The Avett Brothers Concert 2/27/15

Friday night we saw our favorite band, The Avett Brothers.  This was our second time to see them perform at the South Side Ballroom in Dallas.  We had unusually cold weather last week and it was sketchy if the weather was going to allow us to get to the show.  Winter weather--snow and ice--arrived on Friday as we were getting ready to make our way to Dallas.  We're really big fans because there aren't many bands I'd risk getting out in snow and ice to see.  We made the decision to go despite the conditions.  After all was said and done, I'm so glad we did!  

The Avett Brothers were phenomenal!  

You never know what they are going to play--a lot of our favorites, a new song, some classic covers, and even a gospel hymn.  Bob Crawford and Joe Kwon were just as fun to watch as Scott and Seth Avett.  All the people in the band were incredibly talented and entertaining.  

We weren't front row, but we we had a good view for most of the show.  There were a few obnoxious fans but luckily they moved away quickly and everyone else around us enjoyed the show like us (not swaying and dancing annoyingly, ha!). 

We went with Mark's brother and his wife.  They are big Avett fans, too.  The photo has some funky light streaks, but I thought it was cool.  I'm glad we have a group photo from a really happy night (despite the treacherous weather--thank goodness for Craig's all-wheel drive Subaru!).  This was taken by the stage after the show was over. 

The only thing I think of when I see this is photo is...

Brrrr!!!  It was so cold!

The ground was icy and it was well below freezing.  I quickly took this of the marquee as we were making our way back to the car.  

After the concert I like to go home and make a playlist of all the songs from the concert.  I listen to it over and over while I'm cleaning house or cooking dinner (or now while I'm writing this).  I found this online and also I saw a copy that someone shared on Instagram of the setlist from the band that was thrown into the crowd after the show. 

Setlist for The Avett Brothers Concert 2/27/15 

South Side Ballroom Dallas, Texas 

"Down with the Shine"

"Talk on Indolence"

"Ramblin' Fever" (Merle Haggard cover)

"Paranoia in B Major"

"Laundry Room"

"Old Joe Clark" (cover)

"Salvation Song"

"Nothing Short of Thankful"

"Living of Love"

"Will you Return"

"Backwards With Time"

"I Wish I Was" (new song)

"In the Garden" (gospel hymn) 

"Satan Pulls The Strings"

"Go to Sleep"

"Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise"

"Rejects in the Attic"
"Slight Figure of Speech" (saw it on a copy of the setlist but not sure if it was played)

"Vanity"

"The Girl I Left Behind Me" (Bob Wills cover) 
"Skin And Bones" (saw it on a copy of the setlist but I'm not sure if they played it)

"The Fall"

"Live and Die"

Encore:

"Murder in the City"

"Love Like the Movies"

"Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (John Denver cover)

"I And Love And You"



One more photo from a that night.  Before the concert we ate at Cane Rosso in Deep Ellum.  
Excellent pizza + good company = a great time!

Mark and I don't do presents for each other so this weekend trip and concert was our Valentine's gift to each other. I'll take a lifetime of experiences shared together over a material gift any day.

InstaFebruary

Here are some phone pics from this month.

Completely random.

You guys can find me on instagram @redbirdblue

The boys posing for a silly selfie while Mark pumps gas. 

Encouragement from Romans 8. 

Romans 8:31 "If God is for us, who is against us?" 

I'm thankful we can have confidence in God.

Yep, they are pretty darn cute!

Shouldn't have up-sized to the bigger cone.  Look at the photo below.

I've been a slacker with working out.  I've also been terrible about my eating.  I started My Fitness Pal again and I'm working out.  Gotta get ready for summer.

We took the boys to see The Lego Movie and they loved it.  No big surprise.  They love all things Lego.  

Everything is awesome...

That song is my jam! (see the movie and you'll understand)

The first thing they do in the morning and the last thing they do at night--

Play.

Will learned all about Japan this week.  We love 1st grade!

Ben and I took a photo before school one morning.  He wanted his beloved Bear in the photo, too.

Two things I love:

#1

Earl Grey Tea 

(English Breakfast is a close second)

#2

The Avett Brothers

Emotionalism is my favorite album.

I recommend buying it on iTunes so you can get the two bonus songs.  Definitely worth it.

My Boys, Music, Movies, Pinterest and John

My Boys

Sometimes Mark and I can't get over how lucky we are.  Our boys aren't perfect, but they are pretty special to us.  They are smart, funny, sweet and loving.  I took this photo after church on Sunday.  They weren't very excited about posing for a photo.  They were ready to change into play clothes and eat lunch.

Music

I’m currently crazy about The Head and The Heart.

My old roommate in Seattle (Kayreen) has knack for finding good music. She’s my cool, hip, go-to friend for recommendations on music and movies. Kayreen and I only lived together for six months, but we became fast friends. She was such a good friend when I lived in Seattle, and her friendship is one of the reasons I still have such fond memories of living in the Pacific Northwest. I’m so happy that we’ve recently reconnected. I finally got a smartphone and now we can text back and forth. {Side note: I’ve also reconnected with another dear college friend, Andrea. She doesn’t do facebook or blogs, but she texts! She and I text photos back and forth of our kiddos and other random things. I wouldn’t have been such a holdout on getting a smartphone if I’d known how much fun it’d be. }

Back to the music…

The Head and the Heart—You should really give their album The Head and The Heart a chance.

Another group you should checkout —The Civil Wars, their album Barton Hollow is excellent.

You know I can’t talk about music and not mention my loyalty to The Avett Brothers.

Ben (he’s two) has been requesting the song “Horchata” by Vampire Weekend. For a two-year-old he has great taste in music. Will’s always had good taste in music, too. He’s been a big fan of The Avett Brothers and Sarah Jarosz since he could talk.

Just to throw in something random from years ago, The Bends by Radiohead is still a really good album.

And, because we love Christmas music so much we still listen to it even though it’s the end of January.

Movies

Mark and I used to go to the movies almost every weekend. Each week we had our Friday ritual of reading movie reviews and deciding what we wanted to see. That was all before we had children. Since I’m away from the boys during the week, I want to spend as much time with them as I can on the weekend. Toddlers and movies don’t mix so we haven’t gone to the movies very much since having children, and I don’t think Winnie the Pooh and Cars 2 count. I know we could get a babysitter and go, but that’s expensive and I’m a weirdo who doesn’t like leaving my children with a babysitter (other than family). Call me overprotective, it’s a label that fits me.

What got me to thinking about movies is the recent Academy Awards nominations. They have me interested in the seeing several movies that I’ve missed. There are a few on the list that I’ve seen thanks to Amazon video on demand, but there are a lot that I’d like to watch.  The last movie that I watched that was nominated for an award was Midnight in Paris.  I really liked it.

Pinterest

Is Pinterest your "happy place"?  It's definitely mine.  I have almost 4,000 pins. 

John

We have started a ladies Bible study at our church. We are studying the Gospel of John. I led the class one week and my friend, Jami, led this week. John is such a great book to study because it’s so different than the other gospels. This week we are studying Chapter 4 & 5. The most exciting thing so far is friends who don’t go to our church are attending our Bible study. It’s been such an encouragement to study the life of Christ with the ladies of our church and our friends. Another thing I love about our Bible study group is that the ladies are all various ages. For example, we have a younger lady who just graduated college and older ladies who are grandmas. It’s refreshing to have the perspective from the younger ladies and the wisdom of the older ladies. Thank goodness the older ladies bring knowledge, insight and understanding that I lack. If you are interested in studying the life of Christ and the gospels, a very helpful resource I’ve used in preparing for the class is The Fourfold Gospel by J.W. McGarvey.

Happiness Is...

Happiness is attending The Avett Brothers concert with my husband and having an overnight date!

Life has been stressful in the last months and we finally got a break from it all.  I can't tell you how much we needed some time to ourselves.

The Avett Brothers were originally scheduled to play Dallas in April, but the concert was postponed because Scott Avett's wife was having a baby .  I was disappointed at the time, but it ended up being even better timing for us. 

We decided to make it a fun weekend.  We had about 24 hours kid-free thanks to our niece and nephew and Mark's parents who babysat Will and Ben.  We stayed at a hotel near downtown Dallas.  Before the concert we met up with Mark's brother and his wife.  We ate a local burger joint near the hotel and then we made our way to the Palladium Ballroom.

Here's the marquee.  The Palladium Ballroom is a part of Gilley's. (Gilley's as in Gilley's of Urban Cowboy, just in case you were wondering.)

The Palladium Ballroom sign 

This was the stage before the show started.  I've been to a lot of concerts, but it's been about 10 years since I've seen a live band.  I forgot how much fun it is to see a concert.  I kind of felt young and hip. The opening act was the David Mayfield Parade.

My favorite photo of the night.

Scott Avett is on the left and Seth Avett is on the right. 

They are phenomenal in concert.  Seriously amazing! 

These guys are entertaining and extremely talented. 

At the end of the show we made our way to the stage.

Mark and I felt like kids just dating.  So fun and carefree!

Here's what I wore to the concert if you are into that sort of thing.

Andrea and Craig had a great time at the concert, too.

Time to go.  The show is over. 

Dallas, Texas at night. 

Here's the setlist from the concert on 10/15/11

And It Spread

The Fall

Salina

Go 2 Sleep

Will You Return

Living of Love

All My Mistakes

At The Beach

Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full of Promise

Denouncing November Blue

Kick Drum Heart

Never Been Alive

Murder in the City

When I Drink

January Wedding

Paranoia in B Major

Merle Haggard cover, I Won't Give Up My Train

I & Love & You

Colorshow

Slight Figure Of Speech w/ David Mayfield

Laundry Room

Encore:

Ballad of Love & Hate

Talk on Indolence

There you have it.  One of the best nights I've had in a very long time.

A Decade

Mark and I have been a couple for 10 years!

Sometimes it seems like we just started dating and then other times it feels like we've always been together.

The events of the past few weeks and months have made me even more grateful to have someone like Mark by my side.  It's been bearable knowing I have him to support me through it all.

We're going to do something fun next weekend.  We're going to see The Avett Brothers in concert.  I can't wait.  It's great timing for us and will be the perfect break from all of the stress we've been under.

One of my favorite lines from an Avett Bros song,

If you're loved by someone, you're never rejected.

"Head full of doubt, Road full of Promise"

It's good to be loved by someone.

These photos were taken in July at the Dallas Arboretum (that's before I cut my hair in August, just in case you were wondering).

{Photos by Lauren}

Concert, Sprouts, High Heels, Q&A and VBS

It's Monday so here's some random for you to start the week!

#1

In less than a week we'll be seeing--

--The Avett Brothers--

Image

--live in concert at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas.  To say that I'm excited is an understatement.  If you've never listened to their music, you must.  They've been called "punk-grass", but I think their music has too many dimensions to label it as one genre.  Another bonus is Langhorne Slim is opening.  My sister-in-law purchased the tickets months ago.  By the way, we're going to show with Mark's brother and his wife.  They are huge Avett fans, too.  We all receive the presale ticket info via email so we had first dibs at getting them online.  She was so on top of getting the tickets that we almost got backstage passes!!!  The first 30 tickets get to go backstage and our tickets are #33, 34, 35, 36.  I would have been beside myself if we made it backstage.  I'm not too disappointed because my husband made a good point, he said it was probably for the best since we're not really cool enough for the backstage scene.  We all got a good laugh out of that.  Honestly,  he's probably right ;)

#2

You know I'm obsessed with my sprouts.  So far my zinnia and marigold seeds are thriving.  This is what they look like currently.  My father-in-law is supposed to come over this week and till up a spot in my yard to plant a garden.  I'll have to ask him what I should do next.  I'm not sure when I need to transplant them.

#3

I purchased a pair of high heels this weekend.  I thought they would go with several spring outfits and my Easter dress. 

Does anyone else buy an Easter dress?  I still do.

I usually don't wear high heels, but these are actually comfortable.  No joke.

I brought them home and tried them on to make sure I didn't look silly.  My husband assured me that I didn't look silly.  I think I'm going to really like them.  (I bought them at TJ Maxx, in case you were wondering AND you can still see the tacky blue sticker on the heel.  Oops!)

#4

A new blog friend, Robin, tagged me in a Q&A.  I'm terrible at breaking chain letters and passing on blog games, but I did want to take a moment and answer the questions.  I'm always up for a good Q&A.

Food: Pei Wei, anything and everything on the menu is so yummy.

Color: Blue, although my house has a lot of neutrals

Animal: I have a fish at school named Jett.  We don't have any pets at home.  We've been thinking about getting the boys a dog.  It's such a big commitment, so I'm not sure about it yet.

Dessert: Love dessert!  The Cheesecake Factory original cheesecake with strawberries.  Perfection!

Artist: I'm all about the upcoming concert so my focus is on music right now--The Avett Bros.


Pair of shoes: TOMS, so comfortable and socially responsible

Outfit: I'm really wearing a lot of skirts right now.  They are comfy and cool in the Texas heat.  I also live in shorts and tank tops in the summer.

Skinny Jeans: Yes. I bought a pair about 6 months ago and they've ended up being one of my favorite items of clothing.  I swore I'd never wear them so now I'm having to eat my words.

Brand: Anthropologie, Gap, Target

Perfume: This is sad, but I don't really wear perfume.  Some ladies have a signature fragrance, but I don't.  Any suggestions?  I do have some body sprays from Bath and Bodyworks that I like.

Accessory: Wedding Band and Engagement Ring and ring from Sundance--all from my sweet husband

City: NYC or Seattle

Hobby: Gardening, Blogging, Shopping, Hanging out with my husband and little boys

Beauty Product: Moisturizer and lotion

Holiday: Christmas or Halloween

Snack: Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Triscuits or fresh fruit

Movie: Best in Show, You've Got Mail, Notting Hill, Pride and Prejudice, The Holiday, Pretty Woman, Hope Floats Dirty Dancing, Garden State, Steel Magnolias.
It's hard to choose just one.  I have so many.

Song: Let me give one more shout-out to the Avett Bros, "Swept Away" or "Talk On Indolence" or "Distraction #74" or "I and Love and You" or "Go to Sleep" or "The Perfect Space" or "Kick Drum Heart".  Picking a favorite song is like trying pick a favorite child.  I don't know if you can.

Guilty Pleasure: Shopping or Blogging and Blue Bell ice cream fudge bars


#5
I help coordinate VBS at our church and we had our first meeting on Sunday.  I'm so happy that there are a lot of people who are willing to volunteer and work.  It's one of my favorite things that we do at our church.  It's such a big undertaking that I probably won't blog the entire week that it's going on.  I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

I'll be linking up to lowercase letters

Miscellany Monday

In A Month...

We'll be seeing The Avett Brothers in Dallas at the Palladium Ballroom.

Image from the Avett Bros facebook page

I'm super excited! 

It's been years since I've been to a concert.  I love a good show and good music. 

 I know the Avett Brothers make good music and I hear they are stellar live.

I'll be back in a month to tell you how awesome it was!

Best Holiday Music Ever

The Best Holiday Music Ever

{according to Mark and Michele}

My obsession with Christmas music began in December 2005.  Mark and I were going skiing in Winter Park, Colorado. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of music on the road trip to keep us in the holiday spirit as we made the 16 hour drive. 

I'm glad that Mark and I have the same taste in music.  I was going to try to describe our musical taste, but I can't seem to put it in words.  We both enjoy and appreciate an eclectic mix of artist and bands, and our holiday music list reflects that.  I like to think of us as being well-rounded instead of ADD.

The list has to begin with the classics.  I'm referring to the album names.  Later, I will list individual songs.  Oh yeah, this list is detailed.  I wasn't exaggerating when I told you I'm obsessed with Christmas music.

The Classics (by album)

Bing Crosby, White Christmas

Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas

Nat King Cole, The Christmas Song

Johnny Mathis, Merry Christmas

Various Artists, Hip Holidays {The entire album is amazing!}

Gene Autry, Christmas Classics

Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas

Elvis Presley, Christmas

Frank Sinatra, A Jolly Christmas

Dean Martin, A Winter Romance

New Classics (by album)

Sufjan Stevens, Songs For Christmas {Disc 1-5}

Mariah Carey, Merry Christmas

Harry Connick, Jr., When My Heart Finds Christmas

Diana Krall, Christmas Songs

Bare Naked Ladies, Barenaked For The Holidays

Sarah McLachlan, Wintersong

John Legend, Sounds Of The Season

Michael Buble, Let It Snow

Taylor Swift, Sounds Of The Season

Jars of Clay, Christmas Songs

Individual Songs

The Drifters, "White Christmas"

Judy Garland, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

Luther Vandross, "O' Come All Ye Faithful"

Boyz II Men, "Silent Night"

House of Heroes, "Silent Night"

Jason Mraz, "Winter Wonderland"

Colbie Caillat, "Mistletoe"

Otis Redding, "Merry Christmas Baby"

Rosemary Clooney, "Snow"

John Lennon, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"

Paul McCartney, "Wonderful Christmastime"

Ray Charles, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"

Eartha Kitt, "Santa Baby"

Brenda Lee, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"

Burl Ives, "Holly Jolly Christmas"

Darlene Love "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

Bobby Helms, "Jingle Bell Rock"

Just for fun one of my all-time favorite versions of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" goes to Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell in the movie Elf, but if I had to choose a "real" version then it would have to be Ella Fitzgerald and Louise Jordan.

Did I leave anything off?  Please share.

There's always room for more good music on our list.

Happiness Is...

Happiness is Will saying the funniest things.

Will was listening to the Avett Brothers with Mark.  (If you didn't know, we really like music and we LOVE the Avett Brothers.) 

So, Mark's listening to the Avett album Mignonette and the song "At the Beach" was playing.  In that song they whistle at the beginning and Will said, "They are singing like birds."  His observations are so funny and the things he comes up with I'd never think of.  His little four-year-old sayings make me happy, and I'm so glad I have the blog to record these memoreis.

Photo taken of Will in August listening to iTunes.  I'm pretty sure he's listening to Emotionalism by the Avett Brothers.  He loves music and the Avett Brothers, too.

About Me--Music

I always feel the pressure to be cool when I fill out profile information on Facebook or Blogger.  It took me a long time to complete the music section on my Facebook page.  Probably too much time!  I spent way too much time compiling a list that included my favorite bands and musicians.  The effort and thought that went into it is kind of embarrassing.  I just worry about it so much because it kind of defines you to a certain extent.  At least, I think it defines you.  It's very personal information for me to share.  I'm weird for even giving this a second thought, but that's me, I'm weird about certain things.  I'm okay with my weirdness.  Enough rambling.  Since I'm attempting to be an open book on this blog and share my life, here are some of my favorite bands and musicians.  It's ever-changing, but this is the most updated list of what I'm liking and listening, to.

Alison Krauss

The Avett Brothers

Dashboard Confessional

The Shins

Weezer

Sarah Jarosz

Vampire Weekend

Patty Griffin

Bon Iver

Amos Lee

Ray Lamontagne

The Decemberists

Death Cab for Cutie

Coldplay

Neko Case

Michael Bublé

Jason Mraz

John Mayer

The Clash

Foo Fighters

Marvin Gaye

Otis Redding

R.E.M.

The Cure

Sufjan Stevens

Patsy Cline

Norah Jones

Adele

Taylor Swift

George Strait

Road Trip 2010 {Music}

It's July!!! Where's June? I can't believe that it's been a month since we took our road trip across the Midwest. I posted the first set of photos from our road trip. Part Two will be posted soon. In the meantime, let's talk about music. I'm always interested in what other people are listening to. These CDs were easy on the ears and stayed in rotation the entire trip. Two thousand miles later and I still love them all.

Patty Griffin

1000 Kisses
Children Running Through

The Avett Brothers

I and Love and You

Sarah Jarosz

Song Up in Her Head

Vampire Weekend

Contra

The Decemberist

The Crane Wife

*Keep in mind, most of the road trip we were not listening to the music listed above. We usually heard cartoons playing in the background because my little boy was watching DVDs. We heard a lot of Super Why, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, Little Bear, Little Einsteins, Boz the Bear, Caillou and the 1960s and 1970s Peanuts collection (my husband and I love that our little boy loves Peanuts).