Girls w/Guitars are Hot!!!

If you know me, then you probably know of my seemingly undying love for chicks who sing and play the guitar. Let's just say it's a weakness of mine... A couple of weeks ago one of my favorite artists stopped in Salt Lake City for a show. Kate Voegele is an amazing musician, that I have really come to appreciate. I'm really disappointed with artists that don't write their own music (just about any pop singer), or that don't actually play the guitar as they would have you believe (ahem, Colbie Caillat). In any case, I had an amazing time at Kate's show. The first opening guy, Kelley James, played a few songs. At first, I wasn't sure if there was going to be enough room for his ego and all of the dreamy eyed teenage girls. It turns out there was, but just barely. Kelley had a style that reminded me of Jack Johnson's music, mixed with Jason Mraz's quick witted lyrics. For one of his songs threw down a verse completely improv (based on a sorority and peanut butter, which were just randomly thrown out by the audience), that I enjoyed. I really liked his song "In Between," and would recommend taking a listen to it.

The second band, was completely forgettable in my opinion... I think their name was "The Whitest Light" but I can't be sure. In my opinion, they were a bit too loud for the kind of concert. I'm fairly certain that had they been playing with bands more similar to their style I would have payed more attention. Not that it really matters, because as they played, I was having a Corona in the bar.

I don't really want to harp on how much I enjoyed Kate's music, so all I'm going to say is that my favorite songs were "I Won't Disagree" and "Devil In Me" although I really do like all of her music. Honestly, her CD is just ones of those that I can listen to it all the way through and not get bored. It's fantastic!

I hung around after the show and got Kate to sign her CD for me. Her concert manager (or whatever his official title happened to be) was kind enough to take our picture. Actually, he was kind enough, to take three photos: one of his finger, one of Kate looking the other way, and the following one. I look like an idiot, because I'm in the middle of saying, "No, you just have to push the button down harder!" Isn't that always how it works!?! But, hey, I figure that Kate more than makes up for how bad I look.

A Bad Show? 'Frayed Not!

So, last night The Fray came for a concert at Usana Amphitheater. I'd never been to Usana, and I must admit that I went intent on finding something to gripe about. However, when it all comes down to it, there isn't anything worth being grumpy about. The band sounded great, the weather was nice, there were no bugs, and the fans... well the only thing I can complain about were the fans. That's not anything different from usual, as I hate people, especially in large groups. What I didn't understand is why people felt the need to stand when it would have been easier for everyone to sit back down on the grass. Eventually, about three songs into the show, common sense began seep into the masses: "Oh, man, standing up on your own is a lot harder when you aren't packed together like sardines!" Obviously the seepage of common sense moved much slower in places due to the density of certain individuals. I took it upon myself to heckle the dude standing about 10 feet in front of me. "Hey, you! Sit Down!!! Yeah, you! Hey! Sit!" When he actually realized that he was blocking the view of about a hundred people he removed himself from our lines of sight, allowing us to concentrate on the show.

The show itself was quite amazing. Simply put, it sounded as though they could have put on a CD of their music and pumped it through a couple hundred thousand watt speaker system. Because Usana is an outdoor venue, there wasn't that terrible distortion that occurs when sound bounces inside a closed area. I also love it when a band does a cover of another artist's song at a concert. I believe it shows the depth of their musical abilities when they can take a different song, play it in their own style, and have it sound decent. They played a version of Shakira's Hips Don't Lie, and ended Over My Head with a portion of Wonderwall by Oasis. In addition, there were a couple of songs that definitely sounded a bit U2ish, which I appreciate tremendously.

All, in all it was a great first experience at Usana. Below, are some pictures I took using my phone, from a very long way away (I was seriously angry at myself for not bringing my camera). The photos are basically free from any details, but you are encouraged to use your imagination and picture what it was like to be there...