Florence + the Machine @ The Creators Project (Brooklyn)

I love Twitter. On Friday, I was casually having a conversation with Isabella Summers on Twitter. If you have no clue who that is, you should be ashamed of yourself! She is the hottie keyboard player in Florence + the Machine. I have been fortunate enough to meet Isa and Florence several times during my concert expeditions. Most recently was at Central Park Summerstage. Last time I brought them 'Eastbound and Down' to watch while touring. On Friday, I offered to bring Isa copies of the TV show, 'Breaking Bad'. Isa quickly replied to bring it!

Saturday finally came - Diana, Nikki and I arrive extremely early to get our wristbands. The line was around the block by the time they started to hand out the wristbands. While waiting, we heard Florence + the Machine sound checking. We walked around the corner and the security guard gladly let us in. We walked up to the stage where The Machine was on stage preparing for the show later that night. Florence was not there, but we waved at everyone and patiently watched. Eventually our time was up, and one of the workers told us we could not be up there yet, so we walked outside the arch and waited.

Diana poked me and said, Isa is running towards us. She came over and I handed her the DVDs (I also got her the first season of 'Weeds'). Isa's birthday is coming up at the end of October, so I told her these were an early birthday gift. We hugged and chatted a bit about the show that evening. Isa asked us if we were staying for the show - of course we are! Eventually she was needed on stage and had to go. She is so sweet! Why didn't I ask for a picture with her?

The show? Amazing - we had to endure a few random acts beforehand. Chairlift was a nice surprise. I was not expecting them to perform. A$AP Rocky had some scary moments - but definitely woke up the crowd with their blunts and attempts to stage dive. Diana and I needed a drink. During Four Tet, we mixed up our Gatorade and vodkas to pregame for FATM, who were up next.

Finally - Florence + the Machine came on stage. Flo looked amazing as always. They opened with 3 new songs - 'Only If For A Night', 'What The Water Gave Me' (which was performed at the Summerstage and Philly shows I went to this summer) and 'Heartlines' (video I took below). We had to endure the photo pit peeps for awhile - it was annoying how long it took for some of them to leave. One dude stood up in front of us during 'What the Water Gave Me' and blocked the view for majority of the song to get - one picture.



'Cosmic Love' was beautiful. The performance was fresh and fun. Florence wanted to take off her heels and made several attempts. Sadly - this probably deterred her from jumping around on stage as much. The slower, 'Never Let Me Go' was the next new song premiered that evening. Oh did I mention Florence waved to me on stage? Yeah - that made my night.



One of my top favorite songs, 'Between Two Lungs' was next. This was my 14th time seeing Florence + the Machine live - and probably my 14th time seeing her perform this. Hands down, this was the BEST performance of it I have seen of it. 'Shake it Out' had the crowd dancing their asses off (or at least we were up front). That was our first time rocking out to the song. I apologize to anyone around me. I probably jumped into you a few times.

Fan favorites, 'Dog Days Are Over' and 'Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)' got the crowd really going! 'Spectrum' was the second to last song on the setlist and by far my favorite new track that I have heard off Ceremonials. If you are not going to read further, because this is long as hell, at least watch this video.



'No Light' ended the set. Beautiful.

We decided to try to meet them around the block. We talked to Rusty, the new co-keyboarder. Very nice dude! He is a great addition. Flo, Isa and a few others got into an SUV from afar. They drove away, but we still saw Isa in the front passenger seat. She rolled down her window and thank me for the DVDs and card. I told her to let me know what she thinks of 'Breaking Bad' and she agreed that she would. It was a fucking great performance Saturday night. We all walked away smiling and fortunate that we were able to see them premiere new songs. See you next time!

Ellie Goulding @ Nike Store and Tammany Hall

Interscope emailed NYC area Ellie Goulding fans asking them to reply back to a special acoustic performance at the Nike store for Fashion Night Out. Since I am attached to my phone, I immediately replied and won entry into the event! Diana and I headed over and placed ourselves in the front row. We seem to always have good luck winning contests to see Ellie perform. 

As always, her and her band put on a great performance. There was a short interview beforehand asking her questions about running and touring. After the performance, she actually took a run around Central Park with a few other runners, who were also at the event. While she ran, Diana and I headed over to the next Ellie Goulding event for the night. The event was hosted by The Knocks, who I was extra excited to see. If you want a energy filled night, go see The Knocks perform. 

Ellie Goulding DJ'd with Starsmith, who produced her album Lights. The duo was called Goldsmith. Everyone seemed to just crowd around the DJ booth and wave their hands in the air while dancing around. Diana and I bought Ellie and Starsmith Patron shots, which they cheers'd with us and took down. Afterwards we asked Ellie for a picture, which she nicely took with us.

Twin Shadow @ Maxwell's NJ

The wonderful Twin Shadow was headlining a show at Maxwell's in NJ on September 6th. It was a rainy evening and for 1 second, I considered skipping out. I then remembered what a great performance he put on opening for Florence + the Machine in Philadelphia and at Central Park. I had to go.

Diamond Rings opened up. Very interested performer. I was not too familiar with his music, yet I have heard of him and have a few of his songs in my music library.

Twin Shadow came on stage and played majority of their album plus a few new songs. I recommend checking them out when you have a chance. The venue was perfect, yet the crowd was a bit weak. I was surrounded by a drunk girl who proclaimed she was 'cut off from the bar'. Throughout the night she kept pushing one of the amps off it's stool (which was a crate) with her drunk body. I was ready for it to fall during the show.

Other than that, I hope to see them perform at other venues throughout the city in the future.

Civil Twilight @ Brooklyn Bowl

Oh Civil Twilight... the love I have for you. I cannot even explain how enjoyable their shows are. This is actually my third time seeing them and the venue was perfect.

Santah went on stage a little late, but the tardiness was easily forgotten. I think I have an automatic love for any band that has a female in it. I actually wish I picked up one of their album at the merchandise table so I could hear more from them. Next time right?

Civil Twilight quickly came on stage. Of course Michel, Michelle, Diana, Tino and I already solidified our front row spot near the center and keyboard. Steven tends to perform on that side of the stage. They opened up with 'Soldier' and 'Trouble'. This concert was going to be extra special, since they were playing songs from their new album, and we were possibly hearing songs that were never performed before. 'Teardrop' is definitely one of my favorite songs they performed due to the fact Steven performs out in the crowd for majority of the song. As always, Civil Twilight never disappoints. They are currently recording their new album in Hoboken.

Barsuk Records Listening Party feat. Mates of States, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Yellow Ostrich

A friend of mine, Will, emailed me asking to take pictures at the Barsuk Records listening party he was attending. Honestly, I have only heard a few songs by Mates of State, and I was very excited to see them perform live.

We wound up showing up in the middle of Yellow Ostrich's performance. I have to take a better listen to them, since I did not give their full set a 100% attention.

Up next was Cymbals Eat Guitars. This was my first time hearing them and they were not too bad. I read up on them before I went to the show and they have a very impressive touring record. I am currently taking a listen to their debut album, Why There Are Mountains. They are releasing their 2nd album on August 30th titled, Lenses Alien. I recommend taking a listen and decide for yourself what you think.

Mates of State, which seemed to be the most anticipated act of the night finally took the stage. They played mostly songs from their new album coming out in September, Mountaintops. I was impressed. I almost feel bad not being fluent in their older material. I already have plans to take a listen to their extensive discography from the beginning. Mates of State are making an appearance at Philadelphia's Popped! Music Festival at the end of September. Another reason for me to buy a ticket...

Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me

Pearl and the Beard @ The Cooper Square Hotel Penthouse

It was last month that I first heard the name Pearl and the Beard from a random concert goer next to me. I quickly came home and looked them up and found out about a special show courtesy of Joe's Pub. The show would take place in a penthouse! I immediately bought tickets and danced around to their album for a few hours.

The day finally came and Tino and I headed over to a The Cooper Square Hotel. After drooling over the view, the sun finally set and everyone walked in from the balcony to the small stage inside. They put on a very intimate performance where stage lights were replaced by classy lamps. Pearl and the Beard jumped off the stage a few times to perform a couple songs including one of my favorites, 'Douglas, Douglass'.  The whole crowd got involved in this performance.

If you were like me a month ago and have yet listen to Pearl and the Beard, check them out!

LMFAO and Swizz Beatz @ Pier 36

There were a couple of great shows on Thursday the 11th. MNDR was playing in Brooklyn, Deer Tick was performing at another Pier in Manhattan, and The Knocks were DJing at Tammany Hall. I never thought in my life I would pick the Billboard's Summer Blowout Concert featuring LMFAO and Swizz Beatz to attend. After 3 and a half CÎROC Red Berries and Sprite, I quickly forgot about the other shows.


After roaming around for awhile, Swizz Beatz finally came on stage. Estelle later joined him. They did a nice remedy songs which I was pretty surprised I knew. We were teased with the idea that DMX was coming out, and I really did think this was going to happen. 


Once Swizz left the stage, we had the opportunity to move up past the barrier against the stage. LMFAO came onto the stage and all I can say is 'wow'. Let's just say there were a few moments that I felt like I was in a male strip club. I am not saying that is a bad thing..

There was a lot of crowd interaction with confetti guns and a huge zebra bouncing around the crowd. I am not sure if it was the CÎROC clouding my judgement, but I would have to say the show was very impressive!

Ellie Goulding @ Best Buy in Union Square

On Saturday, Best Buy was hosting an acoustic performance and signing with Ellie. This was the best way to end the Ellie Goulding weekend. Diana and I had the opportunity to see an acoustic performance at the All Saints store back in March. This time around we were all less drunk and arrive much earlier to solidify a good viewing spot. She sang 6 songs in no particular order, and we had a fantastic front row center view. Let me note that the workers at Live at Best Buy, especially Glen, are very nice. I did purchase another album to get into the signing. Diana, Michel and I wanted to get a tour poster signed instead. We all already had signed Cd's. I was very happy that they were lenient on what item could get signed. In the past, a certain plaid shirt guy was very strict and forced us to only get the CD signed.

We decided that all three of us wanted to get a picture with Ellie together. We wanted to do something different, so we walked up in our sunglasses and immediately asked her to write something vulgar on our posters to show our future kids and Diana's grandmother. Ellie was a bit shocked that we would be showing young children and a grandmother this, but we were joking. Nothing can beat her writing 'Fuck You, Love Ellie' on our posters from the All Saints show... or so I thought. Ellie was trying to think of what to write. In an interview she said her favorite bad word was, well, C U Next Tuesday. We told her she could write that on our posters. Why just sign it? Ellie was a little reluctant at first and accidentally said the word a bit loud. She nicely censored it on our posters, yet she did not censor 'Fuck You'. Towards the end of the meet, she asked if I tweeted. I guess she saw all my Terminal 5 tweets from the night before.

As always Ellie is super sweet and a pleasure to meet. We all got a very cool picture. Thank you Ellie for posing for this!

Ellie Goulding @ Terminal 5

I have said this before, pregaming before a concert is fun. I met Diana, Dana, and a few others at Terminal 5 around 2:30pm. Sadly, we were not first in line. Happily, we had Four Loko, vodka and tequila to keep us busy until doors opened. A few smashed gold fish crackers later, we made it into the venue front and center against the barrier.

Bag Raiders opened up and got the crowd pumped up. Ellie always has great openers. Ellie Goulding came on stage in a cute outfit as always. She played 16 songs, which was a nice surprised since she played 13 songs the last time I saw her at Webster Hall and in Philadelphia. The performance was great. We all danced, sang, and attempted to hand Ellie shots of tequila. The barrier was a bit far from the stage, so we just ended up taking it ourselves to end the night.