French Fries for Quinnipiac

So, with the absence of questionable movies with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart on my birthday weekend, I was a little worried about the entertainment value. So, when I pulled up the dates for the 3rd leg of the Shout It Out tour one afternoon in early September, I was a little disappointed when there was no NYC date. But my eyes glided to the November 20 date in Wallingford, Connecticut. So, with that, a few phone calls were made, a car was rented in my name (eeekkk) and we were set for 2 shows, in Connecticut and Vermont.

And then. Several things happened, we decided to ditch Vermont (:(), but still had a filled car. Since I haven't driven in 3 years and Mapquest told me we were taking the Cross Bronx Expressway (Did fear just shoot down your spine??), we left at 7:30 AM to get a rental car and take the beautiful drive up the east coast (the whole hour and 15 minutes up the east coast). And then the fun began.

Alas. 10 Things You Need to Know about my Hanson Roadtrip:

1) Hanson fans self-number themselves with Sharpees. Due to my fear of the Cross Bronx Express Way and my excessively early personality, I was #22.

2) Where's Tay? Because let's not forget it's Tay time!

3) Sitting outside in 50 degree weather in a line full of Hanson fans can make the day pass pretty quickly.

4) When JP #2 and I decided to go check into the hotel, get Wendy's, and come back and enjoy it while others were doing the Walk. Quote of the hour: "We could have taken the walk. But we ate Wendy's."

5) Hanson still makes me turn into a 13 year old. Example: JP#2 and I may have been punching each other as Zac Hanson was no more than 10 feet away from us after they finished up the Walk and stopped to give the "pump up speech".

6) Evidently, some concert venues can decide to rip you off, and you can pay $5 to get into the "Fast Lane". Or, you can fear the Cross Bronx and get to the venue at 10AM, have #22, and be #1 in the slow lane!

7) I declare myself a sane Hanson Fan. I still declare this even though it was concert #14 (Blame the 5-of-5)

8) Hanson does a cover of Dirty. They did not cover Dirty at this show. They did, however, play SAVE ME 4 songs into the set, then continued to hit EVERY SINGLE SONG I could have every wanted. Playlist. Crazy Beautiful, Where's the Love, Speechless, Strong Enough To Break, This Time Around, Penny And Me, A Minute Without You, Mmm Bop, and when I turned to JP #2 and said "Can this set list get any better?!" Give A Little and If Only happened. But at that point, I didn't even care if If Only happened because that's how good the set list was. How do you follow that up? With song from Snowed In of course!

9) Just because you're jockeying for position and view of the stage with a 6'2" male at a Hanson concert, don't assume it's his tiny girlfriend that's the Hanson Fan. Because half way into the set when he knows every word and is jamming out like it's no body's business, you'll feel stupid. And laugh pretty hard.

10) Still did not meet Hanson. What does this mean? There will be a #15. And I met so many awesome people this go round, there will be concert buddies for the next time. And they're still my favorite band. All these years later.

And I will never view Mashed Potatoes the same way ever again.

Run Run Rudolph

Because I'm awesome and on the ball this year, I found the Hanson Christmas CD (I've had to find it every year since 1998. A few times, a friend *cough JCF cough* may have had to send it to me digitally because I lost it or I was in another country, or.....) At any pace. Since this AWESOME band played the songs for their encore a few weeks ago, I started early. And tomorrow is December 1. So I had to put it on my iPod.

But that's not the point of this blog post. I was jamming to my Top 25 on the bus, and felt that I needed to share that with my blog readers. And it's plugged into the computer right now. Revelation: I've seen every band on this playlist at least one time this year. (Sometimes I love this city)

Alas, my Top 25:
1. Well Thought Out Twinkles
2. Punk Rock Princess
3. Careful
4. Everything I Ask For
5. Misery Business
6. Ignorance
7. Future Foe Scenarios
8. Hurricane
9. Count 'Em One Two Three
10. I Woke Up In A Car
11. I Must Be Dreaming
12. For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
13. There's No Secrets This Year
14. Sort Of
15. This Is The End
16. Panic Switch
17. Growing Old is Getting Old
18. If You C Jordan
19. Gold Girls Guns
20. Damned If I Do Ya
21. Dear Maria, Count Me In
22. Coffeeshop Soundtrack
23. Checkered Floor
24. CrushCrushCrush
25. That's What You Get

Correction: I've seen all of these bands twice (Thanks Bamboozle!) except for band #20-#22. I was quite put out when they weren't at Bamboozle this year. What's in your Top 25? Anyone else have a pop-punk problem?

New Born

Two posts in one weekend. Watch out!

Muse. Declared. The best band I've ever seen live. They're so ridiculously talented, you spend the entire show thinking "Oh my goodness, what's one word above talented. Because that's what Muse is."

And what do I love about them even more? What was song #2? Map of Problematique. AKA My favorite song. So I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the set and I enjoy it. So much so that they leave the stage, and I turn to Laura and say "They just started!" to which she responds "They've been playing for an hour and twenty minutes."

And what's the 3rd point as to why they're the best band I've ever seen live? They blew a fuse during the show. Literally. 3 songs in...during New Born.

SSPU>Metric in terms of openers. Both great. But I'm bias because SSPU has been a favorite of mine for a year and a half.

Moral of the story: I stand by my previous statement. Go see Muse live. It'll change your life.

The Party Scene

On Thursday, which was October 21, I thought "Thank goodness this year is almost over!." One

more month of being 26. While it's been a fantastic year in some ways, I won't be sad to part with it. It has been, in a word, challenging.

In college, I was extremely blessed to be set up in a bible study my freshman year that landed me on Boyd 2 my sophomore year of college. Two doors down, the ever fantastic LM and down the hall and around the corner and at the other end were JCF and

SEW. Little did I know, seven years later, these ladies would still be some of

my closest friends in this world.

Highlights of that Kansas trip:

-The friends. Yes, we may only be in the same state once every two years, but when we're together, it doesn't matter. (Check out that shirt handywork....That's all LM)

-Kansas State Football. I have gone to a game every year since 2000. Going back and forth for weddings, I was a little worried about breaking that. However, thanks to Thursday night football on ESPN, the streak continued. That is really all I can say about that experience.

-We continued our bachelorette craziness, ie...Pitch in a Salina hotel. It's kind of becoming a tradition.

-Team No Name did some fantastic work on preparations, including decorating the reception and getting programs ready to go.

-After the rehearsal dinner, JCA's mom was kind enough to invite the wedding party over for mingling. When Matt's side of the wedding party mentioned Pitch, they had no idea how the two out of state bridesmaids had been deprived of people who don't even know how to play the game. LM & I *and maybe the rest of the wedding party* teamed up against SEW and the Best Man for one LONG game of pitch. Inevitably, there was some vanilla flavored cherry coke and a sketch deck of cards that also has become a tradition at theses things, which made for one of the most entertaining games of Pitch I've ever played. LM and I won :)

-The Wedding day was super nice. LM did the makeup, the dresses fit (once we figured out how they latched at the

e top), our hair was super pretty, and Matt is now one of us. (Wedding Photo courtesy of Chris who is LaBrisa Photography, CALL HIM. He's AWESOME)

-As for the reception, I didn't have my co-speech writer extraordinaire, so I winged it. It was HORRIBLE. Speaking infront of people is not my fortee.

-And then, due to a horrible DJ, people QUIT dancing. As the Maid of Honor, I felt it was my duty to keep the dance floor alive. So, me, JP, and the five and seven year old, danced our little hearts out. It was super fun. After they tired out, I made sure to dance with everyone from the wedding party. There was some horrible two stepping and some great swing dancing that ended with an elbow to a nose, which resulted in so much laughter, we couldn't continue.

-Then, as weddings in Kansas do, I got to spend some awesome time with SEW on Sunday and Monday in another road trip back to Kansas City.

Then I got to come home and see Jimmy Eat World two nights in a row, and had a great following week. Then this week happened. And it's over, and I survived, thank goodness. And I got to see All Time Low last night, and I'm headed to see one of the two bands I will claim are the best to see live w/ another former roommate . MUSE. Have chills? I do :) They are THAT GOOD.

Heart is Hard to Find

1) After 3 years, I finally got new Jimmy Eat World. Like the Silversun Pickups, this band just makes me smile. They kick so much behind it's not funny. And all of their music is enjoyable. Hands down best new song: Invented. Which evidently they don't play live. But you know what they are playing live? One of my Top Five Fav songs of all time: Work. A week from Thursday!!

2) Back in April, I expressed my love of John Gallegher, Jr, and the performance of American Idiot. While returning from Kansas last week, I was sitting on the plane during my layover and American Idiot tweets that none other than Billie Joe Armstrong is playing St. Jimmy. Um, what? Excuse me? Let me buy tickets RIGHT NOW. So, my friend Elizabeth and I sucked it up, got cheap tix in the balcony and went Saturday night. Few notes: 1) I still love John. He's my fav. I really wish I could have seen him as Moritz in Spring Awakening. 2) He was really good. WIN for Billie Joe as St. Jimmy. (better video...Time of Your Life)

3) Dear Outlander the Series....You're the best set of books I've ever read, and I'm annoyed that you've set standards so high. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did a good job...but now that I'm done with them, I'm left thinking "I need another Outlander." So if you have any suggestions...specifically series...suggest away!!!

Location of this video is just about where I sat:

Letterbomb

Two weeks off of Mega Concert Summer Series.......Fall is taking shape. With whom you ask?

We start off with a band I have never seen headline AND they sing one of my favorite songs (for real...it's in the top 5):

Then my pop punk kings also decided to make an appearance a week after that:

Weightless

All Time Low | MySpace Music Videos

Then THE BEST LIVE BAND EVER (possibly twice....) (that isn't green day....Green Day and these bands both make strong cases for #1)


Followed by my other guilty pop punk pleasure (the lead singer's presence leaves a lot to be desired....but I still can't stop listening to them):


And the makers of Twilight and the tour planners at Three Car Garage got together and decided to give me a birthday present even though Breaking Dawn isn't coming out on my birthday this year (w/ a minor drive involved):


Not to mention, the day after tomorrow is September. Which means.....Saturdays full of glorious college football games! Happy Fall!

Stadium Love

On my summer vacation.......oh wait, I'm not taking one. I get to go to Kansas twice this fall. So I have a makeshift summer vacation. And I'm right in the middle of it! I went to the Gramercy Theater, Madison Square Garden, The Prospect Park Bandshell, Jones Beach and will continue this magical vacation at the Central Park Summer Stage, The Roseland Ballroom and ending up at the PNC Bank Arts Center. Hello, my screenname is ksuJennyP and I'm addicted to live music.

Tuesday: The Maine. Gramercy Theater.

Story: I actually thought this concert was Wednesday. So a rushed train ride home for a lunch break and describing this band as "The Duchy Ones after Hanson at Bamboozle" was how I talked a friend last minute into joining me. The lead singer is still duchy. But oh so pop punk infectious. And I LOVE IT. Highlights: Everything I Ask For, Inside of You, and Don't Stop Now. And one of my all time favorite lines from a song: Love is a luxury she said, I'd rather be in love than die via This is the End. WIN. I'll see them again. I might still be the oldest one in the theater.

Wednesday: (Suppose to be my free day) Arcade Fire + Spoon. Madison Square Garden.

Story: I didn't check my Twitter ALL DAY. So when I got off a crowded subway station @ 5;45 and found a tweet from Madison Square Garden telling me I had to reply by 5PM to claim my FREE tix to Arcade Fire and Spoon at Madison Square Garden, I DMed them back and promptly called my brother to complain about losing the tickets. A text at 6:15 notifies me I'm just in time, pick my tickets up at Will Call and have fun. DUDE. Seriously. Free tickets via Twitter for the only night of the week I don't have tickets to a show? Yes PLEASE! Highlights: The great instrument change of this 8 person band. Highlight: Neighborhood #3

Thursday: Metric. Prospect Park Band Shell.

Free. Metric. Show. Brooklyn. Of course I'm there. They were good. I enjoyed their music. Great seats and good company. And their front lady is quite talented and entertaining. Highlight: Gold Girls Guns.

Friday: Paramore. Jones Beach (Check one for life goal: See a show at this venue.)

So, every time a Paramore song comes on my iPod, Hayley Williams' magical voice makes ME WANT to SING. I love her voice. So I hard core lip sync because singing outloud on the train would make me crazy. If you ever see me on the train talking to myself, look closer, I have headphones and I'm most likely jamming to Paramore (and the lines: I'm in the business of misery, let's take this from the top.....). This is what I did in my sleep deprived state Friday morning on the train all the way to work. So, this was my first time at Jones Beach. New Found Glory first. They're so annoying....but put on an awesome live show. Tegan and Sara. PERFECT for this open amphitheater on the water in Long Island. Then PARAMORE!! Started off with Ignorance, Careful (I LOVE THIS SONG), Decode, For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic, Crush, Crush, Crush (Freakin) Crush, That's What You Get, and obvi MISERY BUSINESS. And the rest of the set list. I just love their music.

Full report next week with shows including: The XX, Something Corporate, and ending with my all time favorite live band....GREEN DAY (Who has already had this review from Philly for this tour...the word "Epic" is in the title)

A Million Miles an Hour

So, I've seen Eclipse. It's a little bittersweet. It's my (2nd) favorite book (they already made my 1st and, it was clearly not as good as it could have been), but I guess we do have Eclipse in November 2011!! (What am I going to do this year for my birthday?!)

Alas. Let's revisit a post. Colored were INCLUDED in the movie.

BUT! On to the list!
The 4 must haves:
1) Bella punching Jacob and all that ensues. Edward's crazy rants. (Oh Well)
2) Leg hitch. (LEG HITCH!)
3) The proposal scene (There were only like 7)
4) The tent scene (Obvi the space heater conversation has to come into play.....)
Optional, but would be nice:
5) Jacob showing up to kidnap Bella
6) Alice and Edward playing chess!
7) The humans taking bets on Edward and Jacob
Really, as long as 1, 2, 3, and 4 make it into the movie, I'm going to be one happy Eclipse camper. I'm not super critical. Stick to the book. I'm really hoping for some bella/edward get to know eachother time.

OK. On to quotes:
Must haves:
"No Emmett, I punched a warewolf in the face." and "Then if your still here. I'm going to fetch up a crowbar." - Bella
"Does my being half-naked bother you?" — Jacob Black *The midnight theater will EXPLODE if this one is said*
“You know that I’ve stolen, I’ve lied, I’ve coveted… my virtue is all I have left.” Edward
“I believe that. But I want you to know something — when it comes to all this enemies nonsense, I’m out. I am a neutral country. I am Switzerland." Bella

So we have 8/11. Not too shabby, Mr. Slade, not too shabby.

Other fantastic highlights:
"I'm hotter than you." Oh JACOB!
Any scene Charlie was in. Especially the kitchen scene with Bella.
Jasper. All of him. Highly enjoyed his presence.
Riley. Riley. Let me write that one more time. RILEY!!

Eclipse. DONE. and it was good!

Silversun Pickups

I purchased Swoon on July 4, 2009. I liked it so much, I went and picked up SSPU's Carnavas two days later. SSPU fits into an elite set up JP's bands, one only occupied by them and Jimmy Eat World. They're the kind of band I can push play, and not push the next button and listen to all of their CDs from start to finish. So when I got the opportunity to see them open for Muse, I was stoked. However, MSG proved to be a little on the large side for SSPU. I had to wait for the headlining show to waiting was worth it.

So that came Friday. A friend and I ate dinner in Union Square before heading to the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. It's a small piece of land right on the East River overlooking Manhattan's financial district, so, you can imagine how gorgeous sunset is. We arrived half way through Against Me, purchased a refreshing beverage and headed into the crowd. I also noted to a few friends earlier that I was stoked to be going to a rock show with human beings, not angsty eyeliner laden teenagers.

We ended up close to the front, with two pretty tall guys in front of us. However, when SSPU came out and busted into Growing Old is Getting Old (one of my personal favorites), the two Dutch guys promptly started hip swaying and got so into the music, I didn't care I couldn't see one side of the stage because they were so tall (it also makes me want to see a rock band in Europe). So after Growing Old, they then began playing Well Thought Out Twinkles, then Sort Of, There's No Secrets This Year, and the Royal We. Those were JUST the FIRST five songs. AKA the best playlist on my iPod. After the astar studded opening, they continued not to let down. Eventually they busted into Future Foe Scenerio, PANIC SWITCH, and Lazy Eye.

This show got an A+. (How could a show featuring Panic Switch, The Royal We, Future Foe Scenerio, I'm going quit lising all SSPU songs now). The venue was georgous, the crowd was fun and the band was great. Setlist from Brooklyn Vegan. Photos: MetroMix.

Panic Switch





Royal We:




And now I'm off to a superfan experience only NYC can provide. I'll post about this on Thursday, so be on the look out.

And go buy SSPU's Swoon CD RIGHT NOW!

Daughters of the SoHo Riots

What can one do in one weekend in New York City for under $40 on a weekend? Turns out a lot.

But let's backtrack to Tuesday. Have you ever been in a riot? No? Really? Well, I planned on NEVER BEING IN A RIOT. But that all changed Tuesday. So, Paper magazine had a a free concert Tuesday. The bill: some DJ, Hanson and Drake. Of course I was going. So I show up after work, and lets just say I was the ONLY Hanson fan there (I had planned on peacing out after Hanson anyway). The other 19,999 people were like "Hanson who? Mmm Bop Hanson?" Well. The DJ played a 1/2 song, Drake fans climb to the top of bodegas....fast forward 15 minutes. Chair throwing, smothered teenagers, flower pot throwing and JP speed walking to the nearest subway. No Hanson show :( I don't think they'd of gotten through a song either. Even if it was Mmm Bop. (Hanson, if you read my blog, you owe me a free show. I'd pay for a show. First a riot then now flash mob in NYC? FAIL!)

OK, back to my $40 weekend.

It started out with this:


That's offsides, just like the fact that when I got out in to the city undercover, I go as Cat Woman. At any pace, I called the 0-0 England score. Just win, USA, just win.

THEN. For kicks and giggles, I'd heard about a free Band of Horses show in Grand Central! Fearing a riot (no, just kidding, BoH fans wouldn't riot, right? Right?) I go and get in line. I get in. Cost $0. So I started out my weekend with a FULL show. Free! Highlight: Funeral. (Not in Grand Central, but the song!) And Toy Story 3!


Saturday: The Mermaid Parade @ Coney Island. Free.
Saturday night: A Trip out to Governors Island for the FREE Freelance Whales and Morning Benders show. It was on the waterfront facing the city. It was beautiful. Other than the two hours they held us hostage at the Brooklyn Ferry Stop, not too shabby! The food was good, the show was free, the sunset of Manhattan Island was beautiful, and there was NO CHANCE of a RIOT!

Today: A brilliant performance from New Zealand, a less than stellar game from Brazil and Cote D'Ivoire (lets have 3 hand balls, then score a goal, AND THEN joke with the ref.) And dinner and the evening grocery shopping at Chelsea Markets. Which I am now facinated with. Do you know how cheap those vegetables are?!

So that was my very inexpensive, fantastic weekend. New York occasionally really rules.

Heavy in your arms

The Twilight soundtrack was surprisingly really good. Paramore has become one of my preferred bands. The New Moon sound track was all fantastic and emo. Before the Eclipse soundtrack tracks were announced, there was a lot of Adam Lambert talk. And since there has also been very little production time and just a tad bit of over-commercialization of my guilty pleasure books/movies, I had my doubts. Then the track listing was announced one day, one song every thirty minutes for 7 hours. When Metric was the first band announced, I KNEW we were going places. Then Muse, Beck, The Black Keys, and Band of Horses followed. Here's my review: Favorite book, stellar soundtrack, favorite story ....could it be my favorite movie? If the soundtrack is any indication of where this movie is headed (aside from REALLY BAD whig recycling), it is promising. Not to mention it's on regular screens, digital screens AND IMAX screens.

Favorite Song: Florence and the Machines. (Not what I would have thought to be my fav song)


Metric rocks. As does the Vampire Weekend clip.Fanfarlo. Band of Horses.Eastern Conference Champions. Unkle. and MUSE?! Win, Summit, win. Go buy this one too.

And further proof to indicate that Summit has indeed nailed Eclipse:


Win! Win! Win!

And go Team USA. Beat England. Make it to the quarters this year. YOU CAN DO IT. Word of advice from a non-soccer player: don't kick the ball backwards like you did in Germany. Forward and towards the goal. USA! USA! (Portugal is my backup team. Allez! Allez!)

Give A Little

So, yesterday was a pretty great day in JP CD buying history. How? Hanson AND Twilight both had a release.

Hanson has always been my favorite band. In fact, it occurred on May 8, 1997 and really hasn't changed much since then. I was REALLY disappointed with The Walk. So disappointed, I may only know the words to Georgia. So, when a ticket landed in my lap for the 5th show of the Hanson 5-of-5 I decided to give it a go. And I went to the show and I LOVED IT. I wasn't so fond of the songs the next day at Bamboozle when they didn't play Mmmbop, but that's besides the point.

So what do I give Shout It Out? A++++++. Why? I got the CD yesterday at 8AM, and have listened to it in full at LEAST 8 times. It's THAT GOOD. In fact, I'd go as far to say that it's better than Middle of Nowhere, Underneath and The Walk. And quite possibly....This Time Around. I like every song on the CD. Unlike This Time Around.

Highlights/Faves from Shout it Out:
Kiss Me When You Come Home




Give A Little (Taylor's dancing during the 5-of-5 made it a priceless song....then actually listening to it, it gets even better!)




And who can resist the bubblegum goodness of the first song, Shout It Out?




Or not want to start the flash mob in the NYC subway when Thinkin About Something starts on one's headphones?




Really, just all of them. My sister's wedding was this weekend (blog post to come. Need more people to post photos to make a complete post. I have no camera). My Aunt pointed out she was expecting me to lose this obsession. I told her I didn't think it was going anywhere. And that's a FACT now that I've listened to Shout It Out. (Pssst...Hanson. Should you read my blog, please make a tour stop in NYC at the last minute.....some of us need a Shout It Out tour stop. 5/5 tix were PRETTY HARD to obtain.)

Eclipse Soundtrack review tomorrow. It's good. Really good. There wasn't even any Hanson.

Six Feet Under The Stars

I may have flown from Singapore, fought with a cabbie about paying his credit card fee, took a 20 minute nap, picked up my friend from the bus station, gotten dinner, then went to this concert. In fact, going to Singapore, I knew I could survive 36+ hours of being awake knowing I could get to see this band live. And too my luck, they decided to film this concert live. And the DVD comes out today!!

And voila....my favorite All Time Low song.....Coffeeshop Soundtrack from my concert!

Straight To DVD - "Coffeeshop Soundtrack" (Live)

All Time Low | MySpace Music Videos

So if you don't have any plans this evening, I have a date with All Time Low's Straight to DVD :) You should join!

Neutron Star Collision

I know for a fact that one of the most faithful readers of my blog is my Grandpa. And today, as I was cutting up my Vidalia onion, I realized that the majority of my posts lately have probably been a foreign language to him. I mean, on occasion, I still get teased about Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage (Which was music I listened to back in 7th grade.....so!), but I figured it was about time for a blog post for all.

Anyway, as I was cutting up my Vidalia Onion for my tuna float for dinner, I had a flashback to the beginning of elementary school when I was first introduced to onions. My grandpa and grandma were visiting, and I wanted lunch one day. So Grandpa Roger introduced me to the onion sandwich. We had two slices of bread, buttered them, cut a slab off the onion and placed it in the middle. This was an onion sandwich. I ate quite a few growing up. While I've dropped the sandwich part, I'd say virtually every meal I eat has an onion involved. So thank you Grandpa!

One other habit I haven't dropped from elementary school is volunteering. I enjoy it. Frequently, I think of how selfish I am while volunteering. I have such a good time giving my time to help someone else. Whether it's delivering meals to the home bound or sewing, I have so much fun that I want to go back for both the people I'm helping and myself. Anyways, I recently finsihed a sock monkey. I do this every other Monday night. I get to take my time to sew, finish profits, and help out a nonprofit. Monday, I finished one of these. Then I chose to purchase it, so someone special out there is getting a surprise gift. If it's not you, sorry! Anyway, here's my monkey. I like to name them characters from a certain book series, so I believe we're on Esme.

I Woke Up In A Car (Part 2)

And now for the conclusion of 6-days-of-live-music-in-a-row week:

I'm not going to lie, I checked the weather at least twice a day all week, praying for warm weather and sun. So, my friend and I planned out our bands and we were joined by one of the girls I sat with all week @ the Hanson shows.

Wrap up of Bamboozle:

-The Pretty Reckless: Little J doesn't know how to put on much clothing in real life. Might be the next Lindsay Lohan.

-Reliant K. Did not play the two songs I wanted to hear. Seriously, No Khaki pants?!

-I had an extra ticket, so one of my concert lovin' friends called after Reliant K. I ducked out of my 5th row position to go find her and get her a ticket so she could enjoy Hanson too.

-Assuming a back-of-the-crowd position for Hanson was smart. I could see. However, they did NOT play MMM Bop. Strategic on their part? I think so. But the only old school Hanson song was Penny and Me. Good thing I love 'em and saw them the previous 4 days!



-The Maine was next. I'm pretty sure they were still hung over. I was very unimpressed with their inability to sing their own songs. A little too much crowd participation for my choice, but I'm not going to lie, their set was everything I wanted it to be and more. And I may have bought tickets to see them play the Gramecy in August. I just hope THEY sing their songs this time.


-Something Corporate had a lot of buzz surrounding them, and the second I discovered the song Punk Rock Princess, I knew they were going to be one of the best bands at the show. And they were! Band of Bamboozle Award from JP. Punk Rock Princess, Hurricane, If You C Jordan AND I Woke Up in A Car = Win.



-Then major break with lots of rap crap before Paramore. Drake (aka Jimmy from Degrassi) decided to play an extra hour (punk, no one wanted to see you.....It's all about PARAMORE!) So this was dinner and strategically assume position to get out of Bamboozle on time time. Then Paramore played. I couldn't see a thing. And Hayley's mike wasn't turned up high enough. Then magically all of the tall dudes LEFT and I could see and hear!! Hayley Williams can sing. And sing she did some of the top songs on my iPod: Misery Business, Crush Crush Crush, Ignorance, Careful, Decode, That's What You Get, For a Pessimist covers just some of it.
Then we had to get home. I believe I rolled in around 1:30 AM. Forced myself to shower, and hit the hay.


Day 2 began at 10AM. I had a few issues rolling out of bed, but then remembered I got to go to a 6th straight day of live music and hopped out of bed!

Highlights:
-We got to Bamboozle just in time to see Fun. My friend was super stoked about this.

-OK Go was next. Not too shabby.

-We left Say Anything in order to get great seats for MuteMath, as they were my friend's Band To See of the weekend. And was that a GREAT IDEA. Need a great show to see? MuteMath. Any time. They were OUT OF CONTROL (And they sang Spotlight from Twilight...aka Mr. Cullen walking through the parking lot with Bella the first time!). See out of control awesomeness:

-Matt and Kim were good. Very entertaining. Also when I discovered I hadn't eaten chocolate in 3 days.


-MGMT. So boring live. Hipsters from Brooklyn who look really bored playing their music. So unenthusiastic they're not getting a YouTube Video.

-Weezer! I mean what more could you ask for than Hashpipe to open the show and Buddy Holly to end it, with The Sweater Song, I Want You, and Pork and Beans smashed in between??



Moral of the story: So the next time when someone asks you to go to a music festival and there are 3 or 4 bands you'd see there anyway, you pay to go. Because they're what will cover the bill to see about 10+ bands you'd never chalk up the $15+ to see. And they'll be worth your extra money. The porter potties, public transpiration, trash, overpriced food and water, scantily clad teens, and screamo bands are all just minor details in what will make it one of the most colorful highlights of your live music adventures in NYC!

Props to Bryan and Mallory for every minute we stood in that Jersey Parking lot :) That was some tough work!

I Woke Up In A Car

(Took me a while to finish this post.....I started it a while ago!)

You know when you're standing in a parking lot on a Sunday evening watching the sunset as Kim of Matt and Kim stand up during her set and scream and you realize you can't remember the last time you had chocolate that it must have been one fantastic weekend. But not just a weekend. Six straight days of live music. Five of which included Hanson.


Realizations from 4 straight days Hanson Album Concerts:

After nearly hyperventilating when I heard about this 5-of-5 deal, I told myself I was only going to two shows. I had just purchased plane tickets to see a friend in London, so I was a little on the broke side. So I picked This Time Around and Underneath. Well.....saying no to Hanson concerts is not something that's easily done, so I may have ended up going two extra nights (on the spur of the moment!). Will I ever regret purchasing these extra tickets? NOPE!

Alas, highlights of 4 straight days of Hanson:

-Swapping Hanson stories in a line full of girls that have followed them for 13 years is way too much fun

-Tuesday: This Time Around. My FAVORITE ALBUM with top songs including If Only, Runaway Run and Save Me. Hand in Hand was AWESOME live. I was also fortunate enough to have 4 awesome girls line up right behind me this day! I spent the rest of the Hanson week with them. Except for The Walk, where they lined up at 3AM to get 3rd row standing seats.

- Wednesday: Underneath. It's a beautiful CD. While slow in the Middle, Penny and Me and Lost Without Each other were the highlights of my evening. Highlight: Taylor and Isaac playing the guitar during Dancing in the Wind. Also adorable was Taylor dedicating Penny and Me to his little girl (named Penny) who was in the crowd that night. Random part of the evening: My friend shouted "Inappropriate!" at the beginning. Funny and VERY TRUE.

-I HATE (Thursday) The Walk. I went to see Georgia live. It was worth it. Zack G, funny guy from The Hangover walked right past me while I was waiting in line. I would LOVE to know what he thought of the line that was 3 city blocks long for people waiting to get into a Hanson concert.

-I had NO intention of going to the (Friday) Shout It Out show. After all, I'm a poor New Yorker who has a concert ticket buying problem. But when you get a text while at the post office (to mail a dress back to your best friend) from the girls you've been standing in line with and they offer you a not badly priced ticket to your favorite bands NEW CD live, there's no saying no. And it is SO good. Highlight of the night: Taylor trying to dance during the best song on the CD. (To be featured in the Bamboozle post, but the dancing was just not the same!)

Then came the two days I'd been looking forward to since Thanksgiving weekend: BAMBOOZLE. Part 2 to follow shortly!

Punk Rock Princess

In honor of my major music week, I'm going to share with you what I think will be the highlights of my live musical experience this week/weekend.

Without much futher ado.....I'm ecstatic that I should get to see all of these songs live this week:
Save Me
If Only
Runaway Run
Penny And Me
Crazy/Beautiful
Lost Without Eachother

Oh wait. That's only Tuesday and Wednesday.

So top picks for must-see songs at Bamboozle:
Misery Business
Crush Crush Crush
Ignorance
Decode
I Caught Myself
Careful
Punk Rock Princess
I Woke Up In A Car
(not a song...but....) Jackson Rathbone
Mmm Bop
Where's the Love
Georgia
Trinity
Sadie Hawkins Dance (in my kachi pants oh oh OH!)
Everything I Ask For
Girls Do What They Want
I Must Be Dreaming
This Is The End
The Way We Talk
The Sweater Song
My Name Is Jonas
Buddy Holly
Say It Ain't So
Hashpipe
If You're Wondering If I Want You To
Kids
Electric Feel
Time To Pretend
Daylight
MuteMath's entire set
OK Go's Entire Set

Kinda hopin we get We The Kings as the special guest. Green Day could swing by. As could Muse. All Time Low would be my ultimate wish.

Sick Muse

Would this be my blog if I didn't post the new Eclipse trailer?

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

My Saturday morning observations:
Dear Summit, If this the final trailer, why is it only 2 minutes long? You gave us nearly 4 minutes before New Moon. Please don't mess up this movie, it's my favorite book. Love, jp

-The Silversun Pickups read my blog, and I just got tix to see them play on the Brooklyn Waterfront.

-Next week is THE WEEK. The HANSON week. No words can contain my excitement. After 13 years of being a 100% full fledged fan, I get to see them play 3 times. And I could finally meet them (Meet and Greet Line @ Bamboozle!!!). What would I even say? What I usually say. I'd smile really dumbly and stumble over all my words. And then they'd look at me funny. Any suggestions?

-Bamboozle. Next Saturday and Sunday. Bring it.

-Its almost May.

-I need some Augustana. So they should do just as the Silversun Pickups did and come play NYC!!!

Happy last weekend of April!