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ivyfic+I went to a fantastic concert last night with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jethrien.
-The concert went till midnight and I got home at 1:30. I want to sleeeeeep. And it's only Tuesday! :(
Iron & Wine
The great thing about going to a concert by a band I love is that at the first chord of almost every song, I go, oh, I love that song!
Iron & Wine puts on a great show. He performed for almost two hours, doing most of his new album, Shepherd's Dog, as well as songs from most of his other albums. But he doesn’t just play the song as recorded in the studio; each song is reinvented. New arrangements, new instrumentation, new extended jamming sessions in the middle. From an extended rock-out dance version of "Woman King" to a reggae version of one of his love songs. He also performed two new songs (one whose name he couldn't remember that from what I could hear of the lyrics was probably oyster something something), both of which I hope he records and releases very soon.
He also has an adorable stage persona. When people started screaming "I love you, Sam Beam!" he said, "Oh, I love you too, dad. Didn't know you were coming." When someone yelled "Freebird," he did actually stop what he was doing and start playing "Freebird," saying, "You asked for it, bitch," which sent the crowd into an uproar. A couple of times when he played the first chord of a song, and the crowd went crazy, he'd stop and say, "Why are you clapping? You don't know what I'm playing."
He started out the set with a few acoustic numbers, with just his sister (I think?) singing a duet. Then he had the band come out, which consisted of a pianist, a bass player, and three percussionists. Well, two percussionists and a guy who played everything from bass, to accordion, to glockenspiel. Middle percussionist guy had an unfortunately backlit mullet, but he was undeniably coordinated, playing the bongos and a tambourine at the same time. The one downside was the violin, played by his maybe-sister. This went out of tune early in the concert, and never quite got back. For some of the songs, she was playing wa-wa violin (which I have never seen before), which, asjethrien said, covers a number of sins. But at other times, she was almost a half-tone flat. Can't have everything.
jethrien and I lined up at 7 o'clock (some of the first people there). The doors opened at 8, opening act started at 9, and Iron & Wine took the stage at 10:15. It was sooo worth it to line up that early. The concert was at Terminal 5 and was sold out. The venue is a giant warehouse space with a number of balconies, so we were able to grab some footstools and pull right up to the rail on the second balcony. I would have been so unhappy had I been standing in the crush on the main floor for that whole time. The only down side was there was a roped off section of balcony right in front of us that seems to have been rented out for some sort of function. Whatever it was, they clearly weren't Iron & Wine fans, as they mingled about and talked and then left in the middle of the set.
The opening act, Blitzen Trapper, was…not so good. From the description on the website, "Often compared to the early lo-fi eclectic mixtures of Beck, Portland, OR's Blitzen Trapper had already gone through various genres on its first few records." Eclectic is one word for it. They started out with some really standard roots rock'n'roll songs. Nothing fancy, but gets the job done. Then they did a kind of Supertramp sounding song with three keyboards. I liked this one, but then, I like Supertramp. Then they went off the rails. The rest of the set was strange experimental wannabe early Genesis type stuff, which aside from having no continuity with what they'd previously played, was totally wrong for the crowd. They're the opening act. They need to be high energy. They start doing swirly drum solos, the crowd wanders off to the bar to get another drink. Then there was a kind of an Aerosmith number, then back to the ZZ Top style stuff… I'm not quite sure what's going on with this band, but they seem to have an identity crisis.
So overall it was a great evening—I'd definitely go see Iron & Wine again, next time he swings through New York, which could be…years. Unfortunately, that means I did not get much sleep last night. This is going to be a looooong week.
Iron & Wine isn't the only concert I've been to of late—last week I went to see Richard Shindell. This concert was not quite so awesome as the above. Yes, this summary is forsydni_64, who asked me to report on her favorite folk singer.
Richard Shindell and Olladelle
This concert was at Le Poisson Rouge on a Wednesday. Whereas the Iron & Wine concert was packed with a high energy crowd, this concert was not sold out, had no line out front when we got there early, and was filled with middle-aged people sitting on their hands. It's the sort of crowd that sucks the life out of a performer—politely clapping for only as long as necessary after each song, then stopping.
Richard is a strange and moody performer. I've been to four of his concerts now; the first was amazing, at the second he invited a crazy fan up on the stage to play piano badly (this fan is apparently notorious in the Richard fan community), and at the third I had sunstroke and don't remember much. At this concert, it seems that Richard is tired of playing his own music, so is touring with Olladelle so he doesn't have to. Bully for him. However, I paid for Richard. Olladelle is a little more country, and a little more rock. They were quite good, but not what I was there for. Also, he had only hooked up with them a few days previous, which led me to simultaneously marvel at how quickly professional musicians can learn new music and wish that they'd actually practiced a bit more so Richard wasn't swimming around in the chord trying to find his note quite so much.
Richard only played four of his songs. First was "The Next Best Western," of his trucker oeuvre. I like the song, but it's not what I'd call typical of his sound. Then "There Goes Mavis," possibly my least favorite song off of Vuelta. Musically I love it, but I'm sorry, the lyrics are just so…stupid. I know he wrote it for his daughter, but all the people trying to save their homes from rising flood waters just stop what they're doing because the canary is flying to safety? I don't get it. And he played "Transit," which is, of course, a classic. He encored with "Are You Happy Now," which, since it's his first hit and one he doesn't really play anymore cause he's tired of it, I see as a concession to his fans that he really didn't play much of his stuff for us. Yes, that was Richard throwing us a bone.
Added to that, they started 45 minutes late, then only played a little more than an hour. They actually started checking their watches at the end, and asking each other, you think that's enough? Way to be subtle guys.
So in the end, it's always nice to see Richard perform. He is, above all, an extremely talented singer and guitarist, even when he's not showing off his talent as a song-writer. But in comparing it to the very professional show I saw last night, it's clear just how much Richard half-assed it.
jethrien.-The concert went till midnight and I got home at 1:30. I want to sleeeeeep. And it's only Tuesday! :(
Iron & Wine
The great thing about going to a concert by a band I love is that at the first chord of almost every song, I go, oh, I love that song!
Iron & Wine puts on a great show. He performed for almost two hours, doing most of his new album, Shepherd's Dog, as well as songs from most of his other albums. But he doesn’t just play the song as recorded in the studio; each song is reinvented. New arrangements, new instrumentation, new extended jamming sessions in the middle. From an extended rock-out dance version of "Woman King" to a reggae version of one of his love songs. He also performed two new songs (one whose name he couldn't remember that from what I could hear of the lyrics was probably oyster something something), both of which I hope he records and releases very soon.
He also has an adorable stage persona. When people started screaming "I love you, Sam Beam!" he said, "Oh, I love you too, dad. Didn't know you were coming." When someone yelled "Freebird," he did actually stop what he was doing and start playing "Freebird," saying, "You asked for it, bitch," which sent the crowd into an uproar. A couple of times when he played the first chord of a song, and the crowd went crazy, he'd stop and say, "Why are you clapping? You don't know what I'm playing."
He started out the set with a few acoustic numbers, with just his sister (I think?) singing a duet. Then he had the band come out, which consisted of a pianist, a bass player, and three percussionists. Well, two percussionists and a guy who played everything from bass, to accordion, to glockenspiel. Middle percussionist guy had an unfortunately backlit mullet, but he was undeniably coordinated, playing the bongos and a tambourine at the same time. The one downside was the violin, played by his maybe-sister. This went out of tune early in the concert, and never quite got back. For some of the songs, she was playing wa-wa violin (which I have never seen before), which, as
jethrien said, covers a number of sins. But at other times, she was almost a half-tone flat. Can't have everything.jethrien and I lined up at 7 o'clock (some of the first people there). The doors opened at 8, opening act started at 9, and Iron & Wine took the stage at 10:15. It was sooo worth it to line up that early. The concert was at Terminal 5 and was sold out. The venue is a giant warehouse space with a number of balconies, so we were able to grab some footstools and pull right up to the rail on the second balcony. I would have been so unhappy had I been standing in the crush on the main floor for that whole time. The only down side was there was a roped off section of balcony right in front of us that seems to have been rented out for some sort of function. Whatever it was, they clearly weren't Iron & Wine fans, as they mingled about and talked and then left in the middle of the set.The opening act, Blitzen Trapper, was…not so good. From the description on the website, "Often compared to the early lo-fi eclectic mixtures of Beck, Portland, OR's Blitzen Trapper had already gone through various genres on its first few records." Eclectic is one word for it. They started out with some really standard roots rock'n'roll songs. Nothing fancy, but gets the job done. Then they did a kind of Supertramp sounding song with three keyboards. I liked this one, but then, I like Supertramp. Then they went off the rails. The rest of the set was strange experimental wannabe early Genesis type stuff, which aside from having no continuity with what they'd previously played, was totally wrong for the crowd. They're the opening act. They need to be high energy. They start doing swirly drum solos, the crowd wanders off to the bar to get another drink. Then there was a kind of an Aerosmith number, then back to the ZZ Top style stuff… I'm not quite sure what's going on with this band, but they seem to have an identity crisis.
So overall it was a great evening—I'd definitely go see Iron & Wine again, next time he swings through New York, which could be…years. Unfortunately, that means I did not get much sleep last night. This is going to be a looooong week.
Iron & Wine isn't the only concert I've been to of late—last week I went to see Richard Shindell. This concert was not quite so awesome as the above. Yes, this summary is for
sydni_64, who asked me to report on her favorite folk singer.Richard Shindell and Olladelle
This concert was at Le Poisson Rouge on a Wednesday. Whereas the Iron & Wine concert was packed with a high energy crowd, this concert was not sold out, had no line out front when we got there early, and was filled with middle-aged people sitting on their hands. It's the sort of crowd that sucks the life out of a performer—politely clapping for only as long as necessary after each song, then stopping.
Richard is a strange and moody performer. I've been to four of his concerts now; the first was amazing, at the second he invited a crazy fan up on the stage to play piano badly (this fan is apparently notorious in the Richard fan community), and at the third I had sunstroke and don't remember much. At this concert, it seems that Richard is tired of playing his own music, so is touring with Olladelle so he doesn't have to. Bully for him. However, I paid for Richard. Olladelle is a little more country, and a little more rock. They were quite good, but not what I was there for. Also, he had only hooked up with them a few days previous, which led me to simultaneously marvel at how quickly professional musicians can learn new music and wish that they'd actually practiced a bit more so Richard wasn't swimming around in the chord trying to find his note quite so much.
Richard only played four of his songs. First was "The Next Best Western," of his trucker oeuvre. I like the song, but it's not what I'd call typical of his sound. Then "There Goes Mavis," possibly my least favorite song off of Vuelta. Musically I love it, but I'm sorry, the lyrics are just so…stupid. I know he wrote it for his daughter, but all the people trying to save their homes from rising flood waters just stop what they're doing because the canary is flying to safety? I don't get it. And he played "Transit," which is, of course, a classic. He encored with "Are You Happy Now," which, since it's his first hit and one he doesn't really play anymore cause he's tired of it, I see as a concession to his fans that he really didn't play much of his stuff for us. Yes, that was Richard throwing us a bone.
Added to that, they started 45 minutes late, then only played a little more than an hour. They actually started checking their watches at the end, and asking each other, you think that's enough? Way to be subtle guys.
So in the end, it's always nice to see Richard perform. He is, above all, an extremely talented singer and guitarist, even when he's not showing off his talent as a song-writer. But in comparing it to the very professional show I saw last night, it's clear just how much Richard half-assed it.