Flying to Neverland

As a birthday gift for myself this year, I bought season tickets to the Broadway Shows at the Hult Center. The musicals that they had on the docket were very exciting! This season they have Finding Neverland, The Lion King, Evita, The Illusionist, and Wicked! The price for season tickets was a really good deal (at least seemed like one to me) and it had something for everyone in the family. The Illusionist is a bonus one that you can add on to the packet for a discounted cost. At first, I was not planning on doing it but I think I may have to. I think Will may enjoy that one the most.

For the first show, I took Colin as my date to Finding Neverland. We both loved it! Colin was a little surprised that Peter Pan was not in it as much but once he understood the premise, he really got into it. We bought the soundtrack to the Original Broadway show and have been listening to it ever since. Meli, who did not get to go to this one, also loves listening to the soundtrack.

I loved getting dressed up and hanging out with Colin. He was a perfect date! Next up is The Lion King!

The actors did such a fantastic job! I was really impressed with the singing and overall production. Their was also an underline sense of humor that went over Colin's head that was a nice addition for the adults without ruining the children's story.


For my fellow Oregonians - definitely worth looking into. Even a bit of a drive is worth it.


                                                     




  ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses
                                                               
         The B Family

NPR Music's Little Desk Contest

My husband's band, The E.L.P (or The Elena Leona Project) is entering a video in NPR Music's Little Desk contest.

I am so proud of them for taking this step. They are such a fun band to watch and be around. Here is the link to their video on youtube. Check it out! If you enjoy the video, show them the love by liking it on youtube!

Until next time...

Marc Broussard in Concert

As part of Will's birthday weekend (more on that to come), we were able to go see one of our favorite musicians, Marc Broussard, in concert. He is such a fantastic songwriter and performer. I think he has one of the best male voices out there. This was our second time seeing him, the first was at the Birchmere in Virginia. The concert was awesome! 

To make it even more awesome, we got to meet him afterwards!! I was seriously so nervous. I usually am not a person that would get "meeting a celebrity" nerves, but he is my musical crush...so my heart was beating fast. Will thought it was so funny. It meant a lot to talk to him. His music has special meaning to Will and I. When Will and I first started dating, Marc's CD, Carencro, was our love put into words. He was singing what we both felt about the other perfectly. 

Definitely a night that I will remember.

We were standing in the front row. The picture above is without zooming. I could literally reach out and touch him. No worries, I restrained myself :)

Such a fun night. 

20 Years Later...Guitar Lessons!!

After 20 years of wanting to learn how to play the guitar and 14 years of actually owning one...I have finally started. Horrible, I know. Absolutely, horrible. Will bought me a book and auto tuner for Christmas (4 months later I finally opened them). He promised to help me, since he is so much more musical then me. Like a lot more. The plan was for him to brush up on his base at the same time. Haha! The difference in our abilities is so vast. Poor guy is probably overly bored. Still he is very helpful and sweet. I love that we are doing this together. Plus, I am catching on a lot quicker than I thought I would.

My tuner.. It is AMAZING!!! You play the string and it tells you the note. Then you adjust until it is where you need it!

Will got his new drum set he has been anxiously waiting for. It will be nice for him to get back into the music scene. 

Meli wants to be a drummer! The kids love playing all of our instruments. I love seeing their enthusiasm for music. 

Caravan of Thieves

Due to my birthday coming up, I was able to have a girls' night last week. My desire for celebrating has been diminished a little because of such a hectic few weeks. Meli has woken me up every night the past...I do not even know. I am exhausted. I am not sure why she keeps waking up. Last night she woke up at 2:30. At 4:00, I finally put on a movie for her so I could sleep.  I would also rather focus on what to do for Colin's birthday. Poor him...the idea of a party just makes me go "bleh". We will see. My social butterfly would be so sad not to have friends over. I was thinking of letting him have a friend go with us to see Big Hero 6.Afterwards, we could go somewhere for a treat. Then we can just have a family party.

Anyways, back to my birthday thing. I chose to travel south and go see Caravan of Thieves perform. The band was amazing!!! There was a guy that played the violin,  a guy with a cello and then the two main singers (a married couple) played guitar and drums (made out of recycled kitchen items). The band was labeled as "gypsy swing". They played and sang beautifully and were just overall great. They had everyone participate in a few songs and then the last song we got up to make music by stomping and clapping. We were all gathered around the stage. It was pretty neat. That song was Raise the Dead.

My favorite song is Dead Wrong. Here is a video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03CzGYQwmI0.

 

A Night at the Symphony



Bad picture of me, but it is really hard to get Will to take one..so got to use it!

My surprise from Will was tickets to a symphony!! I have been wanting to go for years, so this was perfect. I loved it!! We got to get all dressed up. I rarely get to see Will in a suit and he looks so good in one. The symphony orchestra was very good. The guest violinist was amazing! Will is so talented musically, that I love seeing him in his element. It was a perfect night. Love you honey! You make me so happy!

Now to finish off the birthday celebrations...dinner with dad and Michele tomorrow and then a joint party for me and Colin with my mom and aunt on Sunday. Such a busy month. Once we are done with mine we have Colin's next week...Cannot believe he will be six!!

  

I love getting dressed up! I have not had a reason to wear this dress for a while...

Second Star to the Right...

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.” 

Mi-ma and I took Colin to see his first ballet, Peter Pan, this weekend. He loved it!!! It was so much fun experiencing this milestone with him. It is very important to Will and I to expose the kids to the performing arts as much as possible. 

This ballet was perfect for his introduction to this particular form of the arts, since Colin had watched the Disney cartoon recently and we are reading the book. That exposure to the story helped since there were no words spoken. He followed it very well and it managed to keep his full attention.

He did a super job at being quiet. There were several kids there all dressed-up. The girls looked so cute in their fancy little dresses! One dad even dressed up as Peter Pan! So cute with his little daughter as Tinker Bell. I was not sure if Colin would like a ballet (versus a play) but  he loved it. He did think it was strange that they did not talk though. 

The above picture is Colin with the dancer playing Michael. He was very sweet. All of the dancers were. We also got to see Nana and the crocodile, but Colin did not want pictures with them because he could not see their faces.

We are already planning the next ballet we want to come down for...we are thinking the Nutcracker. I also want Will to take me on a date to Zoot Suit Riot (featuring Cherry Poppin' Daddies)!!

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.” 

― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Will and I went to Baltimore to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Rams Head Live.  Such a great concert!  Below are some links to a few of her songs.  I love her!  She has so much energy on stage. It was a great night - enjoying some time kid free!

One of my favorite songs - Stars
They ended the night with this song, Paris
I love this one too, Medicine

 ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

Black Agnes - Band update

So, the band finally has a name (I think one that they are planning to stick with, but we will see), they are now Black Agnes. There is a story behind the name, but I will share that later. I just wanted to give a quick band update.

This weekend the band played a gig at birthday party that one of Will's co-workers was throwing. The party was on Saturday and they got to play close to 4 hours. I think they worked through 3 sets. This was a great opportunity that allowed them to make some good connections. Everyone seemed to enjoy the music and they received really good feedback!

They were able to play some of their new songs from Ray Charles, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. They even played a song or two that they had not even practiced. Their abilities amaze me! After the holidays Will is going to start showing me a few things on the guitar (even though he plays bass, but he can show me some basic things). I am excited, but I want to get through the holidays first. With all the holidays, work, an energetic toddler and needing to plan a Christmas trip to Oregon...I am pretty busy!

"Halfway to New Orleans"

One of our favorite singers is Marc Broussard. Will introduced me to him while we were still living in Oregon and I just fell in love with his style. So, naturally we were both very excited when we found out that he would be performing near us. So, we got a babysitter (thank you Susannah - Colin must of had a great time, he let us sleep until 8:30 this morning, that NEVER happens)! The concert was at the Birchmere in Alexandria. We had never been to that venue and really liked it. The place is set up like a restaurant, so we go to sit, eat dinner, drink some wine and enjoy the show. We were lucky to get a table really close to the stage and had a great view of Marc Broussard. He ended up playing a lot of my favorite songs. I love "The Wanderer", "Let Me Leave", "Lonely Night in Georgia" and "Hope for Me Yet". He is an amazing singer and a very talented guitar player. My two favorite songs are "Home" and "The Beauty of Who You Are". "Home" is one of the songs that Will is learning to play with his band. Marc Broussard is special to us because a few songs that we would consider "our" songs are songs of his. The songs are ones we love because they really describe how we feel about each other and define the period in our relationship. His songs are just amazing, lyrically and musically. I highly recommend him to anyone. He ended the show with "Home", which I felt was a perfect choice. The tour was called "Welcome to My Living Room" and had a very laid back feel and great t-shirts, which of course, I had to get one. I try to get a shirt at any concert I go to that I really enjoy. The title of this blog is one of the lyrics from his song "Home". He is from New Orleans and his surroundings had a lot of influence on his song style.

So, to sum it up, we highly recommend his concerts and CD's!!!

Introducing the Band!!!

For those of you who do not know, Will has been playing in a band for the past couple of months. The other members are John and Lloyd, two guys that work at the same company as me. Will has been having a lot of fun with it. He played the trumpet and drums in college but decided to try a new instrument, the bass guitar. It amazes me how quick he is picking it up. He sounds terrific!


On Saturday, Will's band had a gig playing at a local youth football fundraiser. They did wonderfully! Like all performances they learned a few things that they need to work on...a few kinks to work out, but overall, I think they did amazing! Especially for only playing together for a few months and this being their second gig. I am learning to recognize the bass guitar (Will) from the other two guitars...I was very excited to recognize Will's parts of the songs! I am so proud of you honey! So, here are some pictures from that day...They are currently still working on a name!

Rocking Out!!!!!!!!!!

311 & Ziggy Marley

Last night Will, Michael and I saw Ziggy Marley and 311 in concert at Nissan Pavilion (plus the opening band The Expendables, I think). They were actually pretty good. We had such an amazing time! This was the first time at Nissan Pavilion for Michael and I; a very cool venue. I really liked how it was set up. This was also the first time that we both had seen 311, Will had seen them once before. 311 is Will's favorite band. I knew of them in the 90's but did not listen to them a whole lot. I have become a more recent fan, thanks to Will. I really have been enjoying them. They were crazy at the concert!! They are really good live. I hate when bands/singers sound good on CD but terrible in concert. It was great seeing Will so excited and into the music. I got to see a side of him that I had not really before...I LOVED it!!! He was dancing all over, but in a good way, not embarrassing at all! My favorite songs were "Come Original", "Daisy Cutter", "Amber", "Beautiful Disaster" and "India Ink".

Ziggy, was someone I was really excited to see. I am a fan of Bob Marley and have heard a few songs of Ziggy's that I like a lot. I thought he was very good. He had a fun, relaxing vibe and he is oh so cool. He was just beautiful. Beautiful hair. Beautiful smile. Beautiful essence. Just a beautiful man! My favorite songs of his were "True to Myself", "I Love You Too" and "Love is My Religion".

So, all-in-all a successful and fun trip. Will and I both agree that this was the BEST concert we had ever been to hands down!!!! We are glad that Michael was able to join us and hopefully we will be able to go to more concerts together. I was trying to talk Will into seeing Def Leppard and Poison! I like Def Leppard and Will was a fan of Poison when he was younger. I think it would be a pretty crazy concert!

Thank you Grandma Liz for babysitting!!!