Days with the Dorans

  Joe had a blast going to the D with two of his favorite friends (Brad and Jeremiah)! They went and saw Green Day, Weezer, and Fall-Out Boy at Comerica Park. It was fun to be able to track him (Thank you life 360) but if there's one thing about Joe, he does update his mama so I know what he's doing and where he's at! He was having so much fun but still sent me videos and pictures! Aren't you glad I blog, Joe?

  A while back Danny had told me that The Black Crows were coming to down and were going to play their entire "Shake Your Money Maker" album (which I liked) and that tickets were only $25. I was torn because it was cheap and I miss concerts but there would be tons of people... but we would be out on the lawn... Ugh the back and forth. I didn't get the tickets. Well, clearly because of this post, you can see I went. Tickets were now $80 for lawn BUT we went because the swimming finals for the Olympics was going on and Maddy and Steph stayed home for a watch party and we joined Danny and Timmy. We got there, ate and played some bags. I don't need to tell you who won (whoop whoop). Of course when the show was about to start the heavens opened (we had lawn seats so better for Covid but not for weather). Thankfully we checked the radar and it blew over pretty fast. And we went in. Concerts are always WONDERFUL places to people watch and this was no exception! We saw all so...

We heard about this concert and were talking about it with Jodie and Kyle. Kyle was able to get two tickets from his work and we ended up buying tickets at the venue (saving crazy ticket master taxes and fees).  We had a blast! I saw Julie and some of the dance peeps working- Jodie and I went down in the pavilion where we had a great view! Those guys can still rock! Ben Folds was great too!

Sean has been SO excited to have his music concert at the High School! I knew when he was practicing that he didn't quite remember ALL the words so I told him to move his mouth a little even when he didn't know the words so it would look like he did (You know... the old "watermelon" trick...?). Well... he did some BIG watermelons, and yawns and other dramatic moves that had me dying! I took a video of the whole show HERE and the longer it went, the more animated the boy became! There were so many awesome pics, I put them all together in a collage. Al was at dance and Joe was at piano but Dad, Zach, Nana and Papa and I were all there to cheer on Sean. To be fair, Z didn't read his book during the show (it was too dark) but I do love his latest obsession with the Harry Potter books! Jeff left to get Joe before I remembered to snap a few fan photos so this was all I got. After the show, I hit McDonald's for ice cream for everyone and Sean wa...

I was wasting time on FB when I saw that The Verve Pipe was coming to the Ark (one of our favorite places to take in a concert). I mentioned it to Danny and the four of us decided to go. We went to the Jolly Pumpkin and had a couple drinks and then crossed the street to the concert. There weren't reserved seats so by the time we got there it was pretty full. The Ark is small and there really isn't a bad seat but  we wanted to sit together. We actually found seats together right by the front of the stage. We were on the side but so close that I could read the set list which was pretty cool. They were recording a live album during the show too which was cool. We had a great time! Reminded me of my WMU days!

My brother is a HUGE Dave Matthew's Band fan and has been to tons of their concerts, while Jeff and I have not. We love live music but aren't too keen on paying the jacked up prices. So if you see us at a concert, it's usually because we've gotten a good deal on Groupon or something. Danny told me that we MUST go see DMB live and talked us into paying top dollar for tickets. He said, "We're old now. Let's sit in the Pavilion." I don't feel old and am perfectly cool with sitting on a lawn to save some moolah- especially since no one sits at concerts anyway! We did some tailgating in the parking lot and ate some Panera for dinner and then purchased an over priced beer from a stand where some of our dance friends were working (gotta support our fellow dancers). We had a GREAT time and the concert was awesome! I have to admit my brother was right on this one. Though I still will not admit to being "old" and not able to hear a co...

Gotta love Groupon! I hate to spend money but when you can go to a concert for $15, you sure get your money's worth!  My mom watched the kiddos so Jeff and I could go see Switchfoot and NeedToBreathe (we also saw Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors- new to us but we liked them). When we got there, we panicked because WE DIDN'T HAVE CASH FOR PARKING!!  It was an awful, sinking feeling (we're ALWAYS cash poor), but then we learned we could pay with a credit card!  Brilliant.  All was well with the world and we sat on the lawn and enjoyed the day, music and each other. We also ran into some old friends (Julie and Ryan) and it was great catching up with them.  They were in the Pavilion and Ryan told Jeff that we could get up real close (we had lawn seats), if went to the side of the stage.  We ended up doing that and it was great!  Yeah for date- nights!!  Thanks Nana (and Groupon)!

We don't do it often enough but it's so much fun when just Jeff and I get out (or get out without the kiddos- I love them to death... but...).  We got tickets to one of my favorite bands, Bare Naked Ladies (BNL) and as a bonus~ the Violent Femmes were opening for them! Loved that I got to meet up with one of my friends (and coworkers) and her hubby.  We had a drink and sang every word to the Violent Femmes... It's amazing how your mind can do that.  I probably haven't listened to them in 20 years and yet it all came back- like riding a bike! This was Jeff's first BNL concert (we got a great deal on Groupon for lawn seats) and he liked it!  They are such a fun band to see live!  I highly recommend it.  Currently working on seeing another show this summer... Just have to work on my baby (and now puppy) sitter... AKA Nana! ;-)

 It's not often we get out without the kids... but when we do, we make it a great time!  For Christmas we gave my brother and sister-in-law tickets to the Muse concert (with us). When we got downtown, traffic was AWFUL.  We found out there was a Monster Truck show and there were people and cars everywhere!!  Some lots were charging $40 to park!  Danny was a bit stressed driving, so we ended up parking in our old-standby lot we use when we go to Tigers' games.  We ended up going to the Detroit Brewing Company for dinner and drinks before the show (and because we didn't care about the opening act).  When the boys took off their coats, we had a good laugh because they were wearing the EXACT same shirts! Dinner was fun and we were so thankful that we didn't have kids with us to worry about. I felt so young to be without kids (though not young enough to get carded...).  After diner, we hopped on the People Mover to get to the Joe.  W...