Ciao 2009!

I went to my last concert of 2009 this past weekend.

Unless "something suddenly comes up" (name that stupid movie, folks...) my last live music experience of the year and of the decade was in Nashville.

The whole thing was kind of a capstone for me, really. That city, Music City, has been instrumental (HA!) in the development of this whole Behind the Lens stuff in general.

I could make this entire post sappy as hell if I wanted to. And I kind of do, but I won't.

At the Cannery Ballroom, at the Not So Silent Nights of Christmas, wearing a LOT of gold (including earring and nail polish...it was quite the event for me...lol) I took in 4 hours of music. 4 bands.

Who?

The opener was Ugene, from Nashville.

Then the senses losing experience of seeing my newest musical crush 4 feet in front of me... Band of Skulls.
No lie... If you do not know them, you need to.
You need to download their album and rock it as loud as possible.
And then pray they will come back to the US to tour soon.
I managed to catch their last US show of the year.
They didn't play my favorite ("Fires"), but the bands had relatively short sets. They did play "Patterns", and because it is a song about numbers, I was equally turned on by this. Unfuckingbelieveable performance folks. These guys are incredible.
Get to know them, support them.

Next up was Nashville's own The Ettes
Now I had backed off from my primo spot by then, so I was watching from the back right. Still...
Here's the thing - because I was so hype for BoS and the NEXT band...I hadn't really absorbed much of The Ettes. I plan to though, and because they are from Nashville, I am certain I will see them again.

OK.
So it only seems fitting that my album of the year, band of the year, song of the year also be my last concert of the year.
17 days after their first Grammy nomination, 2 months after I had seen them last, and their first show back in the US after 5 weeks in Europe and their last live show of 2009 (they are on Conan tonight though....which is fucking cool as hell) ...

Silversun Pickups.
(I mean, I don't even need to put a fucking link at this point... lol. Just pick another post...srsly.)

Had it not been 300 degrees in the venue, I might have had enough extra water in my body to cry my face off.
But I didn't.
Instead, I leaned against a post, with my Cheshire Cat smile plastered on, hair wars in action, shoes off and I thanked every single one of my lucky stars.

Closure? What's that?

I don't know much about closure...mostly because I always keep the doors and windows to everything open. I let the bugs fly in, let the heat out...or in...
I don't know an appropriate way to close this post.
There really is none. I could go the sappy route, I could be abrubt and sarcastic. I could quote shit.

All I know is that from the word GO, 2009 was a weird year. Ever just have that "feeling" at the beginning of something that it will be an interesting "play out"?
That is how I felt about 2009.
I knew in January '09 that by the end of the year, many many things in my life would be different, and for the better.
And I can honestly say it is.
My camera and my habit have given me a lot of gifts, a lot of joy, some sadness, growth, hearing loss, perspective, gigabytes, whiplash, memories...

But it is not my personality to live in the past.
And 2009 is almost the past, even if some of it I want to cling to like a security blanket.

If I have learned anything, and I definitley have, the one thing I know for certain is that nothing is certain - my life is a musical, romantic, dark comedy of errors...

Ready for my close-up, 2010.

Take one....

Click.