Hear Me

Sorry for the absence lately. This two hour commute, each way!, is kicking my ass. I leave the house at 6 AM and don’t get home until 6:30 – 7 PM each day! Talk about motivation to get my ass in gear and find a place! Hopefully, that will all be resolved in the coming week.

Last Thursday I joined some friends to head out to Nissan to see Kelly Clarkson. First, let me start by saying that I HATE Nissan Pavilion. Fuck you Nissan Pavilion! I think that place should be bombed and never opened again. Just the simple act of getting to the venue and leaving from there is one of the most hellish experiences ever.

Having said all that, I put aside my hatred for the chance to see Kelly. I missed her last time she came through DC, so I really wanted to see her this time. The opening band was Rooney, whose name I have heard, but am not at all familiar with their music. They were OK, but the sound system was all fucked up and the band was ten times louder than the lead singer. I couldn’t understand a single thing he was singing.

Finally, it was time for Kelly to come on stage. She opened the show with "Addicted" off the Breakaway album. Once again, the sound was all fucked up and the band was louder than her. It stayed this way through her entire show. I don’t know if it was Nissan or her sound people, but I was not happy about that.

When I could hear her, she sounded amazing. I’m a little ashamed to be typing this, but when she sang "Beautiful Disaster" I had tears in my eyes. Her voice is just so beautiful, when you can hear it. Overall, I thought the concert was OK. I think the tickets were a little over-priced for the length of the show. When she comes through the area again, I won’t be seeing her at Nissan. Or any other artist. I really wish I had seen Kelly at Constitution Hall.

I do want to defend Kelly for a moment though from some of the criticisms my friends were throwing after the show. First of all bitches, Kelly does not equal Madonna. I get it, you had amazing seats at the show and you loved it. Fine. Get past it. Kelly was a waitress in Texas five years ago. Madonna has been doing this for damn near 25 years. I expect a hell of a lot more from someone like Madonna (especially when she feels it necessary to charge over $100 for nose bleed seats) than I do a newer artist like Kelly.

Secondly, if you haven’t listened through both of her albums, don’t complain when you don’t recognize all the songs. She only played three new songs in her whole set. All the rest were off her two albums. Don’t expect her to play only the six songs that have gotten radio play. Yes, you sure did recognize each Madonna song. As well you should when you say she is your favorite. Don’t fault the artist when you haven’t taken the time to familiarize yourself with her source material before the show.

Sorry, I just had to say those things and stick up for someone who is insanely talented (vocally anyway) and still growing as an artist.