Indy Live Music

The blog has a new home!

2010-09-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone! For those of you who are wondering why this site hasn't been upated in a while, the site has moved to http://www.inlivemusic.com/!

There you'll find new concert reviews, album reviews, an artist interview and more fun stuff! Also on the new site are plenty of ways to stay connected - via our Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Email List, or our RSS Feed.

8.7.2010 - Katie Herzig and Matthew Perryman Jones @ The 930 Listening Room

2010-08-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

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.

Larkin Poe opened for the co-headliners Jones and Herzig. We've seen Larkin Poe a few times, opening for Brandi Carlile, and on the Cayamo cruise earlier this year, which I imagine is where they met Katie Herzig. They are a couple of sisters, Megan playing the Dobro and Rebecca switching between acoustic guitar and mandolin, and an upright bass player (of no relation). Their sound is a mix of bluegrass and country, and they have a really good stage presence. The lead singer and acoustic/mandolin player, Rebecca, does most of the storytelling between songs, and does a great job of pulling the audience in. This show was their last of a series opening for Katie.

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

Up next was Matthew Perryman Jones - who, for the record, sounds uncannily similar to Griffin House. It was just Jones and his drummer up on stage for most of the set, except when he invited Katie up to sing a song with him. Jones has a great sound, typical singer/songwriter deep lyrics, with a twinge of melancholy in most of his songs. He and Herzig are both part of Ten out of Tenn, a singer/songwriter group based in Nashville who each create their own music, and also support each other. When they tour together, they benefit from each other's collaboration onstage, and expanding their fan base by drawing in the other's fans to shows and exposing them to the rest of the group. Truely a great idea in an industry where it seems to be increasingly difficult to distinguish yourself from the crowd and get your name out there.

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

Katie Herzig's turn - we've seen her quite a few times - opening for Brandi Carlile, and also on Cayamo. Her songs seem to be little enigmas - light and airy sounding, sometimes even with children's songs entertwined into thm, but with deep meanings and connotations. "The Katie Herzig Trio" consists of cello player Claire Indie, and th multi-talented Jordan Hamlin, who plays accordian, guitar, clarinet, and who knows what else! Katie played the longest set of the night, and probably one of the longest sets of anyone we've ever seen. There was even a point where she asked the audience if they came to hear any specific songs, and then mentioned that she has a playlist which is more of a suggestion list.

Highlights from Katie's Set:

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.

It was a really great show, and aside from a stinky person sitting near us, the crowd was one of the best we've encountered to date. Everyone was very respectful of each of the artists, and seemed to really enjoy the music.

7.25.2010 - Brandi Carlile @ The Kent Stage

2010-07-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

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.

Then a very special treat - Brandi opened the show with "Again Today", a hidden track from her 2007 album "The Story" (and the song behind the name of her unofficial fan club - you probably remember the mention of ATers in the previous post). In the 15+ Brandi Carlile shows we've been to, it's one of the few songs we haven't heard live - and it was perfect (even given the fact that I had to block out the girl next to me singing every word - good for you, you know the song, but I didn't pay to hear you sing it!). Brandi then mentioned that she spent extra time putting together the set list since they had been to Kent just over a year prior, and didn't want to play all the same songs. She also apologized if she was wearing the same outfit, since she couldn't find any video on YouTube to verify.

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!

And if all that weren't enough, we also had the pleasure of hearing "Way to You", from the "XOBC" EP. The band doesn't play these songs live very often, and it is one of my favorites. We also got to hear the twins, Tim and Phil Hanseroth cover Simon and Garfunkle's "Sound of Silence". Their harmonies in that song are impressive - and it was amusing to watch them try to be serious through the whole song while singing so close to each other.

After that, the mad rush of people toward the stage began - I'm honestly surprised most people waited that long! Throughout the whole show, there was more of a conversational atmosphere in the theater - people really just saying whatever they thought of loudly from their seats. Certainly not 100% the rowdy bar crowd, but not the usual super-subdued theater crowd either. Could have something to do with the fact that it felt like The Kent Stage had no air conditioning...it was hot and stifling in there the entire time - thank goodness for a surprisingly cool and refreshing Midwestern evening outside!

7.24.2010 - Brandi Carlile and The Indianapolis Symphony @ Symphony on the Prairie

2010-07-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

The Saturday night show for Brandi Carlile and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchaestra might have been one of our biggest highlights of the year. The first time Erica and I saw Brandi was when she played with the Louisville Orchaestra and it was simply amazing. And Saturday night, amidst the heat and threat of oncoming storms, Brandi did not disappoint us.

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.)

7.23.2010 - Jack Johnson @ Verizon Wireless

2010-07-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Friday night’s Jack Johnson show was our 3rd in a series of Verizon Wireless Amphitheater shows. It was another hot evening where you felt that no matter where you stood or sat or breathed, you were sticking to something.

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.

7.22.2010 - Chicago and The Doobie Brothers @ Verizon Wireless

2010-07-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

Chicago and The Doobie Brothers is another one of those shows that wasn't on our radar until I got a "free" lawn ticket for giving blood at work. I say "free" because I still had to pay facility fees of $7 at the gate, which is annoying, but still cheap. Since it had poured down rain earlier in the day, the lawn was pretty mushy, so we upgraded to pavillion seats.

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.

7.20.2010 - Lilith Fair @ Verizon Wireless

2010-07-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

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!

Lilith started around 2:30, but unfortunatly Mel and I had to put in full days at the 9 - 5 first, so we arrived around 6:00. In the pouring rain - not exactly ideal for lawn seating, eh? Since the economy is such that Verizon has been struggling to fill seats at concerts this year, they've been offering $10 upgrades to pavillion seats at a lot of shows. We took this option to escape the rain, and were soon shedding our fashion-forward blue plastic ponchos and settling into our seats at the back of the pavillion. While we were finding our seats, we caught the very end of Suzanne Vega's set and heard her sing her hit "Tom's Diner".

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.

And last but certainly not least, it was time for Sarah McLachlan to take the front-and-center spot in front of a very expectant audience. She wasted no tim taking a seat at her grand piano and performing a flawless version of "Angel ". Then she stepped up to the front of the stage to sing "Building a Mystery", and her new single "Loving You is Easy". One of my personal favorites, "Stupid" was up next, followed by "World on Fire", "I Will Remember You", another new song that I didn't catch the name of, "Adia", "Out of Tune", "Sweet Surrender", and "Possession". She then thanked everyone, and left the stage, but no one moved in anticipation of an encore. Sarah didn't disappoint - she came back out to sing "Ice Cream", then brought all of the ladies who performed on all the three stages to sing their own version of "Because the Night" by the Patty Smith Group. It was a great ending to a great evening.

Just a few observations about Lilith in general - this festival was WAY under-promoted. It took until the Thursday before Lilith for radio and television commercials to pop up. Several shows across the country had to be cancelled due to low ticket sales. I think this could have been a cash cow if it had been properly marketed, billed as an epic return of something so different from all other music festivals in that it was a celebration of women in music. We had a great time seeing such powerful female artists all in one place over just a few hours. There were plenty of vendors and sponsors set up in tents giving away freebies and conducting contests for festival-goers. Lilith Fair was an all-around great way to spend a day, and I hope it can find the proper support and marketing to continue to be a platform for strong female artists for years to come. I know we'd certainly be there cheering them on.

7.17.10 - Civil Twilight and The Paper Tongues @ Radio Radio

2010-07-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday night's show at Radio Radio with Civil Twilight and the Paper Tongues was a high energy show filled with new music for us and a crowd that was excited to see a show from a couple of newer acts.

The Paper Tongues started off the show. The band is comprised of 7 members, which is a lot of people to fit onto the tiny stage of Radio Radio, but they made it work well. The band hails from Charlotte, North Carolina and finds a way to blend hip-hop, electronica, and rock. And of course, they have a massive amount of energy that just radiates throughout the crowd. Within the first song, the lead singer, Aswan North (which is probably the coolest name for any lead singer) jumped onto the floor and started shaking hands with people in the audience. It is that approachability and willingness to be a part of the crowd that hears their music that will help them gain success and fans in the future. Also, North has an epic voice, with some influence of perhaps Steve Perry.

Some highlights of the set include songs "Trinity," "Ride To California," and "Everybody." Those were the songs that stuck out to me the most. The music is positive I feel that each band member brings something unique to the sound of the band and they all are very good performers. I enjoyed the positive messages of their songs...it's not cheesy, and it's not overtly Christian in nature, but it just brings the positivity that our world needs. I highly recommend their music

In a completely different direction, the three piece band Civil Twilight came onstage. The 3 band members are brothers Steven and Andrew McKellar and Richard Wouters; all come from Cape Town, South Africa. They recently re-released the album they put out independently. What I enjoyed about this band is that they have a great dramatic sound...this is the music I craved to hear when I lived in a valley in Colorado, surrounded by mountains. They sound similar to Muse and constantly seem to be compared to an early U2 or Coldplay. While I somewhat agree with those comparisons, I think Civil Twilight's music is a bit more progressive.

They opened with "Something She Said," and played most of the songs from their self titled album. One of the songs I enjoyed the most was a song called "Human," which is just well-written and emotional and just a beautiful expression of that thing we all are. Their songs have been featured on shows such as One Tree Hill, Harper's Island, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and House, M.D. One song in particular that I really enjoyed was called "Save Yourself." They did a cover of "Teardrops," by Massive Attack, which was excellent, as well. Overall, the band put on a really good show and made us more interested in their music.

For our first time seeing both of these bands, we were happily surprised by how much we liked their music, though it doesn't exactly fit what we ordinarily listen to. We liked both bands sense of musicianship and the fact that the guitar player from Civil Twilight often played the guitar with a bow was a pretty cool effect we enjoyed and haven't seen much. We had a good time at the show and we walked away from the evening interested in more music that we probably wouldn't have been exposed to if not for seeing live shows such as this one. That's the thing we love to do and part of our mission; although most people only hear about the shows coming to Indy at the State Fair or larger venues such as Conseco, Indy is actually a great place to discover up and coming musicians and has some pretty stellar smaller venues and that's where we like to go.

7.14.2010 - Greg Laswell, Cary Brothers, Harper Blynn, Isaac Russel @ Radio Radio

2010-07-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

The crowd at Radio Radio for Greg Laswell's show was definitely a younger one. Most people there were probably familiar with Laswell's song "Take Everything" from his newest album "Take a Bow" on 92.3 WTTS in Indy. That was as familiar as we were with his music when we walked in on Wednesday night, and we hadn't heard anything about the other artists. The crowd wasn't huge by any means, but there was a fairly good turnout for the show.

First up was un-billed artist Isaac Russel - in true singer/songwriter style - just a man and his guitar. He did a short 4 song set, including a song written after his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend, and a very touching song about losing his mom to breast cancer. He's a great artist who seems like he's just getting started, and I hope we get to see him again in the future.

Harper Blynn, a four-piece band from New York took the stage next, and proceeded to blow us away with their catchy riffs and intelligent lyrics. Possibly the most impressive point of their performance was a cover of Beyonce's "Halo", which was 100x better than the original version. Their sound was similar to Death Cab, and they had lots of energy onstage. Even a broken guitar halfway through their set couldn't stop their freight train of intensity. Some other highlights of their set were:

Can't Do It For You
25 Years
Lonliest Generation
This Is It

Cary Brothers then took the stage, with Harper Blynn as the backing band. In fact, Harper Blynn was on stage for basically the full night, as they were the band for Greg Laswell also. Brothers mentioned that people always say his songs are on the sad side, and he's right - they seem to all have a bit of a melancholy sound even when they are happy songs. He told a pretty funny story about a song he wrote for a former girlfriend for Valentine's Day (not because he's romantic, but because he was broke). They ended up breaking up, and she always thought he was taking stabs at her in the song. Somehow she ended up finally understanding that it was just a sweet love song, and emailed him to tell him how sweet it was - so to spite her, he put the song on an album. Some other highlights from his set:

The Glass Parade
Under Control
Ghost Town
Ride
A Cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"

And last but not least, it was time for Greg Laswell to follow up after some fantastic opening acts. He spent time playing both guitar and keyboard while singing, and the crowd was really into his set. He had a great story about a tour he was on - staying in the same room (seperate beds) with a guy he was touring with, he found the movie "My Sister's Keeper" on television and was watching while the other guy slept. (Laswell has a song in the movie, and he'd never seen it before). So, long story short, he said whoever made that movie hates people and wants to make them sad...so his tour-mate wakes up, looks at the tv and asks what he's watching, he tells him, and then the guy says "Dude, are you crying?"...and he was.

Anyway, Laswell also thanked 92.3 for playing "Take Everything", played a stripped-down, joyless cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", and a little of The Crash Test Dummies "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". It was a great show - great music from some great artists and some hilarious commentary thrown in as icing on the cake. Check out all of these artists - you won't regret it.

7.7.2010 - Santana and Steve Winwood @ Verizon Wireless

2010-07-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

How special - our very first review of an arena show! I kid - I know that we, like some of you, typically prefer to enjoy live music in a more intimate setting - you know, where you can afford to sit close enough to see that the artist indeed has facial features! Typically, Santana and Steve Winwood wouldn't have been on our must-see list of live music, but when I saw that lawn tickets were Ticketmaster's $10 ticket of the day a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned this to my mom who is a big fan of both artists, and offered to buy our tickets if we'd go with her. Long story short, she ended up having to back out, but we still went and enjoyed ourselves anyway.

When we arrived at Verizon, there were signs of the current downturn in the live music industry everywhere. You could procure pavillion upgrade seats for as low as $10 per person (I bet there were a lot of unhappy people who paid full price for those tickets!), there were LiveNation reps positioned throughout the venue selling lawn tickets for between $10 and $25 for upcoming shows, and Verizon was seriously far from packed. Nearly an entire section of pavillion seats remained empty for the entire show. And I've never attended an event there where you could spread out on the lawn and not be encroached upon by people. It really is sad that the economy is such that artists have trouble selling out events, but can also be a bonus for concert-goers who end up getting really great deals out of the hardship. We elected to stick with lawn seating, and spread out at the very front of one of the lawn sections.

The crowd at this show was different from what we've been used to recently. As you (hopefully) already know from reading our other reviews, we typically stick to smaller venues and more "emerging" or "indie" artists. Seeing as both Santana and Steve Winwood have been rocking for decades now, the crowd was quite a bit more representative of the middle-age-and-beyond music lovers. Also quite a few families, and you can't forget the crazy drunk people dancing/stumbling around.

Steve Winwood played for about a half an hour, and played some of his old hits like "Higher Love" and "Gimme Some Lovin". He can still rock after all these years. Split his time between playing guitar and keyboard. There wasn't a whole lot of excitement in the crowd for him until he played the hits that everyone knew the words to. Mel and I were discussing how his music spans generations - if only because everyone hears his songs on the easy listening station at the dentist's office. But really, I enjoyed his music and love that he still performs live.

Santana and his huge band then took the stage. There were two lead singers, bongos, drums, keyboard, guitar, etc. Carlos Santana plays a mean guitar, but that's not news to anyone I'm sure. He played some of his big hits, like "Maria, Maria", "Smooth", and a cover of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love". We were kinda prepared to be blown away by Santana, but ended up feeling that it was a good show, just not fantastic. Most of the songs were drug out for a lot longer than necessary for some reason.

Then there were Carlos' interesting comments about how Obama is doing a crappy job because he hasn't brought our troops home, how marijuana should be legalized and we should use the money for schools and education, how when the women are happy everyone is happy, and a dissertation on how everyone is made up of only two things - "light and love". It didn't really seem to go with the flow of the evening, seemed more like a "brain dump" of political leanings.

All in all, a decent night. And we left a bit early to try to beat traffic - which is managed much better now than it was the last time I was at Verizon about 6 years ago when it took 4 hours to get out of the parking lot after a John Mellencamp show. So I have better feelings about hitting up the other shows we have coming up at Verizon.

6.15.2010 - Ingrid Michaelson @ The Vogue

2010-07-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

We were pretty excited about getting to see Ingrid at the Vogue as our first show back from Bonnaroo. It was because of Bonnaroo that we were convinced to see the show in the first place...we were captivated by how funny and personable she was onstage.

Upon arriving, we headed upstairs to find some seats overlooking the stage and crowd scene below. There was a pretty good crowd, considering the rain and general gloominess of the day.

The show begins with opener, Matt Morris. His new album, When Everything Breaks Open, is a pretty new release and one of the champion projects from the Tennman label, which was founded by Justin Timberlake. You may never have guessed it, but Matt and Justin were cast-mates on The All New Mickey Mouse Club...you know, that show that was a breeding ground for all those TRL superstars from the late 90's. Anyways, Morris is a pretty talented songwriter and has helped pen songs like "Miss Independent" for Kelly Clarkson, and "(Another Song) All Over Again" for Timberlake's Futuresex/Lovesounds album. And that fact that he is a songwriter is what stood out in his performance this evening at the Vogue. He simply brought a couple of other band guys to play with him and opened up the show with 2 very funk-soul sounding songs, then launched into the indie/songwriter mode. He played "In This House," "Money," and "Live Forever," which is the first single from his new album.

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't entirely impressed by Morris. Don't get me wrong...he wasn't bad, but I think he is just getting started at the indie singer-songwriter thing. I get the fact that he is a talented songwriter, but many people will tell you that going from songwriter to songwriter and performer is a whole new ball game. I could appreciate that Morris is a supporting act and though I'm sure he has a plethora of resources that could gain him instant fame, he seems to want to go through the struggle and work of an entirely brand new act. That is commendable. I think Morris has some more growing and exploration to do as far as finding his sound and the songs that work for him, and I think getting to see that exploration take place first hand is what will draw people to him and his music. I, for one, am interested in seeing what Morris comes up with in the future.

Not too long after Morris, Ingrid Michaelson hits the stage and the crowd had such a warm response to her. She opened up with the first track from her newest album, a song called "S oldier". First thing that I noticed was right from the start, Ingrid and her band are sounding amazing, with the harmony sounding perfect, which gives me chills from the get go. And with perfect timing, Ingrid and the band insert lyrics from "Poker Face" into the harmony. It's an excellent start to the show. And of course, it doesn't take long for Ingrid to show off her comedic skills. She told the crowd how she was all bummed out because it was raining and she didn't think anyone would come to the show. She continued with an excellent set list that included "Parachute", "The Hat", in which Ingrid had the whole crowd doing choreography. She told some great stories, one in particular about how she has been asked to speak at a graduation ceremony and the story she was going to tell about how she threw water on some dumb boys at at stoplight that ultimately had no moral. Also, as she was interacting with the crowd, she made up a song on the spot about someone in the crowd sitting on a vibrating speaker named Jean and the song turned into "Kinky Jean"...and all I could think was "God, I hope someone is taping this and putting it on YouTube tomorrow."

By the way, we have to give a shout out to the couple sitting next to us at the show...it's so nice to meet people at shows who are genuinely interested in music and it was great to meet you.

Ingrid continued to entertain us musically and comedically, and did more songs such as a cover of "Creep." One of our favorite moments was when the band sang a song called "Let's Get Rich" and all the members of the band took turn singing parts into the microphone. The song is so incredibly sweet. In the middle of the song, as Ingrid's guitar player, Bess Rogers, was singing, we find out that she is going to marry Chris Kuffner, the bass player. They shared a little smooch onstage and it was just the cutest moment of the show.

The moment we were looking forward to the most was when Ingrid did a cover of "Toxic," by Britney Spears, who she introduced as an up and coming singer songwriter. The cover included choreography, as well. Ingrid also included both versions of her song "The Way I Am"...one was the album version and the other was the full blown rock and roll version...either way, the song is great.

All in all, I have to say that I've felt lukewarm about Ingrid's music when I'm just hanging out and listening to it, but upon seeing her live, I really appreciate her. She is not the fabulous diva girl that so many artists feel they have to be. Instead, she is genuine, humble, morose at times, and optimistic at others...and we love all of those because it is a reflection that is not so different from our own. We look forward to seeing her again sometime soon and listening to her music with new insight.

What We Learned @ Bonnaroo 2010

2010-07-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

This will just be a sort of recap or list of what we learned/experienced at Bonnaroo. Maybe amusing, maybe disturbing, maybe it makes you wish you were there, or quite possibly makes you glad you weren't. Enjoy!

If ever you have dreamed of going to a place in the Continental U.S. that drug use is basically legal, buy your tickets to Bonnaroo 2011!
Bonnaroo seems to be some sort of mecca for people with really, really bad tattoos.
When the heat index is over 100 degrees, even the morbidly obese will be scantily clad.
Don't go to an outdoor music festival in the middle of Tennessee in June dressed in a wetsuit. And if you do, go with friends you can trust not to leave you passed out on a random tarp in the mid-day sun.
90% of the vendors at Bonnaroo are head-shops.
Do not go to Bonnaroo if you have issues with personal space. You'll be much better off if you go in expecting to share the same 5ft of space with 25 sweaty, smelly people - I mean, 25 of your new closest friends.
Only thing worse than sitting in the sun when the temps are in the 90's with humidity hovering right around 95% - having to go into a filthy porta-potty in that same weather.
Don't sit near any fences/shrubs/trees/immovable objects - chances are someone has peed (or worse) there.
It is apparently perfectly acceptable at Bonnaroo for women to wear only what was advertised as "booby painting" as a top. Use your imagination.
Smoking (regular cigarettes) is either much more prevalent still than I thought, or just moreso among the Bonnaroo types.
Do not expect to sleep past 7:00 a.m. in a tent in Tennessee in mid-June.
Bonnaroo has the best fried pickles we've ever had.
There is not much better on a boiling hot day than ice-cold, fresh-squeezed lemonade. Pure amazingness in a plastic cup.
If you have a hard time seeing over the crowd, practice walking on stilts!

6.13.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 4 - Manchester, TN

2010-06-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Musically, plans were up in the air for the last day of Bonnaroo. Headed to Centeroo early to fill our Camelbak's up with water before the lines got really long. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself...on our way down there we stopped to get fried pickles (one of our all-time favorite foods), and they were absolutely delicious - even better than in they are in the Irish Pub in my old college town. Mmmm...

Food isn't something we've discussed much in this series of Bonnaroo blogs as of yet. Mostly because, in order to curb expenses, we packed our own peanut butter sandwiches, chips, and carrots for lunch every day. We ended up buying something in Centeroo every night for dinner, trying two vegetarian burritos, some cheddar and jalepeno hush puppies (fantastic!), pizza, and a noodle bowl. The hush puppies and noodle bowl with it's spicy sauce were the most stand-out dishes of the weekend. But I digress...this is a music blog afterall!

We decided to go see Ingrid Michaelson's set at The Other Tent at noon. (By the way, both camera batteries had died at this point, so all I have to offer unfortunately is a crappy iPhone picture from way too far away!) Got there super early and snagged a shady spot just outside the tent under a tree. We haven't ever seen Ingrid live, and feel just so-so about her albums. So we weren't overly excited about this show. But boy, just minutes after Ingrid and crew took the stage, she completely changed our minds! That woman is hilarious! If she ever gave up music, stand-up comedy should be in her future! And such a sweet person - one lady in the crowd near the stage had a sign saying that it was her daughter's birthday and that she is a big Ingrid fan. Ingrid asked how old her daughter was turning that day, the lady replied with "4 years old". Then Ingrid proceeded to ask the woman to pass up onstage the birthday card for her daughter and she signed it and drew her an old-fashioned hand turkey.

Totally recommend seeing Ingrid Michaelson live if you ever get the chance. She performed her new rock version of "The Way I Am", some other great songs with audience participation, such as "Mountain and The Sea", "The Hat", and of course, her infamous cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic". That number is absolutely hilarious when it comes to the dancing at the end. That performance solidified our plans for that coming Tuesday night to go see her at The Vogue back in Indianapolis.

We wandered over to the Which Stage after that - our intent was to find some shade and sit through the Calexico show to see Regina Spektor, then Ween, then Phoenix and probably head back north after that. Well, we sat in the sun/semi-shade for over 2 hours, listened to Calexico, ate our lunch, then decided we'd had enough. It was a bit after 3:00 and no sign of Regina Spektor yet, so we just started our long hike back to the car at that point. It had been a fun weekend, but after 4 days in that heat, you get to a point where you are no longer enjoying yourself, and the benefits of staying are far outweighed by the costs.

It took all of 5 minutes to drive out of Bonnaroo after our 2 mile hike in the boiling heat (Stopping of course to get a couple more orders of those delicious fried pickles and some frozen lemonade on our way back!). The drive back home was fine, stopped off in Nashville to do a little driving tour of the city. Mel had visited before, but I've only driven around it on various highways headed for other distant destinations. The CMA festival was going on, so downtown was crowded for that, but I really liked the city. It has a good feel to it, and I really enjoy that it has hills. The fact that it is a music mecca doesn't hurt either :)

6.12.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 3 - Manchester, TN

2010-06-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

We'd been looking forward to this Bonnaroo day for a while...it was finally Brandi day!! We are big Brandi Carlile fans, if you couldn't tell... So naturally, we got to That Tent at 10:30 - over 3 hours prior to Brandi taking the stage at 1:45. We gathered a filthy black sheet and someone's discarded "Neat Sheet" to cover up some sticky lemonade that someone had spilled by the rail at the front, then sat down to hold our spots for the show.

Langhorne Slim played right before Brandi. He's a singer/songwriter, and puts a hell of a lot of energy into his live shows. This guy was bouncing around constantly - moving all over the stage from standing on the speakers set up in front of the stage to jumping off of the kick-drum. At one point during his set, a kid wearing a "Langhorne Slim" shirt appeared onstage. The kid jumped around with him during a song, then stood up there awkwardly until the band tried to shoo him offstage, and a guy in the photo pit had to help him down.

Then it was time for Brandi Carlile and crew to take the stage. It is easily the hottest of Bonnaroo days thus far, and within minutes, Phil has sweated through his long-sleeve button-up shirt. They played a typical bar or theater set, with the exception of the acoustic portion. That just wouldn't have resonated with the venue or the crowd. The band had a great energy level, even though they were sweating their asses off. Tim had on a great shirt - it had some Hebrew lettering, and underneath it said "Shalom Y'all". Hilarious! Here's the setlist from that show:

Josh (Cello Intro)
Oh Dear
Looking Out
What Can I Say
My Song
Closer To You/I've Just Seen a Face (Beatles Cover)
Dreams
Turpentine
The Story
Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash Cover)
Pride and Joy
Mad World (Tears for Fears Cover)

It was so miserably hot after that show, that we decided to hang under the broo'ers tent and take advantage of the shade. We heard some of Norah Jones' set, and The Avett Brothers, but the heat and threat of thunderstorms was enough to keep us from wandering closer to the Which Stage to get a better listen/view.

We headed to the Sonic Stage for the acoustic version of Brandi Carlile's set after cooling off. The crowd was a LOT smaller there, and Brandi, Tim and Phil played a great five-song set. The lady in charge of introducing bands on this stage was a crack-up. She kept saying how great the band was, and how "sassy" Brandi is. A very odd word to describe her if you ask me, but then again, no one did :)

After a short period of rain, we made our way back to That Tent to catch some of John Prine's set. We aren't familiar with his music, but there were some true die-hard fans there to see him. From what I gather, he's a legend in country music. This was the place to find a lot of the older Bonnaroo crowd on a Saturday afternoon.

Then it was time to head to the main stage - the What Stage for Stevie Wonder followed by Jay-Z. Stevie Wonder still sounds amazing. He is one of those guys that sings a TON of popular songs that you don't even remember are his until you hear him belting them out just as impressively as he did 20 or 30 years ago. He really is an instution in the music industry. The lawn area was packed for his show, and we had quite a few high and crazy dancers around us, which was the only thing detracting from the experience.

We only stayed for a few songs of Jay-Z's set, but he sounded good as well. Instead of Alisha Keys, some random female vocalist sang with him on "Empire State of Mind", but she was pretty decent. Not a bad way to end another great day of music at Bonnaroo.

6.10.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 2 - Manchester, TN

2010-06-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

After a long, grueling day of driving, setting up camp, and enjoying some shows on Thursday evening, we went back to our tent and got some rest for Friday. We found out on Friday morning that it is impossible to sleep in. By 7 a.m., the temperatures in mid-Tennessee are already brutal and the humidity is already pretty unbearable. Our tent was sauna-esque in the early morning. So, we packed up for the day, and headed to Centeroo to wait for the shows to start.

First up was Julia Nunes, who I had not heard of before Bonnaroo. While we were waiting for the show to start, I noticed a lot of college age kids that were talking to the band while they were doing soundcheck; they all seemed to know each other, which I thought was pretty cool. It's nice to see newer acts that have a lot of support from friends or people they have come into contact with. Come to find out, that's pretty much what got her some popularity and probably a spot in Bonnaroo. Her career kicked off because she posted YouTube videos of her songs to keep in touch with friends which eventually led to some ep recordings and so on...

Her music is quirky and intelligent, with pretty straightforward lyrics. What I liked is that she does make the ukelele look cool and her songs are kind of that peek into the brain of all those things you want to say but probably won't because in some way, it's sort of inappropriate in society. It's not dirty, so don't misconstrue that, but by looking at some of the titles of her songs ("Grown A Pair" and "I'm Not Good") you know you are getting a look inside someone's personality that is probably a lot like your own and that is always great. What stood out to me during the set is that she acknowledged the "Shitty Songs" of Top 40 radio and even played a little melody of them, which inclued "Poker Face," "Tik Tok," and some others that all got a laugh and claps of agreement on their shitty-ness. Overall, a pretty good show and one that certainly made me more interested in her music.

Next we headed to "That Tent" to catch the Carolina Chocolate Drops. We had heard a lot about this band and they have been getting quite a bit of attention as of late. They are young musicians, but they are keenly inspired, influenced, and aware of traditional southern "Dixie" music. They have been featured in films and were actually the first black band to play at the Grand Ole Opry. They are kind of an acoustic, hip-hop band. They have an excellent sound and a great energy as well. Please check them out...you won't be disappointed.

We stopped off at "The Other Tent" to catch a few of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros songs. The tent was absolutely packed to see them, and the stage was nearly as full of musicians of all kinds. We could only stand the crowd for a few songs, but they are a really great band. Need to check out more of their stuff for sure.

We went off to "This Tent" to go see The Gossip, who blew me away. I had heard of the band before, but never thought I would get the chance to see them...we are from Indiana after all, so thanks to Bonnaroo for an amazing opportunity. Beth Ditto is the charismatic lead singer of this trio, whose music might best be described as a sort of electro-punk. It's got those raging beats of electronic music and the anti-authority attitude of punk. They were just very excellent. The band has a really huge following and has had quite a bit of success in building a fan base in Europe. Their new album, "Music for Men" was produced by Rick Rubin, which certainly helped broaden the interest in their music. Some highlights of the set were songs "Men in Love" and "Heavy Cross." The bottom line is that you should check this band out. Beth Ditto has an amazing voice and can belt it out with conviction and will make your jaw drop.

We hung around to catch the next show at "This Tent," which was She and Him. We knew that this was going to be a packed show simply because of Zooey Deschanel, who is a doll, and also because the music is pretty good. People packed in immediately and we soon found ourselves surrounded by a lot of boys, and I'm pretty sure I heard one in particular say, "This is the most important show of my life. I've been in love with Zooey for years!" I have to say that I had been skeptical of the band, just because I tend to think that anything that gets a lot of attention quickly is just a fad. But Deschanel and Matt Ward are a great team and their music is humble and upbeat. When they hit the SXSW festival after recording their first album, they made quite the impression. They are both excellent performers...great energy and seemingly no flaws technically. The band has said that they are inspired by artists who used music to make people feel good and that is what they strive for. I have to say that even though it was ridiculously hot and crowded in the tent, their music did send a positive energy into an exhausted crowd and I'm positive that I am less skeptical of the talent and message She and Him have to offer.

We headed back over to "That Tent" to catch the end of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and to catch Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers. Steve Martin's banjo playing is renowned and was a great fit for the bluegrass sound the Steep Canyon Rangers have become known for. We only caught a small portion of the show, but it was great to go from a band like The Gossip to a bluegrass roots band. That was one of my favorite things about Bonnaroo...all music is welcome.

Next, we hiked over to the main stage area to catch Samantha Crain, who was on Cayamo this past year. We didn't get a chance to see her show then, but were excited to get to see her at a different venue. She was playing in a tent called the Cafe Where. I was surprised by her energy and her ability to really play a solid rock set, because I have to admit I did not think that she could by my first impression of her. I expected a "Colbie-Caillet-esque" softness and she blew me away...thank God. It was a short set but it was great and I certainly am interested in listening to more from her.

So the big show of the night for us was Kings of Leon at the What Stage. We knew people came to Bonnaroo just to see them. We saw one guy that must have really wanted to see the show because he showed up on stilts just to have a better view. At one point, he even fell onto a few people and I don't remember seeing him much after that, but I was just amazed at the lengths people will go to just to see a band. Now, Kings of Leon are literally the biggest band on the planet right now. Erica and I both had our reservations about them; we had heard that they weren't as good live and honestly, we haven't listened to them much because we were quickly tired of hearing "Use Somebody" on the radio every 5 minutes. However, we had done some research on their music and I have come to enjoy a lot of their music from their earlier albums. When I run, I listen to the entire Because of the Times album, so I was pretty excited that they played a lot from that one. "Knocked Up" was a huge highlight for me to see live.

In a way, I think it is strange how quickly Kings of Leon have gained popularity. I mean, they have been around for a while now and they were popular in Europe, especially England, long before most people had even heard about them here in the States. They are southern boys, and you get that sense of a neo-southern rock band when you listen to them, but there is something deeper. When they perform, they don't jump around and writhe all over the stage, but you know they are excellent musicians and lyricists. They didn't interact with the crowd much, but it was cool to see the entire crowd singing along to "Sex On Fire." Their stage production was pretty cool: a backdrop of all kinds of can lighting and a big screen that has random black and white, security camera-esque shots of them as they are playing. It was a great show, perhaps because my expectations were low initially, but in the end, I walked away liking a band that I had my reservations about...and I think that's what live performances should do.

All in all, day 2 was pretty excellent. We came away from that night with a list of new music and bands to start listening to and we found out that Kings of Leon are actually a pretty great band that can hopefully overcome that Top 40 shitty-ness that seems to have latched onto their reputation.

6.10.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 1 - Manchester, TN

2010-06-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

So, our stuff is all set up, we head out to find the elusive "Centeroo" we've heard about. As we are walking the couple of miles (yep, you heard that right, miles) from our tent to Centeroo, we notice that 95% of the vendors that aren't selling food are head-shops. And that 90% of the people we pass are stopping to shop there. This should be fun...Oh, and it's hot and extremely humid. Like "I'd be drier in a swimming pool" levels of liquid in the air.

The first show we went to was Fanfarlo, 4:15 at The Other Tent. I was stoked to finally get to see this band - I'd heard their name tons of times, but had really no idea what to expect. They were really great. I don't even know where I'd place their sound - somewhere around Folky/Indie-pop. There is a special place in my heart for bands that incorporate a ton of different instruments into their music - and these guys had a clarinet, mandolin, violin, guitar, trumpet, drums, bass, and, if i remember correctly, one of those mouth-operated accordian-like things that I don't know the name of. And they have accents, seeing as they are London-based. And the lead singer, Simon Balthazar, is Swedish. I never cease to be amazed when you listen to a band and hear no accent at all in their songs, then they open their mouths to speak in between and wow you with the coolest of European accents. Great way to kick off 4 days of amazing music.

Next up was catching a little bit of Diane Birch's set as we nibbled on humongous vegeterian burritos on the outskirts of That Tent. Hadn't even heard her name before checking out the Bonnaroo schedule. She's from New York, and has more of a singer/songwriter style. We listened to a few songs, and weren't blown away by her performance, but that might have been because we were so focused on chowing down and keeping stray black beans and sour cream off of ourselves.

We then sat through the Manchester Orchestra set back at The Other Tent - mostly because we wanted to be in prime position to get up close for Needtobreathe. Manchester Orchestra has more of a hard-rock/metal sound, which isn't really our cup of tea as they say, but they did draw in a huge crowd.

Needtobreathe is a great band to see live. They have a lot of energy, and seemed to have extra Bonnaroo energy compared to what we saw at The Vogue in Indianapolis a few months ago. I think that every song they played at Bonnaroo ended in some epic rockstar-esque guitar solo. They performed some of their big songs, like "The Outsiders", "Stones Under Rushing Water", "Something Beautiful", and "More Time". There always seems to be a buzz of energy in the crowd at their shows - we highly recommend going to see them if they come to a venue near you!

Our last band of the night was Blitzen Trapper. I've heard their name tossed around lately, but again had no idea what their sound was like. And they happened to be playing the same tent right after Needtobreathe, so we decided to keep our prime locations at the front rail and check out a few songs in their set. They are an Indie Rock group out of Portland, OR. We enjoyed their sound, you can definitely get into their music. Unfortunately, we were exhausted, and the massive crowd was getting to us, so we skipped out after a few songs to start the miles long trek back to our humble abode (read: oversize tent) for the evening.

As much as I've heard that people have trouble sleeping at Bonnaroo becuase of noisy neighbors, music that goes into the wee hours of the morning, heat, etc...we drifted off to sleep within minutes. There are a few times in life when exhaustion actually works in your favor!

6.10.2010 - Bonnaroo - The Journey

2010-06-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

So, after getting up before 2am Eastern Time, a 6+ hour drive South, we found the infamous Bonnaroo traffic jam on I-24. We were on the wrong side of the highway to get to Bonnaroo. We were supposed to get off at exit 111, but were being redirected to exit 127...that's a long way from 111. After driving miles on the highway gaping at the huge line of traffic backed up on the other side of the road, we finally caught up with the end of the line on our side. Lots and lots of miles from the exit we were supposed to be getting off at. We sat there for a while, watched a few people hop out of their cars and march into the woods and use nature's restroom, then decided to just drive past our intended exit and try to come back around on the "right" side of the highway.

So we drove about 5 miles past that exit, turned around and came back. There was virtually no wait that way, so we were thrilled - there were high-fives and everything! All is well for a while as we drive these back-country roads - lo and behold, we find the traffic again. Long story short, we sat in traffic for 5 hours before we got to the gates where they took tickets. It was very hot. I never have learned how to pee in the woods, so I needed a bathroom really bad. We saw plenty of people peeing on the side of the road - I hope they don't use any of that corn for human consumption! People that live along the route were selling everything from fruits and veggies to gasoline to dry ice. When we finally got to the entrance gates, we laughed as we watch the safety guy search the car in front of us and take a good $50 of liquor out of various places, not because they were bringing in liquor - that's perfectly fine, it just can't be in glass bottles. Did ya not read the rules before you spent that money?

Got directed to our campsite, which was nearly in the back of one of the furthest fields from Centeroo, we're jam packed in and everyone who got there in front of us has scooped up space like it's going out of style. We had to infringe a bit on our neighbor's spots to put up our giant tent - note to selves, bring small tent next time - which the guy next to us grumbled about, then they eventually rearranged cars so they had a ton of space anyway. It started raining as we were setting up our stuff, but that was one of only two short rainshowers we'd experience over the sweltering 4 days ahead...

5.16.2010 - Joe Pug @ Radio Radio

2010-06-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

Joe PugThe set-up at Radio Radio for this show was fantastic - the front tables were just a few feet from the stage! Following our usual M.O. of being in line to get in before the doors opened, we managed to procure one of those front tables, which was perfect for shooting photos during the sets. Not a huge crowd by any means, mostly late 20's through 30's folks.

Mandy Marie opened up the show - she's a local artist who usually plays with The Cool Hand Lukes. During her set, she mentioned how much easier it is to get on stage with a full band and jam and be crazy as compared to standing up there alone and doing the singer/songwriter thing. She played some good stuff, and was engaging and entertaining.

Some highlights from Mandy's set:

Leaving Southern Missouri - Mandy was born and raised in Southern Missouri
My Husband
My Land of Make Believe
Why Do You Gotta Be A Dick To Me - No kidding, that's how the song went :)

I first heard Joe Pug's music via free EP download ("In the Meantime") he offered shortly after he played Bonnaroo 2009, I believe. A couple of years ago when Joe was starting out, he offered fans unlimited copies of a 2-song sampler CD's for free to pass along to their friends. He didn't want people to have to purchase a full album until they knew what they were getting. Great way to promote your music and endear yourself with fans if you ask me.

He has a distinct sound that is diffcult to describe - maybe a mix of Americana and Indie-Folk. His voice is gravely, yet smooth at the same time. I would never have guessed that he is from Chicago - his music definitely has a bit of a Southern feel to it. He seems to be a bit of a shy fellow, and soft-spoken, but still maintains a good stage presence. At one point during the show, his foot-stomping had knocked a pile of his things off of a stool on the stage. After he finished that song, he turned around and tipped everything else over, because it was clear it was going to happen anyway.

Most of the songs Joe performed were off his most recent release, "Messenger". Highlights from Joe Pug's set:

Messenger
I Know How Good You Are
Unsophisticated Heart
Speak Plainly Diana
Bury Me Far (From my Uniform) - Was offered on Pug's website for free as a Memorial day promotion.

4.29.2010 - Sublime with Rome, Del Mar, and The Dirty Heads @ The Murat Egyptian Room

2010-05-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

This was absolutely a last-minute addition to our line-up of shows. I just happened to win a meet and greet with The Dirty Heads and Rome from X103 that included tickets to this sold-out show, so we couldn't pass it up.

I'll start this review with a quick overview of the Meet & Greet at X103's studios. First - free pizza. Yum. Next, getting to stand around in the studio with Deuce while he interviewed The Dirty Heads and Rome. Jared, lead singer of The Dirty Heads, tells a hilarious story about going to a strip club the first time he was in Indiana. If you can find that interview on http://www.x103.com/ - listen to it, you'll laugh. After that, we lucky winning listeners got to pile into the Bob & Tom studio and watch through the glass as The Dirty Heads and Rome recorded a few live studio tracks. They did "Lay Me Down", "Believe", and "Stand Tall". These guys are really great - I'd say they have a reggae/rap/ska sound. This small acoustic set upped my level of interest in going to see the show later that night.

We got to the Murat around 6:30 - since it was a sold out GA show, we knew there would be quite the line forming to get any kind of decent spot near the stage. We were actually only about 40 people back from the front of the line - not too shabby. Once inside, we procured a couple of spots against the front railing, stage-right. We haven't ever been smashed right up against the railing for any show, so we weren't exactly sure how we'd feel about this choice by the end of the night, but it actually ended up being a very enjoyable experience. The security guard right in front of us eased our fears a bit by telling us that he had had a long day, and he's not putting up with any crap, he'd just take people down. We agreed wholeheartedly to step out of his way and let him do his job if it came to that!

The first band up, Del Mar, wasn't the type of music I'd listen to on any given day, but I can see that they must have their musical merits. This is actually the band that Bud Gaugh was in when he decided to get Sublime back together. They had a definite punk sound, and really got people ready for the next two bands. Then came The Dirty Heads. The crowd was stoked for their performance, and even more pumped when Rome joined them for a few songs, including "Lay Me Down" of course. To make sure the sell-out crowd was fully ready for Sublime, Jared even hopped off the stage and stood on the barriers to sing the last song. These guys know how to work a room!

Time for Sublime - and I can't say whether it was the contact buzz that everyone had from the plumes of pot smoke filling the room or actual excitement to see this band that hasn't been on the radar since 1996, after former lead singer Bradley Nowell's fatal heroine overdose, but the audience was thrilled. After Nowell's death, the band split, having no desire to perform music under the Sublime name anymore. In 2009, drummer Bud Gaugh and bass guitarist Eric Wilson decided to re-form the band with guitarist and lead singer Rome Ramirez, who was a mere 20 years old at the time. After a legal battle over the Sublime name with Bradley's estate, the band now performs under the name Sublime with Rome.

Sublime still knows how to rock. They played all the old staples - "Santeria", "What I Got", "Date Rape" and "Wrong Way". Basically, all of the hardcore Sublime fans were singing along to each and every word of each and every song. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Rome Ramirez is a good vocalist - no Bradley, but I know his intent isn't to replace him.

Just a few interesting notes on this show - I was surprised to see a ton of young people (under 25's) in the mix at this concert. Just goes to show that a great band will still have an impression on people long after they've broken up - a la Nirvana.

Other topics of note:

We experienced a near fist-fight after someone tried to snake his way through the crowd that had been standing at the front for an hour to get the best view. Luckily, the situation was diffused, and the two groups of people were friends by the end of the show.
Lots of people were smoking weed. After a while, security had to take a "we can't do anything about it" stance. Giant smoke clouds were clearly visible heading toward the stage.
If the Girls Gone Wild videographers had been onstage, they'd have gotten some good material for an upcoming DVD. I think that says enough.
One thrasher in the crowd was turned on by everyone around him and pointed out to security so they could toss him out for being out of hand. Just goes to show, you should bring more loyal friends if you want to mosh...
A girl in our vicinity sang every song, loudly, to her boyfriend throughout the show, while complaining to him that she didn't have enough drinks. The man must have been some sort of saint to not have claimed to be going get her another cocktail while he hopped in the car and left her. I sure would have!

4.23.2010 - Chris Pureka and Nicole Reynolds @ Radio Radio

2010-04-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

We'd been looking forward to this show for weeks. I'd heard Chris Pureka via my Brandi Carlile channel on Pandora probably over a year ago and haven't stopped listening since. What I wasn't aware of is that the event was put on by Cathy and Joyce of indyindie.com - a local group who promote independent female artists in music, poetry, and art. Unfortunately, after 7 years of doing this, we only happened upon them at the second-to-last show. They are "retiring" - but as Cathy mentioned onstage later, eventually they'll be back at it after an extended break and some good R&R. It was also Cathy's annual birthday show - so Happy Birthday Cathy!

I'd say 98% of this crowd was female, which wasn't at all surprising after discovering it was put on by a group promoting independent female artists. My rough estimate would be that about 75-100 people showed up - and that's a very rough guess. You could definitely tell that Chris has a following - there was a line of probably 15-20 people at the door when we arrived a little before doors opened at 8. Haven't seen a line at Radio Radio since back when we saw a Griffin House/Green River Ordinance/Needtobreathe show there in the Fall of 2009.

This was the most laid-back crowd I've ever seen at a show...everyone remained seated and was fully respectful of the artists at all times. This was such a great break from the normal concert-going crowd we've encountered. At one point, Chris Pureka even commented that people should come to the front and form a mosh-pit, saying she'd even smash a guitar if they did - then quickly changing her mind saying it makes her angry when people do that - "someone could've used that guitar".

Nicole Reynolds was up first. I'd be surprised if she is a centimeter over 4'11". She has a great whimsical/old-timey voice, which reminded me instantly of Katie Herzig. Her songs are reminiscent of poems set to music, rather than songs. She also has a fantastic sense of humor - her stories between songs had the entire room cracking up. We really enjoyed her set, and can't wait to hear more of her music. Here are some highlights:

Whiskey - Nicole mentioned her girlfriend quit smoking very shortly after she played this song in front of her g/f's Baptist Minister father - I believe the line was "You accept my bullshit, I accept your smoking". Enough said.
Earthworms - How can you beat a song with a line about hermaphrodite sex being great?
Wonderin - "Do you know that your kisses are like windows I fall through" - great line
We Could Have Met

Chris Pureka then took the stage. One of the first things you notice when the music starts is that she is an amazing guitar player. Then you hear her voice...full of emotion, soulful, haunting. It instantly pulls you in and takes you along for an emotional ride through what must be autobiographical stories of love and loss. I'd describe her genre as Indie-Folk. Her songs just ooze with melancholy - you can picture her sitting in front of a window on a cold and rainy New England fall evening pouring her heart into writing these lyrics. She has a brand new album out, click that link below and buy it, you'll be glad you did. Some highlights from her set:

California - From her Chimera EP

Barn Song - From her newest album, "How I Learned to See in the Dark". She wrote this after taking a walk with Lyndell Montgomery, bass and fiddle player in her band, while visiting at her Canadian home. They walked out to an abandoned house and barn, then while passing back by the house, Chris found a bell sitting next to the front door. Lyndell convinced her to take it, and the bell is now immortalized on the cover of the new album.
Shipwreck - "Sometimes I wish that tide would take me" - hearbreaking lyrics.
Wrecking Ball - Contains the album title lyric "How I learned to see in the dark". Has great radio-play potential.
Swann Song - Written for her grandma. From the Dryland album.

Encore of Porch Songs - One of my Chris Pureka favorites form the Driving North album.

I'm not sure the night could have gotten any better (except maybe if she'd felt inclined to sing Burning Bridges, another favorite). Both Chris and Nicole hung out back by the merchandise table after the show to meet everyone. Thanks to Cathy for strongly expressing her desire for Chris to play "more, more", so we could hear a live version of Porch Songs. And huge thanks to Cathy and http://www.indyindie.com/ for putting the show together and getting Chris and Nicole together in Indianapolis. Perfect night - go see Nicole Reynolds and/or Chris Pureka if you ever get the chance!

4.22.2010 - Martin Sexton and Ryan Montbleau @ The Vogue

2010-04-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

When we arrived at The Vogue for Martin Sexton, there was a line forming outside, but it was substantially shorter than the line that formed for Clutch, thank goodness. After our eyes adjusted to the dim lighting inside, we noticed the most welcomed surprise - they had moved some of the tall tables and stools down from the balcony to the floor, a matter of feet from the stage. And there, off to stage right, was an open one! Finally the lovely combination of experiencing the music from the floor and saving our feet from the pain caused by 4+ hours shifting back and forth on them!

So the bouncers decide to just close the balcony since there weren't all that many tickets sold for this show. Which I can't blame them for doing, but I'd bet that everyone could have had a seat if they had allowed people to go upstairs. And interestingly enough, we weren't met with the metal detectors and strict ID policies that we were becoming accustomed to at The Vogue...plus actual beer bottles were handed out during the evening, instead of pouring it into a plastic cup. Certainly says something about at least the perception of hard rock/rap crowds vs. singer/songwriter crowds...

There were downfalls, however, to choosing the seated option, to be discussed in detail later...

Ryan Montbleau is up first. His sound is very old-timey/jazzy. He had what seems to be a typical five piece band set-up - keyboard/drums/bass/fiddle/guitar. Ryan is a great guitar player, and beyond that, had the ability to keep up great Jason Mraz-esque (if we can make that a word for a second) wittiness between songs. Martin Sexton actually produced Ryan Montbleau's latest album, and they have toured together before. Ryan is a great entertainer, with some very catchy tunes. Some highlights from his setlist:

Songbird
Grain of Sand
75 and Sunny - From the album Sexton produced

Then came Martin Sexton (whom we heard a few audience members refer to as "Marty", like a favorite uncle). If you aren't familiar with Martin Sexton's music - the guy has a big voice, and can even act as a human drum-kit when necessary. He doesn't require a band at all, but integrated the Ryan Montbleau band into some of his songs seamlessly. Martin's singer/songwriter style definitely has a blues and soul vibe to it. He's a great musician, and kept the audience engaged and entertained throughout the entire set plus an encore. Some highlights from his set:

Can't Stop Thinking About You
Chasin' Dreams - About a guy quitting a high-paid job to do the job he always dreamed of as a kid.
Stick Around
My Faith Is Gone - Sexton wrote this when he was a hungry street-singer in Cambridge in 1991, and the government told them they couldn't sing on the streets anymore.
Beast in Me - This was part of the encore, and he broke into a version of "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" by The Jackson's in the middle.

A great show...with some low points involving the crowd, which was surprising. As I mentioned earlier, one downside to snagging a table was that it naturally became a gathering point for others, so at one point we had two converging groups of people surrounding us. They were also chatting loudly throughout the entire show - which is still a phenomenon I have yet to understand, though it happens everywhere. Why pay money for a concert if you really just want to drink and catch up with friends? And having a horizontal surface in front of you in a bar means it becomes a place for everyone to dump their empties. Rude. But I guess we shouldn't complain - a mere 5 days prior to the Martin Sexton show, we were watching Clutch concert-goers being dragged off of that same floor for moshing too violently. We'll certainly settle for the Sexton crowd anyday...

4.18.2010 - Caverns, Danko Jones, and Clutch @ The Vogue

2010-04-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

This show was our first show back at the Vogue following the Bone Thugs show that ended up being quite the letdown. As we started walking towards the venue, we noticed that there was an impressive line forming before the doors opened. It was quite the interesting crowd, made up of mostly guys in their 20's and 30's. The ladies were pretty seriously outnumbered and I could only imagine that the ladies that were there were probably dragged to the show by a boyfriend. So, the doors open and we are once again wanded down by the metal detector and patted down for security. This time we had to produce two pieces of identification to get in and Erica and I hypothesized for a while why this might have been.

We grabbed a couple of seats in the balcony, which has kind of become our favorite place to be in this venue come lately, plus, I think we knew in the back of our minds that being on the floor amidst the moshing and insanity of the crowd that we would be seriously out of place. Another interesting thing to note was that at some of our other experiences, particularly for Brandi Carlile, there is always a group of women that run to get the coveted places at the very front of the stage. In this situation, we found that it was all men at the front of the stage from the second the doors opened, and they were some pretty big dudes.

The first band to come up was Caverns, a sort of progressive/math rock band from D.C., made up of 3 guys who played piano, drums, and electric guitar. First thing we obviously noticed if anyone else out there is familiar with this band, is that there are no words. These guys were interesting in the fact that it is pretty obvious that there are classical elements that they insert into their music. I think what I liked about this band, other than the fact that it was something different, is that the use of the piano was not afterthought or a gimmick. In fact, I think the piano element is the strongest part of their live presentation; it thunders throughout the guitar riffs and makes the music work. I understand that this is a relatively new band and they certainly have a few technical aspects of their music to tighten up, but it's pretty obvious that they have some potential to offer. After all, the headliners, Clutch, invited them to be a part of the tour because they genuinely like their music. Their first album is called "Kittens!," so check it out and keep an eye out for these guys.

Next up was Danko Jones. I had heard of this band before, but this was my first experience seeing them live. The band has a lot of energy and it's contagious. The crowd seemed really into the band and seemed to be familiar with the songs. The frontman, who lends his name to the band, knew what to say to this crowd to get them going. He told us before a song called "Rock Shit Hot" that the song was supposed to give us rock n roll hemorrhoids. The crowd responded pretty well to any sort of profanity. Danko Jones showed us some pretty great guitar playing and definitely knew how to get the crowd revved up for Clutch. Perhaps my favorite song of theirs from the set was "Makes Me Forget My Name." Danko is definitely a top notch performer and his voice is actually quite good underneath the typical screaming and yelling that this genre of music presents. I mean, the guy even has a spoken word album, which doesn't happen unless you have a voice that is as great as James Earl Jones. The band has quite a following in Europe and has played a number of well known festivals. They put on a good show and I think I'm actually pretty interested in hearing more from them and maybe even getting some music from them. Mission accomplished.

So Clutch takes the stage and launches into their set with a pretty long musical intro. It was easy to pick out that they have some blues roots and folk elements in their music. This really isn't your typical heavy metal band. To be honest, I think there is a lot of intellectual aspects of their music and people are starting to catch on to that, even though the band has been around for over 10 years. They have some pretty dark and yet humorous lyrics...and we heard a little of that as they played a song about anthrax. Their most recent album was released in July of 2009 and is called "Strange Cousins From the West". The album design and the new logo of the band is a play off of middle eastern culture and language. It apparently got pretty decent critical reviews at the time of release and the band has moved quite a few copies of the album since.

Some things to note about this point of the show is that I was completely distracted for a number of reasons. First of all, there was a pretty distracting couple dancing in a ridiculously raunchy manner up in the balcony next to us. Second, a couple of fights broke out on the floor when some guys were moshing and pretty much running wild into a couple of girls on the floor. But the quick security guys at the Vogue had it handled within minutes, by means of dragging the guy out of the venue. There were a couple of crowd surfing incidents, with one failing when the guy who was surfing fell through a hole in the crowd. At this point, I was just watching the crowd, which seemed more entertaining than the band at times. When I listen to "Strange Cousins From the West" on my iPhone, I really enjoy it. However, upon hearing it live, I kind of felt like all the songs sounded the same. I'm not sure if this is because their music does have that intellectual element to it, which for me, lends itself towards a more personal environment where I can take it all in.

One of the coolest things about this band is that it seems that anyone you talk to who does know Clutch and their music...well, they just have nothing but good things to say about the guys. You hear things like "They have integrity," and "They are the real people," which I think is probably hard to come by in this genre. And after seeing this show, I would have to say that I can see that in them. They are not too showy, they don't have some crazy dramatic production, or even jump around the stage as one might expect. They play solid music and interact with their fans. It was refreshing in a sense to experience this at a rock show. Overall, it was a pretty good show and though I'm not 100% sold on going to see them live again, I think I am interested in Clutch's music and look forward to what they can create in the future.

4.11.2010 - Randy Travis & Collin Raye @ The Murat (Old National Center)

2010-04-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well, this wasn't exactly a show we had planned to go see. My aunt, who should be labeled a professional contest winner, won tickets from the local radio station, then also managed to get tickets from a friend who works for Randy Travis. We later found out that this show was actually a benefit show for the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, which is a foundation that raises awareness for people with cognitive disabilities.

I thought it would be really interesting to see this show. After all, I grew up loving country music and one of my first concerts was seeing Randy Travis when I was in 5th grade. I feel a bit lame admitting this now, but really, Randy Travis started a bit of an obsession with me and country music. I'm talking this was a serious obsession...I had mix tapes.

The show starts out with Collin Raye, who had a number of top 10 country hits in the 90's. One of his most well known songs is a song called "I Can Still Feel You," which was actually a number one hit in the summer of 1998. He took the stage with just a guitar and was accompanied only by his guitar player and a lady playing the keyboard. One of the things that I loved about Collin Raye's music is that it was always positive and had a great message...combined with his outstanding voice, his songs still remain powerful. I always thought that Raye's voice was almost too clear for country music. The guy could be in any broadway show; it's that powerful and that dramatic, in a sense.

What I appreciated about this opening set from Raye was the fact that he is very honest about his career and how he performs his songs. He let us know at the get-go that he would be performing a lot of his hits that people know and would maybe throw in a couple of new songs that he has been working on. He made jokes about getting old and being in the business for 20 plus years. Raye played hits such as "Little Rock", a touching song about a man recovering from alcohol addiction, "That's My Story", a song Raye admits is a bit shallow, "I Want You Bad (And That Ain't Good)", "The Gift",and arguably his most popular hit, "Love, Me".Raye has always been an energetic performer and still puts forth the effort to be very entertaining. We found out just hours before the show that Raye's granddaughter had died just weeks ago, yet the guy was there performing at a benefit show. He still has the heart and energy that I remember from the 90s and I felt a sense of gratitude towards him for having the courage to perform in the midst of his own tragedy and for contributing so much to the period of country music that shaped the way I listen to music today.

Randy Travis was up next and opened the show with his hit, "Better Class Of Losers (Album Version)", a great country song about a country man who finds that his uptown living is not as great as the simple, down-home life he left behind. I probably shouldn't have been surprised that Travis has aged since 1993 when I first saw him, but for whatever reason, I was shocked to see that his hair is greying and he's not quite the "hunk" that I remember everyone made him out to be in the 90s. Travis was accompanied by an 8 piece band, many who have traveled with him for many years. Randy Travis was considered to be the leader of the movement of the "New Traditionalists" in country music when he hit the scene in the 80s. His voice isn't too far from sounding like George Jones and though he had the looks of a modern day movie star at the time, his music was not as pop sounding as other country artists were sounding in that era. He kind of brought back old school country and made it cool again. He played many of those songs I remember growing up to and loving. He made jokes about his lack of technological knowledge, though it should be noted that he has a Twitter. He joked about the difference between men and women, and cracked a couple of jokes you could find on the back of Laffy Taffy pieces. It was obvious that Travis still has a hardcore following and has opened up his demographic towards people who love inspirational/contemporary Christian music.

I found it surprising in a couple of his songs to hear him struggle with his lower register, which had always been his trademark. That low baritone is so much a part of what set Travis apart from all other country artists in the 80s. Also, in a number of songs, he pulled what I call a "Christina Aguilera:" he went from the very bottom of his range, making a winding journey all throughout his vocal ability, to finally hitting some high notes at the end, which I didn't think he pulled off extremely well. If he were a contestant on American Idol, he would have been chewed out for that. All in all, I think it's great that Travis gave his time to a cause and I think it's great that he still tours. He certainly has the audience for it. But, it's also clear that he is aging and in a small way, it seems that he will never be able to break free of the fact that people will always want to hear the hits from decades ago. It made me wonder how difficult it must be in the music business, particularly in the country genre, to break free of your shell and try to create new and relevant music when your audience only wants to hear the songs they hear on the radio every day. Regardless of all this, Travis put on a solid performance with a couple of vocal hitches here and there, but the man still draws a crowd and still seems to love what he does, and perhaps that is all that matters to him.

4.1.2010 - Mayer Hawthorne and The County and The Mudkids @ Radio Radio

2010-04-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

You may recall (if you've been following the blog, nudge nudge...) that The Mudkids were one of many opening acts for Bone Thugs N Harmony at The Vogue a couple of weeks ago. Lets just say that experiencing them onstage alone was a much more pleasant experience. If you don't already know, The Mudkids are a local independent hip-hop group consisting of Rusty Redenbacher (Lead Vocals) and Elp-Mass (Turntables). These guys are good - their songs are catchy and they put on a heck of an energetic live show. Check out their latest EP here: Mkep. Go see them live if you get the chance - you won't regret it!

The crowd, mostly made up of 20- and 30-somethings, was definitely excited for Mayer Hawthorne to take the stage. The standing-room section in front of the stage, while far from vacant during The Mudkids set, filled up quickly. The guy has quite a following, which isn't surprising given his quick rise to relative fame and the fact that the guy seems to be a bit of a conundrum. He's a 29-year-old white kid from the suburbs of Detroit who somehow manages to channel the spirit of soul legends like Barry White and Smokey Robinson through his vocals and musical arrangements. If you close your eyes while listening to him, you can almost picture yourself sitting in a smoky club in the Motown of the 60's.

Mayer Hawthorne, real name Andrew Mayer Cohen, is quite the entertainer. Even if you weren't into his music, you'd still enjoy the show. He showed up on stage wearing a shiny red suit, red and black Nike's, and dark plastic-rimmed glasses. Try as I might - the camera just wouldn't do justice to the brilliance of this outfit.

Mayer's energy in front of the crowd pulls you right in - you can't help but feel a connection to his songs. He's interactive and unpredictable. At one point, he asked the audience what their favorite type of music was, listing of a variety of genres and receiving applause as feedback, before breaking into Biz Markie's "Just a Friend".

Some setlist highlights, most from his album A Strange Arrangement:

I Wish It Would Rain - The first single off the album
One Track Mind - Motown throwback
Love Is Alright
Just Ain't Gonna Work Out - Was the iTunes free single of the week a few months back. It got over 300,000 downloads.

So probably needless to say at this point, this was a good show. It was high-energy the entire time, the hours flew by like minutes, and we left feeling good about what we'd experienced and were very interested in hearing more from both The Mudkids and Mayer Hawthorne.

3.29.2010 - Bone Thugs N Harmony @ The Vogue

2010-04-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll admit - buying tickets to this show was more than a bit of a crapshoot. I loved Bone Thugs N Harmony's debut album, E 1999 Eternal. Granted, I was a very different person at the time with different musical tastes. But I thought the album had great rhythms and at least semi-intelligent lyrics. So I was a bit excited to see what Bone Thugs had been up to since then, and hear them perform some of these 'classics' live.

All goes smoothly at first - we arrive at The Vogue, probably the 4th group of people in line and the show is sold out. I think to myself "That must be a good sign, people appreciate the music these guys have been putting out over the last 10+ years." I will admit, I was a little worried when I noticed that most of the people in line seemed to be people around our age, which made me think that everyone else there had stopped following their career circa 1999, and showed up in hopes of hearing them do "Crossroads" in person. Doors open right on time, and aside from the metal detectors and bag search, entry goes according to plan and we score great seats in the balcony.

Around 8:00, DJ Indiana Jones comes out on stage and starts "spinning". (Here's where I'll show my lack of hip hop cred, I hope I'm using the correct lingo). He plays a lot of new stuff that I haven't heard, but the audience sings along every once in a while and seems mildly entertained. Every once in a while, he throws in an "old school" song, ala DMX, that I actually know the words to. All-in-all, the crowd is very disengaged at this point.

A little while later, a bunch of guys walk out on stage. I'm used to there being one, maybe two opening acts, so I'm expecting Bone Thugs in no time. These 7 or 8 guys rap for a while, it's pretty tolerable actually. One guy, who we discover at a later concert is Rusty of The Mudkids, a local hip hop group, gets the audience a bit more involved and even does some crowd surfing and singing from the floor. Then Tornado Alley takes the stage. If I remember correctly, this group consists of two guys, and we actually enjoyed their music too, aside from being a bit puzzled about a song regarding sandwiches. But that's besides the point...

Then, a woman referred to only as "Nana" takes the stage, along with 5 backup dancers, who appear to be teenagers. Maybe they were all teenagers. She's a pretty decent rapper (maybe rapper isn't the appropriate term, but it's what I know, so I'll stick with it), though the show seems to have jumped the track at this point. I think some more hip hop artists come on stage after this, and then we are back to DJ Indiana Jones.

We wait...and we wait...and we wait. Bone Thugs were supposed to be on at 9:30. It's now pushing 10:15 and no sign of them. Finally word gets out that they are most likely in the building. Then we see the bottle of Maker's Mark cross the floor, and the stage, only to probably be handed to Bone Thugs backstage. Uh oh - does that mean they are going to partake of all of this alcohol before they take the stage? This is a Monday night show - plenty of these people have to be at work bright and early on Tuesday morning...

So we wait a little longer. We start setting time limits..."If they aren't on stage by 10:30, we're leaving", "If they aren't on by 11, we're definitely outta here". So it's 11:00. Little did we know, Bone also brought some opening acts...

I can't claim to know the names of these guys, but they rap about the stereotypical things - money, people being shot, the gangsta lifestyle, etc. It's after 11:15 when we leave, still no Bone Thugs.

So quite a disappointing evening. Here are some noteworthy items:

It's good to know that sagging your pants is still in style in the hip hop community, even though baggy pants have been traded in for skinny jeans to keep up with the times.
Rappers have big posse's who hang out just backstage, sometimes spilling onstage. Some of them even travel around the stage videotaping every portion of their show.
Don't even bother trying to tell a crowd at a hip-hop show in a bar that this is a non-smoking show. Your efforts to stop them will prove to be futile.
Rappers may claim that they get a bad 'rap' (no pun intended), but if this show was any indication of the norm, they perpetuate their own stereotypes.

3.26.2010 - Roman Candle and The Ravenna Colt @ Radio Radio

2010-03-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

The only clue we had about The Ravenna Colt is that Johnny Quaid, formerly the guitarist for My Morning Jacket, is their frontman. We didn't even know what genre these two bands fell into...but in the continuing quest to expand our horizons and discover new and exciting music, we ordered our tickets and set out on Friday evening to arrive a little before the doors opened to get a table in the front row.

Turns out, we were the only ones with this idea...for a good 20 minutes after the doors opened at Radio Radio, it was just us, two other people, the employees, and The Ravenna Colt doing their soundcheck. It was a little awkward, but at least we secured seats with a great view of the stage. Eventually, I think probably around 50people showed up. The crowd was a mix of people in their early 20's to some maybe in their mid 40's.

It is obvious that Johnny Quaid of The Ravenna Colt is a talented guitar player. In fact, the guitar playing seemed to outshine the vocals. There was also the matter of the strange sound effects that were played between some songs. I'm not sure if the intent was to give them a little time to get ready for the next song, to cover the sound of tuning, provide escape from having to come up with witty banter to share with the audience, or if there was some sort of cohesive theme to the sound effects that somehow unified the songs that I just didn't pick up on. They also didn't ever mention their band name, or introduce the members - "we're from Kentucky" is about the extent of what we got.

Their sound is definitely more on the rock, maybe even alt-country side. A few of their songs have a Southern Rock feel to them. Here are some highlights from their set (keep in mind these song titles may not be accurate, they did introduce most of their songs with the titles, but some they did not, so we took our best guesses):

The Reasons Are My Own - great guitar playing, sounds like music you'd play on a road trip.
South of Ohio - from their new album, definite Southern Rock influence
It's Down to You - ballad-esque
Let the Bells Begin - (probably a different title) - possibly the best song of the set, suited to Johnny's vocal range
Such a Wreck

Roman Candle then took the stage after a short break. First impression of Skip Matheny, lead singer and guitarist for the band, is that he reminds us of Michael J. Fox in the Back to the Future trilogy. This band has been around since 1997, is from North Carolina, and consists of Skip(Lead Singer/Guitar), his wife Timshel (Keyboard/Organ) and brother Logan (Drums), as well as Jeff Crawford (Bass) and Nick Jaeger (Guitar).

They definitely have a very indie-rock sound. In fact, the bit of yelling that Skip began every song with was a bit startling each time. It is obvious that these guys have a loyal following - though the venue was far from packed, quite a few of the people were singing along to every song. Roman Candle has a very high-energy stage presence - it was entertaining to watch Skip bounding around onstage, even bumping into his wife a time or two as she smiled and played on. Check out their latest album here: Oh Tall Tree in the Ear Highlights from Roman Candle's set:

Don't Amount to Much - Bit of a Tom Petty feel to it
Why Modern Radio is A-OK - Catchy Tune from an EP
Big Light - Nice background vocals from the band
A Heartbeat
You Don't Belong to this World - Sounded like the most mainstream radio-friendly song of the set

All told, a pretty good show, even if we didn't walk out of there feeling super-stoked about tracking down more stuff from these bands. Still a decent evening of new music and a pleasant time spent out in a crowd of those who enjoy it.

3.25.2010 - Graham Colton, Stephen Kellogg & the 6ers, and Needtobreathe @ The Vogue

2010-03-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

This Thursday evening show was one that Erica and I had been looking forward to for a long time. When we were on the Cayamo cruise sponsored by Sixthman back in February, we had heard a little about Stephen Kellogg and his band and managed to catch some on their shows as we were racing back and forth to other shows and the buffett. We had heard some stuff from Needtobreathe and have a couple of their songs on our iPhones. Erica had one Graham Colton song (Best Days) on her iPhone, but we hadn't heard any of his other stuff.

When we parked and walked our way to the Vogue, we were surprised to find that there were already quite a few people in line, despite the cold and rain. In fact, the line wrapped into the neighboring bar under the outdoor canopy. It is usually at this point that I look around and try to get a feel for what the audience will be like. This crowd was pretty diverse, made up of 20 something hipsters, the more adult types, college kids, and everyone else in between. One of the local radio stations, WTTS was sponsoring the show, which undoubtedly brought in some of the older crowd. As I did some research on Needtobreathe, I noticed that they have been at the top of the Billboard Christian Music charts and nominated for multiple Dove awards in 2008 and 2009. With that in mind, I knew to expect some the contemporary Christian music crowd, and they did show up in a big way. I even saw one of my old youth pastors in the crowd! All that to say, it was an interesting crowd but a very polite and respectful one, which we've come to appreciate more and more when we go out to see live music.

Graham Colton started off the show. It was just him and his guitar to get the crowd warmed up. Colton has a very clear, strong voice, and played his songs very well. His vocal range reminded me of Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, but obviously a little softer. One thing I loved about Graham Colton's material is that it all sounded familiar, as in it is stuff that should be played on the radio.

Highlights from the Set List:

First Week - needs to be a radio hit

Cellophane Girl - one person screamed when he said he was doing this song and he responded with "Thank you, fan."

20 Something - from his new acoustic ep.

Love Comes Back Around

Best Days - definitely his most popular song, most likely a popular wedding song.

Colton's show was a good warm up for the other acts and he took the time to sign and meet people at the merch table, which always is a good thing for artists getting their start.

Next up was Stephen Kellogg and the 6ers. It was easy to tell that for some people in the audience, they were the band they were there to see. The collective energy of the crowd went up throughout their set. The sound was great and they showed off their fantastic harmonizing abilities. In a way, this band had a bit of a country feel, maybe more of a southern rock thing, but regardless, they got the crowd riled up in a good way.

Highlights from the set:

Wagon Wheel - showed off the harmonies.
You Changed - just an excellent song that is easy to relate to.
This is My Life - they said it was their life story.
I Never Wanna Get Old - showed off their "Jonas Bros. choreography" and dancing skills.
The Bear - excellent tuba solo.
On Fathers Day - even though the crowd was riled up, Kellogg got them to quiet down a little as he sang this song about being a dad on the road.
Thirteen - Kit "Goose" Karlson, who plays bass, tuba, and keys physically showed his love for the audience and did an amazing version of a Chris Farley inspired dance. And in the middle of all the music, the band broke out into some Kriss Kross "I Missed the Bus," and "Jump Jump."

These guys have a lot of good energy and it is obvious they love what they do. They signed back at the merch table, as well. Their performance definitely got us more interested in their music and in seeing them perform again when they come back to Indy in October.

When Needtobreathe took the stage, the crowd was ready for them. Their stage set up was pretty cool: they had 4 big LCD screens covered by silkscreen portraits of people from the 1800's, with black strips over their eyes. It was a pretty cool effect and certainly the first time I had ever seen such a set up in a place like the Vogue. Even though it was cool, when the effects on the LCDs started up, they were hard to see, probably because they were meant for bigger venues. Regardless, it definitely gave them a true rock show feel. Perhaps this is a great time for Needtobreathe to get big, because they certainly have an audience, and their sound is very similar to Kings of Leon. They have great stage presence and it's easy to tell they've been playing together for a long time.

Highlights from the set:

The Outsiders
Locking Me Up - used the distortion mic and sounded great.
More Time - one of their more popular songs; could hear the crowd singing just as loud as the band.
Girl Named Tennessee
Stones Over Rushing Water - Bear Rinehart, the lead singer, talked about how grateful the band is to be here. He remembered playing to 50 people, then 100, then 200, and tonights show was packed (probably in the 500 plus).
I Believe In a Better Way - added in a little version of "Get Back to Where You Once Belonged."
Lay em Down
Through Smoke
Washed By the Water - had a cool southern rock feel and they played it completely unplugged. The crowd loved it and they managed to throw in a little bit of the Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

Overall, this was a really good show. We left that night excited to find out more about these bands and we want to hear their music. They accomplished what all bands should do when they go out on tour to raise interest in their music...they had a good time, we had a good time, and in the end, everyone went home feeling good.

3.6.2010 - Andrew Ripp, Ben Rector, Steve Moakler @ Radio Radio

2010-03-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Honestly, we hadn't really heard much about Steve Moakler, Ben Rector and Andrew Ripp before we decided to go check them out at Radio Radio on Saturday night. In reading the short blurb about Andrew on Radio Radio's website (www.futureshock.net), we learned that he is a singer-songwriter from the Chicago area. Figured we'd make a night of it, and for $6, how could you pass up a night of live music at a fantastic venue?

Andrew was kind enough to provide a bit more info on the three of them as they took the stage (the band also consisted of a bass player and drummer). This trio of friends currently live in Nashville, and are out on tour lending their vocal and instrumental styling to each others songs. Ben Rector's new album hit the top 10 on iTunes a couple of weeks ago. Andrew is working on his second full-legnth album. Steve's music has recently been heard on television shows such as The Real World. Long story short - things seem to be happening for these guys.

If you've ever attended a show at Radio Radio, you know that it's virtually impossible for an artist NOT to engage well with the audience. It is a smaller venue with no backstage - artists have to literally walk through the crowd and enter the stage from the front. These three did a fantastic job of getting the audience involved in and excited about their music, though at one point, I realized that out of the first 5 songs, the audience was asked to participate in 3 of them. Not that there is anything wrong with this, but it did remind me of being a part of a church youth group. I was relieved when they stopped asking and I could just sit back and enjoy the music. On the other hand, as newer artists, I know this is an important way of getting their audience interested in their material.

One of the first songs performed was Ben Rector's "The Feeling", and the audience was asked to help sing the chorus (which consists of, ironically, two words - "The" and "Feeling"). Andrew and Steve also did a great job of engaging with us music lovers throughout their songs. All of the guys were high energy and kept the crowd engaged throughout the 1 1/2 hour show. At one point, Andrew even offered up the empty space between the stage and tables as a dance floor, which more than a few people took him up on. I think Andrew Ripp could have closed the show with a different song, however. The one he closed with was a bit melancholy and just wasn't the best way to cap off a high energy show.

As far as genre goes, beyond their singer-songwriter status, we would have to say that Ben and Steve have more of a Pop sound, while Andrew Ripp's music has more of a Rock n'Roll feel to it. Steve and Ben's respective music translates just as well stripped-down as it does with the backing of the full band. Andrew's music - aside from a few ballad-esque songs - would be lacking something without the booming of the bass and drum kit.

While Radio Radio was far from packed for this show, the crowd certainly did not lack the energy and enthusiasm of a full-house. The younger 20's - 30's crowd was well represented, but we did notice a few fans outside of this demographic (Note: this show was 21+). Some people drove from as far away as Kentucky and St. Louis! I know this is a pretty common phenomenon for shows at larger venues, but this indicates just how devoted some fans are to these three. There was also no shortage of audience members belting out the words to quite a few songs that the trio performed - again, great to hear at a small-ish show.

Here's a quick run-down of our overall likes/dislikes:

Likes:

Intimate feeling to show overall
Respectful, engaged audience
Collaboration between Ben, Steve, and Andrew

Dislikes:

The initial requests for audience participation for a large percentage of the first five songs kind of annoyed me (Mel), however Erica honestly had nothing she disliked. Overall...One of the best live shows we've been to!