Like a dream: Hot Men. Hot Music. Hot Wings.

There are some nights you never want to forget. This was one of ‘em.I saw a handful of amazing bands as part of KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas concert at Universal Citywalk’s Gibson Ampitheater. My date? My KPCC buddy, Paige. We found that each band brought something different to the table.

Foster the People

I had never listened to their music. I ran into their blonde drummer once in the hallway at work. He had just finished a radio interview with our afternoon on-air host. CUTIE. I recognized him as soon as Foster started their set. I nibbled on buffalo hot wings in my orchestra seat just rows away from the stage. I said to my friend Paige “I couldn’t have even dreamed this.” I kinda have an unhealthy obsession with hot wings, so the fact that this was happening was part of my dream. The sexy men played upbeat rock/pop/indie music.  I bobbed my head until the next band started.

Cage the Elephant

I had never really listened to them much, either. They put on an energetic set that you had to stand for. Hell – you had to DANCE for. They kinda remind me of the Strokes. Or what maybe the Rolling Stones were like back in the day (that might be granting them a little too much cred). The lead singer jumped into the pit at least three times. He was howling at the top of his lungs.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

I told Paige: “I don’t know who this is so we can go to the bathroom at this point.” She’s like “Dude, it’s the guy from Oasis.” Oh, no way! It totally was! I missed a lot of this set which I will regret for awhile. But I did see Noel sing “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” There was lots of swaying in the crowd. Lovely.

Florence + The Machine

Florence wore this long draped gown. I loved that she stopped in the middle of her set to fling off her high heels. Go girl! She had this magical – what Paige called “mystical” – kinda floaty presence to her. She kind of reminds me of a gypsy. But she has the most beautiful voice. It filled the entire theater. Everyone in the crowd was going wild. She has such incredible energy and her smile…it was real. You could tell she was really enjoying herself. We enjoyed her, too. I’ve been wanting to Florence live for so long and she was everything I could have hoped for. I only wished she had played a song off her last album called “Drumming Song.” It’s my favorite – so intense and sexy.

Death Cab for Cutie

They are nostalgic for me. This was my third time seeing Death Cab and I felt comfortable with my expectations. After seeing so many “new” bands, it was soothing to see a band I was very familiar with. Death Cab for me is like drinking a cup of tea after a long day. They played a scatter of songs from various albums. I’m really glad because I love singing along. And of course when they play live, Death Cab is all about its instrumentals. They want to show off their endurance…often playing 8 minute long sections. I’m impressed by that. Ben Gibbard (in plaid of course) is looking sharp, too. He has a slight emo shag of hair that he waves around,  but he definitely doesn’t look as messy as I remembered him. This show was good for the soul.

Mumford and Sons

AH-MAY-ZIIIING. I know this sounds corny, but Mumford and Sons make me believe in love. They sing about a lot of pain, they sing about awakening. They sing about things that are lost, regained. Whatever it is, they sing with passion. They show you that the things worth caring about are worth fighting for. They have the cutest Irish accents and one of the bandmates was wearing a coon skin hat. It was all too appropriate. I only wished my friend Karen had been there. I thought of her because she listens to their albums on repeat all the time.

The Black Keys

Sexy rock and roll. I shook my hair out, swayed my hips. A lot of people had cleared out next to me and I was like “Good! More room to dance!” Poor Paige and I were running short on energy from a long weekend, but we kept the good fight. I don’t have any Black Keys albums in my iPod or anything, but after this show…I’m planning on it. They were so classic.

We ended up leaving before Black Keys finished to beat post-concert traffic. Janes Addiction went on after them, but we’re like meh…not so much interested in Janes. I know they’re legendary, but I had seen them once before and they’re just not for me.

All in all this was definitely the best concert of my life. I became acquainted with some new bands, I delighted in some of my favorites. It made me feel so ALIVE. I will cherish it forever.