Stacy’s Patio Tunes 5.14.23 Tie Your Mother Down Mother’s Day

May 24, 2023 Stacy SmithLeave a comment

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Stacy’s Patio Tunes 4.29.23 Cruisin’ Metal

May 7, 2023May 7, 2023 Stacy SmithLeave a comment

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Sammy Hagar & The Circle Concert Review ~ 11.11.17

April 18, 2023 Stacy SmithLeave a comment

Ron and I had been looking forward to seeing Sammy Hagar for months and then Hurricane Irma came through our area and the original date of September 20th changed to November 11th. In the long run, it worked out better because we didn’t have to take time off from work since the rescheduled concert landed on a Saturday. We were so happy that they postponed the date and did not cancel it!

Since St. Augustine is about an hour and a half from our house, we decided to get a hotel at the Hampton Inn (We are Hampton Inn freaks) on A1A and make a weekend out of it. We’ve never been to this particular hotel or seen beach side in St. Augustine. Every time we visit, we stay in the Historic District (I’ll be there in a few weeks for their tour of lights..stay tuned for that blog in about a month or so).

We arrived at the hotel around 1pm and I walked in to see if we could check in early. They said they would take our phone number and call us if the room opens up before check in time and gave us a parking pass. We were able to park at our hotel and walk across the street to a place called Sunset Grille. Ron and I both had the mahi tacos that were absolutely delicious. Along with the tacos, they serve beans and rice on the side that were very tasty. We ordered a few beers and sat outside since the weather was not humid or buggy. When we were finished eating we hadn’t gotten a call to check into the hotel so decided to go to the bar area of the restaurant to watch the UCF game and have a few more beers. We made small talk with people at the bar and the staff were professional and kind. I would definitely recommend a trip to Sunset Grille if you are in the area.

After lunch we walked over to the hotel since it was getting close to check in time. When we went up to our room we noticed we had a balcony view (it wasn’t of the ocean, but we had a balcony!). When we checked out on Sunday the woman behind the counter asked how our stay was. I said, “It was great! Didn’t realize that I booked a balcony room”. She said, “You didn’t, we upgraded you.” SCORE!!! Thank you Hampton Inn!

23517471_10155473215028122_7789177275813134557_n — It was nice to have a view of the American flag on Veteran’s Day.

On to the concert…..

This was the first time either one of us had been to the St. Augustine Amphitheater. I knew that it was a smaller venue and that it was outside with an awning that covered most of the seats and I LOVE these kind of places! They are not as crowded. They are big but not TOO big where you can get lost. AND it’s a much more intimate setting. Sometimes arenas can be so overwhelming and annoying.

When I book tickets for concerts I ALWAYS book the premiere parking. ALWAYS! They run between $20-$40 and worth every penny! When we got there we were about 8 cars away from the main entrance. Again, WORTH….EVERY….PENNY!

Collective Soul opened up for Sammy Hagar & The Circle and I really enjoyed them. I remembered some of their songs from back in the day and other songs I forgot they sang like “Better Now”. That was a sweet surprise. I haven’t heard that song in ages! They are a good solid band and they mentioned that they were in the process of recording a new album.

23434942_10155473529063122_7165076042700485041_n — Collective Soul

Sammy Hagar & The Circle consists of Sammy Hagar (of course), Michael Anthony (bass player from Van Halen), Jason Bonham (his father was none other than the late John Bonham from a little ole band called LED ZEPPELIN) and Vic Johnson (he played with The BusBoys and Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas). Their set list consisted of Van Halen tunes, Sammy’s solo career songs and Montrose songs. One of my favorite songs is “Poundcake” and whoa….was it AMAZING live! Chills! Some of the other tunes they played were “Right Now”, “Dreams”, “I Can’t Drive 55”, “Best of Both Worlds”, “When Its Love”, “Heavy Metal” and a few Montrose songs that were before my time. Ron knew them though! Ha! They ended the night with a cover of “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin that rocked the place!

It was definitely a great concert and to think that Sammy just turned 70 is CRAZY to me! He has more energy than a 30 year old!

Set List for Sammy Hagar & The Circle

There’s Only One Way To Rock
Poundcake
Good Times Bad Times (Led Zepplin cover song)
Rock Candy
I Can’t Drive 55
Sexy Little Thing
Right Now
Why Can’t This Be Love
Little White Lie
When The Levee Breaks (Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy cover song
Best of Both Worlds
Heavy Metal
Mas Tequila

Encore:

Dreams
When It’s Love
Rock and Roll (Led Zepplin cover song)

Set List for Collective Soul

Heavy
Shine
Better Now
This
AYTA (Are You The Answer)
The World I Know
December
Right As Rain
Where The River Flows
Run

~Stac

ZZ Top & Cheap Trick Concert Review and First Camping Trip for me ~ 10.16.19

April 17, 2023 Stacy SmithLeave a comment

I’ve never been camping in a tent and my husband has been wanting to do it with me for as long as I’ve known him. He’s camped in a tent and always told me about how much fun and relaxing it is. As for me, sleeping in a tent seemed extreme. I mean, could we get an RV, please?

He planned this whole trip and made it as “Stacy Friendly” as he could. “Stacy Friendly” meaning a place where I could go to the bathroom, sleep on a blow up mattress and many other odds and ends that I use, eat or drink on a normal basis at home. He knew that would be the only way that I would say yes.

We arrived at Anastasia State Park in St Augustine on Wednesday, the night of the concert, at about 2pm. We began unloading the truck and setting up camp just as it decided to start raining. Luckily it didn’t last long and we were able to finish setting up.

We got cleaned up at the restrooms/showers that were really close to our campsite and had a few beers while we walked to the venue. YES, we were able to walk to the concert! There were trolleys that were available for free to take you there too. It was perfect. No driving and no traffic!

We arrived at our seats and they were pretty good although I usually try to get closer to the stage (budgeting with a concert addiction can be nerve racking sometimes). I wasn’t disappointed though since we had a nice view of the lighthouse and a beautiful breeze being up so high.

Cheap Trick was the opening act and this was my first time seeing them. I enjoyed their setlist and appreciated that they played The Flame which is my favorite song by them.

ZZ Top was great as usual. We saw them a few years ago in Tampa and I think they were even better this time. It could be because we saw them in a smaller venue, but I’m not sure. They played all the classics and I was dancing most of the time.

After the concert, we stumbled…uhhh…walked back to our campsite and got ready for my first night sleeping in a tent. When we went to bed it was about 78 degrees so we only had shorts and shirts on. At about 4am we were woken up by the sound of our teeth chattering because it had gone from 78 degrees to 60 degrees within a few hours. PLUS, we had a fan blowing on us and only had sheets. Luckily, we brought a comforter with us since the forecast said that it would get cool so I sent hubby (you didn’t think I was getting out of that tent did you?) to the truck to get it, along with my sweatshirt. Normally I enjoy cold air, in fact I LOVE it, but when you’re not dressed for it, it sucks! When we had the comforter and our sweats on, life was much better and we fell back to sleep.

A few hours later I woke up to the smell of coffee and realized that I had made it through a night in a tent! I was so proud of myself and fell in love with camping the moment I opened up the tent and saw this view.

So quiet, so peaceful, so freeing.

And then breakfast was served in a cast iron skillet on a butane burner. Bacon, bagels and coffee. I can get used to this!

After breakfast we trekked down to the beach and did some metal detecting, fishing and relaxing. We didn’t find any treasures and hubby didn’t catch anything but it was a beautiful day nonetheless.

After our beautiful day on the beach, we went back to the campsite and got ready for dinner at one of our favorite places to go for fish tacos, Sunset Grille.

After dinner we went back to the campsite, started a fire, drank beer and enjoyed the pleasant weather and moon.

Again we were woken up in the middle of the night but this time it wasn’t because of the drop in temperature but two raccoons! If anyone knows me, you know that I hate raccoons, well, I heard some rustling outside and the sound of beer cans. I woke up hubby and he went outside where he saw two raccoons trying to get into our garbage full of beer cans! He shooed them away and put the garbage in the bed of his truck. Sorry guys, you chose the wrong site, those cans are empty!

In conclusion:

Camping in a tent is not as bad as I thought it would be especially when you have a blow up mattress, warm clothing and a comforter when the temperature drops 18 degree within hours and a bathroom/shower building within walking distance to your site.
Going to a concert where you can walk there and back is the best!
Bringing the luxuries of home to your campsite like a coffee maker, butane burner and a fan made my first camping experience wonderful (aka Glamping but with a tent).
Enjoying the company of your hubby while relaxing by a fire and drinking beer in complete silence is PRICELESS!

Set List for Cheap Trick

Hello There
You Got It Going On
Lookout
Standing On The Edge
Big Eyes
California Man (The Move cover song)
Never Had A Lot To Lose
Stop This Game
I Know What I Want
The Flame
I Want You To Want Me
Dream Police
Ain’t That A Shame (Fats Domino cover song)
Surrender
Goodnight

Set List for ZZ Top

Got Me Under Pressure
I Thank You (Sam & Dave cover song)
Waitin’ For The Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Gimme All Your Lovin’
Pearl Necklace
I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
I Gotsta Get Paid
My Head’s In Mississippi
Sixteen Tons (Merle Travis cover song)
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
Just Got Paid
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs

Encore:

La Grange
Tush
Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley cover song)

~Stac

Keifer Band & Faster Pussycat Concert Review ~ 7.23.22

April 17, 2023 Stacy SmithLeave a comment

On 7.23.22 I had the chance to see the Keifer Band and Faster Pussycat at Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach, Florida. If you are unfamiliar with who Tom Keifer is he was the lead singer of the band Cinderella in the 80s. They gained superstar status when they released their first album Night Songs with hits such as, Nobody’s Fool, Shake me and Somebody Save Me. It was heavy, raw and Tom Keifer’s raspy screams won me over the moment I listened to the album.

I have never seen Faster Pussycat in concert before but when I saw that they were on the ticket with Keifer, I was excited! I love glam metal. It’s one of my favorite genre’s of music and they are as sleaze glam as you get!

Faster Pussycat were the first band to take the stage and they started their set with Jack the Bastard. The crowd was pumped and they kept us on a high for the hour and a half that they were on stage. They played some of the favorites like Slip of the Tongue, Bathroom Wall and the mega ballad House of Pain. They also have a new song out called NOLA which they played and it rocks! I was, however, a little disappointed that they didn’t play Poison Ivy but they definitely rocked the place with the songs that they chose.

Taime sounded great, Slim kept the crowd hyped and the rest of the guys sounded amazing! They are a fun band to see live. If you get a chance to see them, you should!

Keifer Band was on next and I was psyched! As predicted, they played some of my faves like Night Songs, Shake Me, Somebody Save Me, Fallin’ Apart at the Seams, Nobody’s Fool and Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone). I felt like I had died and gone to Cinderella heaven! I don’t think I stopped dancing and singing from the first song he played until his last. It was a party that I’m glad I didn’t miss. Here’s a clip from the show.

Final Word

I did not mention in my headline for this concert review that LA Guns were also supposed to play at this gig but they actually never took the stage. I chose to keep this review positive and boast about the bands that DID show up and pick up the pieces instead.

BUT I WILL SAY, LA Guns let their fans down tremendously without any explanation as to why they didn’t play. We had to find out from word of mouth at the show that they would not be performing. No reason why, no social media posts addressing the issue, nothing. There were rumors that it was too hot for Tracii Guns to perform (and it was extremely hot, their fans could attest to that because we were sweating our asses off too by the way), along with some rumors that they didn’t like the sound at the venue (although people who were there early confirmed that they DID NOT soundcheck at all) and finally a rumor that included money issues. So, choose your rumor boys and girls! As of today, the jury is still out as to what happened.

HOWEVER, in the end, I didn’t miss them in the whole scheme of things. Faster Pussycat were able to play some extra songs for us and Keifer Band tore the roof off the place!

Set List for Faster Pussycat at Destination Daytona on July 23, 2022

Jack the Bastard
Where There’s a Whip There’s a Way
Cathouse
Slip of the Tongue
You’re So Vain
Ain’t No Way Around It
NOLA
House of Pain
Number 1 with a Bullet
Don’t Change That Song
Bathroom Wall

Set List for Keifer Band at Destination Daytona on July 23, 2022

Touching the Divine
Night Songs
Coming Home
It’s Not Enough
Somebody Save Me
Rise
Nobody’s Fool
Solid Ground
Fallin’ Apart at the Seams
The Last Mile
Don’t Know What You Got (Till it’s Gone)
Shake Me
Shelter Me

~Stac

Journey: Freedom Tour with Toto Concert Review ~ 4.21.22

April 17, 2023 Stacy SmithLeave a comment

I finally got around to writing a review for the Journey: Freedom tour with Toto. I’ve been really busy with projects and I’ve also been the local Uber Eats driver in my area which I surprisingly love doing! It gives me the freedom that my 9-5 didn’t give me and I also make pretty good money at it! If you are interested in doing Uber Eats you can sign up here

Now back to the music ….

I always love going to the Amway Center for concerts because it’s not only beautiful inside but the sound is amazing! I went to see the Backstreet Boys at the Amway a few years back (who were amazing by the way, don’t judge me!) and I’ve also seen KISS there. I’ve never been disappointed.

I had never seen either one of them back in the day so this was my first time seeing both of them. A group of us purchased the tickets months prior and anxiously counted down the months, then days, then hours for the big event.

Toto played for about an hour and twenty minutes and belted out song after song after song. I didn’t want it to end. They really blew me away and I could have sat there for another hour listening to them play. That’s how good they were!

I was never really a huge fan of the song Africa, but let me tell you, there is nothing like watching and listening to it live! I feel like it took on its own identity, right there. It was perfectly executed and hearing the whole arena sing it was surreal.

Journey played nonstop for a little over 2 1/2 hours and sounded amazing! They played everything from Wheel In The Sky to an incredible version of Mother, Father that Deen Castronovo sang lead vocals to while playing drums.

Arnel Pineda has been the lead singer of Journey since 2007 I believe and I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about how I was NOT going to compare him to Steve Perry. I went to the concert with an open mind and OMG this guy was amazing!!! He has a very similar voice as Perry but, ok I’m going to say it, it’s better! Yup, I said it. He also fits in very well with the rest of the guys and has so much energy on stage. He smiles a lot too. I love when musicians are happy with what they are doing and appreciative to be in one of the best bands in the world. You could see it on his face, and it was beautiful.