Concert Review: The Fray

The Fray @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater

I knew about The Fray's summer tour for a while and wanted to attend very much since I hadn't seen them for two years. I have to admit though, when I heard Jack's Mannequin was one of the openers, I was a tad nervous. I've been feeling really dizzy in public places as of late, I'm pretty sure my crowd phobia is escalating into a anxiety disorder, and I know how bitchy Fray fans are and pushy Jack's fans can be---so I wasn't sure if I should go to this or not. Also, money is tight, even more so now that my roommate left me, so paying over $50 for a ticket wasn't looking to hot. I was flipping channels on the radio and heard an ad on 106.5 to win Fray tickets on their website. I thought, 'what the heck' and did it that night. The beauty of it was you could enter your name as many times as you wanted. I checked back on Monday and discovered that I was one of the winners. I asked my friend, Danielle, who saw them with me the first time 30 rows back. She had to work until five, but would meet me afterwards.

My mom dropped me off at the amphitheater around 3pm, and there were a group of people already in line. I figured there would be. I had to wait for my tickets, since the box office said the station hadn't dropped them off yet. I mostly just sat and waited, ate some food, drank some water, eventually picked up my tickets. The gate opened about 5:30. I was happy to hear that they were allowing cameras because the last time I saw The Fray there, they weren't allowed and I had to give the staff my batteries...grrrr. I rushed to the stage---safely rushed, of course---and got front row towards the left. I was happy to have open space in front of me and something to hold onto so people couldn't cut in front (which fray fans are notorious for) and in case there was a lot of pushing. Danielle was having some trouble finding the place. She finally arrived right before the first opener came on, and I was able to save her a spot.

Richard Swift came on at 7 and played for half an hour. He was pretty good. Nothing too memorable, but not bad.

Jack's Mannequin came on about 8. I would say half the crowd was there to see them. They are always wonderful to watch and listened to--great energy and sound. I've never seen them from front row, so this was a treat. And the fans weren't pushy! yay! They played for a good hour.

The set up for The Fray was relatively quick. They were set by 9:15, but of course we can't just go when we're ready (one of the main annoyances about concerts I don't understand). After waiting what felt like an eternity, they came out at 9:30.

They played (not all in the right order):

Intro of Happiness

Over My Head

She Is

Absolute

Say When (my fav off the new album)

How To Save A Life

UnGodly Hour

Enough For Now

Little House (amazing live omg)

Syndicate

We Build Then We Break

Look After You

Never Say Never

You Found Me

E:

Heaven Forbid (joe alone)

Heartless (amazing cover)

All At Once

Happiness

For half the show, Isaac just sang without playing the piano. I thought this was very cool, and he could come to the edge of the stage and sing out to the audience. It was crazy to be that close. The lighting was phenomenal. They always have very creative lights and sound. It was really a great show, and for free? Even better. Afterwards, we went to get something to eat. The only thing open was IHOP, so we got some grub and headed home. Great show, and I'm glad I got to go.

Concert Review: No Doubt

No Doubt @ Blossom Music Center

I've been a fan of this band for a while and always wanted to see them live. Then they took a time-out and Gwen did a solo career. I was so happy when I heard that they were getting back together for a summer tour, and knew I had to go.I invited my friend Angie, who's also a big fan of theirs, and of music in general. Strangely enough, we'd never been to a concert together--many trials and errors, but tonight work out.

Angie picked me up a little after four, and we headed out. Blossom is in Cuyahoga Falls which is about 45 minutes from Parma. It took us a little longer due to difficulties with directions. After going back and forth on country roads, we stopped at a gas station and the woman there was a big help. We finally arrived closed to six. I got us lawn tickets because they were only $10. Deal. Blossom is set up with the stage and pavillion seats under a huge covering and then lots of lawn space. We waitied around a little bit before they let us in at 6:30. Swarms of people flocked to their seats and stretched across the lawn. We made a spot for ourselves around the middle. We sat and caught up on each others lives. We went to high school together and we agree that there are two types of people; high school and college people. These people make long lasting friendships in either/or. We have a very close group of friends from high school whom I love seeing whenever I can. College...not so much. My friends from college are people I go to shows with who don't attend my University. Ha.

At 7:30 on the dot, the first opener, Bedouin Soundclash, came on. They were pretty good. I'd describe them as Jamacian music meets rock. But after a while, all the songs started to all sound the same.

At 8:15 Paramore came out to a very excited crowd. I'd say about half the crowd (of 22,000 people) were hardcore Paramore fans. They were good. I know a couple of their songs from the radio, but that's really it. Their female lead singer had great stage presence and was very thankful we were all there.The clouds were rolling in all night, but luckily we only experience minor drizzles.

No Doubt came on around 9:30 to a roaring crowd of 22,000 music lovers. I'm forgetting some songs but they played:

Spiderwebs

Hella Good

Excuse Me, Mister

A Simple Kind of Life

Ex-Girlfriend

New

Bath Water

Underneath It All

Hey Baby

It's My Life

Running

Just A Girl

Sunday Morning

Don't Speak

and three or four songs I'm forgetting.

They were amazing. The stage was all white with a front drop at the beginning. They each came out one by one so their shadows showed up eventually together and then was pulled down. The back screens played images and music videos they had created for the tour. Lots of color. Gwen has amazing stage presence---actually they all do. At one point she was talking to the audience and saw a sign a guy had that he wasn't leaving without a picture with her, so she told him to get on stage and they took a picture. We had fun in the back, and they were very good about acknowledging us. It was really incredible to see that many people in one place.They played for a good two hours. We made our way through the sea of people and back over to our car. After a very frightening ride home of wrong turns and near death side collision, we made it back home safe and sound. Thank God.