Fun. [is an understatement.]

I just got done writing a review of this show for Ticketmaster, so I thought I'd write a blog while it's all fresh in my mind. The Fun show goes down on my list of the top 10 best shows ever (and I've seen hundreds, upon hundreds of live shows). It was SO much fun. I actually ended up going by myself as it sold out quickly and none of my friends were able to get in. Next time I'll be sure to buy some extra tickets so I can make sure my friends get to experience this!

The energy that filled the room was incredible. From the second Fun stepped out on the stage, the whole room shifted into a contagious vibe of happiness. People couldn't help but to dance and sing along to every word. This was my first time seeing Fun live, and while I was nervous about all the harmony and fun auto-tuned parts on the new album, they did a great job translating those songs to the live show. Nate harmonized with the audience a few times, and made each song unique for the live set without taking away from the original elements of the song. I was so impressed with this show, I cannot wait to see Fun live again! If you ever get a chance to see this band, don't miss it :)

My favorite moment was listening to "At Least I'm Not As Sad" live. This is the song that got me into this band, and I've been waiting for years to hear it in person. It was amazing.

Here is some video that I took and edited on my iPhone... I'll be watching this regularly until I get to see them again! Enjoy.

Give Back Cincinnati: Back to School Event

Give Back Cincinnati is a network of young (18-35) people, who engage in the city and surrounding communities through volunteer efforts. I have volunteered alongside this group many times before, but the Back to School event was my first "real" Give Back Cincinnati event.

Along with about 100 other volunteers, I helped paint the teachers lounge, stairway, hallways, and other spaces at the four Newport Public Schools. The event was well organized, provided breakfast, lunch and wrapped up around 2pm (8:30am start time). An after party at the Hofbrauhaus followed which served as a good time to meet other people and plan for future events. (we also got a free appetizer there!)

My experience was great. I helped paint the teachers lounge in the Newport Intermediate School (near Newport on the Levee). The room was a bit overwhelming at first, but once the paint was poured and the music was rocking, the day flew by. We were done before we knew it and I think it looked a lot better!

I met some new friends, and even ran into some old ones! The whole day was a lot of fun, and I definitely plan to attend more Give Back Cincinnati events! So, if you are looking for a fun volunteer opportunity in the Cincinnati area, check out GiveBackCincinnati.org. Hope to see you at an event soon!

An Evening with a Music Legend...

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While walking out of the Paul McCartney concert at Great American Ballpark last week, my dad overheard a teenage boy with his arm around his mom’s shoulder. He said “thanks for bringing me Mom, this was WAY better than I expected!” While this was a younger kid who probably didn't know The Beatles too well, I have to say I agree with him. I knew seeing Paul McCartney would be awesome, but it wasn't until he took that stage that I realized just how amazing this experience was going to be. 

My dad picked me up on his motorcycle and we rode across the beautiful Roebling bridge into downtown Cincinnati. There we were met with thousands of Beatles and Paul McCartney fans shuffling into the Reds Stadium. We still had to buy tickets and made our way to the ticket window where we waited to see if the last pair of “good cheap(er) tickets” sold online or not. Turns out they sold, so we got the best cheap seats that were left (there weren’t many!). Dad and I made our way up the escalator and grabbed food and drinks and made it to our seats (which had an awesome view) just in time to see the Sir Paul McCartney take the stage.

I could instantly feel the energy start to circulate around the stadium. I hate to say this, but I started to understand why so many people (women) used to cry at The Beatles shows. As soon as Sir Paul started to sing Hello, Goodbye, an overwhelming sense of happiness and joy filled my body. 

The songs sounded great and the stories that Mr. McCartney added in between songs really made the set phenomenal. One of my favorites was about the song I Will, his story went something like this: While watching the Royal Wedding with his daughter, he told her that he wrote a song called I Will and said to his daughter “ you know Daddy wrote a song called I Will I think it would be cool if people said "I Will" at weddings instead of “I do”, then sure enough, when Prince William and Kate said their vowels, they both said “I Will” instead of “I do”.

The first time I remember hearing The Beatles was on a mixed tape I stole from my dad at age 2-3. The song was actually a cover, the Hippy Hippy Shake. My earliest "real" memories of The Beatles come from my dad playing Here, There and Everywhere on the piano.

I also remember listening to Hey Jude and Yesterday on the keyboard they were programmed into that once belonged to my grandpa. I remember hearing stories about The Beatles rise to fame, the intensity of their live show and tragic death of John Lennon. As I got older I started to listen to more of The Beatles archives on my own. I fell in love with the movie/musical Across the Universe and I've enjoyed learning more and more about The Beatles in recent years. (Read about my 6 degrees of separation from the Beatles here).

Hearing 69 year old Paul McCartney play such historical, and influential songs, live... was absolutely amazing. A buzzing energy remained present throughout the entire set and while I shared this experience with some 50,000-60,000 people (Dad, can you give me a more accurate number?)...it was a truly unforgettable night and nothing will ever compare to this concert. Since it's nearly impossible to sum up with this experience with words alone, here are few videos (taken and edited with my iPhone):










Set list:

1.            Hello, Goodbye

(The Beatles song)

2.            Junior's Farm

(Paul McCartney & Wings song)

3.            All My Loving

(The Beatles song)

4.            Jet

(Paul McCartney & Wings song)

5.            Drive My Car

(The Beatles song)

6.            Sing the Changes

(The Fireman song)

7.            The Night Before

(The Beatles song)

8.            Let Me Roll It / Foxy Lady Tease

(Jimi Hendrix cover)

9.            Paperback Writer

(The Beatles song)

10.            The Long and Winding Road

(The Beatles song)

11.            Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

(Paul McCartney & Wings song)

12.            Let 'Em In

(Wings song)

13.            Maybe I'm Amazed

14.            I've Just Seen a Face

(The Beatles song)

15.            I Will

(The Beatles song)

16.            Blackbird

(The Beatles song)

17.            Here Today

18.            Dance Tonight

19.            Mrs. Vandebilt

(Paul McCartney & Wings song)

20.            Eleanor Rigby

(The Beatles song)

21.            Something (on ukelele)

22.            Band on the Run

(Paul McCartney & Wings song)

23.            Obla Di Obla Da

(The Beatles song)

24.            Back in the USSR

(The Beatles song)

25.            I've Got a Feeling

(The Beatles song)

26.            A Day in the Life / Give Peace A Chance

27.            Let it Be

(The Beatles song)

28.            Live and Let Die

(Paul McCartney & Wings song)

29.            Hey Jude

(The Beatles song)

30.            Encore:

31.            Lady Madonna

(The Beatles song)

32.            Day Tripper

(The Beatles song)

33.            Get Back

(The Beatles song)

34.            Encore 2:

35.            Yesterday

(The Beatles song)

36.            Helter Skelter

(The Beatles song)

37.            Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End

(The Beatles song)

Local Love: Keystone Bar & Grill

The Santana Mac 'n Cheese: Spicy Sausage, Black Beans and Tomatoes 

★★★★☆

This is some amazing mac 'n cheese! The spicy level is absolutely perfect. Enough to give the rich mac ‘n cheese a bit of a kick, but nothing too overpowering. The fresh tomato is soo refreshing to bite into! The black beans make this dish feel somewhat healthy, but it's hard to feel guilty while eating something so tasty! The leftovers are just as good as the first time around! Unfortunately, this was a special and it is not on the regular menu. However, I have yet to try a Keystone mac 'n cheese that I don’t like! A great time to try them is on Mondays when they are all half price!

Keystone Bar & Grill

313 Greenup St. 

Covington, KY 41011

859-261-6777

http://www.keystonebar.com/

Wordless Wednesday

Mad Hatter Cameo

Forever the Sickest Kids played at the Mad Hatter a few weeks back. Unfortunately, I missed the show due to previous commitment. Apparently, they filmed some of their time there for this music video! You can see the Mad Hatter at 10 seconds in (look for the neon pink lights and the big REFUSED painting on the wall). They also filmed in the green room a bit and you can see that after the interior shot. It's always fun to see the Mad Hatter turn up in a band video that gets national attention :) 

Tasting Cincinnati

Kev and me walking through the massive Taste crowd!

Kevin, myself and friends ventured over the Ohio River twice this weekend to attend Taste of Cincinnati. I actually didn’t eat a whole lot, but I did try some new and tasty food! On Saturday I opted for the Montgomery Inn Pulled Pork sandwich. I have to tell you, this was the best sandwich I’ve had in a long time. As an on-again-off-again vegetarian this sandwich will keep me off-again for a while. It was amazing! I also had a bite of Kevin’s Gyro (from I forget where--it was gross). If I ever want to go vegetarian again, I’ll just try that again--lamb is definitely not my cup of tea.

On Sunday I was full from dinner with the family, so I decided on a Graeter’s dessert that I had my eye on from Saturday night. It was Chocolate, Chocolate chip ice cream in between two chocolate chip cookies with chocolate sprinkles around the side. It was amazing! I could eat 10 more right now. Absolute heaven.

The food was great, but the entertainment was better even. We caught the Pomegranates playing on Saturday night and Walk the Moon on Sunday night. (Both on the Metromix stage). The Pomegranates are a great local indie band who recently played a string of dates with one of my new favorite bands, Young the Giant. They are always fun to watch, check them out as soon as you get a chance! Walk the Moon was also amazing, as always. They really do get better every time I see them. You can catch them this summer at Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza. I can’t wait to tell people that “I remember when they got their start” because this band is going to be big. They were recently named Esquire Magazine’s top band of the summer. (You can read more about that here.) In case you aren’t on the Walk the Moon bandwagon yet, now’s a good time to hop on!

Also, on Saturday, after we walked back to Covington, we caught the Zachary Burns Band playing at Down Under! That band is always a great time. Lots of fun was had by all ;) I leave you with a few iPhone pictures until next year's Taste of Cincinnati...

Pomegranates on the Metromix Stage at Taste of Cincinnati 5/28/2011

Walking back to Covington from downtown via the Roebling Suspension Bridge

Zachary Burns Band playing at Down Under in Covington, KY 5/28/2011

The crazy crowd at Taste!

Walk the Moon playing on the Metromix Stage at Taste of Cincinnati 5/29/2011

Walk the Moon playing on the Metromix Stage at Taste of Cincinnati 5/29/2011

Leapin' Lizards!

[If you know what title is a tribute to, you know me too well. Hint: I LOVE musicals.]

The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote a story about the Lazarus Lizards that have now become a part of Cincinnati's culture. I've seen these lizards around the city for years and heard a rumor that some kid brought them back on airplane from somewhere tropical. Turns out, that rumor is not that far off. A 10 year old brought them over from Italy in 1951. He released them at his family's home on Torrence Court, near Hyde Park and within a few years, the lizards were spreading throughout the neighborhood. Now they can be found all over Ohio and Kentucky -- so keep an eye out!  You can read the whole story here.

As I mentioned in a few posts down, we have lizards all over our balcony. They only come out when the sun is shining, so we haven't seen too many yet, but I can't wait to share my deck with lizards this summer. I love having them around! I managed to snag a quick pic on my phone of one the other day. They are hard to photograph because they move really fast. Next time I see them out, I'll have to get out my good camera with the good zoom lense and try to get some better pictures!

Here is what you get for now:

Thank you 10-year-old George Rau for smuggling these wonderful creatures through customs back in the 50s!

tags: lizards, Cincinnati, Lazarus Lizards, Cincinnati Enquirer, Ohio, Kentucky, Italy, George Rau

Redlegs

I love baseball season! I know many people find baseball boring, lacking action and too long, but I love it! I grew up playing softball every Spring, so maybe that's where my love for the sport originates. I think it's a combination of Spring time, Summer, cheap tickets, hot dogs and just a fun atmosphere that I love most about baseball. I haven't even been to a Reds game in over a year, but I've watched nearly every game on TV. I love having an exciting game to watch every night. It's nice to hear the announcers on TV, the sound of the crowd and the excitement when the ball cracks the bat. I don't know how to explain it, other than I love baseball season. I'll watch the Reds on TV every chance I get.

It's so much fun that they are doing so well this year! Go Redlegs!!! Can't wait to go to game soon :)

the edge of the universe

To celebrate my dad's birthday last night we went to the Omnimax to see Hubble. It was pretty awesome to travel into space via the IMAX cameras. We traveled to Orion's belt, tagged along as NASA repaired the telescope in 2009 and finally they took us to the edge of the observable universe.

It was awesome.

Being "out in the universe" really made me feel small as I sat in the theater. The universe is massive and we are so small in comparison, size wise at least. It was humbling to see Earth from the universe's perspective.

The movie was narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio and he ended his narration saying that we have explored most of space and we have yet to find a place as beautiful as Earth that could sustain human life and that's why it so important to take care of what we have. I couldn't agree with him more!

Our planet really is awesome.

p.s. I wrote this blog from a new app for my iPhone...we'll see how well it works!

Fireworks!

Go Cincinnati

Go Cincinnati is a one-day volunteer effort to clean and help as much of the city as possible. It was a ton of fun. I volunteered with some people from my FREE journey group and we got placed with my mom and people from her small group. I believe it was a coincidence that we ended up working together, but I never found out for sure! Anyway, we cleaned up the yard and painted the fence of Youth Incorporated, a learning center for kids and teens who have been in jail and aren’t ready to go home yet. So, kind of like a daytime halfway house. It was fun to help out and the job was pretty easy! Apparently Go Cincinnati is one of the biggest volunteer days in the city… 7,000 people, 40 churches and 400 jobs. They had to turn volunteers away this year, so I can’t wait to see what we can get done next year! After everyone was done volunteering there was a big party in Over the Rhine at Washington Park. Cincinnati's top chefs catered the event (for free) and fed thousands of people. There was a DJ and lots of dancing! It was really fun. There is video a post down.

Here are some pictures from the job site:

Go grub dancing!

This video doesn't really do it justice...but after GoCincinnati, Crossroads threw a huge party/cookout in Washington Park in Over the Rhine and everyone was dancing like crazy. It was a ton of fun!

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time to go...Cincinnati!

7,000+ volunteers, 40 churches and 400 job sites...this was Go Cincinnati 2010!

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Started volunteering at the SPCA shelter.

It was a rough first day at the SPCA...I loved this dog...reminds me of a certain mutt I love. Being around these dogs is like therapy. They are so sad, but so grateful for any attention you will give them. It's amazing what dogs are capable of teaching humans...

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anything can happen if you let it

My mom and I went to see Mary Poppins at The Aronoff last week.

AMAZING.

I absolutely love musicals and there is nothing better than seeing them live, but this one was over the top. The scenery and "special effects" were just amazing. I loved every second. I felt like a kid while absorbing the meaning of the musical for the first time. It's been years since I have watched the movie Mary Poppins, so a lot of I didn't remember. I was so impressed by all the songs, the metaphors they present and the values the play portrays. It's really about valuing people, the time you spend with them and that a little faith goes a long way. It was just a great performance and I was so sad to see it end.

[I am known to get ridiculously sad when good things end...shows, a cup of Starbucks, my Jimmy John's sandwich... you get the picture].

Anyway, if you have a chance to see this broadway production, do not miss it...you will not be disappointed! [thanks Julie--for telling me not to miss it!]

Click here to see a behinds the scenes of the production.

Shepard Fairey

Cincinnati has a decent reputation when it comes to art and performing art, at least I've always thought so. It's a pretty creative city.

I don't know much about why Los Angeles artist, Shepard Fairey choose Cincinnati to put murals up in, and I don't know what other cities he has done this in. I think to most people he is most well known for the poster he made during the Obama campaign, the famous "Hope" poster. I know that was on buildings in Chicago. You can read about him on wikipedia and see the poster here.

His street art comes with a huge amount of political propaganda, not all of which I agree with. However, he has some powerful messages in these images that can now be found on buildings throughout the city. I think it's pretty awesome. I can't wait to go see the rest of his show "Supply and Demand" at the Contemporary Arts Center. My friend Julie was in town last night and we drove around and saw most of the ones in the city last night and today.

I can't wait to go see the exhibit at the CAC. I am sad I missed the grand opening on Friday when Shepard was there, but he'll be back May 22nd, and you can bet I won't miss that!

It's getting cold...

My heat was out all week. I didn't even realize it until Thanksgiving-during the day. I was soo cold and just couldn't warm up. So, after a cold night last night, I woke up and checked the pilot light. It was definitely out. Luckily, one quick call to my landlord and it was fixed! I haven't even met my landlord yet-but he does a good job. I am warm and toasty now. Although, I don't feel well- at all. I hope a good nights sleep and some Gatorade does the trick...I hate being sick!

Anne and I went down to the Cyclones game on Wednesday night. We had so much fun. I hadn't been to a Cyclones game since...Feb 2008? I dunno...I know didn't go to any last season because I was in California...

Anyway...I love hockey. Love it. I don't remember life without hockey. When I was a kid, my dad's friend ran the clock for the Cyclones. I remember- sometimes, if we got to the game early enough-he'd let us walk on the ice before the game. We couldn't go far, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever (pun intended?). haha. Good times. Then of course, once I could drive...I started going to games with friends, and boyfriend(s). The games are always so much fun, I don't know what it is-but there's something about hockey.

I am dying to get up to a Miami game. Julie and I have been trying to work it out for weeks...hopefully in January. I miss Miami hockey sooo much. We were spoiled with great games all four years of college.

Speaking of Juile...I was supposed to go visit her and Liz tonight. I am bumming big time because I feel like shit. I think I have sneezed like 200 times. 201. Ok...this blog makes no sense, I blame the stuffy head.

Here are some pix from the hockey game:







 

tags: cyclones, hockey, miami university

Cincy Tour Guide

Wow. What a weekend. Julie and Brian came into town and I got to play "tour guide" for a bit. Really, we just did things I don't do in a normal weekend, so it was a lot of fun for me! We hung out in North Side for a bit, and Melt, is definitely my new favorite restaurant.

The Rusty Ball was so much fun and as far as I know, a huge success. It was great to see the city pull together for so many great causes! I can't wait for the one next year...I may just have to jump on the planning committee this time around :)

This is unusal for me, but I didn't take a single picture this weekend. (well, I took some one my phone and posted them on Twitter...but those don't count because my phone camera sucks). Anyway, I wish I had taken some...but I normally get carried away and sometimes it's nice to not worry about taking pictures all the time.

Alright...well...more to come...soon-ish....

tags:  cincinnati, melt, northside, the rusty ball, the rusty griswolds

new favorite park: otto armleder

tags: cincinnati, dog park, fall, hamilton county, ohio, otto armleder park