TWITL – week thirty nine – the other happy place

If baseball is my happy place, then concerts featuring my favorites is my other happy place. So Friday we headed to Sacramento for the first stop of the Blessed & Free tour. The headliner was Kane Brown but I was there to see Jordan Davis.

driving along 160
the view along 160

We left our place in the afternoon and as it was Friday, encountered the typical traffic. We arrived at a decent time, checked in at the Holiday Inn, then found that the Golden 1 Center was a short walk from our hotel. NICE!

mirror shot selfie
mirror shot selifes are a bit awkward, eh?

We were going to go the Yard House but the wait was too long, so we passed by Sauced, which looked pretty crowded. We ended up at Flat Stick Pub for drinks and a bit of food. We’d been to the South Lake Tahoe location and liked it and I liked this location as well. The nachos were yummy!

yummy nachos
nachos!

The Golden 1 Center did their due diligence in checking vaccination status and IDs. My purse was apparently questionable in size and I had to refrain from rolling my eyes when I was told that he was letting me take it in. Right-oh, dude. We were told that masks were required at all times when in the venue (unless eating or drinking, of course), and most people were wearing their masks while walking the concourse. But inside the arena? Well, the masks were few and far between with the folks sitting in their seats and I ended up taking mine off as well. And of course none of the venue staff were going around telling people to put on their masks. Wouldn’t that be madness? But if everyone was vaccinated or negative for COVID-19 then theoretically the chances of getting it were slim, right?

aren't we cute?
aren’t we cute?

First up in the evening’s lineup was a group called Restless Road. I had never heard of them but I ended up very much enjoying their set. They had a great energy about them and a pleasing sound. (I ended up buying a couple of their songs on iTunes.)

Restless Road
I totally dug Restless Road

My reason for buying the concert tickets was Jordan Davis and he did not disappoint. He sounded great and had the crowd engaged. I knew all the songs in his set! I loved it! I even managed to record two whole songs that turned out rather nicely, audio wise. Video wise I had to contend with people walking by and all of that. I made sure to record a bit of every song so I think this is the set list, in order:

  • Need to Not
  • Take It From Me
  • Selfish
  • Heads Carolina, Tails California
  • Slow Dance in a Parking Lot
  • Cool Anymore
  • Almost Maybes
  • Church in a Chevy
  • Detours
  • Mary Jane’s Last Dance (Tom Petty cover)
  • Lose You
  • Singles You Up
  • Buy Dirt
  • Drink Had Me
Jordan Davis
Jordan Davis, one of my favorites always

I’m so glad that Jordan was my first concert at the Golden 1 Center. It would have been cool to get another picture with him but you know what, I already have two with him and I’m perfectly happy seeing him on stage living his dream and gracing us with his music.

The headliner was Kane Brown and we stayed for probably half or so of his set. Of the songs we heard, I only knew one because we had heard it on Sirius XM on our way to Sacramento. We didn’t stay long enough for the song of his I do know. Production value of his stage show was excellent and the music sounded great. He had decent stage presence but to my ear, his voice is rather flat with little range.

full venue
so many people

We ended up at the Yard House for after show drinks and a super late dinner. The lobster garlic noodles were freakin’ YUMMY. Was I just super hungry after waiting awhile for our table? Nah! It was delicious.

Lobster Garlic Noodles at the Yard House
Lobster Garlic Noodles = YES

All in all, a really lovely night. And it was a great call staying the night at a hotel in walking distance of the Golden 1 Center. Now we know where to stay for those concerts and other events there.

FANGIRL MUSINGS

I’m not sure how I didn’t mention this last week (because it happened last week) but OMG, Ben Barnes looked at my IG story!

Ben Barnes, be still my heart
love the fangirl thrill

Look, I know he’s never going to actually comment on anything I post but it’s truly enough for me that he even took that moment to check out my IG story. I hope it gave him a smile or chuckle.

MOVIES

Venom: Let There Be Carnage – I’m going to say it– I liked this one more than the first movie. It was funny and sweet (sweet?, yes, sweet), crazy in fun way, and violent in a slightly kid-friendly way (PG-13 can be a bummer). I love Tom Hardy and he’s always a treat to watch. The plot was pretty straightforward and a welcome change from the whole “save the universe” stories. It’s a fun movie and I loved it. Also, that mid-credit scene was BONKERS. I’m still thinking about it. IYKYK

go see Venom: Let There Be Carnage

RANDOM MUSINGS

It’s fall break, which means two weeks off for the students. Good for them! For me, it means I can take some time off. I decided on taking the Mondays and Fridays off, which ends up with me having three long weekends. Glorious!

I scheduled my third COVID-19 vaccination shot, along with my flu shot, for today (Sunday) and now my left arm is a little sore. Good thing I have tomorrow off! I’m sure I’ll be fine. Not going to lie, I feel good about having that little extra boost of the third dose. While other people want to decry being told to get vaccinated, I feel very LUCKY that the vaccine is free for everyone and I wonder why anyone who can get it won’t get it. Oh, I’ve read all kinds of reasons people put out there but I haven’t asked anyone I know why they won’t get the vaccine. Their reasons don’t affect me. I’ve done my part. Nothing I say to them will change their minds and their reasons will sound like nonsense to me unless they have real, medical reasons for not being able to take the vaccine.

heading back home...

If you made it to the end of this post, good on you! Be well and be safe, wash your hands, keep your distance, wear that mask, and get that vaccine if you’re able.