Shinedown, 3DG, P.O.D.

March 29, 2013
La Crosse Center
La Crosse, WI

Can I just say thanks to the La Crosse area for coming out and supporting rock music in this area?

According to 95.7's Facebook page, there were 6000 people at the P.O.D./Three Days Grace/Shinedown show last night. It was reportedly the biggest crowd since Motley Crue in 2006. (I don't know if that's for any concert or any rock concert. Regardless, the turnout was fucking amazing!) I knew we were in for a good turnout when I arrived 5 minutes after the doors opened and couldn't sit anywhere near where we wanted.

So, this is what I saw when I walked in. The background music while waiting for the show was the Beastie Boys. Hell yeah!
P.O.D. started the night out. Personally, I neither love nor hate P.O.D., and I really only know the songs I hear on the radio. I knew probably 75% of the stuff they did. However, I really wasn't impressed. Not sure why. I did find their guitarist hilarious. He was a short, stocky fellow who basically just screamed into the mic throughout various songs. He totally didn't scream "rock god."

Next up was Three Days Grace. Now, quick history lesson for folks who don't follow this kind of music. About 2 days after I bought these tickets, the band announced that the lead singer (Adam) was leaving the band. Then, a few days later, it was announced that the lead singer of My Darkest Days (Matt) would be filling in for this tour. Drama ensued. I like My Darkest Days (MDD), but Matt's voice is nothing like Adam's. The internet lit up for weeks with complaints and suggestions for a better replacement. I was mostly worried that the La Crosse area wouldn't come out to support this show because you really didn't know what you were going to get. However...

Picture "borrowed" from the La Crosse Center's Facebook page.

Three Days Grace (3DG) was awesome! Matt did a really great job. There was a mic set up center stage that had some kind of effect on it that I felt he went too way too often and ruined parts of songs for me. One of my co-workers thought he did a great job but expressed concern for his excessive use of gestures. I can attest this was a bit annoying. Overall, though, they rocked it. I feel better now that I know I'll be seeing them again at RockFest in July.


The best part of the whole night, though, was probably when 3DG performed Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff." Seriously...there aren't words. Our local radio station has a compiled video of some of the show on YouTube. A part of this performance is on there, and I would encourage you to go watch.

Shinedown was up next. Once of my favorite parts of going to concerts is the "in between" music. Beastie Boys greeted me when I walked into the venue; a little Rage Against the Machine while waiting for 3DG; then...a mixture that included Journey and House of Pain while we waited for Shinedown. It made no sense, but it was funny as hell as the place was singing out loud to all of it.

All of a sudden the lights went down and all eyes turned to the stage. There were spotlights on the bassist and the drummer, but there was a moment of "wait...isn't there something missing?" All of a sudden I turn to look directly in front of me...

Yep, they had completely set up two risers in the sound/light area without me ever realizing it. Oh, and security moved the guys in without me every seeing it, too. (The video I linked to earlier has their "secret"entrance and about 2 minutes of them singing the opening song, "Enemies.")

Sorta like P.O.D., I neither love nor hate Shinedown. Thanks to a co-worker sharing some music with me, I have a fair amount of it in my library, and satellite radio plays a fair amount of it. However, I know nothing about the band. Like, I was shocked they all came out in some sort of suit attire. They stayed in those outfits until they came back out for the encore. Weird, but pretty cool.

The circle thing is where the videos played.

They had a video playing behind them on stage almost the entire time. (It reminded me of Rob Zombie.) I guess I never really paid attention to the meanings of their lyrics. This is a pretty emotional, issues-oriented band.

They were phenomenal live. No joke. The music was spot on, the performance was great, the lights weren't overboard (like 3DG's were), and the videos were pertinent and moving.

So, aside from people standing in front of us, blocking our view, and a random drunk whose ass I thought I might have to kick, it was a great show. I really hope Mr. Fahey paid attention to the attendance last night. Mr. Fahey: La Crosse can support a rock show!

An "aha!" moment

So, no shit, I had the most amazing "aha" moment last night. I was having trouble falling asleep - which NEVER happens - and my mind was wandering.

<digress> For some that were following my book reviews on Facebook, you might remember one I read maybe 4-6 weeks ago that I thought could be my high school life story. The amazing thing I took away from that story was how much of that part of my life I had repressed. I think after reading that book, it unlocked a door in my mind. </digress>

There's a question I ask myself every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. That question is: "When was the last time I was happy?" Well...AHA...it came to me last night!

I don't remember exactly what age/grade I was. I'm guessing it was somewhere in the 16-19 year-old age range. Here's what I do remember. I remember a time when I was part of a large group of friends...mostly guys. (Let's face it...always was and always will be a tomboy.) I remember hanging out at Mark's house with him and Thad and Wobs...and probably tons of other people I'm forgetting. I remember feeling like these guys were my family. They were my brothers, BFFs, and boyfriends all wrapped up into one. I remember telling these guys I loved them every day and not thinking anything of it. Because it was true. Then I remember an entirely different set of friends that I had a similar relationship with. Matt and Bryan were my choir/theater brothers/BFFs/boyfriends. I had the same relationship with these two (and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting) that I had with the other group.

What's the common denominator in all of this? I MISS MY BOYS!!!

How many times do I hear something like "aren't you lonely?" or "don't you want a man in your life?" or "would you like me to set you up?"? I always have a hard time answering these questions because I am lonely; I do want a guy in my life; and I DON'T want to be set up. I miss having guy friends. The drama is so much less, and I have way more in common with guys.

The last guy friend I remember having was Mike. Here's what I remember about one of our last conversations. "So, [new girlfriend] doesn't understand why I have to be friends with you." WTF? I would like to think that if this situation were reversed that I would NOT be like this. Mike and I "dated" for maybe 4-6 weeks. And I put "dated" in quotes not because it's code for "did the nasty" or "friends with benefits" but because it was obvious early on that we had NO physical attraction for each other. It was kinda like kissing my brother. YUCK. So, that said, I don't know why [new girlfriend] would be concerned or jealous.

So I guess maybe that's why I'm struggling. How many 40-year-old guys are there that are "allowed" to be friends with a girl? I've been in touch with a couple of really good guy friends that I've known for...well...ever, and I always feel better when we talk/text.

So if you know of any guy in my age range that is allowed to have a girl for a friend, please, send him my way.

Latest weekly book update

So, I managed to get through 4 books last week. I'm pretty much all over the place when it comes to subject matter these days. In an attempt to eliminate my HEA (happily ever after) romance book phase - which is driving me insane - I attempted to branch out.

1. Touched by AJ Aalto: This was full on paranormal with vampires, witches, magic, etc. I think this would have been a good story except that all the main characters were introduced in, like, the first chapter without any back story or explanation. I had a hard time keeping up. And while most everyone is still alive (or undead) at the end, it wasn't a super happy ending. I won't read it again, and I probably wouldn't recommend it...unless you can find it for free.
2. Reign of Blood by Alexia Purdy: Undead apocalypse but with vampires and not zombies. I was all for this based on the summary, but it was sorta a weak story line. I felt like it could have gone in so many different, and better, directions. However, I found the basic theme interesting considering I just finished Season 2 of The Walking Dead. In my opinion, the "aha" moment of Season 2 is sorta what this book is about...just swap zombies for vampires.
3. Collide by Gail McHugh: This was a really good book. I finished this one in a day (thank you Kaplan for giving me NO work to do so I could read). This was a romance with a HUGE cliffhanger ending. I didn't realize this was a series when I started; I might not have chosen this to read until after the next book comes out if I had known ahead of time. My biggest issue with this book is that the female lead is weak...and I HATE that! So, we'll see what the next book brings.
4. True Love Story by Willow Aster: As I woke up Saturday morning and scrolled through my Kindle looking for a non-romance to start, I realized the book I borrowed with the Kindle lending library for March was still sitting there unread. So, I had to put my jones for a paranormal book on hold for another romance. This book was really good...and sad and emotional in parts. Some will categorize this as a "rock star romance" because the male lead is a guitarist, but other than him being on tour and that causing the main couple to spend time apart, his music career isn't really a thing. I cried during parts of this, I'll admit it. Maybe it was because for once, the guy screws up and has to BEG to be forgiven. And when she doesn't acknowledge his presence on Earth, he faces reality and backs off and stops trying. Say whatever you want, but a gorgeous rock star who pours out emotions in poems, letters, and songs is HOT! This one I recommend.

So, this week will bring my re-read of Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire in preparation for Walking Disaster to come out next week. I always knew I would re-read this one, and this is the perfect opportunity. :-) 

Almost Spring, my a$$

As I prepare to officially and indefinitely suspend my Facebook activity on Friday, I have decided that I will instead try to blog more often. This, perhaps, will not be a problem as I seem to have ample time available at work these days to at least start a post (as I am doing now)

So, things are pretty stressful. It would seem that winter is going to be around FOREVER here in Wisconsin, and my seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is at a level I’ve never felt before. I’ve added good ole Vitamin D to my diet (in place of real sunshine), but it apparently interacts with my anxiety meds. So now I’ve taken to feeling drunk every morning and needing some 5-Hour Energy just to stay awake. It’s neat.

Between being mentally and physically ill from the SAD and my lackluster career, I’ve started to think again about moving. A quick web search of where people with SAD would benefit living from turned up Albuquerque, NM and Charlotte, NC, just to name a few. I have a friend who used to live in or near both, and he voted for Albuquerque. In 2007, Tempur-Pedic opened a huge mattress factory in Albuquerque, so perhaps I found my new career.

I continue to read quite a bit. I finished a book this morning that was not fantastic, so I’ll refrain from any sort of recommendation/review. I am taking a short break from HEA (happily ever after) romances and trying to focus more on the paranormal. I believe the next book in line for me to read is about a vampire apocalypse. (Don’t fret…there are zombie books waiting right after this one!)