BUSY: Concert at the Anthem, Capitals hockey game, and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw concert!

Last week was such a busy week for me! I was planning a gala for work for Saturday, but even with that big event coming up, I still found time to relax and have fun. Here's what I was up to:

Cymbals hang from the ceiling in the entry-way of the Anthem. How cool is that?

Not a bad seat in the house!

1. Concert at the Anthem: The Anthem is a new music venue that is in the same company family as the 9:30 Club, a well-known music venue in D.C. This new sister venue is near the newly renovated and up-and-coming Southwest Waterfront in the District, now called "The Wharf." As part of the 9:30 Club's "Friends with Benefits" program, I was able to score free tickets to the second soft opening of the Anthem before its real grand opening. The venue is huge, holding 6,000 people. And it was LOUD! No matter where you were standing/sitting, the sound was overwhelming (and not just because the band that was playing, Andrew WK, was kind of angry, screaming/yelling music). I could definitely see myself buying tickets to see shows there in the future. Read more about the venue and its soft opening here.

Here are some other photos:

The balconies look like they have strings of pearls lighting them up.

Everyone got a ticket for a free Pacifico beer. I'm not a beer drinker, but I liked this van-bar thing.

Creepy merchandise from the band. What's up with the nosebleed?

There's a balcony where you can stand behind the Anthem lettering on the building. I couldn't believe no one was smoking!

Great new season ticket seats!

2. Capitals hockey game: My dad invited me to see the Washington Capitals play their rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, at the newly named Capital One Arena (previously known as the Verizon Center, and the MCI Center before that). The Caps had been doing great, and Alex Ovechkin had been on fire recently. But of course the Caps choked playing against the Penguins as usual, and we lost. Boo.

This guy's jersey says "PENS SUCK" on the back. My sentiments exactly.

Highlight of the night: when McGraw came down the stairs right next to me!

3. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw concert: I bought these tickets more than a year in advance. I love country music, and these two are the golden couple of modern country music. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw both have so many great songs, and I was excited to see them perform together. I will say that in the end, the show was a bit anti-climactic. They didn't sing all of their biggest hits, and some of the songs they would only sing one verse instead of the whole thing! I talked to other attendees, and they felt the same way. But I am still glad I got to see them live.

Here are some photos I took during the show:

Sorry it's blurry. Those lights moved over and around the couple. Very trusting!

Faith didn't have too many wardrobe changes, but I liked everything she wore. And her outfits were age-appropriate (as opposed to when I saw Shania Twain two years ago who wore essentially a leotard!).

 Here are most of the songs they sang that night:

Felt Good on My Lips

It's Your Love

This Kiss

Shotgun Rider

 Breathe

I Like It, I Love It (He only sang part of this song. Hmpf!)

The Way You Love Me

 Let's Make Love

 Mississippi Girl

Real Good Man

Like We Never Loved at All

Something Like That

Wild One

Angry All The Time

I Need You

Where the Green Grass Grows

They each have some "message" songs, and while they are good songs, it was kind of annoying to listen to all of them back-to-back to each other.

Live Like You Were Dying

Speak to a Girl

 Humble and Kind

 And here are A LOT of their big hits that they didn't play, which really disappointed me (although I realize they can't play everything!):

Down on the Farm

Don't Take the Girl

Better Than I Used to Be

It Matters to Me

Not a Moment Too Soon

Let's Go to Vegas

 She's My Kind of Rain

My Little Girl (I always imagine this would be the song my dad and I would dance to at my wedding. If I ever get married...)

Cry

 Just to See You Smile

I Can't Do That Anymore

Indian Outlaw (maybe not the right song to sing in D.C. with the Redskins' name controversy?)

 The Cowboy in Me

Someone Else's Dream

If You're Reading This

My Next Thirty Years

The music was still great! I was also surprised by how futuristic the set was. It was almost too sci-fi, and especially weird at a country concert. At one point the background image was supposed to be a stained-glass window of a church, but to me it looked like the Star Trek symbol. Like this:

Here's a psychedelia video from the concert, just for fun:

And a random photo: did you know that the people who run the spotlights sit up in a weird swing thing near the ceiling?!