I went to the Tracy Chapman concert at Humphrey’s By the Bay in SD last night. The venue is awesome, with fold-out chairs gathered on grass, the bay on one side and the stars above. Ten feet away from the audience is the harbor with sailboats where people gather to get a glimpse of the concert. The sun sets with the girls and I enjoying a drink and listening to Tracy belt out her lyrics with such ease. She seemed so casual, like it was effortless. After the show I couldn’t play any other music or TV show because I didn’t want to taint my ears, and I fell into the deepest sleep I’ve had in a while. Live music does a body good.
You have to check out her new CD (even though I’m partial to the oldies) and her new website which is interactive and fun. It starts as a white coloring book and it let’s you choose your color and paint the scene. Each web page offers a new scene to color and is a metaphor for her new CD “Bright New Future.” Let’s all see what impact we can make on the world.
WHAT IS AUSTIN CITY LIMITS? Austin City Limits is a 3-day Music Festival in Austin, TX featuring 130 bands on 8 stages. Get the complete festival experience with local food, art and organized events for the kids. See music by Pearl Jam, The Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, John Legend, Lilly Allen, Thievery Corporation, The Decemberists, Brett Dennen and more! See complete lineup.
WHY WE HUB THEM: We hub music. ACL is famous for headlining some major mainstream musicians as well as some up-and-coming bands you SHOULD know. Not only are they creating a whole weekend of fun in the sun, they also do it the green way. The festival is 100% carbon neutral and they are doing their part by banning styrofoam, plastic bags and more. You can also help off-set your carbon footprint by picking up a Be Green Fan Tag for $3. Learn more here.
HOW WE CAN HELP: Musicians and Artists go together like peanut butter and jelly. Artistic Hub would love to team up with Austin City Limits to run a t-shirt design contest for the festival coming this October. Why not let artists from around the world create and submit their t-shirt designs for the event? The public would vote for their favorites on the ACL website and the one with the most votes would be the official t-shirt of the event. Plus, all of the designs in voting are available on-demand, so anyone could go online a purchase a design on a hoodie, t-shirt, tank top and more. This would be a fun way to get artists involved in the event and to get some really killer t-shirts that everyone would rock for years to come!
I hope everyone had a great weekend! A friend of mine called me at 8 pm on Friday saying he had an extra ticket to the Angels and Airwaves and Weezer concert! I missed Tokyo Police Club who also performed that night, but I heard they were awesome. I came in the middle of the Angels and Airwaves performance and they had so much energy! I’m not familiar with all of their music, but they sounded GREAT live. Weezer rocked my world with a mix of their old classics and new stuff. They also had tons of energy and gave an entertaining performance. They are all very talented and I was impressed. I love live music. (Photo to the left was taken on my iphone) Since I’m on the topic, here are some other artists that are “most played” in our office right now: (I also made notes about their websites. It’s interesting to see how a band brands themselves online.)
Last night my roommate Diliana and I went to see some of our favorite local artists perform. (Here we are at the show)
Dawn Mitschele and Bushwalla have teamed up for a tour around California called “Acoustic Mayhem.” Dawn would be the “acoustic” and Bushwalla would be the “mayhem!” But really, they both cause a little mayhem when they start singing, because you are instantly engaged and wrapped in the wonderful energy of their performance.
We all smashed into a small room in the Mueller College of Holistic Studies across from the infamous Twiggs cafe in University Heights, San Diego. Locals show up an hour early to pick up a warm tea from Twiggs, chat with other Mayhem fans and make sure they get a seat for the show! When we are all finally packed in, there is standing room only and people huddle outside just to get a peek. There is such an amazing energy that happens in a small room with live music.
Dawn Mitschele opened up the show with her sweet voice and intriguing lyrics. When she sings, I am instantly calmed and as she said herself last night, “it is a time to decompress.” When she walks up and starts to sing all fo the hustle and bustle in the room comes to a halt and you are mesmerized by her music. Check out her on MySpace to listen to some of her work. Her new album “Town of Trees EP” is now available on itunes and is in my “most played” list. Her most popular songs include: “Float Like a Feather,” which is soft and sweet and brings up my mood when I’m having a bad day. “Redwood Street” has a bluesy beat and “Dominoes” is a more acoustic pop. Here is her new “Dominos” music video:
Bushwalla on the other hand, is a juggling, joke-telling, fire-breathing, self-proclaimed gangsta from Cleveland. His music is almost acoustic rap where his quick rhymes and witty lyrics keep you wanting more. He’s an all-around performer and he seems to be happiest when he’s jammin’ on stage with his buddies. His new album “Autodidactical, Freestyle and Radical” is available at Bushwalla.net or on itunes. Go and listen! “Gangsta” will keep you laughing and “Fall Through Glass” is my motivation song.
I picked up a Bushwalla shirt to support because I truly an a t-shirt whore. (aka – I Love T-shirts!)
Jason Mraz also showed up to perform with Bushwalla last night. They are best friends and have been jammin’ together… forever. They never mention his name, but I used to see them perform together every Sunday at Twiggs a few years back. (Jason and Bushwalla are both originally from San Diego.) You never know when/if he’ll show up, but when Jason and Bushwalla perform together, it’s magic. They have a hilarious banter between them and they love to improve and create new songs on the spot. It’s always entertaining and I’ve really gotten to see what a talented artist Jason is, behind the scenes.
