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Final Blog
 Posted 5/5/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Loop should seriously consider
organizing some kind of "post-Roadie rehab” counseling because I am
going to miss my five-star treatment entirely too much! I always joked
that when my term ends as the Roadie, you might see me standing
outside the Loop's station, holding a plastic cup, begging
strangers for rock concert tickets. All joking aside, after serving my year as
the first Loop Rock Girl Roadie, in which I attended more than 30 free concerts
and events, met Rush, filmed a hometown tour, gave Kelly guitar lessons,
maintained my own blog and hung out with Byrd at the House of Blues, only one
word comes to mind—grateful!
I overcame serious odds to win this
contest, but was more surprised that it happened to someone like me—whose
lifestyle was practically tailor-made to be a Roadie. At times, the
Roadie gig felt so natural that I began to feel that ...
Chris Cornell
Posted 4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM
When the
Loop told me I’d be seeing Chris Cornell perform on April 19 at the Riviera
Theatre, I couldn’t help but think of all the negative comments I’ve heard over
the years that Cornell was washed up and had lost his well-known voice.
Needless to say, I was a little weary going into the event. But I can
attest—after being reminded by one of Cornell’s trademark vocal yells—that
those rumors are definitely not true!
In fact, it
was an honor to be in attendance to see one of the last great four-octave front
man, especially one from my generation. Cornell was out to promote his new solo
album, appropriately titled “Scream,” and did so by performing a handful of the
albums’ songs to start the show. Despite any rumors you may have heard, Cornell
appeared fresh and in good spirits all night as he singlehandedly carried a
stunning show ...
ZZ Top
Posted 4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
If you look back at my blog from October, you’ll read about
the time I went to Milwaukee and caught a show from ZZ-Top’s intimate “In Your
Face” tour; where they played smaller venues to give their fans a real up-close
and personal experience. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and I
thought for sure that ZZ could never Top it—but I was wrong.
I know I repeat this a lot, but it’s been a remarkable year
for me. It all started with winning the Roadie contest—which has given me
countless memorable shows— but then it carried out in other non-roadie events
like the time some guy from the third row at a Joe Satriani concert left early
and randomly handed me his tickets. Well, if you thought my luck ran out—it
hasn’t! Somehow, I ended up with tickets to see ZZ-Top, from the second row,
...
Bret Michaels Show
Posted 2/12/2009 12:00:00 AM
Out of all the small venues in the Chicago area, Austin’s Saloon
in Libertyville will always have a special place in my heart—and I’d be willing
to bet that Kelly, your Loop Rock Girl—would say the same. That’s why I didn’t
hesitate at the chance to see Bret Michaels perform at The Fuel Room at
Austin’s on Feb. 9.
I didn’t think I could experience Poison any better from the
show I saw in August, where I had Nothing but a Good Time from the third row,
but the unique in-your-face atmosphere at Austin’s certainly made it a whole
new experience. Michaels stormed onto the stage wearing his cowboy hat and
Poison T-shirt and owned up to the promise he kept from the summer—that he’d
come back to Chicago and give us another night to remember. Michaels wasted no
time and started Talking Dirty to us right away—which preluded ...
Metallica Concert
Posted 2/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
Don’t you love that feeling when you’re standing outside a
concert venue and you can feel the ground rumbling from the opening band? It
certainly got my adrenaline going when I saw Metallica on Jan. 26 at the
Allstate Arena!
I’ve been craving another heavy metal show ever since Judas
Priest left the stage from their Metal Masters Tour in August—and I definitely
had my plate full with Metallica’s opening bands The Sword and Machine Head. The
ground-shaking noise I felt while standing outside the Allstate Arena was coming
from none other than the pummeling drums and fierce riffs of the Black Sabbath-esque
heavy metal group, The Sword. And storming onto the stage next, delivering a
brutalizing performance, was one of the most highly respected hard-core metal acts
of the ‘90s—Machine Head. The Sword and Machine Head are no strangers to
opening up for Metallica, and they wasted no time ...
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