Atlantic Records

So I have to confess, being an intern at Atlantic Records does not lack in perks. One of the most recent ones included me getting an extra ticket to the James Blunt and Christina Perri concert this past Thursday at the Beacon Theater in New York City.

First of all, I had never been to the Beacon Theater, even though I have lived in the area for about a year now. The venue is amazing! I loved the décor and the atmosphere; it felt like a grand, antique, authentic theater. Take a look below!



The show began with an adorable Christina Perri walking out on stage with her band. I adore this girl’s music and couldn’t wait to hear what she was like live (her new album "Lovestrong" comes out May 10th! I have to snag it!). Let me tell you, I was definitely not disappointed! Perri has a powerful and very strong voice that completely filled the theater. She belted out her songs of love, regret, pain and happiness with passion and I knew every one was shocked and amazed with what this girl had in her. Her last song "Tragedy" was my absolute favorite (even though I’ve been playing "Arms" nonstop this past week). She asked a student from Juilliard to play violin on the song! I’m biased, only because I play the violin and it was very neat for Perri to have done that. The crowd grew onto her and I know she was their "discovery" for the night. After her set, a woman next to me said, "I have to go buy her CD now, or I’m going to die!" She was the perfect opener for the evening.





After a brief intermission, it was time for the headliner, James Blunt. Now, I’ve seen him live earlier this year at the Hard Rock Café, and it was a very reserved, quiet, intimate show. But, once the lights dimmed down and the stage lit up with blue and purple and eerie, western music creeped in, I knew right away that it was going to be an entire different experience!

James Blunt was in his element, in his world and it was his night. It was probably one of the best shows I have seen, between feeling his passion, seeing his energy and the loud crowd’s enthusiasm. Blunt is known for his songs of broken hearts and complete tragedy, but that didn’t stop him from driving witty banter to the crowd and running around stage during his upbeat songs. He drove the crowd crazy with his rock star moves, and broke a few hearts with his slow ballads. One of my favorite performances of the night was "Goodbye, My Lover." I immediately fell in love with the song again when he sat down by himself at the piano, under the spotlight. It was absolutely moving to hear the crowd sing along with him, and caught myself singing along as well.





After running through the audience aisles (I told you he got a little rock star crazy!), he got back on stage and finished his set strong with his latest single, "Stay The Night" from his new album, Some Kind of Trouble. Fans went wild for the song and definitely did not want the song, or the show, to be over.

You thought my night was over? Not at all! I was then taken to the backstage for the private after party, where I met Christina and James. Both were of course nothing but nice and sweet and were genuinely pleased with how the show turned out. Atlantic executives were mingling as well was friends and families of the artists. Even some die-hard fans were able to snag a photo with Christina and James, which show me they care about their fans and really do what they are doing for the music.

So, be sure to catch them if they are going through your town. It certainly wasn’t a show I would have wanted to miss!

-Fiona, Publicity Intern 2011, Atlantic Records