Show of Hands

Well hello everyone!

I just wanted to share some more photos and some stories from the Jack's Mannequin/The Fray concert the other night. I would have posted sooner, but my internet has kinda been here and there and so finally I got a good connection after resetting things last night.

So Thursday after I got off of work, I headed to the Paramount to go to the show. And I should just let you know that the Paramount is so gorgeous inside! It's got such intricate decorations and little chandeliers and such, I was so surprised that it was a venue for a rock concert like this. It wasn't until the show actually started that I kinda got why. The crowd was not so active. Seriously I was like, "Are you guys listening to the same guitar riffs and drum solos I am? These guys are all rocking out and you're just standing there like dead fish? Lame." But at least I got to rock out and have fun. And I got to stand next to some other enthusiastic fans. I met Chris, who was so fun to talk to and just rock out with. He's a super huge Jack's Mannequin fan too, so we talked for a long time about that before the show. And there was this other girl in front of us who never gave us her name, but went on and on about how many shows she's been to. We all had such a fun time. Then there was this 15 year old girl who was really short and I kept an eye on her all night, keeping her company and making sure no ginormously tall people planted themselves in front of her.

Oh, and PS: IF you are tall and decide to wear a huge hat to a rock concert. . . GO STAND IN THE BACK, NOT FRONT AND CENTER. I swear that kid was the hardest obstacle to maneuver around for photos (end rant)

There was actually an opening band for Jack's Mannequin and The Fray, which we weren't expecting. And the poor girl leading the band was talking way too closely into the mic that we couldn't hear any of the lyrics and couldn't even hear the band name when she said it. It's Vedera, by the way. Great melodies and sound, poor concert form. It was funny cause I asked this chick behind me if she knew who the band was and she was like, "I think it's Jack Mannequin?" And I was like, "Hmm. No. That's not Jack's Mannequin. Andrew McMahon is the lead singer of Jack's Mannequin and he doesn't sound like that." :D She was OBVIOUSLY there for The Fray ;)

Overall, awesome show! I loved when Andrew jumped up on his piano and serenaded us with such passionate songs. They played all my favorites and I was just so super excited to experience them live. The Fray rocked it out too and at the end, they sang HAPPINESS and all the band came together at the end to join the chorus. Both JM and The Fray had great stage presence and it was such a wonderful experience :D

Here are some more photos:

JACK'S MANNEQUIN

THE FRAY

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Sneak preview pictures from the show last night at the Paramount
with Jack's Mannequin & The Fray!
It was so awesome!! Stories and more pictures to come!

me and my concert buddy and fellow Jack's Mannequin fan, Chris. He totally reminds me of my friend J.Rob from back in Austin. . . so J.Rizz, if you're reading this, know that I felt like you were right there next to me rockin' out last night at the show! :D

The Dope Show

The Jack's Mannequin / The Fray concert is coming up on Thursday!! It's a sold out show and I'm so glad I got my tickets early! Not gonna lie, I'm probably gonna have to take off of work early just to make it to a good spot in line. I'm hoping for front row!! So to kick off the week in blogland, I wanted to share with you one song from each band that is a favorite. Enjoy!

You Found Me

THE FRAY> YOU FOUND ME
This song has been played over and over and over and over and (i think you get the point) over on my iPod. The song is so simple, but carries such a real tone and message about what it's like to be confused and disappointed when things are not going as WE have planned them to and we don't understand what God is up to. The real deal is that sometimes we get mad at God and we think it's not okay to express it, but it happens and it's something we all deal with from time to time. Here are the lyrics>

I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where you been?" He said, "Ask anything."

Where were you, when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.

But in the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her, the only one who's ever known
Who I am, who I'm not and who I wanna to be
No way to know how long she will be next to me

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.

The early morning, the city breaks
And I've been calling for years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
You never sent me no letters
You got some kind of nerve taking all I'm worth

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Where were you? Where were you?

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.

Why'd you have to wait, to find me, to find me?


thefray.net

Stay

I feel like lately Seattle is having a love/hate relationship with the sun. Cause just when the sun starts to show some lovin' to the Seattleites, Seattle gives the sun the boot and then they kiss and make up and it's this never-ending cycle.

Now that the vacations are over, it's nice to get back into a normal schedule. . . or at least one I can mildly control. Gosh. I'm realizing how much of a control freak I am. Sad. :( Gotta work on that.

I love that things are starting to mellow out. :D Things are going really well with the Junior High Students as well. I fall more and more in love with them every day. They really do have a special place in my heart.

Two days ago I spent some crazy quality time mapping out curriculum and events all the way through December for the Student Ministries and man oh man—that was madness. . . but a fun madness that was actually quite fulfilling.

What's also quite awesome is the concerts that I'm going to go to this summer! Parachute (touring w/ The Script) and Jack's Mannequin + The Fray! Woo hoo!! And what's extra awesome is that the DAY BEFORE the Parachute concert, they are doing an In-Store acoustic set and signing at Easy Street Records, which is 4 blocks from my work! :D These guys are seriously awesome and talented, and quite hilarious! Every Friday they post a fun video and here are some so you can kind of see the hilarity that ensues :D





You should also check out their music! I love their sound!




I'm still waiting for Jack's Mannequin to release their music video for SWIM to see if my artwork made it into the video (fingers crossed!). But I'm so excited to go see them with The Fray! It's like freakin' Christmas in the Summertime here! :D

Also some new music, if you haven't heard or downloaded it yet is Paramore's new single: IGNORANCE . . . it's uh-mazing!


Now if only Seattle would let the sun and cool breeze hang out together here :D

Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours

First news to report: I BOUGHT MY TICKETS TO SEE THE FRAY AND JACK'S MANNEQUIN CONCERT!!! Woo hoo!!! I'm so freakin' excited!!! Seriously!! It cost a pretty penny...but those two...together... I couldn't resist!!

Okay, now that I'm done hyperventilating... on to the rest of the blog post:

I spent some quality time at Barnes and Noble today...which is something I do a whole lot. If you know me, this is not news... but if you don't, believe me...I'm not exaggerating. I'm pretty sure I've reached a new level of dork-dome by letting my inner bookworm run free for hours at Barnes and Noble... but oh well. Could be worse I guess... (I hope) ;)

So I read a couple of books, but one that really stood out to me is BRONX MASQUERADE. It's very "Freedom Writer's" esque. If I didn't think it would be overkill, I might look into buying the rights a little later down the road and developing it into a screenplay. But I think it's been done (the type, not the actual book) and done and done again... see also: Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, Freedom Writers, The Class, Take The Lead. But I was really inspired by the poems and stories of the individuals in the story. And I like that it's got the Slam Poetry going for it. Pretty neat. Here's an excerpted poem from the book:

BLACK BOX

by devon hope

(from BRONX MASQUERADE by NIKKI GRIMES)

In case I forgot to tell you, I'm allergic to boxes:
black boxes, shoe boxes, new boxes you boxes,
even cereal boxes.
boasting champions.
(it's all a lie.
I've peeked inside and what I found
were flakes.)
make no mistake,
I make no exceptions
for craker Jack
or Christmas glitter.
Haven't you noticed?
I'm made of skeleton,
muscle and skin.
My body is the only box
I belong in.
but you like your boxes
so keep them.
Mark them geek, wimp, bully.
Mark them china doll, brainiac,
or plain dumb jock.
choose whatever
box you like Mike.
just dont put me
in one, son.
Believe me,
I won't fit.

If you're looking for a good, quick, cheaply priced read, I recommend it. :D

Rock and Roll All Night

Great news!!! The Lord has answered my prayers!! Two of my favorite recording artists are doing a tour together and they're coming to Seattle in August!!! woot! Yes indeedy, my friends, The Fray and Jack's Mannequin... together...coming to my city... it's just so beautiful!! In the meantime, I'll have to settle for continuing to listen to their songs on repeat :D This is one concert I do not mind spending the dough on! just. phenomenal. :D

Now for some great songs from these two amazing groups:

The Fray: NEVER SAY NEVER


Jack's Mannequin: HAMMERS AND STRINGS (LIVE)


Added Bonus: The Story Behind "Hammers and Strings"