Concerts

The Shins
Although this concert was not played in James Mercer's prime, I would argue I would rather see old James than new. Not only was he very acquired to the crowd, he also has had years of experience with his band to master his classic songs. 
Being front row at a concert always adds a special dust of uniqueness that is hard to get when you sit at the back of the arena and that is what I got to experience with The Shins. They played their top hits Australia, New Slang, and Simple Song but did not neglect playing their more obscure songs like Kissing the Lipless and my favorite, Sleeping Lessons. 
This concert was heartbreakingly good and one that will stay with me forever. Top 5 for sure 

Kanye West 
I woke up early in my dorm-room on a sunny day in Lincoln Nebraska knowing that in 8 short hours I would be in the same vicinity as Kanye. After a long stressful week of making up missed classes, my roommate Olivia and I prepared to depart on what would be the ride of our lives. 
Kanye being the second rap concert I went to (Lil Wayne was the first) did not give me a lot of room to compare how good he was. But I didn't need to. Because like Kanye says himself, he is a god. This concert was performed in a stadium in Minneapolis Minnesota and worth every second of the drive. He was as dramatic and loud as I hoped. The peak of the concert was during 'Ultralight Beam' when he stopped in the middle of the song to hop off his floated cloud of a stage to abruptly end his performance. After that we drove 8 hours back home to Lincoln Nebraska. We arrived approximately at 7:10am  to go back into a reality away from Kanye West.