#edit: oh this is from the other day when I first heard the travelers encore haha | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mandssisters · 7 years

Text

Laditude - GOTR takeover Latitude 15th July 2017

The road to Latitude was a long road, the 8 hour drive made me feel like I should have been in the states travelling to a local gig! Whereas in the UK…… a LONG DRIVE!

Arriving Thursday for the weekend, we set up basecamp amongst Waitrose shoppers! (Personally I am more Lidls) (more Waitrose later) A great pitch location within short walking distance for the Sausage Pork Shack (that’s breakfast sorted) and loo’s…. close but not too close! Despite packing lite the load was indeed heavy!

Off to the main festival site for the afternoon evening. Latitude had a character all of its own. Delightful wooded areas, the river, the waterfront stage, comedy arena, lake stage, theatre and other music zones. The main stage Obelisk Arena was set at the bottom of a natural hill so made a great arena, unlike other festivals at the back was a GA set of tiered seats. Great idea.

Lots of quirky stalls to spend one’s hard earned cash. Merchandise purchased. Finally I get my hands on a Garratt Tee shirt. Can you ever have too many t-shirts? We found a tasty food stall making great Tibetan cuisine, a real treat.

The lockers. When booking we selected the option of a secure locker, in the mind you see a gym locker, the reality was quite different. All very organised and secure, but only the size of first edition Harry Potter! The struggle was real to get all the newly purchased merch inside! At the cost of the camera, latitude pint glass and knitted cactus…… cannot have everything in life.

Being a tad tired we head back to camp and attempt to sleep……….. The hours between midnight and 7 am can be long can’t they!!!!! At least I rested!!!! Such a relief the Scousers next door had a great time……festival life.

Friday, exploring day. Pink Sheep, Lakes, river banks, gondola rides, comedy, ballet, music. We saw and heard it all. Went to see Charlie Fink in the theatre a very touching play. Another highlight being the BalletBoyz.

Demonstrating the high end nature of this festival, we browse a “living jewellery gemstone stall” tempted by the lapis necklace should or shouldn’t I spend money…. the lady next to me spots an amethyst lazer cut silver ring, the stall holder points out that it is indeed to most expensive item on the stand, her friend, what £200…. errrr no £2000. Lady next to me, places it on the hand stares at it for around 30 seconds and says, I’ll take it. The stall holder close to tears of joy can’t quite #believe. She pays on her credit card saying I’ll tell the husband later he just bought me a pressie. When in Rome the Lapis is indeed purchased! Bargain.

The 1975 were headlining so we decided to sit on the back row, what a great view and great set. This was the last date of the current tour, hardcore fans had been barriering it all day. An emotional good bye until October 2018! We’ve all been there. It was a chilly evening many layers were on, I was as usual rocking the homeless look. Back to basecamp to “warm up”. #fail.

A much better nights sleep, the ear plugs working their magic. Must have got at least a 6 hour snooze. The weather looked ok for the day, warm, but not hot, sunny but not on fire, but maybe light showers in the afternoon.

Pack a sweater and poncho, don the wellies.

Mixing up the day with a cheese and baked bean toastie for breakfast. Every night the festival ground itself is vacated and you camped off site. Festival Gates open around 10am, so we head back down and wander to the Obelisk Arena. The arena is taped off until the site is declared ready. It is has been transformed overnight into a GOTR stopover/takeover. With Willis flags flying proudly around the arena and new stage surround added. We meet a Nanny that is paid to sit on site over the weekend to make sure her crew are behaving! This was her 10th year! Tempted by the offer of a £70k a year job in Dubai we refused!

B, G, S, and F arrive! Yay! The gang are here. A very causal dropping on the tape and the cruise to the barrier is easy. Wot no bag search, hole punching of tickets, queueing for wrist bands, and steps, front row and never had been such a breeze!

The stage is very high, I guess because of the hill, also down the front there is an uneven layer of sand/gravel which makes for a messy seat! Hiding cables I guess but ruining the arse of the trouser!

The very best sound check for a good 30 mins prior to their opening set. Seye is working with Gorillaz on the Humanz tour. I think his absence was definitely noted. Wot no WE OK in Sight! They had a tough crowd, first up, early in the afternoon and to a bit of a lame crowd. Maybe the Waitrose crowd don’t wake up until after the sun passes the yard arm. Good set none the less.

Ben appears on stage to announce Lucy Rose, this was indeed the largest audience she had ever played in front of. I can’t remember much of her set as I was “struggling”, all I can say is thank god for Tang Tastics. Never have I needed you more! Lucy I am sure did a great acoustic set. #tired.com

It suddenly gets really crushed and tightly packed down the front, all exit plans are now waived from the mind. Milky chance, nope I hadn’t heard of them, but clearly Waitrose Kid shoppers had. It was rammed down there with mosh pit circle dances gaps and barrier ramming being undertaken. Oh it was fun! They were very good. Just what the soul need post L.R.

Glass Animals next, again, crush fest, the stage dressing was a large golden pineapple, this brought a smile to my face…… party like a 🍍 #fondmemories they were really good, a great tonic. Bashing out tune after tune. Clearly they were having a great time as well. The fan base of course bringing inflatable pineapples and pineapple sunglasses, said pair live on in DDD thanks to the careless actions of a fan! But the careful squirrelling of said DDD fan!

More peeps than ever now down the front for Two Door Cinema club. Great stage graphics, great tunes, saw them at Glastonbury last month and they never disappoint. Surviving all three of the last acts was a bit of a feat of endurance, but we did it.

The teenage Waitrose shoppers had now dispersed by around 20% so we now had room to dance around again. Leon Bridges was totally awesome and oh so talented, he had all the moves, very 50s rockabilly but with a modern twist. Great soul in his voice. It’s not every one who can carry off the cricket whites look! He did a blinding set.

By now it was 2045 hours and only 45 mins until Mumford!

Throughout the day the stopover was old Skool and used linen fabric backdrops to showcase the artist. Mumford indeed went old skool and had the same stylish graphic set up. I don’t think we will see the May pyro stage set again.

2130 and OMG the boys were right on the button. They blew me away from the start. Opening with Snake Eyes, I’m not sure where the bounce came from, (hula hoops) (Capri sun) (Tang tastics) (sesame bars), but it was there from the first chord. Loved this show.

The tunes flowed, the chaps clearly having a blast and enjoying it as well. Very much a festival set, mixing it up. Hearing the songs from Johannesburg again, Baaba Maal throwing his shapes and the beauty that is Si tu Veux, Marcus taking lead on Wona, it was a real carnival set. I will never tire of hearing those songs. Love love love.

Up and coming artist Maggie Rogers and fellow takeover artist joined them for Awake My soul. Sounding beautiful.

Too soon it was Ditmas, will he or won’t he risk the Waitrose run…. of course he did! We did worry about the quantity of inflatable sofas, picnic blankets, camping chairs in the arena! NO one got hurt! He made it back to the stage!

Encore to Blind Leading the blind. Then the gathering of friends and fellow performers for “With a little help from my friends”. Another classic, spotting JQ, Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers, The Very Best, Gill Landry. Marcus shaking the life out of a tambourine never fails to make one smile. What a great takeover. Latitude loves the Sons.

As per Marcus’s instructions we took the aftershow party to Jack Garratt. That boy was at the top of his game. It’s not many that can pull of a matching shirt and shorts combo, but he wore it with pride. We sang, we laughed, we dance the sole out of our wellies. What an atmosphere. Epic. Blinding. Outstanding! Can’t wait for his formal return with album two. I think it’s fair to say Jack loved it as well, doing his mini “celebratory Ditmas” run around the front pit hi fiving everyone.

Still buzzing from Mumford and Jack, we head onwards to the GOTR bar and the Sunset Arena for a spot of chilling and lounging with HBOV. It’s a lovely area to chill on a log and to reflect on a great weekend, well done chaps, you pulled off another blinder. High five. 🍹😎🌲🌳

Now nearly 3am we decide to call it quits for the day and head back to the comfort of the tent……. nope we didn’t find it.

Sunday… sorry to have missed you Fleet Foxes 🦊 but homelands beckons. Thanks to the person who donated the freecycle tent ⛺️ other people’s waste! 🤓

#mumford and sons #mumford & sons #marcus mumford #Ben Lovett #ted dwane #Winston Marshall #GOTR #gotr stopover #latitude

1 note · View note

hemcountry · 7 years

Text

MUNDY TALKS "BEING KINDER TO THE IDEAS" 21 YEARS ON FROM 'JELLY LEGS' DEBUT

I can still recall the excitement of realising that a guy from Offaly who wrote his own songs, was not only having them played on national radio, but had one of those songs included on a Hollywood blockbuster! It seemed unreal, like the sort of thing a lot of people would have tried to tell you couldn’t happen. But there he was, Mundy, one Edmund Enright from Birr, right in the heart of the midlands, with ‘To You I Bestow’ on the soundtrack to ‘Romeo And Juliet’, staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes. And what was more, ‘To You I Bestow’ was from Mundy’s debut album, ‘Jelly Legs.’ Album number one and a track on a Hollywood hit! The big lesson I learned from that (and I carry it with me to this day) is that a lot of people often have no clue what they’re talking about, or what can and can’t happen. I also learned, of course, that Mundy’s ‘Jelly Legs’ collection was about far more than one song. ‘Life’s A Cinch’, ‘Gin & Tonic Sky’, ‘Arrow of Gold’, they all became trusted travelling companions for times of trouble, celebration, torment, and elation through the nineties and beyond for me. Me, and most of Ireland. And this year ‘Jelly Legs’ celebrates its 21st anniversary.

Jelly Legs – Mundy

Now to many, Mundy will be known first and foremost as a rocker. But as seems to be the case with so many great rockers, an appreciation for country music is never too far away. And the same is true for Mundy. In fact, on his ‘Shuffle’ album, Mundy’s tribute to the songwriters who inspired him, he covers work from some songwriters who are nothing short of icons in country music: Hank Williams, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, and Jimmie Rodgers. Most people would also think of Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett as an out-and-out rocker, but yet he released his third Americana album, the glorious ‘West Coast Town’, earlier this year. So, when I sat down with Mundy recently, I asked him what is it about country songs that seems to attract and appeal to guys like Chris and himself?

“There’s an honesty in country music. And hey, not everybody’s from the city. I think there’s an honesty about where you’ve grown up, a rawness, a loneliness, and a starkness, and an abandonment there. There’s a lot of people in the music business who grew up in those kind of ‘one-horse’ towns, ya know. People that had to leave somewhere to get to the next place. I think country music – the right type of country music, at least – is raw, and vulnerable, and makes no qualms about saying what it wants to say. I think that’s probably what it is.”

Mundy

Mundy, like all of us, has of course grown and changed as an individual during the twenty-one years between ‘Jelly Legs’ and today. But what about his songwriting? Has his style or process in that regard changed much over the years, or does it all happen in pretty much the same way?

“It’s getting harder for me to find the time, to be honest. When I do find the time, I have an idea of what I want to do and where to start. But the one big thing for me is just letting go. Forgetting about the end product, and just let the show begin! As in let the words come out, and let as many of them as possible come out. There’s a very bad habit where you can just ‘break-the-skeleton’ [of the song] before it’s even finished, and just throw it away. Like, I’ve had a good bit of success in the last twenty-one years, and you’re kind of always expecting the beginning of a song to get somewhere [to progress] very quickly. But when it doesn’t, you just throw it in the bin. And that’s the wrong thing to do. You have to nurture some of these ideas. Stay with them, and let them stay with you a little bit longer. So I’m tryin’ to be less critical, because it’s a bad habit to get into, ya know. And I’ve gotten a bit like that, killing an idea before it even has a chance to form. So, I’m trying to be kinder to the ideas, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do!”

Mundy

Returning to the fabulous collection of songs on ‘Shuffle’, another of those writers to whom Mundy was paying tribute was Bob Dylan, who picked up (finally) the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. As a Dylan fan, and as a songwriter himself, what did Mundy make of that news?

“I thought, well that makes sense to me! I mean, he’s written a lot of great songs. And a lot of long songs. He labours over his words in a big way and I think he’s a master of turning a phrase. I can see why some people might have got angry, because it wasn’t exactly ….[a book? I suggested] Well, ya know what, ‘Chronicles’ is one of the best books I’ve ever read. But I’d say there’s a big hierarchy there in the world of literature who are goin’ through it with a fine-comb, and sayin’, ‘But this doesn’t make sense?!’ [laughs]. And I’m sure Dylan was probably sayin’ to himself, o.k, so I’ve received this even though I wasn’t lookin’ for it…..So I don’t know if he even knew himself what way to accept it. But yeah, why not, ya know. He’s definitely brought literature into music for the likes of myself. I wouldn’t have heard of Arthur Rimbaud or Kafka, or any of these people if it wasn’t for Dylan. So he’s certainly opened up that door.”

Mundy

As mentioned, somehow, in that way time does, twenty-one years have passed since ‘Jelly Legs’ took its first steps upon the landscape of Irish music. Twenty-one years on, and it’s still standing strong. When we spoke, Mundy had just begun a tour celebrating the album’s 21st anniversary, and with the original band line-up from back in the day, too.I wondered if it all felt like twenty-one years ago, first of all? But also, did Mundy ever imagine back then that twenty-one years on so many people would still be so excited about listening to the songs on ‘Jelly Legs’?

“Well, that’s a good question. I never thought twenty-one years ahead back then. I was only livin’ day-to-day and song-to-song, to the next album, ya know. But lookin’ back, it doesn’t feel like twenty-one years, no. But there’s a lot of it that I kinda had forgotten about, cos’ it is a long time ago, I suppose. I reformed the band that played on the album – we hadn’t played with each other in nearly…had to be the guts of eighteen years – so that was kinda nerve-racking. I was hoping we still had ‘it’, ya know. I mean, the lads have all still carried on with their own musical careers, so thankfully there was none of us all over the place, like if we were starting all over again! [laughs]. And ironically we started off with what was is, I guess, the first song on ‘Jelly Legs’, a song called ‘Reunion.’ We played that one first, and it and it’s not the easiest of songs, but it was awesome. It just sounded really, really good. So we’ve had some great rehearsals and we’ve got three gigs behind us now, and another five left to go.”

Mundy

So what had fans been getting at these shows? Had Mundy been playing the album straight-through, like it’s tracklisted, as is often the case for occasions like these?

“More or less, yeah. We have an intro tune, then we walk on, we play the first six songs of the album. Then we do a B-side from one of the singles, a rare song that we never really played ‘live’, but it’s probably a song that should have been on the album. Then we go back and play another bunch of songs from the album, then a cover, a few more rockers, then an encore. So yeah, we kinda mix it up. I do a couple of other oldies as well, because there are people coming to the gigs – and it always happens, even when you tell people what you’re celebrating or doing – they want to hear some of the other songs, so I’m throwin’ in a few solo ones like that. And I have a new song that’s basically like an autobiography up to now of my musical career, so that’s quite appropriate, I think. It’s called ‘Sometimes I Thought I Was You.’ ”

Mundy

Everybody knows and remembers the big songs from ‘Jelly Legs’, tracks such as ‘Gin And Tonic Sky’, ‘Life’s A Cinch’ (one of my own all-time favourites!), and of course, ‘To You I Bestow’. But what I wondered if there was a song, or maybe songs, on the album that Mundy felt might never have received the attention they deserved?

“Well, it’s weird, I mean they’re three really good songs. But there’s a load of other really good songs on it which I forgot about! The one song I’m really excited about singing, that I feel is very much in my heart now, is ‘Springtown’, which is a song about Birr. It’s quite a melancholy, bitter-sweet ballad, really. There’s three or four other upbeat rockers on it, there’s a song called ‘Thanks For The Stones’, (‘The Stone’) which would have been one of the first songs I wrote on the album, a really upbeat, grungy thing! Then there’s a song called ‘Sisters’ that’s in that vein, too. There’s an energy there, let me put it this way, that only a twenty year old could have, ya know.”

Mundy

Was he surprised that ‘Springtown’, a song he wrote so long ago and when he was so young, had come to mean so much to him at this particular time in his life?

“Well, like I was sayin’, it is quite bittersweet, and I suppose I was a bit…kind of afraid, of a few things that I said in it. But I wrote it without editing it too much because I suppose I had that belief in what I was sayin’. But now, I’m kinda listenin’ to it and goin’, ya know what…it’s kinda quite poetic. It’s actually very poetic, in its own way, so I’m proud of it, yeah, very proud of my words. It was a sub-conscious honesty, ya know.”

Mundy

‘To You I Bestow’ was the song that really catapulted Mundy before an international audience. Looking back on it now, that really was such a monster achievement, having a song from his debut album make the soundtrack to such a massive movie, ‘Romeo And Juliet.’ Could he still remember how it all unfolded at the time?

“Oh yeah, yeah. Basically I got a phone call about it one day. I always used to ring my manager over in England and go, any good news, any bad news, any whatever, ya know [laughs]. And she said to me that Sony had been approached by this guy called Nellee Hooper regarding a couple of songs for a new movie that was coming out, and it was going to be a big blockbuster, fingers crossed we’d get one on it. So I was like, what songs did you send and she told me ‘Gin And Tonic Sky’ and ‘To You I Bestow.’ Now, we didn’t think we had a chance because other bands had been mentioned like Radiohead, and The Cardigans. So then when it happened, it was like, oh my God! Things are gonna change now.”

Mundy

One of the hugely positive developments in the music industry over the last few years has been the resurgence of interest in vinyl, because, as anybody in the industry will tell you, it’s an actual, physical, tangible, tactile product that fans want. And now, of course, and for the first time, ‘Jelly Legs’ is on vinyl, too! What was it like for Mundy to finally get a copy in his own hands?

“It was pretty incredible! And the thing is, all of the singles [from the album] came out on vinyl, so I never understood why they did that but never put the whole album out on vinyl. And I didn’t think I had a relationship left with Sony, to be honest. But me and a friend of mine called in and we said, look, this is what we’re doing, and we’ll be going out on a tour as well…is there anything ye think that ye could get involved in with a reissue of the album? Because it isn’t available physically anymore. And they were like, we’ll do a double-vinyl of it. And I was like….Are you kidding me?! [laughs]. So they sent it to me anyway, and it’s way more impressive than the cd, ya know. You’re pulling two big, heavy vinyls out of two big, massive pictures of me and the band, and you have all the lyrics written on the back, all the credits. Ya know, it’s not all squashed down. Because when I actually hand-wrote all the lyrics for the cd, then everything was brought down to scale rather than left at the scale it was written at. But yeah, I’m very impressed with it. I have it at home, and it sounds great on the record player. Every home should have one! [laughs].”

Mundy

The Jelly Legs Anniversary Tour is scheduled to finish up in Birr, or ‘Springtown’, on October 29th. Now Mundy has obviously played many’s a hometown gig over the years, but this time, given the occasion, I felt it would be something a little bit extra-special for him. Was I right, though?

“It will, absolutely. I was putting this tour together, I don’t know, eight or nine months ago, and I was looking around at what dates were around the country, what venues were available and all of that, and Birr was definitely going to be one of them. But it was due to their calendar that we’re playing on the 29th, it was the date they had left. And I just thought, well this is perfect, it’s the very last night of the tour. I mean, I didn’t even realise that it wasn’t a school night [laughs]. Myself and the lads are going to stay down in Birr and have a hooley! And it looks like there might be some gigs coming over in the UK as well. Sure it’s twenty-one [the album] for a whole year, that’s the way I look at it!”

Mundy

Keeping Mundy and his band company on this tour are the North Carolina outfit, Happy Abandon.

“There’s a pal of mine, Stephen Judge, who’s from North Carolina, where he has a little record label and a well-known record shop. He had a wedding party and the band, Happy Abandon, were playing at it and they were really, really good. Then he asked me if I was interested in having them along for support, and I said yeah. They’re really worth hearing, they’re pretty awesome. It’s a three-piece band, but they make a BIG sound.”

Happy Abandon Band

While he made it to Screggan for the National Ploughing Championships recently, he’s also been back over in the States and in Finland of late. Now here at home, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, nights where Mundy can barely get to say hello before there’s some bright spark screaming for ‘Galway Girl’! But when he’s overseas, does he find that it’s a very different set of songs that fans most often request?

“Yeah, I just played Finland, right, and nobody really knows anything about me there, but I had a couple of really great gigs. But when people hear that you’re Irish they do associate you with Irish music. So I’ve found that I’ve thrown about four Irish ballads into my set, plus ‘Galway Girl’, you kind of have to embrace where you’re from in situations like that. And there’s nothing wrong with it. Like I keep telling people too, ya know I’ve written all my own songs and they’re Irish as well cos’ I’m Irish [laughs]. Even though they probably don’t ‘sound’ like what people expect Irish songs to ‘sound’ like, ya know. But yeah, sometimes you just embrace your heritage and throw in a few songs that will keep the flag flyin’. I rarely have to do that, mind you, but I don’t mind doin’ it when it makes sense to do it.”

* Mundy’s ‘Jelly Legs’ 21st Anniversary Tour wraps up in Birr on October 29th. And, not surprisingly, the ‘Full House’ sign is already set to hang on the front door that night as the show is a complete sell-out.

** Fear not, though, because some tickets are still available for his shows in Monroe’s of Galway on October 27th, and The Academy in Dublin on October 28th.

MUNDY TALKS “BEING KINDER TO THE IDEAS” 21 YEARS ON FROM ‘JELLY LEGS’ DEBUT was originally published on HEM COUNTRY

#Interview #Mundy #countrymusic #countrynews. IrishCountry #UKCountry

0 notes

tommyh303 · 7 years

Text

2016 Year end review: 5 years running (and better late than never).

Celebrating 5 years of the end of the year!!!

WOW, this is my 5th annual end of the year because Facebook’s end of the year thingy sucks so much it’s just better if I write my own and choose my own photos blog (working title). Seriously though, this is the 5th one I’m writing after starting in 2012. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that Facebook attempts to make us feel connected to our memories; I mean FB really is just one giant diary/scrapbook anyhow. While their attempts do get a little better each year, the end of the year never really full encompasses and includes all the memories I want it to. Well, that lead to me writing these in which I can kind of sum up my year as I want, group together some photos and tales from the last 12 months. I’ll mention as I always do, these are more for me than anyone else, but I do enjoy sharing it with all of you, my dear readers. As always, you can find the prior year end reviews here: 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. I hope you guys enjoy. Oh and if you don’t make the photo cut down below, don’t take it personal, I simply can’t squeeze everything and everyone in, it’s not meant to be a slight I just may not have a photo of you and I (it happens).

Now I know a lot of people had a rough year for one reason or another and cursed the number 2016 and because of that I feel bad saying the following:

I myself actually had a pretty good year.

I mean I went to more weddings than funerals for the first time in a few years, I never got below the “buffer” in my bank account. I was creative in a few different ways, I made some great new friends, traveled, and at the risk of taunting the universe, I personally had no great drama or issue or anything overly negative arise this past year, which I humbly thank God and Karma and existence in general for that fact. I hope we can keep that trend in 2017. By no means is anywhere near my 2012 declaration of not caring what happens next. Believe me, I CARE what happens next (trust me folks, don’t taunt the universe on that one). That said; let me share with you some of the highlights of my 2016.

First off is work. I just love working where I do and with the people I work with. Things are good, I’m happy. I make enough to enjoy my life the way I want too, they give me more than ample time off, it’s really close to home (I don’t even have to get on a highway and I can come home for lunch), my job is just good. I’m very comfortable here. This fall will be my fourth year here and I’m planning on staying with this company for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m saying everyone should love your job, that’s just not going to happen, but if you don’t dread the alarm clock every morning, it creeps over in a positive way to the rest of your life.

Creatively, I spread myself thin on several projects as I always seem to do, even toyed with the idea of doing my own youtube channel show but then realized this exactly why I seem to never get anything done. So the top priority was my movie, which I’d say I got more done on it this year than any other year which is a major plus. We’re so close, I promise it’ll all end up being worth the ridiculous wait once it’s done. I did write a little more in the blog early in the year and re-read my book. Yup, long ago I wrote a novel but have never really done anything with it. So late in the year, I started re-reading it. It’s at the top of my list of things to work on in 2017. It needs some editing and to be flushed out a bit here and there, but it’s something that has been on the back burner and needs some attention. Heck, Stan Lee was in his 40 when he started all the Marvel characters we know and love and dominate the box office today. So why not me? I have also returned to working on my photography a little bit more often, which lead to meeting some nice new people along the way, which is always a plus.

Getting out seeing live music as much as I can is always important to me and this year was a pretty good year for it. I went to my fair share of concerts this year, both locally grown talent and more main stream. In the spring for my birthday I went and saw Nathaniel Ratcliff and the NightSweats with my gal pal Jenn M at the Paladium Ball room or Southside or whatever the hell its called now, over in Dallas. Such a great night, these guys put on a hell of a show. If you’re not familiar with their work, or even if you are but only the S.O.B. song, I recommend you give them a listen too. It was great to be in a crowd that was so into the show, everyone singing and dancing along with the songs, the age of the crowd was wonderful too, ranging from kids who couldn’t drink to people who could be my grandparent. The call for the band to come out for an encore was just fantastic, as the whole crowd chanting the course from SOB over and over for what seemed like forever before Mr. Ratcliff and his band gave in to our request (which I am sure they planned on doing regardless). They even brought out Fort Worth’s own Leon Bridges for the encore. That was a show and then some. I’d say it was the best show I saw this year, but I can’t because so many of them were so good! I caught Weezer and Panic at the Disco with my pals Britt and John in the summertime and well, it’s Weezer. Do I need say anything more? I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked Panic at the Disco and equally surprised at how many younger people left after Panic choosing not to stay for Weezer. Stupid fools, if they only knew. A big highlight of the whole year was taking my mom and sister to see “country” artist and native from the land down under Keith Urban this fall. I was familiar with some of Mr. Nicole Kidman’s works, but this was really all for my mom. HE’s her favorite. Never the less, I had a great time. The open act was a young women name Moren McMorick, Arlington’s own who’s clearly heading for big things. Wish I’d caught her at the Grease Monkey or Levitt when I would have had the chance. The main man of the night, Keith Urban, puts on a hell of a show. I earlier used quotations to describe him as a country artist, but that’s just not accurate to me. This guy is a bona-fide rock star. His music, his stage presence, his interaction with his fan, it was a fantastic show that I can’t simply narrow down as one genre. This dude is as cross genre as cross genre comes. OR maybe I just don’t have any idea what country music is since my childhood or listen to Alabama and Barbra Mandrel in my mother’s car. Again, truly a star of his craft. It was awesome to get to do something for my mom and share a concert with her. Strictly from a enjoying the musician point of view, my personal favorite show of the year was probably getting to see Glen Hansard at the Majestic in September. I’ve waiting 3 years for this guy to come thru town and there’s never been a show I had higher expectations for than this one . Man oh man he did not disappoint. My good friend MacKenzie took a night off from her family to join me and we both walked away floored by the Irish folk singer. He did 3 encores! Three! He played favorites of mine I’ve heard since I was introduced to him 3 years ago, stuff I had never heard of and the must hears from the film ONCE. He was fantastic engaging the crowd, sharing tales thru that thick Irish accent before or after each song, the Majestic was such a great setting to mark seeing off my bucket list. That’s not even half the shows I enjoyed this year. I saw Deep Blue Something for the first time in 20 years at Arlington’s Levitt Pavillion. Luke Wade also visited us again during the Day of Giving concert here in Arlington. I saw local favorites of mine Auntie Rissa and the Colonel, the Criminal Birds, my buddy KGs bands Henry the Archer and the always sweet styling of Standard Gazette. I was also introduced to the gothy good styling of Jessie Frye this year and lastly, I can’t even begin to explain how happy I was to see favorite One Red Martian pay us a visit down here in the Lone Star State. You guys were severely missed. Live music was oh so good for me in 2016, without question, the best it’s been in years.

I of course traveled. After my 2014 hiatus from traveling, I got back into it and 2015 and continued on in 2016. I really only took two legit vacations. The first being a week with my Godkids, which involved driving out to west Texas to get them and then bringing them back to Arlington for the week. They’re both practically teenagers now and I fear in the not so distant future I won’t be cool enough to hang out with them. So trying to be cool Godfather that I like to think of myself as, we went to the National Video game museum up in Frisco. I highly recommend if you’re a video game nerd to check this out. It’s not really big, but it covers just about everything video game related ever made. Plus they had a Sega Dreamcast hooker up with Powerstone 2 in it which was a big plus for me. Due to the kindness of some of my dear friends, we went swimming in pools not belonging to me. We took a train ride out to Dallas to visit the Perot museum and the Dallas Aquarium, both places I had never been so it was a treat for me too, went to downtown Fort Worth to see fireworks (as it was fourth of July week), went to the movies and one night just hung out and played board games and watched movies. Pretend parenting is so much fun. It’s the only time of the year that rivaled the Vegas trip. I do love those silly kiddos and I had such a great time with them, I hated having to let them go back home. I should also point out I acquired a third Godkid this year, but since she’s brand new I didn’t bring her along for the week, but she’s adorable! Photos are of course below.

I did leave the state too, FINALLY making it out to Vegas with my pals Keith, Scott, Woo and Kevin. Las Vegas did not disappoint in the least bit! I’d tell you more about it, but the whole “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…” just kidding. I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to and got sick one night, but still had a wonderful time! The plane ride over was memorable, though that story needs to stay quiet, but I will say the film “Me Earl and the Dying Girl” lies to you. Just know that it lies to you. We stayed at the New York, New York on the strip and personally love the place and our room. We went to multiple casinos and ate lots of breakfast buffets. Went to the shark reef at Mandalay Bay, which for me was a bucket list stop. I learned how to play baccarat at the Venetian and made some money (and that it’s perfectly acceptable to drink and gable at 9am on a Saturday) and then lost said money at black jack in the Luxor. We took a limo ride out to see the Hoover dam and asked to see Megatron (yes we were those guys). The food was fantastic, had a fantastic steak with shrimp and grits, a great deli in our hotel, and some fish and chips with Irish carbombs at an Irish restaurant. We instituted a roulette tradition, played in a small poker tourney, meet a wonderful group of UNLV grads, and had a drink in a bar that was -5 degrees. I absolutely loved Las Vegas and can’t wait to go again.

There were some sad moments too, but the it seemed like an unusually high number of unexpected celebrity passings. I can’t touch them all, but let me say the world seemed less magical once David Bowie left us and a little less funny now that Gene Wilder is gone. I was literally stunned and in disbelief when I learned Prince no longer walked among us. I openly wept before bed the day the great Carrie Fisher became one with the Force (no disrespect meant with that comment). Her passing was literally part of my childhood dying.

I can’t leave this blog on a down note though, so in case you didn’t notice, the Rangers has a pretty good season (happy note), and the Cowboys bounced back from the 4-12 disaster of last season. I can’t wait to see how deep this playoff run goes (happy note). Then a more personal high point, I met freaking Karen Gilliam! Amy Pond! A legit Dr. Who companion! That’s the first time I’ve gone to a convention like that and paid for a celebrity photo, but man it was so worth it (BIG happy note).

All in all, 2016 was a good year for me. I enjoyed and cherished all the people who were a part of it. I hope we all see a happy and healthy 2017. Here’s to another 5 years of end of the year blogs and God bless each and everyone one of you.

Much Love,

Big T

0 notes