[Stadium chant] Kiss-mas! Kiss-mas! Kiss-mas! [End chant] It’s finally here…Jason Derulo, Kris Allen [who I had the opportunity of driving him + band to Amos'], Iyaz and Hey Monday will be performing LIVE tonight at Amos’ Southend! For those of you who didn’t know…it’s now a 18+ 12+ show, so while you’re funneling down domestic beers like you’ve been lost in the Sahara Desert for 10 days– that chick/dude you hit on might be underage [Dun Dun Dun!!!]. Aha, a revelation, you’re welcome. Now you can’t say that someone didn’t give you a heads up.

For those that care >>> be prepared for a similar set composition as Grave Digger’s Ball. The concert starts at 6:30p with Hey Monday and ends about 11ish with Jason Derulo. Make sure you get there on time so you don’t miss all these awesome acts! Of course, one of the crowd pleasers will be there..no, not Kris Allen or Jason Derulo, but DJ Complete- our local claim to fame.  DJ Complete [dude who made "I Love Charlotte" a parody of Asher Roth's "I Love College"] spins some of the best dance club mixes in Charlotte. The party won’t stop in between sets! 

 For those of you who are 21+…there will be awesome domestic beer specials [don't hold me to it, but I heard domestic beer was $2]. That’s a complete switch from some other venues around Charlotte.

That’s it that’s all Charlotte- See you at Amos’ Southend @ 6:30pm!

-KRAwL of Shame

[Drinking is for 21+, Drink in Moderation and Live Responsibly]

Gravedigger’s Ball 2009 is this Saturday, October 24th @ Dixie’s Tavern!  This is the biggest one Kiss 95.1 has EVER put on!  Headlining the concert is:  The Backstreet Boys [yes, apparently they're making a come-back and have a decent song on the radio] with Priscilla Renae [girl who sings "Dollhouse"] and Who’s Bad?, The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band; which, by the way, I’m pretty stoked to get my Thriller on [minus the choreographer].  Every year Gravedigger’s Ball delivers hot, scantily-clad ladies strutting their best for the ‘Sexiest Costume’ contest[^winners posted above ^] and for ‘Best Costume’, but this year there will also be another addition to the contest…Michael Jackson look-a-likes.  OK, I get it.  It’s because there’s a tribute band coming and MJ’s no longer with us.  I love the guys music, but to dress like him is over-kill [no pun intended] and I’m pretty sure that’s one of the top 5 most popular costumes in the nation.  It’s all good though…I’d do it too to snatch up $500 because I can’t hate on the hustle.  Oh- and if you haven’t bought your tickets to the biggest Halloween party/concert[Gravedigger's Ball] in Charlotte …maybe even North Carolina…they’re still available.  As of today, over 4,000 tickets have been sold!  Scoop one up before it’s too late…and prices might go up at the door!  Click here to buy!

I’m done- time for the final touches on my costume and no, I’m not telling you about it…just keep your eyes peeled for a video camera.

-KRAwL of Shame

[Drinking is for 21+, Drink in Moderation and Live Responsibly]

This past weekend was the Rascal Flatts concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.  I know that I’m not much of a country fan, [say with country twang>] but I tell you what- that is one of my favorite concerts to go to of the summer concert season!  The parking lots/tailgating goes on for as far as the eyes can see [plus rando drunks coming out of the bushes or squatting next to cars taking care of Mother Natures "call"].  Tailgating gets started early at the Amphitheatre and continues well into the night..mostly because people get too loose to remember the reason they were drinking in a parking lot!  Walking inside, the amphitheatre is impressive and holds an incredible 18,741 between reserved seats and the lawn.  The lawn is definitely my favorite place to be..it’s cheaper and people just rage out as if they’re at their own private party…that definitely wasn’t me hah. 

I would recommend pre-gaming before any concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre due to the fact that a 24oz. brew costs $11!  Yeah, I said it– $11!  It’s like they thought it out and made it so a $20 bill [plus $3.50 service fee at the ATM] wouldn’t be enough to get two!  Anyway, country concerts are full of Hottt girls and I think they send memos out through a Universal Email to tell all girls attending to wear their favorite boots and mini skirts. H.E.A.V.E.N. Walking amongst the crowd, there was a sea of screaming fans losing all of their inhibitions..AND then there were ‘those’ people that were silent and seemed to be attached at the face like Siamese twins.  How do I know this?  I’ll let you youngins figure that one out. TAXI!!! I’m out!

Always a good time at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre..just don’t be drinking underage, because it’s illegal and they WILL catch you.

-KRAwL of Shame

[Drinking is for 21+, Drink in Moderation and Live Responsibly]

Kevin Rudolf at Uncle Sam Jam 2009

Well well well…I hope everyone has recovered from all the shenanigans that occured this past Saturday evening/night.  Uncle Sam Jam 2009 happened [and if you don't remember there's picture and video on the site] and it turned out to be a great time.  For those of you that were out there, put aside the sweltering heat that led to swass [figure this one out on your own], and I think you all will agree that Uncle Sam Jam 2009 was the best place to be on a Saturday night.  Beautiful people filled the Pavilion at EpiCentre and who could forget the mid-drift-baring-low-cut-shirt beer tub girls [adjectives are good]?  There was a lot of eye candy Saturday night and the ladies got all riled up for Tinted Windows, who opened for Uncle Sam Jam.  For those of you who don’t know who Tinted Windows are..Taylor Hanson, yes from HANSON, is their lead singer.  They played an awesome acoustic set with a rock vibe not so reminiscent of HANSON.  Kevin Rudolf ‘let it rock’ after Tinted Windows..and I think everyone will agree that he wasn’t the best live performer.  Rudolf didn’t seem to have that extra ’something’ to mesmerize and include the audience into the mix.  Before I knew it, he was off the stage, but he managed to get out ‘Let it Rock’ and ‘Welcome to the World’ which were pretty good live.  After his 30 minute set..the crowd grew larger and cougars gathered letting out their hunting roars  in preparation for Charity Case [whose lead singer is Ace from the Ace and Tj Show on Kiss 95.1] who was getting ready to play.  Honestly, in my opinion, Charity Case’s covers were the best performances of the night!  They rocked the place and stayed on for over an hour!  Good music always leads to more drinking..and that happened.  Everywhere I looked, people were having a great not-very-sober time and jamming out to all the great covers Charity Case performed. After that was over, the bar crawl began.  Tilt on Trade was the first stop of the night and that’s where this ends. SEEYAA!

-KRAwL of Shame

[Drinking is for 21+, Drink in Moderation and Live Responsibly]

The Corey Smith Concert

This past Friday was the Corey Smith Concert at the Grand Opening of the newest music venue to open at the Music Factory; The Fillmore Charlotte.  It’s located on 820 Hamilton St. in Charlotte right outside of Uptown. 

Blah Blah Blah, now that the boring details are out of the way let’s talk about this place.  After driving through a ‘questionable area,’ the Music Factory popped up and it’s a really cool, old warehouse complex.  There’s a huge gravel lot right across the street to pregame with all of your friends, AND it’s not 1/4  mile away [like the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre parking].  After bobbing and weaving through a sea of drunks huddling around the parking lot’s food hut, parking went pretty smoothy.  Walking to the doors of The Fillmore literally took 5 minutes with getting ID’ed—minus the minute it took me to re-adjust the sloppy wrist-banding-job that made me lose a patch of hair. 

Walking in I was completely overwhelemed and shocked for what I experienced…the whole ambiance was impressive.  Chandeliers were floating around the entire venue as the source of primary lighting [other than stage lighting] and I found myself spinning in a circle counting how many bars where there..1..2..3..4..5!  But I noticed something that didn’t feel right…it was Smoke-Free!!!  That thing that didn’t feel right, was me being able to breathe at an inside music venue!   After examining the entire bar and sampling a variety of reasonably priced beverages, the seal had to be broken [you know what I mean].  So I meandered to the bathroom and it was impeccable.  Clean, high-end fixtures and black toilets/urinals [I haven't decided if that's good or bad yet..it's kind of hard to see after a lot of 'sampling'].  

Right by the bathrooms was The Gateway to ‘Smoker’s Paradise’. In the back, there was a huge courtyard for professional tobacco power puffers and for the tipsy concert-goer who only smokes when they drink.  It definitely was a great addition to keep smokers coming to the venue.

Finally, to the concert!  Opening for Corey Smith was ..uh I forget but G-D was their favorite word and I think they forgot they were in the Bible Belt.  Anyway, Corey Smith rocked the house!  The music sounded awesome and they even did an impressive encore! If you don’t know Corey Smith download his music…legally of course.

I’ve said too much for you ADD people so i’m going to stop…you probably didn’t even make it down here.

-KRAwL of Shame

[Drinking is for 21+, Drink in Moderation and Live Responsibly]