Solid Gold at Lincoln Square Theater

 

Sarah Ping and I went to see Solid Gold last night. Most of the band are past members of V Shape Mind, a band from Decatur that almost made it big. The only member not present was Scott Parjani because he died of alcohol withdrawl, on January 3, 2010. I knew him once upon a time.

The Solid Gold show was so much fun. I really loved the lead singer's voice and the way he really got into it.

The Family Value Tribute Night

We drove over to the Danenberger Family Vineyards, a little past Springfield, to see The Family Value Tribute Night: Tributes to Korn (Freak On a Leash), System of a Down (Peephole), and Deftones (Defnotes).

I didn't care to much for the Deftones tribute. I've never been a fan. So that was whatever. However, I like SOD and Korn. That was a lot of fun. I love the venue. We've seen a few good shows there so far.

Defnotes drummer

This guy was really diggin' the show!

Peephole

Freak On a Leash

Harvest Fest: Neon Havoc Demolition Derby

Dodger and I went to another demolition derby at the fairgrounds tonight. I love these things. They're so much fun to watch.

Louder Than Life 2024

This year's Louder Than Life festival was eventful for one reason, Hurricane Helene. Otherwise, it was a bit of a bummer.

Thursday, Dodger worked that morning, and by the time we got on the road and to the AirBnB, I wasn't down with trying to get to the festival after 9pm just to see Slipknot. It was raining and cold and we would have been driving roads we weren't used to.

THEN, Friday was completely rained out due to the hurricane in the Gulf of America. I know all of those coming to see Slayer were bummed. There wasn't anyone I cared to see that day, so it was a wash for me.

Saturday morning, we made our way to the nearest Walmart and scavenged what was left of all of the rain gear. We managed to find full sets for both of us and then headed to the festival. It was a total mess of mud just about everywhere. It was difficult to walk through most of it, and some places were purely unpassable. Falling In Reverse didn't play because the hurricane messed with their travel plans. That's who I really wanted to see. Lindemann played in their place. What a total perv. He's a weirdo in the bad way. We did see Disturbed, thank goodness. We also saw the Dropkick Murphys, always fun. We left as Motley Crue was starting. We just can't stomach them at this stage. We prefer to listen to them as they were in their prime. They need to hang it up. They can't hang anymore.

Saturday, it the mud was less messy and it didn't rain at all. It was actually pleasant most of the day. I know we saw Breaking Benjamin. We saw a bit of Korn but left after a few songs.

Here's a mashup of the videos I took. I didn't take many. I left my phone in the locker most of the time. Dodger might have more videos that I may upload later.

Paradise Kitty at The Devon Amphitheater

Dodger and I went down to the lake shore and saw Paradise Kitty tonight. We did not stay for Vixen. That's just not our vibe. I'm pretty sure we got this tix for free from Staley's CU.

Paradise Kitty is five badass babes born and bred on Guns N' Roses' bombastic 1987 debut Appetite for Destruction. With serious metal honed chops and raucous reverence for the Sunset Strip warriors that took Hollywood and the world by storm, they are a sexy, smoldering, dead serious band that's out to get the GN'R fans far and wide.
​Comprised of veteran L.A. based drummer, Rachael Rine, frenetic frontwoman, Jenna Syde and a revolving cast of some of the best female strings players on the Sunset Strip, Paradise Kitty is poised to kick in your door, blow you roof off and vandalize you authentic Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy and Steven loving hearts. Welcome to the new goddess infused jungle boys and girls.

Freaks on Parade Tour

Dodger and I went to Noblesville last night to see Filter, Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. So much fun and good music the whole night!

I made a mashup of the videos I took throughout the concert.

Headbangin' Baby

Here's Zavi dancing to AC/DC's TNT.

Macon County Fair 2024 Tractor Pull & Demo Derby

Dodger and I went to the tractor pull and demo derby this weekend. It's the first time I've ever been to one. It was a lot of fun.

Blackbriar Came to Chicago!

I haven't been this excited to see a show it like who knows how long. I found Blackbriar through YouTube a few years ago. They are from the Netherlands and have NEVER played in the USA before. They tour all over Europe, but I don't live there. I live in central IL. So, I was thrilled to see them not only come to the US for a small tour but that they stopped at the House of Blues in Chicago, close enough for me to see them.

I never purchase concert T's at concerts either, but this was an exception. I wanted to support them and also get one of their T's that I wouldn't be able to get again.

Here's a mashup of the videos I took.

Total Eclipse Music Festival

This one didn't work out as planned. The plan was to camp the whole weekend and enjoy the bands and the fun. From the beginning, things weren't lining up. For instance, we weren't allowed to drive our car down to the campsite to unload our items. This was fine until I started noticing others were allowed to do this. As it was, we walked back and forth multiple times to the parking lot to get our things. THEN, I went to purchase a special "space themed" snack. I ended up paying $2 for a fun sized candy bar. WTF! I had also paid a premium price for extras only to find the extras were some drink tickets, and we don't drink alcohol. The whole thing was a joke.

The weather was cool and the bands were cooler. After the bands, we go back to our tent to hunker down for a chilly night camping, and we find one of the sides of our airbed wasn't staying filled. We tried to patch it. At some point we tried sleeping, but with me rolling onto Dodger, we were both cold and hurting. We spent part of the night in the car turning it off and on to get warm. In the morning, I had had enough and we packed up and went home. We didn't even stay for the total eclipse. We did stop at a local diner on the way and had some yummy food. That was the best part of the trip, actually.

We came to see Sunshine Daydream, and Olivia wasn't even with them. Here's a little video mashup of the music I filmed including Modern Pasta, Easy Tiger, and Sunshine Daydream.

Sunshine 66 Festival

Dodger and I went over to Springfield to the Route 66 Hotel this weekend for the Sunshine 66 Festival. We've been here for an indoor music festival before. It's been fun each time.

I bought this cute skeleton fairie at the tables.

Included in the video mashup for Friday March 29 is Jaik Willis, Fair Weather Friends, and Sunshine Daydream. Sunshine Daydream is my favorite local band. I never listened to the Grateful Dead or any other jam band music until I heard them a few years ago open for someone at The Devon Amphitheater. I've been seeing them as often as possible ever since.

In the video mashup for Saturday, March 30, is Hollow Down and Sunshine Daydream.

There was an artist there painting the whole weekend.

Here's the full schedule of bands that played. We definitely didn't see all of them.

Life Is But a Dream Tour

We ate at The Slippery Noodle Inn before the show.

Dodger and I went to the Fieldhouse last night to see Avenged Sevenfold. I was there to see Poppy. Sullivan King opened, which was interesting. I don't have any video of Avenged Sevenfold, but here's a mashup of a bit of the rest. Maybe Dodger has some more videos that I can upload later.

I can let myself be happier by...

I can let myself be happier by...

listening to my selves and honoring their needs. I can play more, explore more, get out of my comfort zone more. I can dive into my interests with vigor and passion until the next wave of interest comes along and I can let myself get swept up into it. I can rest when I need to rest, rather than trying to push and push and push myself to succeed...whatever that means. Really, when it comes down to the end of it all, am I going to want to be holding my awards or am I going to be wanting to hold my memories of the full and active life I've created and led? I already know the answer to that question. I want to create the environments that lend themselves to happiness...that means getting out there and getting involved in life and trying new things, even when I'm scared. I find happiness in connecting with myselves and others. I find happiness in spending time with family and friends. I find happiness in being creative. I find happiness is community and activity. I also find happiness is my alone time with myselves and with God, learning more about us and leaning into that inner guidance that I can then go out and pursue. I find happiness in growing as a person who wants to make a difference in the lives of those who I come into contact with. I find happiness is knowing who I am and making no apologies for that.

I can stay in-touch with my family and friends by...

I can stay in-touch with my family and friends by...

reaching out when I think about them. Technology allows me multiple ways to stay in-touch with those I love. Sending a little text, sending an email, leaving a voicemail, just to let them know I'm thinking about them. It's important to let them know I'm interested in getting together, and making efforts to set-a-date for this to happen. Life moves so fast, and it's too easy to get caught up in the daily grind. Having boundaries between work and play is important for me to maintain connections with my family and friends. I love my career, however, when shit hits the fan, it's not going to be my career that's there to support me. I have a few trusted people in my life that I make the biggest efforts to stay in-touch with, and the rest I do my best to reach out once a month or so to connect with. Friends in my past are in my past for a reason. It is my hope that as I move along in building an active and big life for myself that I'll meet new friends along the way. I'd like to know a few couples from our dance class better, so that maybe we can all go social dancing sometime. Due to my social anxiety, it takes a lot of me to reach out to new people. Yet, here I am, talking myself into having a conversation with at least one of the regular couples in class...or even one of the new couples. And, I'll reach out to my mom today to talk about scheduling a crafting day with her soon, as this was something I suggested a few weeks ago, and she thought that was a good idea.

I can be courageous to express my feelings and to live a true to myself when...

I can be courageous to express my feelings and to live a true to myself when...

I'm not fighting my inner-selves. I have noticed as I've been in the recovery program of OA, that my inner-selves get along a whole lot better than they ever have. I've also  noticed that I judge myself a lot less, and that "true to myself" takes on a different meaning. It's "myselves"...meaning that the whole f me is involved because we know and respect each other's roles in navigating life. It was only once I started exploring my inner-selves, their needs, wants, desires, pains, etc, that I was able to begin to put aside other's expectations of me without being self-destructive and acting like a rebellious teenager. I am thankful for my rebellious teenager...she keeps me moving and not accepting the status quo. However, when I was living life from a place of fear and resentment and anger, my rebellious teenager was acting from those places, and that was causing more pain to myself and others. Now she plays a healthy role in my life, keeping me aware of when when my voice needs to be heard, by myself and others. She also takes care of my inner-children who want to play and have fun, not worrying about anything and exploring new things...like this journaling workshop I'm doing right now (which is where this writing prompt came from). So, to be true to myself, it's important that my inner-selves love and respect one another.

January Cats

On a quiet night under the sun

Here's an old poem Dodger and I wrote together when we were in high school. I think it's incomplete, but I'm still going to post it here for posterity.

On a quiet night under the sun
I met a talking frog and had some fun
I rode on his back to a candy flavored stream,
saw an upwards waterfall,
and then had the greatest dream

The frog said “you could be like me if you tried”
“Come on” he said and then he flied
So without thinking I leaped from his back
and landed on the moon
“Blue cheese” I yelled and the frog jumped, too

We ate and ate of the moon’s delight
Oh man, it was such a sight
We ate and ate ‘till we could eat no more
We ate so much, we couldn’t get out the door

“What shall we do?” the frog exclaimed
“I know” I said “We shall play a game”
“Which one?” the frog said
“Let’s play the one where we pretend we’re dead” I said

“Oh, that sounds like fun” the frog yelled “What do we do?”
“Well” I said “Just do what I do and you’ll be cool, too”

Falling in Reverse & Disturbed

Dodger and I drove to Peoria this afternoon to watch one of our favorite bands, Disturbed. Falling in Reverse opened for them. We saw FIR for the first time last fall at Louder Than Life.

Here are a few of the videos I took from the show...