Alice Cooper in Atlanta

My husband Daniel is a long, long time Alice Cooper fan but has never seen him live. So when we heard he was coming to Atlanta, it was a no-brainer...we had to get tickets. We were very fortunate to get fifth row seats, on the aisle even, and our view was fantastic. The only drawback was the drunk guy in the middle of the row who had to buy another beer every other song. After the third time he squeezed by us, I told him that the next time he left he better bring me back a beer. I didn't see him after that.

Now, earlier yesterday afternoon, I was reading Ramsey's Tumblr and saw that she posted a video collection of various happenings in her life. I loved the video and the idea and decided I'd like to try it out. My fancy phone can record an insane amount of video, so I recorded bits and pieces of the Alice Cooper concert. I'd like to make another video from my day to day life, an maybe make it a habit. We'll see!

But for now: Alice Cooper!

I can't say I'm the biggest AC fan ever, and I didn't know a song or two, but I went mostly for the experience. I mean, it's Alice Cooper! He's a legend! How often can you tag along and see a rock and roll legend? Alice's set was top-notch, solid, and full of gags and goodies. I'm so glad Daniel and I got the chance to see him live.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

I usually find out about shows days after tickets have gone on sale. This saddens me to no end since I always want to be real close to the stage when I see my favorite musicians. The Ryan Adams show was no different and I learned of the ticket sales two days after the internet pre-sale. I ended up obsessing over the idea of somehow attending the show and paid WAY over the price of the ticket on Stubhub.com. Oh well, I can splurge sometimes, right? Besides I'd missed the last two times he came to Atlanta and spent most of this summer madly crushing on him.

Well, my pal Drew and I started making our way to Atlanta around 6 p.m. The weather was dreary and rainy the entire drive. We tried to keep a positive outlook and repeated, "We're totally going to make it on time. We're totally going to make it on time." Thanks to the GPS Navigator on my phone we avoided traffic in downtown Atlanta and pulled into the parking lot a little after 8 p.m.

Our seats were well worth the price I paid for them in my opinion. Fifth row center:


I was so excited to get through the gate with my camera! I'm always scared venue workers will confiscate my camera or make me go back to my car. I took many pictures (mostly blurry) and two videos during the show. The videos have already been viewed hundreds of times!

I recognized "Wonderwall" about two notes into the song. Goodness, I love that song! It was over 6 minutes long and my arm was getting so tired from holding up the camera.

Sadly, Ryan called it off after playing for a little over an hour. He said his voice was awful and [sounded like the guy from the Goo Goo Dolls]. The band apologized, said goodbye and next thing we know the lights are on and the stage crew starts breaking down the set. We walk back to the car in a daze, unsure of what happened. People around us are pissed and cussing the band out. We're bummed that we only had an hour of music. Hell, I was just getting warmed up.

Sunday morning I start reading through Facebook and MySpace and find out that many people are leaving mean messages to the band and wanting refunds. Last week the band postponed shows due to illness affecting the entire crew. I'm really bummed that the tour had to end on this note. But I'm sure I'll go to another show if I get the chance. My obsession with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals has not waned. Jacksonville City Nights is still one of my favorite cds. Ryan and the Cardinals sounded sincere when they apologized about cutting the show short. I just hope they put Atlanta on the top of the tour list next time.

Hey! It could've be worse. I once tried to go see Brian Jonestown Massacre in Atlanta. We stood through two opening bands that played for at least and hour and a half each & when Anton came out (30+ minutes after the opening bands) he was unhappy with how his guitars were tuned and refused to play until they were right. All of this on top of me somehow getting food poisoning! I left the venue and sat in the car hoping my husband could enjoy the music of one of his favorite bands. Daniel came to the car an hour later and said Anton only played 3 songs and kept whining about his guitars and fired a band member. At least The Cardinals gave Atlanta a great hour of music!

Some Foreign Flower

Last week we saw the Shins play in Atlanta. It was a fabulous show and the opening band didn't suck at all! During their encore they played a cover of Pink Floyd's Breathe. Can't beat that!

These past few weeks have been stressful, full of health and personal challenges and hopefully we've gotten past the worst part. I need to get back to taking care of myself and my creative side. I need to stop procrastinating and stop being unmotivated. I can't sit back and wait for inspiration to strike. I have to go out and make it happen.

Hello Tuesday.

Oh boy. I've been busy. And lazy. Busy and lazy. I've finally found some downtime this week to get caught up on housework, laundry, and of course, blogging. Let's see, what should I talk about first?

Interpol - We saw Interpol at the Tabernacle in ATL on Friday, September 22nd. The opening band sucked and even got some "booooo"s from the crowd. Interpol was perfect that night and played an amazing show. They've earned a spot on my favorite bands list. I got a few pictures with my cameraphone but they're all crap. I'm always afraid to bring my digital camera into shows. I'd hate for something to happen to it.

SlowExposures - The SlowExposures exhibit went very well. I got many compliments on my photo and even sold a print! How exciting! I was hoping to sell the whole framed piece, oh well. Now I have a huge framed photo of a cornfield to hang in my home. :)

Workshop - The Dave Anderson Workshop was very good to me. It helped me realize that I need to figure out a focus for my photography (haha, a pun!) and go for it. I need to step out of my comfort zone and take chances. Stop being so safe and pretty. So lately I've been doing a lot of reading on photography and trying to learn all I can about the photography I want to do. Let's hope this leads to something good!

Oh yeah, the photo at the top of this post is taken with my Holga. I took it off the shelf for the first time in years and took some shots in Atlanta. I don't think it's the best photo but it's an interesting one and I do love the light leaks.

Busy & Exciting Week!

Monday night my friend Sara and I drove to the ATL to attend the first Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School at the Sutra Lounge. I'm so glad we went because we had tons of fun!

It only took a little over an hour to get there. Of course I got lost because that's just ATL tradition. But we finally found the place and found our seats in the VIP section. The model & host were so great! Sara and I both won prizes. Sara won an Anais Nin book and I won the Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day coloring book. We hope to do this again and more often.

Take a gander at the photos in the LJ community.

Then Tuesday night my husband Daniel and I saw Roger Waters at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. We headed to ATL a little later than we should've. We stopped in Griffin to eat a quick dinner at Arby's. We arrive in ATL a little before 8 p.m. I was worried because the tickets say 8 PM SHARP & I didn't want to miss anything. We drive around & get to the huge venue and struggle to find parking. Daniel says, "Damn, I would pay 20 bucks to park right now." Then we see parking on the corner for 20 bucks. We decide to pull in. It was valet parking so we just hopped out and took off to the Arena.
We didn't miss anything & find our FABULOUS seats on the floor. It was a completely amazing show. I can't say enough about it. Roger played "Wish You Were Here" early in the evening & I ended up crying my eyes out. I called my friend Amber in Alabama & left a voicemail message. I hope she could hear it. I just held the phone up in the air for a few moments. There was an intermission then he came back on stage to play ALL of Dark Side of the Moon. GAWD. So awesome.
I didn't take in my camera for fear of it getting taken away from me. Well, thanks to the wonders of the internets I didn't have to worry about not getting pictures. Everyone else took pictures and video.
Look on Flickr and YouTube.
Again, such an amazing experience & I'm so glad we got to go.

I have many things to update about. So I don't forget, here's a list:
postcards, June 2007 show, little hamster, bookmooch, photo classes...

I'm spending the weekend out of town so expect another blog entry next week. I've got to get better at public blogging!

Have a great weekend and be safe!