Concerts for 2023

[ReaperKK]

That's so awesome, I love shows at small venues like that.

I thought my 2023 was done but I just bought a ticket to see Brit Floyd in a couple weeks. I was too young to see PF live but I still want to hear the songs live. I've heard good things so I scooped up a seat.

[cramx3]

Hmmm.  They are coming to BMO Stadium in LA (the venue next to the USC Coliseum) in November.  Nosebleed seats are going for $30-40 on TickPick.  I may actually go to this.  I do need a show to go to in November.

Definitely go check it out then!

Sadly my long form youtube video from the Queen show got copyrighted and taken down.  One strike to my channel.  I'm pretty sure it's because I included music from either or all of Bohemian Rhapsody, We WIll Rock You, or We Are The Champions.  I may re-upload it at a later date without basically the ending to the concert. 

Anyway, last THursday after work I headed into NYC for a reggae concert.  I had seen both SOJA and Hirie before, both as openers for Dirty Heads at seperate times and I liked both bands.  I may not have gone if it was just one, but both, and I scored a ticket for about $18 (I had a $20 off coupon and they had a buy 1 get 1 free discount for which I sold my extra for $25). So pretty good deal for a show, and to no surprise given the discounts, the venue was half empty.  Fine by me! Irving Plaza is not the best venue for being packed, it was quite refreshing to see a show there that had space. 

The opener was Mihali who I was not familiar with.  He's basically a solo artist I guess, but he did have a live sax player (apparently this was only for the NYC and Philly shows as the Sax player is a local friend or something).  I didn't get any connection to his songs, but I did think he was onto something cool as a solo person.  Every song he started using a drum machine and looping in the bass and guitar, one by one to get basically a backing song going and then he'd play more guitar and sing over it.  With the sax seemingly just improving over the music.  It was cool, but not really my thing from a song perspective. 

Next was Hirie.  I really loved their set.  It's almost like a jazzy version of reggae.  Just very smooth and moody.  The female singer is super sexy too.  She's got a sexy voice that's perfect for that smooth reggae, plus just her stage presence and the way she dances along with the backing band.  Really fun set.  I didn't know basically any of the songs besides their newest single "I'm High" which I really like.  The one guy on stage was playing so many different instruments, for that one, he played a flute!  They also did a song with one of the singers from SOJA.

Another concert with an awesome community of people hanging outside in the smoking section as well.  Love those between band moments when you chat with random like minded folk.  Met a few people who live near me too, so random. 

SOJA was also really good.  I only have their newest album, but I was SO happy that they played Fall Like Rain (the last track on their newest album) because they didn't the first time I saw them and it's my favorite from them.  The singer mentioned a song or two into the set that they weren't playing their most popular songs this tour, but their favorite songs.  They then did their most popular which was very early in the set and usually their closer track.  I haven't been able to find a set list for this show and since I only know a handful of songs, no idea if they went deep actually, but they also did another one of their new songs with Mihali (I didn't even realize he was on that track, but he is, so I guess I was familiar with him without realizing).  SOJA also had just released a new song with Hirie, so they did that one near the end of the set.

One thing I kept thinking about, this tour has a lot of band members between SOJA and Hirie.  How the hell is this tour profitable to support all these people when the venue is only half full?  I should also say, I didn't see ANYONE buying merch  I can't recall seeing the merch stands so empty.  I might have bought an Hirie CD, they didn't have any.



SOJA, Hirie, & Mihali LIVE @ Irving Plaza New York City NY 10/19/2023

[lonestar]

One of my j-metal friends, after we saw Nemophila at the Whisky in their international premiere show, put up like eight songs from it even though he knew it was going to be streamed in a week's time for money. They slapped him with a strike for each video and wiped his channel with hundreds of concert videos. He's managed to re-upload a good deal of them, but some were lost forever.

[cramx3]

One of my j-metal friends, after we saw Nemophila at the Whisky in their international premiere show, put up like eight songs from it even though he knew it was going to be streamed in a week's time for money. They slapped him with a strike for each video and wiped his channel with hundreds of concert videos. He's managed to re-upload a good deal of them, but some were lost forever.

That's definitely a fear of mine.  I think you can still come back, you might just get a ban for some time. I noticed this happened to youtuber Jim Powers before.  It takes 3 months for the strikes to go away. (although if you got more than 3, maybe it does become permanent, I honestly don't know)  It's likely why some of the biggest accounts have alternates.

[lonestar]

I honestly never understood it... I mean in the case I talked about it made sense since they were doing a paid stream of that show. Same for shows that are released on DVD, but if it's just random fan cam videos of a show, I really don't see the harm. If anything it garners interest in the band, I know Band Maid has created a massive fancam community, even calls out some guys at their shows that are more well known. And for some bands, it is their best promotional element, my vids of VOB caught steam in Indonesia and went to almont 13k views, aand I gained like 400 Indonesian followers lol

[Anguyen92]

It could be the Youtube Algorithm being horribly unpredictable and that maybe, while the band is ok with that kind of stuff being filmed on Youtube, their record labels or someone higher than the band is not ok with it and thus, they have an algorithm system to flag fanmade concert videos that have their bands' songs, even if it's unfair to the Youtuber that filmed it.

[cramx3]

I honestly never understood it... I mean in the case I talked about it made sense since they were doing a paid stream of that show. Same for shows that are released on DVD, but if it's just random fan cam videos of a show, I really don't see the harm. If anything it garners interest in the band, I know Band Maid has created a massive fancam community, even calls out some guys at their shows that are more well known. And for some bands, it is their best promotional element, my vids of VOB caught steam in Indonesia and went to almont 13k views, aand I gained like 400 Indonesian followers lol

Yeah, I generally agree with that, especially smaller bands who perform great live but could use some social media exposure to gain new fans.

It could be the Youtube Algorithm being horribly unpredictable and that maybe, while the band is ok with that kind of stuff being filmed on Youtube, their record labels or someone higher than the band is not ok with it and thus, they have an algorithm system to flag fanmade concert videos that have their bands' songs, even if it's unfair to the Youtuber that filmed it.

For my case, it was someone who looked for my video.  It stated it was a manual detection, not from the algorithm.  It is definitely the label who is doing this.  This was all I received:

Removal request issued by: Universal Music Group
Contact info: antipiracy@riaa.com

[cramx3]

Well anyway... went to another concert last week, saw The Darkness at my local ballroom!  Their tour is celebrating 20 years of Permission to Land which has their hit single I Believe in a Thing Called Love on it and what gave them immediate success.  I remember loving that album and it being one of the 3 albums I bought before my parents dropped me off at college as a freshman in 2003.  So of course 20 years later is pretty damn nostalgic for me.  I always loved the full album too and still listen to it occasionally.

First off, AXS, which is the ticket vendor for this venue was completely down right when we were trying to get in so the box office had to help out.  Cool thing was we got ticket stubs because of it! The opening act was already playing when we got in.  I was not interested at all.  The main guy seemed talented playing drums and singing and a keyboard all at once, but the music kind of sucked.  My gf and I both just went outside instead of listening.

Got back in for The Darkness to hit the stage at 9pm.  I'm such a huge fan of their singer, Justin Hawkins, who has his own podcast now.  He's just so entertaining live.  He came out in such a 80s glam metal outfit, doing jumps and standing on his head.  Not that far off from say like a David Lee Roth, except he can sing and play guitar.  Loved his performance and the way he dances and talks to the crowd.  Engaging and funny.  Thought the band sounded great.  We opted to just stay along the barrier on the side of the stage where we could clearly see the band and the occassional eye contact when they'd look to their right.  They played the entire album, albeit not in order to save the hit for the end.  But they also played 4 or 5 b-sides from the album as well to round out the set.  The b-sides were mostly pretty good too.  Honestly love how they snuck those songs in.  They came back out for the encore in pajamas basically and robes.  Really funny.

The Darkness 20 Years of Permission to Land LIVE @ Starland Ballroom Sayreville NJ 10/21/2023

Next up:

October 29th - Bad Religion @ Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ

[Anguyen92]

^^ I have a newer appreciation for Justin Hawkins after watching various videos and podcasts from his Youtube channel.  Everything you described about that show made total sense based on the perception of him and The Darkness.

[SoundscapeMN]

St.Paul Tonight!



My 11th The Dear Hunter concert, going back to April of 2007.

[lonestar]

Ooh if they're playing at the Cornerstone in Berkeley I may have to hit that up. Not a huge fan, but good band at good venue is always a win.

[Pappy]

So far this year.

 Sep 27, 2023: Adrian + Meredith, 3rd & Lindsley Bar and Grill, Nashville, TN, USA
Sep 27, 2023: Steve ’n’ Seagulls, 3rd & Lindsley Bar and Grill, Nashville, TN, USA
Aug 27, 2023: Ghost, Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN, USA
Aug 27, 2023: Amon Amarth, Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN, USA
Mar 31, 2023: Larkin Poe, Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, Nashville, TN, USA
Mar 31, 2023: Michigan Rattlers, Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, Nashville, TN, USA

Next up is Metallica weekend in St Louis next weekend. With a book signing with James in between gigs.

[chknptpie]

Back from the cruise and I gotta hype Animals As Leaders and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. CHECK THESE BANDS OUT if you haven't yet. Also Joey Eppard is mind blowing.

[ReaperKK]

That's awesome. I've seen AAL 4 times now and they are nuts. How was the weather?

[chknptpie]

That's awesome. I've seen AAL 4 times now and they are nuts. How was the weather?

I'm glad I visited my doc and got the prescription patches. We had some crazy wind and boat sway and I know I'm susceptible to motion sickness. Here's a video posted by Josh with a level while C&C were playing lol. I tried to get video that shows the whole crowd swaying because of the boat, but it doesn't really show up well. Probably because I was swaying with it lol
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy8jaDtAa15/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

There was a couple rain showers, but we were at indoor shows thankfully. One show was cancelled, I can't remember which band it was, that was going to be on the pool deck. We got some rain on our waterfall hike, but nothing too bad. Hubby and I are still swaying and running into walls even though we've been on land since Friday morning!

[ReaperKK]

Looks like an absolute blast, what boat where you on?

[chknptpie]

Looks like an absolute blast, what boat where you on?

Norwegian Pearl. It has the Headbangers cruise this week too

[ReaperKK]

That was the same boat I was on for the Train cruise I went on years back. It's pretty nice if not a bit old.

Would you do it again?

[cramx3]

That's awesome. I've seen AAL 4 times now and they are nuts. How was the weather?

I'm glad I visited my doc and got the prescription patches. We had some crazy wind and boat sway and I know I'm susceptible to motion sickness. Here's a video posted by Josh with a level while C&C were playing lol. I tried to get video that shows the whole crowd swaying because of the boat, but it doesn't really show up well. Probably because I was swaying with it lol
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy8jaDtAa15/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

There was a couple rain showers, but we were at indoor shows thankfully. One show was cancelled, I can't remember which band it was, that was going to be on the pool deck. We got some rain on our waterfall hike, but nothing too bad. Hubby and I are still swaying and running into walls even though we've been on land since Friday morning!

Cruises sound like they can be so much fun and then I think about the boat sway and

That video also makes me want to puke and it's not even visually that bad, I can just mentally feel it when the level goes off  Maybe one day I'll grow a pair and try out a cruise, but it's very very very low on my list of things I want to do even though so many of these music cruises look so fun.

Anyway, I wasn't feeling so hot yesterday so I sold my Bad Religion tickets and didn't attend sadly.  That makes 3 concerts this year I cancelled the day of the show and that's likely the difference between breaking my concerts in a year record or just coming up short.  (It's OK, it's not a competition amongst myself)

[Anguyen92]

Creed has announced a reunion tour.  There will be various bands supporting them.  All shows will have Finger 11 opening.  The SoCal show will be in San Bernardino.  F***.  Too far for me to drive and I'm not in the mood to be there for a outdoor festival show as oppose to a regular 3 band bill.  Anywho, here's the tour listings.

https://loudwire.com/creed-2024-reunion-tour-dates/

[cramx3]

Creed has announced a reunion tour.  There will be various bands supporting them.  All shows will have Finger 11 opening.  The SoCal show will be in San Bernardino.  F***.  Too far for me to drive and I'm not in the mood to be there for a outdoor festival show as oppose to a regular 3 band bill.  Anywho, here's the tour listings.

https://loudwire.com/creed-2024-reunion-tour-dates/

I may check that out since it's coming to me

[axeman90210]

I might've checked out an Orlando date if it worked out, but Creed's not a "travel" band for me.

[chknptpie]

That was the same boat I was on for the Train cruise I went on years back. It's pretty nice if not a bit old.

Would you do it again?

Yep! If/When they announce SS Neverender 3, I'm signing up! The C&C fanbase is so fricking amazing. They organized a swag swap, MTG commander play times and a DND session outside of the scheduled events from Sixthman. The FB groups and discords were super active to get to know everyone in advance too. such welcoming and friendly environment.

Cruises sound like they can be so much fun and then I think about the boat sway and

That video also makes me want to puke and it's not even visually that bad, I can just mentally feel it when the level goes off  Maybe one day I'll grow a pair and try out a cruise, but it's very very very low on my list of things I want to do even though so many of these music cruises look so fun.

Anyway, I wasn't feeling so hot yesterday so I sold my Bad Religion tickets and didn't attend sadly.  That makes 3 concerts this year I cancelled the day of the show and that's likely the difference between breaking my concerts in a year record or just coming up short.  (It's OK, it's not a competition amongst myself)

I was super worried about motion sickness. I get it easily in cars and planes if I'm not driving/looking out the window. I brought dramamine, sea bands, and presciption patches. Only one night did I have to drink some ginger ale while we watched a band towards the front of the boat on one of the highest decks. I was really happy with how I was able to function with the seabands and patch.

[Anguyen92]

I might've checked out an Orlando date if it worked out, but Creed's not a "travel" band for me.

I might have gone to a show where Big Wreck was opening, but the only show they are opening is in Toronto and its on a Thursday, so that's a no-go for me.  Maybe my mood regarding the San Bernardino show will be different if secondary sites have lawn tickets on the cheap.

[Anguyen92]

All right, I got the ticket to see Queen & Adam Lambert.  It's on a Saturday.  The ticket was for $27.00 for a nosebleed seat.  Might as well enjoy some singalongs and watch Dr. Brian May play guitar while we still can.

Queen with Adam Lambert - BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, California.  November 11th, 2023.

[cramx3]

All right, I got the ticket to see Queen & Adam Lambert.  It's on a Saturday.  The ticket was for $27.00 for a nosebleed seat.  Might as well enjoy some singalongs and watch Dr. Brian May play guitar while we still can.

Queen with Adam Lambert - BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, California.  November 11th, 2023.

That's great, I'm sure the seats nothing special but for only 27 bucks to see them.... worth it IMO

My friend is hooking me up, apparently he won tickets to see Dragonforce/Amaranthe/Manowar of Steel this Friday from a radio station, but he has tickets so is giving them to me and my gf. Should be a fun one.  My other friend also asked me to see Hollywood Undead with him.  I'm not too into them, but I'll go since he asked me to, plus a night hanging with him will be fun regardless, that show is next week.

[Anguyen92]

So this is an interesting development for the ticket to see Queen and Adam Lambert.  So Tickpick cancelled my order for whatever reason, gave me the heads-up that the card is not charged and also gave me a $5.00 credit.  I bought the same ticket in the same section (this time it's $22.00 after the credit is applied).  Now instead of me getting the ticket transferred to my Ticketmaster account.  I got an email from Tickpick that gave me a link to this secureticket url thing that has the ticket details and a barcode and I'm not able to add it to my Apple wallet for some reason.  Should I concerned about this?

[cramx3]

Never used tickpick before nor do I use Apple to know how their wallet works.  Using a securelink ticket from a text message is what happens a lot of times if you buy a ticket from the box office these days (since most places don't print tickets anymore).  But I've never tried to save that to my phones wallet.

[Anguyen92]

But how come we can't just get the ticket transfer to our Ticketmaster account?  Is it because they can't be transferred yet at this point?

[Samsara]

Added TSO to the list to kick off the Christmas season.

[lonestar]

Tesseract was fucking amazing as expected.

I'm fucking tired, I'll elaborate tomorrow.

[Anguyen92]

Well, at least, Tickpick responded back to me about my inquiry about that secure ticket link.  I hope I don't get played at the gate when I need that ticket scanned via that link.

[El Barto]

I'm a big fan of Tickpick, and while I've only needed their customer service once, I found it to be solid. I wouldn't worry about it. They know what they're doing.

[cramx3]

I'd guess if that barcode is moving, then you are good.  It is interesting to me that they can still transfer a non transferable ticket.  How does that work?

[Anguyen92]

I'm not sure how that works that leads to receiving a link to this secure.tickets website.  The paranoia side of me is thinking that someone out there may be selling the same exact seat that I bought. Unless after they "share" that link, they also forfeited the ability to view that link.

That being said, I agree with El Barto.  Ever since I've used TickPick as my go-to for buying tickets, I haven't had any issues at all getting the ticket transfer and have the assurance that everything is going to be fine when getting in.

I mean this ticket is powered by the Ticketmaster Verified Fan thing, so I guess that's some assurance?