Josh Kelley & One Republic
The Josh Kelley/One Republic concert on Sunday night was awesome...lots of thoughts & the set list we snatched from Ryan's piano under the cut!
My friend and I left campus on Saturday night to stay the night at my house. We actually ended up seeing Step Up 2 late that night (It was okay, definitely not as good as the first one. One viewing is enough.), and we didn't get in bed til about two in the morning. The next morning, my friend was awakened by my dog walking across her head, as he is prone to do. (At least he only weighs 5.5 pounds.) We got McDonald's before heading out of town, since I hadn't had it in a month. That's nearly a new record for a member of my family. She wanted to go to the track first to catch up with her co-workers, but I think it was an excuse to go buy a couple of Dan Wheldon posters. I loved how all of the employees immediately asked her how she felt about Dan's wedding next month. Then we hit up a couple of cute boutiques on Mass Ave, and had dinner at the Hard Rock downtown. It was actually my first time, but I'd love to go back when I'm more in the mood for a big meal. Then we got to the Murat to stand outside in line.
We only stood outside for about half an hour; we were let in pretty early. Sitting inside on the floor of the Egyptian room > standing outside the Murat in February. It was general admission, so we were only standing about six people back from the stage, and dead center. The opening band was the Daylights, and one of their guitarists was gorgeous. It was also his birthday, so halfway through their set, Josh Kelley, his band, and One Republic came out with a cake and led the crowd in "Happy Birthday." I thought the Daylights were pretty good, but more of a band that I would like better on cd than live. I bought their EP on Monday, and I actually like it a lot.
Josh Kelley was up next, and I was familiar with him going into the show, but hadn't heard anything of his for the last couple of years. Turns out he released a new album at the beginning of this month, and he played a good mix of his old & new material. May I just say that he was looking pretty good in his suit? Dang, Katherine Heigl is one lucky woman. I feel bad for him that he was stuck out here in Indiana instead of watching her present at the Oscars. I was incredibly impressed by Josh Kelley; he gained a new fan in me. He was great at engaging the crowd, sounded wonderful, and was just so freaking sexy. :) If he's back in central Indiana anytime soon, I am so there. Had to love the story about what he bought Katherine for Valentine's Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1b7onat_rQ.
I was a bit nervous about seeing One Republic live, since their music relies a lot on the production for their melodic, haunting sound. Luckily, they were even better live than on their cd. I figured that Ryan probably wouldn't hit all of the high notes, but he nailed all of them, and even sang somethings even higher than what was on the album. They sang almost all of my favorite songs from Dreaming Out Loud, and I'm still in awe about how good they were. My friend thought Apologize would suck without Timbaland, but it was the best I've ever heard it. There was some awesome synergy going with the crowd (not the best I've felt, but their music calls for that connection), and you could tell how excited they were to be playing in front of large, enthusiastic crowd. (All of the bands were, to be honest.) We were their largest crowd in a city they've never played before while headlining. It was cute to see how happy the whole band looked. They also vowed to come back to Indy this year. Highlight: the Bittersweet Symphony cover was just wow, up in the stratosphere. Even better, they followed it up with a cover of Umbrella. Youtube time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v-PF6YaWEs&NR=1. (Not my show, but the quality is better than the Indy videos.)
After the show was just as amazing, because I got to meet the gorgeous guitarist from the Daylights, Josh Kelley, and almost all of One Republic! I seriously made a beeline right for Josh. I wish they took debit cards, because I would have bought his latest cd and had him sign it. (I did buy it on iTunes on Monday, though.) Unfortunately, we didn't have our cameras because my friend didn't think you could take them into the Murat, so my pictures are crappy and on my phone. When I went to pose with Josh, he suggested we pose prom-style, and I was seriously loving it. He is amazingly sexy. Then I chatted with and got a picture with the Daylights' guitarist, who is even cuter up close. While I was getting my picture with Josh, my friend was able to nab One Republic's setlist from Ryan's piano. We chatted with four of the five members of the group, and had them autograph the setlist. Sadly, Ryan didn't come out, even though my friend made us wait FOREVER in case he did. Thanks to that, we didn't get back to campus until 1:30 am. Despite that, it was completely worth it! I haven't gone into a concert and been so pleasantly surprised in a long time. If any of the three bands are back in my area, I will do everything I can to see them.
Finally, here's a scan of the autographed setlist, which is now my friend's Facebook profile picture:
My friend and I left campus on Saturday night to stay the night at my house. We actually ended up seeing Step Up 2 late that night (It was okay, definitely not as good as the first one. One viewing is enough.), and we didn't get in bed til about two in the morning. The next morning, my friend was awakened by my dog walking across her head, as he is prone to do. (At least he only weighs 5.5 pounds.) We got McDonald's before heading out of town, since I hadn't had it in a month. That's nearly a new record for a member of my family. She wanted to go to the track first to catch up with her co-workers, but I think it was an excuse to go buy a couple of Dan Wheldon posters. I loved how all of the employees immediately asked her how she felt about Dan's wedding next month. Then we hit up a couple of cute boutiques on Mass Ave, and had dinner at the Hard Rock downtown. It was actually my first time, but I'd love to go back when I'm more in the mood for a big meal. Then we got to the Murat to stand outside in line.
We only stood outside for about half an hour; we were let in pretty early. Sitting inside on the floor of the Egyptian room > standing outside the Murat in February. It was general admission, so we were only standing about six people back from the stage, and dead center. The opening band was the Daylights, and one of their guitarists was gorgeous. It was also his birthday, so halfway through their set, Josh Kelley, his band, and One Republic came out with a cake and led the crowd in "Happy Birthday." I thought the Daylights were pretty good, but more of a band that I would like better on cd than live. I bought their EP on Monday, and I actually like it a lot.
Josh Kelley was up next, and I was familiar with him going into the show, but hadn't heard anything of his for the last couple of years. Turns out he released a new album at the beginning of this month, and he played a good mix of his old & new material. May I just say that he was looking pretty good in his suit? Dang, Katherine Heigl is one lucky woman. I feel bad for him that he was stuck out here in Indiana instead of watching her present at the Oscars. I was incredibly impressed by Josh Kelley; he gained a new fan in me. He was great at engaging the crowd, sounded wonderful, and was just so freaking sexy. :) If he's back in central Indiana anytime soon, I am so there. Had to love the story about what he bought Katherine for Valentine's Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1b7onat_rQ.
I was a bit nervous about seeing One Republic live, since their music relies a lot on the production for their melodic, haunting sound. Luckily, they were even better live than on their cd. I figured that Ryan probably wouldn't hit all of the high notes, but he nailed all of them, and even sang somethings even higher than what was on the album. They sang almost all of my favorite songs from Dreaming Out Loud, and I'm still in awe about how good they were. My friend thought Apologize would suck without Timbaland, but it was the best I've ever heard it. There was some awesome synergy going with the crowd (not the best I've felt, but their music calls for that connection), and you could tell how excited they were to be playing in front of large, enthusiastic crowd. (All of the bands were, to be honest.) We were their largest crowd in a city they've never played before while headlining. It was cute to see how happy the whole band looked. They also vowed to come back to Indy this year. Highlight: the Bittersweet Symphony cover was just wow, up in the stratosphere. Even better, they followed it up with a cover of Umbrella. Youtube time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v-PF6YaWEs&NR=1. (Not my show, but the quality is better than the Indy videos.)
After the show was just as amazing, because I got to meet the gorgeous guitarist from the Daylights, Josh Kelley, and almost all of One Republic! I seriously made a beeline right for Josh. I wish they took debit cards, because I would have bought his latest cd and had him sign it. (I did buy it on iTunes on Monday, though.) Unfortunately, we didn't have our cameras because my friend didn't think you could take them into the Murat, so my pictures are crappy and on my phone. When I went to pose with Josh, he suggested we pose prom-style, and I was seriously loving it. He is amazingly sexy. Then I chatted with and got a picture with the Daylights' guitarist, who is even cuter up close. While I was getting my picture with Josh, my friend was able to nab One Republic's setlist from Ryan's piano. We chatted with four of the five members of the group, and had them autograph the setlist. Sadly, Ryan didn't come out, even though my friend made us wait FOREVER in case he did. Thanks to that, we didn't get back to campus until 1:30 am. Despite that, it was completely worth it! I haven't gone into a concert and been so pleasantly surprised in a long time. If any of the three bands are back in my area, I will do everything I can to see them.
Finally, here's a scan of the autographed setlist, which is now my friend's Facebook profile picture: