Artists I have seen: Aloe Blacc, Alt-J, Andrew Bird, Bombay Bicycle Club with Lucy Rose, Cherub

(x2),
Childish Gambino, Chromeo, CHVRCHES, Coldplay, DIIV, The Dodos, Fanfarlo, Frightened Rabbit, F.U.N.,
GIVERS, Imagine Dragons with Nico Vega, Iron & Wine, Local Natives (x2), Mac Miller, MGMT, The Naked
and Famous, The National with Youth Lagoon, Of Monsters & Men, Phantogram, Reel Big Fish, Sigur Ros,
Sufjan Stevens (x2), Tame Impala, Youth the Giant
Aloe Blacc + Fitz & The Tantrums Movin On 2014 at Penn State. I went with Kelson and Jon. Aside from
being a bit windy, the weather was gorgeous. There werent too many people around when Aloe Blacc
was on stage, which was kind of a shame because he played an amazing show. I would say hes in the
top five artists Ive seen in the category of charisma and stage presence. He danced a lot, freestyled a
bit, and frequently burst out into southern black preacher mode - telling us all about how love is the
answer to all of lifes problems. His band was a hysterically stereotypical old-timey jazz band. There was
a big, chubby black guy playing the trumpet, a short black guy playing the trombone, and a white guy
wearing sunglasses and rocking a ponytail playing the saxophone. Jon and I had an absolute blast
dancing and singing to every single one of his songs. Unfortunately, we were in a pretty dead part of the
crowd, so we probably looked a little strange. But I couldnt care less. We were having too much fun. At
one point there was a kid who ran up to us and looked at Jon with this ridiculous smile on his face and
he starts going AYY! and Jon goes AYY! back at him. Then he turns to me and I go AYY! and he
turns back to the kid and the kid goes AYY! and then Jon turns to me and we both go AYY! And we
do this for a pretty long while until the kid finally runs off. Jon and I then resumed our dancing until the
song ended and I asked him, Who was that kid? And he says I have no idea. After that, Aloe had the
crowd separate and form an aisle down the middle. His plan was to have us do the solo dance line from
Soul Train. Unfortunately, only four or five people actually got to do it before the whole thing just got
congested and everyone was pushing toward the stage. When his set ended, we were all completely
packed together. No one could move. Then Fitz & The Tantrums came on and people started pushing
even harder toward the stage. I dont think Ive ever felt so claustrophobic in my entire life. Anyway,
they put on a pretty okay show. I was a little disappointed that I was too stuck to be able to dance.
Alt-J Radio 104.5 Summer Block Party at the Piazza. I went with Camille. Everyone else was too hung-
over. We were too, but I had told myself beforehand that there was no way I was missing this concert.
We arrived late, so we were afraid there would be no parking. Fortunately, there was a spot only half a
block away. I had to parallel park Nailed it. The piazza was super crowded, so we had to force our way
through. GIANT FUCKING HOT DOGS. Where we were standing there was an un-opened, ice-cold
vitamin water. Drank that shit. Some guy who was extremely intoxicated and upset by something,
muttering under his breath, pushed himself between us and screamed fucking niggers these days!
right in Camilles face. We made eye contact afterward and both started cracking up. The band played all
their best songs. We danced and sang a bit. Had an excellent time. On our way back there was a girl
lying on the pavement in a gigantic puddle of her own puke. When asked by her friend if she was okay,
she replied Im tired! it was a good day.
Andrew Bird Such a beautiful venue! (Opera house in Delaware). I went with Kelsey, Mrs. Rhodes, and
Nathan. We ate at a fancy restaurant beforehand. Andrew played amazingly well, monkey and socks
included.
Bombay with Lucy Rose At the UT, lots of fun, dancing, played every song perfectly, Lucy was very
talented, pretty voice (and face), played with lots of emotion
Cherub We were originally going to see Phantogram in Pittsburgh, but the show sold out at the last
minute. I was really depressed, so I went looking for other concerts in the area and found this! (Turns
out both of them will be playing a free outdoor concert in Philly next weekend for the radio 104.5
summer block party, so it all worked out in the end) Concert was sick. They performed well. Crowd was
energized. We met up with Sam briefly. Afterward we were able to get a picture with Jason from the
band.
Childish Gambino I went with Jon and Mason. Tickets were only $5. It was a Sunday night and I had
nothing better to do. The concert was in Rec Hall. Terrible acoustics. Couldnt hear a thing. We got
bleacher seats. Some kid puked before the concert even started, was escorted out by police. I sat in
gum. The lights were broken and stayed on throughout the entire concert. The atmosphere was totally
ruined. Donald Glover was clearly pissed. After the final song, he immediately walked off stage.
Everyone started chanting one more song! but he never came back. Overall a very, very awkward
experience.
CHVRCHES, Cherub, Phatogram Went with Kelson and Nathan the weekend before finals. Met up with
Tyler and some of his buds later. This was a Radio 104.5 Summer Block Party concert. The last one to be
held at the Piazza at Schmidts due to the number of people fucking and all other kinds of lewd behavior
going on in the crowd. Overall it was a pretty good show. I was a little disappointed we couldnt get
closer for when CHVRCHES played. Lauren Mayberry is soooo HOOOTTT. Cherubs set was also very
disappointing. It was way too short (only 5 songs). And way less personal than their show at the TLA. We
had to leave early from the Phantogram show because we were all incredibly hungry (none of us had
eaten anything all day). We grabbed pizza than headed over to Tys apartment. His friends were
absolutely hysterical. Occasionally theyd start freestyle rapping as we were walking down the street.
When we got back to his place, we cracked open some beers and spent the rest of the night hanging
out. Nathan and Kelson left and I stayed. It was the first night Ty had spent in his new apartment, and I
got to help him break in his new bed.
Chromeo Went with Kelson and Camille. This was the third concert wed been to in two weeks. An
absolutely electric show. It was short but I dont think I couldve endured another minute longer. I was
dancing my hardest and singing as loud as I could. By the end of it I was drenched in sweat. All of their
instruments were chrome, guitars, keyboards, synths, etc. The legs of their keyboards were actual
human legs female, wearing stilettos. Fantastic show.
Coldplay at the Wachovia, lots of singing and dancing, butterfly-shaped confetti
DIIV openers were great. DIIV was pretty shit. The crowd formed a terribly lame mosh-pit, pretty meh
The Dodos technical malfunctions, too much electric guitar, not enough acoustic, pretty meh
Fanfarlo Found out about this show hours before it started. Showed up at the box office to buy tickets
and went right in. Completely spontaneous and loads of fun.
Frightened Rabbit went with Jett, Kelsey, and Emily. Scott Hutchison is fucking awesome. One
complaint: opener played too long (almost an hour). You can really tell a lot about a crowd from the
sounds they make between songs you guys are fucking manic. for this next song, youre going to
want to grab a partner. And if you cant find one, well, its a dark fucking room. Just grab the person next
to you. Hell, this is a frightened rabbit concert so there are a lot of desperate people here. So guys,
this is your chance to show off your fun side. And down the road well be playing some more emotional
songs for you to show off your more sensitive side. Thats right. Were basically here to make sure you
get laid. Cuz someone out there ought to be getting some I feel like Ive encouraged something pretty
terrible here. Looks like this is turning into an orgy or something. Im so sorry. Ladies, please dont be
afraid. Play for me, Scott! *sighs* okay. You guys, in the back, whats with all the glowsitcks?
Yeah, I can fucking see you. Did you get lost or something? This is a Frightened Rabbit show. Skrillex isnt
setting up backstage right now. They played incredibly and for a really long time. Mothman. Scottish
Winds, The Modern Leper, Good Arms v Bad Arms, Old Old Fashioned, THE TWIST, Heads Roll Off, My
Backwards Walk, Poke, Acts of Man, Backyard Skulls, Holy, The Woodpile, Death March, Decembers
Traditions, State Hospital, The Oilslick, Swim Until You Cant See Land, The Loneliness, Nothing Like You,
Living in Colour. Top 3.
FUN at the HUB. They played very well.
GIVERS They played with A LOT of passion, definitely in the top 5, drummer went crazy at the end,
band members were friendly/ stayed to talk with us
Imagine Dragons with Nico Vega went with Kelson, Nathan, Steph, and Candida, had Physics exam
beforehand, Nico vega started off strange, recognized them from bioshock infinite trailer, rocked it
pretty hard, lead singer danced and moved around like crazy, Imagine Dragons played incredibly well,
balls sent out into crowd (least selfish crowd ever), one ball hit my cheekmeat, Radioactive breakdown
was sick, crowd surf during On Top of the World, entire crowd was jumping and dancing throughout the
concert
Iron & Wine played for a very long time (not a problem with me at all), everything was basically
perfect (ended with Trapeze Swinger)
Local Natives (The Troc) went with Kyle and Johnny, amazing night, lots of singing and dancing,
bouncer was a beast, stayed the night in Philly, top 3
Local Natives (Electric Factory) Went with Johnny, Alex, Nick, Jett, Ryan, Emily, Kelsey, her friend
Morgan, Katie, and Kelli. Wild Nothing was the opener. Performance was stellar and set was pretty
unique. Big flickering light bulbs were hung behind the stage. 80% of the crowd was singing and dancing
the entire night. They played a 3-song encore. Everyone was waiting for Sun Hands. As soon as the first
chord was played, everyone went bezerk. Imagine a crowd of 300-400 people all orgasming at once. The
wave of energy that swept through was very powerful. We were all out of breath by the time we exited
the building. Ryan called it a life-changing experience. I would have to agree. This concert was
incredible. Afterward we were all so hyped up on adrenaline that we didnt go to bed until 5 in the
morning. We just kept laughing and having fun together. No one wanted that night to end. I had taken
Morgan home that night and Kelsey had gotten a ride with Nick. Back at my house I told her Morgan
got home safely by the way. Kelsey replied with something along the lines of oh good, she actually
never txted me, but I kind of figured you would have said something if she hadnt made it back. I
laughed and said yeah, just randomly during the night I turn to you and say oh yeah, your friend is
dead by the way. Sorry about that. She replied now Im kind of worried that she might actually be
dead. I said Yeah, I mean, she made it home safely like I said, but then I actually went inside and killed
her. There was also a cricket who showed up at one point during the night. He randomly started
chirping very loudly during our conversation. We then started telling really bad anti-jokes or pausing
awkwardly in conversation to try to get him to chirp. He had pretty bad timing though so it only worked
a few times. Ryan named him Justin. We eventually passed out around 5 and woke up the next day at
about noon. A fantastic night overall. 10/10.
Mac Miller what am I doing here? Still pretty fun. There were lots of people being pulled out of crowd
on stretchers.
The Naked and Famous arrived late, at the piazza in philly, very fun, one technical flub
The National Barclays Center in NYC. Ate lunch in Chinatown. Visited One World Trade Center and
memorial. Killed time at Architectural Learning Center. Saw pictures of Hudson Yard. Ate dinner in Little
Italy. Seats were pretty high up. People around us were dicks. Band performed well; everything around
us though made the whole experience pretty meh.
Of Monsters & Men pouring rain until they took the stage, all of us were soaked, still very fun, Jett
offered alcohol, almost got in trouble with bouncer
Reel Big Fish Found out about the show hours beforehand from Jon and decided to go. His friend had
an extra ticket. When we got to the bar (Levels in State College), I saw Jen there. I hadnt seen her in
about a year at that point. We would start texting each other soon after the show and then hanging out
together quite a lot (museum, the park, etc.). But anyway, the concert was fantastic. Midway through,
Jon and I left to go to McDonalds next door to cool down. I actually dunked my head in the sink to wash
off some of the sweat. I think thats the only time in my life Ill ever shower at McDonalds. The moshpit
at this concert was actually pretty legit. No one was seriously injured, but Im sure there were plenty of
bruises and sore joints the next day. The openers were nearly just as entertaining as RBF themselves. I
really need to go to more ska shows.
Sigur Ros Outside on top of a hill overlooking the Philly skyline (what better venue could possibly
exist??), the absolute most perfect concert that ever was or ever will be. Top 3.
Sufjan Stevens (1) met a Josiahs house, got a brief tour of Philly, at the kimmel center, beautiful
venue, very fun concert, monkey suit, beach balls, crazy lights, full band, fantastic show overall, top 5
Sufjan Stevens (2) awkward but more personal show, smaller venue (UT), fun despite mistakes, kid
next to me was also missing tooth (friend had stepped on his flipper)
Tame Impala went with Allison and Cheyenne. Mark, Nick, Chris, Johnny, and Tommy were also there.
High expectations were well surpassed. One of the best live bands I have ever seen. Based on music
alone, this concert would be in the top 3. Maybe even number one. Not enough exciting shit happened
though to make it into overall top 5.
Young the Giant At PSU, openers were fun, played very well/ passionately, fun