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Day trip to see Robyn in Columbus

Part concert review, part travel log, this is the brief account of an excursion this past Sunday to the capital city of Ohio.  Yes, this is the third blog entry this year that I’ve mentioned Robyn.

Robyn - Columbus, OH
Robyn @ LC Pavilion, Columbus (Michael's camera)

My friend Michael didn’t have to convince me to go along with him to the Robyn concert in Columbus. Tickets were only $15 and I was looking forward to discovering a new city, as well.

Daytime attractions

We roughly planned out our day, driving up from Louisville early Sunday morning and returning late that night (we both took a vacation day from work on Monday). We hadn’t thought to check out the Visitors Bureau until Michael asked me if I had remembered to print my ticket… Umm, oops. Fortunately, most of the  attractions in the downtown area are within a 20 minute walk, so we parked in a central location and ended up trekking over 5 miles on foot by the end of the day! After a little detective work, we found the Experience Columbus center and I was able to use a Ticketmaster booth there to print my ticket. Phew! The lady working at the desk there, Stacey, was very helpful and suggested a few places we hadn’t thought of—particularly The Book Loft in German Village.

I’ll limit our itinerary to a list and one photo. You can see more on the Google Map I made when we were planning the trip and the Flickr photo album. In order, we went to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at the North Market, Schiller Park (to eat a picnic lunch) and The Book Loft in German Village, The Ohio Statehouse (capitol building), and Barley’s Brewing Company. We also took a walk around Short North and Goodale Park on the way to the concert. I felt lucky to have happened upon so many great places in just seven hours. Other than the Barley’s Brew Dip & Pita appetizer, our “Columbus Experience” couldn’t have been better. (To their credit, Barley’s Ale House had delicious brews. See my review on Yelp.)

Dome stained glass
Ohio Statehouse rotunda dome stained glass

Funny side note: We didn’t realize what was going on at the time, but there was a Midwest Haunters Convention—we saw a lot of people in costume roaming the streets, as well as a Zombie Army bus!

Concert review

We were surprised to see a line all the way down the street as we walked up to the LC Pavilion at 6:45. Doors opened promptly at 7 and while it was warm inside, it didn’t feel overcrowded compared to similar venues I’ve been to. I would recommend, though, getting a few beers at the next door restaurant to avoid the line (and overpriced venue booz) before the show starts.

We were exploring the upper deck of the pavilion when Natalia Kills started her set. She has two great backup dancers and a creative on and offline persona, but she lost a few points when she commented on stage, “I’m not a Feminist; I don’t believe in hating men or anything, but this song is about an ex-boyfriend.” I don’t believe she quite grasps the concept of feminism.

Diamond Rings took the stage around 8 and I enjoyed his stage presence. I had to prepare myself for the 80s-I’m-in-a-basement-with-my-Casio sound, but I appreciated his art more and more with each song. He was quite animated with his flying V guitar, too.

After Diamond Rings made his exit, we noticed that one of the stage crew had a big “9:30” printed on the front of his shirt. Was it a coincidence that Robyn started her set at 9:30? Even knowing what to expect after watching her recent tour documentary, she and her band had me hooked on every track. (Unofficial setlist.) Watch the video below and you’ll see the energy she maintains throughout her whole show. Michael does a better job explaining her influence on the pop music scene, but take a look at all the buzz she’s getting through the links below.

The Robyn experience:

Columbus concert fan footage of Call Your Girlfriend:


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Comments

One response to “Day trip to see Robyn in Columbus”

  1. file recovery software Avatar

    Well, very nice post, really having these concerts, night time
    rocking parties and all these attractive spots always fetches me towards Columbus
    every time, good share; you make me refreshed with this thought.