Tag Archives: music

Jul1

AWOLNATION Concert!!!!

Posted on July 1, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Heyyy everyone and happy Hump Day! So last night was the AWOLNATION concert at the House Of Blues in Cleveland and it was seriously the best night of my life. I was accompanied by my beloved big sis, Kristen, thanks to the two tickets that my oldest brother bought me for my birthday!! From beginning to end my night was perfect…Allow me to explain. 😉

So the doors for the show opened at seven and Kristen and I arrived at the venue around twenty after six. The line was already pretty long when we got there, but we were still fairly close to the door. I’m just happy that we got there when we did because literally five minutes after we showed up the line started to stretch all the way down the street – talk about lucky! The doors finally opened and after we had our bags checked and tickets scanned, I rushed into the venue to get the best standing spot humanly possible…and I did! I was about three feet away from the stage and had an INCREDIBLE view of the entire show! As I mentioned yesterday in my post, Family Of The Year was one of the openers for the show, but I had no clue who the other opener was – and I still don’t!

The first opener started promptly at eight which was nice because by the time we got situated we only had to wait about a half hour or so for the show to start. I didn’t care for the first opener at all, whomever they were. Their lyrics were so completely stupid and I’m pretty confident that they were playing on pre-recorded tracks because there was sure a lot of music heard when none of the band mates were playing their instruments. Either way, I didn’t like them and thankfully they were only on for like a half hour. But for that entire time, I definitely had Resting Bitch Face Syndrome.

Family Of The Year came on at nine and I was very excited to hear them play because I enjoy their music. It’s not like I know all of the lyrics to their songs or anything, but I’m glad I got to see them perform. I heard many people complain about how Family Of The Year’s beachy vibe didn’t really fit in with AWOLNATION’s style and I actually have to agree. They put on a lovely, chill performance however it really did nothing to amp people up for the headlining act. If I had to choose an opening act for the Run tour, I think I would have gone with someone like Everything Everything or Miike Snow because of their vaguely techno sound as well as the fact that they’re much more upbeat. Does this critique take away from Family Of The Year giving a great performance last night? No, I still really liked it. Would I have preferred to hear a different band before seeing AWOLNATION perform? Yes.

Family Of The Year crooned until about nine forty-five and AWOLNATION’s set started right at ten. Needless to say, I was freaking the fuck out. They began their hour and fifteen minute long performance with “Run” and before I get hella into detail about the show, check out the lighting that kicked off the night:

^^^ So rad!!!

So yes, AWOLNATION blasted off their dance party production with “Run” and the rest of the night was all a mesmerizing blur of terrific music, lighting, and a whole lot of dancing and jumping around from there. I’ve heard from friends who have seen AWOLNATION live and from different reviews that the front man, Aaron Bruno, is an amazing performer – and I one hundred times agree. His showmanship was an honor to witness. I’ve heard many times that Aaron is a fan of random screaming and dancing maniacally on stage and he provided us with nothing less last night. He had this insanely brilliant ability to make everyone in the audience feel welcome – even my sister who had never heard one of their songs before. By the end of the night she was in the crowd dancing and screaming along with the rest of us. And that, boys and girls, is what makes an incredible lead singer.

The set list contained basically everything that I hoped would be performed, which included: Run, Not Your Fault, Windows, KOOKSEVERYWHERE!!!, Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf), Sail, Jump On My Shoulders, Kill Your Heroes, I Am, Burn It Down, All I Need, Dreamers, Like People, Like Plastic, and a special full length performance of Knights of Shame. The songs listed was what my night consisted of in it’s entirety but not in that order. How lucky am I? Very. What I liked the most about this set was that it contained only upbeat songs. I mean none of AWOLNATION’s music by any means is low key, even their slower songs, but because those weren’t included in the set the night was filled with constant energy and a whole lot of fun. I couldn’t have picked a better line up of songs if I tried, however, I am slightly disappointed that “Wake Up”, “Jailbreak”, and “Soul Wars” wasn’t included. Honestly, I just wish they would have performed both of their albums back to back! I think one of my favorite songs of the night was hearing “Knights Of Shame” in its entirety – I especially loved hearing Aaron performing the rapped part of the song!

Another major highlight of the night was when AWOLNATION did “Not Your Fault”. Aside from “Sail”, that was the first song my brother introduced me to by them and it still remains one of my all time favorites to this day. Everyone in the band performed incredibly well and they were all so fun to watch. Kristen and I were discussing after the show about the athlete quality stamina that the AWOLNATION guys must have – I mean I know I was exhausted after dancing for an hour and fifteen minutes straight, but I couldn’t imagine how they feel after a show! I seriously don’t think I stopped moving at one point during the concert…This bitch was dancing, jumping, head banging, singing, and screaming up a storm. I just couldn’t help it though! There’s something so magical about being able to sing along with one of your favorite bands and I was just overjoyed. This childlike euphoria kept myself going for the duration of the show, but by the time it was over I was literally drenched in sweat and the only thing that kept me going on the three block walk back to the parking garage was the promise of Taco Bell and water shortly after!

Seeing AWOLNATION live was absolutely everything that I hoped it would be. They sounded simply incredible live, I daresay even better than on their albums. It was also so fun to hear Aaron pepper all of the songs with his random screaming. I’ve been imagining last night for a very long time and it exceeded my expectations by a long shot. For the one hour and fifteen minute concert I felt unashamed to scream out my frustrations during “Windows” and dance like a crazy person during “Burn It Down”. It was like I was in this safe haven where no judgement was being passed because everyone was cutting loose and allowing the amazing music and positive messages to take control. It was one of the best nights of my life. Seriously. I got to spend an evening listening to my favorite band with my favorite person AND I got to eat my favorite food after the concert! What more could a girl ask for? (And BTW, the TBell was magnificent!)

^^^ As you can see from the pics, the lighting during the show was awesome! And Aaron Bruno and the rest of the guys are all a bunch of babes. Hubba hubba.

After an amazing night at the show, eating in the Taco Bell parking lot, and a forty-five minute drive home Kristen and I ended our festivities with some sweet, sweet cuddling. Best. Night. Ever! I hope all of you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it and if you have the opportunity to see AWOLNATION live, then I would jump on that immediately! What was the last concert you went to? Are you going to any shows or festivals this summer? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun30

AWOLNATION Concert Excitement!!!!

Posted on June 30, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Heyyy everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all having a great day so far! So after an entire month of waiting, tonight is finally the night of the AWOLNATION concert at the House Of Blues in Cleveland!!! I’m seriously SO excited I could cry! After notifying my older brother that one of my favorite bands was going to be in Cleveland, he bought me two tickets for my birthday…What a guy. Family Of The Year and some other band is opening and I’m actually really looking forward to that too because I like Family Of The Year a lot. I’m definitely curious about who the other opener is going to be! My sister is such a champ because she’s coming with me to the show even though she doesn’t know one song by AWOLNATION. I’m so happy that she’s coming with me because she’s the only one who I feel comfortable going super hard with – and I plan on it! Hella screaming, hella jumping around, and hella dancing my ass off. If I were to bring a friend with me, I would probably end up feeling pretty self conscious about my fan girling and end up just standing there looking like a goon. -_-

This will be my third night out at the House Of Blues in a month and a half since I recently saw The Used and Glass Animals performing there. I’m a big fan of HOB because it’s such an intimate venue so I’m really hoping that if my sister and I show up early enough that we’ll be able to get pretty close to the stage. The doors open at seven and I plan on leaving around five fifteen or so to make the forty-five minute drive up there. I have no problem waiting in line for an hour if that means that I’ll get a good standing area…Now I just have to convince sissy to be down with that plan! #SAIL

I can’t wait for tonight. I’m already counting down the hours! I’ll be looking forward to telling you guys all about it tomorrow! Until then, have you been to any concerts recently? Who did you see? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun29

Monday Update: Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Edition

Posted on June 29, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Monday Update: Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Edition

Hey there everyone and happy Monday! I hope that all of you had a fabulous weekend, I know I did! My Uncle Martin and Aunt Eileen who live in Pittsburgh came to visit my family so on Saturday we spent the afternoon in Cleveland at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum. I haven’t been to the Rock Hall in years so needless to say, I was pretty excited! I have a deep love and appreciation for all things music so it was so amazing to be able to spend an afternoon honoring all of the greats. I hate to brag, but I have a pretty incredible collection of music and my tastes are vast but I never realized how educated I was about different musicians and genres until I perused through the Rock Hall. My parents and older brother really did teach me well about all of the legends and classics and I was so proud to know that I was aware of musicians in genres that I don’t particularly care for, like Gospel and Country. There was so much to see and do in the six floors that the Rock Hall boasts, so let me post some pictures and then we can discuss!

^^^ I took so many pictures that the only way to condense all of them was through PicStitch. The pictures in the collages include costumes from David Bowie, Elvis, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Michael Jackson. We got to see Johnny Cash’s tour bus, Janis Joplin’s car, the set from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, and so much more!!! If you have any questions on what specific pictures are, then please let me know in the comment section!

Once we met up with my aunt and uncle at the Rock Hall we decided to start from the top at floor five and six to view the two floor exhibit of the amazing late Herb Ritts’ Rock Portraits. The photography exhibition will only be up for a month or so and it was absolutely incredible – it was like walking through an art gallery. The portraits were mostly in black and white or sepia and they were taken of too many stars to name. There were photographs of David Bowie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Cher, Michael Jackson, Prince, and Mick Jagger just to name a few. Throughout the exhibit there were music videos that Herb Ritts directed playing and interesting information about the artist scattered along the walls. The Rock Portraits gallery was one of my favorite parts of my rock n’ roll filled afternoon.

^^^ Compliments of Mr. Ritts!

On the fourth floor there was a huge section of the set from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” which I remember from my last visit there but was so cool to see again! That display is neat because you can see it if you look down or up from any other floor. It definitely made me feel small standing next to the display! There was also a theater on level four which we stayed in for awhile. They were playing a video from what I’m assuming was an induction to the Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame. We watched lots of different artists perform and it was especially fun seeing Jeff Beck on stage with his daughter who couldn’t have been more than sixteen at the time playing the guitar like nobodies business!

We headed down to the third floor afterwards which has a cafe and another beautiful theater. In that theater they were playing highlights of different induction ceremonies from years ago until present day which included interviews, photographs, and animation to tell the stories of the artists. As we exited the theater there was a long hallway that we followed and on the walls were panels of signatures from the inductees. As you can see in my PicStitches, I snapped a pic of U2’s signatures which is probably the closest I’ll ever get to having their autographs!

Level two of the Rock Hall was all about the masterminds of rock n’ roll like Les Paul and Alan Freed. There were displays upon displays of original record players, guitars, and recording studios. Old school televisions in the display cases played footage of black and white variety shows which was a fun touch. Level two was jam packed with amazing information and artifacts. As we exited the Architects of Rock and Roll section we walked into a multimedia production called Video Killed the Radio Star which had a television tower made up of at least thirty or more TV’s and all of them were playing a different music video fresh off of the early days of MTV. Another very cool exhibit on level two was all about Rolling Stone magazine. There were three walls completely filled with famous covers of Rolling Stone with artists such as Marilyn Manson, Kurt Cobain, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Britney Spears. (I love her fabulous cover where she’s lounging on the phone while cuddling a Teletubbie so much! SO CUTE!)

We ended our trip to the Rock Hall at the lower level which is where you’re supposed to start, but that’s okay! The lower level is the bread and butter of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame – it’s a wonderland full of costumes, instruments, jewelry, and set pieces all belonging to the legends. There were specific sections dedicated to artists like Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. What I loved about this level was that it took you through each genre of music from a historical point. It started with the early days of the Blues and ended with music from the present day. My favorite genre to explore was the Punk section that had memorabilia from The New York Dolls, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones to name a few. In the Punk display case they had a Joan Jett fashion doll which was so adorable! There was a case dedicated to U2 in the lower level as well which I was pretty thrilled about!

After we explored through the outer rings of the bottom level we ended up at the epicenter which is a dark room filled with well lit costumes and instruments from all of the greats – there was James Brown, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, ZZ Top, The Who, The Beach Boys, and Metallica. That list is not even a quarter of the artists that the gigantic room had memorabilia from. It was seriously unbelievable. There were countless exhibits to end up in on the bottom floor and all of them were equally awesome. A few that I particularly enjoyed was a section on the origins of hip hop and a multimedia display called Don’t Knock the Rock. In this display there were different interviews playing of early day televangelists and political figures bashing rock n’ roll music and then it would cut to a reaction of rock musicians. Before we left the lower level we watched one more video compilation in a theater of very sweet reactions of inductees being entered into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. I could have stayed on this floor for forever!

Our trip to the Rock Hall was so much fun and this post doesn’t even cover half of all of the amazing displays that we got to see. If you ever are in Cleveland, Ohio then you definitely don’t want to let the opportunity to spend some time at the Rock Hall pass by! I hope that all of you enjoyed reading this post just as much as I did writing it! What musician would you like to see memorabilia from? Do you have any questions about any specific displays or pictures? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun24

Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition

Posted on June 24, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Whatupppp everyone and happy Hump Day! This Funky Time Jams post is brought to you by my hangover and my deep passion for Bedtime Music. If there’s one thing that I love, it’s falling asleep to some soothing tunes. I have a plethora of go to artists in my vast collection that I play when it’s time to hit the hay for the night and they never fail to send me off to dream land peacefully. The trick to good bedtime music is that it literally has to be “just right”. So here’s my Lil Red Rules to bedtime music before we discuss some tried and true favorites:

1) The music can’t be too upbeat because you don’t want to get hyped up instead of worn out.
2) The vocalist needs to have a voice that soothes you, obviously.
3) Songs with piano playing is always a good thing!
4) The songs need to take you to your pre-sleep happy place.

Alright, here we go!

Enya – Orinoco Flow: Freaking OBVIOUSLY. Out of all of my bedtime music artists, Enya is the one that I play most frequently. I just love her – even though I never understand what she’s singing about half of the time. All I know is that Enya soothes a Lil Red like no other. Her music is pure poetry and it takes me to places in my mind that are good for the soul…shopping in Paris, shopping in London, shopping anywhere. It’s a magical thing. Enya has saved me from many a sleepless night and for that, I salute you.

Coldplay – Speed Of Sound: Of course Coldplay had to be included on this list. I had a difficult time selecting which Coldplay song to feature on here, but then I thought back to yesterday when “Speed Of Sound” came on my iPod when I had it on shuffle and just how much I enjoyed it. I seriously forgot how much I love this song. I’m a really big Coldplay fan – they were my first concert when I was in fifth grade or so. (Richard Ashcroft from The Verve was the opener and they performed “Bittersweet Symphony” together and it was life changing!) My brother chose to take me over his stupid girlfriend at the time and it’s always been one of my favorite memories. I also figure skated to “Talk” during competitions. Coldplay holds a very special, sentimental place in my heart and their music makes me happy – which is why they’re a great band to play before bed!

Cat Power – I Found a Reason: Oh dear lord I love this song – specifically because it’s featured in one of my all time favorite movies, V For Vendetta. Cat Power’s voice is so hauntingly beautiful. Her music is the kind that you would expect to hear in one of those jewelry boxes that I feel like every little girl has when they’re growing up…You know, the kind where you open up the lid and music starts playing and the ballerina or whatever starts spinning around. Those jewelry boxes.

Wolf Parade – Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts: I know I said to avoid upbeat music before bed, but Wolf Parade is my exception. Spencer Krug’s voice is simply intoxicating and it legitimately puts me under a spell every time I hear it. Maybe that’s why I can listen to them while I’m laying in bed at night and feel sleepy, because I’m under a weird Indie rock love spell. “Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts” is a fucking brilliant track, and if you’ve never heard of Wolf Parade then this is a perfect song to introduce you to them with. Make sure you pay close attention to the lyrics because they’re fantastic. The video I’m posting is great too because it includes their hit “I’ll Believe In Anything” as well which is one of my all time favorite songs in the history of ever.

Say Hi To Your Mom – Let’s Talk About Spaceships: If you want some really good Indie bedtime music, then Say Hi To Your Mom is one of your best bets. I love this guy too much and I’m actually really excited because I’ve wanted to see him in concert for years and he’s finally coming to Cleveland in October!! HURRAY! “Let’s Talk About Spaceships” was one of the first songs I ever heard by Say Hi To Your Mom and the only reason I even discovered this artist is because years ago when my brother and I were browsing through Best Buy we saw his CD’s and thought his name was absolutely hysterical. I had to investigate his music as soon as I got home and I fell in love. This track opens with one of my favorite lyrics of “And what’s that saying again? They’re only words and words can’t kill me.” I’ve never considered this song one of my favorites but honestly I think it’s safe to say that it’s one of my favorites. I’ve loved it since I was fourteen and I still love it seven years later.

Sufjan Stevens – Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!): Once again, if you’re looking for some really good Indie bedtime music, Sufjan Stevens is also a good way to go. “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!” is probably one of my favorite Sufjan songs for reasons I can’t tell you, because I have no clue why. In the words of Matthew Mcconaughey in those stupid Lincoln commercials, “I just like it”. One of the reasons why I like to play some Sufjan before bed is because all of his songs are quite long, so you can easily lose yourself in the ten minute tracks and before you know it you’re asleep. INDUSTRY! INDUSTRY!

U2 – Sleep Like a Baby Tonight: Okay, 1) Did you honestly think that I would pass up an opportunity to post music by my favorite band in the whole wide world? and 2) The answer for posting this song is all in the name of it. The end. Wait…no, not the end! Because now I have to discuss just how disappointed I am that U2 isn’t coming to Ohio on their Innocence + Experience Tour! So Bono, if you’re reading this: I love you! AND COME TO OHIO!

So there you have it, the Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition! If you’re having trouble sleeping, definitely give some of these songs and artists a try and let me know how they work out! Who’s your go to bedtime music artist? What songs succeed in making you sleepy? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun16

Glass Animals Concert

Posted on June 16, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Heyyy everyone and happy Tuesday! So last night I went to see Glass Animals at the House Of Blues in Cleveland with one of my comrades and it was fucking amazing! I’m going to be really honest with you guys…I was very intoxicated so some of the details are a little blurry BUT I do know that Glass Animals absolutely killed it. I also know that I’m never getting too turnt during a concert again so I can fully enjoy it and be able to remember everything about the show vividly. It was raining when we got to the venue and we got there a half hour before the doors opened so instead of waiting in line outside we went to a bar around the corner for drinks. As you guys have gathered by now, I’m a big fat lightweight so after two vodka based drinks I already felt tipsy. This unfortunately didn’t stop me from drinking more at the HOB, AYYY! #whitegirlwasted

Shortly after we got to the venue, the opening band came on. I feel like such a goon, but I can’t even recall the name of them…I mean if they were good I probably would have remembered but they weren’t my cup of tea anyways. They were really techno-y, which I actually wasn’t expecting because I feel like Glass Animals is more indie than electronica, so that was kind of fun because I’ve never been to a techno show before. I dunno, music like that all starts sounding the same to me after awhile, so I felt like after hearing two songs by the opener I heard them all. That’s why I really like Glass Animals, because they have electronica qualities to their music but it’s still distinctively very indie as a whole.

The nice part about this show was that there was only the one opener and then Glass Animals came on. This was great, because there were three openers for The Used when I saw them at the HOB last month and it dragged on for forever. As soon as Glass Animals came on I freaked out so hard! It kind of sucked because we were pretty far back in the standing area so I couldn’t really see the stage even with my concert heels on, but I’m not too worried about it because homegirl was dancing the whole time – everyone was! The lighting throughout the show was dope and all of the good vibes in the audience was amazing to experience. I didn’t take many pictures during the concert because I was dancing (probably very poorly) and I was so white girl wasted that all of the pictures were probably going to be blurry anyways. But take a look at the pics I did manage to snap before I gave up on having my iPod out:

^^^ AHHHH! Like I said, all of their lighting was rad and they alternated their color scheme a lot throughout the show. They used the green in my featured image photo to open the concert with and then would change the lighting after every song or two. There was deep indigo, red, fuchsia, white, purple, and probably a lot more that I just can’t remember…Whoops.

I haven’t even talked about how the band sounded yet, so let’s discuss! Glass Animals sounded INCREDIBLE live. Their set list consisted of their album ZABA in its entirety and then one or two songs that I hadn’t heard before. They sounded EXACTLY like how they do on their debut album, which was astounding to me because there’s so much going on in all of the tracks that in my head I thought it would be difficult to recreate on stage…Drunk girl thoughts, obviously! It was so cool to be able to experience seeing one of my favorite bands live and having their performance go above and beyond the high standards that I hold them at, because they really are SO talented. There’s not one song on ZABA that I dislike so I was so happy that that was primarily what they performed at the concert, especially because the album is still relatively new.

As my white girl wastedness increased throughout the night, so did the urge to pee. I had to go SO SO BAD towards the end of the concert, so when they closed the show and went off stage for a few minutes before the encore I jumped on the opportunity to go to the bathroom. They had a chair by the sinks that I vividly remember sitting on for some reason or another, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyways, as I finished washing my hands I heard the beginning of “Pools” being played which is literally one of my favorite songs on the planet, so I ran my happy ass back to my companion in the standing area ASAP so that I didn’t miss one more second of it. Hearing “Pools” live was what I was looking forward to the most and it was everything that I hoped it would be AND MORE. It was seriously the perfect encore song to close the night with. What an amazing, incredible, wonderful, terrific show.

So there you have it, my Glass Animals concert experience! If any of you guys have the opportunity to see them live, I urge you to jump on it! You’ll be glad that you did! Is anyone going to a show anytime soon? Who are you seeing? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun15

Monday Update: Alright, Alright, Alright Edition

Posted on June 15, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Monday Update: Alright, Alright, Alright Edition

Whatupppppp everyone and happy Monday! It’s currently one thirty in the AM and I’m not very tired and I promised my sister that I would stop watching the new season of Orange Is The New Black without her, so I figured I would get the Monday Update out of the way now. I hope all of you had a great weekend! I know I did, thanks for asking! As you guys know, I spent my Friday night at the Horseshoe Casino (See article “Casino Adventures”) which was tons of fun – and the good times continued throughout Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a day of sleeping in, shopping, and date night. Sunday was a day of wonderful company, hair dye, family, and #OITNB. Best. Weekend. Ever!

On Saturday afternoon my mom and I were shopping around in the Fairlawn area and we happened to stumble into Bath & Body Works in the midst of their semi-annual sale. I’ve never been a huge B&BW fan, but holy moley their sale prices were incredible! I got six FULL SIZE (8 oz.) perfumes for the price of one original priced bottle – talk about a deal! As I’ve mentioned before, the only perfume that I wear is Victoria’s Secret’s “Enchanted Apple”, but unfortunately they don’t carry the fragrance year round. The only times they break that scent out is during their semi-annual sales, which is when I stock up on my perfume for the year. About a month ago, I finished my last of five bottles that I purchased during the last VS sale, so I’ve been using the random odds and ends fragrances that my sister and I have…Believe me, I’m not thrilled about it! I feel incomplete without my signature scent. BUT fear not, because I found a very similar apple-y fragrance from B&BW that I’m super obsessed with. B&BW’s “Country Apple” has the exact same sweet/tart fragrance that I love so much in “Enchanted Apple”, so best believe I bought five bottles to keep me going as well as one of their aquatic fragrances “Cool Amazon Rain”. I also stocked up on some dirt cheap lotions which make perfect add ons to birthday and holiday gifts. #BALLIN After shopping with my mama, it was time for date night with my darling, handsome prince Kyle. We went hard on appetizers and yummy drinks at Applebee’s and spent beautiful quality time with each other which was much much needed! Love him! ❤

Yesterday was a pretty chill day which was so nice after being out and about most nights last week. I met up with one of my dear friends, Scott, for some terrific conversation and coffee – which was an absolute joy. He’s definitely on my list of “Lil Red’s Favorite People in The World”! Once I got home in the mid afternoon, my sister and I binge watched #OITNB for a bit and then I got to work on dying my hair. I dye my locks once a month to keep my red fresh and vibrant and let me tell you, it’s a trip washing the dye out of my hair and watching all of the color come out. It straight up looks like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre happened in my shower every time. The rest of my evening was spent plucking my eyebrows to perfection (ayy!), annihilating at Scrabble, watching #OITNB once again, and here I am now getting my blog on!

So now that you guys know what my weekend was looking like, let me tell you all about how freaking excited I am for tonight! I’m going to see Glass Animals at the House Of Blues in Cleveland with one of my comrades and I’m seriously so pumped I could cry!!! I really lucked out when I found out that Glass Animals was playing in Cleveland last Thursday because if it wasn’t for Facebook I would have had no idea. While scrolling through my news feed on FB I happened to see a status from HOB advertising for the chance to win tickets to the show on Monday night. It was weird that it showed up on my news feed because I have yet to “like” HOB or Glass Animals on there, so there was no reason for it to show up – but I’m so beyond glad that it did! As soon as I saw that they were playing I bought tickets ASAP because there’s no way in hell that I would pass up seeing these guys live. I’ve been in love with Glass Animals since last September and I’ve told literally everyone who I’ve introduced their music to how much I would love to see them live. I can’t believe that in less than twenty-four hours I’ll be hanging out at the House Of Blues watching one of my favorite bands perform! AHHHH! June will definitely be a good month for concerts, because I’ll be back at HOB on the 30th to see one of my other favorites, AWOLNATION, compliments of my brother for my birthday. What a guy! I’m also pretty hyped because Family Of The Year is opening for them and I happen to really like them too! Exciting stuff!!

^^^ SO GOOD! Also, if you’re interested in shopping the semi-annual sale at Bath & Body Works, their offers are available online as well at: http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/home/index.jsp! Happy shopping!

So there you have it, my Monday Update: Alright, Alright, Alright Edition! #MCCONAUGHEY!!!! Make sure you check back in with me at some point during the week to hear all about my Glass Animals concert experience! Is anyone going to any concerts coming up? What about any of the festivals like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, or the Hangout Fest? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a lovely day! -Sarah

May13

May Music Obsessions

Posted on May 13, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Whatsup guys! I haven’t done a music post in a while, so I figured now would be the perfect time to let all of you know what I’ve been jamming out to this past month! Get comfy, kick up your feet, and turn your speakers up while I discuss some new tried and true favorites:

RAC ft. Matthew Koma: Cheap Sunglasses – Ohhhh yes indeed, I love this song. This was on our playlist when I worked at PacSun, and to be honest I kind of forgot about it until I heard it playing at Express a few months ago. After I got reunited with RAC this fun little indie pop ditty has become one of my favorites. Ever since I rediscovered this song, it became the track that I would start my drives to Cleveland for school with. It’s so catchy it hurts, and I’ve had played it on repeat more times than I can count – which I’m so okay with!

The Used: Take It Away – I’ve always been a really big fan of this song, but after seeing The Used perform this in concert a few weeks ago (which you can read all about in my article “The Used Concert!!!”), my love for it rekindled tenfold. This song is so fucking powerful, and I really wish that I could upload the video I have of The Used performing it, but unfortunately it won’t upload on here! You guys should know by now that I’m an emo kid through and through, and I really can’t think of a better emo kid anthem than this song.

A$AP Rocky: Fashion Killa – I have a HUGE crush on A$AP Rocky, and this track in my fucking jam. This is my fly girl theme song, and I love bumpin it in the Little Red Love Machine every chance I get. The beat is amazing, and I like to pretend that this song was written for me…judge me for it. I fall in and out of phases of liking rap, but no matter what I always have a soft spot for A$AP – he’s cute as a button and his flow is insane. MARRY ME!

AWOLNATION: Jailbreak – I’ve mentioned countless times before how much I love AWOLNATION’s sophomore album Run, and I think that this song might be my favorite one on the album. I love the really dark vibe that “Jailbreak” has, which is very similar to everyone’s favorite “Sail” off of Megalithic Symphony. I’ve grown very fond of playing Run in its entirety while driving, and best believe I’m singing along the whole time – but I go especially hard to this song! I’m really hoping that I can see AWOLNATION in concert sooner or later, I feel like they would be SO fun to see live!

Generationals: Ten-Twenty-Ten – I absolutely adore Generationals, and I really like this short and sweet track. It’s a PacSun playlist oldie but goodie that I didn’t even realize I had in my collection until I had my iTunes playing on shuffle a few days ago. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I made this discovery! I’m usually not a fan of watching music videos, but the video for this song is pretty fun – so make sure you check it out! I like this dudes voice a lot too, it’s quirky and smooth, and I really like how it’s a bit higher pitched than most male singers. Big fan!

Grouplove: Chloe – I rediscovered my love for Grouplove a week or so ago, and “Chloe” is probably one of my all time favorites by them. It’s so sweet and catchy, and I always get this image in my head of a bonfire party where everyone’s just sitting around a campfire and singing their little hearts out whenever I hear this song. You know how there’s some songs where you don’t have an obvious reason for liking the song other than the phrase “I just like it”? That’s exactly how I feel about this fun little track.

The Smiths: Bigmouth Strikes Again – I feel like I mention my undying adoration for The Smiths a lot, but that’s okay because they deserve it! All of their songs are a favorite song of mine, but “Bigmouth Strikes Again” is a track that’s closer to the top of my list. The lyrics to this song are SO dark, which is something that I’m always drawn to.

Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed

^^^ Like what? Haha, at least he was only joking! This song is also why “sweetness” is one of my favorite pet names to call people – which I realized I started doing a lot more after I began playing “Bigmouth” periodically throughout the day!

The New Pornographers: Falling Through Your Clothes – Hands down my favorite New Pornographers song, no questions asked. I could hear this track on repeat all day and I would still love it. Everything about this song just works SO amazingly well, it’s unreal – I love how soft the verses are and then BAM the game changes with the orchestral chorus. I never really made it a priority before to listen to The New Pornographers a lot, but I recently added all of their albums to my collection and it was the most worthwhile thing I’ve done in a long time. They’re slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite bands.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood – THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR, NOW THAT BIGFOOT IS CAPTURED!!!! Best. Opening. Lyric. EVER. I’ve been on a very big Clap Your Hands Say Yeah kick as of late, and I’m so not mad about it. My older brother saw them in concert a year ago and I’m forever jealous of him for it. The lead singers voice is simply intoxicating and their lyrics are astounding. Enough said.

Metric: Speed The Collapse – I’m a very big fan of Metric, and they’ve really pulled through as a month of May all star for Lil Red. As you guys know, I usually hate female vocalists, but Emily Haines is the exception. I don’t know what it is about her voice, but I can’t get enough of it – AND she’s drop dead gorgeous. Hubba hubba. Shout out to PacSun for exposing me to Metric and all of their glory, because “Speed The Collapse” is a PacTrack if I’ve ever heard one!

So there you have it! My funky time jams for the month of May! Who have you guys been rocking out to lately? What song have you been playing on repeat today? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May3

The Used Concert!!!!!

Posted on May 3, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Heyyy everyone! I hope you’re all having a fabulous Sunday! So as you know, last night I went to see The Used in Cleveland with my sister Kristen and it was absolutely AMAZING!!!! I got Kristen the tickets for her 23rd birthday in April and we had the best time ever!!! I’ll start off the post with some pictures from the show, and then I’ll discuss our incredible concert experience!

^^^ Note that the last picture posted is of Every Time I Die who opened the show!

All of yesterday I was seriously so excited I could barely concentrate. Kristen got home from work around 4:30 and we arrived in Cleveland about an hour later. We found a parking garage and then went to wait in the line to get into the House of Blues because the doors opened at six for the show to start at seven. The House of Blues is a pretty intimate venue, and as you can tell by the pictures, Kristen and I were very close to the stage – which was awesome! We had a great view of the entire show, and I couldn’t have been happier about it. It was so cool to feel like you could literally reach out and touch the band members and it was amazing to see all of their expressions and instrument playing so clearly. I wore my concert going Vera Wang wedges so that I wouldn’t have to worry about not seeing anything because I’m a shorty. Kristen opted for more sensible (and still cute!) black tennies, so she stood in front of me so we could both have a clear line of vision to the stage. It worked out perfectly, and sucks to suck for anyone standing behind my fake-tall self thanks to my wedges! There were three opening bands before The Used went on, and quite frankly the first two sucked ass. I honestly don’t even remember the names of the bands and I really don’t care. But Every Time I Die who was on before The Used fucking killed it! I’ve heard of them before, but I’ve never heard their music so I was very excited to finally experience it. And what better way to hear the band for the first time than seeing them live?! They blew their performance out of the water. Every Time I Die definitely falls under the screamo category of music, which I happen to really like! As soon as the band ran on stage things started getting rowdy in the audience, but all of the pushing and shoving just added to the experience. I’ve never been to a show that would fall into the emo or punk genre so it was way fun being able to head bang and jump around with all of the concert goers. I definitely plan on listening to Every Time I Die again, and if you haven’t heard of them I highly recommend you check them out!!! After another twenty minutes, The Used finally came on and Kristen and I were freaking out! The moment that we were waiting for for the past four or so hours was finally here and we were so happy!!! I’ll never forget watching Kristen sing along with so much enthusiasm and I cherish the times when she would squeeze my hand with excitement. I loved watching her have a good time – especially since it was her birthday celebration! Their set list for the night was filled with old favorites like The Taste Of Ink, I Caught Fire, Take It Away, and All That I’ve Got just to name a few. I have no shame in admitting that I totally cried during The Taste Of Ink…I seriously couldn’t help it. I’ve listened to that song on repeat countless times during a bad day and to hear it live was so special to me. It was so much fun to listen to Burt talk throughout the show as well! First of all, he’s drop dead gorgeous. Second of all, he’s hilarious! Our favorite Burt-ism of the night was when he was introducing Pretty Handsome Awkward by saying “this is a song about how fucking special I think I am”. We were dying!! We both purchased the same shirt after the show, which I wanted to buy for her but she wouldn’t let me! The shirt is dope! It’s black with The Used in red and in white there’s a picture of a coffin with a broken up skeleton on the inside and underneath that it says “I Buried Myself Alive”. Love it. We both are wearing it today and it’s the first time we’ve matched clothing since we were little kids! Saying that Kristen and I had a blast is a severe understatement and I’m sure she’ll agree with me when I say that it was the best night we’ve had in ages. My sister’s birthday celebration was a success and I’m so happy that she enjoyed herself. One of my favorite parts of the night was her thanking me and telling me that she had fun – I felt like such a champ and a ballin little sister! ❤

So there you have it! Mine and Kristen’s fabulous experience of seeing The Used in concert! What was the best show that you’ve ever been to? What band would you love to see live? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May1

SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Posted on May 1, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Heyyy everyone and TGIF! AND Happy May!!! I just wanted to let you guys know that I’ll be out of office tomorrow because my sister and I are going to see The Used at the House of Blues in Cleveland!! WE’RE SO EXCITED!!! I got Kristen tickets for the concert for her 23rd birthday in April, and tomorrow is finally the day for our emo night on the town! The concert starts at six, which is kind of a weird time, so we plan on making the hour drive to Cleveland fairly early in the day so we can make the most out of our general admission tickets by getting an awesome standing space. The emoness is going to be SO real tomorrow….I’m talkin black on black on black and a whole lot of crying! It’s going to be AWESOME! I’m really looking forward to celebrating Kristen’s birthday again and having a sister filled day. I haven’t been to a concert since I saw The 1975 in December and I’ve never been to the House of Blues before so needless to say, I’m so hyped up. The best part about Kristen’s birthday concert tickets is that we both have a strong mutual love for The Used so it’s not like I’m taking her to a concert of a band who I hate – even though I wouldn’t care at all! So what I’m saying is, it’s going to be just as fun for me as it will be for her. Kristen has seen The Used once before in concert and I was so jealous so I’m very happy to have the opportunity to finally see them live! I’ll try and take lots of pictures and avoid getting punched by angsty emos as best as I can – but don’t be surprised if I post a picture of myself with a black eye! 😉

^^^ Kristen posted this video on Facebook last night, so it only seems right that I feature it on this post!

I hope all of you guys have a fabulous weekend and I’ll tell you all about the concert on Sunday! What was the best concert you’ve ever been to? What band would you love to see live? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb19

Funky Time Jams: Old Faithfuls

Posted on February 19, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Whatupppppp guys! Hope your Thursday is treating you well so far. So, for the past few months I’ve had the exact same song lineup on the tabs that I have on my iPod. These songs are my old faithfuls. I can listen to them literally at any given time during the day and enjoy it no matter what. Some of these songs I’ve known for years and I’m still not sick of them! I’m sure I may have mentioned a few of these tracks at some point during my posts, but some of them are so nice I’ll name them twice. Let’s get started!

The Wombats – “Your Body Is A Weapon”: I absolutely ADORE this song. (So PacSun-y, I know) I love The Wombats too much and this is probably one of my favorite songs by them. The thing is, is that there really is nothing too special about this song – the lyrics aren’t mind blowing and the sound is very similar to everything else that The Wombats do BUT there’s just something about this track that speaks to me. It’s catchy, it’s cool, it’s fun. Whenever I hear it I can’t help but dance to it. In fact I choreographed a pretty cool routine to it. This song puts my heart and body in motion, so I guess that’s the something about this song that speaks to me.

The Knife – “We Share Our Mothers Health” (Ratatat Remix): This is a song that I know I mentioned before, but that’s okay, because it’s fantastic. Ratatat absolutely annihilates this remix. I love that a dark spin was put on this song, it’s so moody and hypnotizing and I can’t get enough. Quite frankly, the remix is infinitely better than The Knife’s original, and that’s really saying something because I love The Knife. So bangin.

Wavves – “Nodding Off”: “Don’t call me friend, I’m not your friend. Don’t call me nothing at all. I stopped waiting for your call – STUPID AND ANNOYED!!!” That lyric basically sums up my entire life, sad but true. This is hands down my favorite song by Wavves. This song used to play during my first year of working at PacSun about four years ago, and I loved it then just as much as I do now. The chorus of the song repeats “gods been nodding off” and I think that it’s absolutely brilliant. That one simple statement sums up how I feel about a lot of shit in my life. With a chorus like that you would think that the song would be melancholy and depressing, but in true Wavves fashion, it’s the perfect mix of surfer rock and straight up fun. I love it forever and for always.

Everything Everything – “Cough Cough”: Yeah. So. Um….wait a second. This track is fantastic. I wasn’t a very big Everything Everything fan until I heard “Cough Cough”. I honestly find their earlier stuff quite annoying, BUT they changed it up with this song and displayed such a fresh mature sound that I dig so much. The lyrics are fascinating and the vocals on this song really are impressive. Usually I never recommend watching music videos because I hate them, but the music video for “Cough Cough” is pretty cool, so definitely check it out.

Juicy J ft. Kreayshawn – “U Trippy Mane”: Lol, this list wouldn’t be complete without a rap song, and this is my jam. Juicy J absolutely slays me and Kreayshawn really isn’t that great but I have a big crush on her so that makes up for her lack of talent. My sister and I play this song in the car all the time and it legit never gets old. “I’ve got so much trip, I fell asleep high. I woke up high. If I’m sober I LIED.” Hahaha, I love it.

Magic Man – “Texas”: Yes, yes, yes, yes. This is hands down one of my favorite songs in the world. Simply gorgeous. This track takes me to a really magical, melancholy place in my mind and it honestly feels like Magic Man picked my brain to write this song. I’ll never forget the first time I heard it at you guessed it, PacSun. I had to stop what I was doing and just listen to it. The lyrics are so poetic and sad but somehow uplifting and joyous at the same time. All I picture in my head is sunsets, summer time, a night sky full of stars, and a blossoming relationship when I hear this song. Some day I hope that someone feels the same way about me that the guys of Magic Man were feeling about someone when they wrote this song. It’s a perfect sentiment of love and it’s too beautiful for words.

Sheppard – “Geronimo”: This one is actually a new song that I added to my lineup. If there’s one thing Lil Red loves, it’s indie pop – and this song is a perfect example of it. Songs don’t always have to be so serious. They can be care free, fun, catchy, and cute and Sheppard displays all of these things effortlessly. I rarely play the radio when I’m driving, I usually just plug my iPod in, but I was running some nearby errands and didn’t bother and I ended up hearing this song. When I hear “Geronimo” I can’t help but smile. It’s a sweet song that puts me in a happy mood, what more can you ask for?

Little Comets – “Joanna”: I. Love. This. Song. I love the vocals, I love the sound, I love the lyrics, I love it all. There’s honestly nothing else I can say about this one. If you chose to listen to any of the songs on here, this is the one you should try. You’re welcome.

Wolf Parade – “I’ll Believe In Anything”: Wolf Parade is one of my all time favorite bands, and this song is astoundingly beautiful. “Give me your eyes, I need sunshine.” That lyric holds a very special place in my heart and soul. All of Wolf Parade’s lyrics are phenomenal, but there’s something about the pure poetry in this song that really speaks to me. This track is absolutely timeless. “I’ll Believe In Anything” is almost a decade old and it still resonates in my very being to this day. Once again, I hate music videos – but, the video for this song is quite good, so make sure you give it a watch.

U2 – “Beautiful Day”: U2 is my number one favorite band in the world. Point blank. Period. I grew up listening to U2 with my parents and loved them as a small child and here I am now, at twenty years old and I love them even more. This song is my everything. It has gotten me through more tough times than I can even begin to tell you. My very first tattoo that I got the day I turned eighteen were actually lyrics from “Beautiful Day” – “After the flood all the colors came out”. That phrase has been my mantra for years now and this song has been my theme song since I was young. I was lucky enough to see U2 in concert in Pittsburgh for their 360 Tour and was in absolute hysterics when they performed this song. To hear my favorite song in the entire world by my favorite band in the entire world live was an experience that I’ll never EVER forget. Perfection.

So there you have it, my old faithfuls! My go to-s, my favorites, my funky time jams. I love these songs so much, and I hope all of you enjoy them just as much as I do! What’s your favorite song in the entire world? What are a few of your old faithful tracks? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Peace out. -Sarah

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