Playing Catch-Up: Brooks Summer Concert Series

Well, what a fabulous year for concerts! Hooray for Swire Coca-Cola perks!

It all started August 13th, with Josh Groban...... Some thoughts:

I was surprised at his stage presence. Really engaging, and quite hilarious, actually! Also, way more talent than just singing (and on a side note, he does have a tendency to sing flat live--the rumors are true. Still a lovely voice!): He rocks on piano. He wails on the drums?! He writes a lot of his own stuff, composes, etc. A rather impressive performer.

Then on August 31st, we went to Usana to see Heart and Def Leppard.... Heart being the love of my life, this was a fantastic night for me! My second Heart concert--and after nearly a decade, they still wail! Talk about talent! Ann can still sing like a rock star, and Nancy is still a smokin' guitarist.... loved it! Basked in it!

And Def Leppard was a lot of fun, too.... They actually sing a lot more songs that I recognized than I was expecting. And a really excellent light show behind them, which always adds to the rock experience for Chad and me.

But, in all honesty, Heart had me at hello. :)

Then back to Usana September 23rd, where we saw REO Speedwagon and Styx. Okay, couldn't have cared less for REO Speedwagon--they have never been my favorite. So I bore through their opening act for another of my deep musical heartthrobs: Styx! Oh, I've seen them four times now, I think.... Love 'em every time! Every time! I especially love all the antics of their highly entertaining keyboardist, Lawrence Gowan.

(PS. This picture isn't mine--I borrowed it from http://theeditingroomfloor.blogspot.com. For some reason, we cannot locate all our Styx footage--travesty!)

And finally, the Brooks Summer Concert series came to a close--in very un-summer-like weather (ahem, rain and almost snow!)--at the X96 Big A** Show at Gallivan Plaza in SLC. Talk about a fantastic final to our concert stretch.... over ten bands, lots of local acts and big names. Everything streamlined to perfection, so you never had to wait for the next act. Ah, beautiful!! So here are the bands we saw, and a few little thoughts about the show. And oh yeah, all of these next pictures came from the X96 website, from their Big A Show photo archive. So thanks where it's due: http://www.x96.com/home.

She Wants Revenge: Man, I could hardly focus on his music, because his happy hands were doubling me over! :)

The Airborne Toxic Event: Okay, loved the girl because, while I did know she was the moving violin part in "Sometime After Midnight," I did not know she was also a tambourine aficionado! Ha! So great! And the lead singer.... so much fun to watch! And for some reason, all Chad and I could think was, "Andy Bernard?!"

Anberlin: They were the surprise of the day, for me. I like them, and I enjoy many of their songs. But to see them live just ramped up the love! The lead singer, Stephen Christian... Holy Job Satisfaction, Batman! I've never before seen anybody so obviously in love with what they do, and it was so infectious! The energy was incredible, and he had us riveted the whole hour!

Switchfoot: These guys ended up being the surprise act for Chad.... Later, when we looked at the video footage he took, we realized about two-thirds of it was of Switchfoot. Chad couldn't believe how much he loved them. Really fun. Really interactive with the audience, too, which is always nice.

Neon Trees: These kids have a special place in our hearts, because we all grew up in the same city. Same stake, actually. So it brings us joy to see them out doing their thing and having all this success. It's also really quite entertaining to see the swarthy, eccentric, Bowie-esque Tyler Glenn in his element.... Love it! And the drummer--she's pretty fabulous, too!

Panic! At the Disco: Well, they were the show closers, the big finale. I was so excited to see Brandon Urie and the whole Vaudevillian gang up there on the stage, and all the grandeur of their show.....

..... But wait a second! Isn't that Tyler Glenn? What the--?! 

Yes, Brandon Urie had malaria. Malaria, my friends. And was in the hospital. So the rest of the band showed up and did their utmost best to give a rocking show without their utterly fantastic and truly irreplaceable (as we all learned that evening) frontman. It was actually really a noble endeavor, despite the obvious void caused by Brandon's absence. The guitarist sang a couple of the songs himself. And then they opened it up to the other performers of the day. So Tyler Glenn came up and sang a couple. Brogan Kelby, King Niko, and some chick (who was not my favorite stand-in of the night). They fondly called it "Malari-oke Night." And really, it was lots of fun anyway. An incredible day overall! And I was wiped out after six hours of non-stop on-my-feet blissful rocking!

Ah, what will Brooks Summer Concert Series 2012 bring?? I can only imagine.....