Foo Fighters concert SLC 2011

This week I need to talk about attending the Foo Fighters concert last Tuesday night at the Maverick Center in Salt Lake City, UT last Tuesday (Ok, technically it was West Valley City, but that's a suburb of SLC so ... close enough).

My experience with this concert was a little different than most as I won an awesome prize package from a 101.9 The End (in my opinion the best station on the SLC airwaves).


Winning Tickets:
I was listening to The End last Saturday and heard the DJ announce that tickets were up for grabs, so I thought I'd call in and try for them. Well, I won the pair of tickets which I think were for regular seats and immediately contacted my brother (nicknamed "Schwaboy") to see if he wanted to come. Imagine my surprise the following Monday when the morning DJs (Chunga and Tysen) announce my name as the winner of the big prize package. When I let my brother know that we also had a limo, dinner, and access to the suite at the concert he was just as floored as I was.


The Extras:
Arrangements were made for the limo to arrive at my home at 5:30 and take my brother & I downtown to P. F. Chang's and to the concert afterwards. Schwaboy arrives at my place just before the limo is scheduled to take us, and we climb into the car. Now I've never traveled "in style" like this before, but my brother travels a lot and to him it's old hat. I kick back in the rear seat and what does he do? Lays down for a 15 minute snooze. We eventually arrive at the downtown restaurant. What's funny here is that my brother lives downtown and the restaurant is within walking distance of his house.

We do the dinner thing which I pay for with a gift card that was part of the package, and then hop back in the limo for our ride to the concert. The limousine comes into the driveway and the driver says he's dropping off VIPs. How cool is that... I'm a VIP! It’ll probably never happen again.

Anyway, we pull up in front of the stadium right across from the radio station's tent and climb out. I wave over to the tent, and one of the guys (sorry, I forget his name) brings over two Foo Fighters t-shirts which were also part of the prize package. This is extremely cool as concert shirts are usually about $25 - $50 a pop. I’d have bought one anyway, but I’m glad I didn’t have to.

Next we climb up the steps to the mezzanine level and find our concert suite. The radio station hosted a party there, so we were hanging with the afternoon DJ at The End (Cuzzin Brad) as well as other winners of suite tickets. There is food in the suite also which is great for those who won the suite tickets, but of course Schwaboy & I are rather full after P. F. Chang’s

The Actual Concert:
The concert was advertised as a Foo Fighters concert with Cage the Elephant as the opening act. What I didn't expect when I arrived was a third band by the name of Mariachi Del Bronx. Mariachi Del Bronx? Come on!

At first I just sort of laughed at the name, but then I actually started to listen to the music. It was ... mariachi music. Not my favorite style of tune, but I have to admit that they were good. And let's face it; they'd have to be good to open for Cage the Elephant and for Foo Fighters.
After Mariachi finished there was a short break before Cage the Elephant was prepared to come on stage. As soon as they did, the lead singer (forgive me if I don't know his name) announced that their drummer had an appendicitis the previous night. They had a roadie come and play a couple of songs and then a guest drummer. Most of the audience was cheering when they saw who it was, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't recognize the name or the face of the guest drummer. I could tell he was famous by the reaction of the crowd. Yeah... it was Dave Grohl - lead singer of the Foo Fighters (and former drummer for Nirvana).
Here's the thing with me ... I know the songs and bands I like, but I don't always know the names of the band members.

Anyway, Dave played drums for a few Cage the Elephant songs. Cage was good, but I've decided that they sound better on the radio than live. Don't get me wrong - the band has lots of energy and some very awesome songs. I just think they need a little more touring experience.

Another break before Foo Fighters comes on. (I'm guessing Dave needed a break as well as the band stage handlers needing to get the equipment on stage.) Can I just say that the Foos were AWESOME! They played several of their popular songs before going off stage. Then Dave Grohl came out to do a set of acoustic songs for the encore before being joined by the rest of the band.

By the end of the night I was tired and my ears were ringing (as they must do after attending a rock concert), but I had a blast. Then the limo ride home and finally it was time to pass out before having to work the next morning.

Maybe I should have tried to take the next day off of work…

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT (Fireworks)

Attention residents of the greater Salt Lake City and greater Ogden areas (and those who work there and/or are otherwise able to support us there)...

This year, Mountain-Con is running TNT Fireworks stands at two locations to support the cause of fandom. Those locations are:

• Salt Lake City area:
  • 6525 S. State Street in Murray, UT
  • Sam's Club parking lot
• Ogden area:
  • 3042 Washington Boulevard in Ogden, UT
  • Carlo's Produce parking lot

Both stands will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. from Saturday June 28th through Saturday July 5th, 2008. Depending on availability, the stands may open on the 23rd & 24th as well (for Pioneer Day).

If you plan to purchase fireworks for your family Independence Day celebration, please visit one of our locations. (Rumor has it that the "Trojan Rabbit" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail will be at the Salt Lake location on the 28th.)

Mountain-Con Bowls Over Ogden-area Children

Big Brothers Big Sisters charity event “Bowl for Kids' Sake” receives help from Mountain-Con, a Celebration of Fandom.

Ogden, UT, April 12, 2008: Mountain-Con – A Celebration of Fandom, heard about the “Bowl for Kids' Sake” event for the first time this year. In a little over two months, Mountain-Con gathered a bowling team and a donation of over $500 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah. Big Brothers Big Sisters holds several bowling events in the state each year. Mountain-Con will participate at the event held at the Fat Cats bowling alley, 2261 Kiesel Avenue, Ogden, Utah, and will have their own cheering section. Be on the lookout for Mountain-Con members in different types of costume.

Additional information:

• Mountain-Con supports several charities each year. At the 2007 convention last year, it gathered food for the Utah Food Bank.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters provides mentors for children aged 6 to 18.
• As “A Celebration of Fandom,” Mountain-Con supports activities, art, and entertainment created by fans of different genres.

Contact Information

• Contact Mountain-Con at:
• Web site: http://www.mountaincon.org/
• E-mail (see above for Jill Bogler, Publicity Chair)
• Contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah “Bowl for Kids' Sake” at:
• Web site: http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=260108
• E-mail Jessica at 370-bowling@bbbs.org or call (801) 313-0303.

Reason #2 to attend Mountain-Con 4

Ok, it's time to announce the second reason to attend Mountain-Con 4.

Reason #2 to attend Mountain-Con:
"Brandon Sanderson!"

Who is Brandon Sanderson you say?
Sanderson authored the Mistborn trilogy, which his Web site describes as "A Hybrid fantasy, heist story, kung fu epic".
Brandon has also been chosen to complete Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" book series.

Still don't know who Brandon Sanderson is? Check out his Web site at http://www.brandonsanderson.com/ for more information on this wonderful author.

Brandon Sanderson will attend Mountain-Con this fall.

To recap:

Reason #1 to attend Mountain-Con:
"Because it's just that COOL!"

Reason #2 to attend Mountain-Con:
"Brandon Sanderson!"

Reason #1 to attend Mountain-Con 4

Greetings fellow fans!

With 25 or so weeks left until Mountain-Con 4 begins (on September 19, 2008), we decided to come up with a list of reasons to attend the convention. These reasons will go on a poster and/or t-shirt available for purchase at the convention.

I will be posting one reason per week. If you know of a reason to attend Mountain-Con and would like to see it on this list, please e-mail it to: publicity@mountaincon.org.

In the meantime...

Reason #1 to attend Mountain-Con:
"Because it's just that COOL!"

New Mountain-Con T-shirts (and more)!

Mountain-Con, the celebration of all things "fandom", is truly a celebration of how YOU, the fans, like to express your appreciation of a show/book/movie. To celebrate you the fan, Mountain-Con announces its first ever Cafe Press site.

This first design shows how many different things we celebrate. Do you like...

• Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly or other science fiction?
• Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or other fantasy?
• Stephen King or Anne Rice, Evil Dead, or other horror?
• Games like Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer, or Magic: The Gathering?
• Dressing up as your favorite alien, elf, or vampire?
• Writing stories or songs based on your favorite show, book, or movie?

All of these things are part of Mountain-Con...and this design shows it. Be proud to be a fan! Visit Mountain-Con's Cafe Press store at http://www.cafepress.com/mountaincon today.

 

(Note: Unfortunately, I'm having issues attaching an image of the logo to the blog. I'll keep trying though.)

 

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Mountain-Con 4 passes available for $25 until Feb. 29th.

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The Mountain-Con trustees recently approved Mountain-Con IV for this fall.

Mountain-Con 4 will be held September 19-21, 2008. It is a fan-run convention meant for all fans of science fiction, fantasy, gaming, cosplay, writing, filking, LARP, and a bazillion other things.

Carl Stark, the convention chair for the first three events, decided to step down from the position. Elections were held last Saturday, and Bob Allen will serve as the new convention Chair. (He can be reached by e-mailing chair@mountaincon.org.)

Other officers were also elected, including Carl Stark who will now act as fan club liaison. (For a full list of officers, including open positions, volunteer opportunities, and how you can help promote us, visit the Mountain-Con Web site at http://www.mountaincon.org.)

To celebrate, Mountain-Con is offering the unbelievable rate of $25 for the whole 3-day event. Hurry, though! This rate only lasts until Leap Day (February 29, 2008).

See you there!

My Mountain-Con III Experience

Greetings, and welcome to my first ever blog!

Last week I attended/worked at the Mountain-Con III convention at the University Park Marriott in Salt Lake City, UT. Check out the official Mountain-Con Web site at: http://www.mountaincon.org/.

The convention had several stars including David Prowse (Darth Vader from "Star Wars"), Garrett Wang (Harry Kim from "Star Trek: Voyager"), Felix Silla (Twiki from "Buck Rogers"), BarBara Luna (the "Captain's woman" Marlena Moreau from the original "Star Trek" episode "Mirror, Mirror") and many more!

I was able to work as a Guest Assistant to Garrett Wang. Let me tell you...if you ever have a chance to see Garrett in person, go for it! He is a very nice guy, and very funny.

Here are links to blogs and Web sites of some of Mountain-Con's guests this year...

* David Prowse's Web site: http://www.darthvader-starwars.com/

* BarBara Luna's Web site: http://www.barbaraluna.com/

* Felix Silla's Web site: http://www.felixsilla.com/

* Cynthia Cummens Web site: http://www.cynthiacummensart.com/index.htm

* Diana Pharaoh Francis's blog: http://difrancis.livejournal.com/