The Forum is Fabulous Again!!

Is it sad that I was more excited to see a building than the band playing a concert in said building? I don't think so. On January 15, 2014 Laura and I attended the grand re-opening of The Forum in Inglewood, CA. 70's country-rock band The Eagles played their first of 6 shows to help usher in a new era in the arena's already storied history. Aside from New York's Madison Square Garden, I can't think of an arena in the US that has hosted more events in the last 40+ years. When bands came to LA, there was only one place you really wanted to play. From Hendrix to The Who, Zeppelin to the Stones, Elvis, Michael Jackson and Prince - they have all played here. If the dressing rooms could talk, it would certainly be a discussion that you might not want your kids to hear.

And that is just the music! Let us not forget all the sports history that has happened here. From all the Laker legends - Wilt, West, Kareem, Magic, Worthy, Shaq and Kobe - to the "Great One" Wayne Gretzky, to Muhammad Ali, to the GOAT Michael Jordan, the greatest of the greats all had historic moments within these walls. As a die-hard Lakers fan and someone who grew up watching those legendary players on TV, "Live from the Great Western Forum..." it wasn't hard to sit there and just stare out at the building's floor  and visualize all those glorious moments happening again. I could also see Gretzky scoring goal #802 on March 23, 1994 against Vancouver to pass Gordie Howe and become the NHL's all-time leading scorer. And of course, as a huge NBA fan I could see Michael Jordan putting the finishing touches on the '90-'91 season by winning his first NBA championship on June 12, 1991. Needless to say, this evening was for me, a stroll down Memory Lane!!

The Eagles

Seattle, WA - December 5-8, 2013

It seems like every December, Laura and I close out the year with an amazing concert experience. This year was no different as we traveled to the Pacific Northwest to see the Pearl Jam tour finale in their hometown of Seattle. Since Laura had never been to Seattle, we decided to make it a 4-day mini vacation and explore the city a little more to see if it is a place we might want to live in as we continue to tour America.

Grubbin'

Seattle Navidad

Chihuly Museum of Glass

Most folks who have met me know that ever since my high school days I have been a rabid Pearl Jam fan. Since 1995, I have missed only one tour they have done in almost 20 years. This year though was the first time I saw multiple shows in one tour. After two amazing nights in Los Angeles just two weeks ago, I was highly anticipating this homecoming show. Of course the show did not disappoint one bit. To travel to the "Mother Land" of the music era that defines my youth and see the band that means so much to me, was one of the highlights of my life thus far. Words can't describe the range of emotion I felt during the show. I had a few laughs; I shed some tears and I sung my lungs out 'til it filled that room. And to do all this with my best friend, my wife, next to me, was the cherry on top!!

On Saturday we spent day seeing the city. Although the high temperature never got too far over freezing, we had sun and no rain, which is unheard of this time of year in Seattle. 

Mt. Rainer

Lunch at 500 ft.

Up Here In My Tree

Pike Place Market

Gum Wall

The Original Starbucks

Beecher's Handmade Cheese

Goodbye Seattle - We will be back!!

Pearl Jam Night #2 - Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena - 11.24.13

Pearl Jam Night #1 - Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena - 11.23.13

Listen to What the Man Said

It had only been a month since I saw Sir Paul in NYC but I was just as excited to see him again. This time, the scene shifted outside to Boston's Fenway Park. With Laura and our ties to the city, we were both looking forward to returning to the Back Bay and having another good time and rockin' out to some good tunes. But It didn't quite start off that way.

For the pre-show drinks, we headed to the Bleacher Bar; an awesome bar located underneath the outfield stands. Normally for baseball games, the door is open so we can see onto the field. But since this view would now be to the backstage area , it was covered with a tarp. Not cool. But luckily they had the garage-style door up so we could here the sound check, which may have been the best moment of the evening for me. Although it was a little difficult to hear Paul, I did make out a few songs that he didn't play in his regular set: Penny Lane, C Moon, Matchbox and Sing the Changes. Wow!!

At around 7:00 pm, we made our way into the stadium to get situated and find our seats. This is where things started to get bad. As you can see by the picture below, we had, not only an obstructed view, but it blocked the entire center stage where the band would be. Seriously? I wasn't going to stand for this. Nowhere on our ticket did it say 'obstructed view' and for $250 for a pair of tickets i expect better. So I made a b-line for customer service. Luckily, they encounter this issue often and had seats and new tickets ready for those who had been given these awful seats. We traded in our tickets and set off to find our new seats.

Can you say upgrade?!?! Wow, in a major way at that!! We were re-located to the field level and as you can see by the pictures below, pretty much center stage!! So awesome! I mean, how often do you get to stand on the field at Fenway Park right where Dustin Pedroia plays? Too cool!!

Paul delivered almost the exact same show I saw in NYC, which was okay for me as I can never get tired of hearing his tunes. You can reference my last McCartney post to see what songs he played if you are interested. The stadium setting provided a great atmosphere and luckily, the predicted rain storms stayed away. I leave you with some great images from what turned out to be an amazing night!!

Pyro

Sing-A-Long

I Saw Here Standing There

Record Crowd

Thank You Boston!!

Confetti Shower