Finally this evening I have time to talk about the major musical event of my summer! As I'm sure you all know, on July 11 my "most favoritest" band in the world played in KC, so I was able to see them live for the first time since December of 2004. Making it an even more fun evening was the fact that we got to see old friends from high school and bring some other friends along to enjoy their first 97's show ever!It was a truly terrific show for so many reasons. The boys from Dallas sounded great and played almost all of my favorite songs (except for Niteclub) and then some. The weather was absolutely perfect (like in the low 70s) and the venue was really nice. There were plenty of clean port-a-potties (at least early in the evening) and no lines for food and drinks, along with a nicely mulched and nicely sloped area for viewing the stage. The acoustics were generally good, aside from one brief moment when the band came unplugged. It was actually kind of funny, because the crowd momentarily went ballistic, startling the band who apparently didn't realize what had happened. After the song was over, Murray (the bass player) commented that they must have been rockin' out so hard they'd blown out the speakers or something. He was obviously kidding, but I thought it was kind of funny.
Anyway, I wasn't able to stand quite as close to the stage as I would have liked, as my ailing back wasn't up to going down front during the opening act just to get good position for the 97's. We managed to get a decent spot just to the left of the stage and outside of the "VIP" area, which was perfect for me because there was a railing to lean on for support. I certainly couldn't have stood there completely unsupported the entire time, because the guys played for almost two hours! It was awesome! Of course you're probably thinking that I would've declared it awesome no matter what they sounded like--but it wasn't just me. There was a great review the next day in the KC Star weekly entertainment section, and the next morning our friend Beth sent us this "review" via email as well:
I am blown away, and we need more CDs before we leave! How fun! Thanks for inviting us to the show!"
I can't tell you how happy it made me that my friends enjoyed the show as well! I've been singing the 97's praises for so many years now, and it often felt like that praise was falling on deaf ears. Finally, my thoughts and feelings have been validated! Thanks Beth! :)
Beth was definitely right about Ken's guitar abilities. He's apparently been practicing a lot on their hiatus from touring. He was rockin' OUT! Chad and I both noticed how great he sounded and how many new riffs he'd incorporated into our favorite songs. Speaking of the songs, I was a little surprised at how many songs they played from their 5th (6th if you count Early Tracks) and most pop heavy album, Satellite Rides. I'm pretty sure they played 9 of the 13 tracks on that disc, which I thought was a ton. I could have done without a couple to make room for Niteclub, Melt Show, The Other Shoe, or something else of the older variety, but overall I even thoroughly enjoyed those songs from my least favorite album!
Since I'm obviously a picture-a-holic, I certainly would have loved to have been closer to the stage so I could have snapped some better photos and video. As it was, I could only get some fuzzy pictures of the whole band without a flash (it embarrasses Chad too much when I use one), and some pretty far away grainy video. Regardless of the quality, you're welcome to check out some clips and pictures on our Picasa page! Maybe you'll be inspired to go see them next time they come around! :)
I can't tell you how happy it made me that my friends enjoyed the show as well! I've been singing the 97's praises for so many years now, and it often felt like that praise was falling on deaf ears. Finally, my thoughts and feelings have been validated! Thanks Beth! :)
Beth was definitely right about Ken's guitar abilities. He's apparently been practicing a lot on their hiatus from touring. He was rockin' OUT! Chad and I both noticed how great he sounded and how many new riffs he'd incorporated into our favorite songs. Speaking of the songs, I was a little surprised at how many songs they played from their 5th (6th if you count Early Tracks) and most pop heavy album, Satellite Rides. I'm pretty sure they played 9 of the 13 tracks on that disc, which I thought was a ton. I could have done without a couple to make room for Niteclub, Melt Show, The Other Shoe, or something else of the older variety, but overall I even thoroughly enjoyed those songs from my least favorite album!
Since I'm obviously a picture-a-holic, I certainly would have loved to have been closer to the stage so I could have snapped some better photos and video. As it was, I could only get some fuzzy pictures of the whole band without a flash (it embarrasses Chad too much when I use one), and some pretty far away grainy video. Regardless of the quality, you're welcome to check out some clips and pictures on our Picasa page! Maybe you'll be inspired to go see them next time they come around! :)
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