Eric Hutchinson - LIVE!

About a week ago I took a Rockin' Road Trip with my friend Theresa. We unfortunately had to leave the dogs behind, but that wouldn't impact the fun that was to ensue.

We hopped on the road mid-afternoon with St. Louis in our sights. Our goal, find the Firebird, grab a bite to eat, and rock out to Eric Hutchinson. Oh, and then, drive back to Peoria. Thank goodness Theresa is used to 3rd shift.

With Suzy's help (my GPS), we made it to St. Louis without any incidents. We found the Firebird and scouted out the area for places to eat on my Urban Spoon app on my iPhone. The Good Pie was our choice. How can you go wrong with pizza?

Well according to my non-condiment loving friend, you could go wrong with the toppings featured at The Good Pie. Plus, the restaurant was almost louder than our concert to come.

Walking down the street, we stopped in to Hamburger Mary's. Good ole American food, heck yeah! This restaurant was a hoot!

As we walked in, the first thing we saw was a Friday, Diva's Night sign. Had we been two days later, I'm sure our waiters would have been in drag and the mirror balls would have been spinnin' and shinin'! They catered to all audiences, even having a Rec Room (sports) area. To cap off the meal, our receipt arrived in a ruby slipper.

After a fun meal, we were finally in line at the Firebird. Listening to the people around us, we discovered there was no seating except for some benches on one side of the gigantic room that contained a stage, a bar, and bathrooms.

Once we got carded and let it, we set our sights on the benches. We weren't too keen on standing for the opening act, Avalanche City. They were from New Zealand and had some interesting tunes, but nothing I had to rush out and buy.

We scoped out the joint and decided the prime spot would be at the back in the center, so we staked out our position while waiting for the sound crew to setup the stage. Our spot was guarded by the sound board to our left, but we were getting a bit bounced around from the bar line to our right and the men's bathroom behind us. This best part, a natural aisle formed in front of us and we were next to the only men's bathroom in the place. I do believe I got bumped into by Eric and his "handler" and then a bit later, the keyboard/guitarist.

Eventually the show started and all my tiredness flew out the window. One of the best shows I've seen. Eric sounded great and had such high energy... my kind of show! Towards the end of his set, he announced he'd be signing autographs after the show. With my second wind in full force, we decided to stick it out.

The Mission: Theresa booked it over to the merchandise table while we waited for Eric and the band to come back for an encore. Fingers crossed we'd be at the front of the Meet & Greet line. I made "friends" with the sound guy and kindly asked if I could have the set list after the show was over. Goal: Get Eric's autograph on the set list without having to wait for 50+ people in front of us.

Did we accomplish our mission. Heck yeah! Third in line, can you feel it? No pictures with him (I didn't want to get tossed out without my autograph, so no leaping over the table for me.) Below is Eric signing Theresa's shirt and his "handler", to the left, keeping us in line.

Set list acquired and signed! Home by 2am and up by 6am... had to get to work to support this nasty concert habit I have.

I'm looking forward to my next concert in August. I'm sure I'll have another good story to tell. This Rockin' Road trip will be with Theresa as we head down to see Zac Brown Band outdoors.

Sugarland Show #13

If I've been keeping track correctly, last weekend was my lucky #13 Sugarland show. It wasn't the typical show weekend as I was going by myself, but I did hijack Grandpa so he could visit with my Uncle and Aunt.

After lunch with all of them and some of my cousins, I headed out to discover New Lenox, IL and the surrounding suburbs. Yes, my first Sugarland concert in the Chicago area. Just think what my total could be up to if traveled north every year!

I eventually made my way to the concert and figured I would be in the 12th row (Row L) behind the pit. But to my surprise, I was the first row behind the pit! Thank you Sugarland Fan Club ticket purchase. As the people around me, not part of the fan club, paid nearly $200 per ticket. And no, a meet and greet did not come with that price!

I knew I would get to see Canaan Smith and have been looking forward to hearing some new music from him (saw him last year with Emily in Denver). Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for a record to be released, but it sure was nice to see his smile and hear him in person.

Next up was Lauren Alaina. I still can't tell you the title of any of her songs, but I do know she was a contestant on American Idol. I watched the majority of her set, even when she let the kid "who missed his prom" hop on stage to dance with her. Little did she know the prom was 5 years ago.

Towards the end of her set, I headed to the restroom to bet the crowd. Awesome timing and stall selection... I found $11. Free to me souvenir? Yes please!

Bring on the main act! I toted my camera along so I could document. This is the only concert of theirs I have a ticket for this year, plus, with Jennifer Nettles expecting her first child, goodness only know when they'll hit the road again.

I truly love my Sugarland concerts! Jennifer and Kristian bring their A game every single time.

This year's tour is called In Your Hands.

Us fans got to help choose the set list for each city they play. I voted a few times online, but it was kind of pointless because I'd be happy to hear ANY song they play. About half way through the concert they asked all the fans to pass their signs forward. Next two songs were picked off the signs.

There was a slight delay as they had to go get a specific guitar for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and they also brought out a lyrics book for Jennifer, just in case.

Remember the "I missed my prom" guy, well, Jennifer and Kristian fell for it too and brought him up on stage to help sign backup on a song. I'm happy to report the crowd united and booed him as he approached the stage. J & K were so confused, it was classic! They got the whole story figured out, and in her Southern charm, Jennifer basically told us to "suck it up and move on.

I had a blast. I didn't think it was possible for them to top themselves again, but they pulled it off. Wish I could see them again on this In Your Hands tour. I loved the audience interaction!

The kick ass set list included:
1. Wide Open
2. Stuck Like Glue
3. Settlin'
4. Everyday America
5. It Happens
6. Tonight
7. Pour Some Sugar on Me
8. Steve Earle

9. Little Miss
10. Run
11. Take Me As I Am
12. Incredible Machine
13. Stay
14. Love
15. Baby Girl
16. All I Want To Do
17. I Want You To Want Me
18. Find the Beat Again
19. Fly Away
20. Something More
21. Sugarland

Sugarland - Tinley Park, IL 6-23-12

I'm losing the blogging fight tonight. Hoping this video posts and look forward to sharing details tomorrow!

June is flying by!

I look at the calendar, and I can't believe the date. It's the 18th already, and I have two concerts coming up this week!

But before we get to those exciting happenings, I must share a few happening from the last couple weeks. In no particular order.

SOFTBALL: I had a 9-9 hit streak spanning across 3 games! It's rare I remember any stats, let along what a hitter did his previous at bat when I'm in the field.

WORK: I finally figured out how I can estimate the percentage I have done on the 800ish page spec book I'm working on. Once I have the time to figure out the number, I'll be happy to share.

COWORKERS: I had two new coworkers start last week, but that also means another said Adios. The last piece of my Dream Design Team officially left the building on Friday. Ryan will be missed just as much as Jenny and Jess.

FAMILY: I wish I would have known my Dad was this easy to shop for. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday and I gave him a few things. I do believe I got the biggest smile when he opened the package of bacon.

FRIENDS: I had a blast from the past on Friday. My partner in crime for the 2002 Peoria Chiefs looked me up. It was great to catch up with Stacy. 2002? Heck, it seemed like yesterday. Friends like that are priceless.

PETS: Sparky got a bath after rolling in death/poop. Apparently frustrated by the clean scent I forced him to have, he lashed out at an unsuspecting rabbit in the backyard.

From busy dots to itchy dots.

I enjoy how the title of the last blog, which was last month (such a slacker), mentioned dots in it. Little did I know that shortly after that, an enjoyable Saturday of doing yard work would turn into the most annoying case of poison something I've had to deal with.

I will spare you of any pictures, heck the oozing was so gross I didn't even take any. But the leftover markings, peeling and residual itchy spots are quite impressive. What I would like to share is the bandaid mark that some may have already seen.

After a week of outbreaks on the top of my arm, several trails of itchiness popped up on the underside of my arm. As I worked at my desk, this one spot continually got scratched on the edge of the desk. I put a bandaid on it, problem solved... or not!

I was truly amazed by how cranky all of this itching and scratching made me. Thank goodness Laura gave me a prescription for some industrial strength cream, otherwise I may still be oozing two weeks after the fact.

As for the bandaid mark, I can still make out the extremely faint outline today (5 days after the fact). Thank goodness I only had the bandaid on for about 8 hours.