I may reside in New York City and I may root for the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox but I’m a Jersey girl at heart!  I have loved Bon Jovi forever and so when my friend Alison suggested going to see Bon Jovi I was super excited.  Granted this was my 4th time seeing them, but it had been at least 5 years   In addition, it was an opportunity for me to get together with two of my favorite Holy Cross girls (Kirsten and Alison) and to see the new Meadowlands Stadium.  Extra bonus:  Train was the opening act.  Their new CD (well, I guess it’s not that new anymore) Save Me, San Francisco is AMAZING!

Kirsten, me and Alison!

I have to say that getting to the new Stadium was super easy!  I met Alison & Kirsten at our seats because they got there early enough to “tail gate”.  I have to say the new Meadowlands Stadium did nothing for me.  From the outside it looks really cool but from the inside it’s just one big gray concrete stadium.  Blah!  At least everything was new and clean. 

Everyone was really there to see Bon Jovi so when Train came on the stadium was pretty empty.  Not that that mattered to me because I was super psyched to see them.  They were every bit as good as I had hoped they’d be and they played a lot of great songs.  I just felt bad that there wasn’t more energy coming from the crowd.  I will say, as this was my 3rd time seeing Train, if you like them and you ever have the opportunity to see them they put on a GREAT show!  (And there version of Ramblin’ Man rocks!)

After Train it was time for the main act.  It is amazing that Bon Jovi is still rockin’ it!  They played all the great oldies you’re there for and a lot of new stuff too.  It was fun to see how some of there newer stuff (ie:  It’s My Life) has become almost as popular as Livin’ on a Prayer!  People went crazy when It’s My Life came on – love it!  I love Bon Jovi and so maybe I’m biased but I can promise you whether you can sing all of their songs or only know 1/3 of them their concerts are a guaranteed good time.  You will lose you voice from singing & screaming, you’ll be dancing and just enjoying yourself all night long.  They put on a great show – it’s definitely worth the splurge.  I would see them again!!!! 

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Who is your favorite band/musician to see live?

Brunch at 44 & X followed by the matinee of ROCK OF AGES!!!!  (That’s me above in the bright green vest – it was a new Christmas present from my sister and her fiance!)  I know this post is a little late in coming (um…like 4+ monhts late….) but Rock of Ages was sooo good that I couldn’t let the opportunity pass by without blogging about it.

First of all on a side foodie note, 44 & X was AMAZING!  We sat at this huge oversized wooden table and enjoyed all sorts of goodies and yummy beverages.  The staff there was incredibly accomodating and so nice!  Then we headed over to the Theater.  I had heard a lot of great things about Rock of Ages, but I didn’t know that much about it.  We got there and right at the door were offered more beverages (my kind of theater).  We had purchased our tickets (or rather Meghan’s aunt waited in line at TKTS for us – Thank you Aunt Debbie!) the day before from TKTS and were able to snag center orchestra row L for like $85.  We settled in and then the show started.

Let me just say it was AMAZING!  They gave us fake lighters that were mini flashlights to light up and sway back and forth during the slow songs.  If you love 80′s music – think Journey, Whitesnake, Poison, Pat Benatar, REO Speedwagon – you will LOVE Rock of Ages.  We were singing the whole play (out loud) it was hands down THE MOST FUN I’ve had on Broadway!  There is a live band playing all of this awesome and fun music and there is a story and characters to boot just to make all the songs come together cohesively.  My favorites were a toss up between “We Built This City” and “Oh Sherry”.  My favorite character, how do I choose, it’s definitely a toss up between Stacee Jaxx and Franz.  I promise you will laugh until you are crying and your sides hurt, your voice will be hoarse afterwards and you will be so energized you might be tempted to buy tickets and see the next showing!

Just putting together this post and looking stuff up, watching videos, and re-listening to music from the musical is making me now want to go see it again.  This is a show not to be missed, get your most fun group of friends together, and “rock out”!

WE MISSED YOU AMERS!!!!!

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What’s the most fun you’ve had on Broadway?

One of the many reasons I was excited to move to New York City was because I L.O.V.E. Broadway!  I’ve been very fortunate to see many shows each year and I’m hoping that 2010 will be no different.  A couple weeks back my friend Jen invited me to go see RED with her.  Her friend and old roomie Holly works for the production company that is producing RED and she offered Jen two free tickets and then Jen invited me to go with her.  So T.H.A.N.K.S to both Holly & Jen for the opportunity.  I apologize ahead of time that I didn’t get a picture of the marquis so this is going to be a wordy and pictureless post.

Prior to moving back to NYC I was an all musical girl.  I grew up watching musicals and I love them.  I had seen a few dramatic plays but nothing that really impressed me (except for Death of a Salesman).  However, lately I’ve been intrigued by the array of dramatic plays on Broadway and I’m realizing that it’s a different genre of theater that I need to educate myself about.

In RED, Alfred Molina, plays Mark Rothko, an expressionist who has just landed his largest commission to date, a set of murals for New York’s Four Seasons.  He hires an apprentice/assistant, Ken, played by Eddie Redmayne.  They work together for the next couple of years.  Eventually Ken gets the confidence to question Rothko on his decision to accept the commission and whether he’s a “sell out” to the art community and expressionists on a whole for doing so.

The whole play lasts about 90 minutes give or take and is a POWERFUL performance by both actors.  You know that a drama is good when you cringe at some of the arguments as if you feel like you’re intruding and then you remember that they’re acting for you the audience.  It was incredibly personal and the small theater really makes you forget about everyone around you and makes you feel as if you are a fly on the wall in Rothko’s studio.  Their performances of, Ken coming of age in the studio and Rothko’s struggle with what I’m sure many artists struggle with:  success vs. staying true to you as an artist, were very real and honest.  Can you achieve both in your lifetime?  Is it OK to strive to achieve both in your lifetime?  Should you care what your professional peers think of you?

I LOVED this show.  I was blown away by the story, the caliber of acting, and the use of lighting to make the studio feel different even though the set didn’t change over the course of the 90 minutes.  I would definitely recommend this show and I felt that it really solidified my appreciation of non-musical plays on Broadway.  I look forward to being introduced to more throughout my time in the city.  I hope I can challenge myself to leave my comfort zone every now and again and delve into the meat of Broadway.

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What is your favorite dramatic play that you’ve seen? 

PS – How pumped was I when we watched An Education and Alfred Molina played Jenny’s dad!  I love seeing famous, amazing actors live in theater, it truly is such a treat.

I do so many “entertainment” related activities (ie: movie watching, broadway shows, concerts, television shows) that I decided to add Entertainment Saturdays.  Entertainment Thursdays will focus primarily on movie reviews and television show reviews while Entertainment Saturdays will focus primarily on concerts, music and reviews of Broadway shows or any kind of theatrical/dance performance.  Eventually the titles may evolve into something different but that will be the breakdown.

I’ve been wanting to write this post since October!!!  But was so swamped with movie reviews that I just never got around to it.  I apologize that this is so delayed but hopefully you’ll still enjoy it.  Back in October, my co-worker Rachelle and I went to the Sugarland/Keith Urban Concert.  We are both huge country fans and we both love love love Sugarland.  We listen to them at work often, much to our other co-workers shagrin (sp?)! 

Sugarland Performing

 Sugarland was the opening act!  They were awesome.  Rachelle and I were so excited to finally see them live.  I would say that my favorite song they performed was “Everyday America“.  They broke out into some freestyle action, where they sang a couple of different songs in the middle, before coming back to “Everyday America”.  The other reason that was my favorite song was because that’s where my blog name came from.  I was listening to their cd “Enjoy the Ride” a lot back when I started this blog.  Part of the chorus goes, “Whoa, whoa, everybody’s dreaming big, whoa, whoa, but everybody’s just getting by.”  I love that because I feel like I’m always “dreaming big” (planning vacations, trying to accomplish challenges and goals I set for myself, exploring NYC, trying to make my life bigger than it is, etc) and yet I’m just “getting by” like everyone else (clockin’ a 40 hour work week, doing laundry, doing dishes, working out, living in reality, etc).  So now y’all know the origin of the blog name!  My other favorite song that they performed was “Love” and of course “Stay“.  They played for about an hour and then it was time for Keith Urban. 

Rachelle & I

 Rachelle and I decided to get all decked out country style!  We thought for sure a majority of the people attending would be wearing plaid, cowboy boots & hats, etc.  But no, we were like 2 of 20 people in all of MSG decked out.  Oh well, it made our viewing experience more fun for sure!  I will say this was the most on time prompt concert I have ever been to.  Both the opening act and the main act started right on time, not a minute late.  It was awesome, it elimated a lot of sitting around you tend to do at concerts.

Keith Urban rockin' out!

Rachelle and I weren’t sure what to expect from Keith Urban.  Don’t get me wrong, we both love his music and listen to it a lot, but we don’t have all of his cds so we were uncertain if he was going to play stuff we knew, and if we were going to like him as much as we were planning on liking Sugarland.  Boy were we blown out of the water by his performance.  He played a lot of old stuff as well as new stuff, he came out into the crowd a bunch of times, he was just AMAZING!  I would say that Keith Urban is pretty rock ‘n’ roll, some of his guitar riffs were crazy.  We practically lost our voice singing and screaming to his songs!  I would say my favorite song was “Days Go By“, I LOVE that song!  (seriously.)  This concert made me realize just how many great songs he has, “Better Half”, “I Told You So”, “Sweet Thing”, “Stupid Boy”, “Hit the Ground Runnin’”, the list goes on and on and on.

Overall, this was a GREAT concert and I would certainly see both these acts again live!  So glad they came to little ‘ol NYC!

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Who’s your favorite country band/duo/group/singer?  Do I have to pick a fave???  Sugarland, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town…I guess those would be my Top 4.