It’s a big music day around here. I had a nice Friday Playlist ready to go – mostly built on older songs this week – but I’ve decided to hold that off until next week so I can focus on a couple other music-related things to share.
That’s right, Kansas has a new album out today! (Insert record scratching sound here.) That’s actually true, which is bizarre. But, no, that’s not what has me excited today.
I’ve never won anything on a radio contest. Not concert tickets, not an album before its release date, not passes to get into some other event. Not even a free burrito. When I was a kid I would call into radio station giveaways quite often, but always waited in vain for notification that I was a big winner. To be fair, it’s been a long, long time since I even attempted to register for a radio giveaway. Adulthood has generally meant I could buy the concert tickets or albums I wanted.
So, yeah, I won some concert tickets this week. That’s cool on its own, just given my history with hoping to get free loot from a media enterprise. What’s more interesting – at least to me – is the the band involved and how I won.
My normal morning music routine on my drive to school and back is the girls listen to Radio Disney on the way to school and the moment they get out, I begin running through my SiriusXM favorites. The only real exceptions are when I’m listening to a new album by an artist I really like. I don’t even have any local stations stored in my favorites. I just don’t listen to over-the-air radio in the car.
Two weeks ago, though, S and I switched vehicles for the day so I could take hers in for an oil change. She does not have satellite radio and we no longer have a Radio Disney station in Indy. So we were listening to the “smart, hipster” station we listen to at the lake. Or kind of half-listening. Pretty sure I was yelling at one of the girls about something. Between songs the DJ was talking and I caught only a bit of what he said. I swore he said something about Frightened Rabbit playing a private show for the station’s anniversary. In Indy. At a restaurant we pass every morning on the way to school. But that couldn’t be right. Why on earth would they play there?
I kicked the kids out at school and raced home to do some research. Sure enough, Frightened Rabbit are playing a show tonight less than four miles from my house! Tickets were not available for public purchase, though. Instead you had to join the station’s VIP club and then click a link each day to put your name in the pool of people who would get passes. I set a reminder for every morning at 9:00 and dutifully clicked for both myself and an account I set up for S. If my favorite band is playing within jogging distance of my house, I had to be there!
Winners were supposed to be announced Wednesday, but Tuesday I got a message saying I had won! Those daily clicks paid off! Another friend won as well, so tonight S, I, and our friend will go watch Frightened Rabbit sing sad songs in a very small venue. I’m almost as wound up for the show as I was for M’s kickball game the other day.
I have no idea what to expect. Will it be the full band or just the lead singer? He occasionally does solo appearances under the band’s name. Will it be acoustic or plugged in? Since this is a late addition to their tour and between scheduled shows in Illinois and Ohio, will they play a full set or just do a few songs and call it a night? Will there be 500 people there, or will it be so sparsely attended that I can get right up on stage, perhaps even pulled up on stage to sing a few with the band when they notice I know every word to every song?
OK, that last one is a little ridiculous. I told you I was a little wound up about this.
I was beyond excited when the band added Indy to their spring tour and I got to see them back in April. But to see them twice in a year, and once in a rather intimate setting just down the road from my house? Way more than I could have asked for.
In honor of the lads’ appearance here tonight, for today’s vid I offer up this one I found last night, which could offer some hints of how they will tackle tonight. It’s a small club performance from 2010 in San Francisco, the night before they played the Filmore for the first time. It’s pretty, pretty good.
https://youtu.be/ug2OkZPX3jI