T IS FOR TRAIN

My ex-husband loves to go to concerts.  I cannot tell you how many concerts that I went to when we were married.  I liked concerts well enough before my constant migraine started.  After that, not so much.  However, he was not to be deterred.  One of the many bands that we saw in our Tour De Force of concert-going was Train.  I had never heard of this band, and I wasn't excited about the event.  The only good thing about this concert, in my mind, was that we didn't have to travel to see them.  They were playing right in our town.  That was a Big Win.  Now, this was everything I thought BEFORE the concert.

The year was 2003, and they were playing at an outdoor venue.  This was excellent news for my migraine.  They recently released My Private Nation and were touring for that album.  Little did I know that I was about to be WOWED.  I loved this band.  I bought a T-Shirt before I left.  The ex-husband did not.  I started buying their CDs.  The ex-husband did not. 

The ex-husband did continue to buy concert tickets for other bands at all sorts of locations, so I saw Train again.  This time they were with Smashmouth and Natalie Merchant.  The venue was indoors and they were still awesome.  I only liked them more, because this time I knew more of their songs (thanks to the CDs).  Pat Monahan is amazing in concert.  He has this ability to relate to the audience that is rare.  He is a funny, funny man.  Yet, he can be serious, too.  He can literally wring every emotion out of you in one musical outing.

Like many people, I feared that Train was done when they disbanded after For Me, It's You.  However, they pulled it together and made Save Me, San Francisco.  They toured on that record for a LONG time while they decided where to go from here.  Their most recent album, California 37 is one of their best.  Each track has legs and can stand on its own merit.  In that way it reminds me of the much-loved My Private Nation, which I about wore the grooves off of back in 2003-2004. 

Here's to you, Train, and your successful comeback.  This is one of my favorite songs off of My Private Nation.  It was never released on the radio, but this video shows Pat Monahan's wonderful "presence" in concert.  You save me, and I will save the day!

Rating: Passion


What is your favorite Train song? Have you ever seen them in concert? Have you ever gone to a concert and been taken surprise by a band or singer?  Either liked them much better or not as well as you thought you would?  Have you ever gone to a concert that had a group/singer you didn't even know and you liked them so much you started buying their CDs or even bought a concert Tee?

Stepping Out

It seems like everything on this blog has been weighty and stressful. One big fat *ugghh* at each reading.

The band Train came out with their new album, California 37, in April. I have been psyched about this ever since it arrived on the scene. I even downloaded it on my IPOD immediately. Every song on it is amazing.

I first discovered Train when I was dragged to one of their concerts by the ex-husband. He wasn't an ex at the time. They were playing right here in our hometown, the concert was outside, and it was fairly inexpensive. That meant we were going. This man was willing to travel several states away to see a concert. So we were going. I didn't even know who Train was at the time. I was less than thrilled. However, as soon as they started playing, I was hooked. And I mean seriously hooked. I bought a T-shirt before we left. He didn't. I still have it. I also made a point of buying their CDs after that. I became a FAN.

So... when this album came out, I got on the computer and looked up the tour schedule. Sure enough, they are on tour. And they will be in the south this fall. I bought tickets. The venue is outdoors, which is much more tolerable for migraine sufferers. And I am hoping by then that I have it better under control. I haven't been excited about a concert in YEARS. Mostly because they are painful. But I am optimistic. And excited.

So, what is the fuss about? Some of you may be scratching your heads. Train who? I don't know whether to enlighten you by way of their old stuff or their new stuff. Heck, it is all awesome. This is a new song, not yet released, that I think is just wonderful. It is live.




This is the new single, obviously the video. Professional job. Very cool. Awesome song.




This is something from the studio sessions for the new album. Gives you some insight into the band.




And this was the song on that first tour standing in the audience when I knew it was love. I can't remember if there were tears running down my face or not. But there probably were. Because that is just who I am.





It's good to have things to be excited about, things to look forward to, etc. And when I talk about Train, it feels really good not for it to be in the context of riding on the Crazy Train... lol. I am learning that people do need these things in their lives. (these positive things to focus on) I think that these are the things that help us get through the days. If all we have are the bad things, the negative things, the scary things, then we have nothing.

It is slowly occurring to me that my life has become so insulated by doctor's appointments and migraines and things that I cannot do because of illness that I don't have positive things to look forward to that are actually substantial. As in real. I have things that I want to happen. Things that I envision happening someday. But not much that is on the books. I need more on the books. I now have a Train concert. To some of you that may not seem like a whole lot. To me that is major progress. It is huge. No one ever made it anywhere without taking that first step. I haven't stepped in a long time. Hello world. This is me stepping.


image found at www.weheartit.com

TAYLOR SWIFT DRAWS THE LINE

Well, we are home early from the Taylor Swift concert. She was supposed to have two opening acts: Gloriana and Kellie Pickler. Kellie Pickler was sick, so we only had one opening act. That meant that Taylor came on much earlier than anticipated (hooray!). H-girl was unprepared for the noise, IMO, and came down with a headache after an hour and a half of the screaming. I was wearing ear plugs, but already had a migraine going in. We left before Taylor quit singing. H-girl is very subdued for her age, or maybe hanging with your parents isn't conducive to screaming. Not sure on that one. She was very reserved for the duration. I got the picure below here.


As for Taylor... I can't imagine what it is like to be her. She still seems to be overwhelmed at times by the enormity of the adulation. I think she doesn't quite know what to do with herself after she finishes singing and all these girls are screaming like maniacs. I mean, what is the proper response to that? I have no idea. She doesn't seem to have a clue, either. She stands there and looks somewhat perplexed and amazed. I get that. If it was just clapping, I think she might be better able to handle it. Frankly, I think it is the screaming that is bewildering. But, maybe that is just me. I know I found it bewildering. Make that annoying. I found it annoying.

However, some of the best stuff was her pre-recorded footage. Taylor is funny. I love a person with a sense of humor. Frankly, I think you need one to make it in life. Particularly a life in show business. I wish I could have found better footage than this, but you get what you get. Someone recorded it with their cell phone. When she delivered the last line, I laughed my ass off. You have to watch it. Forgive the ineptitude of the person doing the recording, and the idiot who walks in front during. Just wait for it at the end.... It is so worth it. Oh yeah, turn off my idiot music player at the bottom of my page...



I laughed so hard I nearly cried. There was that whole period when it seemed like everyone in blogland had the same moral crisis: where's the line? Is is right to write about others if they don't know they are being written about? It is okay to write about others, even if they are the subplot to your own story? When are you crossing the line? Blah blah blah. Of course, my ex was really ticked about a blog that I wrote about him, that pretty much no one read that he knew, and he shot to the moon. Meanwhile, Ms. Swift is writing songs that the WHOLE WORLD is hearing and what is her response? Well, if you watched the video, you know. If you didn't, you should, because she is a teenager and she is right. How can she see this more clearly than I? And the fact that said ex was there to hear the answer at the SAME TIME AS I: PRICELESS. I would have paid money for that had I known it was part of the show. The fact that he paid for the ticket: double bonus.

So, thank you Taylor Swift. You Rock.

THE BEATLES MEET TAYLOR SWIFT

Do you remember your first concert? Of course you do. I just love starting my blog off with a question. I went to my first rock concert with my best girlfriend. We were in junior high school and it was... wait for it... Rick Springfield. He was breaking hearts on General Hospital as Noah Drake, and the hearts of women and teens as a rockstar/actor. Who cared about being Jesse's girl? We all wanted to be Rick's girl. The whole thing was eerily appropriate because the album tour that he was promoting was for his record "Living In Oz," and that is most certainly where I was (romantically speaking, that is). My fantasy life with Rick was nowhere close to reality. I was living in Oz. Too funny. That was a pretty great album and I knew the lyrics to the whole thing. That always makes a concert better if you can sing the entire album end to end. Anyway. I grabbed a photo of Rick and I found it here if you want to check it out.

My ex-husband took his teenage son to see Taylor Swift last year. My ex is a big fan of concerts, in general, and saw this as a good bonding experience for him and his son. I think that was likely true. My ex really likes concerts. He finds pretty much everything about the experience appealing. So, I was surprised by his review of this particular concert experience.

Me: How was it?

Him: Loud.

Me: (shocked) Really? (didn't think this was possible)

Him: Wish I'd brought ear plugs.

Me: (about to faint) Wow. Were you that close to the speakers?

Him: No. It wasn't that. It was the shrieking. The room was full of teenagers and pre-teens who never stopped shrieking. I thought they'd quit once she started singing, but they didn't. It was one long shriek festival. I've never heard anything like it.

Me: That is awful.

Him: It also made me feel old.

Me: That sucks. (All reminders that make you feel old bite big time.)

Him: I'm not used to being completely surrounded by kids that are 18 and under at a concert. It was strange.


Now, I didn't get that exactly right. But it was close. All I could think about was footage that I had remembered seeing from the Ed Sullivan Show when The Beatles performed live. I grabbed that awesome picture here and it has a cool article to boot. They were fantastic, of course, but it was the constant screaming from the audience that fascinated me. When I decided to write this blog, I had to go back to youtube to see if I remembered it right. Oh boy, did I ever. It is only three minutes, but it is three minutes of people in musical bliss. Just remember to cut the noise on my infernal music player at the bottom of the page and then turn up the volume and press play to watch it here:



The thing is that I can wrap my brain around three minutes of screaming. Taylor Swift comes out and sings for anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours. Who can scream that long? I can see shrieking your way through that first song. All that adrenalin has to go somewhere. But, after that, don't you want to actually hear the concert you bought the ticket to come and see? Here's a thought: how about singing along with Taylor? Put those vocal chords to some good use.


You're probably wondering why I care.... well, H-girl had a birthday back in January and decided that what she wanted was to see Taylor Swift in concert. Since she isn't old enough to get to go to a concert with a friend, her father said he'd take her, and she could pick one other person to go. She chose me. On the one hand, this is *really awesome news.* I mean really awesome news. H-girl and I have not been connecting. When she was younger, I was the person that she brought all of her stuff to and we were really close. Even when I lived in Florida, I felt more connected to her than I do now. People keep telling me not to take it personally, because she is that way with everyone, and it is a phase, and she is a tween, and all sorts of other things, but still... It sucks. Her brother is one year older and we get along better than ever. Go figure.

Anyway, for anyone new to reading my blogs, I have migraines. Bad migraines. Noise is not good for migraines. Really loud noise can be really bad. The thing is that I really want to make a bridge here with H-girl, and if Taylor Swift is the bridge she is offering, well you take what you can get. I really hope that none of the kids around me (as in directly beside or directly behind) go on a shrieking bender because I might have to pull out the "mom card" on them even though I am not their parent.

What is this mom card you ask? In this case, it would look something like me getting right up in their face and shrieking until they stopped. I would then very politely say, "Yeah, it is annoying. So, please stop." That really isn't my style. I would be applying one of the Roseanne rules of parenting. In this case, it is: "The person who yells loudest, wins." Case closed.