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2015 MUSIC & CONCERT BLOG

Music is one of our passions and if it's yours too then there's a lot to do! Check out some of the music venues we attend and plan some of your own. Many of these locations are just a short drive away.

Concerts ~ Theater Tickets

Vegas - San Francisco - New York - Broadway

Sports Events Tickets

Baseball - Basketball - Hockey - Soccer

 

Limited Tickets Available.. Hurry

 >ADELE CONCERT TICKETS

2015 CONCERTS BLOG 
Bob Seger at Sleeptrain Arena, Sacramento CA  March 9, 2015
Definitely a bucket list concert! The initial concert date was moved from March 3rd to March 9th which was a Monday and a difficult day to go see a concert but well worth the inconvenience! Robert Clark "Bob" Seger (born May 6, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded throughout the 1960s. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the "System" from his recordings and continued to strive for broader success with various other bands. In 1973, he put together the Silver Bullet Band, a group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful on the national level with the album Live Bullet, recorded live with the Silver Bullet Band in 1975 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. In 1976, he achieved a national breakout with the studio album Night Moves. On his studio albums, he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which appeared on several of Seger's best-selling singles and albums. Sleeptrain Arena is a venue we frequent often and traffic can be busy, but we find it's best to just wait it out for a half and hour or so in the venue and not fight the crowds. Once things get going the parking lot clears fairly quickly. The concert was absolutely fabulous. We heard every song we ever knew and loved by this band. The vocals and the instrumentation were phenomenal and it is hard to believe that Bob Segar is almost 70 years old and the quality of his voice sounds the same as it did back in the 70's when we first began to follow his music. He is legend and we would love to see him play again!
Garth Brooks at Sleeptrain Arena, Sacramento CA  March 28, 2015
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962), best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music singer-songwriter. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Brooks' integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while crossing over into the mainstream pop arena.

Another bucket list concert! Garth Brooks brings is personal and engaging with the audience along with ageless vocals and songs. The light show, the pyrotechnics.. everything was amazing. He is an entertainer above entertainers. The events scheduled at the Sleeptrain Arena were all sell outs which prompted Garth to add more shows at this venue. He had not played in this area in over 20 years and he made huge strides to make all of his fans happy. Garth played continuously for about 2 hours with a short break in between in which Tricia Yearwood took over the stage for about 30 minutes to give him a rest. She was was also fabulous! This particular night he had 2 back to back shows planned and scheduled within an hour of each other. We heard this show played on until 1am. This was a total WOW SHOW!! Seeing him again.. Yes Please!  We hope everyone has a chance to experience this iconic performer!

Boz Scaggs at The Gallo Center, Modesto, CA  May 24, 2015
Born in Texas and raised with an abiding respect for a wide spectrum of American roots music, Boz Scaggs has combined rock, jazz, R&B and blues to create a trademark sound. His extensive and distinctive career spans 30 years and many accolades, with such memorable hits as “Lido Shuffle,” “Lowdown,” and many others that will be showcased in his first performance at the Gallo Center since 2012. Scagg's latest album, “A Fool to Care,” will be released March 31. We sat in our favorite seats which are on the second level balcony and were provided with comfortable club chairs, which is worth about $30 extra dollars, but so worth it as you are not in a row of set seating which can be crowded and annoying with people climbing over you to get in and out of their seats. We thou roughly enjoyed this performance. The venue at the Gallo Center is beautiful and the staff and ushers which are comprised primarily of local volunteers are amazing. They carry a decent selection of beer, wines and soda at these venues and no food is allowed. The sound in the Gallo Center is top notch. There are a number of restaurants, pubs, cigar lounges and bars all within walking distance and we enjoy staying at the Double Tree Hilton which is only 3 blocks away and also has a bar, restaurant and lovely accommodations.

Tesla and  Y&T at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, CA  June 13, 2015
Tesla is an American rock band formed in Sacramento, California in late 1981 by bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon as City Kidd. Lead vocalist Jeff Keith, drummer Troy Luccketta and guitarist Tommy Skeoch joined them by 1984. By 1986, the band had changed its direction under a new name: 
"Tesla". In 1996, the band disbanded, with members devoting themselves to solo projects. In 2000, they had reformed, but Tommy Skeoch departed the band in 2006 due to substance abuse, and was replaced by Dave Rude. They have sold 14 million albums in the United States.Thunder Valley is always a great venue. It's easy access off the freeway to get to the casino. Even though they have a designated parking lot for concert goers we prefer to use the parking garage attached to the casino. There are also shuttles available from local hotels such as the Holiday Inn in Roseville which is where we stayed and they also have Lyft and Uber service readily available. The event was very well organized with entry lines divided by setting section which prevents too long of lines to wait in when entering the venue. We have seen Tesla perform several times before and they consistently do an outstanding job and play the all the old school music that we know and love. Y&T played an exceptional set and we were also pleased by hearing the familiar songs that we knew and loved back in the 80's.
Nickelback Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA   CANCELLED June 24, 2015 
This concert was cancelled via email message on June 23rd. It was unfortunate and costly for us as we purchased a hotel room near the event and were not refunded for a room costing over $200 which required a 24 hour notice. he hotel owners at the Vagabond Inn Sunnyvale offered us no credit, no option to use the room on another date or to transfer the night to another hotel. Pretty much a huge and costly disappointment! This experience has left us a little gun shy about purchasing rooms ahead of times when attending venues where we choose to spend the night. After some research and talking with friends we discovered that there are some hotel chains such as Best Western Inn's that will allow you to transfer your stay if you must cancel on short notice. In the future, this is worth the extra effort of a phone call to the hotel prior to booking. As far as Nickelback, there was no problem with a credit back for the event and we've seen them play 2 times previously in 2009 and 2010 at the Sleeptrain Amphitheatre in Wheatland. Always and outstanding show with pyrotechnics and the band on point. We will purchase tickets again should they go on tour but would never consider staying in the  Vagabond Inn Sunnyvale, which quite honestly, didn't look as though it would have met our standard for hotels anyway but it was in our price range and ok for a quick night stay.
Alice In Chains at Thunder Valley Casino, Lincoln, CA July 25, 2015
 
 
Jackson Brown at Harvey's Lake Tahoe, NV   August 7, 2015
We have always big Jackson Brown fans since the early 80's and this was our first time catching one of his events. We were really looking forward to this venue since we have missed his previous years of touring. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer played to a full crowd at Harvey's Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena Friday night, as thunderstorms and light showers gradually gave way to a gorgeous golden-purple Lake Tahoe sunset. 
It was a beautiful but chilly evening at Harvey's with clear skies, which is not unusual for this time of year, so dress accordingly if you attend this venue in the future. Jackson Brown and his band played some excellent sets and focused mainly on newer music. Quite honestly, we were disappointed with this, as 11 songs played in a row of which we did not know. We were certainly in hopes that we would hear all of our favorite songs from the past and towards the end of the night they did play some familiar tunes. Next time we will spend some time learning some of the newer music to enrich our next concert experience. 

 We stayed at the Lake Tahoe Resort which is directly across the street from Harvey's Casino. It is a great hotel for families and singles as well. They have a nice restaurant and bar in the Echo lounge. The rooms are spacious, with a wet bar and living room separate from the bedroom and they offer a free breakfast buffet in the morning which is pretty decent and a happy hour in the evening.

3 Doors Down at Gallo Art Center, Modesto, CA  August 30, 2015
 
Foreigner & Kid Rock at Toyota Center, Wheatland, CA September 2, 2015
All we have to say is WOW! WOW! WOW!.. Aint No "Kid"in what a ROCKER!. We had no idea how talented and charismatic Kid Rock was going to be! We've always liked a number of his songs but we were amazed by his colorful performance. He is one of the best showman we have seen! His talents are endless, he played two different guitars, he switched to drums for a song, then he moved onto a mix master set. All this while singing lead and dancing. His energy captured the audience and was magnetic. He played every song we knew and some that we forgot we knew. Loved this performance and would see again any time. 
Foreigner, we love every time we see them! This would make about 4 times over the last 5 years. Mick Jones is an icon in the band and although he's getting older his guitar skills are right on point. The lead singer Kelly Hanson is just as good as Lou Gramm in our book. We have seen them as a headliner multiple times and we enjoy every minute of the performance. Our seats were in a terrific spot, about 9 rows back from the stage on the inside isle. Kelly came down from the stage several times and interacted with the crowd even giving us a high five twice! This event was too much fun! We ended up staying in Yuba City at the Bonanza Inn Magnuson. We've stayed here about 3 times previously and it is always clean and about as good as it gets in the area. They do a free breakfast in the dining room and it's a decent meal. It's not always easy getting a ride to the events at Wheatland. There is not Uber or Lyft service and the Taxi's charge $50 for a one way trip. Once the concert is over.. it's a nightmare to get out of the parking lot. We've been able to get a cab ridge back the last couple times, but it took hours! There are only 2 exits and 1 entrance into this amphitheatre. My personal choice is find another location. the ride situation is very frustrating although seeing a great concert makes it feel much better. We will be looking for Kid Rock to make his rounds again, but we will most likely not attend at this particular venue again. The whole parking lot, get home thing is a deal breaker for us.
Foo Fighter at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA September 16, 2015
Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters front-man, will always be remembered as the drummer for Nirvana. But, drumming for a great band such as Nirvana. This has been a long anticipated venue that we wanted to attend regardless if we had a press invite. We tried purchasing tickets immediately as they went on sale through Ticket Master, but they were sold out in minutes! We checked the secondary market and found some available for an astronomical amount and decided were not willing to pay over $400 to see this event and consequently purchased grass area for $50 each. This will be the very last time we make this mistake. The concert was packed and every inch of grass area was taken and it was very difficult to move around as people placed their full blankets and chairs to stake their claim. We Ubured over to the event from our Redwood City hotel, which was our closest resting spot at the Best Western Inn. Clean, reliable, good owners and a nice breakfast served, 99% of the time we have very good luck staying in this brand.
 Even with a ride it was still walked almost a mile to get to the entry gates. Usually it is not this difficult to get closer lodging, but this particular week there was a big convention going in San Francisco that had filled the hotels everywhere. Still well worth the price of the Uber fair which was only $50 round trip and so much better than driving and parking. Once inside the Shoreline Amphitheatre there were lots of places to grab food and drinks, Food trucks and tented bars, along with picnic benches and open grass areas to hang out.

Dave Grohl rocked it for sure! He is simply and animal on stage. His vocals are amazing and he can belt out tunes and his famous screechy yell all night long. The crowd loves him! Even with a broken leg he is phenomenal performer! The Foo Fighters played every song we new plus a couple new ones that were really good. We will be waiting for the next event and will spend the extra cash to have a seat for certain to be able to have the ultimate concert experience. 

Ambrosia at Helwig Winery, Plymouth, CA September 19, 2015
Helwig Winery is a marvelous venue located at 11555 Shenandoah Rd. | Plymouth CA.   The amphitheatre only holds 750 people so there's a great view from every angle and it is intimate and informal. You can bring in your own chairs or a blanket or if you arrive early enough you can use the chairs set up in the first 15 rows, closest to the stage. There is food for purchase and wine from the winery can be purchased by glass or bottle. We found a great spot on top of a boulder in the upper area and had a breath taking view of the sunset before the show began. We later moved down on a dance platform right in front of the stage and danced to our favorite songs from back in the day. We appreciate the opportunities to see these older bands that were so popular back in the 80's. We feel we should take advantage of any chance to be able to reconnect with the sounds from so long ago and realize they won't be performing forever. Ambrosia sounded great..played great and it was over all just a perfect evening. We stayed at a cute little RV resort called Far Horizons 49er Village. If you have an RV it is a perfect spot with a nice water feature and small creeks running through the park. They provide a free shuttle ride over to the winery and also give rides into Sutter Creek and other attractions in the area on a regular basis for it's guests. It was a cute place! They also have a number of cabins you can rent for the weekend, which is where we stayed. The cabin was a studio with a full kitchen, was immaculately clean  and comfortable. if your hungry after the event, you are out of luck in finding a restaurant or somewhere to buy food. We, however, pre-planned for this and packed a long an ice chests with snacks. They gave a voucher for breakfast that was served in the small cafe and store area.
Scorpions at SAP Center, San Jose, CA October 1, 2015
 
 

 

 

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