... travelling in search of those most elusive of creatures ~ love and romance
I have been craving a night out with a live band for quite some time now. The smoky, hazy fog, the music pounding through my feet into my chest, and I can’t lie…a good beer, were beckoning me. I figured, what better way to check out the music scene in LA, than to hit up the place where legendary icons got their start. My friends suggested we start at the Rainbow Bar and Grill. They laughed when I asked if they knew it was a gay bar. All I was thinking of was the Rainbow Room bars I see in all the movies. The Rainbow Bar and Grill is part of the Sunset Strip on Sunset Blvd, and it’s a restaurant bar with a clear legendary rock and roll history. The walls are lined with old photos of celebrity patrons, it’s dark inside with dim lighting, old leather booths and really great food.
The Rainbow Bar and Grill
I do highly recommend the fried zucchini sticks, and apparently this is one of those places that has a secret menu, but I only learned about it after the fact. Perhaps the best part was, knowing that we would be continuing next door to The Roxy, our waitress offered to keep our left overs in the fridge so we could come back for them at the end of the night, when we would most certainly want to eat again.
The Iconic Roxy Theatre Club
As soon as we walked into The Roxy, all of my cravings were satisfied. There was already a band on the stage and it was just the right amount of loud. The atmosphere, and yes, the draft beer truly had me rockin’. I imagined myself blasting through the times when Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses, and Pearl Jam all played here in their early pre-stardom days. We spent some time back by the bar taking it all in, and then moved right in with the standing crowd in front of the band. I love it when you’re so close you can see the sweat on the performers. It somehow makes it all that much more real. It’s always interesting to people watch too. Everyone enjoys their music differently I guess. Some people were head bobbers, others were swayers and some just stood there staring. As for me, I probably looked like I was in la-la land, being so happy to be immersed in the music scene, having a very Hollywood night out without the kids.
Taking It All In
My primary reason for visiting San Francisco was to see my friend Chance, but I also had another very good reason: the Outside Lands music festival that happens in Golden Gate Park every August. Chance’s older brother, Adam*, works for the organisers so he was able to hook us up with VIP tickets. I was pretty excited as it was my first music festival, let alone that we had VIP tickets.
On Friday, Day 1, we set off for Golden Gate Park with Chance’s sister, Lisa*, and her friend Mike*. We arrived as Fitz and the Tantrums were playing on the main stage. We went to go check out the VIP area which consisted of reserved seating and food and beverage stands. It turned out our “Bison” passes not only got us into VIP, but also into Artist Hospitality, where there was a free bar. I was floored. I’m normally in the nosebleed seats!
Outside Lands guide
We went to go explore the festival grounds. I tried garlic fries for the first time (a San Francisco speciality), signed a postcard to Congress (even though I’m not American) and braided a headband (mandatory for all music festivals).
The first artist we went to check out was Beck. I thought we were just going to join the crowd, but we ran into Adam who had some free time. So instead, we walked around the crowd and went backstage, where Adam led us to a raised platform to the side of the stage. I’d like to say I was cool and acted like it was totally normal, but in truth I was in awe. Chance and Lisa, being their fourth Outside Lands, were used to it and were completely cool, but Mike and I flipped out and kept going, “Like a boss!”
Onstage for Beck
After Beck, we listened to Foo Fighters and MSTRKRFT. At this point, we started to get super cold and I got my first taste of San Francisco fog. We bundled up in extra layers before seeing the headliner that night, Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Everyone kept commenting that no matter how old they were or how long ago their songs are from, their music never gets old. They delivered a great show that had me forgetting about the cold.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse taking their bows at the end of the night
On Saturday, Day 2, I arrived at Outside Lands on a high after attending a secret session with City and Colour. The first show we went to see was Explosions in the Sky. I had never heard of them, but Chance was a huge fan. We went straight to the front of the VIP section where Chance had his first fangirl moment of the day, pouting when another fan wearing a unicorn head was invited to the front of the audience, and where we spotted Vanessa Hudgens in the crowd.
At the end of the day, we had trouble deciding between the two headliners of the night, Metallica and Sigur Rós. We started off with Metallica, and though I don’t normally listen to metal, they were just phenomenal. Perhaps it’s the difference between a live show and listening on speakers at home, but when Chance wanted to leave to see Sigur Rós, I didn’t want to go.
Chance’s second fangirl moment of the day came when we reached the Sigur Rós show. Adam managed to get us right up close, in between the audience barrier and the stage. I had had my moment with Dallas Green earlier that day, and now it was Chance’s turn. Like Explosions in the Sky, this was my first exposure to Sigur Rós, and I was happy to enjoy the music along with Chance’s fangirl glee.
Sigur Rós
On the last day of Outside Lands, all I wanted was to see City and Colour. You would have thought meeting frontman Dallas Green the day before would have satisfied me, but oh no. I had one goal, and that was to be onstage during the City and Colour show.
However, City and Colour weren’t scheduled to go onstage until 3:45, so first we went to check out Big Gigantic. I can’t remember whose idea it was to see them, as none of us had heard of them before, but none of us saw it coming when they turned out to be a mix of dubstep and sax. It was both unexpected and awesome at the same time. While it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, we found it a great show that we didn’t stop dancing for.
After stopping for libations at Artist Hospitality, we headed over to see City and Colour. As luck would have it, they were playing on a smaller stage that we could go backstage to with just our Bison passes, meaning we didn’t need to bother Adam.
It was absolutely thrilling to be onstage. The two times I saw City and Colour in Vancouver, I was in the balcony towards the back, so this was a completely new experience. To be so close, but also to watch the crowd reactions and the backstage cues, was unlike any other show I had seen. I stayed onstage for the entire set, minus the last song when they ushered everyone off since the artists were coming through.
Onstage for City and Colour
After being onstage for City and Colour, I was happy to let everyone else decide who else we would see that day. We ran into Adam, who gave us wristbands to get into the sound-board for Jack White. The sound-board, a fenced-off area in the centre off the crowd housing the sound-board and cameras, was crowded with people trying to get in. It amazed me to be able to simply wave my wrist and be let in.
Our plan after Jack White was to see Bloc Party, Wolfgang Gartner and finish the night off with Skrillex. Being Day 3, by the time we reached Bloc Party, I was exhausted. I sat down on a picnic bench during the set, saying that I needed to conserve energy for the rest of the day. It was a joke that turned out to be true.
As we headed to Wolfgang Gartner, I started to get really cold. You always think of music festivals as being sunny and warm, but my teeth were chattering by the time we got to the stage! I warmed up when the crowd closed in, and kept warm by dancing my way through Wolfgang Gartner. It turned out to be the perfect warm-up for Skrillex, whose show was insane and featured a spaceship onstage and lasers shooting out into the crowd.
Skrillex, onstage in a spaceship
It was an awesome wrap-up to a crazy three days. For my first music festival, Outside Lands was amazing and so much fun, but also tiring and very cold. I think I may have been ruined by my VIP ticket and my onstage experiences, and may never be able to go General Admission to a music festival now. It was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’ve got to say thank you to Chance and Adam for having me along.
*names have been changed
Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by Outside Lands or any of its partners. My opinions on the music festival are my own.
This is Part II in Megan’s #RoamancingSF series. Read Part I here.
When I first set off for San Francisco last Thursday, I did not expect to be spending my Saturday morning in a San Francisco park, sitting on a hill, listening to Dallas Green perform City and Colour songs two feet away from me. But that’s exactly what I found myself doing, thanks to fate – and Twitter.
City and Colour is a Canadian band which began as a solo project by Dallas Green. I first heard them back in 2005 when the first single, Save Your Scissors, was released. I remember being up late (on a school night, no less) and seeing the music video on MuchMusic. I’ve been a fan ever since, seeing City and Colour live in Vancouver in 2008 and earlier this year in January. As my favourite band, I was extremely excited to see them for a third time this weekend at Outside Lands. Little did I know, that moment would come a little sooner than anticipated.
On Friday night, after returning home from the first day of Outside Lands, I spotted a tweet inviting the first thirty people to retweet and follow @SpotifyOnTour to an intimate session with City and Colour somewhere in San Francisco the next morning. It was a secret show put on by Spotify on Tour and I wanted go so, so badly. However, I’d seen the tweet two hours after it had been posted and had no chance of being one of the first thirty.
Knowing it was a long shot, I retweeted and followed anyway, tweeting at Spotify how much I wanted to go. The next morning, I was awoken by the sound of my phone beeping – I’d been sent the location! It was only 8:30am but I couldn’t contain my excitement, dancing around the room with joy. The dancing didn’t last long though. Since I was staying with my friend in San Jose, we booked it out of there to make it into San Francisco and to the session on time.
Driving into San Francisco for the session
The session was being held at Potrero Del Sol Park, conveniently just off the 101 and on our way to Outside Lands. We spotted the big green Spotify tour bus at the edge of the park with a few people already there. We waited, eating doughnuts and adding songs to a playlist featured on a TV on the side of the green bus. I could hardly take the anticipation.
Big green bus
Finally, we were lead into the park and up a hill. There was the man himself, Dallas Green. It was somewhat surreal to see him so close up, just sitting on a rock in the park. We sat down in front of him, nervously holding back until he motioned for us to come closer.
“Hello, children!” Dallas said. It did feel a bit like story time with the group of us sitting cross-legged in front of him.
Dallas performed acoustic versions of Fragile Bird, Grand Optimist, and What Makes a Man. The whole time, I could hardly believe I was sitting just two feet away from him. I’ve always been mesmerized by his voice and Saturday was no exception. I just sat there, mouthing the words along, amazed at my luck.
Dallas Green of City and Colour
Afterwards, I caught up to Dallas to say thank you for the performance and to tell him what a huge fan I was. Oh, and to shake his hand. Yup, that’s right, I TOUCHED DALLAS GREEN. I managed to keep my cool before heading back to the car to have a slight freak-out. I don’t think I’d ever had a fangirl moment in my life before, but that’s what happens when you meet your favourite artist and get to hear him sing two feet away from you. Even now, I still can’t believe my luck. A big thank you to Spotify On Tour for making it happen!
Lastly, here’s a little teaser of Fragile Bird before the official Spotify video comes out:
Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by Spotify, but I did offer to do a post on the session in an attempt to get the location. Evidently, it worked, so I’m honouring my end of the bargain!
Hell of a great day yesterday at the 13th Annual Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival! Took a ton of photos and video to share the day with all of you, but given my current state of exhaustion, you, my friends, are going to have to wait for me to process all of that.
In the meantime, however, I have a teaser for all of you in the form of pixengos Erica and I shot and recorded from the day. What is a pixengo you ask? A photo combined with a sound file. Simply click on the photos below, and you will get the photo with it’s sound bite from the day.
Enjoy!
Up first … rocking the stage for too short a time … No Sinner.
Kicking off a great day with a sausage, a beer, and the blues stylings of No Sinner.
Followed by one of our festival favourites, Canada’s only 7-piece Bluegrass Band, The Washboard Union.
These good old boys certainly know how to play a jig …
… and boy do they have style … speaking of which, does anyone know if any of these fellows are single?
Followed by the powerful voice and fearsome bass of Meshelle Ndegeocello.
mmm … mmm
Enjoyed the music of Saskatchewan‘s Deep Dark Woods, but less than cared for a few of their self-obsessed fans. Shame as they really took away from their performance.
Not sure what made these self-centered hipsters so self-important that they thought they could stand directly in front of the stage and in front of everyone’s view, even though there was plenty of room to stand off to the side. Rather ruined this act. Glad to say it was the only time we saw this lot all day ~ the hipsters, not Deep Dark Woods.
Thank goodness the next act was who I’d been waiting for since I got my tickets, Amadou & Miriam. They certainly did not disappoint, and got me out of my funk from the hipster asses
Apparently it wasn’t only me that loved Amadou & Miriam.
Now while not as much of a stomper, the beauty of the music of the next blues man, Kelly Joe Phelps, would tame the wildest beasts with his sweet lullabies.
This man would lull the wildest of beasts.
Great atmosphere, and only moments after this scene and the end of Kelly’s set, the audience was on their feet giving Kelly a standing ovation.
Up next? None other than the sweet, jazzy blues stylings of Jimmie Vaughan!
Well, really what’s there to say, other than mmm … mmm … mmm!
And what better way to end the day, than with the Indigo Girls!
Still just as fantastic as they were 20 years ago!
Did I mention it was a Hell of a great day?!?
