Carbon Leaf - Radio Radio Indianapolis - 10/19/2014

 Clearly, this is a promo shot, I didn't take it.  I do have one picture from last night of me and Barry, but I look awful in it and you'll never see it.  :-)

Artist: Carbon Leaf
Venue: Radio Radio Indianapolis
Date: Sunday, October 19, 2014

Set List (again, dismally out of order, and potentially not complete, but as usual, I forgot to make notes so this is the best I could remember the next day):

What About Everything?
Life Less Ordinary
Love Rain Down
Februaery Detailles
Alcatraz
The Boxer
The Donnybrook Affair
Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle
When I'm Alone
Paloma
Comfort
Raise the Roof
One Prairie Outpost
She's Gone (...For Good This Time)
Two Aging Truckers
Ragtime Carnival
Tombstone vs. Ashes
Let Your Troubles Roll By

Last night we broke from tradition and, instead of going south to Nashville, we headed north to Indianapolis for our second Carbon Leaf show.  The first time we saw them live (in Nashville) was so stinking good, we were super excited to see them again.  For this tour, they're on the road in support of their latest release, Indian Summer Revisited.  Because a record company the band is no longer associated with owns the master recordings of their beloved 2004 release Indian Summer, they decided to re-record the album so the ownership of the songs and the recordings is now with the band, where it belongs.

This was the only show I've been to (that I can think of) that didn't have an opener and I was really okay with that.  I mean yes, I've found some of my favorite artists via them opening for other people, but sometimes it's nice to skip the formality and just get down to business.  It seemed like there was a quite a wait between when the doors opened and when Barry, Terry, Carter, Jon and Jason took the stage, but good company (and perhaps a bit of vodka) made the wait totally enjoyable.  This was our first time at Radio Radio which is a neat little venue in downtown Indianapolis.  With a 250 person capacity, a beautiful glass-topped bar and plentiful seating, it's a cozy place perfect for an intimate show.

When it was time for Carbon Leaf to take the stage, they did so with seemingly boundless energy and crowd support, just like the last time we saw them. The set list was heavy with songs off Indian Summer, which is cool because they're all crowd favorites.  However, this time it seemed that they were playing them with such renewed vigor, they felt like brand new songs.  It seemed as though, in working with them so extensively, the band had breathed new life into these songs and the audience reciprocated that.  Personally, I was excited to hear them perform "Paloma" and "When I'm Alone", a couple of my favorites.  They are both such beautiful songs and it was amazing to ride along on the ebb and flow of them.

While they stayed primarily in the newer albums, they did dip back in the catalog and pulled out "Comfort" from Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat and crowd favorite "The Boxer" from Echo, Echo.  Both songs were apparently well known by the crowd and we all sang along enthusiastically.  The sing-along aspect of the evening reached its peak during "One Prairie Outpost" during which Barry was able to stop singing completely and just let us handle that for him.  I love when that happens, but I have to say that my favorite part of a Carbon Leaf show is when they all gather around one microphone.  Sometimes the songs they play in this format get a bit lost in the chatter of the rude people in the back of the room, but I still love them if only because the band seems the happiest playing around a single mic like that and it's fun to be a part of it.

Just as the last time we saw them, they closed with the absolutely perfect "Let Your Troubles Roll By".  I'm not sure I've ever heard a better song to close with.  After the show, I visited the merch table and picked up one of the few Carbon Leaf albums I didn't already have.  Because the guys always mingle in the crowd after shows, I was able (with a lot of encouragement from my friends who are much cooler characters than I am) to speak to all five of the band members and get their autographs.  They're all incredibly friendly and, even after all these years performing, they seem truly grateful that people come out and listen and enjoy their shows.  I had a lot of things I wanted to say about how wonderful the show was and how amazing Indiana Summer Revisited is, but I'm mostly just happy (and eternally grateful to my friends) that I even manged to talk to them and not say anything too embarrassing.  This was the last show for us for the foreseeable future, and I can't think of a better way to wrap up the year.

Smoke and Mirrors

At the end of our road is a sign for guitar lessons.  For a second I thought, "I should do that, that would be fun!"  I mean, I took piano lessons for a few years many years ago and I can still play a tiny bit (mostly with my left hand because my right hand and my brain aren't really connected very much), so it seems like it would be possible for me to learn.

But on the other hand, I don't really want to learn to play guitar, that would take all the mystery and wonder out of it.  Watching someone play guitar for me is much like going to a really good magic show where it all looks seamless and possible.  Why would I want to break that down into a series of simple, possible movements?  Learning how to do something always makes it seems less amazing when someone else does it, don't you think?  Watching someone play guitar is so magical and wonderful, I would never want to mess with that experience.

So the guy at the end of the road can keep his guitar lessons.  He can show the secrets to some other person and I'll just stay in the dark because sometimes, ignorance really is bliss.

Matchbox 20 - The Palace Theater Louisville - 02/05/2013

 

 

Last night, in spite of it being tax season and in spite of my minimum hour requirement at work, I left early (a little after 6pm) and my Husband took me to see Matchbox 20 at The Palace Theater in Louisville, KY.  I've been an MB20 fan since the release of their first album, Yourself or Someone Like You, way back in 1996.  I graduated from high school and met my Husband that year, so Rob and the boys have been a part of the soundtrack of my entire adult life.  Somehow though, I have never seen them live.  It just never worked out for us.  Either they didn't come close enough to see, or I was broke or couldn't take off work or had school or whatever.  So when I found out they were playing right there in Louisville and at The Palace no less, I about flipped my lid.  I was a little less enthusiastic about the fact that it was a Tuesday night during tax season, but beggars can't be choosers, so I bought my tickets the minute they went on sale.  My Husband was just excited that we didn't have to stand in line for hours in the ass-freezing cold just to stand close to the stage (like we did when we saw Matt N. in Nashville in November, 2011...and in Louisville in February, 2012 when it was actually snowing).

 

Phillip Phillips opened for them.  He has a song on the radio, I think it's called "Home" but honestly, it's not really up my alley.  Work being what it is, I couldn't leave too early so by the time we ate dinner and found a place to park, it was halfway through his set.  While his style of music just isn't exactly my cup of tea, I thought he was a good performer.  He seemed very natural and comfortable on stage and I thought he did a really good set.   The crowd didn't seem too familiar with his music until he played the radio hit, then they went nuts, of course.  And he received an appropriate amount of cheering and applause at the end.

 

After a brief intermission, Matchbox Twenty took the stage.  I was so tickled to be in the same building with them after all these years that that alone pretty much made my night.  They brought the whole stage situation that they would use in a big arena - light show and all.  It's been a while since I saw a light show and honestly, it seemed a bit odd in that setting.  The Palace Theater in Louisville (pictured above) is a small venue.  It's a beautiful theater with a great sound system and comfy seats, but it doesn't really warrant a light show.  It's just not that big.  But whatever. 

 

Here's the set list:

Parade

How Far We've Come

Bent

Bright Lights

Unwell

Overjoyed

Put Your Hands Up

I Will

English Town

Stay with Me (sung by Kyle Cook)

Radio

The Way (sung by Kyle Cook)

Sleeping at the Wheel

She's So Mean

Long Day (which was cut with Jane Says)

The One I Love (R.E.M. cover)

3AM

Girl Like That

The hidden song at the end of More Than You Think You Are...not sure if it has a name

If You're Gone

Back 2 Good

Push

 

That's totally out of order except I know they opened with "Parade" and sent us out into the world with "Push".  They were on stage for about 2 hours and had really good energy and put on a great show.  I have to say, Paul Doucette was by far the hardest working person on the stage.  I was blown away by him.  Yes, yes, I'm aware that Rob Thomas is the front man and doing all the singing (except for the couple songs that Kyle Cook sang), but Paul was playing guitar and drums and piano and just seemed to be all over the place.  He was multi-tasking like a madman and didn't even seem to be tired.  It was nuts and really impressive.

 

They played a ton of stuff off the new record which was cool because I know those songs pretty well, but they also played enough old stuff to please the longtime fans.  Personally, I was glad they played so much older stuff because at least I don't feel like I totally missed out by not seeing them sooner.  They even played my theme song ("Long Day") which I was surprised and thrilled by.  It just lends a little something extra to get to see a song played live.  Especially songs you've loved for 17 years (good grief!!).   Overall, the night was pretty much what I had hoped for and could have only been better if we had been closer to the stage (although our seats were good enough to see the whites of their eyes, so that was pretty sweet).

Obscure Friday Tune

Here's one that you surely only ever heard if you own the Live album Throwing Copper.  It was never released as a single, probably because it doesn't really have mass appeal and also because they didn't play things that would require this much editing on the radio in 1994.  It's a quirky little song called "Waitress", check it out (NSFW in any way, shape or form):

If you don't think too much about it, this song pretty much sounds like Ed just really, really wants you to leave the waitress a frickin' tip.  But then if you pay attention, you see that it's a lot more than that (as usual for Live).  It is more about the boat that we're all in.  They way sometimes it sucks for everybody and we could all use a little change in our lives and maybe a little help from one another.  The song itself is kind of all over the place, but I dig it.

Lana Del Rey - SNL

For those of you not familiar with Lana Del Rey, here is what her song "Video Games" supposedly sounds like:

However, when she got on Saturday Night Live this past Saturday and performed it live, this is what it sounded like:



That, friends and neighbors, is a pretty significant difference.  Personally, I don't care for either version, so I'm not all that worked up over the SNL performance sucking like it did.  Who knows, maybe she was nervous, or drunk or something.  Let's give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Modern Love" - Live at The Cannery Ballroom

At the urging of my niece (who thinks that he makes "beautiful music") and because my sister has high speed internet and I don't and I just so happen to be at her house tonight, I finally give you my video of Matt Nathanson (and band) performing "Modern Love" - November 5, 2011

The Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN

Sorry for the poor picture quality, I wasn't looking at the phone at all while I filmed this.  Also, sorry it cuts off abruptly, I was too 'in the moment' to be concerned about that (now, of course, I wish I had the entire concert filmed!!) I just wanted to capture a little bit of it to keep for when my memory fails me (which happens a lot!).

By the way, "and band" consists of:
Aaron Tap - guitar (check this guy out - *super* talented in his own right)
Shiben Bhattacharya - bass (good grief, I hope I spelled that right!!)
Konrad Meissner - drums
James Farrell - keyboards

Who Did It Better?

As you may or may not know, Matt Nathanson is somewhat known for doing covers during his shows.  He often works other songs into the middle his own stuff, or uses them as intros to his songs (he frequently leads into his *perfect* song 'Pretty the World' with Florence + the Machine's *less than perfect* 'Dog Days').  The amazing part about this is that his covers are always just as good and sometimes even better than the original. That is a rare thing. 

A perfect example is his version of 'Alison' by Elvis Costello:

The orginal:

See?  Totally better, right??

Live - "Throwing Copper"

Album: "Throwing Copper"
Artist: Live
Release: April, 1994

Another sweet album from my youth.  I was 16 when this one came out and I'm sure I bought it because of 'Lightening Crashes' which was all over the radio at the time.  Oddly enough, it is that very song that keeps me from loving this record now.  Ever since a recent loss of great magnitude that my family suffered, I can't listen to that song without bursting into tears.  However, while the song is kind of off limits to me right now, I think that speaks to how powerful it is to me.  It is a haunting song, but I'm kind of surprised it is so popular on the radio.  I mean, there are not that many songs in the top 40 with "placenta" in them, but hey, whatever works.  Overall, the song is about the shift of energy when one person passes away and another person is born. 

This is another one of those albums that none of my friends liked, but I played the shit out of it.  If they came to my house or rode it my car, they were going to listen to it.  Apparently it was a major player in the soundtrack of my 16th year.  So much so that, when I listen to it now, it feels heavy.  It makes me kind of nostalgic and introspective, but I still love it. 

To my 16 year old heart, 'All Over You' sounded like a perfect little love song, and it still kind of does.  (That statement probably says a lot about me)  It is up tempo for a love song, but with lyrics like, "Our love is, like water, pinned down and abused for being strange", you cannot deny this song.  My favorite song on this record is 'Horse' (hidden track).  "It'd the middle of the night and you're here, playing dominoes and drinkin' beer.  I try to think of somethin deep to say, but my well is dippin' dry today." How can you not love that??

I hesitate to say that this record should be in everyone's collection.  With songs like 'Shit Town' and 'Waitress', its possible that it won't be up everyone's alley, but I'm pretty fond of it.  It has been in my collection (on tape, CD and mp3) for many years and I've never gotten tired of it.  There are fast, upbeat songs that make you want to turn it up ('I Alone'), songs you can sing along with ('Top'), and songs you just want to close your eyes and let them flow over you ('T.B.D.').  But somehow, Ed Kowalcyzk pulls it all together with his vocals.  He has the kind of delivery that just seeps into your brain and takes up residence.