Another smile and laugh filled evening with Weird AL. His material never gets old and always seems fresh, even the older parodies that I have heard many times.

The show opened up with a full orchestra performing a number of movie selections including the Indiana Jones theme, the Mission Impossible theme and a Star Wars compilation. It was a little strange to have the first 40 minutes of the show filled with orchestral music, but after-all the show was called “Weird Al Yankovic – Strings Attached”, so shouldn’t have been too unexpected.

Weird Al came on around 8:45 or so and opened with a mash up of I Lost on Jeopardy / I Love Rocky Road / Like a Surgeon, then went directly into The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota and Word Crimes. There were tons of small videos in between each of the main performances where he and the band would change into the costumes representing songs such as Smells Like Nirvana, Amish Paradise and White & Nerdy (my personal favorite) and then main encore where he and the band came out dressed as Jedi Knights and there were a full set of Storm Troopers, Tie Fighter pilot, Speeder Bike pilot and Darth Vader himself standing in the center of all of them…quite a site. Weird Al then sang the all so popular The Saga Begins (which I posted the Youtube Video below) and Yoda which were just fantastically done.

His pop culture parody is not for everyone I am sure, but if you want see and listen to some silly performances and just have a laugh out loud evening, the Weird Al show is a must.

We did the meet and greet which was at the end of the show and went until just after midnight…they provided everyone with an endless supply of pizza and we all got a chance to meet the man himself, get a personal photo (below) and get a few things signed. All things considered, the night was fun and we had a great time.

What an incredible show last night at the White River Amphitheater. We started out with early entry to the venue and a very cool Evanescence sound check where we heard her and the band/ orchestra rehearse four full songs including a real beautiful version of Across the Universe by the Beatles and a awesome rendition of Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tears. I had a pre-show, champagne toast and photo op. with Amy Lee and the band prior to the show which was also super cool.

The show itself was one of the most spectacular set of performances that I have ever seen. I hadn’t heard of Lindsey Stirling prior to the show (although Toni knew her music). All I have to say about Lindsey’s show is WOW! She was an amazing performer with so much energy…it was hard to get a good picture of her as she was all over the stage like a crazy person. Her dancing equaled her violin quality in stunning artistry. I couldn’t have been more blown away.

Amy Lee and Evanescence came on around 9:30 or so with a full orchestra backing up the band. I am so amazed by her sound and vocal style. She is just an absolutely amazing singer and with a full orchestra backing her, it was one of the most powerful shows I have ever seen. She had a great setlist, but the only song that they didn’t perform which I would have really liked to see was Call Me When You’re Sober…that is probably my favorite Evanescence song.

Absolutely awesome night of party music last night at Key Arena with Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band! What a great collection of music he has. It has been a while since I have really listened to Jimmy Buffett and with every song he played came a ton of memories of tropical backyard beach parties and barbeques with good friends over the years.

Toni and my favorite songs of the night were, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Volcano, Son of a Son of a Sailor, Pencil Thin Mustache, Fins and of course Margaritaville. He even did a tribute to the late Eagles front man Glenn Fry with Take it Easy.

I have been waiting a ton of years to see Jimmy Buffett and my wait was well worth it. Just a great show with a ton of energy, fun and memories.

Another wonderful show at the winery. Tonight it was Steve Winwood. I have always enjoyed his jazz, blues, pop rock music style and I saw him open for Tom Petty a few years ago for the first time. I remember that first time seeing him and remember being completely blown away by his mesmerizing vocals and entrancing instrumental jams especially on the Hammond B3 organ…I just can never get enough of that.

Tonight was no different…he retains every bit of unique vocal style and range and had a great set of musicians backing him up. It was a treat to see his daughter Lilly Winwood open up for him tonight…she came out and did a few very nice acoustic folk songs and sounded great.

I have always admired him for the fact that he was such a great musician early on in his life joining the Spencer Davis Group at the very early age of 14. He’s played in other great bands such as Blind Faith and Traffic and then started a very successful solo career in his late twenties… another musician who has been around putting out and performing great music for 50+ years.

What a great show!