Concert Road Trip: Ames & NeedtoBreathe

I'm going to go ahead and preface this post with this:
This whole event happened in March. That is how far behind I am, but I *think* I've finally gotten control of my schedule, carved out some writing time, so be ready to get caught up on my life.

Anyhoo, back in March, my friend Holly and I drove up to Ames (about 45 minutes north of DesMo) to see one of my favorite bands- NeedtoBreathe. They are a rock band from South Carolina. They can have a southern rock feel and sometimes a gospel-y feel. Amazing voices and harmony. We were stoked!

First, we decided to do some concert pre-gaming at the local brewery- Olde Main Brewing.

It's pretty popular place and I was looking forward to trying out the brews and the eats.

It's a pretty big place with upstairs tables that overlook the bar and seating below. That's where Hol and I sat.

First off we ordered a beer flight and an appetizer.

These poppers were pretty fantastic. We also ordered a beer flight to try out the different brews they had on tap.

We both liked the 2 seasonals (Elkman Milk Stout and Lucky Shillelagh) and the ales best (Sodbuster and Off KILTer).

They also make their own delicious root beer.

For dinner I ordered the Jalepeno Jack Sandwich with portabello subbed for the meat. For my side I chose the soup- it was a creamy asparagus.

Holly ordered the cod sandwich with fries and seemed to really enjoy it.
It was better than most pub food and some of the beers were pretty good!

After our hunger was sated, we headed off to the concert. It was at Hilton Coliseum which is a multi-purpose arena used mostly for Iowa State University sports. It has a Civic Center type feel to me. It's probably the cushioned stadium seating.

My favorite thing about the venue is they had hot coffee/lattes as well as cookies! I was stoked. And also realized how old I am...drinking coffee at 9 PM to make the drive home after the show. HA!

We had great seats, they were pretty much dead center from every direction.
Ben Rector was the opening act. I was not that familiar with his music, but I did recognize a couple songs from the radio.

The lighting for the show was really cool. Needtobreathe had this set up that looked like a big type-writer. It spelled out 'The Recokoning' (name of their most recent album). Before they came out, the keys lit up one at a time with a loud CLICK. It was really cool. I loved the dramatic effect.

It was a fantastic show- they played most of their most recent album and a few of their old ones. The lighting effects were just really cool. These pictures don't really do it justice:

The BEST part of the show is when the power went out and they had to sing 2 songs completely acoustic. I video'd them!

A Place Only You Can Go http://youtu.be/-DsxdCoPdwc
Drive All Night http://youtu.be/h6e8JLb7wpE

It. was. amazing.

I love being at a show when everyone gets so quiet....it's cool to have that many people in one place, completely focused. So intense.
I also bought this rad t-shirt.

It was a great show with a great friend!

**Needtobreathe is on a fall tour right now- check them out if you can!!


Setlist:

Oohs and Ahhs

Devil's Been Talkin'

Let Us Love

The Outsiders

Washed by the Water

More Time

White Fences

Keep Your Eyes Open

Girl Named Tennessee

A Place Only You Can Go

Lay 'Em Down

Drive All Night

Something Beautiful

The Reckoning