In Concert: The Life is good Festival 2012

This past weekend, for the third year in a row, I had the honor of being part of Jake's Crew - I was a volunteer at the Life is good Festival in Canton, MA.  I was back with the ladies at the face painting tent, and we barely had a quiet moment the whole time we were open!  Children and adults who were being children for the weekend came by for some designs on faces and hands or arms, and we had a blast being able to listen to music - and for me, I snuck away at times to grab some photos and videos.  

My handiwork!  I lost track of how many of this design I painted, but everyone kept sending festival-goers over to my chair because I guess they liked how I did it.  I had 'customers' of all walks of life - all ages, all abilities. Each one had a different story, and it made me glad to brighten their day with a little face paint.

 SOULIVE

Beautiful weather!

 RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND

Beverages with some fun ladies after a long day of facepainting!

  MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD

"The Sound of Sunshine" - so much fun with beach balls!

I won a CD from one of my favorite local radio stations - Thanks, WERS!  The ladies who were at the booth were pretty cool, and were some of the gals you hear on-air.  Always helps when the people you turn to for your daily tunes are actually nice in real life, right?  I smell a blogpost about this album in the future...

I painted this! The girl who I painted it for put it on #Instagram,  and found /liked one of the photos I took and tagged with #LIGfest. It's a small world!

Going to be looking for the Unreal brand in stores! Their candy is so delicious, and isn't as bad for you as the other stuff out there! Their booth was next to mine, and the guys running it were so nice! 

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER

Rocket! 

SARAH JAROSZ

"Come Around"clip

ALO

I lost track of how many Rocket faces I painted over the weekend! Too cute. 

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS

I need more Sharon Jones in my life.  

"Without a Heart" clip

DAVE MATTHEWS & TIM REYNOLDS

A beautiful night for some beautiful music.

"So Damn Lucky" clip

I spent more time face-painting than I did enjoying music, but was so glad to be a part of such an amazing event.  I can't wait for next year's festival already!  I am definitely looking forward to checking out more music from ALO, Air Traffic Controller and Sarah Jarosz.

Did you go to the Life is good Festival?  What was your favorite part? If you couldn't make it, who would you love to see there in the future?

#WhatchaListeningTo Wednesday - #LIGfest Edition

I've been absent for a few weeks, but I'm BACK! Just in time, too, for the Life is good Festival this coming weekend in Canton, MA.  I am proud to be a volunteer for the 3rd year in a row at the Festival, and I'm again signed up to be a facepainter!

Yep, that's my handiwork from last year. Jealous?

This week's #WhatchaListeningTo list is going to feature songs from artists I'm excited to hear! Also, check below to see which artist tweeted me back about the Festival!

Here's what I'm listening to in preparation for the Festival!

• Sara Bareilles - Uncharted - I love this video's cameos. "Jumpstart, my kaleidoscope heart..."
• Soulive - Steppin' - This song has been on my playlist since '02, and I still love it. I am so excited to finally hear them/sneak away from the tent for a song or two! 
• Tim Reynolds (performing with Dave Matthews) - Stream - This man is a-ma-zing. Seriously.  Dave and Tim shows are really about the music and showcasing their musical abilities, which I appreciate.  
• Eric Hutchinson - Oh - One of my favorite "in-the-car-sing-a-long" songs.  Also, this is from the radio station I grew up listening to.  Hey, 96.5, heyyy. 
• Ryan Montbleau Band - Carry - I am looking forward to seeing Ryan and the band play live, as I'm starting to get into their catalogue.  "And I will carry the weight..."

Tweet Tweet!

Yep, I went there.  #Nerd

Anyone else going to the #LIGfest? Tweet me at the Festival and come on over to get your face painted!  I got all the LIG designs dowwwwwwwn. #facepaintingprofessional

#WhatchaListeningTo Wednesday

Here's what's been in my ears this week:

• Weezer - Buddy Holly - I've always loved this music video (I think it was one of the first that I saw when I "discovered" MTV and VH1), and haven't been able to get this out of my head for the past few days.
• Radiohead - There There - A great beat, a mysterious unrequited love-type song, if you will... 
• Morning Parade - Headlights - Glad to be hearing more from these guys - "But I'll keep my promises/ I won't let you down..."
• Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know - I heard this for the first time on @RadioBDC (Boston.com's new online radio station) this week, and at first, I thought that it was a Death Cab for Cutie song. It definitely gets my toes tapping.
• The xx - Islands - I turn to The xx when I'm in need of some chill music, and they've done it again here.
• Matt and Kim - Let's Go - Another song that's been stuck in my head!  "Say what you wanna say, make it mean everything..."

So, #WhatchaListeningTo?

#WhatchaListeningTo Wednesday

Here's what I'm listening to on this final week of my summer job (Can't be too excited, yet - the school year is right around the corner!)

• The Killers - Runaways - I saw them perform live a few years ago, and it was a very fun show - Brandon Flowers is a huge talent.
• Florence and the Machine - Spectrum - "Say my name/ as every colour illuminates/ we are shining/ and we'll never be afraid again"
• Needtobreathe - Hurricane - The band came to the Radio 92.9 Boch Studio 2 years ago - I'm a little late to this song, apparently, but I love it.
• Sara Bareilles - One Sweet Love - Simply a sweet, sweet love song. It got me.
• Peter Bjorn and John - Nothing To Worry About - A quirky song that I can't stop listening to. 

So, #whatchalisteningto?

In Concert: The Grownup Noise

On Friday, August 10, Boston-based indie-pop group The Grownup Noise brought their music back to town at Club Passim, and certainly did not disappoint.

They opened with "Just So You Know", one of my favorite songs off of their 2007 debut album. They then delved into their 2011 LP, This Time With Feeling.  Looking around the room, there were certainly more than a few family members and friends of the band - lots of local support!  

The Grownup Noise is made up of vocal and musical stylings of  Paul Hansen (vocals, guitar, keys), Adam Sankowski (bass, keys, vocals), Rachel Arnold (cello, vocals), Aine Fujioka (drums, vocals), and Todd Marsten (accordion, keys).  That's right, kids, accordion AND cello.  How often do you see that? 

I was so happy when they played a Nick Drake cover - "Northern Sky". Such a beautiful song, and Paul's voice and the band's harmonies really did this song justice.  Paul mentioned a desire to have a Nick Drake Tribute Show at Club Passim - how great would that be?

The sound at Club Passim was really great (my first time there - go early for dinner from Veggie Planet!) and I was able to hear every lyric, which was important since their songwriting talents match their instrumental abilities.  

Another favorite song that they played was "Outside" - "You're breaking in but you're bringing the sunshine with you/ You're breaking in but you're bringing the outside, too."  Also, their song "Carnival" was a crowd favorite - this video put up by PopMatters really encompasses the atmosphere at a Grownup Noise show (and Katie is in it, too, on keyboard!).  

Check The Grownup Noise out on Facebook and Twitter to see when they will be performing at a venue near you -- it's definitely a band worth putting on your concert-seeing radar or online-music-listening-radar.  If you get to see 'em, tell Adam that Joanna sent you!

#WhatchaListeningTo Wednesday

Here's what I'm listening to this week:

• The Tallest Man On Earth - 1904 - A bit Bob Dylan-esque, voice-wise, to me.  "Sometimes noise is just your mind..."
• The Grownup Noise - Carnival - Paul's voice is so smooth - I love how it mixes with the music. Shoutout to my friend Adam on bass!  A blog post is coming about their recent show at Boston's Club Passim. 
• Dispatch - Circles Around the Sun - New music!  I SO want to see them in concert, it's not even funny.
• Youngblood Hawke - We Come Running - Check out the post I wrote about them yesterday!  Also, go to iTunes to get this single for FREE! No dough, yo!
• Mayer Hawthorne - No Strings - Mmm-MMM! Oops, sorry, was that out loud?  I have loved this album for a while now, and when I heard this on the radio the other day, I may have* cheered out loud. Another show I'd love to see!

*may have = actually did

So, #whatchalisteningto?

#MusicMyFriendsGotMeInto: Youngblood Hawke

"Check out this song and let us know what you think," asked friends at Radio 92.9.  What else would a girl with a music blog do?  I clicked on the link:

I'm glad that I did!  If you're a fan of, as Sam from the band calls it, "weird pop," you're in business. Youngblood Hawke is the band for you.

Their first single, "We Come Running," was released today on iTunes, and seems to be jumping the charts quickly!  I started following them on Twitter and couldn't sleep last week, and found myself checking out a live streaming Stickam show where the band was being interviewed by DJRossStar:

DJRossStar on Stickam with Youngblood Hawke

You can hear my call at about the 48 minute mark - thanks for having me on the show, guys!  The band seems very interested in connecting with fans, as is evident on their Twitter page (@YoungbloodHawke) - I can certainly say that fans recognize and appreciate any effort a musician or band puts in to stay connected!  

During the live streaming show, I asked the band who their musical influences have been.  They threw out such names as Electric Light Orchestra, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty - any "good, great songs with great hooks."  Some of the names being thrown around for who Youngblood Hawke sounds like have been Fun., The Killers, Walk The Moon, MGMT... what do YOU think?

When asked if a song is ever truly completed, one of the guys commented that "a song is never done - it's done when someone rips it from your hands."

For more information about this band who is sure to hit airwaves near you soon, check out their Facebook page!  If you start to follow them on Twitter, tell 'em that @JoannaB sent ya ;-)