Monday Music Recs

Happy Monday Friends!! I don't know how regular this will be, but I was listening to some awesome music last night and decided this would be sometime fun to share. I have loved and enjoyed music for as long as I can remember. When I was very young, like 7, my best friend at the time and I would go skiing up in Winter Park every Saturday. On the drive up we would listen to our Amy Grant tape on our walkman over and over again. We belted Baby, Baby from the top of our lungs and from that day forward I found my love for music in Pat Benetar, dancing in the kitchen with my mom and my aunt Dana, Ace of Base, Real McCoy, and alas, Hanson.

I was a few weeks shy of 14 when I went to my very first REAL concert (I say real because I'd been to local free shows in the summer in the town I grew up in). Real meant watching my mom dial ticketmaster over and over until finally reaching a rep to purchase four tickets to see Hanson at Red Rocks, the most incredible place to see a show. It's an amphitheater tucked into the foothills and surrounded by huge rocks, making the sound flawless. From way up, you can see all of Denver lit up. Beautiful.

Since then, I have managed to attended over 100 concerts ranging from NSYNC to The Fray to Death Cab for Cutie, Jacks Mannequin, Dave Matthews Band, Michelle Branch, Snow Patrol, Hillary Duff, Gavin Degraw, Maroon 5, and of course, more Hanson shows. The best concert I've ever been to was most recently to see Jacks Mannequin. The venue was small and intimate, allowing for a close, special show while dancing around with people who knew Jacks as Something Corporate way back in the day. It was euphoric. The worst show was Dropkick Murphy's. The band was fine, but it was the first show I'd ever been to with true moshing and not to mention I had a raging sinus infection. It was one of mine and B's first dates and he LOVES Dropkick.

Anyway, there's you're little history of my love of music. I grew up loving it. Even still, my parents go to Wilco and Gillian Welch shows. I don't get to go as often as I used to. Ticket prices are crazy expensive and well, I have a family now. It's different.

This week I want to share Bon Iver with you. I've mentioned before how much I love their Skinny Love song. Thanks to Pinterest, that is how I discovered this band! Birdy, a youtube sensation, covered that song and made a beautiful video. I had find more music. Thanks to Spotify, it was no problem. Their music is melodic and has a ballad-like quality. It's not something you want to listen to if you're in the mood to dance, however, if you're in the mood to take a bath (like I was last night) and listen to something relaxing with deep lyrics, Bon Iver is perfect. Every song is special and by far, Skinny Love remains my fav. I'd love to see a show of theirs. I cannot imagine them playing anything bigger than the Gothic, a venue in Denver. Yes, Red Rocks would be too much for their intimate music. Go check them out.