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The 930 Listening Room in Louisville, KY was a very different venue from anything we've been to before. It's actually located in an art gallery, that is in the same building as a church. A pretty nice little place, even though we had to go through quite an iffy area of Lousville to get there. The room that the show was in had a stage area that was raised about 3 steps from the floor, and nice rows of padded seating.
Highlights from Larkin Poe's Set:
- My Home
- We Intertwine - from their new Spring EP, they are putting out an EP for each season this year.
- I Belong to Love - Rebecca Lovell stated that this song is as happy as she gets
- Suzanne - Rebecca said it took a long time to get the lyrics just right, as the song was about a woman coming between you and your man. I believe the entire song consisted of the line "Suzanne, where you goin' with my man", but sung with real feeling
- Bleeding Heart - a Jimi Hendrix cover
Highlights from Matthew Perryman Jones' set:
- My Favorite Story
- Breakin Out the Windows - from his album "Throwing Punches in the Dark"
- When it Falls Apart - duet with Katie Herzig
- Top of the World - a Patty Griffin cover, very poignant song
- Only You
- Oh My Darling
- Forevermore - fairy tales interwoven
- I Will Follow
- Wasting Time - a newer song for the new album
- Hey Na Na - written for the Sex in the City movie, but didn't make the cut
- Fools Gold
- Hologram
- Sweeter Than This - one of our favorite Katie Herzig songs
- Hologram
- Where the Road Meets the Sun - with Matthew Perryman Jones - Katie told a story about the pair writing the song years ago, and they they wanted to do something with it and both of their computers had crashed in the meantime, losing lyrics and recordings, and neither of them could remember how it went. Katie said one early morning as she was fallin asleep, she began singing the song randomly, and had to get out of bed, write down the lyrics, and email them to Matthew. It was a really great song - we're glad she remembered it!
- Wish You Well - seems to be the typical Katie Herzig closing song, sung with whomever she's performed with during the evening - meaning Jones and his drummer, since Larkin Poe had to leave right after their set.
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The Brandi Carlile show in Kent was hands-down one of the best we've ever seen. The Kent Stage is an old converted movie theater - really a pretty small, intimate place for a seated show. This show had been sold out for a few weeks, and even a capacity crowd of 600 felt pretty minimal.
We got there a few songs into the opener, Good Old War's set. These three guys played some good music! Their vocal harmonies are really great. I'd call their sound something like folky/country/rock. I saw quite a few people sneak out in between sets to grab their CD, so we weren't the only ones who enjoyed them. Really a great band to get the audience prepped for Brandi's set.
They also graced the audience with the completely unplugged version of "Dying Day", which is one of my personal favorites, and the outdoor setting for the Symphony show the night before didn't lend itself acoustically to performing that song. The band also did "Shadow on the Wall", which is a rarity as well. Somewhere in the middle of she show, she also told the story about how she was a superstar in Portugal for a while because "The Story" was the music in a beer commercial. She was playing a giant festival, and one guy held up a sign stating "The story of my life is I make you baby". Hilarious!
This was Brandi’s second night of a 2 night engagement with the ISO at Conner Prairie. The first evening included a longer set and also an appearance by Tiffany Carlile (Brandi’s sister) to sing “Calling All Angels.” Also, Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls came down from Chicago to catch the Friday night show and was gracious to a few fans who recognized her.
But I digress…for anyone who hasn’t been to Symphony on the Prairie before, what you must realize is that usually this is an event where people bring their kids, their wine, and their lawn chairs for a relaxing evening that just so happens to have music in the background. With this in mind, I’m not quite sure the usual symphony crowd had any clue about the sheer madness that can ensue at a BC show. It was fantastic.
The symphony took the stage and started playing “Sixty Years On,” an Elton John/Bernie Taupin classic that originally featured a brilliant arrangement by Paul Buckmaster. Since Elton is one of Brandi’s biggest influences, this was a perfect opener for this show and Brandi’s strong, emotional vocals executed the song perfectly.
Brandi then brought out the rest of the band and launched into “Looking Out,” which included some orchaestra arrangements. It was so great to hear some of the songs from the “Give Up the Ghost” album with the symphony flare. Of course, Brandi and the band had the crowd (and even one of the guys in the violin section) dancing when they began “Closer To You,” and then the Beatles’ “I’ve Just Seen a Face.”
Quick note: at the Symphony on the Prairie shows there is a little concrete section right in front of the stage, where normally people don’t really stand because the sound isn’t so great. Of course, with Brandi fans, the closer you can get, the better is normally their way of doing things. So, while we stood in the front for a while to snag some highly contraband pictures, we enjoyed being away from the stage to hear the fullness of the band and the orchaestra.
“I Will” was a highlight for us with the symphony, simply because the song has such powerful lyrics and it just worked so perfectly with the full orchaestra. Brandi and the band played “Caroline,” which we have only seen one or two times, since the piano arrangement was played by Elton John on the album and the only person who has come close to nailing it live was Vienna Teng on the Cayamo cruise. But the band did it sans piano and I was certain that Phil (Hanseroth, the bass player) was going to smash the guitar as he was playing it because he plays with so much energy!
When the band began “Dreams,” the group of fans called the “ATers” (for AgainToday.com, the unofficial fan community) treated Brandi and the entire crowd to a little choreography they came up with for the song.
One of my favorite moments of the symphony shows has been “Turpentine.” At this point, Brandi tells the audience that they are going to split them up and teach everyone the 3 part harmony in one of the bridges of the song. She has Tim Hanseroth (guitar player extrodinare) teach a part, Brandi teaches another, and Phil teaches the crowd the high part of the harmony, which always gets a laugh. The crowd then sings together and it is phenomenal…and as if it can’t get any better, the build up to the chorus with the symphony playing gives me chills every time. It is amazing. Brandi even said that when she gets to do symphony shows that she sometimes forgets the words because she just loves to listen and forgets that she has to sing. We could understand why…
“The Story,” my personal favorite Brandi song, again, sounded phenomenal paired with the symphony arrangement. Since the threat of the oncoming storm was among us, the set was shortened up with no “fake encore,” as Brandi calls it. The band launched straight into “Jackson/Folsom Prison Blues” and had the crowd dancing away. At one point, I looked over to see an elderly couple dancing to the song and it warmed my heart.
Perhaps the most phenomenal part of the show and the part I was looking forward to the most was “Pride and Joy.” On “Give Up the Ghost,” this song is powerful and is a bit “rock-opera”-ish. It’s dramatic and emotional…it needs a symphony to feel complete. And the ISO played it brilliantly.
To end the show, Brandi told the crowd that she knew this was a kid-friendly place, so she was trying to not swear. She wanted to end the show with a kids song and played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It was like the perfect ending to a perfect movie.
This symphony show did not disappoint us at all and I think a lot of people that were not familiar with Brandi before the show, are now interested in her music and what she offers to the music world.
Note: Perhaps the only thing missing from the show was “Cello-tallica,” a cello solo by Josh Neuman, but we would be treated to this on the next evening at the Kent show (that review is up next.) Read More......
First up was G-Love, with a simple acoustic-bluesy type set accompanied by the harmonica. G-Love was a great pick as an opener with his laid back sound and approach. We have seen G-Love once before, as an opener for Jason Mraz…so for Jack Johnson to pick this guy seems about right on par with what seems to be a new genre of music: the laidback sound. However, G-Love accomplished his mission and got the crowd in the perfect state of energy for Johnson’s set.
First, let’s talk about stage production…I loved it. The main component of the stage was a giant LCD screen that concaved around the back portion of the stage. During various songs, the screen would show the artwork from Johnson’s latest album, “To the Sea,” and included live video feed with black and white effects similar to the effects seen on the live DVD “En Concert.” It was simple, yet artistic, and was perfect for Johnson’s show.
It was great to see Jack play the electric guitar for a number of the songs on the setlist, especially since he was so widely known for his acoustic abilities. His last couple of albums have included more electric playing, so it’s great to see him play it live.
Now, I have to admit that I was a little late jumping on the Jack Johnson train. I bought the “In Between Dreams” album while in college and nearly wore it out. That almost tropic sound brought me lots of warmth or at least the hope of warmth while waiting out the Minnesota winters. Since then, I have widened my knowledge of his music. I love how it has evolved, even in the slightest of ways…from just full on mellow sounds to some of the heavier stuff on the new album, “To the Sea.”
Johnson didn’t disappoint the crowd and seemed to work the perfect balance of playing familiar tunes and new material. For instance, he played “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” with a verse from “Just What I Needed” from the Cars and then launched into the title song “To the Sea.” He played favorites such as “Banana Pancakes,” “Go On,” “Upside Down,” and “Bubble Toes.” He even covered Bob Marley with a verse from “Mellow Mood,” and “The Joker,” by Steve Miller.
A highlight from the show was Johnson’s collaborative efforts with ALO, G-Love, and Paula Fuga. My personal favorites were “Country Road” with Fuga and “Better Together” at the end of the show.
All in all, the show was simple and well done. There was a great vibe among the crowd and the music was perfect.
It should also be noted that on our way into the show, we were handed bio-degradable recycling bags to put our waste in. Also, 100% of the profit from Jack Johnson’s tour are going to various charities. These facts, along with a solid show, have re-ignited my interest in Jack Johnson and his music. My first thoughts when I heard his music were “What a cool guy...” and I found myself revisiting that thought as we left the show that night. Read More......
Certainly a different crowd than we are used to seeing - more middle-aged and up people attending this one - not surprising considering the Doobies and Chicago have been rocking for 4 decades or so now. Nonetheless, our seats happened to magically be right in front of the row of drunken frat-boys who wanted everyone in the ampitheater to hear their ridiculous conversations. About two songs into the set, we went to grab a drink and then sat in the mostly empty section of seats next to us to avoid dealing with them all night. People like this are the bane of our concert-going existence...but I digress.
Before this show, I honestly couldn't have named a single song by The Doobie Brothers. As they kicked off the show, I heard a few familiar ones, like "Black Water". They got the crowd into their music, and there was a large contingent of 40-something men rocking out to them, giant cans of beer raised up over theirs heads in full worship mode.
Then it was time for Chicago to take the stage. The first thing we noticed about them is how they all had on their designer-looking jeans and tight t-shirts - it looked like we had walked into a convention of youth pastors. Not helping the matter any, some of them including the lead singer, who I'll refer to as not-Peter Cetera, were using headset mics instead of actual mics on floor stands. It just made things seem cheesy and reminiscent of a musical instead of a rock show. And I think the lead singer was attempting his best Peter Cetera imitation, instead of using his natural singing voice. I have also never seen another band, large or small, plug themselves and a new album as much as Chicago did on
They did some of the big (well, what I consider big) Chicago hits from the past, like a medly of "Hard Habit to Break" and "You're the Inspiration", and nearer the end of their set"Saturday in the Park", "Hard to Say I'm Sorry". Then The Doobie Brothers joined Chicago back onstage for the encore portion of the show, where the bands played each other's songs. They played Chicago's "I Just Wanna Be Free", The Doobies' "Takin' It To the Streets" which included some weird little choreographed moves. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" by Chicago, and "Listen to the Music" by The Doobies rounded out the show. The encore was by far my favorite part - most people knew all of the songs, were singing along, and the bands both had great energy.
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Lilith Fair was a late addition to the Indy Live Music concert schedule. The deciding factor was the offer of free lawn tickets from the Hamilton Town Center Verizon Wireless store in exchange for an old cell phone for their HopeLine project, which provides the phones to victims of domestic violence. It's a worthy cause, and it is hard to pass up free tickets!
After a quick gear change on stage, it was time for Courtyard Hounds to rock Lilith. If you haven't given this duo a listen yet, I recommend you do so. Don't worry if you didn't like The Dixie Chicks - Courtyard Hounds are a TON better, and have a different sound. Some songs are more rock, some evoke the country/bluegrass feel with a fiddle and banjo to the set, but they are all good and worthy of a listen. There was no mention of The Dixie Chicks until Mary J Blige accidentally made reference to the old name during her set.
Next up was Miranda Lambert. She has the most country sound of the acts we saw on the Main Stage - a little more mainstream-y radio-ready country. You can tell that she has a great time onstage - dancing, playfully attacking bandmates (Mel's quote "She's crazy!"), spinning around with arms wide open, telling stories about how she's a partier but knows God is listening when she lays her head down at night. Just a fun, high energy show. As a side note, her fiance, Blake Shelton, was hanging out on the side of the stage watching her entire performance. After the show ended, while the crew was trying to pack up equipment, they were on the side of the stage playfully flirting/making-out. So there's your report on what's going on with one of country music's hottest couples (are they? I don't know...), if you're into that sort of thing.
Mary J. Blige took the stage next, and blew everyone away with her voice. She did covers of both U2's "One", and Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heaven", which she has recorded and put out as a single. She talked about how amazing it was that one of the biggest rock bands of all time allowed her to use their song. We expected her to have a bit of a diva attitude, but she instead came off as very connected to the messages in her music, and the energy of the audience. More people were on their feet with hands in the air throughout her set than any other. She did a fantastic job of drawing the audience in, and truely expressing her gratitude to everyone for coming, and for Sarah and all of the other female artists for making Lilith possible.