Five years ago today I started at the most incredible job in Dallas working online promotions for the Granada Theater. When I was first hired I was still a student at UNT and my work at Granada included posting daily Myspace bulletins (remember those?). Five years and hundreds of shows later I’m a college graduate and now I post daily tweets & Facebook posts. As much as things change, they stay the same.
During my five years at Granada I have worked alongside some incredible people who keep me motivated and always laughing. After all, working in music is supposed to be fun. And this has been the most fun job I’ve ever had. To celebrate my anniversary I thought it would be fitting to look back and post my favorite show from each year I’ve worked at Granada. Enjoy the trip down memory lane and I hope to see you at Sarah Jaffe this weekend!
<3 Chris (aka CMac)
2007
The National & St. Vincent 9/14/2007
I had been working at Granada for a couple of months and this was the first show that I was REALLY looking forward to. Boxer had been on repeat in the office for weeks and Annie was touring in support of her debut album. I still remember her promo posters and how bewildered she looked in them. The show itself was fantastic. If I remember correctly Matt from The National drank an entire bottle of cabernet during the performance.
2008
Ratatat 9/16/2008
Now this was one hell of a dance party. We sure did pack them in that night. It was sweaty, it was crammed, but damn was it a blast. The crowd never stopped moving as 2008 was the year everyone finally caught on that Ratatat was one of the best electronic live groups around. Still one of the biggest day-of-show sales ever! Think this was the first massive sell-out I was a part of.
2009
Grizzly Bear / Here We Go Magic 6/15/2009
Ahh yes 2009 when everyone was all about Veckatimest. We were all beyond excited when this one was booked. Here We Go Magic was also a great opener for this show. Even though it was HOT AS HELL that day, Grizzly Bear sounded impeccable. When they played The Knife it was almost like the room felt a little bit cooler (temperature wise not hipster wise). Great show that was a part of an incredible Granada month (Passion Pit, Bonnie Prince Billy, Peaches, & St. Vincent were all in June 09). Fun fact: Chris Taylor’s parents were at this show and brought him clean clothes before the show. Thought it was sweet 
2010
Beach House / Washed Out 4/21/2010
When I first started at Granada, Mike the owner would always encourage us to get to the show early for the opening bands (especially if they were from Dallas). Looking back it’s crazy how many awesome openers we had who went on to headline their own shows. This is one of those instances. What a great bill! April always has the best shows. Again everyone was on a Teen Dream high and crushing on Victoria. Beach House did not disappoint. Their songs sounded absolutely awesome. The stage setup looked like a cheesy jr. high school dance but it didn’t matter as the band was totally captivating. Plus Victoria was nice enough to hang around after the show to sign ukuleles & take pictures. Love it when artists are cool like that.
2011
Cut Copy / Foals / Holy Ghost! / The Naked and Famous 4/20/2011
This is probably my favorite show ever both as a “music promoter” and as a music fan. Look at that lineup! And funny now The Naked & Famous would probably be the headliner. Remember what I was saying about opening bands? Anyway this epic bill was actually two different tours that came together for one night only in Dallas. Doesn’t happen very often and I still can’t believe we pulled it off. Promoting the show was a lot of fun as we hired my favorite poster designer to create one of the all-time great Granada posters. It’s still hanging on our walls! The show itself was just amazing. An all-night dance fest which included the lead singer of Foals damn near killing himself by falling off the balcony. Insane night and one to remember always & forever!
Welp that’s about it. Obviously there were so many more shows that will hold a special place in my heart. The great thing about these concert is you don’t remember just the band but also who you were with, who you met, and what other madness may have happened that night. The joy of seeing live music! Thanks for reading and here’s to the next five years! Love music, love life.