Monday, November 29, 2021

TWO Country Music Concerts

Image found here

Before the Thanksgiving holiday, I went to two country music concerts two days in a row! It was actually going to be three in three days, but the Kip Moore concert at the Fillmore got postponed. I'm glad I could still go to the other two!

The first one was the Brothers Osborne at the Anthem. I had seen them before at WMZQ's Stars 'n' Guitars in 2016 and when they opened for Dierks Bentley at Merriweather Post Pavilion in 2018. But this time they were the headliners!


The first opener was Travis Denning. I hadn't heard of him before, but he was having so much fun up there! I loved his energy, and he is a GREAT guitarist. I would definitely see him again in concert!

Here are some of his songs:

After a Few (I love this song, and I had no idea he sang it!)


ABBY (so funny!)


Call It Country (I always like country-pride songs!)


Tank of Gas and a Radio Song (catchy!)



After he was done, the next performer was Tenille Townes, another artist who was new to me. I didn't like her music as much. To me, her sound is more indie than country; her voice reminded me a lot of Patty Lynn in The Wind + The Wave. And her hair extensions were so distracting; hair was everywhere!

Girl Who Didn't Care


Villain in Me


Somebody's Daughter (her only song I knew)


Jersey on the Wall


When I Meet My Maker


Come As You Are


Then we got to the Brothers Osborne. They sounded great, but since we were so close to the stage (standing room), we could see all the sweat, the funny faces, etc., which I think detracted from the show. I would have been content not to see all of that! Halfway through the show, T.J. Osborne was talking about the hard times he had been through and how happy he was to have acceptance; I didn't realize this, but he came out this past February. I felt like I had been living under a rock! Then they took a break, and they came back and sat down on some couches to play a chill acoustic set. That would have been fine, except at that point the standing room became uncomfortable. No one could see anything because the performers were sitting down, so everyone was pushing toward the front. At that point my friend and I left; even though the Anthem requires everyone to wear masks when they aren't eating or drinking, fewer than 10% of the people there wore their masks EVER. My friend and I were nearly the only ones. I liked the music, but it's not worth getting COVID for. No way!

I did get to hear some of their biggest hits, as well as some of their newer songs:

Stay a Little Longer (my favorite song of theirs!)


Weed, Whiskey, and Willie


Burning Man (usually they sing this along with Dierks Bentley)


Rum (They claim this is their "local" song, having grown up on the water in Maryland.)


I'm Not For Everyone


All Night


It Ain't My Fault


Younger Me (They played this after T.J. was alluding to coming out.)


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The next day, my boyfriend and I went to the Hamilton to see Carly Pearce. I had already seen her twice as well (both times in Baltimore, actually): once opening for Brett Young in 2017 and then again in 2018 with Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, and Brett Eldredge. My boyfriend doesn't like country music, but I appreciate that he was willing to go to this concert with me. He had been to the Hamilton before, and he suggested that we didn't need to reserve seats, since there's usually plenty of bar seating. But this Carly show was sold out (she was Female Vocalist of the Year), so we ended up standing; I've been to many standing-room only shows before, so it kind of felt like that. Next time though, I would reserve seats!


He doesn't look this young in real life. Image found here.

Anyway, the music was very good. The opener was Andrew Jannakos; certainly didn't know who he was! I enjoyed his set, but I will admit I was just waiting for Pearce to take the stage!

Gone Too Soon (This song was familiar, though!)


When the Whiskey Runs Out


Somebody Loves You (I thought this song was cute.)


Like Yesterday (I really liked this song! So romantic!)


Pearce then came on with her rhinestone-covered mic stand and she was ready to go! She played her entire new album called 29: Written in Stone, and she played the songs in order, too. I thought that was a really cool way to celebrate a new album. She's been through a lot this year (her divorce, her producer passing away, etc.), so she had a lot of inspiration for her music. There was so much feeling in her songs, especially her lyrics. I'll list the videos here in the same order:

Diamondback


What He Didn't Do


Easy Going


Dear Miss Loretta


Next Girl (the only song from her new album I had heard)


Should've Known Better


29 (I loved the line in this song, "The year I was gonna live it up/Now I'm never gonna live it down")


Never Wanted to Be That Girl (performed with Ashley McBryde, and the only song I knew of hers was One Night Standards)


Your Drinkin', My Problem (probably the only song I wasn't sure really fit with the rest of the album)


Liability


Messy  (This song really hit me thinking about past break-ups.) 


Show Me Around (She wrote this song thinking about her producer in heaven. He was only in his early 40's, and he left behind a wife and three little girls. It was such a sad story. I was ugly crying; thank goodness my face was covered with a mask!)


Day One (Another great break-up song. So many feelings!)


All the Whiskey in the World


Mean It This Time

After playing all of the songs from her new album, she played a few of her well-known hits, too, which I enjoyed:

I Hope You're Happy Now (which she sang with Jannakos)


Hide the Wine


Every Little Thing


She did a really good job, and I immediately bought her CD on Amazon. I would love to see her again in concert!

I think my next country music concert isn't until March. That seems so far away!

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Recipe: Candy Corn Cookies

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I didn't buy any Halloween candy this year except for a bag of candy corn. But then I couldn't find anyone to share it with! Candy corn is one of those love-to-hate candies, so I should have known I might be stuck with it all. What was I going to do with it? I figured I'd try to bake with it. 

I found this recipe on the Averie Cooks blog and thought I'd give it a go:

INGREDIENTS

·         1/2 cup unsalted butter, soften

·         3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

·         1/4 cup granulated sugar

·         1 large egg

·         1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·         2 tablespoons cream or half-and-half

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         2 teaspoons corn starch

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         pinch salt, optional and to taste

·         1 1/2 cups candy corn (10 to 11 ounces)

·         1 cup white chocolate chips (or salted peanuts)

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

2.     Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the next 5 ingredients (through optional salt), and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don’t overmix.

3.     Add the candy corn, white chocolate chips (or peanuts), and mix until just incorporated.

4.     Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 20). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.

5.     Important note – Strategically place candy corn so that it’s not baking directly on cookie sheet because it will melt, burn, or turn runny if it is. The candy corn pieces need to be in the interior of the cookies, shielded and buffered by dough.

6.     Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. Baking longer than 10 minutes could result in cookies with overly browned undersides.

7.     Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking.

I will admit that I did not read the recipe carefully before I started putting these together. I didn't realize I'd have to let the dough rest in the fridge for a while (I was wondering why the first step wasn't to preheat the oven!), and I certainly wasn't going to take the time to make sure each piece of candy corn was wrapped in dough. I will say that didn't really matter: the candy corn didn't burn, and it wasn't so hard to clean off the plan. I also didn't bother with covering the dough in the fridge, and that didn't matter, either.

I did make sure not to overbake them. In my mind, they were actually underdone; I feared I might get salmonella from the raw-ish dough in the middle! But my friends and family really liked them. So I'm not sure I can really recommend these, but you might like them!

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Marc Broussard Concert

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I have to admit that I had never heard of Marc Broussard before, but when my friend invited me to see him in concert at the Birchmere, I was definitely up for it. I have been to that venue before (I saw Los Lonely Boys, Stephen Lynch, and Lee Ann Womack there) but not since COVID. I was excited to go back!

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The opener was Drew Angus. I didn't know who he was either, but I loved his show! I liked his voice so much that I bought a CD and a tank top at his merch table! And he was funny, too! I was totally entertained! Here are some of his songs:

Made to Love You


Wrecking Ball (not as successful as Miley Cyrus' song by the same name)

Mr. Gemini

Always


Me and You


He even did a cover of Lorde's Royals that was really good!


And Marc Broussard put on a great show, too! His style of music is called "Bayou Soul." I like it! Here's a taste of his sound:

Baton Rouge


Gavin's Song (written for his first son)


Lonely Night in Georgia


He does a cover of "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" with Drew Angus, although they did not perform it the night I saw them:


Definitely a good show! Next up: Brothers Osborne at the Anthem!

Friday, November 5, 2021

Kane Brown concert

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I have been going to see so many shows lately now that we can support the arts again in person! Last night I went to see Kane Brown at Capital One Arena. I don't know a lot of his music, but I really like a few of his songs, so I wanted to see him live. As usual, I bought the tickets as soon as they were available, but since this show didn't sell out, I could have bought floor tickets for $20! Hmpf! But I was still happy with our club-level seats. We were looking at the stage from an angle, but we were close enough to see just about everything. 

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The first opener was Restless Road, a band we had never heard of before. I feel like lately in country music, it's been mostly just single male singers (or maybe a duo, like Dan + Shay). So it was cool to see a group! My friend joked that they were the N*Sync of country, like a boy band. I really liked their harmonizing and enjoyed the show. I'm not sure I'd be ready to see them as headliners, but I liked them as the first act! They did a medley of country songs like Should've Been a Cowboy and Check Yes or No, so their covers were good, too (they also did Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me!). Here are some of the songs they performed:

Bar Friends


One Step Ahead (I think this was my favorite of theirs!)


Took One Look at Her Momma (Their version of Stacy's Mom?)


Take Me Home (their version of the John Denver classic)



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The second opener was Jordan Davis. I had totally forgotten that I had seen him before when he opened for Old Dominion. I like a lot of his songs, too! But I have to admit, I was very distracted by his bad posture the entire time. His shoulders were all scrunched up; it was painful just to watch! Here's a taste of what we heard:

Almost Maybes


Cool Anymore


Slow Dance in a Parking Lot


Singles You Up (definitely my favorite song of his)


Detours (reminded my of Rascal Flatt's Bless this Broken Road)


Buy Dirt (his nearly religious song)


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And then it was time for the main act! Kane Brown puts on a show as if he were a rock star or rapper, not a country star. He entered the stage in a harness from the ceiling wearing a Washington Wizards jersey! He also had a boot on his foot from an injury (He took it off for the last song and was just wearing one shoe!). There were all sorts of lights, dry ice, and even pyrotechnics! Quite the show! Check out some of his songs:

What If (I think this will forever and always be my favorite song of his!)





One Thing Right

Homesick (He dedicated this song to our military men and women.)


Famous Friends (I didn't know he did this song with Chris Young!)



One Mississippi


Memory (I wouldn't consider this a country song AT ALL...)


For My Daughter (a serious moment in the show, but touching)


Stand by Me (a great cover!)


Brown and Restless Road also covered Blake Shelton's Ol' Red:


It was a really fun show! I REALLY missed live music during the pandemic, and I am so glad to have it back!

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Gwen Stefani in Concert in Las Vegas!

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After not being able to fly anywhere for a while due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been looking to pick up my travel, especially since I'm vaccinated and have my booster shot. So in true jet-setting fashion, my sister and I flew to Las Vegas for ONE day to see Gwen Stefani in concert over the Halloween weekend. Her residency only lasts a few more days, so we had to see her while we could!


I arrived early in the morning, but my sister wasn't getting in until later in the afternoon. So I went straight from the airport to the Tropicana to enjoy some treatments at their Glow spa (they had a Groupon). I had a very nice facial first, read my book in the relaxation room, and then had a pedicure. I felt completely pampered by the time I left.

This is the relaxation room. Image found here.

Then I made my way down the Strip (there are no crosswalks at intersections, only elevated walkways from casino to casino; it was quite a maze to figure out where I was going). It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the 80's, so I enjoyed lunch outside at a Mexican restaurant where my piña colada was served in a boot:


After I was done eating, I walked the rest of the way to Planet Hollywood, which is where the concert was going to be and where we were staying. But check-in wasn't until 3:00; if I wanted to check in earlier, I had to pay a $30 fee. WTF?! So I asked if I could access to the pool, which I was granted. So I changed into my bikini and laid out in the sun for just about an hour. Glorious! And I finished my book, too!

After a long check-in process (even though their kiosks claim to be "express"), my sister arrived and we could go up to the room. We relaxed a bit and then headed down to the shops in the casino. We hit up Francesca's and H&M before settling in for dinner at P.F. Chang's (one of the few Chinese restaurants I know that doesn't use MSG, since I'm allergic). 

Then it was time to get ready! Although Halloween wasn't technically until Sunday, it was a Saturday night in Vegas, so we were going to dress up! My sister already had a DÍa de los Muertos outfit, but her intricate make-up was fantastic! I had brought a bunch of random things with me, since I didn't know what I wanted to dress up as. In the end, I went with slutty dominatrix ballerina. Like this:


Once we were all dressed up, we headed downstairs to the slot machines. We actually won $12 at our first slot machine, but within about 45 minutes, bouncing from machine to machine, we ended up losing around $50. But it's all for fun! After that, we made our way to the Zappos Theater for the concert. Here are some photos from the show:


Photo credit: Taylor Arion

Photo credit: Taylor Arion

Gwen on a rose-covered rising platform. Photo credit: Taylor Arion

I knew pretty much all of the songs she performed, both from her time with No Doubt and on her own. Here's a taste of what we heard:

Don't Speak (I think this must be everyone's favorite No Doubt song. SO GOOD!)


Hollaback Girl (with the backup dancers holding giant bananas, of course)



Bananas! Photo credit: Taylor Arion


Cool (one of my favorite music videos of all time)


Luxurious


Ex-Girlfriend (She said she hates singing this song because it brings her back to the time when she wrote it; she said it makes her want to throw up! But she knows the fans love it.)


Baby Don't Lie (This song sounded familiar, but I didn't really know it well.)


What You Waiting For? (Another great feminist song)

Wind It Up (I had totally forgotten about this song! So catchy!)


Just a Girl (She pointed out how this song is still so meaningful, especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement.)

Spiderwebs

Bathwater


Hella Good


Underneath It All


Hey Baby


Sunday Morning


Used to Love You


Rich Girl (I had hoped someone would sing Eve's part!)


Make Me Like You


She even performed a few cover songs:

Rihanna's Umbrella


Blondie's The Tide is High

This show was so much fun! The sets were beautiful and the energy was great. Gwen invited fans onto the stage throughout the show to thank them for their support and take photos with them (while trying to be socially distanced. She was continuously putting on hand sanitizer!). For "Just a Girl" she brought up several young girls, who represent the future of women's rights. Go girl power!

By the time we got back to our room and took off our make-up and costumes, it was nearly 1:00 a.m. So we slept for about four hours before heading back to the airport to head home. What a whirlwind of a trip!