through everything we've learned, we've finally come to terms. we are the outsiders.

Tonight I went to go see Green River Ordinance and NeedToBreathe! GRO was exciting because I've been listening to them for awhile now, like them a lot but still had never seen them. They even opened for David Cook, but I missed the NY show because it was while I was on vacation! So I was happy to see them. They only played five songs but one of them was "On Your Own" and another was "Come On", so I was happy. They sounded great and they are pretty tight. Hopefully they'll get some longer sets in the near future, now that they've been featured on So You Think You Can Dance and all!

NeedToBreathe was exciting because they are awesome. End of story. I'm kind of on a roll lately with finding some new things to listen to and having them click right away. Giving this band a try, mostly because I was seeing their name coming up amongst fans of other bands I like, came at the right time. They just released their third album The Outsiders and the whole album is incredible. I love the flat out rock of their harder songs, the reflectiveness of their ballads and am finding the handful that are more rooted in their faith to be hitting me harder than I expected they would. Bear has that southern rocker boy grit to his voice that I'm getting addicted to (he sounds kind of like a peppier Caleb Followill, which, can't go wrong there.) When he and Bo harmonize, the sound of their voices mixing is absolutely incredible. A few songs also have their bassist Seth on harmony too and that full sound completely compliments Bear's style of singing. It's amazing.

The show tonight was one of the most fun shows I've been to in awhile. It was mostly stuff from The Outsiders with a few songs from The Heat. Opened with the title track, into "Streets of Gold", then into "More Time", which really summed up the vibe of the show and how awesome they are. It's the only song I took the camera out for and I barely got two full minutes because I just wanted stay in the music, but I'm glad this is the one it was out for because awesome Bo moment!


It's so fun watching Bo bounce around! The other opener, Serena Ryder came out to sing "Stones Under Rushing Water" which was pretty. I forget how much I like that song until I hear it. The set really started to build after that with the hard rocker, "Prisoner", then "Hurricane", then freaking "Girl Named Tennessee" which is ridiculously awesome and fun and one of my favorites. "Lay 'Em Down" mellowed it out a bit and sounded so awesome. That soulful sound is so addicting and it was perfect going right into "Washed by the Water". I feel like those songs touch me so much because they remind me of how much more there is to believing than the aspects I've fallen away from. It's a feeling I've missed having and I found myself completely transported during those two songs. Last was "Let Us Love", which is perfect for closing a show with the built in sing-a-long and extended ending and Bo and Bear going head to head with the guitars and stomping around. So fun and amazing. The encore was my favorite song of theirs, "Something Beautiful", done acoustic and completely unplugged. Bear just stood at the edge of the stage, his feet even with my waist and sang with no mic, accompanied by Bo on guitar and harmony, Seth on tambourine and Joe the drummer playing a guitar case. SO simple and beautiful and being so close and hearing it so perfectly was amazing.

I love when a live show makes you love a band even more than you thought you did. I love when live music makes me feel the way I did tonight. It's one of my favorite things to experience and I know part of that is why I'm getting into more bands and going to more shows. I really, really love it. These guys are flat out awesome and I'm so glad to add them to my list of favorites!