Confidence is Key: Rock 'N' Roar concert at the National Zoo

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Rock 'N' Roar concert at the National Zoo

Last night, I went to the Rock 'N' Roar concert at the National Zoo. I actually had entered a contest to win tickets to the show, but I didn't receive notice that I had won until less than a week before the day of the event. So it was sort of spontaneous, but I was excited to win the chance to see two of the members of O.A.R. perform.

I showed up to pick up my tickets, and realized that I had actually won VIP access to the event! So I slipped on my lanyard and went directly to the Fat Tire tent to get my free beer. Then my friend and I set up our blanket in the VIP section of the park, right in front of the stage.The opening act was Taylor Carson, a local artist from DC. He was good, sort of weird (he just kept talking about how much he wanted to hug people...creepy!), and when O.A.R. came on, you could distinctly see the difference between the amateur and the professionals.

From O.A.R. were Marc Roberge and Richard On, with Marc as the lead singer and Richard as another guitarist. I had heard of O.A.R. before, but I couldn't name one of their songs. In their repertoire for the night were these songs: Heaven (Marc mentioned he thought of this song by thinking of bullying and acceptance), Shattered, Love and Memories (which is about past relationships and how those memories never go away, which anyone who's been heartbroken can relate to), Black Rock, Peace (which Marc explained as about peace of self, not world peace), and my favorite was Hey Girl (which I had heard before but didn't know it was them!).

Here are some photos from the night. It was so much fun, especially when I got to go for free!