Music Monday: The Faint Concert and Doomtree Blowout 8

Back to back concert nights! This is my heaven. Concerts are one of my favorite things, especially if they are at a small-ish venue—which they were! Both took place at the famous First Avenue.

The Faint: 12-13-12
The Nebraska electro-dance-rockers killed it, as they always do, while on tour for the deluxe release of their album Danse Macabre. It was a feast of thumping beats, heavy-hitting electronic sounds, and colored lights. I spent my evening in the pit. If you want a lot of movement and sweat, this is your place. Within two or three songs you could end up in every section of the pit. The movement is amazing—if you don’t mind relinquishing control, anyway. I ended up facing away from the stage several times, and it is almost impossible to hold your ground. I also walked away with quite the number of bruises. But don’t worry, everyone is nice. They’re sustained from bumping into each other. And those that fall get lifted back up immediately.

If you want to get a sneaky workout that doesn’t feel like work, definitely keep an eye out for their next tour.

Find The Faint online:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube

Doomtree Blowout 8: 12-14-12
Every December, the Doomtree crew gathers for a huge concert event, generally spanning several nights. This year was Friday through Sunday, a 21+ night, 18+ night, and an all ages night. Doomtree is comprised of my favorite rap/hip-hop artists, making this one of the easiest traditions to take part in. Even the act of purchasing tickets has become a staple, as the age restricted nights sell out super quick. Usually the place is packed by the time we arrive, but the rap concert gods smiled on us this year—we were right up front AND, more importantly, NO blizzard and NO freezing rain when we left. Two years ago, the Blowout coincided with Snowpocalypse. Let’s just say we never want to repeat that driving experience.

There was a lot of energy and camaraderie at the show. One of the highlights for me was hearing the song The Wren for the first time live. It’s a favorite that I’ve been waiting years to hear. Most of the night there was very little overall movement in the crowd. But then P.O.S. played “Get Down”. . . and everybody did.

Doomtree has a couple upcoming shows, and Dessa is about to head out on a US tour.  

You can find out more about the upcoming shows and everything Doomtree online:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube

Concert: Girl Talk, 8/28/12

Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk

Gregg Gillis, popularly known as Girl Talk, is mash-up royalty. Somehow he can mix music by artists from different genres and eras, and make it sound like they logically belong together. One of my favorite games (self-created, and in no way is a real game) is to name as many of the original artists as possible:  Ace of Base, M.I.A., Nelly, Avril Lavigne, Journey, Metallica, Eminem, The Police, Daft Punk, Radiohead, the full list (covering the Four albums I own:  All Day, Feed the Animals,  Night Ripper, and Unstoppable) would take pages.

I first saw Girl Talk live in 2008. I remember how tightly packed the floor was, how drenched we became in sweat (gross, I know), and the overall feel-good party vibe. Since I had already seen him live, I strongly considered passing on this concert—a girl’s gotta save some money, right? But then a friend decided that’s what she wanted to do for her birthday. How am I to refuse that? Not a tough sale at all. And after a potentially shady Craigslist deal, we had our tickets to the sold out show.

Tuesday’s show at First Avenue was just as high-energy and sticky as I remember from 2008. Gillis worked away at his computer while jumping around and occasionally shouting through the microphone. Behind him, some lucky concert-goers enjoyed their time dancing on stage. And, of course, no Girl Talk performance would be complete without falling balloons, confetti cannons, or toilet paper streamers. What was the result of this performance?

Pictured:  The result. Not pictured:  The ridiculous amount of confetti that I'm still finding, 3 days later

Want to see more? Check out this slideshow from CityPages.

Both Girl Talk performances were amazing. If you have the opportunity to see him live, and enjoy high-energy concerts, I encourage you to go.

Find Girl Talk online:  Website, which includes all of his albums as 'pay what you want,' and a free download of his newest album, All Day.

What has been your favorite concert? Did you look like us when you left the venue? Tell me in the comments below.