What a Wonderful Blog
I think the first song I ever heard was "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. I guess it may just be the first song I ever remember hearing, though. In reality, I'm sure it was some Raffi song my mom had playing for my older siblings. But, "What a Wonderful World" will remain my first song in my memories. My mom used to sing it to me as I fell asleep. To this day, the song makes me cry. In fact, on the first day of my new job this summer, "What a Wonderful World" came on while I was stocking the organic bananas and I started tearing up. The line, "I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do, they're really saying, I love you," kills me. Absolutely strikes my heart strings every time. I actually do not understand how people can listen to that song and NOT cry. Like, my God, it is beautiful. It magically captures how wonderful our world truly is; even in times of distress and political strife, friends still shake hands. The little things still exist. It is still a wonderful world.
Anyway, Louis Armstrong really started my passion for music, I think. My first concert was Hannah Montana when I was in the fourth grade. I was grumpy because I am a spoiled brat and my seats were awful. If you have ever been in the Quicken Loans Arena, you may know that there is one singular club / loge thing at the very tip top of the Q, like above Loudville and the nosebleeds. That is where my seats were. It was loud and late. I was grumpy. I loved it, because Hannah Montana was everything to me at the time, but I was in a sour mood for the duration of the evening. My second concert was Jason Mraz at a venue that no longer exists on the river in downtown Cleveland. I was like ten, I think? Maybe nine. The back of my legs were spattered in puke from a gross teenager behind me, but I did get to touch Jason's shoulder when he walked around the crowd. It was fine. But it was loud, and I was disgusted by the humans behind me. I swore off concerts from there on out.
My next concert was when I was fourteen. It was the summer going into high school and I went with an old friend of mine. We saw Fun. at Nautica. It was fantastic. Nate, the lead singer, told stories about Cedar Point and buying a dog in Cleveland. He was super energetic and ran around the stage. It was invigorating. Truly, to the core, it made me happy. The music pumped through my entire body, everyone around me was happy, and it made me sway with joy. It restored my passion for music. My freshman year of high school is when things really started picking up pace, though. I met a girl who shared my love for music (although we both lack personal musical abilities) and it kind of became our thing. For Christmas, she gave me a CD she had burned for me. That was what got the ball moving. She had the Arctic Monkeys, Young the Giant, Daughter, Matt and Kim, Walk the Moon, The Temper Trap, Gabrielle Aplin, and some others. I mean, the girl has some seriously good music taste. Although I had heard of some of those artists before, her CD inspired me to delve into them, and some of them remain my favorites today. That spring, my mom took me and my new friend to see The Head and the Heart in some auditorium in Cleveland. Hearing "Rivers and Roads" live changed my life. It was pretty clear from there on out that concerts would be my main hobby. Concerts would be how I spent my money. The lighting pierced the dark and smoky room, the faint smell of illegal substances lingered in the air, the bass pumped through the soles of my feet, the shrieking of the voices and instruments pierced my ears ... it was overwhelmingly intoxicating, and I fell in love with the sensation.
During concerts, every sense is stimulated. The lights for your eyes, your ears by the music, touching those around you (and isn't human touch the most bonding and beautiful thing), the smell of sweaty people and the beer that spilled (vaping smells these days, primarily), and taste (aren't smelling and tasting extremely similar? It is interesting that they are still two separate senses) ... I suppose I do not have one for taste, actually. But, still, live music crashes over your body and transports your soul to a place of pure bliss. The loud music and bright lights manipulate your body into dancing. You are not judged in the darkness of a concert. It is wonderful.
Since then, I have been to a ridiculous amount of concerts: Bastille, Young the Giant, Hippo Campus (three times), Saint Motel (plus a Studio C of them at the Summit Radio station), Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, Lorde, Bad Bad Hats (three times), The Avett Brothers, Andrew McMahon, Jason Mraz (like what, four times?), and then LaureLive, a summer music festival at Laurel High School in North East Ohio. At LaureLive last year, I saw Dawes, Young the Giant (again), and The Head and the Heart (again). Honestly, I may have even seen more, but this is all I can think of right now. This brings us to this summer's shenanigans, which brings us to the point of this post.
This summer alone, I have already seen: The Head and the Heart (for the third time), Vance Joy (who I actually got to meet and play corn hole with; a midwesterner's dream), Flora Cash in a Studio C performance, Bad Bad Hats again (Forager opened for them, but they were not good), Thirty Seconds to Mars (the most aesthetically pleasing concert I have ever attended), which also included seeing The Misterwives and Walk the Moon (super cool to hear music from that original CD that started it all for me five years later), and Imagine Dragons. Additionally, I went to LaureLive again this year, this time for both days. There, I saw The Aces (my current favorite band), Tall Heights, Rag'n'Bone Man, Foster the People (it rained during their performance and it was incredible), Cold War Kids, X Ambassadors, and Fitz and the Tantrums. Next on my list is Beck, Houndmouth (hopefully), Camila Cabello (opening for Taylor Swift), Jason Mraz (again), The Avett Brothers (again), and then possibly InCuya, a music festival in downtown Cleveland to finish off summer (AWOLNATION, SZA, The Avett Brothers, and some other random people ... very interesting combination). So, yeah. I am insane. Essentially, I really hated my freshman year of college and splurged on a ton of concert tickets to make me feel better. And, quite frankly, it's working. Concerts always make me feel better.
I have a blog titled "Finding the Good," which I started with my friend Dan as a way to put our thoughts into words. But it is not really a blog. Further, half of the stuff I write on there is about music, anyway. This blog is going to serve as a spin off of that blog; instead of Finding the Good, it is Finding the Groove, because I find the good in this wonderful world through the groove. I will write about my concert experiences and other music related things. Mainly, I will likely dissect my favorite songs from my favorite artists. So, if you are looking for some new music, you are in the right place! If music heals your soul like it does for me, and you want to read something about what you love, you are in the right place!
Anyway, Louis Armstrong really started my passion for music, I think. My first concert was Hannah Montana when I was in the fourth grade. I was grumpy because I am a spoiled brat and my seats were awful. If you have ever been in the Quicken Loans Arena, you may know that there is one singular club / loge thing at the very tip top of the Q, like above Loudville and the nosebleeds. That is where my seats were. It was loud and late. I was grumpy. I loved it, because Hannah Montana was everything to me at the time, but I was in a sour mood for the duration of the evening. My second concert was Jason Mraz at a venue that no longer exists on the river in downtown Cleveland. I was like ten, I think? Maybe nine. The back of my legs were spattered in puke from a gross teenager behind me, but I did get to touch Jason's shoulder when he walked around the crowd. It was fine. But it was loud, and I was disgusted by the humans behind me. I swore off concerts from there on out.
My next concert was when I was fourteen. It was the summer going into high school and I went with an old friend of mine. We saw Fun. at Nautica. It was fantastic. Nate, the lead singer, told stories about Cedar Point and buying a dog in Cleveland. He was super energetic and ran around the stage. It was invigorating. Truly, to the core, it made me happy. The music pumped through my entire body, everyone around me was happy, and it made me sway with joy. It restored my passion for music. My freshman year of high school is when things really started picking up pace, though. I met a girl who shared my love for music (although we both lack personal musical abilities) and it kind of became our thing. For Christmas, she gave me a CD she had burned for me. That was what got the ball moving. She had the Arctic Monkeys, Young the Giant, Daughter, Matt and Kim, Walk the Moon, The Temper Trap, Gabrielle Aplin, and some others. I mean, the girl has some seriously good music taste. Although I had heard of some of those artists before, her CD inspired me to delve into them, and some of them remain my favorites today. That spring, my mom took me and my new friend to see The Head and the Heart in some auditorium in Cleveland. Hearing "Rivers and Roads" live changed my life. It was pretty clear from there on out that concerts would be my main hobby. Concerts would be how I spent my money. The lighting pierced the dark and smoky room, the faint smell of illegal substances lingered in the air, the bass pumped through the soles of my feet, the shrieking of the voices and instruments pierced my ears ... it was overwhelmingly intoxicating, and I fell in love with the sensation.
During concerts, every sense is stimulated. The lights for your eyes, your ears by the music, touching those around you (and isn't human touch the most bonding and beautiful thing), the smell of sweaty people and the beer that spilled (vaping smells these days, primarily), and taste (aren't smelling and tasting extremely similar? It is interesting that they are still two separate senses) ... I suppose I do not have one for taste, actually. But, still, live music crashes over your body and transports your soul to a place of pure bliss. The loud music and bright lights manipulate your body into dancing. You are not judged in the darkness of a concert. It is wonderful.
Since then, I have been to a ridiculous amount of concerts: Bastille, Young the Giant, Hippo Campus (three times), Saint Motel (plus a Studio C of them at the Summit Radio station), Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, Lorde, Bad Bad Hats (three times), The Avett Brothers, Andrew McMahon, Jason Mraz (like what, four times?), and then LaureLive, a summer music festival at Laurel High School in North East Ohio. At LaureLive last year, I saw Dawes, Young the Giant (again), and The Head and the Heart (again). Honestly, I may have even seen more, but this is all I can think of right now. This brings us to this summer's shenanigans, which brings us to the point of this post.
This summer alone, I have already seen: The Head and the Heart (for the third time), Vance Joy (who I actually got to meet and play corn hole with; a midwesterner's dream), Flora Cash in a Studio C performance, Bad Bad Hats again (Forager opened for them, but they were not good), Thirty Seconds to Mars (the most aesthetically pleasing concert I have ever attended), which also included seeing The Misterwives and Walk the Moon (super cool to hear music from that original CD that started it all for me five years later), and Imagine Dragons. Additionally, I went to LaureLive again this year, this time for both days. There, I saw The Aces (my current favorite band), Tall Heights, Rag'n'Bone Man, Foster the People (it rained during their performance and it was incredible), Cold War Kids, X Ambassadors, and Fitz and the Tantrums. Next on my list is Beck, Houndmouth (hopefully), Camila Cabello (opening for Taylor Swift), Jason Mraz (again), The Avett Brothers (again), and then possibly InCuya, a music festival in downtown Cleveland to finish off summer (AWOLNATION, SZA, The Avett Brothers, and some other random people ... very interesting combination). So, yeah. I am insane. Essentially, I really hated my freshman year of college and splurged on a ton of concert tickets to make me feel better. And, quite frankly, it's working. Concerts always make me feel better.
I have a blog titled "Finding the Good," which I started with my friend Dan as a way to put our thoughts into words. But it is not really a blog. Further, half of the stuff I write on there is about music, anyway. This blog is going to serve as a spin off of that blog; instead of Finding the Good, it is Finding the Groove, because I find the good in this wonderful world through the groove. I will write about my concert experiences and other music related things. Mainly, I will likely dissect my favorite songs from my favorite artists. So, if you are looking for some new music, you are in the right place! If music heals your soul like it does for me, and you want to read something about what you love, you are in the right place!
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