Blog #2: Toby Keith Concert Review

Patrick Kane

9/23/10

Blog # 2

Professor Purdy

Toby Keith Concert: Personal Review

September 18^th, 2010

Tinley Park, Illinois

            Last Saturday night I attended a country music concert just outside of Chicago, Illinois at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre.  The headlining act of the concert was Toby Keith and the opener for him was Trace Adkins.  I arrived at the concert at about 7:15 PM and with the concert starting at 7:30 I definitely left myself enough time to find a good seat on the lawn.  As I walked into the amphitheatre I found myself wondering why I had under dressed, because the temperature outside was a low 60 degrees, and I only had on a pair of sweat pants and a long sleeve t-shirt.  As I contemplated why I had not dressed warmer for the concert I felt a cool drop of water hit my hand and before I had time to look up a steady drizzle of rain began to fall.  Nonetheless, this was the night of my nineteenth birthday I was ready to have a good time and push aside the poor weather conditions.  As my friends and I searched for a spot on the grass to stand and watch the concert we figured it would be easier to stand on the cement walkways, due to the fact that they were a lot more dry.  Also the walkways gave a great view of the stage.  Just as we found a spot to stand on the cement Trace Adkins hit the stage and started to play his hit song, You’re Gonna Miss This.  We had just made it to our seats on time and once Trace started to play it was hard to remember that it was raining at all and my friends and I were just enjoying the music.  The volume level inside the amphitheatre was a little loud, but then again it is a concert and I would rather it have been too loud then quiet.  Overall, Trace’s performance was exceptional, considering I am not a huge fan of his and he was only an opening act, but he was still able to take my mind off of the weather and enjoy myself and his music.  With Trace just wrapping up his set, and the rain letting up a bit, my friends and I decided that it would be a good time to snag some food while we waited for Toby Keith to come on stage.  Once we grabbed a few sodas and snacks we headed back to our “solid” seats and within a few minutes Toby took the stage.  As he came onto the stage a curtain dropped and he was sitting on the back of a truck playing his guitar sitting right next to the Stanley Cup.  I was so excited to see him with the cup, seeing as I am a huge Chicago Blackhawks hockey fan, and from that point on Toby sang a great set of his classic songs including my favorites, Beer For My Horses, American Soldier, and As Good As I Once Was.  The sound quality was great, I never noticed the rain, and all of my friends and I had a great time.  Overall, the whole concert was excellent, despite a few raindrops and a low temperature, Toby and Trace really put on a wonderful show.

Blog #1: Peter Gooch’s Art Exhibit at Art Street Studio D

Patrick Kane
Professor Purdy

9/15/10

Blog # 1: Peter Gooch’s Art Exhibit at Art Street Studio D

            Just recently, no more then two days ago, I stopped by Art Street in the ghetto of the University of Dayton to check out an art exhibit.  The exhibit was titled Project Ethiope – Works on Paper and Small Panels by Peter Gooch.  When I walked into the exhibit I noticed that the studio in which the artwork was in was a very spacious room.  This allowed a lot of open areas for each painting to be placed in a spot where someone who wanted to examine the painting, like me, could truly experience the work of art.  Within the exhibit two of Peter’s paintings stood out for me.  The first painting was titled, Lalibela - #12 (BIG) Acrylic/panel.  This painting stood out to me because of the amount of detail in which Peter puts into this piece.  Peter uses a blue/turquoise, as one of the main colors in the painting and that happens to be one of my favorite colors.  Therefore, the painting immediately drew my attention.  I then looked deeper into this painting and started to notice the smallest of details that appeared all around the main center of focus on the painting.  Peter was able to use so many different colors to offset his painting that every color seems as if it is there for a reason, not just some random color that he decided to throw on his artwork.  The second painting that was located diagonally across from the first one I talked about was titled, Lalibela – Yellow Acrylic/panel.  This painting was definitely another one of my favorites.  However, the only reason I actually liked this painting was due to the vibrant yellow that acts as the base of this piece.  Without the yellow I pretty much would be bored by the painting, but the yellow color just brightens everything up and truly illuminates the entire exhibit.  Overall, the experience that I had at the Art Street exhibit showcasing the artwork of Peter Gooch was pretty average.  I was not at all blown away by any of the paintings and I also thought most of them were boring and redundant.  If I was asked to go see it again I would probably say no, seeing as I feel the artist is not very creative and uses the same base every time.  Nothing wowed me at all, but I did enjoy experiencing the unique style that Peter has.