My Top 5

So in my last post I mentioned a few of my favorite songs on the new summertime playlist, which may have you asking, how did I pick those? Well today I’d like to give you a chance to get to know me better and get a feel for exactly what kinds of music I enjoy, which will also give you a better feel for what you’ll be seeing more of. Also I’d love nothing more than to subtly brag about how close I got to the stage at 5 of my all time favorite concerts attended. Here we go!

___________________________

1. A GREAT BIG WORLD

You recognize these guys right? They came right out of nowhere with their somber but beautiful “Say Something” accompanied by the 90s legend Xtina and won over the world. They’ve been featured on Good Morning America, Today Show and countless other TV and radio shows, and I can say that I witnessed history in the making.

This was taken from the *NYC rooftop of the Standard Hotel East, at a very small show back in April of 2012 when the band was simply known by the name of their frontman and founder, Ian Axel. I’d been following Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino (guitarist and cofounder) since early on in 2010 when I stumbled upon their DIYed music video for “This Is The New Year” on Youtube, loving their sound, and like any loyal fan, wishing they could one day get the recognition they deserve. It was at this show that they officially announced their name change to what we’re all familiar with now as A Great Big World, so you can imagine my shock when “Say Something” – which is even more beautiful live, by the way – featuring none other than Christina Aguilera came on a Pandora station years later.

*This was the only photo that survived from that show thanks to my phone’s memory being wiped and me being stupid enough not to back it up.

2. FUN.

Here’s another one of my all time favorites: fun. live at Terminal 5 in  June of 2012. Much like A Great Big World, I followed them all the way from beginning, and it made such a difference when I got to see them live, completely selling out a large NYC venue. I have honestly never gone to a show with the kind of energy this one had. These shots simply don’t do it any justice, and you can’t capture in a photo what it felt like to get chills up and down your spine despite being packed like 3500 sardines into an 80+ degree venue.

3. BAD RABBITS

So this is my friend Joe Villafane, lead singer and keyboardist of Allies doing his thing at Revolution Bar in Amityville, NY during September of 2012 (it was a year full of concerts). They were one of the opening acts before Bad Rabbits, a Boston-based alternative R&B group that pump up the crowd like almost no other show I’ve been to.

While I try to see Bad Rabbits anytime they come through the New York area, that night definitely stood out as the most exciting show because they filmed their music video for “We Can Roll” right there from in, around and on top of the audience. At one point, there was even a GoPro camera being thrown around as fans crowd surfed and danced like crazy. I’ve never been to a show this interactive and I’m so proud to have been a part of the making of their music video. Watch it here!

4. TAKING BACK SUNDAY/BAYSIDE

          Next on my list of favorites is the show at Terminal 5 during November of 2012 featuring Bayside, pictured to the left, and Taking Back Sunday, on the right. Up until this point I’d been going to more mellow concerts, so the fact that I had to relearn how to deal with mosh pits at this one was what made it memorable. Aside from being knocked down a few times and burning my hand on someone’s cigarette in the crowd, the performances made it all worth it. Two of my favorite musicians brought me back to the golden age of pop punk music that only Middle School Steph really got to enjoy, so it was great night for nostalgia.

5. GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL

Last but certainly not least; I’d like to pay mention to the Global Citizen Festival, held in Central Park every September. It’s not only meant to raise awareness of global poverty and other social issues, but it attracts some huge name artists like Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, Alicia Keys and Kings of Leon who all came out and celebrated with 60,000 fans on September 28, 2013. I chose this as one of my favorites for the incredible lineup, how accommodating staff was considering the huge crowd, and how Stevie sang each and every one of my favorite songs. You just can’t beat it.