February 18th, Wonder Ballroom

I just love the name of this venue. It makes me think of big band and swing dancing. Turns out the building was originally used by "The Ancient Order of Hibernians, a group committed to immigration reform, civil rights for those of Irish descent and the preservation of the old Irish culture," as I learned here. As proud as I am of my Irish heritage, the reason I was there was to see Dashboard Confessional.

Portland is quite a distance to travel to see a band, but as my faithful readers know, in my opinion, no distance is too far for a dose of Chris Carrabba and Co. It was worth every mile. I was even lucky enough to convince Adam, one of my favorite concert buddies, to go with me.

Chris getting all emo

This was my 5th time seeing DC live and I have always been impressed by the fans. All the people I've met have been super nice and I could see myself being friends with pretty much any of them. This includes the people at the Slim's show in SF last December. Things got a little dicey when John Lefler started handing out little shakers and everyone started pushing toward the stage. But then people in front started handing them back and helping get them distributed to as many people as possible and everything turned out alright.

For some reason, though, the fans at the Portland show were a bunch of jerks. I don't know if it was because Dashboard hadn't played there in such a long time but these people were almost in a frenzy. This is quite unusual for Oregonians, they are usually friendly and laid back but people were pushing and shoving and swearing and just generally not being very nice. It gave the show a strange vibe. Don't get me wrong, Dashboard is always amazing, but there wasn't the same connection between the crowd and the band as at the other shows I've attended.

Despite all this, I loved the show. Here are a few highlights:

• Getting a new Dashboard t-shirt.
• Getting to be there with Adam for his first live Dashboard show.
• Watching Mike Marsh going postal playing drums during "Vindicated."
• Hearing DC's cover of "El Scorcho."

Adam and Me

After the show we hung around to meet Chris. He usually comes out to talk to the fans. He never showed, but drummer Mike Marsh, bassist Scott Schoenbeck and guitarist John Lefler did. It was awesome to meet the other band members (I had previously met Mike). John Lefler was super excited when I asked him about his solo album Better by Design. He asked me my name and if I was on twitter and when I got home I tweeted him and he tweeted me back!

Drums

I'm pretty sure that Mike Marsh was slightly intoxicated. When I asked him to sign their album Dusk and Summer (for Adam because he was being a coward and wouldn't ask for himself) he called it Dusk and Bummer. Haha. Then, when I told him that I tried to play "Hands Down" on Rock Band and it was super hard he was like, "Yeah, 'Hands Down' sucks." What?! That is pretty much the DC anthem.

John Lefler and Me


Scott Schoenbeck and Adam

So, overall I had an amazing time. And being in Portland was great because I got to visit my favorite Braun family. More Dashboard coming soon . . . .

Porter and Mason happy, yum!

Mike Marsh, Vindicated

My Year of Music

So, I decided recently that 2010 will be my year of music. Live music that is, aka concerts. I realize that the year is already more than 25% gone, but don't worry, I am making good headway. These are the concerts I have attended so far:

18th February - Dashboard Confessional @Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
22nd February - Bon Jovi w/Dashboard Confessional @HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
25th March - I don't know if this would really be considered a concert (the music was recorded) but I saw 2 songs from Wicked performed by the understudies for Elphaba and Glinda @Sun Valley Mall, Concord, CA
6th April - Michael Bublé w/Naturally 7 @Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
14th April - Muse w/Silversun Pickups @Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA

I'll be doing individual posts with pictures about each of these concerts and any others I might attend. Here is my wish list for upcoming concerts:

Paramore
Jamie Cullum
Jack Johnson
Imogen Heap
She & Him
Muse (again)
Sugarland
Rooney (tour dates forthcoming. keeping my fingers crossed that they will be in the area)

No concert is too big or small. The only requirement is that it be LIVE and IN PERSON.

Happy Birthday Christopher Ender Carrabba

If you know only 1 thing about me, I hope it is that I know the Church is true. I have a testimony of The Plan that is super important to me and affects every aspect of how I live my life.
But if you only know 2 things about me, the second would probably that I am pretty much obsessed (I hesitate to use this word because I don't think it's quite accurate but will have to do for now) with Dashboard Confessional. And today is lead singer Chris Carrabba's birthday. Here's a fun, short interview to celebrate.
http://cornershopstudios.com/archives/12037

And one of my favorite memories of Chris: Krystal and I have met him a few times, but most recently in December 2009. I got to ask him about his middle name, which is quite unusual. The only time I've ever heard Ender as a name is in one of my favorite books Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. So I asked him if he was named after the book and he said no because he was born before the book was published (I knew this but I also knew that there was a short serial version of Ender's Game that was published before the book so I thought there might be a slight possibility that he was named after Orson Scott Card's Ender). It turns out he is named after his grandmother's grandfather. Super cool, right? A family name. Then he said that he had read the books because of his name and that they were all good and that I should read them. And so I shall, Chris (the ones I haven't already read, anyway). I highly recommend Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. Read them. But don't take my word for it . . . take Chris Carrabba's.

Life Update

I'm back in Tracy. Portland didn't work out as well as I had hoped. I really enjoyed it there, especially being able to spend so much time with my sister and her family. I loved being able to watch my baby nephew Porter develop and learn. It is a precious thing to be known and trusted by such a young life. Mason is always a gem. He makes life interesting and I see the world fresh through his eyes. Ashley and Todd are amazing for putting me up. I learned a lot from both of them about marriage, parenting, and general awesomeness. I can never thank you enough! I could go on and on about how great Oregon is but when it comes down to it, my heart belongs to California.

So here I am. Already installed back in the Yosemite YSA Ward with a calling as Sunday Activities/Fireside Committee Co-Chair (is that the longest calling title ever?). I missed my friends and ward more than I realized and I am so glad to be back.

Here is what I am feeling about giving up on the Northwest:
I didn't give it my best shot so I am feeling somewhat lame about that but at the time I felt like it was where I was supposed to be and I learned a lot being there and I never would have been satisfied until I did it so I'm glad I did and I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be now so it all worked out OK . . . I guess.

Now I just need to find a new job here . . . .

A blog of consequence

So I've been thinking lately that maybe my blog should have more direction. Maybe I should write about the books I read or my spiritual growth (or lack therof) or a specific hobby but I just can't decide. So, for now, here's a few things I've been thinking about.

Things I Dislike:
lying in bed trying to fall asleep. i will intentionally stay awake as long as i can just so i will fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. this is part of the reason why i am such a night person. i've heard that lying in bed for 15 minutes before falling asleep is pretty normal if someone is on a regular sleep schedule. i prefer 5 minutes or less. i will sometimes read in bed until i can hardly keep my eyes open but i'm not really one of those people who just falls asleep while i'm watching a movie or reading. i consciously pause the movie or mark the page before i allow myself to fall asleep. as much as i love it, sleep and i have a very tenuous relationship.


Books
Since I graduated college I haven't really made an effort to read books with any weight. Mostly just fun and entertaining fluff. So this year I want to get myself somewhat back on track and maybe read some books that will help expand my mind. I'd love some suggestions from my faithful readers, as well.
Some Books I Want to Read in 2010:
In Defense of Food
The Count of Monte Cristo
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Jesus the Christ
Catch-22
A Tale of Two Cities
War and Peace
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius