November 16, 2007

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Last night I saw the The Swell Season, which as I wrote about yesterday, is made up the two lead actors of the musical Once. It was an absolutely amazing concert, which in my "List Of Amazing Concerts", I'd probably place around #2 or #3.

What makes a great concert? Well first and foremost I have to like the music. Being my favorite band doesn't mean it's automatically a great concert, though it does help. I love it when the band explains the songs, where they came from, what they mean. Basically anything that gives me a reason to go to their concert versus just listening to the CD again. And there must be crowd participation! And most importantly, a giant smile on my face as I walk out. And The Swell Season had it all: humming, singing, snapping fingers, funny songs, funny stories, stories about exorcising ghosts, a Justin Timberlake cover, two encores, and ending the concert by having us walk out the door while singing along with them a simple song about vampires while they played on on the stage.

And thankfully because I live in Austin, I got to see them. Probably a good 95% of the shows I've gone to in Austin are of bands that never even come to Florida, much less Gainesville. Particularly the foreign bands, it's always Portland/Seattle, LA/San Fran, Austin, and New York. I love this city!

Speaking of my favorite concerts, if I had to list them in order, I'd probably go with:
  1. Bobby McFarin
  2. Weezer
  3. The Swell Season
  4. Bowling for Soup
  5. Bloc Party
I will admit the Weezer concert is probably so high because they're my favorite band and it was the first concert I ever went to.

I added photos of a concert I went to Wednesday night, Architecture in Helsinki, and then of The Swell Season from last night. My new system of adding photos really does make it far easier to upload and post photos.

Want some REALLY cheap airfare? Look over at Airfare Watchdog for stuff like my $550 ticket to Rome, a $351 ticket to Germany, and across the US from DC to San Fran for $200. All round trip. Granted it's cheaper flying in the middle of winter and the seats are limited and there's plenty of blackout dates. But still, $351 roundtrip to Germany! I really need to do more traveling and take advantage of being born into the first period of history where the average person can travel across the world cheaply and safely and fast.

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