This Year's 4th of July Fun

As always, it was another action-packed celebration of our country's independence.

I'm not going to bore you with all the details; I'll just give short snippets and let pics do most of my talking.

Nana Bett's 4th of July Birthday
The Cravens came over to my parents' house, and we had a BBQ and birthday celebration for my grandma. Love getting together with the cousins, and it's so much fun with even more little kids around.

Ready to blow out her birthday candles

The whole gang

This is more representative of how we usually act

Stadium of Fire
In the evening, I went down to Provo with friends for the concert and fireworks. Carly Rae Jepsen was underwhelming and Kelly Clarkson was passable. Cirque du Soleil and the fireworks were the real winners of the show. Oh, and shakes at the Malt Shoppe after was a great call, too.

Skydivers brought Old Glory into the stadium

Clever and innovative tube dancing

Our enthusiastic group, ready for the action to begin

The bombs bursting in air

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Cowboy Rides Away: Farewell, George Strait

Some singers and bands are a must-see. If you have a chance to see them, you have to go.

U2, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, etc, etc.

I imagine George Strait and Martina McBride would be on the country music fan's must-see list.

On Friday, Becca and I decided to take a chance and try to get into the "Cowboy Rides Away" concert at the Delta Center (ok, ok, the Energy Solutions Arena).

Tickets had been sold out for a long time, and the ones being sold on KSL.com Classifieds were all ridiculously marked-up from the actual ticket price (and I generally refuse to pay scoundrels who look to make a buck that way), so I took some cash out and we figured we'd see if we could low-ball some scalpers outside the venue.

If we didn't get in, no worries. We hadn't even considered the concert until about 10 hours earlier, so it wouldn't be a big loss if we didn't get in.

But if we did, and for less than ticket cost, thus sticking it to the scalpers, that'd be a sweet deal.

And that's just what we did.

The concert was scheduled for 7:30, and we arrived at 7:50. The scalper hemmed and hawed, debating if anyone else would come along on a cold-ish night and not already have tickets, or if we were his last chance.

He tried to get more money. A couple times.

I wouldn't budge.

He delayed. I pulled out the money, so he could see it.

He delayed some more.

I made a comment to Becca (loud enough that the scalper could hear) about going to get dinner instead.

And the scalper bit.

Ah, it feels good to have ticket price justice!

Inside the concert, Martina McBride was already singing (apparently there was no local opener), so we found our seats and started enjoying the show.

Martina did a great job and sang mostly her hits, which we appreciated.

Even famous openers are still openers, and they should focus on their main songs, right?

After a (surprisingly brief) intermission, the King of Country came out and got things started.

He played a lot of great songs, and I knew most of his stuff.

There were some more obscure ones from his early days, but they were still pretty cool to hear.

After playing a long time, going through each decade of his long and storied career, he wrapped things up, left, came back for an encore, and then was gone.

But he left us with a smile.

What concert should we try to go sneaky, last-minute on next...?

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Back-to-Back Concert Nights: Martin Sexton, Infamous Stringdusters, Sun Parade, and Lake Street Dive

I love music, and the best way to enjoy it (in my opinion) is at a live concert.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend two shows, and in fairly small venues, which is even better.

Wed, Nov 7: Martin Sexton, with opener The Sun Parade (at The Depot)

Turns out that one benefit of being injured is the opportunity to use ADA seating.

We didn't even ask, but since there weren't any open seats on the ground floor, the workers at The Depot let us sit in the crows nest and we had this sweet view:

The Sun Parade, with bonus percussion and vocals friends

I hadn't heard of The Sun Parade before, but they were good. Very upbeat tunes, yet chill, if that makes sense. Here's a video of their biggest song:

When The Sun Parade finished their set, it was Martin Sexton's turn.

He didn't disappoint.

The man does it all, and he does it solo. Guitar, singing, and making all sorts of instrument sounds with his mouth and various parts of the guitar.

With skills like his, Martin doesn't need any other band members

Surprisingly, many of my friends hadn't/haven't even heard of Martin Sexton. That is a shame, because he's a very creative singer/songwriter. He sings serious songs, and he throws in some silly songs for good measure. I even saw him referred to as a serious Jack Black once.

His song "Hallelujah" hooked me, and its YouTube video is a good demonstration of how he is in concert.

To see more of his in-concert vocal stylings, this "Gypsy Woman" YouTube video is excellent.

And this is "Glory Bound", which I also really like.

Thurs, Nov 8: The Infamous Stringdusters, with opener Lake Street Dive (at The State Room)
Another night, another incredible concert. This one was a marathon, not a sprint.

We'd never heard of the opener, but Lake Street Dive had an Amy Winehouse kinda vibe, but without the slutty attitude. So we were able to like them for their quality and not have the trashy negatives.

Lake Street Dive, making us swoon

We tried to guess where they might be from, but we were way off. This quartet is from Brooklyn, NY.

Just check out this sound:

Very cool, right? Just another example of how there are bands with incredible talent, still out there waiting to hit the big time. People say that, right? "Hit the big time"? I don't even know anymore.

Anyway, Lake Street Dive was a perfect warm-up for the night's main event.

After a brief break for changing the set, The Infamous Stringdusters hit the stage.

And it was not just some 90 min set. We estimate they played for almost 3 hours.
When the headliner of a concert actually takes an intermission, that is serious determination.

Now how do I describe how good these 5 fellas are? Ah, yes, here's how:
Becca is from Tennessee, and she was so happy just listening to an authentic bluegrass band all the way out here in the Rocky Mountains. Seriously, she had a major case of perma-smile.

The Infamous Stringdusters, rocking the scene

That's one of their tame songs, but it shows how good The Infamous Stringdusters were.

I'd gladly see any of these four bands when they come through SLC again.
And you're all welcome to join me for those or just about any other concert!

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Not My Unbirthday Weekend

Alice and the Mad Hatter can celebrate all the unbirthdays they want. I prefer when it's not my unbirthday.

Like this weekend.

Friday
I took the day off work, and that was a great idea. Might have to make it a yearly choice.

After sleeping in a little, I made an egg-whites and spinach quesadilla, went for a short run around Crystal City, and got a haircut so I'd look sharp for all the weekend fun. I felt like a new man.

For lunch, I met up with Emily and she treated me to American Tap Room in Bethesda. We sat in big, comfy chairs right by the fireplace. Our sandwiches were delicious. Even better, she was super nice and got me some gifts, including Swedish Fish (one of my kryptonites), manly body-spray deodorant, and personalized golf balls (which I'll do my best not to lose in two or three rounds on the golf course). So great!

Later that evening, I picked Emily up from DuPont Circle and we headed to the Kennedy Center for the Nutcracker.True confession time: I've struggled with staying awake in previous attempts at the Nutcracker, but this time I was able to get into the show and keep the eyelids open the whole time. Also, I think Emily's enthusiasm was contagious, so I couldn't help but be excited for whatever dance was next.

Saturday
My roommate Seth had a Groupon/LivingSocial for Skyline Paintball in Strasburg, VA, and he generously offered it for my birthday. We rounded up 16 of us, woke up early, and hit the road.

Due to the cold and our fear of massive welts, everyone was bundled up at the beginning.

The green team (aka Venom aka C.O.B.R.A.)

The pink team (aka Rainbow Brite aka My Little Pony aka they-didn't-tell-me-a-name)

There's just something about holding a gun of any type, caliber, shape, or size that makes you feel tough.

While we all may have started out a little timidly, after a few games our skills had vastly improved. Some excelled at being snipers, while others (I'm looking at you, Mike Merrell) could go on a mad-rush rampage and decimate an entire flank of defenses. Communication and team-work often proved to be the key, and results seemed to vary depending on the battlefield terrains. Not sure why, but maybe woods/towns just suited each team's personnel differently.

Such a great group, and I believe everyone had enough fun that we'll be returning to Skyline Paintball again soon. And this time, we'll actually know what we're doing. Watch out, because we're coming for ya!

You think that's enough fun for a Saturday on a birthday weekend? Perish the thought!

Since Marriott doesn't do a big corporate holiday party, I was very excited to be invited by Emily to join her for her work party. We got all dolled up (clearly, Emily looks way cuter than I do, which is expected), and headed up to Bethesda for an evening of dining, dancing, and raffling.

She is rocking that LBD

The only semi-sad part was that karaoke didn't happen. I think the organizers realized that the space wasn't the best for it, or that they might have too many people interested and it would detract from the popularity of the dance floor (which admittedly is more classy and inclusive for all). There will be other nights for karaoke. This one was plenty fun with all the socializing and dancing we did.

Remember how I mentioned raffling? All of the company employees that had RSVP'ed for the party were entered to win prizes throughout the night. Lo and behold, as we were chatting with Emily's coworker and coworker's parents, we heard Emily's name get called out by the emcee. She was so excited and ran up to claim her award with her arms high in the air. $200 for Lululemon. Not too shabby, eh?

What a wonderful birthday weekend it was. I'm so glad it wasn't my unbirthday!

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The Sharaya Mikael House Show

Last night, my home had the pleasure of hosting a house show for Sharaya Mikael.

This talented songstress is a Portland native, now living in Nashville. A couple of my roommates met her during her 2010 48-state tour, and she decided to play a real gig at our place during her current tour.

Before, during, and after her set, Sharaya was a delight to spend time with. You can tell she is a passionate person and enjoys life, and that emotion comes through in her music (even the deeper stuff).

But first things first.

The opener for our house show was Shannon Simmons, a local DC artist that I know personally. She serenaded us on guitar and piano -- not at the same time, though that would be remarkable...

While I was tempted to bust out my Flip and get some footage, I hadn't asked so I didn't film any of tonight's concert. If you want to see a video of Shannon singing/playing, I found this one on YouTube.
Note: it's not a real performance [also, please don't be mad at me for finding and sharing, Shannon].

Next Sharaya stepped up to the "stage". She played songs from both of her albums, including upbeat tunes, some melancholy ones, and a cover of CCR's "Bad Moon Rising". The whole show was excellent, and I only wish it could have lasted longer.

If you'd like a little taste, you can watch this video for her song "Far Field".

Good stuff, eh? She's also on Twitter (I'm already following), Last.fm, Facebook, Spotify, and YouTube.

And if you want to buy her albums, you can do so on iTunes and Amazon.

Sharaya and Shannon after their performances

Great meeting you, Sharaya!

I believe I can speak for all of the DC crowd in saying we look forward to seeing you back here again soon, Sharaya. You're always welcome!

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