Notes from a Genius

I have seen Taylor Swift three times now. The first time was for her "Speak Now" tour in 2011 at Gillette Stadium. Then, I saw her for an incredible show on her "Red" tour in 2013. This year, she is touring behind her fantastic and quite poppy album, "1989." And I was definitely expected quite a spectacle of a show this time around because this album has a lot of dance and energy behind it. She did not disappoint. Haim opened for her, as well as Vance Joy (who was pretty awesome), but Haim really stole the opening slot show, although, I'm slightly biased because I love them and was extremely excited when I found out they were added to the show. Don't Save Me   Oh Well   ( Fleetwood Mac  cover) The Wire   Forever   Pray To God   ( Calvin Harris  cover) Let Me Go   Last weekend, I went to see Taylor Swift in concert at Gillette Stadium, for the 3rd consecutive tour. I saw her for the first time for her "Spe...

I saw Interpol back in 2005 (September 30th, to be exact- I just looked up their setlist from back then, they only had two albums out and I can remember it still being quite an amazing and memorable show) when they played the State Theatre in Portland, before it was shut down for basically being a condemned building. At that show, during their song "Not Even Jail" off their second album, which they were touring for, one of their fog machines caught on fire and they just continued to play through without missing a beat. I remember going to that show with a couple of my sister's friends whom she met while attending Bates College (we all did radio shows there while my sister was Program Director). We were sitting up in the balcony of the State Theatre and looked at each other while the fog machine caught fire as if to say, "did that just happen? did we really see that?" The band returned to the State Theatre last week touring behind their fifth album, El Pintor, ...

I cannot believe I saw the Foo Fighters back in 2000 (with my sister). It was Mother's Day, to be exact. May 14, 2000. At the Civic Center in Portland. I remember the show as being quite awesome. Well, now it's 2015 and I finally got to see the Foo Fighters again. This time headlining what has been dubbed as the "Broken Leg Tour" (thanks to Dave Grohl taking quite a fall on the first night of the global tour, 6 minutes into the show- and he broke his leg, hence the tour). The dude is an incredible musician and he even finished that show. Then, he had a throne built so that he could sit and play their North American tour. And so, they played two nights at Fenway Park. I had a bunch of friends go on their Saturday night show, but I went on Sunday- Night Two, which Dave Grohl said is "always the better, louder crowd." I don't think we disappointed. And the Foo Fighters certainly did not disappoint me. They put on a incredible show with lots of memorable hig...

"Bluebird" starring: Amy Morton, John Slattery, Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martindale, Adam Driver written and directed by: Lance Edmands The depressing performances of each character in this film are what saves this film from just being a terribly morose story/film- even though it certainly tows that line, beautifully, thanks to Lance Edmands. The audience is the only witness to what propels the story into chaos. The antagonist is a lone bluebird that visits the inside of a school bus and thus distracts the veteran bus driver, who is cleaning the bus and making sure nothing has been left behind. This simple, brief distraction leaves her unable to see that there is a boy sleeping in one of the seats on the bus. The problem being- it's the middle of winter, and the freezing temperatures make it quite likely that this lone bird has been separated from his flock, because he should have flown south months ago. The little boy is overlooked and sleeps through th...

I've been waiting a few years, well, ever since I discovered her and listened, repetitively, to Kacey Musgraves' debut album "Same Trailer, Different Park" and fell in love with her genuine sound. This girl has something special and the fact that she doesn't compromise with her honest lyrics and "true" country twangy sound makes her even better. She just released a new album "Pageant Material," which follows up her debut album almost perfectly. And to celebrate the release, she's been touring, playing seemingly small venues. Well, she played the Maine State Pier right here in Portland and I bought a ticket as soon as they went on sale, which allowed me a 5th row seat to the show and it was awesome! She played a couple of covers (re: No Scrubs and These Boots Are Made for Walkin') as well as a great mix of both albums. I'm really surprised this girl hasn't taken the music world by storm just yet, but her momentum is certainly g...