Music

Seeing Muse

Jeromey Balderrama

Last night I went to the concert that we’ve been waiting 10 months to see – Muse at the Pepsi Center.  We originally bought tickets last December for a show that was supposed to happen in April, but a day-of-concert snowstorm postponed the show until October.  I’ll have to admit, with as much time that passed between buying the tickets and going to the show, I had a hard time getting excited about going – especially considering that Muse is #2 on my Last.fm list.

Once we got there, all that changed.  Muse definitely made it worth the 10 month wait, putting together a set-list that was top-tier.  With the exception of New Born, Assassin and Hyper Music, they played every song I wanted to hear. 

The stage was something else. Passion Pit opened for them playing in front of these three pillars, then when they finished the area in front of the pillars remained empty while the bands seemingly switched.  When the concert started, the covers came off the pillars, revealing the three band members in each one of them.

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The pillars moved up and down throughout the concert, eventually lowering the members down to the ground. At one point, they moved a baby grand piano onto Matt Bellamy’s pillar, moved it back up and once it came back down they replaced it with standing drums between songs. It was a total treat.

The visual experience was complimented with the pillars being video walls, in addition to lasers and lights flashing across the arena.  At one point, giant eyeball balloons floated down and surfed along the crowd.

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Lastly, no concert experience would be complete without the attendees providing the entertainment.  In this case it was by a middle-aged woman who spent the whole concert passionately/interpretive dancing.  Not to be ageist, but if this lady was a 15-year-old girl, I probably wouldn’t have given it a 2nd though – but the fact that she was pushing 40 made it all the more awesome. My favorite part is when she actually started doing jumping jacks.

This amazing concert gave me cause to revisit my list of top concerts and see where Muse fits amongst them.  I’ve compiled a list of over 40 shows that I’ve seen over 10 years, and am in the process of ranking them. I should hopefully that that post coming later this week.

In the meantime, what are some of your top concerts you’ve been to?  What aspects make it a great concert?

Closing the chapter on Greenfoot

Jeromey Balderrama

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I’ve been sitting on this for about a little over a week, but I am now able to post that as with all good things, Greenfoot has come to an end.  We’ve had a good run, but we’re going to be taking an amicable split.

It’s been a fun four years. Over that time we’ve played over 50 shows, recorded 2 EP’s totaling 8 songs, have written over 20 more songs and played some really fun covers.  Both Jake and Julien – as well as Kevin – have been great band-mates, and I’ve really enjoyed playing with them.  Hopefully our musical paths will cross in the future.

Thanks to all of my friends who came out to support us over the years. We definitely had many fun shows, have played some really interesting places and appreciate all the support that you’ve shown to us – I personally really appreciate it!

Greenfoot wasn’t my first band and most certainly won’t be my last, as I definitely want to get involved in another project.  I’ve detailed some of my drumming influences and aspirations on a drumming page I created. If you or anyone you know is looking for a drummer, check it out and drop me a line!

Scobbling: 26k to 29k

Jeromey Balderrama

Note: This is a follow-up post to 26,000 Scrobbled and counting which I wrote last October. 

This week, I crossed the 29,000 song mark in the songs I’ve “Scrobbled” or tracked in Last.fm.  Now that I’ve crossed the 29k mark, I wanted to give an update as to what I’m listening.  There are a few interesting developments, such as a band making it’s debut on my top 10 at #2.

These Scrobbles primarily come from the listening I do at home & at work, as well as what I listen to on my iPod.  I use a little SanDisk Clip when I’m at the gym, but since that device doesn’t register play-counts, there is no way for me to Scrobble those songs.  Also, please note I’m listing my “Overall” rankings. If you would like to see what I’ve been listening to over the last 3,6,12 months, check out my Last.FM profile.  Also I would highly encourage anyone to use Last.FM.  It’s a great music discovery tool, but I primarily use to to examine my listening patterns.  It doesn’t cost anything, plugs in easily into iTunes or other media players, and makes your listening experience interesting.

Dropped off since 26,000:

  • System of A Down (Previously at 10) – If I was Scrobbling my workout music, System of a Down would not only be on the top 10, but probably be pretty high in the list.
  • Fiction Plane (Previously at 9)

10. Gym Class Heroes (298 Plays, Previously at 8 ): Previously I was addicted to 2-3 songs by them, now I’m addicted to 4-5. The Quilt is a really good album though). Top Album: As Cruel as School Children; Top Songs: 4th Period: Clothes Off!!, Peace Sign/Index Down, Cupid’s Chokehold.

9. The John Butler Trio (299 Plays, New on List ): John Butler Trio’s latest album, What You Want, is probably the reason why it shot it’s way up. It’s a good album that’s easy to listen to from start to finish. Top Album: Grand National; Top Songs: Daniella, Zebra, Better Than

8. O.A.R. (368 Plays, Previously at 7): It’s interesting that for as much as I thought I listened to O.A.R., I’ve only shot up 70 more plays since October. Top Album: All Sides; Top Songs: War Song, Shattered, The Stranger

7. Outkast (370 Plays, Previously at 5): I really wish they’d release some new material, and quickly. Top Album: Stankonia; Top Songs: Humble Mumble, Ms. Jackson, Rosa Parks 

6. Jimmy Eat World (386 Plays, Previously at 4): I still haven’t seen them live, but do really want to. Top Album: Chase This Light; Top Songs: Open Bar Reception, Here It Goes (if you want to see something stupidly funny, click on this link and watch the video these guys made dancing to this song), Big Casino

5. Five For Fighting (412 PLays, Previously at 6): Seeing John Ondrasik live is the biggest reason for this leapfrog. The new album “Slice” is great as well. Top Album: Two Lights; Top Songs: World, The Riddle, 100 Years

4. Michael Franti & Spearhead (459 Plays, Previously at 2): I wasn’t a huge fan of All Rebel Rockers, so I’m hoping their next release they’re working on sounds more like Stay Human, Everyone Deserves Music, and Yell Fire! Top Album: Stay Human; Top Songs: One Step Closer to You, People In Tha Middle, Listener Supported

3. Red Hot Chili Peppers (460 Plays, Previously at 3 ): It sounds like they have a new guitarist.  We’ll see if they’ll be able to put out a new release soon.  Top Album: Stadium Arcadium; Top Songs: Under the Bridge, Dani California, Show Me Your Soul

2. Muse (555 Plays, New on List): I was pretty shocked when I saw that Muse wasn’t really on my radar last fall, and yet have risen all the way to #2.  Part of it is that I bought tickets to their show in Denver, and boned up on as much Muse as I could. The other part is that Muse is really easy to listen to when you’re coding. Top Album: Origin of Symmetry; Top Songs: New Born, Hyper Music, Time Is Running Out

1. (With no surprise) Dave Matthews Band (1,408 Plays, Previously at #1): DMB continues to pad their stats in my listening list, but if my Scrobbles were reset 6 months ago, Muse would be up nearly 2:1 over DMB. I need to get to a Dave show pretty soon to get that spark again. Top Album: Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King; Top Songs: #41, Grey Street, Two Step

Thanks again for indulging me in my few minutes of vanity. I’ll probably post something again when I cross 30,000 Scrobbles, if there are any changes in the rankings.

Broadcasting Greenfoot Recording – watch me drum!

Jeromey Balderrama

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that my band, Greenfoot is starting to record new songs for an EP we’re releasing this summer.  We’ll actually be kicking off the sessions on Sunday, starting with m on drums!

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We’ll actually be broadcasting the sessions live on UStream, so if you’d like to sit in and see us record come check it out!  We’ll kick things off around 11am MDT, but should be going all afternoon.  I’d definitely love for you to stop by and let me know what you think!

They don’t make videos like this anymore

Jeromey Balderrama

I came across the latest OK Go video, which made me miss the time when music videos had a great deal of creativity in them.  I don’t mean to sound dated, but you really don’t see the diverse thought and efforts in music videos (if they even show them anymore) as you see with OK Go.  If you remember, these were the guys that did the “Treadmill Video” (here it goes again) as well as some awesome choreography in “A Million Ways“.

All of these are worth a look.  It’s too bad that these are more rare these days.