What a year it's been for me for music...and it's only half over! Although, I don't currently have any other concerts lined up for the remaining six months of the year, but you just never know.
JUNE
Paramore
When the tour was first announced last fall I had "verified fan" on Ticketmaster and thought getting tickets would be no problem. Well, I was wrong. Not only did verified fan not mean shit but ticket prices were outrageous. Needless to say, I did not get tickets. So I added my name to the wishlist at work and waited months.
I had seen them at UCF back in 2013 and at the Dr. Phillips Center in 2017 . I bought tickets to see Hayley Williams on her solo tour in 2020 but we all know how that went. So needless to say it had been awhile and I needed my fill.
I was told a week before the show that I'd won tickets through work and got to bring a guest. I WAS PUMPED. I immediately asked my girl Nicole because she's the only one I know who is as big a fan as I am. We had THE BEST time. We sang and danced and it was just all so damn cathartic. I am still buzzing weeks later and beyond grateful I got to see Paramore this time around. Thank you Nicole for sharing in the magic with me.
MAY
Thrice
The minute Thrice announced they would be stopping in Orlando on their latest tour I just knew we had to go. I love Thrice but to Dustin they are the equivalent to how I feel about Taylor Swift. We've seen them countless times and they always deliver.
Pat drove over to Orlando to join us. It was a very rainy day and night but I was prepared. I even offered the boys a poncho each which of course they declined. Ok, get wet then. Shrug.
We tried to grab a quick dinner at Splitsville because we'd never had trouble walking in but it was too long of a wait so we went to Jaleo instead. The food turned out to be way better than expected and our server was super fast since we told him we were on a time crunch.
We had a box office hiccup but then we were seated ready to rock. The merch line had been SO LONG when we got there, but because my bladder is the size of a peanut, I got up to pee just minutes before they started and on my way back to our spot grabbed some shirts for the boys. So efficient! If you know Dustin, you know words like excited or giddy aren't usually what people would use to describe him, like ever. But he was both of those things throughout the show. It made my heart melt watching him relive his teen years while Thrice revisited The Artist and the Ambulance in full like it was 2003.
A big thank you to M&M for making our night what it was.
Deana Carter
Months ago, Katie asked if I wanted to see Deana Carter with her at the Palm Coast Songwriters Festival and I was like hell yeah. I will forever have the softest spot in my heart for 90s country. It takes me back to the good parts of my childhood.
So, that Friday I picked Katie up and we made the trek to Palm Coast. We stopped at the Chick-fil-a which we had never been to (because when we lived there it truly had nothing to offer). As we walked inside we just had this overwhelming feeling of not fitting in. Then when we had a seat, a sweet older employee came up to us and said 'You guys aren't from here, are you?" HA! How could you tell? We ended up talking to her for a good five minutes about how she moved from Colorado but hates the heat in Florida and wants to go back. We both agreed with her and made it clear that just because we're both Floridians doesn't mean we don't hate the heat and also would like to leave. It was a lovely little chat and honestly I wish we could've just brought her along with us to see Deana.
We parked and then got golf carted, VIP style, to the Daytona State Amphitheater. This part of Palm Coast has always been my favorite because of all the trees. The event was so lax that I'm pretty sure anyone could've just shown up and walked in without a ticket. We did a lap around, got drinks, and had to ask three people where are seats were since the map was so confusing.
Deana of course came on last but she sang all the hits I remember...from Did I Shave My Legs For This? to her most popular Strawberry Wine to all the ones in between. Katie and I were singing along and having the best time even though most of the crowd was much older than us and barely moving. But you know us, we danced anyway. Wink wink.
APRIL
Copeland
Dustin and I went to see Copeland revisit their 2003 album, Beneath the Medicine Tree. For me, it's a perfect album and still one I listen to often. There is something about the music you clung to as a teenager that will always be a part of you. Every single time I walk downtown you better believe I am singing Walking Downtown to myself. It's just ingrained in me. It was a great time seeing them play this album in it's entirety. There was video that played behind them with each song that really mesmerized me. I especially loved the vintage footage of the woman in bed.
Taylor Swift
This whole event was a fever dream, a blur, possibly a hallucination. It's so weird to countdown something this huge for months and then the day arrive and it be gone in a flash. It's like a wedding day in that way. So much preparation and then poof it's nothing more than a memory.
We left Orlando extra early because that drive to Tampa is hell. IYKYK. We made a stop at Target, Wawa, and even a quick photo op at Hooters before we were back on the road. We were able to use the restroom (even though Angela got stuck in the men's!) and eat at Chick-fil-a. Everyone was dressed in their Taylor best and it was just such a good vibe.
I purchased parking in a lot right outside the stadium in advance and thankfully that made life so much easier. Once parked, we ate, touched up makeup, and just killed time in the cool a/c. There were many a Swiftie outside their vehicles Taylor-gating but it was far too hot for that shit.
As we walked up I was just in awe of everyone and their outfits. We didn't get any merch (too expensive for mostly bad designs) but we did get some cute photos in front of the truck with the Eras Tour poster.
The pure joy I felt getting my ticket scanned and then receiving the light up bracelet that is now tradition at Taylor's shows. I felt truly alive. And for a full-time dead person that is truly a gift that comes far and few in between.
Inside the stadium was pure chaos which is to be expected since she did sell out every damn show. So many people! Even still, the lines for water and the restroom moved fairly quickly.
I was not one of these people who could avoid tour spoilers prior to seeing it for myself in person. I already knew the setlist and some of the moments to expect. It didn't ruin anything for me but made it better because I was less anxious having an overall idea of what was to come. But with Taylor there are always surprises.
Fave moments: her big unveiling, the dive "under water", the seat plop in Vigilante Shit, all the damn bridges but especially Cruel Summer and Champagne Problems, all the old Taylors in class cases for LWYMMD, screaming "1,2,3 let's go bitch" with 70k people, and of course our surprise songs and surprise guest, Aaron Dessner!
The night we were there she actually played two new Midnight songs, The Great War (with Aaron) both on guitar and then You're on You're Own Kid on piano. I was slightly bummed she ended up playing mad woman the night after us. I love the songs we got but not more than I love mad woman. Ha!
It was 3+ hours of standing, dancing, singing, screaming, smiling, and trying to take in every moment as best I could. There will never be another show like this and there will never ever be another like her. She really outdid herself, as per usual.
Friday night beneath the stars. ⠀⠀⠀⠀
I don’t know how it gets better than this.
This night is sparkling, don’t you let it go.
And we’re dancing, dancing, like we’re made of starlight.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
‘Cause we never go out of style.
Most fun I ever had, and I’d do it over and over again if I could. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I counted days, I counted miles, to see you there. ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I had a marvelous time. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Wherever you stray I follow.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.
I did the official ranking (because of course I did) where you rate each song 1-10 and then calculate each album's average. So according to that logic, rep is number one (which duh).
JANUARY
Anberlin
We were supposed to see them at the end of 2022, but a Covid case in the band changed that, so the show was rescheduled for late January. I was so pumped, not only to see them in concert, but to see them perform Never Take Friendship Personal in its entirety. They played at The Social for three nights in a row and each night was a different album. This is the only one I HAD to see. The audio was off for a good portion of the set. Not sure if it was them or the venue but you could barely hear vocals. It was a bummer but once that issue was fixed it was much more enjoyable.
