Live in Concert

We usually don't do gifts for our anniversary but when Derrick heard that Sam Smith will be in town for a concert around our anniversary, we bought the tickets 12 months ago. The whole family enjoys listening to his music and since it has been many, many years since we last went to a concert, we were excited to go. Especially since we were so overdue for a real date night and finally found a promising babysitter. 

So, last Saturday evening, we left the children in good hands and headed downtown Nashville for some food and a drink prior to the concert. That day, the weather was just perfect as there was a touch of fall in the air and we were able to sit on a rooftop terrace, overlooking Broadway.  

My love: 

My hubby splurged a bit on the seats, not floor seats but the next level up, and we had a great view at the stage. Ready for Sam Smith's concert: The Thrill of It All: 

I took some video clips during the 90+ minute performance and compiled it in to a 2 minute video for your enjoyment:

We really enjoyed this concert. Fans from all walks of live were in attendance and Sam's support and his personal message to the gay community was showcased as well. 

What a great night it was and the perfect concert to start off with. Because only 4 days later, we had tickets to attend the next concert at the same arena. Yes, two concerts in one week...we are making up for lost time. A few months ago, Derrick snagged some Imagine Dragons tickets (the whole family loves this band) for only $25 per person. While for this price, the seats were all the way up in the highest ranks, we were sure that we would still enjoy the show. On Tuesday night, we left the kids again with the babysitter and headed downtown for the concert.

After a glass of wine at the bar, my loving hubby noticed that he forgot his phone with the tickets in the car. He just barely made it back in time to the arena before the concert started. We still had to find our seats and after walking around the top floor of the arena almost in a full circle, we finally reached our gate. There, we were stopped by an important looking person who asked us if we wanted free floor seats. He said, we would have to stand all night as the tickets were for the pit, but it was a free upgrade. Of course we took him up on the offer and then headed directly down to the stage. Derrick redeemed himself very quickly as the pit was the best location ever to watch this Imagine Dragons concert: Evolve!

The lead singer, Dan Reynolds, is not only very musically talented (he sings, dances, writes lyrics, plays guitar, drums and piano) but also very outspoken about equality and talking openly about his experience with depression. He is an advocate for everyone facing depression and against teen suicide. I was very impressed with how humbled he is and what he stands up for. Also, there were a lot of children as well as older people in the audience and after watching the show, I can say that I would even take my children to an Imagine Dragons concert (unless you don't like seeing a great looking, half-naked, young musician). 

Again, I couldn't believe how close we were to the band:

My favorite picture of the night: 

This high-energy show lasted two full hours. They even performed a song by Berlin. The concert ended with the two most popular songs: Believer and Thunder. Enjoy the video:

Even after several days, hubby and I are still on a concert high. Sam Smith as well as Imagine Dragons were two great, albeit different, shows and having the perfect seats at each concert made the experiences so much better. For sure, there will be more concert visits in our future.