"Take a bite, man. Don't be shy."

The Cleveland skyline took the form of a muted grey silhouette set against a grey, cloud-filled afternoon sky. The rain storm had traffic heading into the city at a standstill and Mom and I were stuck in it. It was August 20th, 2009 and we were on our way to see Our Lady Peace at the House of Blues.

It had been four years since I last saw them in concert and I was ready for another dose.

Thankfully, the rain had stopped by the time we arrived and found a parking lot. Upon entering the House of Blues, we were led through the hallways toward the main lobby. I got pumped as I heard the band through the walls, they were playing Naveed during sound check. From the lobby, one of the guys from the crew took us down in front of the stage, where we watched the guys warm up for the show with old favorites and new stuff from their current album, Burn Burn. From just hearing the sound check, I knew it was going to be one hell of a show.

When they wrapped up, Raine made his way over and chatted with us a bit, mostly about animation and movies, before helping get our seating arrangements squared away.

Eventually, we meandered over toward the other side of the room and talked a bit with Jeremy, Duncan, and Steve before snapping a couple pictures with the whole band.

It was a blast, they're all great guys.

From there, Mom and I decided to get some dinner in the House of Blues restaurant before the show. We ended up eating with Gail, who I haven't seen since Raine's concert in Buffalo. It was a nice little reunion.

As we finished eating, we noticed it was almost time for the doors to open, so we headed in and assumed our position by the front of the stage.

A little while after the audience had filed in, Meese opened the show.

I hadn't heard of them before this show was announced, but I thought they sounded pretty good. I liked their set.

When Our Lady Peace took the stage, they didn't waste any time and started the show strong with Monkey Brains.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk0QLTPFg6U

Between the excellent song, the power of the sound, and the crazy light effects, I was already blown away.

It was a really strong and amazing show, the setlist was like a "best of", drawing from all of their past albums and the new one. There was never a lull.

Raine's always had a habit of climbing some part of the venue during their shows and this night would be no exception.
Towards the end of the set, during All You Did Was Save My Life, he made his move.
Unable to reach the balcony from the stage, he ran up the stairs and hopped the rail, walking along the ledge while singing.

When it came time to get back down to the stage, he walked back the way he had come from. Mom aimed the camera at the stairs so she could get a shot of him coming down, but he never appeared. It was then that I noticed everyone looking up. When I joined in and looked up, all I saw were the bottoms of Raine's boots dangling directly above me as he attempted to climb back down.

"This is awesome!" was my initial thought. Then the possibility of Raine dropping onto my face crossed my mind and replaced the first thought with "This is going to hurt."

As he swung in the air, Mom reached over and pushed his feet toward the barricade in front of me. He managed to touch down on the barricade and hop back onto the stage.

It was seriously great.

To make it even better, Mom managed to keep recording through the whole thing. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpL0FC8JJVc

They finished the song and "ended" the set before returning for an encore consisting of In Repair and, of course, Starseed. The second unexpected awesome moment came during Starseed, thanks to an enthusiastic audience member named Trevor. No description would quite do this justice and thankfully, Mom was recording, so take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGUdxdhjCY0

It was an incredible show. The guys sounded great and the energy, both on stage and from the audience was insane. The whole night was an experience I won't be forgetting.

To cap it off, the security guard we made friends with during the show was kind enough to snag the setlist for me at the end.

In the lobby after the show I spotted Trevor energetically trying to convince security to let him go backstage (no dice), said my see-you-laters with Gail, and even met and snapped a quick shot with Meese.

They seemed like pretty cool guys.

Mom and I left the House of Blues and headed back towards the van. On our way, we ended up bumping into Jeremy in the alleyway. He thanked us for coming out to the show and signed the setlist for me. That was a really cool little moment to end the night.

With that, we hopped into the van and aimed for home, buzzing on the post-concert rush and looking forward to seeing Our Lady Peace when they come back to Cleveland. Hopefully it'll be sooner than later.

"If You're Looking for Wonderful..."

Chantal swung through town on Tuesday night as she's opening for Five for Fighting on their tour. I got my tickets a while ago and was really happy when the night finally arrived to offer up some relief from the daily repetition.

It was a nice (though slightly chilly) evening as Mom, Kris, Jessi, and I headed up to the House of Blues. The upstairs wheelchair seating there doesn't allow for much of a view at all, luckily we were able to talk the usher-type guy into putting us right down by the stage. That worked out great, I had a perfect view of the stage.


Chantal sounded fantastic, even though she said her voice is bugging her so close to the end of the tour. Another familiar face joined her on stage: Kevin Fox, who I had the pleasure of meeting back in St Catharines and Windsor. Along with drummer Randy Cooke, they played Time, Spoke in Tongues, Surrounded, Feels Like Home, Wonderful, Ghosts of You, and All I Can Do, though the order may have been a little different. They all seemed to be having a blast, as was I.

Chantal told everyone she'd be signing autographs in the lobby after her set, so we went out when she finished. I got in line with everyone else and couldn't help but crack up when I got to the front and Chantal just looked at me and said "...What are you doing waiting in line?"

We chatted briefly and I headed over to the couches and waited for her signing to be over so I could give her some little early birthday gifts (her actual birthday is today). Before too long, all CDs were signed, all pictures were taken, and she came over and joined us. I gave her the gifts and we chatted for a little while. It was excellent to see her again, she's such a sweetheart and always so kind to my family and me. Eventually, she left to go rest her voice and get ready for a hectic day of traveling the next day. As she left, she stopped, grabbed something off the floor, and set it on my lap. It was a dime, she gave it to me and called it my "lucky dime". Simple and small, but it made me smile.

By the time we got back into the concert hall, Five for Fighting was already a few songs into their set and all the good vantage points were taken. I like the band, but I'm just a casual fan, so we only hung around for a couple songs and took off. It was a relatively short night, but a wonderful one.

The drive home was rainy and crazy due to the aftermath of a several-car accident caused by someone who stole a car. The freeway was closed down in both directions and our detour ended up aiming us back toward Cleveland at one point.

Once we got back on track, we all stopped for a quick bite at Denny's and headed home.

"And You Let Me Lay My Burdens Down..."

A few weeks ago, I was happy to find out Anna Nalick was headed back to do another show at the House of Blues in Cleveland on July 31st. As usual with concerts I must go to, I got my tickets right away.

Last week, I decided to start work on a little project I had been pondering for a while. It was an idea inspired by the firefly story Anna shared with the crowd last time I saw her. After a few days work, my piece of cyber art was finished and I was surprisingly pleased with it. I was amazed at how quickly I finished it and how good it turned out.

The unexpected flooding events of the last few days threw a wrench into things, as I wasn't sure what state things would be in on concert day. Mom and I decided a little break from the chaos was necessary and we had to go.

We got a really late start and headed for Kinko's to print out my artwork to give Anna. It was 8:15 when we left for Kinko's and venue doors opened at 7:30. The print job was done and we aimed downtown.

We reached the House of Blues just before 9:30. Even though we were running late, the timing was pretty uncanny, as soon as I got into the lobby, I heard Luis on guitar playing the first notes of Citadel, the first song of the set.

Sadly, I completely missed the opening act, Eliot Morris.

Despite sitting in the very back, I had a surprisingly good view. Anna and the boys sounded great. I'm happy to say my only disappointment from the last show was resolved when they played Forever Love (Digame). She introduced it by telling how it was written after she was in a car accident and had the thought that she wasn't gonna go until someone told her they'd love her forever.

Anna also told stories of marathon viewings of Entourage on the bus, getting the cold shoulder from actor Jared Leto earlier in the day, and an embarrassing mess up while playing on a local news broadcast that morning.

They went on to play the rest of the tracks from Wreck of the Day as she pranced around the stage with her bare feet, including Drink Me and More Than Melody from the recent reissue of her debut album. She also sang the absolutely beautiful song, Home.

Towards the end of the song, Bleed, Anna introduces the band and they all slip in their solos as their names are called. I cracked up during drummer Ronny Crawford's solo as his movements were strikingly similar to everyone's favorite drumming muppet, Animal.

My personal highlight of the show was the Guitar vs Voice showdown between Luis and Anna. Imagine Dueling Banjos, minus the banjos and hillbillies. Luis would play a riff and Anna would sing the notes back at him. It was pretty funny, Luis kept playing ridiculously high notes knowing there was no possible way Anna could hit them.

To my delight Anna announced she'd be signing autographs in the lobby after the show. They ended the night with Satellite and left the stage.

Fantastic show.

While waiting in line to meet Anna again, Mom and I ended up befriending a really cool security guy, Andre. We all chatted for a nice little while until the line started to move.

Before I knew it, I was face to face with Anna yet again. "Hello again!" she said, to my surprise. I can't imagine how she remembers people with the massive amounts of people she must see on a daily basis in her line of work.
We talked for a little bit and I gave her the picture I made. I had a copy of my own I asked her to sign and she asked me to sign her copy. I must say, it felt strange signing something for a pop star as she autographed something for me. A good kind of strange. I also gave her a copy of the photograph of us from the last time she was in town and she signed mine.
Before I left, I asked if I could get a picture with her, but she said it was up to the club and they said no. I'm guessing it was because the line was so long and they wanted to keep things moving. We agreed "maybe next time" and said our see-you-laters.

Mom and I went to a chair a few feet away to sort everything before heading outside. As Mom was going through her purse, I noticed Anna leaning out from behind the table, trying to get my attention. I guess she saw the end of the autograph line was near and told me if I waited a couple minutes, we could get a picture together. Folks, the lady's a total sweetheart.
While waiting, I bought myself a copy of Eliot Morris' CD (which is great!) and he kindly signed for me.
A few minutes later, as promised, she came over and posed for a picture with me.

We chatted briefly, saying our thank-yous and more see-you-laters. Mom commented how beautiful Anna's voice is, to which she quickly and cutely replied "The better to sing for you with, my dears."


While at the autograph table, I also gave Anna the address to this site. So, Anna, if you find your way here, thank you for your kindness, the music, and a wonderful night.

"I Shine A Little More Lately..."

Anna Nalick's debut CD, "Wreck of the Day", has had a steady home in my music rotation for the past year or so. It's one of those rare collections of songs that seems to have only gotten better with repeated listenings. When I heard Anna would be playing at the House of Blues on March 3rd, I knew it was a show I couldn't pass up and quickly bought my tickets.

As my family and I made our way to downtown Cleveland, my excitement grew and before I knew it, we were there. We were led into the Cambridge Room, just off the main lobby of the House of Blues. Running a bit behind schedule, we arrived later than I would have liked, half the audience was already packed in and I couldn't even see the stage from my height. With a bit of help from a very kind House of Blues employee, I maneuvered my wheelchair to a much better position, next to the stage.

At roughly 8:15, the opening act, whose name I missed (sounded like Pixie Ray), took the stage. The two attractive sisters played a short, but enjoyable acoustic set. Their sound was slightly rough around the edges, but they're definitely talented. Sadly, most of the audience didn't seem to notice as they talked through most of the set.

In between acts, I stared at the drum set on stage, decorated with Anna's name, and knew it'd be starting soon.

Around 9:30, the band hopped on stage and introduced Anna. Wasting no time, they kicked into "Citadel" and started the show. They all sounded fantastic and definitely seemed to be having fun. I sat with the foot-rest of my chair touching one of the big speakers. Nerdy as it may sound, I loved feeling the music flow through me as I listened.

Anna interacted quite a bit with the crowd, something I absolutely love at a concert. For example, after asking a kid why he wasn't smiling, she announced a little more sugar in his diet would fix him up. She then went on to explain that the shoes she was wearing were too big for her feet, and not having another pair handy, she improvised by stuffing sugar packets from backstage into each shoe to fill in the extra space. She proceeded to remove one stiletto, pulled out a packet of sugar, and tossed it out to the kid.
I love quirkiness.

They went on to play more favorites from "Wreck of the Day" including the title track, "Paper Bag", "In My Head", and also a cover of Blondie's "Hanging On The Telephone".

Anna shared a story about a previous visit to Cleveland last summer. She found herself walking through a cemetery downtown and saw a small, glowing light moving through the air. After seeing a second one, she nervously decided to introduce herself to the "spirits" and talk to them a bit. A few minutes later, one flew directly at her and...landed on her skirt. The spirit was a firefly, a bug not native to Anna's home state of California.
She also shared a story about a concert last year during which she accidentally stood on her own skirt and ended up mooning the audience and receiving thunderous applause.

The applause wasn't too shabby from the Cleveland audience either, delaying the start of at least one song with continuous clapping. More applause came when she switched up the last line of "Catalyst" to "These L.A. lights, they don't shine quite as bright as back in Cleveland." What can I say? Crowds love a good citywide shout out.
Anna belted out her big hits, "Breathe (2 A.M.)" and "In the Rough" among others before wrapping up the show and dumping the remaining sugar packets from her shoes.
But that's not all, she also announced she'd be signing CDs in the lobby after the show. Good thing I came prepared, eh?

After the room cleared some, we attempted to make our way to the lobby, but found it too packed to even get through the door. A few minutes passed as we waited in the Cambridge Room when my brother, Kris, said "There she is." I turned around, but before I could make it over to her, she was already through the other door into the lobby. I headed back and took my place in line.

A surprisingly quick 45 minutes later, I was up at the table, face to face with Anna Nalick herself.

Now let me say something, hopefully it won't sound too cheesy or overly guy-ish, but not only is this woman an excellent performer with one hell of a voice and an amazing songwriter, she's the stunning kind of beautiful (incredible eyes and a killer smile) that would most likely make me too shy to even approach her in a normal daily life setting. Actually, that's sort of what happened. Maybe I was a tad starstruck (or starstricken?), but all the words I meant to say decided to put up the "Gone fishin'" sign when their time came. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't sitting there saying "a-durrrrrr", but you know what I mean.

She was kind enough to sign my CD and a poster and she even posed for a picture with me. Mom asked if Anna could get a little closer for the picture. Being cornered in by the tables, she did her best. She stood up slowly and joked that she was being careful not to reenact her skirt incident. Leaning across the table with her hand on my shoulder, we both smiled as the camera did its thing.

She thanked me for coming and I assured her I'd see her next time she passed through Cleveland, and that was that.

It was a great show, even better than expected. It was one of those concerts where the whole show was a highlight. Great music and pure lighthearted fun.
My only (slight) gripe of the night was that the only song from her CD Anna didn't sing during the show was the one I was most looking forward to hearing, "Forever Love (Digame)". Maybe next time.
All I know for sure is that I didn't leave from the House of Blues disappointed tonight.

"Take My Hand, Come With Me..."

At 7:00 tonight, I was flying down the freeway in the Jacobmobile towards downtown Cleveland. Directly ahead, ominously dark clouds filled the sky. Every few seconds, brilliant lightning bolts cracked down from the heavens like I've never seen before. It must've been an offshoot storm from the remnants of Hurricane Dennis.

"I'm heading into this?" I thought to myself as the rain obscured my view through the windshield.

What could possibly make me keep going in the direction of such an intimidating sight? Concert tickets, of course. Tickets to see Pete Yorn.

After a minor parking incident, we arrived at the House of Blues. An incredibly helpful lady from the giftshop led us through the building to where we needed to be, as it was our first time there. From there, an equally helpful guy led us upstairs to the disabled seating.

I won't go off on a rant here, but I'd just like to take a moment to state that in my twenty two years, I've yet to see handicap seating that shows any kind of actual thought behind it. As I pulled into the spot tonight, I found that the bar from the railing in front of me, directly in my line of sight between the stage and me. I said flat out that this wasn't going to work and the guy offered to take us downstairs to the pit.

We got down there and I got myself comfy right up front on the left side of the stage. A little while later, around 8:00, the curtains parted and the opening act, Minibar, took the stage. A group of guys from London, they had a great sound and kept my attention throughout their whole set. Their sound compliments Pete Yorn's strikingly well. I'll have to go grab one of their CDs soon.

Around 9:15, the curtains opened again and there stood Pete Yorn, strumming the opening to "Feel Good Again". Halfway through the song, it dawned on me that the band backing him up was actually Minibar, a perfect fit. Pete sounded great and everyone, both on stage and in the audience, appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Pete kept everyone dancing with his retro-ish rock style upbeat songs, and even his slower songs, such as "All At Once" and "Strange Condition", were performed with enough power to keep everybody moving. He also gave fans a taste of what's to come when he played a few songs from his upcoming album, due out later this year.

It was a great show, though it seemed to end earlier than I'd expect, long before 11:00. I had a blast and hope Pete'll make his way back to Cleveland soon.

Other amusement came from a girl who had clearly been enjoying her drinks throughout the evening. During Pete's set, she came out of nowhere, bent down next to me, and said "You lucky bastard." Unsure where this was leading, I listened as she continued "My Dad told me I should get a wheelchair and I could get right up front. He was right, huh?" Not knowing what to say, I just laughed. She then began dancing like a madwoman.

My final note from the night comes from my realization that I'm ridiculously un-smooth. After the show, I found myself just hanging around in front of the stage. I looked to my left and saw a beautiful woman walking directly towards me. She leaned in, her long, dark hair hanging down, and asked me how I liked the show. We talked for a bit about the concert and Pete Yorn. She asked my name and told me she was Kelly. A few minutes later, our little conversation ended and she walked away.
Then it hit me. This gorgeous lady made the effort to come over and strike up a conversation with me...and I made no attempt to ask for her number or anything. What the hell is my problem? I swear, my brain just freezes up at the sight of a pretty lady, doubly so if they're nice. I'm kicking myself (so to speak) now.

Anyway, it was a great night and a great show. Stay tuned for my further misadventures, won't you?

-Jacob