Tag: lord huron

A Travel Edition of … Random Thoughts

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 1 Comment

I thought maybe I could squeeze in another concert after seeing The Lumineers and Lord Huron last week. On our way home from St. Louis, my daughter and I stopped to visit with a cousin who is my daughter’s age and was spending a few weeks in central Illinois with a relative. That cousin let us know that the Macoupin County Fair was in full swing, so we decided to stop in and maybe see a concert. I was excited to see two possibilities.

Well, it turns out that Open Goat (great name for a band) is actually not a band, and it wasn’t much of a show. Just a bunch of goats in pens. And although it was tempting to hang around for the Beer Tent Band (a very pedestrian name for a band), I did not want to be in central Illinois that late with a four hour drive to get home. I also wasn’t sure if the band was playing in the Smoky Jennings Pavilion or a literally smoky Jennings Pavilion. There’s still a lot of smoking going on in rural central Illinois.

The trip home was excellent as we stopped to see some top notch roadside tourist attractions along the way. However, I sense a scandal brewing at the World’s Largest Covered Wagon in Lincoln, IL. Take a look and see if you can spot the problem.

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Concert Tour Update #3

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 3 Comments

My daughter and I finished off our St. Louis concert tour with a show by Lord Huron. I had purchased tickets for both concerts with Covid in mind. So, our seats were on the side with minimal people near us. I felt this was a necessary precaution, because we were concerting in Missouri where people think Covid has been completely eradicated or never existed in the first place. Our seats for the Lord Huron show were top row, on the end.

Those seats may sound terrible with a view like this.

It could be a whole lot worse, like this seat.

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My Summer Concert Tour

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 1 Comment

Thankfully, I will not be touring to perform but to partake. I hit the road Wednesday with my 13 year old daughter to head to St Louis to see two concerts, squeeze in one day of work, do some sightseeing, and get my daughter over to see her cousin from Arizona who is staying with a relative in Central Illinois. I know you’re thinking, “Jim, please tell us more about that fascinating day of work you have planned with your daughter.” Well, work plans are still in flux, so instead I will tell you about the concerts.

Wednesday we drive straight from home to our hotel, check-in to the luxuriously-appointed Holiday Inn Express, and walk across a couple parking lots to the concert venue to see …

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New Music For Old Rockers – Michigan Edition

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 4 Comments

At one time, Michigan was known for the Motown sound and building cars in the Motor City of Detroit. These days, Michigan may be more well known for its beaches. I can attest to the fact that Michigan has amazing beaches with giant sand dunes and beautiful waters. You may be thinking, “Really? A state stuck in the middle of North America has great beaches?” Yep, thanks to the Great Lakes. Michigan’s southern border is nothing special with Ohio & Indiana on the other side. Build the Wall! But head west, and you run into Lake Michigan where the sunsets are amazing. To the north lies Lake Superior and its cool, clear waters. And to the east is a bit of Lake Erie and a whole lot of Lake Huron. There are water and beaches everywhere in Michigan.

So, why am I about to plug a couple songs from an L.A. band for a Michigan music post? Well, the band is Lord Huron, and it was started by Ben Schneider who grew up in Michigan, spending his summers at Lake Huron. After moving to L.A., he formed Lord Huron, which I believe he named after English poet Lord Byron. Anyway, they’ve got a 4th album coming soon, and if the first two songs they have released are anything like the rest of the album, it may be their best yet.

But before I get to Lord Huron’s music, here are two obscure connections to Michigan music that my oldest daughter has …

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Summer Concert Review #1

~ Jim Flanigan ~ 4 Comments

My summer concert plans are a disaster so far. I entered the summer with grandiose plans to see about 10 performers, some old & some new. Those plans were quickly derailed, crashed and burned not unlike any weekend “to do” list I have ever made or any financial plans for retirement I have ever structured. The culprit? As always … an evil-doer using the alias of “family obligations” has been identified, arrested, tried & convicted for viciously murdering my summer concert plans.

I had wanted to kick-off my summer concert plans by seeing Lord Huron headline at a festival. They are an up & coming indie band that I really enjoy.

My oldest daughter gave me one of their CD’s. She would certainly want to see them. Nope, despite being a big fan, she had no interest. My friends had no interest since they typically cannot be enticed to a concert unless it is a Beatles reunion with an original line-up featuring both Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe. But of course I can count on being able to drag my wife to a concert that she has absolutely no interest in attending, right? Nope, those family obligations rise up in the form of a daughter’s dance recital rehearsal. I refused to be a total loser and attend a festival by myself (Yay, I am alone and festive!), so I succumbed to having my butt caressed by the couch monster at home.

Despite the lackluster start, I figured I could recover and get my concert plans back on track when I saw tickets still available to see Steely Dan, a old fave of mine that I have never seen. Once again, news of this concert opportunity spread among family and friends generated about as much interest as a Bay City Rollers reunion tour. Wait, what? Never mind, the Bay City Rollers are already reunited and touring.

Bay city rollers

 

 

Sigh! But I had an ace up my sleeve, a more casual friend who is a known Steely Dan fan, bordering on stalker. Once again the heinous family obligations rose up, this time from his side, requiring his attendance at an out-of-town family reunion.

Then doubt crept in. These dudes (major dudes for any Steely Dan fans) are old. Their vocals were never the best in their prime. What will they sound like now? I saw 2/3 of the formerly golden-throated warblers called America in concert a couple years ago, and if I could have found a pencil to puncture my eardrums, I would have. If America sounds so bad, how bad will Becker and Fagen sound? So I grabbed caution from the wind and passed, preferring to remember their original vinyl sound complete with scratches rather than their potentially scratchy voices of today.

At that point, I needed a new concert plan. What I came up with was a plan to see 5 concerts for ZERO dollars. That’s right, 5 FREE concerts. I’m not talking about money for gas, train fare, a Mott the Hoople Reunion Tour 2016 commemorative t-shirt, or overpriced hot dogs and beer. I’m just talking about admission … $0.00. I successfully launched that plan over the Independence Day holiday weekend.

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