Howard Jones at Red Butte Garden (Again)

I have been a huge fan of Howard Jones since I was a sophomore in high school and I have seen him in concert more times than I can count.  When he was in SLC the last time he hinted at a return visit this summer and I was thrilled when I found out about this concert at Red Butte Amphitheatre.  It is such a great venue and last night was perfect for an outdoor concert.  This time I was able to go with my sister Kristine who loves Howard Jones as much as I do!  The opening bands were All Hail The Silence and Men Without Hats.  I had never heard of All Hail The Silence before but I really enjoyed their set because lead singer Christian Burns has a really nice voice (and is pretty easy on the eyes).  I was only familiar with two of the songs in the Men Without Hats set, "Pop Goes the World" and "Safety Dance," but they were a lot of fun and got the crowd up on their feet.  Howard Jones played quite a few songs from his latest album Transform, including the title track, "Take Us Higher," "Beating Mr. Neg," "Hero in Your Eyes," "Tin Man Song," and "The One to Love You."  This album has a very house/ techno sound to it and I liked all of these songs, especially "The One to Love You."  He also played many of the hits to the delight of the crowd, beginning with a lovely version of "Hide and Seek" to start his set.  He continued with "Equality," "No One Is To Blame," "Everlasting Love," "The Human Touch," "Life in One Day," "Like To Get To Know You Well," and a fantastic version of "What Is Love?" that made my inner fifteen year old self lose her mind because I loved this song so much back in the day.  He ended his set with "New Song" which brought back so many memories because this is the song that made me a Howard Jones fan (he also had footage of performing this song in the 80s on the screens behind him).  After he left the stage, quite a few people around me started singing the chorus to "Things Can Only Get Better" and then he came back on stage to sing it for the encore.  Just like the last time he was at Red Butte Garden, this was such a great concert and I loved every minute of it (so did my sister).

Note:  Go here for the complete lineup at Red Butte Amphitheatre.  It is such a great venue for a concert.

Toy Story 4

I thought the ending of Toy Story 3 was the perfect way to conclude the franchise so I wondered what the next installment could possibly have to offer.  Then I saw a trailer featuring Duke Caboom, Canada's Greatest Stuntman (Keanu Reeves) and I knew that I had to see it!  Yesterday I convinced Sean to go see it with me and I loved it!  Most of the toys are happy living with Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) but Woody (Tom Hanks) is feeling a little bit neglected.  Bonnie is nervous about going to kindergarten so Woody sneaks into her backpack to go with her to orientation and helps her make Forky (Tony Hale) out of a spork, popsicle sticks, and a pipe cleaner.  Forky becomes Bonnie's favorite toy but he has an existential crisis, wanting only to be used once and then discarded.  Woody does everything he can to keep Forky from absconding to the trash because Bonnie needs him and this makes Woody feel useful again.  When Bonnie's family takes a road trip in an RV, Forky escapes and Woody feels it is his duty to go after him.  He enlists the help of his former friend Bo Peep (Annie Potts), two plush toys named Bunny and Ducky (Jordan Peele and Keagan Michael Key, respectively), Giggles McDimples (Ally Maki), and Duke Caboom to rescue Forky and elude a doll named Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) who wants his voice box.  This is a worthy entry in the franchise with a powerful and poignant story.  The emotional journey that all of the characters take to discover their purpose is incredibly satisfying and I have to admit that I had a tear in my eye during an especially touching moment with Gabby.  Of course, my favorite character was Duke Caboom, a daredevil on a motorcycle who has a crisis of confidence when he cannot live up to the hype promised in the advertisement but ends up saving the day (and stealing the show).  I also really liked it whenever Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) decides what to do by using his button-induced phrases after Woody tells him to listen to his conscience.  I laughed out loud many times.  As is the case with most Pixar movies, the animation is absolutely beautiful and the action sequences are a lot of fun.  It is heartwarming movie that both children and adults will enjoy and I highly recommend it!

Hootie & The Blowfish in Las Vegas

I was feeling the 1990s nostalgia last night for the second night in a row, this time at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a concert featuring Barenaked Ladies and Hootie & The Blowfish!  I was looking at the T-Mobile Arena website for information on another concert and saw this one listed!  I love both of these bands so much so I got really excited and bought a ticket.  I have seen Barenaked Ladies many times, including at a Medals Ceremony during the 2002 Winter Olympics where they, rather memorably, wore Team Canada speed skating uniforms!  Last night they played "Lookin' Up" from their latest album but most of their set was, as Ed Robertson told the crowd, a slew of monster hits!  I especially liked "It's All Been Done," "The Old Apartment," "Brian Wilson," "Pinch Me," "One Week," and "If I Had $1000000."  As with any Barenaked Ladies concert, there was a lot of really funny banter between the band members and there were several free-style raps that were absolutely hilarious!  They ended with a cover of Lady Gaga's "Shallow" (which was overly dramatic and made the crowd erupt with laughter), Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," and Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust."  I loved it!  I have seen Hootie & The Blowfish once before with my sisters and the main thing I remember about that show is that Darius Rucker kept breaking his guitar strings and his tech would have to bring him another guitar in the middle of a song!  I also saw Darius Rucker open for Lady Antebellum, performing his solo country music.  I am not a big country fan but I really liked his songs because I love his voice!  Last night they played quite a few covers but my favorites were Led Zeppelin's "Hey Hey What Can I Do" and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion."  They also included Rucker's solo songs "Alright" and "Wagon Wheel" (which my Uber driver played for me on the drive to my hotel).  However, I liked it best when they played the hits, including "I Go Blind" (my favorite Hootie song), "Hold My Hand" (which the crowd sang with them), "Let Her Cry," "Time," and "Old Man & Me."  They ended their set with a gospel sounding cover of "With A Little Help From My Friends" with Barenaked Ladies and performed "Only Wanna Be With You" in the encore.  It was an awesome show!  Both bands sounded really great live and were very engaging with the crowd.  Once again, hearing some of my favorite old songs brought back so many happy memories!  It was definitely worth the six hour drive from SLC for this concert!

Note:  I will be back in Las Vegas next weekend for the concert I originally looked at the website for!

Third Eye Blind at USANA

There was a time when Third Eye Blind was my favorite band and I listened to their music almost nonstop.  In the mid-1990s I was a little bit wild and a whole lot messed up. I considered Stephan Jenkins to be my own personal poet laureate and the song "God of Wine" to be my anthem.  Third Eye Blind has been to SLC several times but, for one reason or another, I never got to see them live until last night.  It was not the best concert I have ever been to but I had so much fun singing along to every song (I still remembered every single word).  They played a few songs from a forthcoming album that will be released later this summer but they mostly played all of the hits such as "Never Let You Go," "London," "Graduate," "Wounded," "I Want You," "Slow Motion," "Motorcycle Drive By," "Jumper," and "Crystal Baller."  They ended their set with my favorite Third Eye Blind song, "How's It Going To Be," which got the entire audience singing along.  It was definitely a highlight!  For the encore they played "Losing a Whole Year," the crowd favorite "Semi-Charmed Life," and "God of Wine" which, to me, was the perfect way to end the concert.  I love attending outdoor performances in the summer and last night the weather was absolutely perfect for a concert.  It made me so happy to be sitting under the stars listening to all of these songs from my past.  I felt twenty years younger (without the angst!).

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert

Last night was so much fun because I got to go to another performance in the Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series.  The movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which chronicles Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts as he competes in the Triwizard Tournament, was shown on the big screen while the orchestra played Patrick Doyle's dynamic score live.  The themes of this movie are much darker than those of the previous movies in the series so the score is a bit more sinister and mournful, particularly "Voldemort" and "The Death of Cedric."  The orchestra played it beautifully and I especially enjoyed all of the brass and percussion!  Conductor Conner Gray Covington encouraged audience participation and he took a roll call of the four Houses of Hogwarts before the concert began (I, of course, belong to Ravenclaw).  The audience cheered boisterously when all of the main characters first appeared on screen, when Viktor Krum was introduced in the Quidditch World Cup Final, when the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang entered the Great Hall, when Harry defeated the Hungarian Horntail dragon in the first challenge, when Neville Longbottom danced at the Yule Ball, when Hermione told Ron off for not asking her to the dance, when Harry saved both Ron and Fleur's sister in the second challenge, and when Harry escaped from Voldemort.  I loved watching this movie with such an enthusiastic crowd, many of whom were in costume, and I highly recommend getting a ticket for the concerts tonight or tomorrow night (go here).

Note:  I'm looking forward to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince next season.