.juliana hatfield @ boot & saddle

Laura Stevenson, you were wonderful!

 I've been a fan of Juliana Hatfield for a while. Most heavily in my late high school / early college days. This was my first time seeing her live so I was really excited. I was also excited to have Laura Stevenson open for her. The stars never aligned in seeing Stevenson because other shows always interfered. What I discovered is we apparently share a birthday and enjoy breakfast at the Silver Dollar in Cherry Hill. It was just Laura and her guitar, her songs about depression and break-ups. She politely squeezed in between me and another person to get to the stage. I failed to say "Great set" when she passed by me a second time. Words escaped me :(

In all her glory

There was an asshole couple in the crowd during the show. The girl clearly intoxicated and kept bumping into me. Finally they moved but to no avow got an extremely disapproving scolding from another fan in the crowd for being annoying. I could literally hear him shouting at them over Juliana's singing. As hoped, they stopped and moved back. Anyway, I arrived a little late because of parking and felt awkward squeezing up front. Literally I was four rows back but it looks like much further away from my pictures (which look grainy). Juliana kicked into "No Idols" and I was transported back to the early 90s, those carefree days. The woman still has it! She played a mix of older and then songs off of her new album "Pussycat." Her response to Donald Trump as President. Being good I restrained myself from merch and albums even though her tee-shirts were stylish. Looking at the tags on Instagram she has a handful of fans following her on this tour; taking pictures from the venues every night practically. Thanks Juliana Hatfield for making my 90s dream come true. I will read your book soon! Promise.

.save ferris, YOU mean everything!

Singing "Come On Eileen"

When I heard Save Ferris was touring it was a happy moment. It Means Everything came out when I was only 16 years old. I didn't go through my ska phase until my first year in college; old school No Doubt, The Toasters, Reel Big Fish, etc. My favorite Save Ferris songs were mostly off of their first album; Super Spy, Spam, Come On Eileen. Modified was an upgrade but it had a poppy-er, more polished feel. I swear I wrote an essay on feminism in film and quoted "Keep Holding On" to enhance my point because it was the song I had on repeat at the time. That aside Save Ferris always brings back happy memories, especially of the film "Ten Things I Hate About You" as Monique and Letters to Cleo sang songs for the soundtrack. Who wouldn't want either band at their high school prom? If only!

Dat kickdrum doe!

Baby Baby or Monique?!

The opening band Behind Deadlines covered Mighty Mighty Bosstones and other popular ska songs from the 90s. The group after them Baby Baby are from Atlanta Georgia. I loved their stage banter and the "no fucks given" attitude of the drummer (I watched him the whole time, he was excellent) who jumped off stage shirtless, walking around the audience with a cowbell. His kick drum was really something as it changed colors. 

Even though the Save Ferris line-up is different they still sounded incredibly amazing. Monique has that fired up energy and knows how to work the audience. She had three outfit changes in black and white ensembles, working her way around the stage. They played a few new songs and tons of their hits. The merch was really cool as the tees were comic strips. Their new cd had the same image on it too. There were a lot of older fans as well as a mix of younger fans. Some of the people were really into it. Overall the concert was a happy trip down memory lane. After the show the drummer gave me his stick and I nabbed the set list which is now framed on my wall. 

SET LIST:
WORLD IS NEW
NOBODY BUT ME
LITTLE DIFFERENCES
SORRY MY FRIEND
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
FOR YOU
GOLDEN SILENCE
YOUR FRIEND
MISTAKEN
ANYTHING
TURN IT UP
SUPER SPY
EVERYTHING I WANNA BE
LIES
GOODBYE
DO I EVEN LIKE YOU
I KNOW

ENCORE:
NEW SOUND
COME ON EILEEN

On the set list they had an "Encore 2" with "I'm Not Crying For You," "Artificial Life," and "Spam" but didn't play any of those. Or maybe they did play "Artificial Life" but earlier in the set? Still it was an impressive array of songs and such a treat to hear live after all these years. Here's some more pictures from the show...  

.saved by the 90s

I started off inviting a small handful of friends to this but it ended up just myself and my one friend in the end. We honestly had no clue what to expect, just that this show seemed interesting and fun. This was the first time I saw a show at the Trocadero. I totally get what my friend said about the stage being annoyingly high and the barrier. However, I thought it was a really awesome venue. Around 8:00 DJ Suga Ray kicked into all of these 90s songs while people danced. It was a mash-up of some of my most beloved songs from middle school and high school. Because of the freezing weather I didn't get all decked out in my floral dress and opted for jeans, a flannel, and a denim jacket with 90s pins. This is ironically my wardrobe 80% of the time so I guess I'm just stuck in the 90s forever.

The "Bayside Tigers" didn't come out until 9:15. They have a drummer, guitarist, bassist, and singer on the tambourine. The lot we parked in closed at 10 so we only got to stick around for some of the songs. As soon as the crew came out they shot glow stick bracelets into the crowd along with confetti. They kicked into hits such as "All Star" "Crazy" "Save Tonight" "I Got Friends in Low Places" "Feel Like a Woman" etc. Everyone sang along. The stage was amazing. They had the Guts trophy, all these posters of 90s bands, blown up pizza dangling from the ceiling, feather boa mic stands, and just over-the-top things that reminded us of our high school years and tweens. The crowd was pretty amazing. Everyone was decked out in 90s apparel. Some of the guys had Legend of the Hidden Temple shirts on as though they were contestants on the game. It was rad! Since the show sold out, they are coming back to the Troc again on July 9th. My crew will hopefully make this one because it's more fun with more people.

.vinyl haul

I figured I'd just make one big post from previous vinyl purchases. Lately I've been in "soundtrack" searching mode, so I picked up some of these at Urban Outfitters and Innergroove. The Once Bitten soundtrack was a very rare find. That was pretty exciting...

Finishing out my St. Lucia collection, I found "When the Night" at Urban Outfitters after purchasing "Matter" at Tunes two weeks ago.

These were just fun finds, reasonably priced....

And I scored some more Bowie, two being re-mastered versions.

.vinyl me please and the 90s

Back in September I decided to join Vinyl Me Please. It's an online vinyl club for vinyl lovers. You can select how long you'd like to sign up for (I chose a year) and every month you get an album free of shipping. Then once a month VMP has something called the "membership store." On this day you better log in as soon as it opens otherwise the chances of getting what you really want are slim. They sell merch, turntables, and limited editions of records. After your select what you want in your cart, you receive a confirmation email when your package is ready to be shipped. When they opened their membership store in December I went a little overboard. Why? It was mostly 90s albums which were my high school years!

Everyone remembers what music they listened to in high school. Some of it was cringe-worthy (the big Europop explosion ugh) but some of it was great (my friends would always look to me at lunch to humor them with some Woo-Ha! Busta Rhymes lyrics). Whatever you make of it, those were years you never forget. Here are the 8 albums I ordered from the membership store....

1) Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
Remember first discovering her music? It was the summer of 1995 when my grandparents watched my brother and I since my parents were away. They gave each of us spending money one day for the mall. Because Ill Communication was sold out at FYE, Alanis was my other choice. The stand-out track for me was "Ironic" but was so miserable when it became over-played. As I got older "You Learn" really grew on me as I put it as a throwback on mix tapes for people. At one point I bought the acoustic version of this album which is really fantastic but lost it somehow. This album brings back memories of being 14 and jumping on my best friend's trampoline. To think "You Oughta Know" was in reference to Dave Coulier. Dave Coulier!

2) A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
I never listened to them in high school. This is simple wanting to extend my hip-hop / r&b collection. Listening to this album yesterday just blew me away. Highly recommended.

3) Cat Power - Moon Pix
Chan Marshall was introduced to me in college by a Canadian pen pal. My favorite CP song of all time is "Metal Heart." There's just something so eerie and haunting about that song. I love it.

4) Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory
When I took Art I freshman year our teacher let us listen to the radio. Wonder Wall and Supernova always came on during our block. So I equate this particular class with Oasis. Overall it's my favorite Oasis cd. Even some of my non-loving music friends had this particular cd in their collection. If you want to discover Oasis, start with this one. And Definitely Maybe of course.

5) Eels - Electro-shock Blues
This cd is just bizarre, depressing, and dream-like all combined. Some of the songs are catchy like "Hospital Food" and some sound like lullabies or tall tales "Ps - You Rock My World." I kind of discovered this band on my own in college. When I visited my friend in Virginia, I remember buying this in Richmond's Plan 9 as it barely left my discman for weeks upon returning home.

6) TLC - CrazySexyCool
Who did not reenact these songs with their best friends at weekend parties? I remember my friend having her 15th birthday down the shore and this album was on rotation most of the night. We'd crack up laughing at the phone call track every time (there's a surprise ending), squatting to the floor trying to do the "Diggin On You" dance, and taking turns singing different verses of "Waterfalls." Those were the days when P. Diddy was called Sean Puffy Combs and hip hop artists were dropping in on a track for a "yeah" or an "uh-huh." That was collaboration 90s style.

7) Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
I'm surprised I got into them SOOOO LATE. I heard the song "Cut Your Hair" when I saw the Brady Bunch Movie in the mid-90s and dug it. I'm also surprised because they were on Matador records which is the same label as Liz Phair was at the time. At least I'm into them now. Rob Sheffield constantly talked about Pavement when I read Love is a Mix Tape so that made me want to investigate the band more. I love the song "Debaser," especially the beginning intro. It gets me pumped for Friday nights and the weekend.

8) Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
I think Carrie Brownstein was good friends with one of the band members who taught her guitar? I'm going to have to edit this post until I look this up because it will drive me nuts. Anyway this was more of a discovery buy. I didn't know anything about the band but heard a lot about them. Their style is pop / punk / emo. Not my favorite genre of music. Some songs stand out more than others. I did recommend this band to my brother who is majorly into this particular genre.

Nada Surf - High / Low
This was the Vinyl Me Please "Album of the Month" for January. The first thing I thought was, "Does this album contain the song Popular?!" It does indeed. Although I was never popular in high school I can laugh at it's sarcastic tone, especially the video. This vinyl is golden yellow and the artwork is a black and white still of the band. Rad stuff.

So there you have it. Since I went a bit overboard in December I'm heavily cutting back this month on albums from the store. That and the fact that I barely know any of the artists in January's shop. Until the next entry, what were some of your favorite bands / albums in high school?

.record shopping weekend

After venturing to the movies, I took a little trip to a record store called Tunes that buy and sells cds, dvds, vinyl, etc. I did spend a lot of time looking through the albums, especially the discounted albums for $1. My first find was on the wall display, The National's "Boxer." I know it's a certain someone's favorite and being I only own "High Violet" I wanted to try another. Then I stumbled upon my favorite Bjork record so that was an easy "yes." Not too far away in the tabs was my second favorite Depeche Mode album "Some Great Reward" for $20. Definite yes. My last find was Morcheeba's "Big Calm." My very first concert was Lilith Fair in 1998. Morcheeba was on the side stage and I remembered not really liking their set. Then a few years later I found myself listening to some of their songs and eventually purchasing this album. I really like this album, it's very relaxing to listen to and very late 90s sounding if that makes sense.

The dollar vinyl section is really inconveniently located on the floor so I had to crouch and flip. Really I almost made it through all the albums but got impatient towards the end. Too many Barry Manilow, Chicago, and Rod Stewart albums that I kept seeing during my flips. They were having a special, "Buy 10 albums, get 5 for free." Honestly I couldn't really find 10 that I wanted and settled for these. Out of these four I was the most excited for Samantha Fox and the Pointer Sisters. Jump for my love! I already pulled that album out first when I got home and danced like a complete dork to that song in my room. Mission of nerdy album listening bliss accomplished!

Scored!: Jefferson Airplane - Gold, Samantha Fox - I Wanna Have Some Fun, The Pointer Sisters - Break Out, Yes - 90125, Bjork - Post, Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward, The National - Boxer, Morcheeba - Big Calm

On second thought (albums I put back): Blur - The Magic Whip, David Bowie - Earthling, Lush - Best of Singles

Customers: During my visit to the record store, again I was practically the only female in the store. One customer had a MASSIVE sale of crates and crates of cds. The clerks said it would take them 4-5 hours to price everything. A shame I don't collect cds anymore otherwise I would've been interested in what he was turning in. One girl came in and said she had no clue what she was doing but wanted to sell back some Wii games and cds. Another younger girl came in with her dad. He kept suggesting albums to her but the only thing I heard her mention was New Found Glory. A good handful of college guys were browsing through the Jazz section along with the R&B / Soul section. Interesting. It's funny because I never cease to amaze my fellow male record collectors of my vast music knowledge. Older guys who know their shit are pretty amazed at what I pick out or make positive comments when ringing up purchases. So that gives me hope!