So Long Summer....

So it's August 1st. Summer is gone. As I've talked about on the show - my fun time is from April 1 to August 1. Once the calendar flips to August - it's football season and that means it's time to go back to work. However, it does give me time to reflect on the last few months...and boy, is there a lot to reflect on. It's been a lot fun and painful too!

Ever since I turned 31, I've been trying to have as much fun as possible. Call in intuition that it won't always be like this - freedom and no responsibilities. April 4th kinda set things in motion for this summer of fun as I had a bunch of friends out to the Urban Wine Company for a really fun night....then I got hurt :(. The first really nice day of the Spring saw me throwing a football at a cookout and I partially tore my right rotator cuff. As you probably know - it wasn't the only injury of the summer. I went to the Masters, South Carolina, New York City for the 4th of July and The Red Sox at the Yankees, and Boston 3 different times. I had a ball but it's time to get work...football is back.

However, the most memorable times will be the music that I experienced over the past 4 months. I thought it would be fun to rank the top 5 shows that I saw this Summer. Many of you were at these shows so feel free to join in the conversation about them:

5. BB King at Stir - The veteran guitar hero came to Council Bluffs and did his thing for 2 hours. While I can't say I love blues music, I really had fun at this show watching the legend work his guitar into a frenzy. You can tell that Father Time is catching up with B.B. as he sat for the entire set but he still rocked it out including an awesome version of "When Love Comes To Town" which he originally did with Bono of U2.

4. Tom Petty at Qwest Center - This was my 4th time seeing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and they did not disappoint. The one thing that you have to love about Petty is that he knows how to entertain. Unlike the Police, putting on a show is important to the band. They played the hits and rocked for 2 hours plus. "Running Down a Dream" will always be a special song to me and it was one of the 2 encores songs that they played.

3. 311 at Westfair - I waited nearly 4 years to see 311 in their hometown but it was well worth the wait. I have been a fan of the band for years and had seem so many times that I've lost track of the exact number but they blew through a 90 minute set with ease. They played lots of newer, slower songs but the old favorites ripped like always and everyone had a blast.

2. The Roots at Stir- Walking into the venue, I really didn't know what to expect out the Philly hip-hop group. It didn't take me long to realize that I was watching something very, very special on stage. From the amazing percussion, strings, guitar and rocking Tuba playing, the musicianship was 2nd to none. If there was a roof on the building - it would have come off. Their rendition of Dylan's "Masters of War" was the song of this summer that I will take with me for a long time.

1. Dropkick Murphys at Sokol - This shouldn't be a surprise....hell, I dislocated my shoulder during "Tessie" :). It was an amazing, unreal performance by the Boston punk/rock/folk band. From opening with my requested "For Boston" to "State of Mass." and the Irish Folk song "Fields of Anthery", DKM sent the sweaty, capacity crowd home very happy. The interview with Ken Casey of the band was a treat but hearing the songs that keep me from being too homesick in Omaha was the highlight of my summer of fun....and the fact that my shoulder will be F'd for years to come will just be a reminder of much fun I had on that July night.

Other shows attended: The Police at Qwest, Snoop Dogg at Westfair,