Warped Tour '11 Highlights...

Kevin Lyman discussion!

Warped Tour 2011 was different from any Warped I've been to in the past. Instead of attending the Uniondale show I went to the Hartford CT event, which ended up being much easier to deal with. Let me start off by saying that Hartford has a closed arena stage thats split in half to rotate bands. Thats right.. CLOSED.. no sun beating down on you.. SEATS you can relax in and cool off.. what an amazing concept. Dear Uniondale show, please work on this feature. Besides that I got to listen to Kevin Lyman speak about to music industry and how he got his start. He gave the group of 40+ people great advice on how to get yourself more involved if this is an area you wish to pursue.

 Another great thing about Warped is all the new music you can find. People starting bands are always lurking around trying to sell their CDs for five bucks. Hell, I bought the Bad Rabbits CD for $1! Talk about a bargain. PS. those guys put on a great show.

New Music!

30h3!

 One crowd that never disappoints is the 3oh3! crowd. This crowd gets crazy when those two dudes start singing on stage. I got a pretty great picture with my iPhone of the massive crowd doing the 3oh3! hand symbol.. what is that called anyway?.. I've got no idea.

Later on in the day I saw Simple Plan, Relient K, There for Tomorrow, and Dance Gavin Dance. All of which put on great shows. I saw a couple of band I've never heard of before, which is the beauty of Warped Tour. You spend about 70 bucks for a ticket and you can see over 50 bands in a day..if you see one song from each band. The set is broken down so perfectly that its possible to see all your favorites in one day.

Warped's scheduling coordinator is clever in that they make the more popular bands go on last. This makes people come early in the day and stay late to see those final bands. I am one of those people. Paramore played on select tour dates, which was my main reason for choosing CT over NY. They went on at about 8:00 and played for 45 minutes. The Paramore crowd was huge, and so was the energy in the environment. I could feel the vibrations from the music as I sang along to some of my all time favorite songs. (okay.. I'm a nerd but I embrace it) Front woman Hayley Williams spoke about the bands recent drama. She spoke as if their soap opera story was common knowledge, which in this scene it probably was. Fans cheered as Williams proclaimed she and her band mates Taylor York and Jeremy Davis are in it for the long haul. The band recently wrote and recorded a new song for the Transformers soundtrack, which they performed as the penultimate song of their set.

In the end I thought Warped Tour was a great event. During the discussion with Lyman he mentioned this year is the year to go out and see new bands that you've never seen before. He was admin about picking certain bands that deserve to be on the tour. He was passionate about getting old bands to return to the scene. Mr. Lyman, I must say, you have succeeded beautifully.

 

Monster - Paramore

I cannot get enough of this song. Paramore's Monster was released on the Transformers soundtrack last week and I have about 75 plays on iTunes... totally normal.

My newest obsession.

The iPhone 4

I finally caved and upgraded to an iPhone! And when I say upgrade I truly mean upgrade. This thing is super fast and really easy to use. I had a Blackberry curve for about a year and a half. As much as I loved it, I don't miss it at all. Every time I tried to download an app I would have to restart my phone, but with the iPhone apps download in less than 5 seconds. 

I was fascinated that taking a screen shot on this phone is really simple, so I uploaded the image of my home screen. Yes, I am a nerd. 

I would truly recommend making the switch to the iPhone no matter what phone you have now. 

Its been a long time.. -

since my last update! A lot has happened between now & then...

I graduated Iona College!....

I can't believe its over. This is a picture of me and my best friend, Jamie. 

We're recreating our kindergarten graduation picture. Best friends since age 5. 

My friends and I were standing at the back end of the line, but all of a sudden we were being pulled to the front. We formed a fourth line, which landed us front row seats. At first we were a little embarrassed, being yanked through the crowd, but being able to take it all in from front row was pretty damn awesome.

I went to Hawaii!... 

Most beautiful place I've ever been. At first it was hard to adjust from the crazy New York lifestyle to the laid back Hawaii atmosphere. I went with Jamie (pictured above). We stayed for nine days.. nine amazing long days. The list of things we did included: Snorkeling, Zip Lining, Lounging at the beach/pool, and a Luau. I recommend going to Maui at least once in your life. It's unreal. 

I sat in the audience of Live With Regis & Kelly!...

Yes, that is Nina Dobrev. She was so proper and sweet. I went into the city with my friend Steph at 4am to get in the stand-by line. It was completely worth the 5 hour wait. We talked to Kelly, who is as nice in real life as she is on TV. We watched Nina and pre-taped Alec Baldwin. Then we got to see them pre-record Chris Hemsworth (hottie) from Thor, which I have yet to see, and Eva Mendes, one of the most bubbly people I've ever met. She's got to be a great friend to have around with her positivie attitude and constant laughter. 

That's all for now, update soon!

lyric of the day,

So, I was listening to my iTunes on random. The Foo Fighters song My Hero came on. First off, I usually listen to this song via the Paramore cover. (I doubt anyone that knows me is surprised by that statement) Anyways, listening to the original version definitely gave me a new perspective on the song all together. You know when you watch a movie a few times and you continue to find something new? Well, your not finding something new, it was there all along, you just needed a little time to discover it. That's what happened to me with this song. So I decided to post a lyric of the day. Today's lyric...

"Truth or consequence, say it aloud"

My Hero, Foo Fighters

Take this line as you will, but it resonates with me on a whole other level. I'm not about to get all personal on everyone, so we'll just leave it at that. 

Foo Fighters- My Hero

Paramore's version.. i couldn't resist posting it =)

The Last Dance

I know I wrote about the show in my last post but its just too good to pass up another opportunity to talk about The Vampire Diaries. 

Last night's episode was absolutely AMAZING. The twists and turns! The drama and craziness! I was on the edge of my chair.. well I was watching while sitting on the floor, but you know what I mean. You can never tell whats going to happen next while watching. The end of this episode left me with my jaw on the floor. Check out this extended preview for next weeks episode!

The Vampire Diaries - The Last Dance Extended Preview

The Vampire Diaries..

I've been known to get ridiculously attached to television shows, but its rare that I'm super attached after one season. Hell, I was hooked to this show after watching two eps. I'm about to gush about this show instead of doing my homework.... 

Based off the book series by L.J Smith, the tv series The Vampire Diaries has become bigger than anyone expected. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec have created a monster! Watching this show is truly an addiction. Theres no guilt in the pleasure of watching TVD week to week. Sadly its been on hiatus for quite some time, but this thursday it is B A C K! 

For those of you who know:

I don't have to tell you what its like to watch an ep. Your sucked into this world for 48 minutes filled with action, drama, twisted story lines,  and ridiculously good looking guys ;) (or girls)! I don't know about you, but I speak for myself and my friends; this show never disappoints! We are always on the edge of our seats or holding on for the next hilarious Damon line.

Damon, Elena, Stefan

For those of you who don't know:

The show is about vampires (duh), but not the old type of vampire. These guys have evolved quite well to the current time. They blend right in, and they're gorgeous. The two main vampires are Damon Salvatore (played by Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan Salvatore (played by Paul Wesley). The leading lady whos busting her butt playing Elena Gilbert, and her vampire twin Katherine Pierce, is Nina Dobrev. If anyone has surprised me the most its Nina. She captures both roles perfectly and doing double time CAN'T be easy. The girl works hard and it sure does show.

Here are some of the killer supporting cast, no pun intended, that become essential to the show:

Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman   

Sara Canning as Aunt Jenna 

Katerina Graham as Bonnie Bennett

Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood 

Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert 

For those of you who are behind:

there are 21 eps in the first season and there will be 22 in this season. I HIGHLY recommend watching all of season one and all of season two. Its just too good to miss any episodes!

To watch some season 2 episodes head to http://www.cwtv.com/shows/the-vampire-diaries/

To stay up-to-date on all TVD news the best best best website to follow is Vampire-Diaries.net! !