Can I just talk about how amazing he is live in concert? But really.
Here’s my overall review of the show:
The opener, Jorja Smith, was kind of a snooze fest. Her voice sounded just like Nelly Furtado, but her style (fashion) was more Rihanna. Most of her performance consisted of her standing at the mic.
Bruno opened the show with Finesse from his 24K Magic album with some pyrotechnics from the stage.
I could have done without the pyrotechnics, every time it went off I screamed. My friends got entertainment out of me being startled every single time.
Bruno’s band was the bomb dot com, they provided so much energy to the show that paralleled perfectly with Bruno’s stage presence.
He didn’t talk a lot. Sometimes performers like to talk between sets (which I’m not a fan of), he didn’t do that… so Mr. Mars, I thank you.
Shout out to the man in front of me who wore a Chance the Rapper shirt and had his ears plugged the entire night. Maybe you should have bought ear plugs or purchased seats that was further from the stage. You blocked a lot of my views. #notblessed
It was a stellar night with friends. If you get the chance to see Bruno Mars in concert, DO IT! The man can sing, dance and play the guitar. And let’s not forget he’s easy on the eyes too.
I was BEYOND stoked to see Queen Bey at Carter Finely on May 3rd… I just wish I had dressed more appropriately for the weather. Note to self: don’t wear a long dress + suede boots even if there’s a chance for rain.
En route to Carter Finley the bottom fell out- rain, thunder, lightning + hail. Fun stuff, y’all. The best part was we didn’t have to pay for parking due to the storm- woot, woot!! After tailgating in the parking lot for awhile we decided to make our way in so we could see DJ Khaled. We got there in time to see the tail end of his performance. It never fails: I will forever laugh every time I hear him say, “DJ KHALED!”
Beyonce opened to Formation, which was lit and the rest of the show followed suit. When she opened to Formation she wore a victorian inspired look by DSquared2. Other notable designers she rocked during her performances included Balmain, Roberto Cavalli, Atsuko Kudo + Gucci. To see her complete looks check out Fashionista. During the middle of the concert the bottom fell out again and we had to evacuate Carter-Finley to either the PNC Arena or the NC State Indoor Practice Field. We chose the indoor football field, because we wanted to see what it looked like. It was nice + still smelled brand new, or maybe that was the fake turf. It wasn’t until close to 11PM that we were allowed back into the stadium. Like I mentioned before, I wore the wrong outfit- my long Pink Stitch dress + Dolce Vita Grayden boots which were covered in mud.
By the time the show started back up again about 25% of the crowd had left. We were bound + determined to stay for the entire show even though I knew my tail would be dragging next day at work.
I didn’t get home until after 1AM, but that didn’t mean I crashed immediately. I had to shower after being covered in rain/ mud and then I spent about a good 30 minutes working on rescuing my boots. The good news is they survived the Formation Tour!
I decided to make some minor changes to my blog. When I first created Raleigh Social Butterfly several years ago the focus was going to be mainly about my life + adventures in Raleigh. After mulling it over for the past few months I made the decision to change my blog name to reflect more of my personality… and my strange obsession with squirrels. I present my new + improved blog… a little bit squirrely.
I’ll still continue to blog about my life + adventures like concerts, shenanigans, travels, working on making my townhouse a home and more. I even might throw in some commentary on my dating adventures as a 30-something gal with a twist of humor.
Y’all. I’m still in disbelief that David Bowie passed away. I typically don’t get bent out of shape when a celebrity passes. Yes, of course it’s sad when anyone passes away. The last celebrity death that bummed me out was Whitney Houston. I found out about that one on Twitter! She was the first concert I ever went to (and the first concert I ever slept through).
*Side note: My mom took me to see Whitney when I was in first grade and it took her so long to get on stage I passed out. To this day my mom doesn’t know how I could sleep through a concert.
**Another side note: this post isn’t about Whitney… I just got off track.
I expected to wake up to the hoopla over the Golden Globes on Monday, not the sad news that David Bowie had passed away from cancer. The man just had a birthday AND released his final album ON his birthday. Talk about a major buzzkill. BUT, I have to give him major props for keeping it under wraps from the public + continuing his love of music while he battled the terrible disease. He was someone I would have loved to have seen live in concert. Last year I saw Fleetwood Mac + The Rolling Stones and I know they’re no spring chickens… but I feel lucky to have been in the audience of their shows.
There was so much to admire about David Bowie– he had a beautiful marriage to Iman which was absolutely adorable, he called out MTV in the 80s for the lack of black artists being featured, his insanely outrageous + amazing style that he frequently changed and so much more. Don’t get me started on his hair… the man had a gorgeous head of hair and a set of gorgeous mismatched eyes.
Planet earth is indeed blue without him in it. I just hope he + Queen are somewhere together performing Under Pressure.
I’m wrapping this post up with some of my favorite David Bowie songs (one of which is Under Pressure) so I won’t include that in my list:
I rang 2016 in style… another New Years Eve show with The Avett Brothers! That recap will come later.
I’m not one to make resolutions, because let’s get real… I don’t keep them. That would be like me saying, “I’ve got a mad craving for chitlins”… not going to happen. Ever. Instead I try to make a list of things I want to do or strive to do, that way I’m not committing to something for a whole year. Here’s what I’ll strive to do in 2016…
Read more. I started reading more towards the end of 2015 + I forgot how much I missed it. The first book I’m going to crack open for 2016 is Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari. And yes, I’m one of those people who likes holding a physical book. Here’s hoping I also actually read my magazines too. I was notorious for slacking on that in 2015.
Decorating. I’m for real this time. I’m going to hang pictures on my wall… even if I have to find someone taller than me to hang them. Actually, someone is going to have to do it for me. If I hang them it will be obvious a fun-sized person hung them on the wall. I have a rep to maintain.
Saying, “YES.” I want to say yes to more adventures in 2016. For example, I’ve already said yes to going to Napa Valley in February with a group of friends. I’ll just need to find someone to hold my hand on the flight or a horse tranquilizer to subdue my jazz hands.
And that’s it!
Here’s to more giggles, less falling in public + lots of fun in 2016!
Earlier this year I met up with some college friends to see Fleetwood Mac in Charlotte. It was great to catch up with my college roommate + pick up exactly where we left off since we don’t get to see each other often. We had a drinks + a casual dinner at Lebowski’s in Charlotte prior to the show (they’re known for their White Russians).
Dinner + drinks at Lebowski’s in CLTReady for the show to start!
Whelp, I’ve done it again. Failed at keeping my blog up to date, but you know what? I’m bound and determined to not give up.
With that being said, I’ve decided to do a recap of the concerts I attended in the summer of 2014 all into one post. Boom!
First up, Weezer at DPAC! Phenomenal show! I’ve been a fan since the 90s and was beyond excited when I got invited to see them with one of my best gal pals. A majority of their show was playing their music from the beginning of their career. It was pure bliss.
Weezer at DPACWeezer at DPACWeezer at DPACWeezer at DPACWeezer at DPAC
Next up was Vampire Weekend at Red Hat Amphitheater. My friend Natalie and I had pit tickets for the show and while I’m not the tallest person (I had difficult seeing the show), I was of course in my happy place, jamming out to the music.
The last summer concert was probably my favorite. He’s been on my bucket list to see, well basically forever. It was BECK at Red Hat Amphitheater! If you ever get the chance to see him live, DO IT! He played a lot of his old music from his albums Odelay, Guero, Modern Guilt, and more as well as tunes from his latest album, Morning Phase.
Can I also mention how much I love his style?! I pretty much loved his entire outfit and his hat! I wonder if I could pull that look off myself…
If there’s one thing I will splurge on it’s concert tickets. Those few precious hours takes me away from whatever is going on in my life and takes me to my happy place.
It’s been a LONG time since I’ve blogged. So long in fact I’m going to attempt to recap what all has happened in the last year. I’m going to start with New Years Eve… here it goes!
Who wouldn’t want to bring in 2014 with The Avett Brothers? This past NYE I decided it was time to say adios to the bar scene and go see my favorite band in Charlotte, NC. The evening turned out to be more amazing than ever. My Charlotte friends were able to score box seats for the show. I was in heaven. I ended up selling my tickets on Craigslist… that was my first Craisglist transaction ever and I didn’t end up on Dateline, score!
Right after Shovels + Rope left the stage one of the mirror balls fell onto the stage. Thankfully no one was on stage!
The Avett BrothersThe Avett BrothersThe Avett BrothersThe Avett Brothers (you can see where the mirror ball fell)
I pretty much had a perma-smile on my face during the entire show nor did I move from my seat. I ended out the year on a high note seeing The Avett Brothers perform.
Stay tuned for more posts that features a recap of 2014! I hope to get ahead before December hits!
Maybe I’m still trying to process the L’il Wayne + T.I. concert or maybe I’m in denial that I was at a concert venue with filled with hot messes. Nonetheless, this is a belated post.
I suppose I’ll start from the very beginning.
Of course there had to be a torrential downpour before the concert. Not cool. Luckily we came prepared with ponchos and raincoats. As we sat in the car at Walnut Creek Amphitheater waiting for the rain to ease up we couldn’t help but watch in horror all the tragically dressed girls getting out of their cars. (A little bit about Walnut Creek; it’s a massive outdoor venue which I despise and it’s like walking through the shire like on Lord of the Rings). Like I said earlier, it was POURING rain… girls were emerging from their cars in stripper shoes and what looked like outfits from 5-7-9 or _____. Most of them were wearing sizes that were too small or too short. My deer in the headlight expression made me realize, this is what’s wrong with society… it’s going downhill. Then again, maybe I’m getting old and that’s my age talking.
So as we were making the long trek to the gates, two girls fell. One of the girls was wearing heels… in the rain… walking on grass. She should have known better. The other girl was wearing white shorts and literally fell on her butt in a puddle. When she got up, let’s just say it looked like “oops I crapped my pants.” I laughed at both girls. I always laugh when people fall and I give permission to people to laugh at me when I fall.
Once we approached the gates… it was still raining and our feet were wet from all the rain (maybe my choice of wearing Havaianas flip flops wasn’t the smartest decision I made). As we were hanging out waiting in line a surge of people started coming towards us and I was sandwiched in a mass crowd. I’m still surprised I didn’t have a massive panic attack, I get claustrophobic easily. It was pure chaos. I had a couple to my left smoking cigarettes and blowing their cancer stick smoke into my face (apparently they weren’t raised with proper etiquette… don’t do that) and I was literally sandwiched between two dudes. I was pretty much violated. There was no such thing as “personal space” while we waited. While standing there, I thought to myself I’m going to get trampled and die. My parents would have to tell friends + family that I was trampled to death while waiting in line to see L’il Wayne + T.I. and that all was left of me was my North Face raincoat. Alas, I survived and made it safely in.
After we all got beers (we needed them after dealing with all the chaos), we decided to hangout in a gazebo to regain our composure and strategize our next move. It was there we met Gilligan from Gilligan’s Island.
Before Gilligan went on a 3 hour tour
Once we found a spot on the lawn everything was much better. T.I. put on an amazing performance (he’s my jam) and L’il Wayne is quite the talker. We left early because 1. We didn’t want to get caught in the mass chaos and, 2. We had a hankering for empanada and wanted Calavera.
Final Thoughts:
I doubt I’ll go back to Walnut Creek. It would have to be someone absolutely amazing for me to see to go back to that hell hole and I would purchase seats, not lawn seats. Speaking of Walnut Creek, they really need to work on maintaining their bathrooms. Not only did a majority of the toilets didn’t work, but I also saw a sink hanging out of the wall. Classy. I’d like to thank those I got to witness who fell down, thanks for the laughter. I needed it.
As of recently, I’ve been blogging about my adventures in Dallas and all the concerts I’ve been going to. What I haven’t mentioned, but meaning to do is announce my most recent career change! *happy dance* Who knew I would go from drugstore marketing to fashion marketing?! Somebody needs to pinch me because I still can’t believe I’m working in fashion, not to mention one of my favorite stores (other than Anthropologie of course)! Ok, ok… I’ll tell you where I’m working. I got a job working at bevello (it’s a women’s boutique based here in Raleigh). It’s pretty amazing. bevello carries various designers most folks are familiar with like French Connection, Hudson Jeans, Paige Denim, Toms, Free People (my fav) as well as smaller brands you might not recognize. Like I said, it’s pretty amazing.
Once I get more “settled” (I’m about to start my third week there), I’m sure I’ll post more about my adventures in the fashion world and all the exciting opportunities I encounter, so stay tuned!
xoxo
alittlebitsquirrely.com 
