When Joe Pera Comes to Your Town You Have to Go See Him

Over the weekend I got to see Joe Pera do stand up live for the second time this year. Pera is a fantastic comic. My daughter asked if he was my current favorite standup, and after some thought, yes, Joe Pera is my favorite comedian at the moment. I like the way he performs. We had very good seats in the balcony at The Pageant here in Saint Louis. I prefer sitting up there now. It's much more comfortable. I guess that's a sign of my aging. Oh well.

The opener came on stage just a bit after 8pm. His name is Robert Dean. I liked his set quite a bit. He kind of reminded me of an upbeat Paul F Tompkins. I'm not saying Tompkins is a dour comedian. He is far from it. Tompkins is funny and fun on stage. I've seen him with "CBB Live", and he is a delight. Dean just had a tiny bit more energy, and he dresses like Tompkins. Anyway, Dean was a great opener. He got the crowd ready. He had a bunch of good bits. He interacted with the crowd very well. He moved through his set with ease. It was nice to see a seasoned standup open for another seasoned standup. Dean did a very good job at his job. I have been watching some of his other sets on the internet since seeing him.

After 20 minutes, it was time for the headliner, Joe Pera. Now, after seeing him only a few short months ago, I didn't know what to expect. I did expect very good comedy, which is exactly what we got. Pera is a pro. He knows what he is doing on that stage. He knows how to command the crowd. He knows his segues like clockwork. He is damn good. It was all new material that we saw the other night as well. There were no repeated jokes. Everything was fresh. I applaud that from a pro. He could've done some of the same material, but he didn't. He deemed us necessary to hear new jokes. And I loved them all. I was in stitches the entire hour long show. He even stayed out on stage a little later than expected to tell us a very new joke, which proceeded to kill. I don't know if he does this everywhere, but this joke that he claimed was a work in progress really felt like a closer. It was damn good. During his set, he crushed with his new stuff too. I loved the video game bit. He brought a few people on stage to play out a videogame he was working on. It was pretty wonderful. I was all in on the meatball bit he did. That was a crowd bit, and it went off like gangbusters. I really liked hearing about some of the topics they went over in the writers room of his show. These were ideas for future episodes, or ideas they never made. This was very funny and I loved the inside look at his excellent tv show. But, my favorite bit of the night was when he talked about seeing "Aliens" for the first time. He told us that he was a kid, that he watched it in the dark by himself and that he came running up the steps to make a big proclamation to his family. I will not spoil the joke here, but I will tell you, it goes in a direction that none of us in the crowd were expecting. And that is why it was my favorite joke of the night.

Go see Joe Pera if he is coming to your town. He is great at what he does, he does tremendous crowd work and he seems to be having a blast while he is on stage. He is one of the best out there at his craft. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Check Out King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on their Tour

A buddy of mine invited me to see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard live last night. Let’s discuss.

I have never really listened to their music much before. I have heard a few tunes, and my friend told me to listen to their most recent record, which I enjoyed quite a bit. My brother is a super fan as well. He couldn't go last night, but he has told me a ton about the band before. So, I met my friend at the venue, The Factory in Chesterfield, which is rad, and we took our seats.

The opening band was called Geese. They were pretty solid. They are kind of post punk/rock music. They had some cool visuals in the background while they played. I liked their stuff and I will be listening to them in the future. Then King Gizzard took the stage. Again, due to my lack of knowledge, I didn't know what to expect. I know that they play a bunch of different genres of music, that they have recorded 26 records and that they are super talented. But I have never seen a live show and I didn't know what they would bring to the table. I was super impressed with the next two hours of music. They opened the set with a run of metal music. They were shredding. They blew through these songs and I found myself bopping along. Immediately I was impressed with how proficient they were with their instruments. Metal music is tough to play, but these guys made it look easy. The guitars sounded really good too. They had the right distortion and you could hear every note in every solo. After the metal music run, they switched over to some psychedelic music. Again, I was shocked, in a good way, that they were so easily able to pull off a totally different genre. They sounded great yet again. The instruments sounded good too. And this time I could fully hear the lyrics and singing, which was dynamite. I loved the use of a wah wah pedal during this part of their set. They switched over to electronic at this point. The stagehands brought out a table that had a bunch of different boards attached to it. Every member of the band, except the drummer, gathered around the table and took the crowd to space. They were making crazy noises come out of those boards. The mics had a wild robot-like effect being used. They made a genre of music that I don't really like very listenable for me. One of the band members informed us that what the "leader" of the band just performed was totally improvised, which is wild. That takes an insane amount of talent to do that at every show, and it was rad. The set ended with about seven or eight songs that were a mix of blues and rock. This was my favorite part of the show. I love this style of music and King Gizzard played it exceptionally. The tone and sound coming off the three guitars was amazing. The keyboard player busted out the saxophone. Earlier on the "leader" of the band played some flute. Some of the other members got to show off their vocals during this part. The two guys who are front and center on the stage absolutely destroyed the guitar.

When my buddy and I left, I was in awe of what I just witnessed. Not knowing much about the band made the experience that much better for me. This was all new to me, and it blew me away. The band has a great energy on stage. They want you to dance and have a good time. They seem to genuinely like playing music with one another. The fact that they can shift from genre to genre was so cool. My buddy told me they play a different set every night, which is bonkers if you think about it.

I don't know why I never bought into the hype before, but King Gizzard more than won me over last night. I am a fan for sure now. I have found myself listening to their music all day today and enjoying the hell out of myself. This was a great, great show. I definitely recommend seeing them live if they are near your hometown. You will have a blast. I sure know I did. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Seeing Califone Perform Live was an Experience Unlike Any Other

Last night my buddy Kirk invited me to a concert. I haven't been to a show in awhile, so I was pretty stoked to check it out. I listened to some of the band's music prior to the show, which I very much enjoyed. Kirk also let me know that there were only 50 tickets available. The show was in a small venue, so they had to limit the amount of tickets they could sell. All of these things made me even more excited to go.

The band we saw is called Califone. I had not heard of them until last Friday. Their music is cool. It is ambient. I told my dad that the music felt like a warm blanket. I enjoy the singer's voice and like how mellow the music can be from time to time. Seeing them in such a small venue had me very curious to see how it would all work. It worked wonderfully. We saw the show in the basement of someone else's home. When we drove up to the house, we did some street parking and walked to the front door. There was a board in the front that said the band name and how to get in. We walked up, were greeted by a few people and an adorable pug, and they let us in after Kirk gave them his name. We walked downstairs, found a few seats and chatted for a bit. The lead singer walked where everything was set up, tuned his guitar and waited for his drummer. The show was scheduled to start at 8pm, and that is exactly when they started.

From the jump, this was an awesome experience for me. Califone is awesome. Seeing two of the members playing live was rad. The singer/guitar player was amazing. He used a lot of effects from his pedalboard that I liked a lot. He used reverse a ton to help loop the guitar for each song. He also played a good amount of slide guitar, which is something I'm a big fan of. His voice sounded great. Being in a small room, with different acoustics could have caused some issues, but it did not. He sounded great. I also really enjoyed the lyrics. He reminds me a little bit of Bob Dylan. I believe Bob Dylan is the greatest songwriter of all time. Califone's lead singer/songwriter is not far off for me. His lyrics are very poetic. He paints a nice picture, tells a nice story. I found myself listening even harder last night. I wanted to get the full live experience. The percussionist was excellent as well. Kirk mentioned that he played and experimented like not many other percussionists out there. I agree. He was playing synthesizer at one point. He used a violin bow to make noises on his cymbals. He would use different drums that he would attach to his high hat. He played other wood instruments that added a really nice sound. He was dynamite.

All in all this was a wonderful experience for me. The band was awesome. The crowd was there to enjoy the music. No one acted up or acted out of pocket. Everyone that was there was very friendly and respectful. The venue was cool too. It was akin to going to a friend's house to hear a band, except this band was way better than your friend's band. I highly recommend going to a small show like this. This was so damn cool to see where I saw it with who I saw play live. I am forever a fan now, and I will be looking out for more shows like this in the future. What a cool experience. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Comedy Bang! Bang! Live Delivers Again

For the second time in two years I got to see "Comedy Bang! Bang!" live. The show started its tour about a week ago, and Saint Louis was one of the earlier stops.

As you all know, I adore this podcast. It is the one that I have hung onto the longest. I've been a listener now for over seven years, and that is only half of the time that the show has been running. "CBB" was my introduction, for all intents and purposes, to improv comedy. I have become a fan of a bunch of actors and comedians by hearing them on this show first. I did not know anything about Scott Aukerman until I first listened to "CBB". It is my favorite podcast. So, the opportunity to see the show live, I'm going to find a way to see it. When I went in 2022 I was still pretty leary of COVID. I was, and still am, vaccinated, but it was one of the first times I was indoors with people I didn't know. Some had masks, others didn't. Before the show started, I was nervous. Then they did the show and I was able to enjoy myself. It was awesome. That was my first time seeing "CBB" live. I got to see Aukerman, Paul F Tompkins, Carl Tart and Dan Lippert. It was great and seeing a live show for the first time in two years was amazing.

Going into the show last night, I had a whole different vibe. I have been to many live shows since 2022. I am comfortable not wearing a mask indoors with people I don't know. I love sitting in the balcony now. I invited my buddy Kirk to the show, knowing he doesn't really listen to the show. I wanted to introduce him to what I listen to most of the time. I'm in a totally different place in my life and I went to this show expecting and hoping for a good time. And I had a very, very good time. I don't know if Kirk finds it as funny as I do, but I definitely heard him laughing here and there, and that made me smile.

Aukerman came out at 7:45 last night and the show instantly started rolling. He did his catchphrase submission. He did the balcony report. He made a few jokes and it was right to the interviews. PFT, who always tours with him, was the first guest. He was an Irish priest who has only been on Andy Daly's podcast. I enjoyed this character quite a bit. PFT and Aukerman have such great chemistry and they are lifelong friends. It shows when they are on stage together. Their rapport is excellent and they perform with ease. To me it truly feels like they are the only people there and they are having a good time. After PFT's segment Lily Sullivan came on as Bicky from the Gym. This is a classic "CBB" character. She plays an "Australian", but she is really from Ohio, she just studied abroad for one month. She also plays an actress named Lily Sullivan, but she is nothing like herself. Everything is bigger and better. Sullivan is a great improviser and she has really grown to be one of my favorite guests on "CBB". The highlight of the night was the next guest, Conor Ratliff. He was Maurice the Missourah Mule, and boy oh boy was he hilarious. The back and forth with Aukerman was amazing. He had a good time with both Sullivan and PFT. When he went to confession, that was one of the funnier bits of the night. Ratliff has become a fast favorite for me and I laugh harder and harder each time he is on. He hit an absolute home run last night. His performance was great. Carl Tart returned to STL again and played the Pine Sol Lady. I like this character a lot. He always mentions the power of pinesol and it gets bigger and bigger each time. As the Pine Sol lady, Tart likes to talk about her love for porn and crime. He also got up and did 20 push ups during his time last night . I was impressed by that. I also really liked his "monologue" from "The Wizard of Oz". And his take on Imo's pizza was not far off. The show concluded with Will Hines playing the Galactic Boogie Boarder. Before he even got on stage he had a big laugh. He was trying to "skate" onto the stage, but he fell. He also had three pizza boxes in his hands at the time. He was okay, and when everyone was settled, Hines was able to successfully skate onto the stage. From there on out it was business as usual when Hines is on "CBB". He played a rather boring character, and the panel on stage proceeded to mess with him. It was tremendous.

For me, the show last night delivered everything I want from an episode of "CBB". I laughed a ton. I got to hear some of my favorites. I met a new character. And it was longer than a regular episode. I was very pleased with pretty much everything last night. You should see "CBB" live if you can. It is one of the funnier shows out there now, and they seem to be in a groove. They can do no wrong in my opinion. Last night was a total blast. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Tim Heidecker's The Two Tims Tour is a Must See

I had the pleasure to see Tim Heidecker live on his tour a little less than two weeks ago. I have been a fan for a long time, but he never really toured a whole lot. I love his shows, I am one of the few people that like the movie he and Eric Warheim made, I thoroughly enjoy "The Comedy" and have enjoyed all of his more recent stuff.

When Heidecker announced a tour called "The Two Tims". I was instantly intrigued. I let some friends know about it and we went to see the show. None of us really knew what to expect, we did very little research on purpose, but we knew it was going to be good. As we took our seats we were rewarded with one of the better, and most unique shows I have seen in a long time.

The whole idea of this tour is, Tim Heidecker comes out and first he performs as an intentionally bad stand up comic. The comic's catchphrase is "no more bull shit", but all the character he is playing does is spout bull shit. It is cringey and awkward and the character is delusional. But it was also funny. I found myself cracking up at how out of the touch the comic is. It takes a ton of talent to flub lines and mess stuff up and go on stage in front of a bunch of people and do that. Heidecker did that better than anyone I have ever had the pleasure to see live. It was one of the oddest and most interesting live experiences I've seen. And I loved it.

Heidecker then takes a short break and comes out with his band, The Very Good Band, and performs his music for over an hour. I have heard his music before, but never really dove deep with it. This was a great way to reopen my curiosity. I was highly intrigued. I knew Heidecker was a talented dude and comedian. But hearing him play his guitar and sing his original songs, it blew my mind. He is really good at this as well. I was stunned in the best way possible. He played a bunch of music, some country, some folk, all good. I like how he interacted with the band. They have a very good rapport and it shows. They all seem to be having a great time. Heidecker also told jokes and poked fun and had a loose attitude and was clearly enjoying himself. He had the band leave the stage for a minute and he played the piano and sang a very incredibly deep cut Bob Dylan song called "Lenny Bruce". And believe me when I say this song is very weird. Heidecker made note of that after every line of the song. He would sing it in Dylan's voice, stop, and talk to all of the crowd about how wild the lyrics were. And Heidecker is a humongous Bob Dylan fan. He told us that and I fully believe him. While the Dylan cover was funny and very cool, it was the original stuff that got me. I didn't know any of the songs but I know them now. I have been devouring his music since this show. I will hear songs and think back to the live show and how well they all played the song live. Having no idea what I was going to hear, hearing his music and his band has made me an even bigger fan.

The show was a little over two hours and I could have watched it for longer. The Two Tims is a must see show live. It was an awesome evening and an evening I won't soon forget. Tim Heidecker has a fan for life. What a show.

Ty

 Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Factory is a Worthy New Music Venue in St. Louis

thefactorystl.com

I spoke about the Tenacious D show yesterday. Today I want to talk about the venue.

The show was in Chesterfield, a small suburb of Saint Louis. For those that live here, the venue is in the Valley, where all the flooding took place in the 90's. They have since built a ton of stuff out there to prevent flooding and to help commerce. When the pandemic started, they started to build even more out in that area because they still had some space. There is a walking mall out there, but since 2020 they have built this venue, a play place and a humongous golf spot. This was my first time at The Factory. Hell, I just started going back to shows within the past year. The venue also had nothing to do with my decision to go either, it was to see The D. I have to say, after a few days removed, I like this spot. I will be going back to see more shows here for sure.

The Factory has that new venue feel to it. Everything is clean. It all looks modern. The seating in the balcony is nice and comforting. I was in the general admission area, and that was cool. There was space to spread out and watch the show. The only downside to the floor was the fact that it is not slanted. My buddy who I went with pointed that out and he is right. The floor is completely flat. That is a good thing for standing for a few hours, but it can also get painful. My groin is sore from run training and it was no better after Monday night. My buddy has a knee issue and he said he was in pain afterward. Otherwise, the layout is solid. I like how spread out everything is. The next time I go I will be sitting in the balcony. I prefer sitting at shows now anyway, and when we walked around to check everything out, I was jealous of the people sitting up there. I wanted to be there. Next time hopefully.

As for the bar, I don't drink. My buddy had a drink, and it was expensive, but he said it was good. That helps for people who like to imbibe during a show. I did notice that they sell Liquid Death there, and you all know how I feel about that product. I will be purchasing some Liquid Death next time for sure. They have multiple flavors of sparkling water and mountain water. That is a good deal in my book.

The waiting area and where you walk in is pretty cool as well. There is ample seating. There are a nice amount of seats and tables. The stairs are easy to walk up and down and they have seperate aisles for going up and down. The concrete floor is easy to maneuver and walk through. The bar station was right next to the merch table. That is a smart move on their behalf if they came up with it. They have nice monitors that show everything that is upcoming. I dig that. All in all this is a solid music venue. I like how close to my home it is as well. I am also down with the space and the acts they have been able to secure.

The Factory is a good companion to The Pageant. I like The Pageant more, but The Factory has its points. It is pretty cool. Go see a show there if you live nearby and haven't gone yet. It is worth the time. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches Tenacious D Live

Last night I saw Tenacious D at The Factory here in Saint Louis. I'll do a proper review of the venue tomorrow. Today I want to talk about the show last night.

I have not seen The D live since 2002. Back then I saw them open for Weezer and it was pretty awesome. Last night they were the headliner and I am also older and more mature. This was a different experience. The opener was Steel Beans. This was an interesting and decent opener. Steel Beans is one dude who plays guitar, drums and sings. It was fascinating to see him do all this. But I felt like he had to be exhausted after his set. He played for 45 minutes, and it was solid. But some of his songs were a bit long. And he used a ton of distortion, which is smart on his part because it masks mistakes. But the use of distortion made it hard to hear him sing at times. All in all though he was a solid opener. I was never bored during his set. He did a good enough job.

Tenacious D came on stage after about a 30 minute intermission. Again, my expectations were high and different from 21 years before. They absolutely delivered. The set was fast and furious. They must have played something close to 20 songs. Jack Black is a true showman and he controlled the crowd and the stage for their entire 90 minute set. I am endlessly floored by Black. I was saying to my buddy after the show that he is a legit movie star who does music for fun, and he is extremely talented at it. His voice and playing is very good. He can hit some very high octaves. At one point he sang the beginning of "War Pigs" and it was amazing. He showed off his range on "Master Exploder". From song to song, all night long, he was on point. It was so enjoyable. Kyle Gass is the perfect sidekick to Black, and his guitar playing is exceptional. He is so proficient and technical, but he can also have fun with it. When he plays some of his wild solos on his acoustic guitar I am blown away. He is so good at his craft. He is also the perfect foil for all the bits The D do during their live shows. He plays off of Black so well. He performs like a true professional. I loved every second of their time together on stage. The backing band is truly wonderful. The lead guitar player shreds and has some pipes. He played the Devil during "Beelzeboss" and he hit a grand slam, both with his playing and singing. He is no Dave Grohl, but he is a damn good compliment. The bassist kept the rhythm going all night and when he got his chance to solo for the crowd, he was amazing. He was sliding up and down that bass and having the time of his life. It was dope. The drummer was pretty rad as well. He kept the tempo up and the band going strong. He also exploded during his solo. It reminded me of the playing in "Whiplash", except he was having fun playing. His solo was the best of the night in my opinion. He was pounding away on his kit. I was pleasantly surprised at all the love given to the crew throughout the night too.

This was a fun show through and through. It was also fantastic to hear all these songs again. It brought me back to my 20's when I really got into them. But I felt I appreciated it more last night. I got it all right away. I knew the words and was humming along. I was laughing at the jokes within the songs. To hear a song like "Double Team" as a 40 year old, it is so much more funny because I get every single joke within the song. It was great. The fact that The D is famous enough to headline a tour makes me very happy as an adult. I think it is rad that Jack Black and Kyle Gass still like doing this and are willing and able to tour. Neither of them have to do this, they want to do this. That much was apparent watching them perform last night.

I loved this show, the venue was cool, the band was great and I got to see an actual movie star in person. I had a blast. It was more than worth the price of admission and the exhaustion I have today. Good times. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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"Comedy Bang! Bang!" is Great. "Comedy Bang! Bang!" is Greater Live.

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing a live recording of Comedy Bang! Bang!. As many of you know, I have been on the bandwagon of this podcast from the jump. It was the second pod I came to, and I have been listening ever since. I was a fan before I had kids, a fan after having kids, a fan since I have been married, basically Comedy Bang! Bang! has been in the majority of my adult life. My cousin, who is also a fan, came with me, and it was awesome. There are few shows that I want to go to now. I have seen a lot of bands I have wanted to see. I have seen a good amount of comedians I wanted to see. I have gone to poetry readings, live talks and gospel shows. I have seen a lot. So when something comes along that I haven't seen, I will go without a second thought. COVID be damned, I was going to this show. They were also pretty COVID safe in the venue as well.

Anyway, this show was amazing. There is something special about Comedy Bang! Bang!. Improv comedy is such a tough balancing act but these guys are pros. They are the absolute best at what they do. Scott Aukermann is a masterful host. The way he guides the conversation, how he goes from one guest to the next, how he rolls with all the punches, he is such a pro. I can think of no one better to host. He also happens to be very funny and very quick witted. He knows the game and he plays it so very well. He also had total control of the crowd from the jump. It was great. Second only to Aukermann is Paul F Tompkins. He doesn't host, but for all intents and purposes he may as well be the co host. He is so excellent at playing along with Aukermann. The way the two of them play off one another is magical. PFT is also very good at character work. He is so good at taking some random character and making it memorable. Last night we were treated to Brock Lovett. This character is based off of Bill Paxton's character in "Titanic". Obviously he takes a lot of liberties. He also makes it hilarious. The whole wet treasure thing is comic gold. This was also my first time seeing PFT live and he did not disappoint. Dan Lippert was next on stage and he played Bill Walton. I was pumped. Dan Lippert is newer to me, but Bill Walton is one of my favorite characters on CBB, and he was hilarious as ever. All of the weed talk, the psychedelics talk, the way he couldn't string together a proper sentence, it was all wonderful. He did some great stage work. The whole "Ring" scenario was incredible. At one point he called PFT by name and was told to run laps by Scott Aukermann. He had to do crazy stuff with his headband and the stuff in his pocket. It all worked. Carl Tart was the final guest, and being a big fan of his, seeing him live was an absolute treat. I was so pumped when he was announced. Tart is a great podcaster, a very good actor and one of the better improvisers in the game right now. He played the lead singer of the band Cameo last night and it was as funny as it got. He and Aukermann play off each other almost as well as PFT and Aukermann do. Tart kept trying to lead Aukermann into jokes, and that was awesome as well. There were so many special things about this show last night. When they all did stand up that was great. Hearing them sing a bunch of different songs done like the band Cameo was amazing. The way they tried to make each other laugh was perfect.

I am so very happy that I got to see this show last night. It was a "bucket list" thing for me and it more than lived up to the hype. I cannot recommend seeing CBB live enough if they come to your town, or even close to your town. It rules and is one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. What a great, great night of comedy.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches Leon Bridges Live in Concert

Last night I went to a live concert for the first time since January of 2020. I had been staying away because I was nervous about getting sick. A large group of people in an enclosed area just seemed like not a good fit. But the show I went to last night was outdoors, in a smaller venue, and even though COVID is still very, very real, the numbers have not been as high as they have been before. I felt okay going to the show last night.

It was a total blast. I went to see Leon Bridges at St Louis Music Park. I am a fan of Bridges' music. I know he has not been doing the straight forward soul music on the last two records. But I still find myself enjoying the music on said records. And he still played some stuff off his first record. Bridges was wonderful. That dude can sing. I was blown away by how good his voice sounded. I do not know why I was on the fence about hearing him live because he is so good at what he does. His band was on point too. I went with a buddy of mine and we had seats. When the bass would kick in, you could feel it in the seats and hear it reverberating in the stands. It was rad. The guitar player was on point too. That guy was doing some great things last night. The keyboard player was not only on top of his game on the keyboard, he also shredded the saxophone. He was playing the hell out of that thing. The backup singers were great as well. When they would trade vocals with Bridges, it was a thing of beauty. I especially loved it when they got the crowd involved. And when Bridges closed the show he brought one of them out to sing with him and her voice was outstanding. I was blown away. It was a great show.

The venue was also really cool. It was an outdoor stage with a roof over the top. It is like a dome with an opening. The enclosed part really let the acoustics sing through the whole crowd. You could hear almost every note. I also liked the way the venue was laid out. They had the floor area, which was open and easy to spread out. The seating was comfortable and open and easy to find your spot. It was also very clean. I know that sounds weird, but the venue just had a clean feel to it. It looked nice and just felt good. I really like this spot. I will definitely be seeing more shows there.

I also had a blast with the person I went with. My wife has lots of friends from work, and she told me that one of them is a concert goer who's wife also does not like concerts. I have gotten to know him the past couple years and I thought he was going to be the perfect person to invite. I was right. He was great. I had a very good time hanging out with a new friend last night. It was awesome.

Finally, it was really, really cool to see a live show with a group of strangers. I was nervous beforehand. But when the music started, I just let all that slip away. I would look out over the crowd and see people vibing to the music and I was just happy. I had a smile on my face the whole time. The crowd ranged in age and it was just comfortable to see a group of people crowded together to see some live music. But, there was also enough space to spread out during the show. Besides the person I went with I do not think I was within six feet of anyone else for the majority of the night. This was also a perfect show to ease myself back into the world of live shows.

Leon Bridges is cool and calm, his crowd is respectable and everyone there was having a good time. There was one person that passed out and Bridges stopped the show to make sure the person got the proper help. I have never seen that before, and to see Bridges and his band take the time to make sure that person was okay was tremendous. I had a blast last night. Everything about the evening was awesome. It has made me excited to return to live shows, especially ones that are held outdoors. What a fun night. It was a blast.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Tyler the Creator Delivers in a Great St. Louis Show

I wanted to tell you all about a show I went to last Friday quickly. I know I have been doing all basketball, but I did promise to do reviews of other stuff, and last week I saw Tyler, the Creator in concert.

I am fairly new to his music, although I have been listening to Odd Future for about 5 years. But, when the OF crew went out on their own, Tyler was one of the guys I waited to check out.

That was a mistake. I love his beats and the way he rhymes. He is so fierce and vicious and the beats are pure hip hop. Also, as you all know, I am a big time fan of his last 2 records, "Flower Boy", and even more, "IGOR". And boy did he do some "IGOR" on Friday night.

He came out on stage in a blue suit and a blonde wig, buying fully into this Igor persona. It was almost like performance art added to a really kick ass show. And man did this show kick ass. I didn't know what to expect, but I was blown away. Tyler was on point and on fire all night long. I also loved the show within the show. The lights were great. The big screen behind him totally ruled. The effects, like fire and fireworks, were so god damn loud and perfect. I have nothing but great things to say about what I witnessed. And the tip in the cap of the night, he covered a good amount of his catalog. He played a ton of stuff off "IGOR", as expected, and it was great. He opened the show with "IGOR's Theme", and stood like a statue until he decided to rap along, and it was great. He did a piano intro to "EARFQUAKE", let the crowd sing it, then did an acapella version of it which was awesome. My favorite, "NEW MAGIC WAND" was, what the kids would say, a true banger. The bass was so heavy I could feel it in my chest, the lights were very strobe heavy and he crushed the song.

Even when he decided to do his older stuff, it worked so well. "IGOR" is such a different album, so to hear him do his older stuff, I really dug it. It showed how good of a rapper he is. Even while performing a song, he said he rapped too fast, slowed it down and then got right back into it and slayed again. Even in full Igor regalia, he did his old music justice. It was awesome. I also liked, when he decided to break character, his interactions with the audience. He wanted us all up and grooving with him. He asked for help on songs. He wanted us to be involved in a good way. And when people got too involved, he shut it down. There was also a guy that was just standing there, hands in pocket, and Tyler called him out. I loved it. He wanted that dude to have fun, and if I had to bet, that dude loosened up and had a good time.

This concert was such a pleasant surprise and I am so glad that I went to see him. If you have a chance, go see Tyler, the Creator. He is one of the more underrated rappers out there right now, but he is so, so good. And this whole Igor character is super fun to watch live. What a solid, and super fun show. I cannot recommend it enough.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty was not the man with his hands in his pocket. Ty waves his hands in the air like he has no cares.

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The Black Keys Deliver Another Great Live Show

Last night I went to see Modest Mouse and the Black Keys on the “Let’s Rock” tour. I want to say this was the second or third night of this tour, and I liked that because I like to see the very beginning. I like to be one of the first group of people to see these songs live first. It also shows me how much of a pro these musicians are, especially this early on. And, one of the bands seems like they need some work, and the other is set. They know what they are doing.

The band that seems like they need a bit more work is Modest Mouse. I had some problems with their set. It needs to be said that they are the “featured guest”, or even the opener. I don’t know if that hurts their ego, and they’re letting it out on stage, but still, they should have been better. Also, I do not know much about them, so maybe this is more on me, but still, they weren’t great. The sound mix was weird. The instruments drowned out the singers voice. I didn’t know any of the songs. They seemed almost disinterested on stage. Needless to say, I was unimpressed, and feared it might be a sign of a poor overall show.

Luckily, the Black Keys got on stage and reset the mojo. They were great. They were reliable. And they are god damn pros. What I loved, and appreciated most though, their set list covered almost all of their records. They didn’t just play their new stuff, they ran the gamut. They opened with “I Got Mine”, and that is a great song, and one I know how to play. Any hope I lost with Modest Mouse, the Keys picked it back up right off the bat. After that, the songs spammed their career spectacularly. They played a good amount of tunes off “Brothers”, and it was all the good stuff. They did the hits like “Next Girl” and “Tighten Up” and “Howlin For You”, but they also did “Everlasting Light” and “10 Cent Pistol”. And they were all great. “Next Girl” had super cool visuals attached as well. So did “Everlasting Light”. And the way they did “10 Cent Pistol”, kind of slowed down and more bluesy, was cool and unique. I was super stoked because I got to hear “Thickfreakness”, and that is my favorite song, and they nailed it. It was loud and filled with reverb and distortion and it was expertly played by both Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. They played “10am Automatic” off “Rubber Factory”, and that is such a fun song to hear live. I loved that they played “Strange Times” because we are truly living in some strange times right now. It was a great choice, and they crushed it. “Fever” off “Turn Blue” was a nice little, slower detour from all the rock. They slowed it down and both the Keys slayed their instruments. Even “Your Touch”, off “Magic Potion” was very well done. And, of course they played some new tunes. I loved that I got to hear “Walk Across the Water”. That is my favorite song off the new record, and it was sublime live. “Fire Walk With Me” was amazing. It was a song I kind of forgot about, but after hearing it last night, I’m fully on board with it now. Even when they played the singles, “Lo/Hi”, “Go” and “Eagle Birds”, they played them excellently.

This was a solid show despite Modest Mouse’s poor effort. The Black Keys are a great band, and always do solid live shows. All I know is, once the Keys took the stage, it was great. Another successful live Black Keys show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty is not familiar with any songs by Modest Mouse. He just seems to “Float On” by their pop hits.

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Thom Yorke in Concert is not Radiohead, and it Still Rules

Saturday night I saw one of the most interesting and entertaining live shows I've ever witnessed. Me, my buddy and 2 of my brothers saw Thom Yorke on his Modern Boxes tour.

It was incredible. I even liked the opener, which is out of the norm for me. The guy who opened, I unfortunately do not remember his name, was a very solid cellist. He played his cello really well, and he did some interesting things with it. The way he used the amplifier and pedal board he had was pretty cool. He played some rock songs, some classical stuff and did quite a bit of looping. It was cool. I found myself nearly entranced by his performance. Even when he started to play some recordings of children and people talking, and then proceeded to play cello over it, I found it very neat. I liked this guy. Then it was Thom Yorke's turn.

Going into this show I did not know what to expect. Yes, I had previously listened to the record he put out prior to this tour, and I have listened to his other solo stuff, but I had never seen him solo. I have seen Radiohead on multiple occasions, but they played Radiohead songs. I knew what I was going to see when I went to those shows. I was prepared to be surprised, in a good way, by this show though. I am a Radiohead fan. I, as I have said, listened to all of his solo stuff, so I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy it. In listening to his Modern Boxes stuff I did expect a layer of electronic music. Yorke seems to be leaning towards that style with his solo stuff, in a good way. I'm not a huge electronic music fan, unless it is done right. Yorke does it right.

So, when he came on stage, I was very, very excited. He and his 2 other musicians got right into it. Yorke said hi, and they immediately jumped into their set. Yorke moves and dances and sings and does his thing on stage no matter what. Another one of his band mates was playing all different kinds of instruments and he was as in to the set as Yorke seemed. Then there was the third guy. He stood in one spot the whole time and was seemingly typing on a keyboard. I'm sure he had something to do with the entire show, but he didn't move at all, until the end when he waved to the crowd.

That being said, I really, really liked what I heard from Yorke and his band. They played some wild, jumpy, bouncy and overall cool music. It was all very, very different from what I expected. But, I loved it. Even when he did some of his older solo stuff, like "Black Swan", it was a totally different arrangement from his first recording of the song. And I loved it. His new original stuff is also very, very good. It is the upper echelon of electronic music. Yorke is a total pro, and it showed on Saturday night. I like some electronic bands, like Ratatat, but Yorke is so, so much better than the stuff they do. The songs were unique and different and fun and I even felt a bit if a hip hop vibe here and there. It was so cool.

Also, the show going on behind the band, on the 4 separate screens they had, was one of the coolest things I have seen in my lifetime. It was all shapes that would change into other shapes. He also had this cool screen that was totally white, then a black ink drawings started to fill in all the white space. It then turned into a full on crazy color palette. I'm also not big into strobe light type stuff, but I found myself completely engaged and enraptured by what was going on behind the band. It was so cool. There were times I could not take my eyes off what was going on on those 4 screens.

Finally, the double encore was great. Yorke and his band came back out after about an 80 minute set and played three more songs for the first encore. Yorke did a solo version of "Reckoner", and it was so cool to hear it in a totally different way. A song that is so drum heavy was played brilliantly, minus the drums, by Yorke and his computer and mixing board. When he came back for the second encore, he played one song, and it was the most normal one of the show, but it was a perfect ending. He played one of his new songs from the movie "Suspiria", for which he wrote and arranged all the music. It was a pretty, beautiful and scary song that Yorke, even while messing up at one point, even saying "whoops", played excellently.

This show was amazing. I am so, so glad that I got to see it live. I'm so glad that I got to experience with some very important people to me. This was a great night. It was a night I won't soon forget. This show was amazing, and it was one of the better shows I've ever been to. What a night. A special thanks to my wife who bought the tickets as an early birthday gift. She really knocked it out of the park. 

If you are a Radiohead fan, go see this show. You will love it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not care for electronica, unless it is good. Let that be a lesson, if your genre of music is not widely accepted, make it good.

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A Great Hannibal Buress Show is Just What We Needed after a Crappy Week

Being funny with a mic can cure a lot of our ails

Last night I got a great break from the horribleness that is going on in our country right now. I got to see comedian Hannibal Buress at The Pageant here in Saint Louis.

I'm a big, big Buress fan. I loved his show "Why? With Hannibal Buress" on Comedy Central, I think he is great on "The Eric Andre Show", his writing on stuff like "SNL" and "30 Rock" has his stamp on it, but most of all, he is a world class stand up. That is what he does best, in my opinion. This was the third time that I have seen him live, and it was as great as the first time.

We did get an opener, Willie Lynch Jr, and he was very funny as well. He touched on many things, like being a vegan, a new dad, a college grad paying student loans, all very relatable things to the crowd. I really enjoyed his short set, and I think he could become a bigger comedian, quite possibly, a headliner.

Then, we got Buress. He was great. He opened his set by immediately addressing what a shit show this country is now based on who the electoral college elected, but instead of using that as the basis for his whole set, as some other comedians would do, Buress did 10 minutes on it, only touched on it one or two more time throughout his 90 minute set, and that was it. I respect the hell out of that. He did not use it as a crux. He said his peace, then went on to do his regular set, and it was hilarious.

Like I said, this is the third time that I have seen him, and there were some familiar jokes, but the majority of his set was all material that I have never heard. Buress loves sports, I do too obviously, and he did some great bits about being a bandwagon fan, gambling on teams and a chance encounter between his father and Bulls/White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf. He also did some good stuff about Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. The sports stuff, as far as comedians go, can be hit or miss, but Buress' stuff was all a homerun for me. I laughed pretty hard at all the sports jokes.

Buress also did some stuff that has become a new thing at his shows. He has always had a DJ with him, the great Tony Trimm, but this time, Trimm added a lot more than just music. There was a great bit about a Reddit thread that had someone, a fan, that had recently been intimate with Buress, commenting on the experience, for all the internet to see. Buress and Trimm put her words on a big screen behind them, and Buress made hilarious comments about the stuff that this person wrote. Trimm also played the role of straight man very well. Buress would talk to him from time to time throughout the show, and Trimm would have only one or two word responses, which led to Buress doing some great improvised stuff that all worked. Trimm did bring the music as well. Buress did his bit about rappers talking about waking up "in the mood", which I have seen before, but he had some new riffs on this, and Trimm was there to play the songs for him. Buress did his Riff Raff bit, fans will know what I'm talking about, and it was as funny as it always is, again with some help from Trimm.

The best thing that he and Trimm did together though, was when Buress talked about what he wanted to do at his funeral. The subject of funerals was brought up when Buress said the worst thing he had been to all year was his Uncle's funeral. He said that it was like most funerals, sad, dour and upsetting. This led to Buress talking about what he wants to do at his funeral when he dies, and clearly, Trimm was his camera man for all the hilarity that ensued. Buress had a video of himself introducing everyone to his funeral, and then his face melted. He then talked about splicing in videos of him doing weird shit, so the crowd would be thrown off. He had a video of himself humping a Keurig Coffee Machine, Trimm put his spin on it, and I was laughing at this image so hard, I had to cover my face with my hat. I was in literal tears. There was some other stuff, Buress doing random things, showering, working out, and saying, "I can't do this anymore, I'm dead!". This was the highlight of the night for me.

After this great, new bit, Buress did a little crowd work, finding a pregnant lady and telling her he'd buy her baby for 10,000 dollars. It was very funny, especially when he kept asking her questions, never letting her off the hook. He also talked about getting in shape, getting older, doing more movies, investing his new found money, just basic stuff from a 33 year old comedian that is currently blowing up right now.

This show was exactly what me and my two friends needed after a very crappy week. It was great to get away and laugh for a couple of hours at random jokes and observations. I was so glad that this show happened last night, and I want to personally thank Buress for putting on an excellent show. Hannibal Buress is fast becoming a very big name in comedy, and I highly recommend seeing him if he comes to your town, you will not be disappointed. Go see this guy do stand up, he is great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If you are an aspiring stand-up in the St. Louis area, tell Ty and he will review your show. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Beck Exceeds Already High Expectations in His St. Louis Live Show

The only thing missing is two turntables

This past Friday I had the pleasure of seeing Beck live at the Peabody Opera House in Saint Louis. Beck was on my personal "bucket list", or a "white whale" of sorts for me. He was a musician that I wanted to see before he quit doing live shows. So, when I found out he was coming to my hometown, I was going to find a way to go. My wife got myself and my brother tickets as an early birthday present. I was very enthused when she told me.

So the show came, and it was great. The opener wasn't so good, they were called CRX, and that is Julian Casablancas, of Strokes fame, new band. They sounded like a heavier, wannabe version of the Strokes. They only played for 30 minutes, which was the best thing about their set, the fact it was over so quick.

Then, after about a 20 minute break, to set up everything, Beck and his band took the stage. Beck came out on fire. He seemed pumped to be doing a show. He was very energetic from the get go. I think it helped that it was a Friday night. There is something about the beginning of the weekend that gives everyone a little extra pep in their step. And Beck was no exception. He opened the show with "Devil's Haircut". A classic right out of the gate. I loved it. The band was great all night, and it started with the shows opener. After that, Beck proceeded to play 20 songs that ran through almost his entire catalog. After "Devil's Haircut", we got some great gems like, "Black Tambourine", "Loser", "New Pollution" and "Que Ondo Guero". Each song sounded great. "Black Tambourine" was just as bouncy and poppy as I hoped it would be. He turned "Loser" into a funkier song than it ever seemed possible. "New Pollution" was straight up. It sounded like it was the original recording in the studio. He started "Que Ondo Guero" by stating that, when he was a young kid this is what the Spanish people would say to him all the time, and then Beck and the band played the song incredibly. So far, so great.

After these first 5 classics, he added other such great tunes like "Think I'm in Love/I Feel Love", "Soul of a Man", "Mixed Bizzness" and "Go it Alone". "Think I'm in Love" was awesome, and the fact that he added a little cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" at the end made the song that much better. That's the great thing about live shows, the unpredictability of what covers the band might do. This was a great choice. "Soul of a Man", which is probably my personal favorite Beck song, was great. It had that great distorted guitar, and Beck and his lead guitarist traded 2 awesome solos. It was a thing of beauty. We then got some funk with "Mixed Bizzness". "Soul of a Man" may be my favorite song, but "Midnite Vultures" is my favorite Beck album, and "Mixed Bizzness" is a classic. The band sounded great, and it was a great, funky change of pace.

To follow that up with the somber, yet upbeat "Go It Alone" surprisingly worked to perfection. This was a great way to go into the next portion of his show, which I call the "acoustic/moody" portion of the show. He played "Paper Tiger", "Lost Cause", "Heart is a Drum", "Wave" and "Blue Moon" all in a row. Now, I know it sounds like I may have disliked this part, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I thought it was a great time to slow down, and build up to the end of a show. "Paper Tiger" was great, and I liked that he used electric guitars for the live show, as opposed to the acoustic he used on the record. It sounded great. "Lost Cause" was phenomenal. Again, he used an electric guitar, but the song had the same somber mood that it always had. This is a great Beck song, and it was great to hear live.

Then he went into his "Morning Phase" portion, this being his big Grammy winning record, and played three songs in a row from the record. I got a bit nervous that he was going to play some of the weirder, slower songs,  but he only picked one of those, that single one being "Wave", which I really like. The other 2 from that record were the more upbeat in music on the record, being "Heart of a Drum" and "Blue Moon". This time he busted out the acoustic guitar, and it was the perfect choice. This slower portion was very good, and as I said, a very good change of pace and build up to the end of the show.

After the "acoustic/moody" portion, Beck played his 2 new singles, "Dreams" and "Wow". "Dreams" was a great throwback Beck song. It sounded like something that could have easily been on "Mutations". It was a bit more poppy, but it still had that folksy/acoustic feel to it. "Wow" is a hit. That song is incredible. I hope his entire new album follows the sound of "Wow". The song is uniquely Beck.

I loved everything, including the show that went on behind the band on stage. "Wow" was the absolute highlight of the night. He then finished out his set with "Girl", "Sexx Laws" and "E-Pro". "Girl" was awesome. It sounded great and Beck's vocals were awesome. We got some more funk with "Sexx Laws". We also got to see some of Beck's famous dance moves and he implored the crowd to show him some of their sexy moves. It was great. "E-Pro" was a great rocker to end his set with. The band crushed the song, and Beck had an awesome solo. It was tremendous.

The band did come out and they did one encore song, but it was an epic song, with 4 short covers in the middle. First off, the band started to play the opening riffs to "Debra", but instead of that, they went into "Where It's At", another mega hit. It sounded awesome. Then, in the middle of the song, Beck decided to introduce his whole band, and this is where the short covers came into play. He introduced his bass player first, and he played a few bars of "Good Times". It was very cool. Next up, the guitar player played and sang a bit of "China Girl". Again, it was awesome. The keyboard player was next, and he played a few lines from "Pocket Calculator" which were awesome. Then, the drummer, and for that fact, the whole band chimed in and they did some lines from "1999". It was stupendous. Who can cover Prince better than Beck? No one. They then went back into "Where It's At", and ended it with a bang.

This show was everything I hoped for, but it was so, so much more. This was one of the better live shows that I have ever seen. Thank you so much Beck for all the great music that you have made, and continue to make. I had such a great time at this show. Beck is an absolute legend. Everyone must see him live.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Are you playing live in St. Louis, tell us and Ty will come to your show. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

Another Great Show from Louis CK

The mic had some funny behind it last night

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Louis CK live at the Scottrade Center here in Saint Louis. This review is going to be short and sweet because I don't want give away any of his bits, jokes or stories, because everyone needs to do themselves a favor and see him live in you ever have the chance. He owned the stage for over 90 minutes last night. The upper level was closed down, but the rest of the arena was filled, and he had us all in the palm of his hands for his whole set. His set was all fresh material as well. I'm a huge fan, he's my favorite comedian working right now, and I have seen every special, but last night, I hadn't heard one single joke. It was awesome. It's kind of like seeing a band two nights in a row, but the set list is completely different. That is always a treat, and so is the fact that CK does new material on every tour. He is an absolute genius. Like I said, I don't want to give away bits, but he had some great stories about trying the finest things in life, Matthew Mcconaughy, old people dying, his kids, public schools, all of it was just incredible. The way he moves on stage, the very little, but very necessary movements with bits, is second to none. He can play arenas and have the absolute attention of the entire audience. I didn't hear people talking around me. No one was on their cell phones. Very few people got up from their seats during his set. It was pure comedy gold.

The three openers, Joe List, Joe Machi and Rachel Feinstein were all very good as well, and they all only did about 10 minutes each. It was a great appetizer to what was a great meal of comedy. Everything about this show was just perfect last night.

I have seen CK before, but I brought my dad with me because he is getting into stand up much later in his life, and there were times that I looked at him and he was laughing harder than I was. Please do yourselves a favor and go see Louis CK live if you have the chance. If you are a lover of stand up comedy, you have to see him live. He is the best stand up working right now, and I don't see him slowing down any time soon. Thank you so much for such a great show last night Mr. CK, and I cannot wait until you come back. Epic show and a great night.

Go see Louis CK.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Will you be performing in St. Louis, tell us about it and Ty will come to your show. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Leon Bridges Exceeds Expectations with a Flawless Live Show

It was a good night for the mic

It's always wonderful when you have a build up to something that you have been looking forward to for 5 or 6 months, and it totally delivers what you want and expect. That happened last night when I went to see Leon Bridges play at the Pageant in Saint Louis last night. This show was absolutely incredible. It is probably the best concert that I have been to in quite some time.

There was an opener last night, and I will dedicate a few words to him. His name was Solo Woods, and he played guitar and sang and he had a percussion player alongside him. Woods was okay. He has a very good voice, he is energetic on stage and he is a pretty decent guitar player. His originals, while good, all kind of blended into one song, but that was fine. His best songs were his two covers. He covered Bob Marley's "Burnin and Lootin", but turned it into a hybrid reggae/R&B song, and it was good. It is hard to cover someone that is so famous and world renowned, but Woods did Bob Marley justice. He also covered Outkast, but more so, Andre Benjamin's, "Pretty Pink", and that was a perfect song for his voice and his musical styling. Woods was good, I was never bored during his 40 minute set.

The main event started about 20 minutes after Woods finished. Leon Bridges is a wunderkind. He is about to become a humongous star. He commanded the stage last night for his 80 minute set. The band came out first last night and they played some great instrumental, funky, old school R&B music and, about a minute later, Bridges came dancing on stage and the sold out crowd erupted. We were all waiting and waiting, and then when he showed up, we were all so, so thrilled. While the band was still playing, Bridges started the opening bars to the great "Smooth Sailin". He absolutely crushed the song, and I knew that we, the crowd, were in for an absolutely astonishing show. Bridges eschewed the guitar, with the exception of one song, last night so he could focus on vocals. It was a weird, but ultimately, a very good decision. He has such a great voice, he should just showcase that. After that excellent opening, Bridges proceeded to play pretty much every song on his tremendous debut album, "Coming Home". He played "Coming Home", "Better Man", "Flowers", "Twistin and Groovin", and pretty much everything else on the record. He sounded so great live performing these songs. He had an exuberance that permeated the entire crowd last night while performing. It is almost impossible to not nod your head, move your feet and just all out dance to his songs. He plays and sings old school R&B, and he does it so damn well.

I was talking to my father after the show last night, and I told him the best comparison I can make is, he reminds me of the videos and clips that I have seen involving Rufus Thomas from the 60's and 70's, during Stax Records heyday. Bridges has a much better voice, but he has that same enthusiasm that Thomas brought to all his shows. I love that a young, new performer is bringing this excellent music from the 60's and 70's to the masses.

Even when Bridges slowed things down and played his slower stuff, he still brought an energy and a happiness while performing. His live version of "Shine", "Roll Away" and "Daisy Mae" were absolutely incredible. His voice is so smooth and his voice excels when doing the slowed down R&B songs. I learned that he wrote "Daisy Mae" based on a suggestion from his friend to write a song about his dog, named Daisy Mae. Well, Bridges ran with it, but changed it from a dog to a pretty lady, and it is a very, very good song. I also learned that his song "Lisa Sawyer" is about his mother. That song is beautiful and a great tribute to his love for his mother. I also learned that "Twistin and Groovin" is about when his grandparents met. It gives that song so much more meaning.

We, the crowd were also very lucky to hear 2 new songs last night. Bridges said that we were the first audience to hear these tunes, and they were both great. One was a more upbeat, classic Stax style song, and the other was a great, slower, but ramps up, mix of R&B and soul song, which was tremendous. I cannot wait to see what he does with these 2 new songs, because if the rest of his next record is half as good as these 2 songs, it will be great.

Bridges closed out his set with my favorite song of his, "The River". It was just him, his guitar and his back up singer. "The River" is a gloriously beautiful song, and to hear it live, it was moving. I was shocked at how much the song moved me last night. I haven't felt anything like that at a live show in a very long time. He came back and played 2 encore songs, one a cover of an old classic with local musician, Pokey Lafarge. It was great to see these 2 young guys that adore and play old music together on stage. They did a great job. I'd love to hear the 2 of them work together in the future. He closed the night with "Mississippi Kisses", and he got the crowd involved in a call and response type dialogue. I usually don't go for crowd interaction, but it was near impossible to not join in. It was awesome and a perfect ending to a perfect night.

Thank you Leon Bridges for performing such an excellent, wonderful and moving show last night. I cannot wait to see you again, and I cannot wait to hear what you have for us in the future. It was awesome.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Will you be playing a show in the St. Louis area? Hit up Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Doug Benson Breaks in a New Comedy Club with Some Classic Stand-Up

At least the mics worked well at the new venue

Last night I saw Doug Benson at the new Helium Comedy Club here in Saint Louis. Doug Benson was good, as he always is. He came on stage first, as he always does, and gave us a little taste of comedy before he did his full headlining set. If you have ever seen a live Doug Benson show, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a preview. Benson comes on stage and introduces the show. He usually checks his Twitter feed to see what people in the particular town are tweeting prior to the show. It's Benson's version of crowd work, and it always lands very well. He picked out a few people's tweets, some were there, others were not, and he reads them aloud and answers them with a joke. I really enjoy this part of his show. I like that a headliner like Doug Benson likes to give his crowd a little preamble before the main portion of his show.

Benson then introduced his opener, a very funny comedian from Ohio named Jeremy Essig. Essig did about 15 minutes of pretty decent standup. He joked about one ladies love for Busch beer. He made fun of his age and his hairline. He talked about how he pissed off famed game show host via Twitter, Chuck Woolery. He talked about being in between dreams while falling asleep with the television turned on. It was all pretty funny stuff. I enjoyed this opener.

Then Benson came back on stage to do his 45 minute set. It was very funny, as always. What I like about Doug Benson's stand up is the familiarity of the structure. Every time I have seen Doug Benson live, he usually has the same set up to his jokes, but the meat of the joke and the punchline always evolve. For example, each show I've been to, he always talks about his love for UFC and how he likes that one of the fighters calls himself the "Mexicutioner". He makes a comment how that sounds like a racial slur, but the fighter is actually of Mexican descent. Then, he goes into a new version from that set up. Last night it led into a whole bit about Donald Trump and how backwards and racist that asshole truly is. It was very funny. He also brought up his old movie, "Super High Me", and he had the original test that he took in that movie from 8 years ago. It was funny for how non topical that test has become. He does this at most shows, but his crowd work during this bit last night was incredibly funny. He also talked about his deep love for marijuana, but he always finds a way to make it relevant and funny. Doug Benson's stand up is tried and true. He is a professional that knows what he is doing on the stage.

He ended the show playing one of his games from his excellent podcast, "Doug Loves Movies". He brings up a special guest and last night he brought up Helium's headliner all weekend long, Bert Kreischer. Bert Kreischer is very funny to begin with, but when he is hanging with Doug Benson, he is even funnier and last night was no exception. Benson always rips on his lack of movie knowledge and he did it in spades last night. They played Last Man Stanton last night where the contestants have to name as many movies as possible from one actor, actress or director. The subject was Clint Eastwood last night and the game lasted longer than I thought it would, but that was good. The competitors were all very good, with Kreischer being the lone exception. This was just as funny as the rest of the set and it was an excellent ending to a very good show last night.

The only gripe I have, and it is very tiny, Helium is still very new. The staff seemed to have a hard time getting everyone seated at the start, delaying the show by 15 minutes and the waiters and waitresses were a bit too loud for my liking, but that is so small, I don't think it made too much of a dent. I still had a very good time. Helium is going to be the new spot for comedians here in Saint Louis because it is a genuine comedy club and I'm sure they will iron out any future problems with ease. Anyway, Doug Benson was hilarious as always and I'm glad I went to the show. I had a great time and I really enjoy seeing him do his stand up live. Doug Benson is a must see stand up for live comic fans.

ed note: The opening comedian spells his last name Essig, not Essec. Our fast fingers need to be accompanied by slower eyes. We apologize and have fixed the error.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He fulfilled his two drink minimum last night with a couple of no gin and all tonics. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Arcs are Currently Touring, and You Need to See Them Live.

There was a lot more going on than a guitar and drums.

Last night my brother and I went to see the Arcs at the Pageant here in Saint Louis, and it was a very good show. The Arcs is Black Keys front man and lead guitarist Dan Auerbach's side project. I've written about them a couple of times on the site before, but last night was the first time I had seen them live. They were very good.

The band was very tight and you could tell that they enjoy playing music with one another. Auerbach seemed a bit more relaxed on stage as well. Not that he isn't relaxed with the Black Keys, he just exerts so much energy when performing live with the Black Keys because they are a two piece band. The Arcs, on the other hand, they had Auerbach on lead vocals and lead guitar, they had a bass player, a piano/saxophone player, a guy that doubled as a drummer and rhythm guitar player and Richard Swift playing drums as well as keyboards and a beat machine. They also had their openers, an all female mariachi band, come on and do background vocals and play some instruments on a few songs. This was a full band. I absolutely adore the sound and the show that is the Black Keys, I love two piece bands, but it's nice to see Auerbach venture out with a full band, and it sounds good. He also didn't look extremely exhausted at the end of the show last night, much like he does after a Black Keys show.

The Arcs are a very good band and they proved that last night with this show. They opened with "Velvet Ditch", which is a slower burning, almost psychedelic rock song and they crushed it. I knew I was in for a good 90 minutes after they opened the show so well. they went on to play 14 more songs, but not everything was off their album, which was nice. The majority of the show was from "Yours Dreamily", but they also did a new song, a few covers and they played the excellent "Lake Superior".

"Lake Superior" was written after they saw the Netflix show "Making A Murderer", and it's about the unjust way these people were treated and later convicted of a crime they may not have done. The song is eerie, but the melody and the music is upbeat in a weird way. I was very happy to hear them play this song live. I loved it when it came out, I listen to it on my iPod all the time, so it was great to get to hear it live.

The covers were old timey tunes. They played the Temptations "Smiling Faces Sometimes", The Blue Rondos "Little Baby" and they closed the night with Gary "U.S" Bonds "I Wanna Holler". Each song was great and they put their sound on each one. "Smiling Faces Sometimes" was slowed a bit and made a little more psychedelic, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Auerbach's solo's were clutch on this song. "Little Baby" was played just like the old time tune it is and I loved that. They played the sped up time signature, they sang it like the original band and the female mariachi backing band sounded really good on this song. Closing the show with a cover is always a little suspect to me, but they did and excellent job with "I Wanna Holler". It was a good choice by the band to play a song that is similar to their sound already and they did a great job covering it.

They played a newer song that they recently wrote called "Maybe I'm the Only One For Me". It was a very good, slow song. I liked the lyrics and the music. There was some great reverb from the guitar, the drums were slowed down to an excellent groove and Auerbach's vocals were awesome. They played a couple of other tunes that I'm not too familiar with. Right after "Velvet Ditch", they played "Bad Girl". This was a good, slower song, that had Auerbach using his newfound falsetto voice. It was trippy, but good. Right after that they played "Keep On Dreamin", which I think might be on the album, but I'm not 100 percent sure. It was good too though. Very good guitar and very good drums on the song. I liked it a lot. Their other encore song was a song called "Eyez". I think the Arcs were trying out a lot of newer material and that makes me happy. I like that they are giving the crowds at these shows a chance to hear stuff they've been working on. I liked this song too. It had a 50's sound to it, but spliced with their sound meaning, distorted guitars and loud drums. It was pretty good. 

The rest of the show featured songs off their record. They played, "Put a Flower In Your Pocket", "Pistol Made of Bones", "Stay In My Corner", "Chains of Love", "The Arc", "Cold Companion" and "Outta My Mind". I'm already a huge fan of "Put A Flower in Your Pocket", so to hear it live was a delight. They played it excellently and they even had the weird, choppy effect that starts on the song on the record while they played it live. Auerbach's vocals really shine on that song as well. "Pistol Made of Bones" is my sons favorite song and I got to say, they played it really well. Once again, great vocals and guitar from Auerbach, but the drums, with the loud splash when they sing, "I was shot!", was fantastic. "Stay in My Corner" was sweet and pretty and the solo was very well played. They even had a nice floral arrangement as their lights for this song. It was beautiful visually and sonically. "Chains of Love" was where the female mariachi band got their moment to shine. They got to sing the chorus and the added lines and they sounded great. Really excellent guitar on this one as well. "The Arc" and "Cold Companion" both sounded very similar, but very good. They sound alike on the record and the live show wasn't very different. Don't get me wrong, I loved hearing them both, they just sounded kind of the same. And "Outta My Mind" was great. It's a good song to begin with, but hearing it live and seeing the weird clips they added in the background made it that much better. It was done very well.

I knew going in that I was going to enjoy myself last night. I'm an unapologetic Black Keys fan, so anything that Dan Auerbach or Patrick Carney do outside of that, I'm probably going to enjoy and the Arcs, well I enjoy them quite a bit. It was a fun, fast in a good way and well done show. I liked it being in a smaller venue with a smaller crowd too, more intimate that way. The Arcs are a great band and they deliver when it comes to a live show. If they are coming close to your town, I highly recommend checking them out because you will have a good time. It was a very, very good show last night.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He would love to talk about your show in St. Louis. If you are a musician, comedian, or something in between, let us know and Ty will come to your show. Also make sure you follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

A Bad Crowd takes Away from an Awesome Gary Clark Jr.

Thank god the guitar was sober

Instead of watching the stupid Oscars last night (ed note: we will talk about how stupid they were in writing tomorrow and in talking on Wednesday), I went to a concert here in Saint Louis. I feel like I made the right decision.

I saw Gary Clark Jr at The Pageant last night and it was good and it was bad. I'll start with the bad. When you are watching a musician as talented and skilled as Gary Clark Jr, you go to watch that musician. Well, at least where my father and I were standing, that was not the case. First of all, how many drinks do people need at one two hour concert (ed note: fifteen?)? I saw the same people walk to the bar multiple times to get multiple drinks in two hours. That is a total waste of money, in my opinion, I'm not a drinker, and that mars your concert going experience. For example, three guys tried to fight each other not once, but twice because they had way too many mixed drinks and PBR. I was embarrassed for them, but they didn't seem to be embarrassed at all. Some douchebag in a white suit coat tried to start a fight twice and had the fights started, he would have gotten his ass kicked. The fact that the crew working and the police let him back in is appalling. One strike at a live concert and you should be out. That was, unfortunately, not the case last night. Two of these same guys that were trying to fight also decided that a loud, live concert was a good time for them to catch up. I mean, what the hell! It was super loud, Gary Clark Jr uses a lot of distortion, so, how could these guys converse you may ask. Well, they shouted at each other for the first 80 minutes of the show. Thankfully, there was a gentleman standing in front of my father and I that asked them to shut up because he couldn't hear. Thank you sir and screw you assholes that thought a loud rock show was the right time to chit chat. What a couple of assholes. The third and final thing that made it bad was the fact that the show seemed to be oversold. The venue was sold out, but I feel like they really stretched the limit of people allowed in one area for an extended period of time. Nothing can take you out of the groove of a song you love than multiple people bumping into you because they are drunk and they need to get to the bar to get another drink. I had to move seemingly every 2 to 3 minutes so someone could get to the bar. It was maddening. Crowds can make a show great, but they can also make it very annoying and take your attention away from the stage. What's happening on stage is the only thing that should matter at a live show, not drunken assholes, talking too loud and looking for a fight. I hope for the other people on the other side of the venue that they didn't have to deal with this nonsense last night. This could have been a great show, but the crowd around my father and I made it annoying and frustrating.

Let's get to the good part now. Gary Clark Jr is an awesome guitar player and a really good performer. He shreds guitar. When he was soloing last night, I mean my god was it incredible. He has such a knack and a skill that borders on expertise when playing complicated solos. He makes these incredibly hard solos sound easy. He has such control of his guitar and it was amazing to see him live. He opened the show with his most famous song "Bright Lights" and crushed it. The slow burn of the intro into the verse and chorus was just tremendous and then he soloed. It was awesome. It sounded like the album, but with a few added notes and some slight change to what was recorded, he made it sound ten times better. A great start to the show. He then proceeded to play mostly stuff off his first album and that made me happy. Don't get me wrong, I really like his newer album "The Story of Sonny Boy Slim", but I love every song on "Blak and Blu" and on his much loved 4 song EP. He played "Travis County" in the middle. "Travis County" is like country mixed with blues mixed with rock and roll and it is totally awesome live. You could tell he has so much fun playing this song at shows. He ripped through it, adding great solos and singing the song to perfection. I was thrilled when I heard it. He also played "Numb" a little later and that was absolutely amazing. That slow open to the song was awesome live. It is a very slow burn, then he hits a very distorted chord and that's when you know you are in for a great song. "Numb" is my favorite song by him and he destroyed it, in a good way, at this show. It was everything I hoped for and then some. He played a very elongated solo in the middle, trading riffs with his rhythm guitarist, who is also absolutely incredible, and it was a sight to see and a treat for your ears. "Numb" is phenomenal live. He even did a great cover of "If Trouble Was Money". He slowed it down a bit, but he still paid tribute to the legends that have done this song before him. Gary Clark Jr has that old timey blues sound to his voice and he uses it so very well. I loved his version of this old blues classic. Even his slower love songs that I'm not a huge fan of were wonderful live. He brought an added energy to the songs and added some solos that made them that much better. Basically, when I could hear and see him, everything he did was amazing. He has such a great stage presence and commands the attention of the audience that is there to see him, not to fight or get black out drunk.

Gary Clark Jr is great live and I highly recommend going to see him when he comes to your town. Hopefully you get a better crowd experience than my father and I did because Gary Clark Jr is incredible. He is going to be a world wide star if he continues on this path and the next time he comes to Saint Louis, hopefully it will be at a venue where they require silence and don't allow stupidity. This show would have gotten a 10 out of 10 for me if it wasn't for the dumbass people around me last night. Because of these few morons, I'd give it a 7 out of 10, but that is not a slight to Gary Clark Jr, he is amazing. Clean your act up Pageant because I'm coming to see Leon Bridges there in June and I better not have to deal with this nonsense again.

Screw the crowd around me, but Gary Clark Jr, you were awesome. Thank you for being so good that we were able to get through this show even though we had complete idiots surrounding us all night.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. This was not the first time he had to deal with a drunken idiot at a concert, go hear the tale on a classic edition of the X Millennial Man podcast. You can console Ty by following him on twitter @tykulik.

When Bad Pop Culture Happens to Hopeful People

This is what happens when you mix hope and awfulness

Piggybacking on our podcast from Saturday and RD's piece about sports heartbreak, I'm going to talk about a different type of heartbreak.

Today, I'm going to talk about two movies and two albums that left me heartbroken. There's things in your life that you look forward to and, even though movies and music are very low on the list, things as small as that can leave you heartbroken. You look forward to something coming out, you're already a fan and the first, or everything prior in the catalog, is great, and then a movie or an album comes out, and it's just a dud, and that makes me upset. All the build up and it's just a pile of garbage. That's what I'm going to talk about today.

First, let's talk about two albums that left me heartbroken. I was a huge fan of the band Rocco Deluca and the Burden. Their first album, "I Trust You To Kill Me" was phenomenal. Rocco Deluca is a fantastic slide guitar player, playing my favorite type of guitar, a dobro. He had a way with the slide and how he used chord progressions and effects that was pretty astounding. "I Trust You To Kill Me" had everything on it. There was blues, rock, love songs and everything I liked. I tried to teach myself songs off the album. I only do that with records that I really like. It was a great album. I saw the band perform at the Duck Room in Saint Louis, and the concert was excellent. He played all the songs off the record, played old blues standards, and blew me away. I was fully on board with whatever was coming next from Rocco Deluca and the Burden. In 2009, the band released their second album, "Mercy". Of course I bought it on the day it was released. I listened to it immediately, and this is where the heartbreak seeps in. This album wasn't the same. It was more emo and sad. I didn't know that the band was going through stuff, and they did break up after this album, but what they put on record was, quite frankly, garbage. There was no distorted slide guitar. There was no fire and passion coming from Deluca's vocals. The band seemed disinterested and the album was a complete downer. Being OCD, I gave this album many, many chances. I swear, I've listened to it from start to finish at least ten times. I still have the album downloaded on my iPod, but I don't listen to it. It is a bad record. This really bummed me out. I also heard that in interviews, Deluca kind of said that if you don't like this album, you're not a real fan of his. He's portrayed himself as kind of an asshole before this album was released, and this interview further proved the point. That also made me upset, because, I was a fan. I really liked what they did on their first record, but to act like this after you put out a dud of an album is really upsetting. I recommend listeningto "I Trust You To Kill Me", but give "Mercy" a hard pass. It's not good.

Another musician and band that I adore, not so much anymore, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, put out six great, different albums and then their seventh record ruined all the good vibes I had. I was a huge fan of Ben Harper's in high school. The second show I ever saw, the first under my own accord, was Ben Harper at the American Theater in Saint Louis. I was a junior in high school and me and a friend of mine showed up about six hours early so we could be front row. I spoke about this show on one of our early podcasts. It was great. I was hooked and loved everything Ben Harper was doing. He was my introduction to slide guitar. His music introduced me to a lot of the blues that I still listen to. He has a really good voice. The band can do everything from rock to reggae. They're very versatile. And, like I said earlier, their first six albums are very good. But, in 2006 a double disc was released called, "Both Sides of the Gun". I was a bit older by this time, and my love was wavering just a bit. I really enjoyed his previous album, "There Will Be a Light", but that was more a Blind Boys of Alabama record than a Ben Harper record. "Both Sides of the Gun" was supposed to be Ben Harper getting back to what made me like him so much. He was supposed to put the acoustic guitar down, which he apparently fell in love with, and get back to the slide guitar. He does on "Both Sides of the Gun", but barely. That's what left me heart broken. He was supposed to have a return to form, but he only did on about four songs on a 18 song double record. It wasn't a return to form at all, it was all a lie, at least in my mind. I listened to this record a bunch too, trying to like it, but I just couldn't. It was too poppy. Ben Harper, inexplicably, started to yell sing on songs. The band didn't sound very good. It was a huge disappointment. I even went to see the band tour this album, and it was a pretty dreadful show. They didn't sound good live anymore, and that made me even more heartbroken. They kind of redeemed themselves with the album "Lifeline", but "Both Sides of the Gun" left a bad enough taste in my mouth, that I haven't purchased a Ben Harper record since.

Now, to the movies that bummed me out. In 2012, I saw previews for a movie entitled "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". This preview had my favorite president, Lincoln, and mashed it up with him being a badass vampire hunter. I was on board. I couldn't wait to see this movie. Opening day couldn't come fast enough. I dragged my wife and her friend along with me because they had to enjoy how awesome this movie was going to be with me. I thought it would be selfish of me to go see it alone. I wanted to share it with the people closest to me. So, not only did the three of us see it on opening day, but we saw it in 3D. I don't like 3D movies, but this movie was going to be so awesome, why not see it in 3D. The first hint I should've taken that this was going to be terrible, the theater was basically empty for a rush hour show on an opening Friday. But, I thought, people were going to miss out on the greatness that is "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". Then, the movie started. I was excited, but, that excitement was drained almost immediately. This movie was so awful. The acting was bad, the action was terrible, the fights were poorly performed and the 3D gave me a headache. This was not the movie I expected. This was supposed to be the movie of the summer in 2012. What the hell happened? I should've realized that a lot of movies released in early summer are released then because they're so bad. This was heartbreaking. I so wanted to love this movie, but I couldn't even like it in a way that people like bad movies. It wasn't fun bad, it was just bad bad. How could a movie that looked so cool be so terrible? Previews, that's how. The only good thing that came out of this awful, awful movie was, I don't take previews that serious anymore, going so far as to not watch trailers for movies that I'm excited to see. Don't watch "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". It's very, very bad and will only disappoint you.

Another movie that broke my heart was Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I adore "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", and I figured that Tim Burton would do a good job with a remake. Casting Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka seemed like a home run in my mind. That was not the case. First of all, Depp as Wonka was god awful. Instead of playing it with the whimsy and humor that Gene Wilder does in the original, Depp plays the role like a creep. He seems like a guy that shouldn't hang around children, and definitely shouldn't own a chocolate factory. He was dreadful in this role. But, he wasn't the only problem. This movie was an absolute train wreck from start to finish. The kids cast in the iconic roles played them way too over the top. They're supposed to be snotty kids, but these actors took that way too literally. Freddie Highmore, who I think is a pretty good actor, doesn't do such a good job as Charlie. He was too boring. I wanted this movie to be as good as the original, but it was so bad. Tim Burton tried to put his weird vibes on this movie, but this movie doesn't need his touch. This is supposed to be a whimsical movie, but Tim Burton tried to make it dark. That doesn't work here, and it broke my heart. Tim Burton needs to stick to his darker stuff and not ruin another classic movie. I looked forward to this movie, but it was so bad, it just made me upset.

So, there you have it. There's a lot of other stuff besides sports that have left me heartbroken, but these four particular things left me the most heartbroken as far as pop culture goes. Tell me some things that have left you heartbroken in pop culture in the comment section, or tell me why I'm wrong about the stuff I mentioned today. And avoid the things I mentioned today at all costs.

You'll thank me later.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to give all these things in big kiss while at a party in Cuba and tell them how they broke his heart. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik