The Concerts of July

Knowing that I'd have a wonderful time at CMA Fest 2015, my plan for the rest of the summer was to take in non-country concerts or acts that I wasn't able to see during CMA Fest. Let's see how well I managed to stick to this.

First up was my glutton-for-punishment concert in St. Louis. Why do I choose St. Louis over Chicago when I know I'll probably become a hot, miserable mess? Less traffic and a chance to see my family. The now named Hollywood Casino Amphitheater is about 10 minutes from my Aunt, Uncle and cousin John in St. Charles. 

The concert that would bring me to their neck-of-the-woods was Matt Nathanson, The Fray, and Train. It's hard for me to pass up an opportunity to see Matt when he is within driving distance, and then combine an evening of him with Train, and I had to go. I would have seen Train before, but they always seemed to pass through the Midwest when I was out of town. This year it was meant to be.

The pic above shows the lead singer from Train, Matt Nathanson, and the lead singer from the Fray. The only thing I wish was different about Matt's concert was that I was allowed to sit in the pit for his show. He was so tiny on stage from my berm seat and the sun was too bright to see him big on the screens. I love his music and look forward to seeing him again.

I wish I could say the same about The Fray, but their music is not for me. Train put on a great show that I even managed to enjoy throughout my intense headache and the insane heat. I left at the end of their set knowing they were going to play 3 during the encore. I knew I'd get to hear the first song of the encore (the one I didn't want to miss), and I'd still be able to avoid parking lot hell.

Unfortunately, I learned of a whole new parking lot hell... the one that involves you not being able to find your car. After the 3rd song of the encore and the point I almost retreated back to the venue and wait out all of the cars leaving, I magically found my car. Gosh darn it, if I must not have passed it at least 10 times. Lesson learned!

The weekend after, Mom and I were scheduled to head to Watseka, IL to see Kristian Bush at the Watseka Theater. Yes, I know, Kristian was at CMA Fest, but I couldn't resist a concert only 2 hours away that my Mom agreed to attend with me. I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined that this concert would be cancelled. Yep, cancelled due to flooding. Mother Nature was not kind to Watseka this summer and wreaked havoc with flooding.

Dead-set on making the best of the situation, I discovered an improv comedy group in the Quad Cities that Mom and I could tie a short weekend around. Comedy Sportz in Rock Island was to be our destination. We found out their was a gal in the Comedy Sportz family that has been making her way across the U.S. in an RV with the goal of performing with all of the Comedy Sportz troupes over the summer and she just happened to be with us this night.

Claire Wilcher has a blog about her Comedy Sportz World Tour, and I have a pic of her below performing with the Quad Cities troupe. I don't recall what improv game they were playing at the moment, but goodness knows I was laughing so hard my cheeks hurt.

It's hard to explain in words how much fun Mom and I had. If you've ever watch the show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" and enjoyed it, then please find a Comedy Sportz team near you and check out a show. you will not be disappointed! They provide countless laughs and entertainment for the entire family.

Next up was a weekend heading back to Quad Cities where I was to see Gavin DeGraw and Shania Twain with my friend Kristin and her two sisters. Thanks to Kristin's connections, we had seats in the 6th row on the aisle. Sitting that close was fantastic and then Gavin decided to circle the floor and blew my mind!

Does taking a selfie with him in the background count as a meeting him?

My eyes were pretty much glued on Gavin throughout the show, so I was unaware that one of Kristin's sisters got hit with a pic. Being the one true Gavin fan in our group, she so kindly gave me the pic tossed into the crowd by James Cruz, the bassist.

Next up, Shania Twain.

Holy Smokes did she put on a great show. I didn't imagine it would have the production value of a Carrie Underwood or P!nk concert. Besides the great music and fabulous voice, Shania had an elaborate set, costume changes, pyrotechnics, she soared over the crowd and even came out and met us.

Not being the #1 Shania fan in our group, when Shania was set to circle the crowd, I switched places with Kristin and her sisters, so they could try to reach out to Shania and have their moment with her. Below you can see Kristin trying to high-five Shania who was looking the opposite direction. Yep, Kristin got the same result and I did with Gavin. We were denied! Ha!