Camera recommendations for limited user

[Kaaliz]

Hi. Rather than scour the Internet reading 100s of reviews, I thought I'd ask people who know for some help picking a camera. I really only need a camera for two things -

1) taking photos of friends and family, for which I like a shallow DoF, and

2) taking pictures at concerts, which, depending on what seats I get, can require a really good zoom.

I've been thinking about buying a bridge camera, but have been advised by some that, for all I'm doing, I don't need one, and there is probably a good compact camera that will suit my needs.

If there is, please let me know. Regarding price, I'm not going to be using it that often, so I don't want to pay big money, but I don't mind paying for what I need.