Located cliffside in the Pacific Palisades, the stunning Terranea Resort was an unusual venue for my favorite band, the Old 97's. It's definitely the fanciest place that I've seen a concert for any type of band.

We bought the VIP tickets for 75.00 each, which gave us access to a rope off section with alcohol and hors d'oeuvres. After drinking mimosas and eating lots of artisan cheese, pizza on skewers and brownie bites, we met the band.

I'm terrible at meet and greets. I freeze and it's awkward. Really awkward. I babble. It's not pretty.

If the band happens to come across this little blog of mine, I apologize, especially to Phil. Yes, I know, that you know, that I know your name, but I didn't need to make it uncomfortable. Sorry Phil.

Awkward aside, it was a wonderful moment to shake the hands of the guys in my fav band and get a picture. We asked fellow fans to take our picture and the best shot wasn't very straight. I'm just going to chalk it up to an awkward picture to match the moment.

After the VIP area, we had general admission for the concert, which took place on the meadows, a giant lawn overlooking the ocean. The June gloom cleared by the early afternoon and it was perfect. The sun was shining and a flock of pelicans kept flying over the stage. Unfortunately, we didn't bring lawn chairs or even blankets for the grass. We grabbed a good spot on the back of the hill and watched the opening bands.

Tyler Hilton was fantastic. His music is very Americana, right up my alley.

We were so impressed with Tyler Hilton, that we went to his merch booth and bought his album. Next, we have to buy a record player. Not kidding.

The other openers were Dustbowl Revival. Wow. Loved them! As their name replies, they do a modern twist on music from or inspired by the 1930's. A great live band. Apparently they have been named "Best LA Live Band" two years running.

We did our part for Terranea's social media and took some concert selfies.

Old 97's finally took the stage just after 4pm.

We abandoned our spot on the hill and went straight up to the stage, standing near Murry.

They played many of my favorites, like Roller Skate Skinny, Barrier Reef and Big Brown Eyes. Also my two favorite girls, Doreen and Victoria were in the set. There is no better "Scream at the Top of My Lungs in LA Traffic" song than Victoria. Love it! Murray did several numbers, including a cover of Mama Tried. A truly great set list, as always. The only missed opportunity is they didn't do The One. Maybe it was a bit too obvious for the venue.

After the concert, went to the hotel bar for a cheese plate and drinks. Killing two birds with one stone, we ate dinner and avoided the valet traffic. Plus, we had an amazing view of the ocean during sunset. Did I mention that this is a stunning hotel?

It was the perfect spring day in Southern California.

Last night, my guy (who suggested that his blog code name be "Big Ben" ) and I headed to The Troubadour for Rhett Miller's tour in support of his latest album,The Dreamer.Rhett is my absolute favorite songwriter and I always try to catch him when he is in town, usually 3-4 times a year. This is the second time that I have seen him play with the Serial Lady Killers.

For those out there not familiar with Rhett, he is the front man for the alt-country (or I prefer Cow-punk, if labels must be used) band, The Old 97's. When he is not working with the 97's, he also puts out solo albums, which tend to have more of a pop feel. Occasionally when he tours, he brings along his band for his solo career, The Serial Lady Killers. The Lady Killers are awesome musicians, but it is a tad weird to see them perform some of the 97's biggest hits. It's almost like the 97's are replaced by younger models. In particular, I missed Ken on Guitar. However, I do love seeing Angela Webster kill it on the drums. It seems so rare to have bands with female drummer kicking ass!

We arrived at the Troubadour really early to get in line, not realizing that the doors opened at eight. The ticket listed the event as starting at eight. Rhett came out and greeted the few of us waiting in line, so any annoyance was washed away as I turned into a blushing teenager. It's not only that he is so damn good looking, but he an incredibly talented writer. I go weak in the knees for talented writers!

The openers were,The Spring Standards, a band that I was entirely unfamiliar to me. They hail from Brooklyn, Great stuff. They played about eight songs, each sounding entirely different than the next. The lead singer, Heather Robb, felt like a mix between Stevie Nicks and Jenny Lewis. She had this amazing joyful energy as she sang, played drums and the keyboard (all in the same song). Rhett really gets some great openers for his shows and I always feel like I walk away with a new music discovery.

Rhett and the Serial Lady Killers hit the stage at ten. They opened with my favorite song off of the new album, Lost WIthout You. I had actually sent Rhett a request via Twitter for this song, but I guarantee that it was already on the set list! The concert was a very even mix of songs from all of Rhett's solo albums, the new album and songs recorded with the 97's. Mid set, Rhett gave the band a break and did a few solo songs, including a cover of a song from the British Band, The Wedding Present. David Gedge was said to have been in the audience. Rhett also did a somewhat soft acoustic version of Timebomb, I've never seen a show where Timebomb wasn't the closing song and this was the least hard core version I have ever heard. It was very cool!

Rhett Brought out Heather Robb to sing three songs with him, including one that she co-wrote on the new album. She also sang Fireflies as beautifully as Rachael Yamagata. Rhett did a three song encore, ending withOur Love.Another awesome concert. I left the Troubadour smiling and bouncing around to the songs stuck in my head.

A quick bit about the new album, The Dreamer. It's great, a bit more folk/country feel than his previous solo albums. This is the first album that Rhett produced himself on his new label Maximum Sunshine Records. It's a very reflective album. In particular, I love the following tracks- Lost Without You, Swimmin' In Sunshine and Picture This. As always the writing is strong with all of the tracks, a lot of word play and vague ideas that allow the lister to fill in their own story, I love that Rhett's songs tell stories and evoke emotion. His lyrics can go from being cheeky to cutting. Even a song like Picture This, which seems so sweet and sentimental, has a moment that is dark and questioning. Rhett never writes simple lyrics and that's what I love most about his writing.