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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
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February 5, 2014 at 4:40pm February 5, 2014 at 4:40pm
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** Image ID #1970900 Unavailable **
DAY 5
Song: "The Long Way Around"
Artist: The Dixie Chicks
Album: Taking the Long Way (2006)
Well, as long as I'm catching up and we're on the topic of concerts and Las Vegas, today's entry comes from probably the best concert I've ever been to. My wife and I bought tickets for the Las Vegas stop (because the Los Angeles show the night before had already sold out) on the Dixie Chicks' "Accidents & Accusations" tour, their first tour since the controversy surrounding lead singer Natalie Maines' comments about not approving of President Bush and the war in Iraq (raise your hand if you remember a time when it was considered downright unpatriotic to not support the war on terror!  ).
They were great live. Simply great. The new album was a really powerful commentary on their experiences being ostracized for the past couple years, and they mixed in a good number of past hits and special concert performances. I probably like about half the Dixie Chicks songs out there but every one of them was a blast to see live that night. "Not Ready to Make Nice" was the big headliner song at the time, but I've always been partial to "The Long Way Around" because it had the same sense of recognizing the long road they traveled, but it was more about wistful acceptance than ongoing anger and frustration. And let's be honest, "taking the long way around" is practically my life's mantra. 
Other great songs at the concert were "Lil' Jack Slade" and a fantastic cover of Bob Dylan's "Mississippi." Overall, I tend to be kind of apathetic about concerts; I go, I enjoy it while I'm there, and I tend to forget about them the next day. This was one of those times where I probably annoyed my wife the entire drive back to Los Angeles saying things like, "Man, that was such a great show!" or, "Remember when they did Lil' Jack Slade? They can really play those instruments!"
After not headlining a tour (or releasing a studio album) for seven years - they each took time off to be with their families - The Dixie Chicks embarked on a brief Canadian concert tour called "Long Time Gone" which is expanding into Europe next month. I can only hope that it's a sign the group is about to start recording a new album or start touring again, because they're one group that I'd say is a "must see" concert experience... assuming you like their music and don't think they're unpatriotic, of course. 
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February 5, 2014 at 3:54pm February 5, 2014 at 3:54pm
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** Image ID #1970900 Unavailable **
DAY 4
Song: "The Good Kind"
Artist: The Wreckers
Album: Stand Still, Look Pretty (2006)
I almost didn't post this one because in doing so I would have to admit to not only watching the CW series "One Tree Hill" but also driving all the way out to Las Vegas to follow their nationwide concert tour. The one saving grace is that the song is really, really good, and I technically only went to the concert to hear this one band even though they were performing in a lineup with several other acts.
The Wreckers used to be a collaboration between singer/songwriter Michelle Branch (there's a good chance she could have another song featured on my blog this month) and her backup singer Jessica Harp. Branch's previous two albums were distinctly pop/rock, but she teamed up with Harp to try an album with a more country sound. The album is pretty good (they were even nominated for a Grammy for "Leave the Pieces" from this same album), but this is the song I'll always remember because my wife and I drove for four hours to hear it! The concert tour was well before this album (or the One Tree Hill Soundtrack, an album that also features this song) was released, so the only place we could really hear it was live. The concert itself was miserable... if anyone has ever been to a concert at The House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Vegas, I don't recommend it. There are no seats, chairs, or tables... it's a cozy venue but you basically have to stand the entire time. For a single act, no problem. For a four-plus hour concert with multiple acts and intermissions? NEVER AGAIN.
It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience at the time, but hey, these are the kind of experiences you remember when you get older, right? That time you drove out to Vegas on a whim to see a single act at a large concert in a terrible venue. I admit that I've never been much of a concert fiend; I've only been to a handful in my life... and very few of them were ones I wanted to see (I was usually content to just go along with someone who was more eager to see the performers than I was). This was one of the ones I really wanted to see, and I mostly wanted to see it for this one song. I certainly didn't go to listen to Gavin DeGraw hog the mic all night!
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