Apres.Matt: Speaking of live music...

Here are the shows I found myself at in the past few months. I'm more proud of one than the others. Can you guess which?

Girl Talk
Girl Talk is a mash-up DJ. So what that means is that he mixes tracks from a number of song all in to one cohesive...well, mash-up. It's way cooler than sampling, and it's way cooler than a random transition from song to song at a club. It's actually pretty incredible that he takes such a range of sounds from such a range of artists and blends them like they were meant to go together. Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, is an Engineer from Ohio. He tours in is free time and is the DJ of choice at a lot of big parties. When he came to SLC a bunch of us wanted to see for ourselves.

The show was a total blast! He is just this wirey awkward guy with a laptop on a table with some monitors. There is a body guard on either side of him, and the entire venue, stage included, just turns into a huge dance party. My friend Laura, picture below, is a huge GT fan. So when the stage was openned up to the crowd she was gone! I followed and was able to get up there myself. Serioulsy, it was just a big random dance party. They had random stage hands blowing TP into the air with leaf blowers, as well as all other kinds of decorations. Here are a few pics below.

GT doin his thing. Taken from Laura's iPhone.

Me, GT, Laura.

NKOTB
So as the story goes... I heard from a friend that New Kids was coming to SLC and there was a 20 dollar special on Ticketmaster. I thought about it for a bit and couldn't bring myself to pass on the novelty of seeing these guys. And I'll give you the ending at the beginning, it was worth about 20 bucks.

I was home in Fargo the week preceding the concert. So from there I called my friend Emily and asked her if she'd like to go with me. Naturally, I bought two tickets... Emily came and picked me up from the airport and we headed to my fav burger joint in West Valley, Ab's Drive In. After pounding a Fat Boy (eating their classic burger), we headed to the E Center. The cost of the show was increased by 50% when we had to pay 10 bucks for parking. I felt taken advantage of. We got into the building and got in line to buy some souvineers. No no, I didn't get anything for myself. Just a shirt for my friend who cuts my hair. I paid for my next hair cut with that shirt...

We then proceeded to our seats. Out comes this little lady and some backup dancers. Kind of wierd at first...but then I realized who it was. Lady GaGa! Why an exclaimation point? Well, I kind of maybe really like the song Just Dance (not posting the video here since it is of questionable content). Disclaimer: I don't endorse her lyrics or lifestyle, but it sure is fun to dance to. Apparently "Miss GaGa" studied piano performance at Julliard or something... Then got in as one of Paris' cronies. When Paris started doing drugs, GaGa got out. The point is I had to listen to this song from the opposite end of the lower bowl. Not good enough. It then became my mission to find a way on to the floor. I hate being far away at shows.

After a series of text messages I was able to link up with Joslyn, who was a saint and brought us some of her ticket stubs we used to get past security and onto the floor. She was joining some friends in the 11th row, so Emily and I used her seats in the 25th row. It wasn't super close, but it was a lot better than where we were before! So a big thanks to Joslyn! Lady GaGa finished her set, which was mildly entertaining. Then, to my surprise, out comes Natasha Bedingfield! I don't own any of her music, but have enjoyed the occational listen when it comes on wherever I may be. Well, I was very very impressed. She really loves her music and the opportunity she has to share it. She was so sincere and it was apparent that she has a real passion for what she does. She also really wants her music to do something for people. I can repect that. On top of it all, she was really good live. Way better than Lady GuGu, or whatever... Here's a poor quality pic from my phone.

Natasha. I may or may not have had a small crush while she sang.

New Kids On The Block came on the stage and everyone went nuts! Mostly high pitched screams combined with the subtle applause of the dudes who brought their, now almost menopausal, NKOTB loving significant others. It was insane.

There really isn't much to say other than it was really entertaining. I found myself half singing along, half laughing at myself and the entire experience.

NKOTB comes out on stage.

So about half way through the show the group leaves the stage. Then Emily and I see some lights flicker from behind us. We turn around and see this stage lift from the ground. Then comes the group again and they do a few songs from here. I'm not supposed to say anything, but Emily may or may not have gotten a little emotional at this pleasant surprise. Apparently even MBA women melt at the up close sight of a boy band...

Post-emotional reaction.

"I love Mormom girls" shirt thrown from the crowd.
Who knew?

Step by Step

Hangin Tough

The best for last... COLDPLAY!
So I knew the big show was coming, but the price tag was a little too rich for my blood. The day of the show I was at a friends wedding in SLC. A couple friends mentioned that it was the Coldplay show that night and how they would love to go. This got me thinking...I really wanted to go too. I haven't been to a big headlining show like that in a while (NKOTB doesn't count). I remembered a friend had an extra ticket, so I sent a text. He responded that his was being used but that another friend had just bought a couple tickets that day. Enter Brian Henderson. I gave Brian a jingle. He answered the phone singing one of Coldplay's songs and asked if I was in. I replied that if he had a ticket for me then I was! We talked logistics and it was a plan! I met him at the Delta Center (I refuse to call it ESA) and we proceeded to will call. Now Brian is an expert at music, shows, and all things related. He was able to work it with some broker who had extra tickets and saved us about $50! Stick with Brian and you'll do alright.

We had great seats near some friends and had an awesome view. We were on the side just out from the stage. We could see everything. And Coldplay has a way of making everyseat seem good. They had screens and video work, lights and catwalk stages. They even had a satallite stage up in the stands, IN THE STANDS! Very cool.

Not only is thier music amazing, but their production is top notch! Needless to say it was totally worth it. I'd see 'em again in a heartbeat.

Coldplay.

Chris on the catwalk.

There were these rad giant bulbs that would lift and drop throughout the show. At times they would project images of the band playing from within the bulb. So cool!