Mac Miller

From his mixtapes to recently released Blue Slide Park, Mac Miller has definitely proven that it is possible to be an independent artist and still make it big. College campuses across the country have all gone crazy for Mac. The Blue Slide Park tour came to MSU in October, filling the Auditorium with a sold-out show:

Blue Slide Park got a lot of mixed reviews when it came out... people that had been fans of Mac Miller from his start, for the most part, did not appreciate the album as much as new listeners. It has a very different sound and style than his past albums, and I really think it has to grow on you. I personally did not like it much at first but I started to like it more and more every time I listened to it, and now I love it. 

The Macadelic Tour kicks off on the 25 of this month:

Mac Miller is playing college campuses across America, considering that this is where the majority of his fans come from. He will not be coming back to MSU this time, but he does have shows at Eastern Michigan University on April 4, and at Western Michigan University on April 5. I'm excited to say that I will be attending the show at Western! 

The most interesting thing about Mac Miller as an artist is the fact that he is the same age as most college freshmen/sophomores. He started his career when he was about 15 years old... This is when most kids are just getting into the swing of things in high school. He was releasing mixtapes by 17, touring by 18, and signed to Rostrum Records by 19. Just last month he turned 20, and is currently on tour with two more tours coming up. I'd say that Mac Miller has done pretty well for himself. 

Recently Cobra Starship released their new song "Middle Finger", featuring Mac Miller on their album Night Shades. I think that the mix of Cobra Starship and Mac Miller is very unexpected; I have been a fan of Cobra Starship forever, and I never would have paired the two. However, I think the song is awesome. The styles of the two mix together extremely well. It pushes some boundaries, but doesn't really take it over the top. It is very outside of Cobra Starship's usual range of material, so I think they took a big risk on the song. Check it out!

Review of Everything's Fine/Symphony Soldier Tour: February 3, 2012

Last night I went to the Everything's Fine/Symphony Soldier Tour at the Crofoot Ballroom that I posted about a couple weeks ago. It was absolutely AMAZING. The Cab and The Summer Set both put on a great show with two really incredible set lists. Also, I can't leave out He Is We! They were one of the opening bands, and they were really awesome as well. 

The show kicked off with Paradise Fears (who, sadly, I didn't get to see because I got there too late) and Days Difference. The sound and acoustics were kind of off for Days Difference, so I couldn't really get the full experience of seeing this band live. However, I knew the lyrics and the beat, so I was still able to appreciate the performance that they gave. Luckily the venue got this fixed quickly. 

Rachael Taylor, vocalist of He Is We, honestly blew me away with her voice. She has one of the best live voices I have heard in a long time, and I really felt like she did it without even having to try. It just came so naturally to her. She said "I'm not the prettiest girl, I'm not the skinniest girl, and I'm not the best singer," (all of which I think are completely false) "but I'm here tonight to have a great time and do what I love to do!" 

The Cab had one of the longer set lists I've heard of in a while, but that was completely fine with me (and probably the rest of the crowd)! They played songs off older albums like Whisper War which was really cool, because a lot of bands have started to just play their new album all the way through and leave out all of the old stuff. Alexander DeLeon has so much energy when he performs: dancing around the stage, interacting with the crowd, and telling random stories and facts about the band. For "Living Louder", Alex brought out Brian Dales of The Summer Set, and they turned it into somewhat of a duet, which the crowd really seemed to love. 

The Summer Set gave off probably the best vibe out of any of the shows I have ever been to. The crowd was dancing, jumping, and singing along to almost every single song, and Brian really got into it too! "Thick as Thieves", a song off of their new album "Everything's Fine", is a really upbeat song. However, Brian decided to play it acoustically and change the melody up a bit, and I think it came out really well. It was an interesting arrangement, and he definitely pulled it off. 

Long story short: the show was a huge hit. It sold it, the place was packed, and everyone I talked to had a great time. The bands hung around for hours afterwards to meet literally every single fan that stayed; they signed autographs, took pictures, and talked forever like everyone was old friends. I love going to smaller shows like this one because the bands realize the fans they have are the reason they got where they are, appreciate it, and show that they do. They are honestly just very genuine people. 

Here's a couple pictures...

Alexander DeLeon of The Cab:

Brian Dales of The Summer Set:

He Is We (Rachael Taylor and Trevor Kelly):

I Don't Want This Night to End

"You've got the radio on, you're singing every song..." 

This song by Luke Bryan is number 1 on the country charts this week. I love it. I grew up listening to country music, but my music taste started changing as I got older. Lately, though, I've really started loving country again. 

Luke Bryan first made his name known in 2007, with the song "All My Friends Say". Some of you might be able to relate to this video... Frat houses, cloudy memories of last night, going crazy when she (or he) walks in... "I was a rockstar, party hard, gettin' over you comeback kid."

Luke really emphasizes pure country roots. He hasn't changed his style into the modern, almost pop, country music that is often on the radio now. He sticks to the stories that we can almost all make relevant to our lives, which makes for number 1 hits (obviously). 

The Loft (Lansing)

The Loft is a local venue, located just two miles away from good ol' MSU, that has a TON of great upcoming shows. The two that I am looking forward to the most are I See Stars on the 29 of this month, and the One Love show celebrating Bob Marley's birthday on February 10. At only $13 and $8, respectively, how could I pass them up?

I See Stars is and electronic rock/hardcore band, with a little bit of screamo thrown in here and there. Being a band of such blended genres makes for a great show. I saw them on Warped Tour 2010, and they really know what they're doing. I love the music video for "What This Means to Me", because I think that the way they made it pretty simple allows the song and the lyrics to take most of the focus. 

I See Stars will be playing with Stick To Your Guns, Memphis Mayfire, Our Last Night, Make Me Famous, and Between You And Me. 

Bob Marley... Well, if I were to explain Bob Marley, I would be typing for days. Honestly, pretty much everyone knows who he is. If you don't... I don't know what to tell you. Does this ring a bell?

Or maybe you sometimes find yourself singing "Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing is gonna be alright" to yourself, or singing along when you hear it somewhere? Some of you probably even sang it in your head when you read it, huh? Even if you don't know the song, it would be hard to find someone who has never heard those lines. Bob Marley was born and raised in Jamaica, where he wrote, sang and lived reggae music. In the Loft's tribute to Bob, four days after his actual birthday (February 6, 1945), there will reggae music and Jamaican drinks all night long. It's the perfect way to celebrate the popular music this man left us with. 

If you love good music, or even just don't have plans one or both of these nights, go check out the shows! 

Everything's Fine/Symphony Soldier Tour 2012

   The Summer Set and The Cab... Two of my favorite bands right now. Brian Dales and Alexander DeLeon each have such amazing vocals and lyrics that tie in perfectly which each groups new alternative albums "Everything's Fine" and "Symphony Soldier".
   "Everything's Fine" includes songs about love (don't all albums these days?), life and growing up, and living every day without regrets. My personal favorite is "When We Were Young".  Here Dales explains the story behind it:

And of course, here's the song!

   DeLeon describes "Symphony Soldier" as an album that the band wrote basically just about everything they've been through in the past few years. Not unlike "Everything's Fine", this album also contains a few songs about love. "Endlessly" is quite possibly the cutest song I have ever heard.

 
You definitely can't say the artwork isn't awesome, too! It's just so creative.
 
   The releases of these two albums marked the beginning of the "Everything's Fine/Symphony Soldier Tour", running from January 10 - February 12, which also includes He Is We, Days Difference, and Paradise Fears. Go see them!