The One With Imagine Dragons and Macklemore

 

 

Last night, we went to a concert at Fenway Park to see Imagine Dragons with opener Macklemore. 

 

We started the night by going to the Cask and Flagon. We arrived at 4:30, but  found out, unlike eating their before the red sox game in july which was on a weekday, the restaurant fills up quick on a weekend. We were literally there 2 hours....but the food was good1 I love their buffalo chicken wraps.

 

after that, we went next door to the concert. of course, we had to make our obligatory visit to the souvernir shop to get IG gear...which was fun.

 

We went in and - to be honest - it was the hottest it has ever been when I've been to fenway. but, it is still a swell place to watch a concert. we got to our seats shortly before macklemore took stage. i was only familiar with a couple of macklemore songs, but i have to admit, he is a true showman. What a show! He got fans excited on multiple occasions, told stories (he had spent a lot of time in MA as a kid), and had many guest singers on stage with him. He even performed a song for a crowd called "ManiaC' or the first time since it had been released the day before. Amazing Show...he was like a younger, rapping donnie wahlburg.

 

The Imagine Dragons followed and they were simply spectacular. in fact, i would now add them to my to 15 groups list. their songs told a story, much like the weeknd did earlier this year. The music was crisp and robust, as well as diverse, and i recognized many songs. we learned that three of the current members - the two guitarists and the drummer, who is a red sox fan - went to Berklee around the corner. The lead singer had so many amazing messages - including ones about therapy and overcoming obstacles - was phenomenal and definitely connected with the audience. He admitted that he wanted to go to berklee, but his mother said that byu was a better option because he was a member of the church of latter day saints (the other member who was on backup instruments went there, too). There were a lot of kids there, and he dedicated a song to them. they also dedicated a song to ukraine, as well as one to teachers (including mr. white, who taught the three berklee grads). They dedicated "Demons" to anyone who lost someone in their lives through death, breakup, and drifting away...emphasizing our need to be connected. They were fantastic.

 

one thing we did learn - don't park in our usual lot when you are at a concert and plan to stay until the end - there was a road closed that really, really, really messed it up.

The One With A League of Their Own

 

 

We had a little forced family fun today by declaring a "movie night." We had been talking about watching A League of Their Own, particularly after watching the first episode of the Amazon series two nights ago.

 

Needless to say, Emmie was all in, as were Bri and Kiff. It was neat to watch a historical fiction movie with so many stars in it - ones they know a little different than we do - with them and to share part of the history behind the movie with them, too.

 

They were both enamored of the story and the characters in it. They also noted how poorly women were treated at the time and were besides themselves. However, the movie won them over, particularly the transformation of Tom Hanks character. We also were amazed that the characters at the end were not photo enhanced age progressions of the actual actors, but were actual actors that were older but looked like them. Wow.

It was great to share it with the kids, particularly where they both played baseball and softball.

The One With The Perm

 

Earlier today, we had something happen that I actually never thought would happen. Kiff, deciding to update his hairdo, had been growing it out to get a perm.

 

I was not sure what to expect. In fact, Emmie spent the two hours at the stylist with him as he got it. She sent Bri and I some pictures so we could be prepared. And, it came out better than expected.

 

Of course, the whole situation reminded me of the Leave it to Beaver episode where Wally gets the "Jelly Roll" haircut. So, Kiff now has the nickname, "Jelly Roll."

The One With The Weekend

 

 

Tonight, we went to see the Weeknd in concert at Gillette Stadium. Now, truth be told, I like the Weeknd  and all, but he would not necessarily be the guy I'd plan to go out and see in concert. But, my expectations were truly blow away by his performance that night.

So a few things. First, we learned from seeing Ed Sheeran that it was best to get tickets for parking ahead of time...which we did. We were able to park outside of the stadium (which was awesome at the beginning, but led to an hour wait to get out at the end). We also learned that it is a good idea to stay over, so we did book a room at a nearby hotel.

We got there and got our bearings. Fortunately, there was no rush for seats. Doja Cat was supposed to be the opener, but she got sick, so they had a couple of DJs opening up. One of the DJs we missed while getting water and souvenirs - Emmie always has to do that. The second one was good with some 80s music mixed in, but the graphics in the background were a little wacky.

Once the Weeknd went on, it was clear that this was no ordinary concert. The Weeknd was a story teller. He shared a magnificent story about a city that seems to be under attack by some unseen force (in actuality, it is probably not that at all). He had dancers that seemed to mimic the Imperial Guard from Star Wars...if the guard had rhythm. And, he had a giant moon opposite the stage. It was IMPRESSIVE.

He shared one song after another - blending them melliflously (I've always wanted to use a variation of that word in print). Spectacular light shows and pyrotechnics helped tell his story. And the ending, with Blinding Lights, sealed the deal. It was one of the best concerts I had ever been to. WOW!

The One With Thor: Love and Thunder

 

Yesterday, we saw Thor Love and Thunder. To be honest, I wasn't too sure what to expect. Although Thor is always an amazing superhero in the Avengers movies, I am not always a big fan when it comes to the stand alone movies. I wasn't too enthused about the first Thor. Although the Dark World was okay, it was not my favorite. I liked Ragnarok, but wasn't a huge fan.

 

But, Love and Thunder was different. It was definitely my favorite Thor standalone movie. I have to admit that they have definitely made Thor more comic relief now, and that shown through definitely in this movie. In fact, I laughed out loud a lot - sometimes being the only one in the theater. The sound track with 80s metal rocked as well.

 

There were definitely cliffhangers left in this movie, too, which makes we wonder which direction it will go. Overall, a good experience and the last of my three summer movies that I wanted to see (Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion being the others, which we saw in June). It was crazy getting in and old because we saw it in Metheun in what happened to be Metheun days (the theater actually closed early because Metheun had fireworks last night. We didn't stay for those, but we were able to definitely enjoy the show!!!

The One With the Red Sox Game

 

 It is 11:08 PM and 15 minutes ago we got in from a Red Sox game. Although the Red Sox lost to the Rays 8-4, the game was perhaps the best I have been to for many reasons.

 

1. We realized if we left at 3:15 for a 7:10 game, we had plenty of time to get in. Traffic, though a little tough because of Rush Hour, was awesome! We were able to get through Kenmore Square rather easily and found a parking lot just past (and down in the back left) of where we normally park. So much easier to get out of.

2. We went to Cask and Flagon. It was the first time we had been there as a family. It was not too crowded when we got there (about 2 1/2 hours before the game, but was picking up by the time we left).

3. Emmie was very excited because this was PEANUTS Bobblehead Night. We were able to track down where to get them - which was cool - and now we all have a Linus Bobblehead.

4. We also learned that Emmie has to check prices on Red Sox apparel more carefully. WOW!!!

3. We took some pictures of different World Series tributes, including the tribute wall and the 2007 and 2004 championship. We choose 2007 because that was the year Bri was born and 2004 because that was the year we were married.

5. We got to our seats early and were able to see pregame festivities and even saw a 10 year old girl do an AMAZING job with the National Anthem.

6. The flag was blowing out - which meant it was going to be a hitter's game. We saw the Red Sox fall down 3-0 early, but they came back by hitting 2 home runs to tie the game. It was awesome to see two homers, one hit by Xander Bogearts and the other hit by Trevor Story.

7. We saw two spectacular catches on the wall, one by the Rays and one by the Sox (we saw the Sox one while getting ready to leave on the TV).

8. We saw a great stolen base by Jarren Duran.

10. The crowd did the wave in two directions and it actually went all the way around the park in one direction crossing over once.

11. One kid kept saying "I want a pitcher, not a belly itcher" which was hilarious. That kid will have no voice in the morning.

12. We saw people get kicked out of a section for drinking alcohol (we ended up in the CVS family section, which, apparently, has strict rules about that).

13. We saw Nick Pivetta hit Yandy Diaz with a pitch, which caused a quick shouting match and benches started to empty. It quickly got under control. However, the ensuing booing that happened introduced Kiff to booing at Fenway Park. The home plate umpire also got booed during the game for a really faulty strike zone. It stunk!!!

14. There was an awesome tribute to Luis Tiant - who was also there. We sent a pix to Mark because it was his birthday and also had Bri and Kiff look at his wind up.

15. We saw a marriage proposal on the Jumbotron, which I have never seen in person.

16. We did have rain fall several times throughout the course of the game.

17. Perhaps the most epic thing - of a great night at the park - was the fact that the ushers asked us if we wanted to move closer around the 6th inning. Though we had thought we would take off because of the approaching rain, we decided to go down and it did not disappoint. We were on the 3rd place side behind home plate, thirteen rows up...the best seats I ever sat in. It was amazing.

The One With the Fourth of July

 

This Fourth of July, some normalcy came back into our lives. After a two year COVID hiatus, the Highlands Horribles parade returned. It was a lot of fun to see the parade come back. Although it was only a handful of entries, and it passed by in five minutes, just having them on the street was amazing!!!

 We tried to check out to see if the Back Bay parade was up and running, but it seemed we had missed it. It looked similar to the Highlands parade...just a small group. But great to have back.

 Later, we went to an event I have always wanted to go to, but never went to - the noontime reading of the Declaration of Independence. Held at the library, we were surprised to find out his is an audience participation event. They actually ask people to come to the library pavillion to read. Some of the hosts saw Kiff and Bri and asked them to participate. Though Bri did not, Kiff did and he did a fine job. It turned out the Bri and Emmie and I eventually participated as part of the "group read" of the last part of the Declaration. It was a fun time. And, we had a nice picture captured by the Danvers Human Rights Committee.

We capped off the night by watching the Pops on TV...always fun!!!