Thriving Ivory/Ryan Star Review.

Once again, as we all know, I'm a complete concert snob. I'm sick of most "popular" music out there today because half the artists out there don't have enough actual talent without the help of autotune to deserve to be on the radio in the first place. I'm always a tad weary of live shows just because these days you never know whether the artist will actually "live up" to their record or even sound halfway decent for that matter. So, as we made our way to New Orleans, LA last night (which terrifies the piss out of me anyway), I tried to keep my expectations fairly moderate...

Ryan Star (http://www.rstar.net/) was the opener for Thriving Ivory, who we'd seen previously last July. When we decided to go to the show, I downloaded his music from Amazon so I could get feel for it and because I like to try to somewhat know the music before I see someone live. I was really impressed with his songs, and especially his voice. I'd compare him to Adam Pascal (of RENT fame), which in my humble opinion, is a very, very good thing. I ended up listening to him all week long leading up to the show and would highly recommend both of his albums for a mixture of rock, great vocals, catchy beats and even some humor. ANYWAY, let's try to stay on topic here. The show. I was actually really excited to see his set and hear him live. The guy was FAN-TASTIC. Not ONLY did he sound even better than on the record, but he is a really great performer on top of it. I loved the interaction with the crowd (which was a weird, fairly quiet crowd IMO), I loved his band, I loved how all of the songs seemed harder and louder than I was expecting. I don't really see how I could have been more impressed (except for maybe getting to watch him play even longer). I would highly recommend that you ALL check him out and you know that means a lot coming from me. He continues on tour through Texas and into LA among other places and I KNOW some of y'all are there. So do yourselves a favor and don't miss it...my concert ticket was like 12 bucks or some shit. It's a win-win.

Frankly, I thought that his set was SO good, I was doubting that Thriving Ivory would be able to "top" it. As I mentioned briefly, we had seen them previously last July in Birmingham, AL. Though I'd also downloaded their music beforehand, I wasn't as impressed with their live show. I guess the venue was having some sound issues and whatnot, but I just didn't really feel it. It wasn't a bad show, just not the best show in the world. But, as we don't really get a lot of shows down our way and it's a band we both know, we decided to make the trip over to NOLA from Mississippi and check it out. I'm SO glad we did. This show was 100% better than last year's. The lead singer was very good, and though his voice live sounds a little more gritty than on the record to me, I actually like it better. The band is so good I couldn't decide whether to watch him sing, the guitar player, the piano player or the drummer...it was like whiplash from trying to watch everything all at once. They played three new songs that will be on their album (coming out September 14th) and I loved each of them, specifically the first one that was piano-heavy (which you all know I love). Of course I can't remember any of the names, but I can tell you I'll definitely be picking that up. They even seemed to interact with the crowd more than I remember from last year. I was very, very impressed, and would without question go see them again.

To wrap up...obviously, a really great concert experience. Two really fucking fantastic acts, and they each played about an hour which was also great (despite that we had a 1.5 hr drive home and had to be up at 4:30am to go to the airport). That being said, we didn't stay to "say hi" but both bands did meet n greets after the show as well, which is always cool of people to take the time to do. Well worth it though. Seriously, y'all....if these guys are playing near you go check it out; especially if it's together.

Ryan's Dates: http://www.rstar.net/tour-dates/ (also playing w/ Justin Nozuka)
Thriving Ivory's Dates: http://www.thrivingivory.com/#/tour

If you can't see them live, I still highly recommend both albums. If you like my usual music rec's, I think you'll be impressed too. Thanks for reading. xx

Miscellaneous...

It's been a very long week. The fact that Wednesday felt like Thursday, and therefore Thursday felt like Friday only made it longer. I had a bunch of appointments all week and haven't been sleeping much at all, so I think that's made it feel more extended as well. Sleep problems aren't new to me, I've pretty much dealt with them my entire life. From as simple as not ever being able to wake up in the morning (no matter how long I've slept) to laying awake at night for hours trying to fall asleep. Those problems I'm used to. The last week and a half has been waking up about a bajillion times throughout the night, and taking forever to fall back to sleep. Every couple of hours it seems. And that's after struggling to get to sleep anyway. One of the most frustrating things is to be exhausted, but not SLEEPY. Completely drained, but not TIRED. Very frustrating. Anyway...I saw my doctor today and she refilled my sleeping aid, so hopefully that'll help. I've also been getting headaches every day, which I generally don't. Kinda wondering if the two are related...so hopefully, if they are, when I sleep, the headaches will quit. I can't remember what my point was here...side effects of the sleeping pills: I'm a liiiiiittle bit loopy til I finally crash.

I'll be going on a trip next month to see two of the most amazing people I know. Could. Not. Be. MORE. Excited. I don't really want to talk about details but those of you who I know well probably know at least some of them anyway. I just wanted to talk about it a little bit because I'm so, SO excited. There were some other plans that fell through for a later date that I am ridiculously upset about, even still. BUT, I am trying to stay positive and focus on how much I'm looking forward to going somewhere new, especially somewhere so beautiful. And of course, I'm thrilled to see my friends. Beyond thrilled. Sometimes, I wish we could ALL be together in one place. That would be crazy and wonderful. One day, if I'm rich and famous, I'll buy myself an island for me and everyone I love. And everyone else shall be banned. And we'll wave at them from our island as the music rocks, the drinks are a-plenty and it's happiness all day every day. (Right now you're thinking, "WHAT is she taking, and where can I get some of that?!" bwahaha... sorry...) Anyway, back on topic...I'll be going in about a month, and will spend about a week with two of my besties. Someone come up with a word for "excited x a bajillion" - and that's what I am. No if's, and's or but's aboot it. :)

There's a lot of other stuff going on, but I want to stay on positive topics. Trying to keep myself up, keep my head outta the sand. I'll be alone next week BUT, I'm going to a great concert in New Orleans tomorrow night (Thriving Ivory & Ryan Star) and on Sunday it'll be a girls day of shopping and a movie. On Wednesday or Thursday a good friend that used to live down here is coming to visit before starting her new job in Americus, GA, so she'll spend the rest of the week with me and the pups (who she used to dog-sit for all the time). Going to be some changes coming soon but I'm trying to be prepared and stay calm and handle things as they come. I keep telling myself it's going to be okay. The one who can make it okay is me, right? I'll be getting some help with that, at least to start. But that's for another time and place.

I'm going to end my incoherent ramblings here. I do want to pimp something just a little. Everyone please check out Poppy Cafe, an amazing new live music venue in Vancouver (http://www.poppycafe.com/). You can check event dates on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/tallpoppypresents) & follow them on Twitter at @poppycafe for updates. Stay tuned to them for all kinds of great music, brought to you (weekly?) by some pretty fucking amazing folks, frankly. I can say this because I know how fabulous they are, and how talented and capable they are. Expect big things, methinks. The sky is the limit.

So I think that's all. Meds are kicking in, so I think it's sleepy time for this girl. Love love love. xx