Catching up with my favorite musical acts

Do you have a favorite band that you just wait until the next time they tour? I have a two: The Killers and Jimmy Eat World.

I remember the first time I saw The Killers. San Diego used to have an annual music festival called Street Scene (I miss Street Scene). The Killers were a starting act in 2004 and I remember walking into the venue listening to them. At Street Scene 2005, The Killers were headliners. Deservedly so, they had gotten so huge. Live, The Killers are one of the best bands I've experienced. (The worst, by far, is Coldplay. That's another post). They are energetic, always have great background videos, and I just love their songs. I've seen The Killers twice in the past 6 months. They played 91X Wrex the Halls where Brandon Flowers said they flew in from Vegas via Southwest after meeting at IHOP. The Killers, they are just like us! I saw them more recently last month in Anaheim. Brandon Flowers lead everyone in "Wish upon a Star" perhaps because he was feeling the Disney love. (Unrelated but supremely exciting sidenote: The Honda Center in Anaheim gives free parking to Hondas! There are limited spaces for free parking, but still how cool is that?!?)

This past weekend was Weenie Roast. It was also supposed to be 91Xfest as well but they changed the date of 91Xfest to accommodate Blink-182. The one band that was supposed to be playing 91Xfest and Weenie Roast? Jimmy Eat World. I actually don't know how many Jimmy Eat World concerts I've attended. Probably around 15 which seems like alot except I would go to another 15. Jimmy Eat World is amazing live. They are responsible for some of my favorite songs ever. Perhaps because their songs define a particular time of my life. Perhaps I just enjoy their endless optimistic bent. I'm selfish regarding Jimmy Eat World. When they rescheduled 91Xfest to have Blink-182, it was uncertain whether or not Jimmy Eat World could play the new date. So 91X hosted them on the original Xfest date with tickets for $9.91. Even though I was seeing Jimmy Eat World at Weenie Roast, I refused to sell my Jimmy Eat World tickets for the original 91Xfest date. This resulted in seeing Jimmy Eat World twice in 20 hours and it was awesome.

Some other musical acts I've followed over the years: Muse (an under-rated intellectual band) and Dashboard Confessional (I re-posted a blog entry about the last time I saw them live). A quick recap about the bands I saw at Weenie Roast. I loved Atlas Genius. They had great energy. I enjoyed Capital Cities who gave out big sunglasses. Vampire Weekend is really a hipster band. The Black Keyes are the original hipster band. I don't like Silversun Pickups as much as I thought I did. The Neighbourhood was underwhelming. The Stone Temple Pilots backed by Chester Bennington was a nice surprise. Overall it was a great musical weekend.