When I think of celebrating the 4th of July, I think of laying out on the beach, boozing with friends, barbecues (burgers, hot dogs, freedom fries) and of course the customary firework display. It's hard to imagine not commemorating the holiday without gazing up at the vibrant sky, lighting up with an assortment gaudy explosions. As if the heavens were having their annual rager, to kick off the summer and you were just fortunate enough to witness the festivities from outside the venue. It's funny how I just pictured that. But this year, I did none of the above. I felt like changing things up for once and decided to head to the Bacardi B-Live Concert at the House of Blues, instead of watching the traditional firework spectacle you observe every year. Without question, an excellent choice to honor our forefathers. Did I mention the concert was free?! No? Well, it was. Jealous? Though I did spend a good amount of money on steep drinks and immediately remembered why I try to avoid tourist areas for that reason. I'm also traumatized about driving in tourist areas, due to the fact of my car being a moving target for out-of-towners in the past. In my opinion, the only setback to the event was that they only served Bacardi and nothing else. I'm not really a fan of drinking rum, let alone the Bacardi brand. No other types of liquors were sold, which makes perfect sense from a business standpoint since they were the ones sponsoring the event, yet they also decided not to serve any beer. WTF?! I felt like asking the bartender: "Are you seriously trying to give everyone D.U.I.'s for the holiday?!" Don't get me wrong. I'm not mad at Bacardi. They're just trying to make money and market their product. It just would've been nice to have some more options, if you felt like switching it up. Needless to say, I was drinking Bacardi & Coke all night. Ugh. Still, nothing like enjoying a free concert with close friends and dancing the night away to great music. Though I was baffled that the concert wasn't sold out and wasn't as nearly packed as I was expecting, which I guess was also a good thing. It was a good mix of a crowd made up predominately of hipsters and hip-hop heads. If you weren't there, you definitely missed out. There's not many good acts that tour through Orlando and play a free show...
The highlight of my night was when I got to see Matt & Kim perform live. I've been stoked all week to finally have the opportunity to see them in concert. They certainly brought good energy to the stage and what I could only describe as a "dance party" vibe to the event, which was overshadowed by hip-hop beats. I found Kim so adorable, since she kept a huge smile on her face, the whole time she was playing the drums. But don't let the smile fool you, the chick can seriously rock out. Pardon the picture above. It was taken on my iPhone...Also, I got to witness DJ Jazzy Jeff spin another dope hip-hop set, for the second time around. How awesome would it be if Fresh Prince came out to join him? But nothing compares to the set I heard him play during the Scion yacht party a few years back, during the W.M.C. (Winter Music Conference) down in Miami. A booze cruise with a few hundred people sailing around the Port of Miami, while listening to some classic hip-hop and soulful house music. Plus, it was also free (open bar & appetizers). Come on! It's hard to top that...
All in all, good times were had. I even got to lay out pool side earlier that day, to recover from the previous two nights. So far, I'm content on how this summer is turning out... Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend with friends and family. If not, you're not a God damn American! On a serious note, please keep in mind the soldiers over seas, that are sacrificing their own lives, to fight for our so-called freedom. Shit ain't free, you know. On a happier note, I felt it appropriate to post the picture below.
-Signing off from the trenches-
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