Crazy Busy

The past month, my life has been insanely busy.
I’ve been running around getting stuff in order to start school in the fall (transcripts from 3 colleges/universities and my high school, supporting material for classes I took more than 10 years ago, etc.), spring cleaning, end of the school year concerts and ceremonies and recitals for my kids, the start of softball season (and the hundreds of practices, also, I volunteered to help coach my oldest’s team when the coach is unavailable – I have no idea what to do for this), the start of summer swim team. Seriously, it’s insane. Add to this Mothers’ Day, and 3 birthdays of immediate family members (in fact, my oldest had a birthday party at my house today.  A house full of teenagers is loud and scary) and a nephew and all the normal running (dentist appointments, doctors’ appointments – I have 3 kids and this is checkup time of year) and it’s just been almost overwhelmingly busy.  This craziness probably contributed to the nasty cold I had Thursday and Friday.

But I have to say, I’m an incredibly lucky girl. And I’m very thankful.

I put in an online entry for Kings of Leon tickets today at a local radio station.  I really, really wanted to see them.  And I just sat down to check my e-mails and …….. I actually won! My husband is almost angry.  He said that he put in hundreds of entries for other contests and he’s never won anything.  I put in six entries for this, and before about a week ago, I’d never put it any entries for anything.  I’ve only actually put in 8 entries.

I’ve  gone to a ton of concerts in the past year.  The only time I’ve ever gone to more concerts was when I was a teenager, but most of those were local bands at tiny little venues (Akron Agora and Flash’s anyone? Later on, it was the Odeon.  I think all three of these places are gone.  The first two have been gone for ages).  Really, until last year, I’d only seen three bands at big venues:

• Kiss on tour for Hot in the Shade at the Coliseum
• Pink Floyd on the Divison Bell tour at Cleveland Municipal Stadium
• Metallica – Suicidal Tendencies and Danzig were openers – I think they were promoting their Live Shit album at Blossom

What’s really sad about that list is that two of those three venues have been gone for over 10 years!

In the past year, I’ve seen:

• Fratelli’s (with Airborne Toxic Event – who rule) at the House Of Blues – I thought this was an incredible concert.  Airborne Toxic Event was so good, I bought their album and it’s one of my favorite new albums.  I’m really glad to see them get some radio love.  The Fratelli’s drummer was not feeling well, but they still played a great show.  I like the House of Blues too, but I hate the bartenders.  They can fuck up almost any drink.
• Van’s Warped Tour 14 at Tower City Amphitheater – if you can’t find something you like here, you’re just a cranky shit. This was sooooo much fun.  I loved Norma Jean, Bouncing Souls, Family Force Five, Protest the Hero, Katy Perry, Angels and Airwaves.  I can’t even remember who else we saw.  We did run into our lawyer here which was totally surreal.  He was chaperoning one of his sons.  I felt strange talking to him with purple and violet-dyed hair and a wife beater. Oh well, he was very lucky to get to see me looking so cute and funky (I’m always cute, but not always funky).
• Buckethead (with That One Guy, they are both totally insane) at Cleveland Agora (which is an awesome little venue. It’s totally grubby and graffiti covered and it doesn’t look like it’s been updated at all since before I was a teenager)
• Cheap Trick (they opened for Heart and Journey) at Blossom – I love Cheap Trick.  As good as their big hits are, the stuff that’s not played on the radio is even better.  They really are such an underappreciated band.  My husband really turned me on to them. Honestly, I don’t care that Journey was the headliner and Heart even rated higher, I bought the tickets because of Cheap Trick.  I think, with the ticket charges, that lawn tickets cost about $70.  And I paid that money to see Cheap Trick.  Journey and Heart were just throw ins for me.
• The Pretenders at the House of Blues – This was the worst concert I saw ever.  I would rank a lot of local band shows higher than this show.  Chrissie Hynde was so hostile to her fans, cursing and complaining, stopping during the middle of the hits to protest people taking pictures, that it sucked all the fun out of the show.  The new music was really self-indulgent (masturbatory), and they played way too much new stuff.
• Flogging Molly (with the Aggrolites) at the House of Blues – the first supporting act was really not very good but the Aggrolites were great and Flogging Molly is just incredible.  Dave King is a total trip.  He was so relaxed, making jokes and such.

In between the Van’s Warped Tour and Buckethead, we had tickets to see Stereophonics (who are my favorite currently recording artists) outside of Pittsburgh.  We even booked a room and drove all the way there, but the show was cancelled.  It totally broke my heart.  We ended up bowling in this god awful little town.  But they’re currently recording an album and I can only hope that they’ll play a show nearby (I should’ve bought tickets to their show in Chicago, they played that one.  Also, Chicago is much nicer than Pittsburgh).

So, I thought that my first live event was going to be next month but now, I get to kick off my live entertainment summer this Wednesday at the Tower City Amphitheater! I’m so excited.  Now, I just have to figure out how to find time to pick up the tickets and how to get my three kids to their activities that night.  But I’m not complaining.  That’s the kind of fun “problem” I like to solve!

I can’t wait to hear Use Somebody and Sex on Fire!

Use Somebody

I’ve been roaming around
Always looking down at all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can’t reach

You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody

Someone like you
And all you know
And how you speak
Countless lovers undercover of the street

You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you

Off in the night
While you live it up I’m off to sleep
Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat

I hope it’s gonna make you notice
I hope it’s gonna make you notice

Someone like me
Someone like me
Someone like me
Somebody

Someone like you
Somebody
Someone like you
Somebody
Someone like you
Somebody

I’ve been roaming around
Always looking down at all I see

Sex on Fire

Lay where you’re laying, don’t make a sound
I know they’re watching, they’re watching
All the commotion, the kiddie like play
Has people talking, talking

You, your sex is on fire

The dark of the alley, the breaking of day
The head while I’m driving, I’m driving
Soft lips are open, knuckles are pale
Feels like you’re dying, you’re dying

You, your sex is on fire
Consumed with what’s to transpire

Hot as a fever, rattling bones
I could just taste it, taste it
If it’s not forever, if it’s just tonight
Oh, it’s still the greatest, the greatest, the greatest

You, your sex is on fire
And you, your sex is on fire
Consumed with what’s to transpire

And you, your sex is on fire
Consumed with what’s to transpire