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Recently Abbey was talking about music & the Hacks and then I thought oh I would really love to have us all do concert reviews. Because I love to read them since you cannot make it to all the shows you want. Well then I started to think about the other Hacks and all the questions I want to ask them like what was their first CD, first concert & the first movie they cried at? So after all the Hacks voted we decided to do a weekly question where we all answer and take turns asking so here is the first question:

What is the best concert you have been to and why?

Coldplay in Glendale, AZ Last November - Cory

I could pretty much gush/write about this concert for days that is how good it was so I will try to keep it short. By some weird luck Coldplay cancelled an earlier date and rescheduled the Glendale concert for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. My sister claims it was meant to be since we were already traveling to AZ to celebrate with cousins. It turned out to be their last American stop on that concert tour. They had some opening band from TX and a visual art thing where animation was linked up to a DJ at the show which was all ok but we only had eyes for Coldplay.

Out they come and this is what I remember they were all really talented all of them played, sang and had written these songs and it showed. When they sang Viva la Vida the entire stadium sang the chorus and they stopped playing. To this day and many years from now I will still be able to close my eyes and here the stadium sing that song. During Lovers in Japan they played a cute little Japanese film and they dropped paper butterflies on the entire crowd later. (Side note that is why their free live CD has a butterfly on it, you can get it at their website.) Chris Martin ran all over that stage and even played a little piano out front for a while.

Here is where they really set themselves apart though, ok the Glendale Arena is basically a bowl and there is a floor, the sides of the bowl and the rim. My sister and me were in the sides of the bowl. About 2/3rds through the concert Coldplay disappeared and suddenly came out a side door to play on a small stage that was constructed a section over from us, basically half way up into the seats. I remember looking at my sister with this face like wow Coldplay is 12 seats away from me and she pretty made the same face back. They made some jokes about how they are sorry if we never wanted to be that close to them, but they like to give all their fans a really good show. And then played a few songs acoustically sounding great, went back down to the main stage and played some more. I will stop here or I will write a whole book.

This concert was amazing though I joke about how even if God forbid Coldplay gets awful for some reason, I will always love them because of this great concert and night they gave me and my sister. Not even the Spaniard in front of me with too much cologne, who kept giving me bad looks for singing along too loud could wreck that concert for me.

Fall Out Boy - My Sophomore Year in college, also Glendale, AZ - Heidi
I haven't been to many concerts, so I thought this decision would be easy, but it actually wasn't. I had to take into account a lot more than the music to decide. Which is why I picked this concert. I love Fall Out Boy. Their music is on I think every single one of my playlists on my ipod. I listen to them all the time. I was really excited for this concert. Not only for Fall Out Boy, but also because Hawthorne Heights and All-American Rejects came with them.

The venue actually wasn't that good, we were at the Coyotes Stadium in Glendale and they were are one end, so you kind of had to look down your aisle to see the stage, but I was okay with that because you really couldn't deny the energy of a bunch of young people screaming at the top of their lungs Dirty Little Secret. It also gave me plenty of people watching gold, with all the little grunge teenagers who think they know something about life to the girl wildly swinging her sweater around her head. The latter girl was really the best because she didn't know how close she came to dying at the hand of Abbey, Megan, Ben, or myself as she whacked us in the head...

The energy in this concert was really awesome. The feeling that you get at any concert where everyone knows all the words is amazing, but truly screaming songs that, let's face it, are angry songs, is really exhilarating. And Fall Out Boy brings the screaming. But I didn't enjoy FOB as much as I LOVED All-American Rejects. This was where I first realized that Tyson Ritter was a beautiful human being and I haven't regretted that realization a day since. This completely cemented my love of both AAR and FOB and my workouts thank them for that!

Um... I have several... (Abbey)

In my earlier life I frequented concerts, but there are a few that have stuck out, so I will list them. I can't pick just one! They're all good for different reasons:

Depeche Mode, summer of 2001. I got the tickets from my then bf Heather, she couldn't go so she gave them to me for my bday. The only downside to the concert was that I went with this guy named Joe who weighed less than me and was so nice that he was terrible company. He also didn't know any of DM's songs, and really, that is inexcusable! Even if they aren't your favorite you MUST know them at least a little bit if you were born in the early 80's. I have always loved DM, and it was cool to see a group that used to be super huge.

Stevie Nicks, summer of 2000, Albuquerque. I went through a phase in high school where old music was the only good music (I was rather odd, looking back on it). So when Stevie Nicks came to town, where else would I be? She did a few songs of Fleetwood Mac's, and since I was raised listening to Fleetwood, naturally it was pretty flippin' amazing.

Nelly, winter of 2003, Glendale. This is on the list because I got a major contact high that night and Nelly also rode around flying through the air in a very large tennis shoe (might only be cool because of the contact high part). Also, Nelly is really my favorite hip hop person, his songs totally just make me want to dance.

Acceptance/Panic at the Disco/Hello Goodbye/The Academy Is, sometime in 200something Heidi's fresh year at college. We went down to the concert in Tucson primarily to see Acceptance. The headlining band was Panic, but they were barely well known at all and it was the first time I'd heard them really. Acceptance never really got huge, but I LOVE ACCEPTANCE. They will make my soon-to-who-knows-when-come list of songs that make me shed tears because of their beauty. Panic obviously was awesome, as were the other two, it was a super fun concert (except this is close to when I was getting "old" and I was really damn tired on the way home).

Heidi's previously mentioned concert. Um, Tyson Ritter is beauty defined. And All American Rejects are just plain funcool. Funcool is my new term for songs that make me happy and sing really loud and act dorky whilst driving in my car. Funcool. And FOB is super cool even though I will not ever understand the titles of their songs. Hawthorne Heights was there too, except they scream a bit too much for me and I really only like one of their songs.

BACKSTREET BOYS!!!! Phoenix, sometime in 2006. Ok, you may not think any less of my husband for this. Ok? Not allowed. My husband is attractive and very cool and sings very very well. Ben liked BSB and N'Sync because he sings so well and lets face it those guys can sing. And I really like BSB's latest (4 years ago) CD. They sing well ok? Do yourself a favor and take a listen on iTunes, yes it's rather corny but it sounds good.

Carrie Underwood, Glendale, November of 2008. I was preg with Dev and I went with my very fun niece Brittain. Let me just say, this was maybe the best concert I've ever been to performance-wise. Little Big Town was there opening, and they were super good. And Carrie really really can sing and she puts on a fab show. I enjoyed myself immensely!!!

Ok, I'm done even though there are several more I could chronicle for you...

Best Concerts?- by Kara

Okay, here's the thing, my late addition to this post is because I'm totally lame and haven't been to that many concerts, so I honestly can't even think of what I'd say the best one I've been to is! How sad. And its highly likely that no one else has heard of the bands I've seen in concert because most of them were Christian bands my sorority sisters and church friends were into during college.

One of the most moving experiences I've had at a concert was when I saw a Christian group called "Ten Shekel Shirt" on the library lawn at Oklahoma State during college. They were a very new group then, and a few hundred of us came to the concert so it had a very intimate, worshipful atmosphere to it. Some of my favorite songs today are ones they played at that concert. My favorite group to see live is Newsboys, another Christian band (but perhaps a few more people have heard of them!) but they put on an amazing live show. I've seen them in several concerts where there's a billion other bands involved and they're the last one, so I'm always exhausted but always stay to watch them do this spinning drummer thing. Their lead singer can also play drums, and at least once during the set they do this thing where a part of the stage rises, and the lead singer and drummer do this amazing drum duo together, with the stage rising, tilting and then spinning. They throw their sticks to each other and I've never seen them miss a beat. Its awesome!

And I'll throw this one in even though its not technically a concert, but it will make me seem cooler in Heidi's eyes at least! I went to school in Stillwater, OK, also the hometown of the All American Rejects, and before they were all kinds of famous they played Thursday night shows at a bar called Mike's College Bar on what we called The Strip, so I'd heard them there a few times before "Swing, Swing" ever played on national radios. I heard them a few years later when they came through Phoenix (or technically Glendale I think) for some huge music fest who's name I can't remember right now that I took my youngest sister and her friends to. I was reminded that they are fantastic live, even better when they have a budget for their shows, and that Tyson Ritter has perhaps one of the filthiest mouths I've ever heard live.