Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Concert Review: Ed Sheeran (X Tour) in Philadelphia

Ed Sheeran hit the stage Tuesday night (26 May 2015) for his X(Multiply) Tour at The Mann Center in Philadelphia with his Martin guitar and Loop Station and had everyone on their feet singing and dancing like there was no tomorrow. 

Looking out across the lawn seating at The Mann
Lets talk about The Mann Center a little. This was the first time I have traveled down to Philly to attend a concert at this venue and I was not disappointed at all! The Mann is located in Fairmount Park and was founded in 1935. This was such a beautiful venue. When you first walked into there was a court yard that had lights stringed all above it which made a great atmosphere. Set up around the court yard was the merchandise stand, open bars, and food stands.  The staff at the Mann were really friendly and help you with any questions that you may have like where your seat is located or where the nearest restroom was. (Might I add that the bathrooms were very clean! Because we know that is important to know when you go to a big venue like this) The ceiling of The Mann is made of wood which is not only for the looks but the made acoustics in that venue sound amazing, and just by me explaining it is not going to do it justice. When the first note of the night was played I was impressed on how loud it was and how you can still hear the singing and it was not drowned out by the bass and other instruments. There are two seating areas one under the covering and the lawn seating. If you happen to sit out on the lawn there are still ways to enjoy the concert with the huge video screens and the sound is just as good as it is under the covering. Now lets get on to the musical acts of the night. 


Looking inside of The Mann.
For this show Foy Vance was opening up for Ed Sheeran and this was his second show on the X Tour. Foy Vance is a folk singer from Northern Ireland. I suggest to go on iTunes and buy his newest album Joy of Nothing. This album is one of my go to album so seeing him in concert for me was just as exciting seeing Ed that night. Foy was joined on stage with his guitars and a drummer and that is all he needed to kick off the night. Foy is one of those artists that does not need auto tune when he preforms. His voice is so clean, the instruments blend well with it in each songs. His set list was wonderful, and he even cracked a few jokes for the city of brotherly love. 


Ed Sheeran on the stage during "I'm a Mess"
The British, ginger, tattooed, singer, songwriter, Ed Sheeran was the main act of the night. Ed opened up the gig with I'm a Mess and everyone was on their feet within seconds and remained on their feet for the rest of the night. My favorite thing he said after this song was "Everyone is looking forward. No one is looking at you. So Philly we are going to have a good time. It doesn't matter if you sing out of tune, dance crazy, or clap out of beat because everyone is looking forward." He did not have to tell me twice that I was going to have a good time that night because I knew the moment I bought the tickets I would. Ed was joined on stage by his Martin Guitars and his Loop Station. Ed used the loop stations to build a song up all live right there on the stage. No band to back him up just the Loop Station, the guitars, and two microphones. Watching him loop all of these different beats and guitar licks together was astonishing. A Stevie Wonder song snuck into Ed's set list for the night. He blended Superstition with his song titled Take It Back. Ed did not loose the audience once during songs when he wanted us to sing along, which takes a lot for an artist to do. His stage design was simple just a few video screens behind him that either played pre made videos or him performing in a different video effect. Non of these pyrotechnics or dancing sharks was needed to make Ed's gig a night to remember. My favorite song that Ed sang out of all he sang the whole night was You Need Me, I Don't Need You just because of the build ups and the songs he incorporated within the one song, which were In Da Club by 50 Cent and I'm So Fancy by Iggy Azalea.

Instagram photo taken by Ed Sheeran on stage of the crowd in Philly. 
Overall the concert was fabulous. I would have to say one of the best I have been too. If you ever get a chance to see Ed Sheeran or Foy Vance in concert I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed. 

*Stay tuned to this blog to see more concert reviews that I will do in the future.*

Where to find...
The Mann
Twitter: @MannCenter
Website: www.manncenter.org/
Foy Vance
Twitter: @foyvance
Website: www.foyvance.com/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/foyvancemusic
Ed Sheeran
Twitter: @edsheeran
Website: www.edsheeran.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/EdSheeran
Me
Twitter: @ATodero

Thursday, May 21, 2015

The Non-Rolling Stones Side of My Record Collection (Part 1)

This series of blog post will let you have a look inside of my record collection...That is the non-Rolling Stones records that are in my collection. [Keep a look out for blog posts about the Rolling Stones records that are in my collection at a later date!] Every week I will pick out five records from my collection and write a little about them, provide pictures of them, and tell you what I like about each record that I have selected. 

1: Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes 
Don't mistake this white album as The Beatles. The Alabama Shakes are an American rock band from Alabama...Would have never guessed that right! The members are Zac Cockrell, Heath Fogg, Brittany Howard, and Steve Johnson. This album titled Boys & Girls is the debut studio album from the Alabama Shakes and was released on April 9, 2012. The album reached number six on the US 200 Billboard charts and number three on the UK Album Chart. It was also #34 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 albums of 2012. The album is very blues-rock influenced and has a soulful vocals by Brittany Howard. Her vocals are one of the main reasons I like listening to the Alabama Shakes. 

I started listening to the Alabama Shakes on recommendation from my brother. I picked up this record after their second album was released. Even though I like the whole album my three favorite songs are "Hang Loose", "I Ain't the Same", and "On Your Way". 

2: Whispers by Passenger 
Whispers is the fifth studio album released by Passenger (AKA Mike Rosenberg). It was released in June 2014. This album's geners is a little of pop but mostly folk. I love how Mike writes songs that are stories of someone he met on tour, his own life, or someone he already knew like the songs "Bullets" and "Riding to New York", which are two of my favorite songs on the album. However, my favorite song on this album is "Hearts of Fire" especially the version he did with Ed Sheeran in an empty arena two years before the album was released.(linked below) Mike said that "Hearts on Fire" is the oldest song that he wrote on this album. 
Aside from the songs on Whispers lets talk about the album art. Within the record sleeve there is a beautiful water color piece that I fell in love with when I first received it, and to this day when I open it to listen to it on my record player I still find myself in awe of how beautiful it is. This is by far my favorite thing about the Whispers record.

3: The London Chuck Berry Sessions 
Side one of this record consists of songs that were recorded at a studio in London, England while on side two are songs that were recorded at the Lanchester Arts Festival in Conventry, England. On the studio recordings it featured Ian McLagan and Kenny Jones of The Faces.This record was released in October 1972 on Chess Records. "Johnny B. Good" from the the festival recording is my favorite song on this record. I love how the crowd interacts with Chuck Berry during the performance. This album was the only album of Chuck Berry's to certified by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). With over 1,000,000 record sells in less then a month of its release making it certified a gold record. 

4: Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits 
This is Bob Dylan's best selling album in the United States. It is certified five times platinum by RIAA. It was released on March 27, 1967 and is the first compilation album released by Dylan. It is a collection of every Top 40 single that Bob Dylan released in 1967. What drew me to listen to Bob Dylan is his folk sound and his use of the harmonica in his songs. This influenced me to try and learn to play the harmonica myself, which I am still working to this day. My two favorite songs off this album is "Blowing in the Wind" and "Like a Rolling Stone". 

5: The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions 
This was the first record I have ever owned and it was a gift from my brother for one of my birthdays. This compilation album was released in 1985 and is the first of many that is released by Elvis Costello. Costello is an English singer-songwriter, and The Attractions was his back up band from 1978-1986 and 1994-1996. Elvis Costello genre is described as pub rock, punk rock, new wave, and power pop. "Alison" and "Radio, Radio" are my favorite songs off of this album. Another song that I like by Elvis Costello is "(I Don't Want To Go) Chelsea". (linked below) 





Thursday, May 14, 2015

Ed Sheeran's X

This British singer/songwriter nailed it on the head with his first debut album + (plus) and now he has released his second debut album X (multiply), which is magnificent. X was released in June 2014. The album is coming up on it's one year anniversary of its release and I grown to love this Ed Sheeran album as much as I did his first album.



With + Ed Sheeran had an orange theme that ran through out the whole album and everything he did with, and for X the theme is green. He said he "feel[s] every single one of [his] records should have a theme that runs through it, even if it's just a colour. The first one was orange, throughout, everything [he] did was orange. This one's going to be green throughout, and everything [he does] will be green in terms of artwork." 




X is available in all formats you can think of. The most common now a days is the digital album through iTunes, but it is also in CD and 12'' Vinyl. 


Ed wrote with Pharrell and Rick Ruben on this which brought hip-hop and R&B into some of the songs. His first single off of X was "Sing" which was a hit on the radio and in the charts. Don't worry Ed Sheeran did not forget to include ballads like everyone loved from his first album. Sweetly written "Thinking Out Loud" and "Tenerife Sea" are some of the ballads on X. Then there is "The Man" where Ed raps thought out the whole song and says how he needs to change his cider-drinking, spliff-lighting, bad-loving ways, he might be "writing my will before I'm 27."  All of the types of songs Ed wrote for this album all blend together and make X a good album to listen too.



The track list for X is... 
01 One
02 I'm a Mess
03 Sing
04 Don’t
05 Nina
06 Photograph
07 Bloodstream
08 Tenerife Sea
09 Runaway
10 The Man
11 Thinking Out Loud
12 Afire Love 

Deluxe Edition includes...
13 Take it back 
14 Shirtsleeves 
15 Even My Dad Does Sometimes    
16 I See Fire 
Deluxe Edition Physical Copy includes...
17 All of the Stars

"I See Fire" was played during the end credits of the film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug while "All of the Stars" was featured in the film The Fault in Out Stars. My favorite tracks on X are "I'm a Mess", "Take it Back", and "Afire Love". 


Check out Ed Sheeran's newest music video for the song and current single "Photograph". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSDgHBxUbVQ


Where to find Ed...

Offical Website: http://www.edsheeran.com/ 
Twitter: @edsheeran
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EdSheeranMusic 
Instagram: teddysphotos 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/EdSheeran