Reflections on the Year 2023

I’m still in shock that 2023 is almost over; where did the time go? At the beginning of the year, I was still working at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida for my Disney College Program. After that ended in early January, I moved back home to Hawaii and was practically jobless for 10 months. Before you all say, “wow, that must’ve sucked,” it wasn’t all bad. I was a free woman with no job and no obligations whatsoever. 2023 was a year of re-finding myself after losing my identity in 2022, and most importantly, it was a year filled with concerts!

To make up for not attending many concerts growing up and missing out on seeing bands that I wasn’t into at the time, I told myself that I was going to see as many older bands as I could before they retire. Well, the ones that still sound good live. Before leaving Florida, I saw Blue Õyster Cult with my dad at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center; located in The Villages, Florida. I’m not a huge fan of the band, but that was a great show and I liked that they played songs from their most recent studio album, The Symbol Remains (2020). In late March, I saw Foreigner with my dad at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. That show took me back to the good old days of watching American Idol and hearing the contestants attempt to make the songs their own. 

In August, I saw Rival Sons with my mom at the House of Blues, located in Mandalay Bay Beach resort in Las Vegas. The funny thing is I wasn’t even going to attend the concert because I had no interest in seeing the band right away. But, due to changing circumstances and hearing Sea of Tranquility and Guitar Hack talk about how epic they sound live, I convinced my mom to attend the concert with me. I’m very glad I did, though, because Rival Sons blew my expectations. My mom even enjoyed seeing them live, except for the standing up all night part. They’re my favorite concert from 2023!

During that same trip, we also saw Big Time Rush at MGM Grand Garden Arena, but I didn’t do a review on them because I didn’t want to go on a rant about how the people there weren’t as nice as the people from the Rival Sons concert. Did I mention that I felt really old at the Big Time Rush concert too? It’s a weird thing to say since I’m only 25. But, I had no makeup on, was wearing a long blue dress, walking shoes, and the most-old fashioned, black cardigan sweater you could imagine. I can’t even scream like a teenage girl anymore; all I can do is go “YEAH” and “WOO” like a crazy maniac.

I even checked off a band that was on my bucket list and no, it was not Def Leppard! In early November, I saw Queen + Adam Lambert with my dad at the Chase Center in San Francisco. That was the most technologically advanced show I’ve ever seen in my entire life and Lambert is one of the best singers that came out of the 21st century! In total, I attended five concerts this year, which is a lot more than usual. I won’t be able to attend as many concerts in 2024 since I just started a new job, but I’ll try to slip in a concert or two there.

As mentioned before, 2023 was also about re-finding myself. I got back into writing music reviews and music-related posts. In fact, I currently write for two hard rock / heavy metal music websites, Metal Express Radio and The Razor’s Edge. I even challenged my comfort zone by interviewing bands / artists that were promoting their new albums. My interview with Shawn Drover from Withering Scorn was a major highlight for me. The album reviews and interviews have died down since I started my new job, but after I get settled, I’ll make time for them.

Speaking of my new job, I work for the state now as an office assistant III. That’s all I’ll say because I don’t want to go into too much detail. Getting a new job was a wake up call for me because it reminded me that I’m an adult now and I have to grow up. Everything costs money, actions speak louder than words, everybody thinks and behaves differently from one another, being a music journalist is not a stable job because of the current state of the music industry, and so on.

The world is not all rainbows and sunshine. Throughout this past year, I’ve slowly returned to my old self. However, there are qualities about myself that I still need to work on, especially my big, opinionated mouth. I’ve learned to distinguish between the person I am and the person I want to become. Being an office assistant III wasn’t my first choice for a career, but I gotta do what’s necessary to survive and pay for the bills (or music-related expenses). I don’t want to jinx anything, but I want to see where this job takes me because the people are nice and the work experience means more opportunities for me to grow as an individual.

Ok, enough of that sentimental stuff. 

In 2022, I broke my four-year streak of becoming obsessed with a different band every year. However, that old habit returned this year when I became obsessed with The Black Crowes in April, thanks to drummer Steve Gorman’s book. In fact, I spent a lot of hours watching their concerts on YouTube, just to get a feel of the different lineups they had over the years. I got sick of “Wiser Time” as a result of those concerts, but I grew to appreciate how amazing The Black Crowes sound live, despite their problems behind-the-scenes. I also bought all of their studio albums, which was pretty easy since they only have eight albums of new material. During all The Black Crowes hype, I briefly became obsessed with Lynyrd Skynyrd from July to September; the post-plane crash lineup studio albums are highly underrated.

When I returned to Hawaii after my Disney College Program, I found out the hard way that it was not the same environment I was used to. Because of life and family circumstances, Hawaii was a different beast. That alone is living proof that nothing lasts forever. It motivated me to cherish the time I have left with my friends and family, do the things I’ve always wanted to do, and see the bands I want to see live because my life could be gone in a flash, just like that. 

2023 wasn’t perfect, but it was quite an improvement from 2022. As much as I enjoyed the experience and am thankful for the life lessons, I’m ready to say goodbye and move onto 2024. With Saxon and Lucifer releasing new studio albums in January, I have a feeling that it’ll be another great year for new music. I heard that The Black Crowes are working on a new studio album, as well, so fingers crossed that the Robinson brothers decide to release it in the near future. I don’t have too high expectations, but I’m excited to see what happens next. So, bring it on, 2024!

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Take care and see ya real soon!

Lana