Show Review: Peter Cetera with Richard Marx at Thunder Valley Casino Amphitheatre, 7/13/18

Cross this off my bucket list: I’ve loved Peter Cetera for as long as I can remember.

Like many children of the 80s, I still harbor a strong sentimental attachment to some of the tunes that might make others groan. Before I was old enough to start developing musical tastes of my own, my mom raised me on a steady diet of light rock, less talk. (No, you just sang the KOIT jingle in your head!) I think my personal trifecta from those days is (in no particular order): Billy Joel, Lionel Richie (with The Commodores and solo), and Peter Cetera (with Chicago but especially solo). At least for me, there is something about the music I loved as a kid that can have the power to invoke a true sense of joy that can be hard to find anywhere else.

Last month, my mom won a pair of tickets to see REO Speedwagon and Chicago, and she asked me to go with her. I thought it would be a blast, but I admit I was disappointed at the prospect of seeing Chicago sans Cetera. Between sets, I decided I should look to see if he was touring on his own. Much to my delight, not only was he currently touring, but I found tickets that were a mere two weeks away, in San Jose. Before I could buy them, though, Chicago took the stage, and I put my phone away to enjoy what turned out to be a truly fantastic performance.

The next day, I returned to my ticketing site of choice to buy tickets, and discovered I’d overlooked a second date the night before: this one was a month away, rather than two weeks, and I’d have to schlep out to the Sacramento area in the dead of the summer, but instead of just being Cetera solo, it also boasted Richard Marx on the bill. Though this is an artist my mother enjoys as much as I do, he wasn’t an heirloom: Richard Marx is an artist I learned to love all on my own, from the late 80s on. I bought tickets in a matter of moments and then started counting down the days until I could get myself out to Thunder Valley Casino on Friday the 13th (of July). Continue reading “Show Review: Peter Cetera with Richard Marx at Thunder Valley Casino Amphitheatre, 7/13/18”

Show Review: Depeche Mode at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 9/26/2013

Best I could do without photo creds...
Best I could do without photo creds…

In 1993, I was introduced to the music of Depeche Mode by a girl who lived across the hall from me at boarding school. Of course I was already familiar with hits “People are People,” “Strangelove,” “Enjoy the Silence,” and the phenomenal “Personal Jesus.” It was this friend’s influence, however, that led me to fall for what’s still my favorite Depeche Mode song today: “Somebody.” Sure, it’s easy for a 14-year-old girl to love a wistful song, but twenty years later I still adore it (almost thirty years after it was released). And I know, it might be such an obscure favorite that I wouldn’t hear it live, but I didn’t really care: I knew better than to pass up a ticket to see such an iconic band when given the chance. And so I made the trek down to Shoreline Amphitheatre last night to catch their Delta Machine tour (named for the recent album of the same name) – a journey which turned out to take me four hours from home. (Twice what it should be, thanks to an insane parking situation at the venue that will likely keep me from going there any time I can avoid it!)

Continue reading “Show Review: Depeche Mode at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 9/26/2013”

Show Review: John Mayer with Phillip Phillips at Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 7/24/2013

John Mayer channels Jimi Hendrix with a head scarf and a guitar
John Mayer channels Jimi Hendrix with a head scarf and a guitar

Ladies and gentlemen, the John Mayer of old is back. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you probably know why I say this.  Either way, I’ll start (briefly) from the beginning anyway. Mr. Mayer & I go way back: I was first introduced to his music just before his breakthrough hit “No Such Thing” exploded (circa Inside Wants Out, 2001-ish), and was immediately hooked. His fame continued to grow over the years. I didn’t notice at first, but somehow the seemingly almost shy, sweet, clever lyricist with an unusual tone and stellar guitar skills had become unrecognizable. He seemed to have bought into his own celebrity, and even if I’d have wanted to, I couldn’t have defended friends who insisted he’d become the ultimate “douche.” It didn’t keep me from listening, but it made me sad nonetheless. And then, miraculously, in 2010, he was somehow alerted to this drastic change in himself. Abruptly quitting Twitter, John took a hiatus to get back to himself. Then he lost his voice, which threatened the future of his career, though in the end it finally healed. Last year finally brought us the delicious folk/country-rock Born and Raised, and Wednesday ended my unintentional John Mayer hiatus as I finally had the chance to see him live for the first time in the better part of a decade, at Wheatland’s Sleep Train Amphitheatre, with recent American Idol winner Phillip Phillips in support. Continue reading “Show Review: John Mayer with Phillip Phillips at Sleep Train Amphitheatre, 7/24/2013”