Daniel Bedingfield at Hard Rock Cafe

 

Show: Daniel Bedingfield
Venue: Hard Rock Cafe, Hollywood CA
Date: 3/6/12
Show #9

Last night I went over to the Hard Rock Cafe because I heard about a free show going on, with headliner Daniel Bedingfield. Yes he may have been a one hit wonder nearly 9 years ago, but I was so infatuated with that album, I still put it on from time to time and belt out every word. Such a beautiful, fun, and addicting album. So I was VERY excited when I found out he was coming back.

I got to the venue around 10:30, and ended up meeting Daniel's assistant. Once he understood how big of a fan I was, he ran to get Daniel so I could meet him! So sweet of him!

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Daniel Bedingfield, but good lord, I've never seen anyone with a worse case of ADD. He was ALL over the place. It was amusing actually. I think at one point he was attempting to have 3-4 different conversations with all separate groups of people standing somewhat close together, myself included. I was surprised he stayed in one spot long enough to even take this picture.

His sisters Natasha and Nickola showed up! They performed one of my favorite Daniel songs "Honest Questions", to which he actually prefaced the song with asking the audience "Who has ever wanted to die? Like really really badly?" *crickets* "C'mon, no one?". So that was interesting. You could tell the 3 of them had not rehearsed this beforehand, but it was good nonetheless and a nice surprise to see Natasha.

Video of the performance is below:

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Review of the band that came on right before Daniel, The Silent Comedy coming soon! Until then, there's a video of them on my YouTube page

Also, videos from last night are up on my YouTube page now as well! Includes 2 videos of Daniel beatboxing with Blake Lewis from American Idol.

Mat Kearney at The Mayan

Show: Mat Kearney
Venue: The Mayan, Los Angeles, CA
Date: 2/23/12
Show #8

I had the pleasure of seeing Mat Kearney at The Mayan last month. Where the hell is The Mayan you ask? It's definitely not on the list of normal LA venues. The Mayan is actually a nightclub downtown, which they turned into a concert venue for the night. This show was originally supposed to be at the Music Box in Hollywood, but it recently closed and is pending a renovation under new management, so they moved it here.

Great venue! If it weren't for Mayan markings everywhere you turn, I would have thought I was actually at the Music Box. Looked just like it. Same setup (gen admin floor, seating upstairs) and about the same size too. My only complaint was the distance from the barricade to the stage.

The opening act Robert Francis was so great! I highly recommend you check him out. He performed like a seasoned veteran who had been doing this all his life. The songs were catchy, gritty and soulful. I'll be keeping an eye out for him in the future, i'd love to see him again.

Mat was great as usual. He always looks so comfortable on stage and belts everything out so effortlessly. One of the big highlights was when he brought a fan on stage to perform with him. I always love seeing artists do that.

I took a ton of great videos from the show. They can all be seen on my YouTube page here.

Mat jumped off the stage into the crowd right in front of me in the middle of a song! I was a little caught off guard so the pic is a little blurry but you get the idea.

Young The Giant at The Wiltern

Show: Young The Giant
Venue: The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
Date: 2/11/12
Show #7

I almost didn't make it to this show, on the count that I also went to The Fray this same night. I actually had this ticket first, but when The Fray added the Troubadour show, I knew that would have had to take priority over Young The Giant. However, instead of selling my ticket, I thought, hey, maybe I can make it to BOTH shows! People that I told this to thought I was crazy, and I'll admit I may have even agreed at one point but thought it was worth a shot. Long story short; as soon as The Fray finished, I sprinted out the door and hauled ass over to The Wiltern and made it for the last 45 minutes of the show! The guys scanning my ticket at the door gave me looks like "uhh do you know what time it is?".

Anyways, SO glad I got to see these guys! They sound amazing live. The lead singers voice is so unique, strong, and different, I was curious how it would stand up hearing him live and it was great! He has so much energy on stage, and I noticed that that from the moment I walked in, and even on a slower song because I could see the sweat dripping off of him from way in the back.

One of the best highlights were when Sexy Sax Man made an appearance! He did a little jig across the stage in the middle of a song, classic. Video below.

 The place just erupted when they did "My Body", myself included, so I apologize for the shaky video but I couldn't NOT move during that song! Video below.

Overall the show was a ton of fun (and I only saw 45 minutes!) and I highly recommend going to check them out if you get the chance.Sorry, no pictures due to getting there so late and being in the back, but I took a ton of videos!

Islands

Strings

Apartment

God Made Man