So I really enjoy going to concerts and local shows.  Usually I don't get to attend as often as I would like because I'm always broke!  But within the last 6 months or so I've actually been to quite a few shows, which has been an awesome change!  I saw Blue October, the Toadies, and Kings of Leon.  All of whom were GREAT!!! 
Blue October always puts on a good live show.  Plus you can always depend on Justin (the lead singer) to throw some antics and drama into the mix.  I'm very much the kind of person that wants the band to sound as close as possible to cd quality.  I HATE spending that much money to wind up listening to crap.  If you can't match what you did on your cd then you shouldn't be singing live.  This is not an issue with Blue October.  Justin has an amazing voice, and he kills live every time.  They're music just gets to me.  I like the content.  I like that they don't make your typical pop rock, they actually take it and make it their own.  You could never confuse Blue October with another band, unlike so much of the new doodoo music coming out lately that all sounds the same.  If you like any Blue October songs at all, then I highly recommend seeing them live.
Ok, the Toadies, I mean come on.  You can't get much better than the Toadies.  They're probably one of the greatest alternative rock bands to come out of Texas EVER!  And not even just Texas, they're probably one of the greatest alternative bands period.  Their live show is perfect.  So like I said, I'm simple, I like the songs to sound the same as on the cd.  I don't want a bunch of improvising and added junk.  Give me the song that I love in its original form, not however you feel like singing it tonight.  The Toadies give me exactly what I want, and even when they improvise a little it's so flawless and it just flows so perfectly that I want more.  Everything they do feels like it's meant to be that way, like it was always there.  How many bands do you know can improvise during a live show and make you feel like that's the way they always sang it.  I love the Toadies, seriously.  If you've never listened to their album Rubberneck, then your life is incomplete.  I demand you go listen to it now, because otherwise you will have gone through life never knowing what awesome truly is.
I have a weird obsession with the lead singer from Kings of Leon.  Besides the fact that he's hot, his voice just does something to me.  I typically don't like people singing to me, but I would listen to him sing to me all day every day.  To me, his voice just is southern rock.  Does that even make sense?  Ok, like have you ever heard that song Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd?  That song IS southern rock.  If you are southern and you're into rock, regardless of what southern state you live in, when that song comes on you blast it and sing it out loud and proud.  I know he sings Alabama in the song, but I think we all know/feel that he's talking about the south has a whole.  Anyway, the feeling I get when I hear Sweet Home Alabama is the same feeling I get when I listen to Kings of Leon.  Caleb's (the lead singer) voice just has that comforting, southern, soulful sound that I love about southern bands.  And I enjoy the fact that I don't have to yankee up my accent when I sing along.  I can use that Texas drawl (that I don't hear, but my yankee family says is there).  And since most of the guys in the band are pretty hot, that's a bonus.  Again, great live show.  They let the music speak for itself without all that fancy fireworks and light show stuff.  Tickets are a bit pricey, but well worth it!

Coming up at the end of the month, I'll be going to see Girl in a Coma.  My friend Gabby recommended them to me.  As you might have noticed, I have a thing about southern bands.  I also have a thing for all girl/girl fronted bands.  Girl in a Coma meets both of these criteria!  They are an all girl band straight out of Texas!  They have a guitar heavy, rockabilly-ish sound and the lead singer has a great voice.  While I don't particularly care for their videos, I really enjoy all the songs I've heard from them so far.  I'm looking forward to the show, and I'm sure I'll post about it.  In the mean time, check out this awesome David Bowie cover they did here

I'll leave you with a quote, “Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”