I've been to London 3 times now and missed hearing about this library, but I feel it's a travesty that no one has told me about it.  I mean, come on!  It's the largest library in the world.  And look how beautiful it is!  It's just calling out to me to be placed on my itinerary for next year.

3. Speaking of lovely things in London, check out these shots of the city taken at night.  The colors are just gorgeous!  I'm super intrigued by how the photographer took them.  I'm thinking it would be fun to get shots this beautiful, if only to have the chance to visit the city via a helicopter!

4. In a few short weeks, I have tickets to see Falsettos and I'm ridiculously excited about it.  I'm usually not in favor of the sad musicals - cut to me crying very hard during RENT. However, the cast is stellar and too good to pass up.  This meeting between the 2 original leads and the 2 current leads is quite lovely.  And the below video, is one that got me through the terrible political argument mentioned above.  Such intricate and beautiful music!  I can't wait to hear the songs fully!    
              
5. I'm adding this article to my favorites of the week if only to brag about my taste in donuts.  I've been eating Maryland's favorite donut shop - The Donut Shack - for basically my entire life.  The Boston Creme donut is basically perfect, and I've never felt the need to branch out. Though everyone else says everything else is equally delicious.  Now, to just try the other 49 states...Though I do disagree with Dough in Manhattan - not my favorite donut at all.  I can't believe they didn't go with Doughnut Plant!

The Last Summer Concert - And I Mean it this Time

Remember when I said I saw Kristin Chenoweth last week and she was my last summer concert?  So I lied.  I somehow got roped into my last summer concert tonight. This time it was Kip Moore, some other band I've never heard of and Miranda Lambert at Merriweather. It was a beautiful night but seeing as it was a country concert, it wasn't nearly as tame and civilized as the K Cheno concert.  However hanging out with good friends and chatting between sets is always a fun way to spend an evening.  

So long summer concerts!  See you again in 9 months : )

Last Concert of the Summer

This summer has been full of so many fun things like travel, and Broadway, and Foodie fun, but not a lot of concerts.  So I believe tonight was my first and last concert of the summer. And thankfully it was a fantastic one!  I got to see Kristin Chenoweth at Wolf Trap in VA. I've never seen her in concert and had never been to Wolf Trap.  Both were fabulous! 

The venue was tucked away back in the woods and made of beautiful wood.  It had been raining all day so I was super happy to learn we wouldn't be sitting  in the grass, and once I saw how great our seats were, I was even happier.

And of course, Kristin Chenoweth was perfect.  She sang mostly songs I didn't know.  I was slightly hoping she'd sing a bit more Wicked but she did sing Popular so I suppose that made up for it.  She's very funny and very grateful for her fans.  All in all it was a wonderful evening to mark the end of summer - Boo!

Trivia Tuesday

~ Every roadtrip needs an entire playlist of songs that can be found under the category of "Best roadtrip song ever!" An inordinate amount of time is spent on compiling this list. When most of the songs are read - there's a very good chance that I will not have heard of most of them.

~ Luck is finally winning one of the Shot rounds because the team-member that would most know the answer, showed up at the exact time the question was being asked. 

~ The Pittsburgh Penguins beat The San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup this year.  That is not a team we've EVER heard of.  In the listing of all the teams (besides the Caps because I knew they were out in the earlier round), San Jose or Sharks never appeared. In fact, I'm fairly convinced that team doesn't really exist and the trivia-question -writer totally made it up...

~ Paul Ryan is currently 3rd in line to become President.  In another time, that would be a very sad case.  However, now that Trump may actually become President, having Ryan take over drops down to about 80th on the list of sad things about the US Government.

~ Asking a question on Brown v. Board of Education to a team that is 4/5 education majors was just giving us points.  However, since we really needed those points, we were pretty happy to take them.

~ Somehow toothpaste was stored in lead tubes during the war.  I'm guessing no one read the lit on the dangers of lead at the time.

~ Only 27% of people are literate in the South Sudan which a terrible statistic.  But to be fair most in that area of the world are slightly more worried about not being invaded by other countries, than settling down with a good book.

~ I hate Pink Floyd.  It's one of my least favorite bands.  So of course tonight's half time question was on Pink Floyd albums.  I suppose I should have listened more intently to my dad when he would go on about how great they are rather than whining about how much they stink!

Pier 6 Fun

Some weekends I go pretty much the entire 48 hours without doing anything exciting at all. Other weekends are chock full of fun, like this weekend for instance.  Last night was the DC fun and tonight was the Baltimore fun.  Since they built up the Harbor East part of the city, concerts at the Pier 6 pavilion on the water have gotten a lot more inclusive and fun. Instead of purchasing a ticket to the concert, you can now go down with chairs and nice picnic, and sit across a small canal and listen to the music from there.  I've been hearing about this phenomenon for a while but never tried it until this evening.  And seeing as it's been a fairly cool summer so far, it was a fabulous way to spend a Sunday.  Sunset, friends, on the water and Barenaked Ladies - I love summer!

Rock and Roll is Here to Stay

Every year, the local high school stages a Rock and Roll Revival.  It's the largest high school production I've ever seen consisting of a full student band, hundreds of costumes, intricate choreography and dozens of students participating.  And every year I'm blown away by the sheer talent of these kids.  They're amazing!  The songs range from classics from the 40s and 50s all the way up to the 90s now.  

There's a wide range of songs too, all perfectly chosen for the kid or kids that sing it. Other than one mis-step (I hardly think Barbie Girl is a good song or an appropriate song), the song choices were fantastic.  It must be a blast to go out and sing and dance these awesome numbers for 2 weekends.  I can only imaging the amount of time and energy that goes into staging this show.  I only wish my school would have had something like this and that I would have had the guts to try out.  

Such a fun night and one that I look forward to every year!

Friday Five

1.  Boeing, Boeing at the Colonial Players Theatre in Annapolis: A few years ago I saw a production of something at this same theatre and it was dreadful.  So I didn't hold out much hope for tonight's.  However, I'm now convinced it was just that play, because their production of Boeing, Boeing was hilarious!  I'm always amazed at how well these actors deal with such a tiny stage completely in the round.  If you're near Annapolis in the coming weeks, I would definitely recommend catching it. 

2. Not only is this new State Police trainee absolutely the cutest dog you'll ever see, but he's also named in honor of one of the 2 slain police officers from Maryland.  What a sweet way to honor the memory of Trooper Dailey.

3. This week's Ham4Ham might be their best yet.  Seriously, how cute was this kid!?
                   
4.  This is the song that's been playing in my head for the last 24 hours.  The consensus is I either need to get it out of my head or at least learn more words to it than just the refrain on a constant loop.  Cute song though.


5. How can you not love adorable photos of kids dressed up like Oscar nominees?  

52 Lists: Week 3

There's a radio program in England called Desert Island Discs.  Basically famous people go on and play the albums they'd take with them to a desert island.  I can't narrow anything down to discs, but I can tell you some of my most favorites that I would definitely be taking with me if ever I was to be stranded on a desert island:

~ Any (and every) song by Billy Joel
~ RENT, Wicked and Godspell cast albums
~ "With a Little Help from my Friends" by Joe Cocker
~ "Blackbird" by Paul McCartney
~ "American Pie" by Don McClean
~ "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin
~ Anything Sugarland 
~ "It Felt Good on my Lips" by Tim McGraw
~ "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" by Jake Owen
~ "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker
~ "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel

ACL Lessons Learned

Austin City Limits was my very first music festival.  Somehow, I've gone 30 years without attending one.  And quite honestly, I was ok with that.  Now that I've attended, there were a few lessons I learned.  Also, now that I've attended, I can mark it off the bucket list and be good with never attending another again.

1. I am not a "festival" person.  I don't like crowds, smoke, porta-potties or the heat.  I also know next to nothing about music produced in this decade.  In the photo below, I was only about 20 minutes into the first day, and I was already skeptical about this weekend.

2. Texas Heat doesn't mess around.  Now, I'm usually ok with this.  However, even I was more than too hot sitting in the middle of 50,000 people in a park with little to NO shade.  Thank goodness for free water stations - however, would it have killed you to provide ice?

3. At music festivals, it's perfectly acceptable to dress like hippies, in Native American Headress (offensive, BTW!), as Santa Claus, or in the case of the super cool dude below, a banana...

4. While the name Nate Ruess, doesn't sound familiar to anyone (well, not me anyway, I'm guessing not everyone lives under a rock), he is in fact, the lead singer of Fun; which means he sings some of my favorite songs.  Thank goodness it was too darn hot to leave our spot after the McAbees, or I never would have recognized the voice and the tunes.

5. Two years old, is the appropriate age to attend your very first music festival.  It's also a great idea to let said 2 year old wander around while 50,000 people are walking around not paying attention to little people possibly getting under their feet.

6. Music festivals attract a whole darn lot of people.  Those ridiculous numbers of people descend on the city and make getting around, and getting a restaurant table next to impossible.

7. This particular music festival's saving grace was the ridiculous amount of food from awesome vendors and chefs.  Thank goodness for delicious food!  Since I wasn't feeling the music, at the very least I could stuff my face. 

8. Hozier is awesome!  I may not have known anyone else, or cared if I saw any other act, but thankfully I managed to see Hozier.  Not on purpose mind you, my friend really wanted to see them so I followed along because in a sea of 50K people, where else was I going to go? I'm so glad I did, because his music was amazing!  He even covered "Blackbird", which is an all time favorite of mine.  

While music festivals may not be my thing, I have to say, Austin most definitely was.  Can't wait to go back  minus 50K of my new acquaintances, of course... : )

End of Summer Review

Somehow, today is the unofficial end of summer.  I feel like it was just Memorial Day and yet here we are in September with our Pumpkin Spice everything and leaves already falling from the trees.

While I'm not at all happy to see summer go, I have to admit it was most definitely a good one.  One big across the pond trip.  Numerous trips to Naptown.  A day at the beach.  A Navy Football Game. A hot as heck day in DC and a presidential-ish day in NYC. The Color Run for the Second Time and my very first (and most definitely not my last) Supernatural Con. And two concerts - Darius Rucker (Awesome!) and Mumford & Sons (not so awesome.)  I aso saw Benedict Cumberbatch, Jim Parsons, President Obama and the entire cast of Supernatural live in person - oh and I saw Mickey from Doctor Who at Heathrow. I really can't complain!

So, as we all say hello to Fall tomorrow, I suppose I'd like to say, it was wonderful seeing you Summer, I can't wait see you again next year!

Friday Five

1. Costco Photo Center: I'm in sort of a love hate relationship with them right now, mostly I'm just realizing how much I love them and I can't stand that I can't use them because of their site being down.  Honestly almost 2 months to recover from a hack?  Banks are up immediately after but not Costco.  They spend 2 months presumably fixing the issue while we scrapbookers wait impatiently while we struggle to find someone as good and as quick as they are (Newsflash: There isn't anyone...)  This whole 7 day waiting period for Shutterfly to send me my photos is obnoxious.  Please come back Costco Photo!  I promise to never use another photo site for as long as I live...

2. The Reagan Years: I never thought I could like a local 80s cover band, but I have to say the Reagan Years totally won me over tonight.  They were fabulous! 

3. I've never been much of a pit bull girl.  I don't think they're violent or evil like some people do.  I just like the fluffier looking dogs more.  However, in the last year or so (it started with a photo on an adoption site) I've been thinking more and more about getting one.  They're super adorable and there are just so many that need to be adopted right now.  If I ever broke down and adopted one, I'd want him or her to look like these guys.  I'd pretty much take any of the group - even the non-pits.  Are they not the cutest little family ever?!

4. While I'd love for this to be possible, I highly doubt that most of these will work.  I mean, every once in a while you hear about people trying these schemes and they might actually pan out once in a blue moon.  All I know is that if I were to ask my boss if I could still work for her while I was traveling the world and living the high life, I'm fairly certain I'd be laughed out of her office.  But a girl can dream, right?

5. I'm a sucker for all things Friends.  Seeing as it's been off the air for a decade, I've had to make due with reruns.  It's one of those shows that's still funny after 20 years and after hundreds and hundreds of viewings.  For the most part, I've seen every episode at least twice and can pretty much say some of the lines before the characters do.  It's addictive!  So imagine how unbelievably excited I was to see a new scene.  It's only 4 minutes long and I completely understand why they never released it up to this point.  But it's also awesome!  And it made me miss the gang even more than I usually do!
                             

Friday Five

1. Love these murals I discovered in Annapolis tonight.  They've probably been there forever, but I've never noticed them before.  So colorful!

2. Is it wrong that I'm loving the US Open mostly because Phil is doing well and Tiger isn't?  I actually sort of feel bad for the guy, and I NEVER say things like that when talking about Tiger.  His game was just that miserable.  But this weekend, even the good games haven't been that stellar.  Those greens are ugly!  However, Phil still made the cut, so either way I'm ok with the outcome (Though I have a cupcake bet on Phil winning so if he could do that, I'd really appreciate it...)

3. Love, Love, Love Jon Stewart!  This was so incredibly well said.  If they actually gave Pulitzers to late night comedians that were truly fantastic news men, he would definitely receive one for this commentary alone.

4. I'm not going to say that I'm the Rock's target audience, which is why I assume I'm not such a fan of any of his movies.  However, he genuinely seems like a nice guy and seeing him let this little girl pull a plane, is pretty darn adorable!

5. And as always, it's summer, and I'm back in love with this song.  The perfect tune for wide open windows and the wind in your hair! 
           

Friday Five

1. I'm way behind on this one, but I'm adoring The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!  It's absolutely adorable!  Leave it to Tina Fey to create a perfect show.  After starting a few hours ago, I'm already 6 episodes in...so darn binge-able! Oh, and the darn theme song will be stuck in my head for years to come.

2. We all know Phil Mickelson's awesome.  But when he did this earlier this week, he became even more awesome. Love him!

3. There are some truly fantastic travel blogs out there.  Of course there are some terrible ones too.  That makes the good ones that much better.  That's pretty much how I feel about LandLopers.  Matt - the blogger - just seems to be in love with travel but he also seems to get what travel writing is all about. He's not just in it to see the world.  He's also in it to share his love with people and he's created his own little niche doing what he loves.  His post this week on how he did it and what you need to do to do it too was fabulous!  If I could figure out how to make his tips work for me, I think I'd be a very happy camper.

4. Fell in love with this version of the song for...reasons.  But then I learned Darius Rucker sang it first. I was never a huge Hootie and the Blowfish fan but Darius Rucker is fabulous!  Now I'm pretty much all about both versions.  It's a pretty darn catchy little song - I'm warning you.  You'll have it stuck in your head for days now!
         

         

5. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Hillywood Show and their jaw-droppingly amazing parody videos.  Well, this right here is a great interview with them.  Their creative process was really cool to hear about and the reactions to their ideas were just so expected from the cast they were working with.  It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to hear about others that love something as much as I do.  (And just in case you want to see it again - here's the best parody video ever!)
          

Mumford!

As you can see we were very excited to see Mumford & Sons this evening at Merriweather Post Pavillion.  It was a beautiful evening.  We had lovely lawn seats. We were in great company.  There were ice cream sandwiches made with chocolate cookies.  The band played perfectly.  All was well.  Except for the fact we knew way fewer Mumford & Sons songs than we thought we did.  I knew a total of 2 the entire evening. Also, they take too long between songs - call me ADD but do you really need a 2 minute break between every single song?  Anyway, even so it was a great evening with a great friend!

PS - Dude in the background is a little creepy, no?

Friday Five

1. This is the best definition of February 26, 2015 that I've ever seen! Perfect! (And in case you were curious, the dress is obviously black and blue.)

2. I hate it, but I've had Taylor Swift stuck in my head for weeks now.  I'm usually not a fan of hers, but between Blank Space and Shake it Off, I've been singing and singing her praises every time I'm in the car and a lot when I'm not in the car too.  It's embarrassing...
          

3. Technically, I haven't used them yet, but I have to say I'm obsessed with the idea of Jamberry Nails.  I'm terrible when it comes to painting my nearly non-existent nails. If you're going to promise non-fake nails, that are pretty, come in chevron and don't take about 100 tools to put on, I'm so going to buy them. Can't wait until they appear in my mailbox!  I see a super simple, colorful summer!

4. Love this travel album!  I pre-ordered the alphabet stamps and the Bon Apetit stamps weeks ago, so I've been anxiously awaiting them with visions of this album and about a dozen other ideas in my head.

5. How amazing are these two men?!

Friday Five

1. "Wake Me Up" by Avicii: I'm in love with this song!
          

2. I'm ashamed to say that I've used I'm Sorry in every single one of these scenarios.  I really try not to say it, but it's one of those Pavlovian reactions to stress.  I say it even when there isn't a single thing that's my fault.  How does that even work, exactly?  

3. I don't have any faith in Turbo Tax or any other program that relies on me understanding a single thing about taxes (or math in general.)  However, whoever designed their new ad campaign deserves a huge raise! So darn cute!
        

4. I'm also not a mom yet, but I can totally appreciate this campaign for Similac, There is way too much in-fighting going between different kinds of parents.  Most parents are just trying to do the best they can and as long as you love your kids unconditionally, you're already ahead.  Along with the Turbo Tax ad designer, the designer of this campaign also deserves recognition and awards!

5. Love these ideas!  Thinking I need to try every last one of them!

Friday Five: Christmas Ditty Edition

1.  "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Jason Manns and Friends - The below 'video' doesn't do it justice.  But I can't find the full song on YouTube, so trust me and purchase the album on iTunes.  Of 12 fabulous songs, this is just the most fabulous.  I'm pretty much crazy for the rest as well.  
              

2. "Christmas Wrapping" The Waitresses: I always forget about this song, until I hear it on the radio then I have it in my head for days.  Up until this moment, I didn't even know who sang the darn song. It's so darn catchy!
                            
3. "Carol of the Bells" Manheim Steamroller: They were my favorite Christmas band until Trans-Siberian Orchestra came along.  I don't listen to them as much as I once did, but their music is still pretty good.  Except for this song - it's out of this world!  Of all the versions of this song, this will always be my favorite!
                           
4. "A Wonderful Christmastime" Paul McCartney: As I understand it, there are two schools of thought on this classic - you either despise it with every fiber of your being, or you adore it.  Care to guess which school I fall into?
                            \
5. "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Like I said, I own every one of their albums and pretty much binge them the entire month of December.  I know all the songs by heart and adore them all.  So picking a favorite is quite difficult.  I'm not sure this one is even my favorite - I'm pretty partial to "Old City Bar."  However, this is the one they play most on the radio.  And it's the one that's most fun to dance to in the car.  It's so very, very good!