Our weekend started on Thursday because it was concert time! Will I talk about anything else in this post? We shall see…
HARD ROCK LIVE SACRAMENTO – The Event 2025
We headed up to Wheatland on Thursday afternoon, our destination the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for Tyler’s show that evening. Just like last year, we had booked a room and we were once again on the 6th floor (room 621). The room was clean and comfortable, as before, though this time we had one king sized bed as opposed to the two queens we had last time.
After checking in and dropping off our bags, we headed to the Center Stage for some food. We went back to the room for a bit before coming back down about an hour before the show to hang out at Center Stage for a drink. Got to catch up with a couple of G Bar friends as well, which was great. 🙂
When the venue opened, it was decidedly less frenzied than last year. Not sure what the crowd number was but though it looked pretty full by show time, it didn’t feel too crowded at all. The set up was different. Last year’s floor seats area was a huge pit for standing room only, with two rows of seats in the back, which I assume were general seats. We were in section 202, row B, seats 1 and 2. Great view of the stage and the pit area without any obstructions. Perfect!
Even though I did want to test my new Samsung Galaxy Flip 7, in the end I went with my iPhone because I could trust that the videos would turn out. I need more time with the Flip 7 before I let it chronicle my favorite moments, I suppose.
The opener was Ariel Jean. I hadn’t heard of her before but she and her band played a great set. It was kinda cool hearing their cover of Guns N’ Roses (“Sweet Child O’ Mine”). The set rocked. 😀
After the opener, there was an auction for Tyler’s guitar (more than one?) and Sabina was up on stage for that bit. I was so happy she was there! And we knew that we’d have to say hello to her after the show, somehow. I was glad that I had written her a short note just in case she was there.
Of course, Tyler’s show was fantastic! He played fifteen songs from his catalog, most of them from his latest releases. If I have this right, his oldest song was “California Grown” and his newest release is “Lost Time,” which he actually wrote nine years ago. I took a snippet of all his songs during the show and here’s the playlist:
- Hello California
- Gets Me Every Time
- Cigarettes (Lie to Me)
- Summer of Us
- Better Than You’re Used To
- Give Up To Get It
- Lost Time
- All The Small Things
- The Difference
- When?
- [rap interlude]
- California Grown
- 11:11
- Whiskey Go Bad
- Feels Like Home
- Leave Her Wild
When I was making a playlist for myself as a remembrance, I found that I had a G-Bar recording of “Lost Time,” which I found to be pretty cool. The song basically sounds the same and I love that I have an early version of him performing it. The remarkable thing is that I actually tagged it with the right title. 😀
The show was being filmed and will become a live album at some point. How cool is that?! I hope it’s on vinyl too because I WANT VINYL. I will always want vinyl. I wonder if it’ll also be a video. It would be nice to have that as well. It was a really great show.
Unlike last year, it didn’t look like Tyler and the band came out to say hey to those hanging out in the pit after the show. The venue staff pretty much kicked everyone out at the end. We decided to head to the Center Stage bar in the hopes that the crew would make an appearance. Caught up with my G Bar friends and they verified that the band would be stopping by the bar.
We hung out at the bar and did some people watching. You could tell who was maybe waiting for the band to show up. It was a bit after midnight when they showed up. We stayed at our table, not in too much of a rush since we didn’t have anywhere else to be. Tyler and Sabina eventually came over to say hello to us (so sweet) and I was able to give Sabina the little note I wrote her. She was so lovely, as usual. And I gave Tyler my two envelopes to him. (I write him letters and give them to him whenever I see him.) We got our hugs in then Tyler got pulled away. Sabina hung out with us a bit and we took our selfies. I took a few then she took a few on my camera. Hers turned out better.
It was fun spending some time with Sabina. She is the sweetest ever and I just adore her. I love her just as much as I love Tyler. Sabina is always so loving and appreciative and she’s such a light. She showed us a video of her from the early ’00s and messaged it to me for us to watch in full at a later time. (It’s an appearance on the Ananda Lewis show.)
Tyler drifted back to us and Sabina took a group picture of us on my phone. I’m telling you, she has selfie skills!
Tyler got pulled away again before we could take pictures of just us. He’s popular. 😉 It was fine because we got more time with Sabina and she’s really a delight. When Tyler was finally coming back our way, I told Sabina that I wanted a picture with just him and she took my phone to take the pictures.
At some point (I can’t quite remember when), Tyler did his duty as #MySpellBreaker and gave me a HILARIOUS dose of reality in regards to my current crush. Oh, and the expression his face when he realized who my current crush is was priceless. It’s sort of killing me not to say more but it’s nice to have a “secret” that isn’t online. 😉
Other bits:
- I asked Tyler about vinyl and when he’s going to release his music that way. Answer: After the second half of the double album comes out, so before the end of the year. SWEET!!!
- I asked Sabina about her Cowboy Tears sticker, which was on her phone, and she asked if I wanted hers and she proceeded to take it off her phone and I offered up the back of Z Flip 7. She said she wished she had a fresh one for me and I was just happy she was giving me the one that was on her phone. I’m telling you, she is the sweetest.
- We’re like officially friends now, right? I told Sabina about meeting Ryan Gosling in 1999 and how I have celebrity crushes, which is what led to me revealing my current one. I also told her that if she ever works with one of my fellas, I would be calling on her. 😉
When it was time for us to go (and for them too, honestly), we got our hugs in. Tyler thanked me for the letters and said he was looking forward to reading them. Awwww! Sabina also thanked me for the little note I gave her. SO CUTE.
It’s Sunday now and we went to San Leandro this morning to visit my parents. Mom had pneumonia and then a fall that requires PT, so she’s in care right now. Dad was also recently ill but seems to be recovering well enough. It was good to visit with them though we didn’t spend too long with Mom. We took Dad to lunch at Harry’s Hofbrau in San Leandro and my lasagna was so plentiful that I probably have two lunches from it for work this week. Nice!
My parents are in their 80s and the years are starting to definitely show on them. It’s inevitable, of course, but not an easy reality. I know I’ve been lucky to have my parents in my life for this long…
TV
Luther – We re-watched/completed this fantastic show plus movie. We had watched the first three seasons back in the day and this was our chance to finish the show and watch the movie. Can’t really say no to watching Idris Elba, right? And his John Luther was always a great watch. They left the movie a bit open ended. Will we get to see more adventures of Luther? Hmm…
Every time we’re on our way back home to Brentwood, I realize that I don’t really miss much of San Leandro and the surrounding area except the weather. It was in the 70s while we were there today and I find that to be perfect. When we got home, it was in the 90s. I am so ready for freakin’ sweater weather, I tell ya.
Here’s to a good week with perhaps cooler weather! 😀