April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - 'Zooks made it to Z!

Z is for ZZ Top

ZZ was the other band at Bone Bash XI and they were terrific.  It was the only time we've seen them live as their ticket prices are a bit higher than I like to pay, even though they have been to the Mountain Winery a couple of times, which is a venue we like a lot.

I love the way they do their choreographed steps as they play and their microphone stands and the skull in the drums changed colors throughout the show.  It was pretty cool.

They used the big screen to good advantage, showing clips from their MTV videos as they played the songs.  They also played a few using their sheepskin guitars.  

Toward the end they changed their jackets to ones that lit up.  That was pretty neat too.  Wish I had gotten a shot of them in the dark!

And we have come to the end of the A to Z Challenge for this year.  I missed 4 letters because my pictures weren't scrapbooked yet and I could have just shown the pictures, but my theme was scrapbooking my concerts and I didn't want to rush my pages just to get through them.

I learned one very important thing about myself during the past month...I may take too many pictures!  I did enjoy reliving the concerts as I scrapbooked and I did try some new things and used some of the tools I have that I don't use a lot.  All positive things in my mind.  I'll be writing my reflection post for May 8 and am looking forward to reading what others experienced this month as well.  Definitely going to participate next year and after a week or so off, I'll be thinking of a new theme.



Hope you have enjoyed looking at my concert scrapbook.  I know I have had fun sharing it.

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - X-cellent X

X is for Bone Bash XI -

One of our local radio stations (107.7 - the Bone) puts on a concert at Shoreline every year and they call it Bone Bash.  This was in 2010.  The first band was one that we like a lot, .38 Special.

On this layout I used a corner punch to put a mat around a couple of the pictures.

I love the decorative edge it makes and I am finding that I've been using a lot more of my tools doing these pages than I have in a long time.  

I felt sorry for the group this time because they were the first band out and the audience hadn't all filed in yet.  I think having so many empty seats affected their performance because I didn't think they were as good this time as when we saw them the last time (K is for Kihncert).

Unfortunately, the lead singer, Donnie Van Zant is no longer working with them because of health issues (hearing issues) and actually there is only one original member left, so I don't know what they sound like now, although I think they are still touring.  

The second band was a metal band called Eagles of Death Metal and that is so not my kind of music!  We ended up walking around the grounds and I took some pictures of the lights they show on top of the tent.  

Have you seen .38 Special?  Been to a Bone Bash?  Tell me about it.


You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what Y has for us!

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Yes it's Y

Y is for "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC.

This is another one of our top favorite bands and we try to catch them whenever they come around, which may be less and less given their recent loss of Brian Johnson, the lead singer, due to hearing issues and the retirement of Cliff Williams, their bass guitarist.

In any case, the first time we saw them was in December 2008 in Oakland.  They are one of the most reasonably priced shows around and almost all seats are the same price.  That's the way it should be!  It was called the Black Ice Tour and they opened the show with a huge train engine breaking through the back of the stage with a puff of smoke.  It was quite impressive.  I used some papers from a travel collection so that I could include the train.  You can't really tell from the picture but the train is actually up on some foam dots to make it 3-D.

Angus is such an enthusiastic guitar player.  He got out on the end of the stage and a platform arose very high and he jammed out, even laying down on the bottom of the platform and almost going into a seizure-like fit.   They had a huge blow up doll, Rosie, sitting astride the train during the song "Whole Lot of Rosie."

Tons of people young and old ready to rock, dressed in school girl clothes and with light-up devil horns, trademarks of the band.

Hells Bells and For Those About To Rock are signature songs and they did not disappoint.  There was a good write up of the show which I was able to include.

We left the concert that night with our ears ringing and our voices hoarse.  That's a concert experience!

When we heard that they were going to be touring again in September of 2009 we had to go, even though it was still the Black Ice Tour.

One of the "problems" I have when we see bands for the second and third times is to make each layout series look different.  Especially in this case as the set list was identical.  Using different papers of course helps and we were sitting on opposite sides of the stage for this one.

I got Angus up on his high rise again, but this time I was able to get a shot of all the confetti coming down and even grabbed a piece to include.   Rosie was still riding the train but I couldn't see her as well since we were partially blocked by one of the big speakers.  

We have actually seen AC/DC one more time in September 2015 at AT&T Park.  We had General Admission tickets to the field but it got SO crowded down there that we moved toward the back for breathing room.  We are not young kids anymore and my husband had recently had back surgery so I didn't want anything to happen to him.  Of course those pictures aren't printed or scrapped yet, but there are some really good ones.  (Tease for next year's A to Z maybe?)

Well that's Y.  One more letter to go.  Will I make it?  Definitely going to give it my best shot!


You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what Z has for us!

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Unquestionably U

U is for "URGENT" by Foreigner!

I think that Foreigner is definitely one of my top 5 bands, maybe number 1.  We certainly have seen them quite a few times at several different venues, including our very first concert together, Day on the Green.  The last time I actually got an in-concert, up close and personal contact with the lead singer, Kelly Hansen!  I was in heaven!

Unfortunately, that's not the show I'm highlighting here, those pictures are not scrapbooked yet!  This is from the Mountain Winery event we saw in 2008.

Mick Jones was still touring with them, although he has since had health issues and is not always with the band (which leads some people to say that it is not really Foreigner without both he and Lou Gramm - who left the band in 2003).  Unlike Journey without Steve Perry, I think Foreigner sounds really good and stays pretty true to the old songs.  Also, Foreigner had put out a new album that I really like, "Can't Slow Down," while I really can't get into any of Journey's new stuff.  Okay, off that soap box, back to the show at hand...

Kelly Hansen has a habit of coming out into the crowd and that is so much fun to watch.  One of my absolute favorite songs is Urgent.  The sax solo by Thom Gimbel is just terrific.

We were close enough to get some guitar picks they gave out.  Love my souvenirs!

Okay, there's U.  Now I just need to pick up the letters, Q and S!  It sounds so much better to only be 2 behind instead of 5!

How about you?  Like the sax?  Foreigner versus Journey (in their current forms)?  Love to hear your comments!


You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what V has for us!

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - To the tune of T

T is for Ms. Tina Turner!

I think Tina Turner is another one of those icons that if you get a chance to see, you really should, just because.  Our seats weren't the best for this show and it was one of the early ones with my old camera so the zoom sucked but I still remember the night through these:

This was the first time I tried using one of the templates by Lea France.  It was one of the beginner series, Honey Comb.  I really like the way it came out on the paper with the round design.  I used metallic pens to color in the corner designs.  

She did hit after hit with a couple of costume changes.  She did need to sit down for a few songs and near the end of the show she got into a big basket picker and was transported out among the crowd.

The Thunderdome set was almost like in the movie.  She can still strut her stuff across the stage and she was in her 60's then!

I think if I tried to walk (not even dance!) across the stage in her high heels I'd probably break my neck!

The papers in this collection have a celestial feel, fitting for a star of her caliber I think.

Ever seen Tina Turner?  The Mad Max Thunderdome movie?  Love to hear about it!




You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what U has for us!  

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Really it's R

R is for Rod Stewart

I've seen him twice now, once with my daughter and once with my husband.  These are from the first time, in 2009.  We had really good seats, in the 8th row, and my daughter took the pictures so I could enjoy the show.  She did a great job!

The page on the right, below, was just a blank page and I added the flower stickers and ribbon to try and match the first page.  I think it came out okay.  The opening band that night was The Kin.  We had never heard of them but they were some cute kids.

Rod Stewart had a totally white stage set but because of all the different colored lights he used you can't tell that.  Most of the papers I used here were from the Simply Susan collection at Paper Wishes which, unfortunately, is no longer available.  I think the teals and pinks and purples compliment the pictures well.

During one costume change his daughter, Ruby, came out and sang a few songs.  She's got a pretty good voice!

I loved the heart display they put on the big screen.  He may be getting old but Rod still can belt the songs out.   The guitar players worked pretty hard too!

Rod is a big soccer fan and during one song he takes some soccer balls that he has autographed and kicks them into the crowd.  There are no pictures of that because we were too busy trying to catch one!

He sang quite a few of his hits and the encore was Maggie May.  Brought the house down!

The picture on the bottom right is from a T-shirt I got the night of the show.

Even though my husband didn't want to go with me that night, when we got home and talked about the show, I think he was a little sorry he missed it so the next time Rod Stewart came around, he was more willing to go.  That show was with Ms. Stevie Nicks.  Of course, those pictures aren't done yet!

That's my R.  If you are wondering about Q, that will come soon.  I decided that since I was behind anyway, I may as well get what I have out there, even if I have to skip a letter.

You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what S has for us!  

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Predictably it's P

P is for Prince.

In retrospect of course I am so glad we got to see this legend.  I think this was a spur of the moment show as I know he was used to doing that.  I got my tickets just days before the concert and usually I am like months ahead!

When we drove into the parking lot we were handed a piece of paper that said essentially "NO PICTURES OF ANY KIND."  I have a problem (as I've mentioned before) with stars who say they don't want their pictures taken during the concert.  I am very respectful and never use a flash and don't keep the camera up in front of other people's faces, blocking their view.  I pay a lot of money for good seats and I am not trying to sell the pictures, I just want to use them in my personal scrapbooking to remember the evening.  After all, I'm getting older and you know how the memory goes!

In any case, I snuck my camera in and managed to get a few shots, certainly nothing like I usually am able to take.  This is what I did with them:

I got a printout of the venue layout because the stage was in an unusual shape and right in the center of the arena.  The black dot is where we were sitting.  Larry Graham of Graham Central Station (and formerly of Sly and the Family Stone) opened the show and really got the crowd into it. 

Then, in the darkness, we saw Prince riding a bicycle into the arena.  Unfortunately I missed pictures of that.   Instead, I got shadow pictures of him playing the piano.  That was quite stirring.

In the above layout on the left I used a digital printable from Ephemera's Vintage Garden Purple Reign collection.   She made that collection specifically to honor Prince and I was so excited to use some of it.  I printed the piano and background words on tissue paper and then tore the edges all around.  I also inked the feather and then added some sprinkles to make it shine.  I love the way it turned out.   Here is a close up:

As you can see from the set list below, he sang quite a few songs, although some of them were in medley fashion, leaving us wanting the whole song for sure!  He joked that we would be there for days if he sang each song all the way through. 

I had to really sneak to take these pictures so of course not all of them turned out the best, but given that Prince has left us, I am so happy to have them.  The ushers were walking around making sure that no one was using a camera, even so far as to put their hand up in front of someone if they were caught.  Yet at one point Prince took out a camera himself and took pictures of the crowd and during the last song, Prince told us all to take out our cameras and cell phones and use them because he wanted to see the lights!  It was a great show.  

Have you seen Prince?  Got in trouble for taking pictures at a concert?  Love to hear about it!  

You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what Q has for us!

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - On to O

O is for "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger.

I'm just a little behind here but definitely not gonna stress or rush through these layouts.  This is another one where I'm using a song title to fill the letter rather than the name of the band.  

I'd say almost everyone knows this song, made even more well-known by Tom Cruise in Risky Business.  We've seen Bob Seger twice now and I've heard that he may not tour anymore so I'm glad we did.  The first time we saw him was in December of 2011.  That night was at Oakland Arena and we actually had a celebrity sighting in the Club Bar.  Ross Valory of Journey was there and he graciously came and said hello to me after my husband went and asked him to.  I wrote about that last November.  You can read that here.  

The next time we saw Bob Seger was in March 2015.  He had just come out with his new album, Ride Out, and we went with some friends to San Jose SAP Center.  I'm not finished with the whole concert but here are the first few pages:

For the page on the right I used a 3-D embellishment of a motorcycle from the Debbi Moore collection, Cards for Men Vintage Transport CD.  

I think it really adds something to the page.

We had pretty good seats, in the 16th row so I was able to get some really good shots.

I used this punch by EK Success to make a border to match the papers I was using.  

You can see that on the page on the left below.  On the right is the saxophone player in the band, Alto Reed.  I think that is such a cool name for a sax player, don't you?  When he starts the song "Turn the Page" with the sax it gives me chills and his solo on Old Time Rock and Roll is really good too.  I can't get over how big the sax is in the middle picture.   

So, there's my "O."  I'm going to try to get P and Q done this weekend and then I won't be so far behind.  

How about you?  Keeping up?  Have you seen Bob Seger?  Like the sax?  Love to hear!



You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what P has for us!

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Now to N

N is for Ms. Stevie Nicks.

I know I mentioned her when I did the letter F for Fleetwood Mac but Stevie Nicks is my idol and she deserves her own letter.

The first time we saw her was in 1983 for her Wild Heart Tour.  I have no pictures from that concert but I do have the tickets and the program from the show.  We were in the second level that night, which is not where I go now, but it looks like the tickets were only $11.50!!  No wonder we could afford to buy a program!

Aside from her performances with Fleetwood Mac, we've seen her two other times.  Once was with Rod Stewart and the other time was just last December when she did her solo tour.  Her opening act was Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders.  

I was able to get quite a lot of pictures so the whole concert is not finished yet but here are the first few pages.  

For the page with all the small pictures I wanted to match the opposite page, which is like chalkboard so I took a stencil I have and some liquid paint and decorated the edges of the page.

I think it came out pretty good, don't you?

One of the reasons I love Stevie so much is her gypsy style clothing.  I love all the layers and frills and her shawls are to die for.  The one on the right page is one she has had for a LONG time.

To make a decorative border around the next couple of pages I used this punch called a Mini-8 by We R Memory Keepers.  They come in several different styles.

I used it to make the borders around the middle background papers here.

Then I added a flower to each page to make them pop out a bit with a bit of bling in the center.  

I still have to make some notes on these pages about the song she was singing, Gold Dust Woman.  When she comes out with her gold shawl on the crowd goes wild because we all know what song is coming.  Stevie seems to go into a trance while she is singing it and dances and twirls around.  This time she was particularly mystic, even messing up her hair at one point.  I tried to catch that in pictures but it is hard when she is moving around so much.

An interesting thing happened a this show.  We had pretty good seats on the floor to begin with but my husband went to the restroom during one of her songs and when he came back he had found a ticket on the floor for the 7th row center!  We took turns going up closer and he was able to get some very close shots.  I was a little hesitant about using the ticket but toward the last few songs I went up closer too.  I figured the worst thing they could do was send me back to my own seat.  It was magic.  

I once did an art journaling project where I was asked to pick a muse and Stevie Nicks was the most obvious choice to me.  One of the prompts was for us to tell about the similarities and differences between us and our muse.  I wrote this:

How about you?  Have a muse?  Like Stevie Nicks?  Shawls?  Love to hear about it!



You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what O has for us!