Cascadia by GoPro Featuring Danny MacAskill & The Dodos

Check out yet another visually stunning, breathtaking, death-defying GoPro video featuring Danny MacAskill​ & a fantastic, highly underrated band, The Dodos​.

Happy 40th Anniversary to Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti!!

Happy 40th Anniversary to Led Zeppelin's renowned 6th studio, double album Physical Graffiti which was released on February 24, 1975!!

I'm so grateful NPR Music shared this AMAZING performance of Kashmir (plus a medley of The Ocean & Immigrant Song) by the Louisville Leopard Percussionists, a percussion ensemble of fifty-five 7 to 12-year-old kids from multiple schools in Kentucky, in honor of this special day. Jimmy Page also recently posted the video on Facebook saying it's "too good not to share!"

Led Zeppelin will forever be at the top of my list of bands I WISH I could've seen live. I did have the pleasure of seeing Robert Plant at The Shrine Auditorium on June 26, 2013 which is probably as close as I'll ever get to seeing LZ live & he blew me away. The man's voice is only getting better with age! It's unbelievable.

I'm now going to ROCK OUT out to Zeppelin ALL DAY & I suggest you do the same!

GRAMMY Awards 2015

I just finished watching the 2015 Grammy Awards ceremony on TV & I'm beyond grateful I chose to record the awards ceremony while I was at a concert so I could then come home & jump through the commercials. It worked out perfectly because it only ended up taking me about 2 hours to watch what would've taken 3 AND A HALF hours to watch live! I feel for people who stuck it out watching in real time because, overall, the show was a giant snooze-fest. Beck winning 2 Grammys for Morning Phase & Kristin Wiig surprising everyone with her emotionally charged (& unexpectedly serious) interpretive Chandelier dance are the only 2 truly noteworthy things that happened the entire 210 minutes!

The very few other highlights were AC/DC opening the show (which got me extra pumped for their Coachella headlining set), Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett dancing & BEAUTIFULLY singing Cheek to Cheek, Annie Lennox joining Hozier for I Put A Spell On You & Madonna at least TRYING to keep things interesting despite no longer being musically relevant. I wish Madonna would've performed a medley of her countless hits versus a new, not-very-good song no one recognized. I also, of course, love Beck live ALWAYS but could have done without Chris Martin on backup vocals. I understand the Grammys like to do as many mash-ups as possible but sometimes I wish they'd sometimes just leave well enough alone.

The majority of the whopping 23 musical performances last night were overwhelmingly lackluster. Maybe I'm not being sensitive enough but, if I'm going to watch artists like Beyonce, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Usher & Kanye perform live, I want upbeat songs with fun, flashing lights & cool choreography. I don't want to watch Usher singing with ONLY a harpist & black & white photographs of trees backing him. I also don't want to stare at an overly auto-tuned Kanye dancing over a solitary white light for 5 minutes. Every Grammy performance doesn't need violinists & a gospel choir in order to class things up a bit. I'm not saying there shouldn't be ANY slow songs performed at the Grammys. Feel free to throw in a top quality ballad here & there then utilize the rest of your time actually entertaining the masses...not boring them to sleep (OR fast forward...as I occasionally couldn't help but do).

Also, they totally should have included a montage of all the other already awarded GRAMMYs!!! Jack White, Kendrick Lamar, St. Vincent & Aphex Twin are exceedingly more interesting to me than 90% of the people they were praising during last night's televised awards ceremony. 

Finally, no matter how much everyone else apparently LOVES Stay With Me by Sam Smith, I think it's annoying & ridiculous that Smith just won 4 Grammy Awards essentially for only ONE song. I've tried listening to Smith's album In The Lonely Hour in order to give it a proper listen & chance but found that, despite being well produced, it's simply not my cup of tea. I can only stand Smith's voice for 1-2 songs max then I'm eager to switch things up ASAP. I'd take Taylor Swift, Katy Perry &/or Beyonce over Sam Smith ANY day.

Jack White Performs That Black Bat Licorice on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - 2/5/15

As expected, Jack White just delivered THE most phenomenal performance of That Black Bat Licorice as the closing act for the last of this week's Los Angeles tapings of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!!!!! I didn't think it was possible but I'm now even MORE excited for Jack's headlining set at Coachella in 2 months!!!!

And, just because it's 1 of my most beloved concert-going memories, check out my video of Jack performing 1 of THE best White Stripes song Ball & A Biscuit at Sasquatch 2012:

The Night We Met by Lord Huron - The 1ST NEW Single from STRANGE TRAILS

Lord Huron (aka singer/songwriter Ben Schneider) has released the soothingly beautiful 1st single from his upcoming sophomore album Strange Trails. 

The new album's release date is still TBD but, if you subscribe to the Strange Trails newsletter HERE, you will immediately receive an Email containing a free download of The Night We Met. I recommend you take advantage of this special Wednesday afternoon treat right NOW!

I don't expect this unauthorized video to remain up very long but, for now, you can also listen to the track below:


Finally, check out the groovy, new album teaser that was released just last week:

Nikki Nack by tUnE-yArDs = Kickin Ass Soundtrack Part 1

At a time in my life when I'm in need of extra musical encouragement & inspiration, tUnE-yArDs' latest album Nikki Nack is doing me a world of good. If only I had this album along with an iPod that functioned in below freezing temperatures when I was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in January 2013! It totally would've seen me up the mountain!

Speaking of Kili, it's my & my dad's 2-year Mount Kilimanjaro SUMMIT-versary on Saturday 1/17!! It's wild to think where I was & what I was doing 2 years ago at this exact time. 

http://www.concertaddictchick.com/2013/01/boitano-kilimanjaro-domination.html

If anyone has interest in climbing Kilimanjaro, feel free to hit me up for advice &/or more information! I'd love to help motivate more people to climb Kili! It's a once in a lifetime experience I'll be forever grateful to have experienced with my kickass dad :)

Time of Dark


Hey Life

Concert Addict Chick's TOP 25 ALBUMS of 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE DAY!!!!!!!

In honor of the new year & after 12 solid months of VERY careful consideration, I present to you the crème de la crème of 2014:

1 - TV On The Radio - Seeds
2 - Broken Bells - After The Disco
3 - Beck - Morning Phase
4 - Spoon - They Want My Soul
5 - tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack
6 - Caribou - Our Love
7 - Atmosphere - Southsiders
8 - Jungle - Jungle
9 - Real Estate - Atlas
10 - Kiev - Falling Bough Wisdom Teeth
11 - Dan Croll - Sweet Disarray
12 - Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
13 - Bear In Heaven - Time Is Over One Day Old
14 - RAC - Strangers
15 - Gardens & Villa - Dunes
16 - Kishi Bashi - Lighght
17 - The New Basement Tapes - Lost on the River
18 - Little Dragon - Nabuma Rubberband
19 - Glass Animals - Zaba
20 - Future Islands - Singles
21 - Chet Faker - Built on Glass
22 - Liars - Mess
23 - Karen O - Crush Songs
24 - SBTRKT - Wonder Where We Land
25 - Ty Segall - Manipulator

Runners Up:
-Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
-Aphex Twin - Syro
-Jack White - Lazaretto
-Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
-Phantogram - Voices
-Flight Facilities - Down To Earth
-Warpaint - Warpaint

Soundtracks:
-Guardians of the Galaxy - Awesome Mix Volume 1
-Gone Girl - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

And, in order to start easily checking out any & all of the music you might have missed this year (including ALL of the above), please start following me AND Concert Addict Chick's BEST OF 2014 playlist on SPOTIFY!

Primus & The Chocolate Factory Willy Wonka Movie Mashup

Are you looking for a trippy, fun way to start the week of Christmas? If so, look no further!

"A mashup of the original Willy Wonka film with Primus' Primus and The Chocolate Factory album in place of the original soundtrack." - Charlie Mahoney

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of
Pure imagination...

Primus & The Chocolate Factory (Mash-up - Edited into the original film) from Charlie Mahoney on Vimeo.

Remixes Made With Tennis Data by James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem)

If you like tennis & James Murphy &/or LCD Soundsystem, then James Murphy's latest album entitled Remixes Made With Tennis Data is for you!! 

I'm not sure where the idea initially came from but James Murphy worked with IBM to convert raw data sounds pulled from U.S. Open tennis matches into listenable, danceable music. By utilizing a specific algorithm I won't pretend to understand, Murphy & IBM ended up creating over 400 hours worth of sound then Murphy remixed that material into the album now entitled Remixes Made With Tennis Data. 

There are no vocals on any of the 12 tracks so don't expect anything TOO similar to my beloved LCD Soundsystem but this upbeat, instrumental, electronic music makes for a great working, studying, exercising &/or cleaning the house soundtrack! 

Making Music with Tennis Data

Kendrick Lamar Debuts NEW Track on 3rd to Last Episode of The Colbert Report EVER - 12/16/14

After 9 years on the air, there are sadly only 2 episodes left of The Colbert Report & Stephen is going out with a serious bang.

On last night's 3rd to last episode, Stephen briefly & hilariously interviewed Kendrick Lamar (The Colbert Report's last musical guest EVER!!) then Kendrick took the stage, along with his Flying Lotus buddy Thundercat & saxophonist Terrace Martin, in order to debut the 2nd new track off Kendrick's upcoming, sophomore studio album. 

Both the track & album currently remain untitled (at least publicly) & Kendrick has not yet provided a release date but that's just making it all the more exciting! Kendrick's recent, memorable, black-eyed, AWESOME performance on Saturday Night Live combined with last night's KILLER performance on The Colbert Report are causing the anticipation to build exponentially.

I'm quickly becoming a huge Kendrick Lamar fan. I really hope he tours next year so I can see him perform! Coachella perhaps? :)

2141216234215 by YardieGoals

"Just add the word 'responsibly' at the end!" - Stephen Colbert

Kendrick Lamar Loving Himself on Saturday Night Live - 11/15/14

I'll admit I don't know much of Kendrick Lamar's music but, after seeing his enthusiastic, self-loving, super memorable SNL performance (accompanied by a full band & 4+ backup singers) this past Saturday night, I'm inspired to do some research! The man certainly puts on a show! 

Kendrick's geriatric robot dance moves & demon black eyes are just icing on the cake.

Danny MacAskill: The Ridge (aka Cuillin Ridgeline in the Isle of Skye, Scotland)

WOW. Danny MacAskill, Red Bull, GoPro & Cut Media have done it again! This time, Danny is mountain biking along the death-defying Cuillin Ridgeline in the Isle of Skye in his home country of Scotland. The man is a wonder. P.S. Pay extra close attention to Danny's unreal fence trick at 6:10.

On a musical sidenote: Danny holds a special place in my heart because THIS video got me into Ben Howard who I now absolutely love. The song featured in The Ridge is Blackbird from Martyn Bennett's album GRIT (courtesy of Real World Records).

His Way Back Home video didn't suck either!

Jack-Ass by Beck SAMPLES It's All Over Now, Baby Blue by Them

Until yesterday, I never knew Beck sampled a pretty amazing 1966 song It's All Over Now, Baby Blue by Them when he created 1 of my all-time favorite Beck tracks EVER, Jack-Ass.

The more you know!!! :)

Neil Young (aka JIMMY FALLON) Covering FANCY with Crosby, Stills & Nash

I know I'm a week late on this one but it still must be said (& IN CASE YOU MISSED IT last week!): Jimmy Fallon is 1 of the most talented people on television right now. The fact that he can sing SO perfectly in Neil Young's voice while covering a modern, pop track from a completely polar opposite genre of music while also playing both guitar AND harmonica is just incredible & adding a little help from Crosby, Stills & Nash is just the icing on the cake!

#jimmyfallon #thetonightshowstarringjimmyfallon #neilyoung #iggyazalea #FANCY #crosbystillsandnash #cantyoutastethisgold #letsgetdrunkontheminibar #feelssogoodgettingwhatiwant

Kicking Down Doors by Santigold (from Beats of the Beautiful Game LP)

Nothing is getting me more pumped for today's showdown (in 30 minutes exactly!!) between the USA & Belgium than this new, World Cup-inspired Santigold track & video!!

America is about to kick down Belgium's doors! GO USA!!!

Pretty Lights & Talib Kweli Perform Around The Block on Conan - 7/17/13

I'd be SO stoked if Talib Kweli performed with Pretty Lights at Outside Lands Music Festival!! This is awesome. 

History of Rap 4 (Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake)

Fallon & Timberlake did it again! This is the best History of Rap yet. Looking forward to the next time...

I'm also SO stoked to listen to JT's new album in its entirety streaming for free on iTunes TONIGHT! I've heard it's excellent.

Boitano Kilimanjaro Domination!!!

On Thursday, January 17, 2013, my father, Frank, & I accomplished a goal we'd been preparing ourselves for the past year (a goal my dad had been dreaming about for over 15 years!) when we reached Uhuru Peak, the 19,341 foot (5,895 meter) summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain on the continent of Africa & also the highest free-standing mountain on the planet...&, after 7 days of hiking, camping, fighting off illnesses, not showering & praying for the weather to hold up (mind you, with an UNBELIEVABLE amount of help from our guides & porters!!!), my dad & I (& the other 6 bad ass climbers in our group) managed to SLOWLY walk ourselves to the very top :)

I am SO proud of my dad, myself & everyone else on Team Tembo ("tembo" means "elephant" in Swahili) for having the strength (both mentally & physically) to reach the summit. I'm also beyond grateful to our four Thomson Safari guides, Prosper, Calvin, James & David, & our FORTY-THREE Thomson porters for working harder than I've ever seen anyone work for 9 straight days to assist 8 American, amatuer "mountaineers" in living out their dream of climbing to the top of Kilimanjaro.

It's incredible that it takes almost 50 people to help get 8 people up the mountain & it also makes our feat seem a LITTLE bit less impressive but, nonetheless, climbing Kili is still the most challenging, amazing, grueling, mind-opening, exhausting & beautiful thing I've ever been lucky enough to experience in my life. And the fact that I got to share the entire adventure with my 65-year-old father makes it that much more special.

Dad - I'll never be able to thank you enough for bringing me along on this trip of a lifetime & taking such great care of me when I was sick in order to help me get better & continue trekking to the summit. You're an absolute ROCKSTAR for seeing this dream through! I love you with all my heart & I cannot wait to continue celebrating with you in New Orleans this weekend! I still can't believe we're going to the SUPERBOWL! The 49ers are going to win just for us! I know it!! 

 
I was worried I wouldn't be able to think of a way of tying my tale of our Kilimanjaro adventure into my music blog until our last night on the mountain when 1 of our guides, Calvin, did me a huge favor by putting on 1 hell of a show for us along with his chorus of porters (see the 1st video below!). Calvin, the porters & the other 3 guides also gave me THE sweetest birthday gift when we finished our descent on day 9 (which also happened to be my 31st birthday) by surprising me with a heart-shaped, chocolate cake while singing Happy Birthday to me in Swahili (see the 2nd & 3rd videos below!). It brought tears to my eyes & made saying goodbye to our INCREDIBLE crew & my fellow FABULOUS climbers that much more difficult. The people I met & was fortunate enough to spend 9 straight days bonding with on this journey made climbing Kilimanjaro an absolute joy (even when I was miserable...lol).

It may sound cliche but Kilimanjaro most definitely changed my life for the better. Now I'm ready to conquer some metaphorical mountains too...& do a Tough Mudder in June!! Who's coming with me?? :) :) 

Jambo Bwana

Happy Birthday (in Swahili)


Happy Birthday (in Swahili THEN English)

 

 

Is Bon Iver Calling It Quits?

I hope this isn't true but, if it is, I respect Justin Vernon's decision:

http://pitchfork.com/news/47962-justin-vernon-bon-iver-winding-down/

To take advantage of being able to appreciate Bon Iver's unbelievably beautiful & moving live performances while you still can, check out a full set from 1 of their Radio City shows last week. The link will expire in less than 48 hours so get on it ASAP!

Phenomena by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

If I were a UFC fighter & I had to pick ONE song to play while walking into The Octagon, this would be it. Then I'd channel my inner Gina Carano & kick EVERYONE's ass ;-)

What song would you pick?