Four Shows. One Week. Part One.

You know what's better than loving music?  Besides burrito bowls from Chipotle?  Seeing other musicians who love music.  Last week, I had the thrill of seeing not one, not two, not three, but THREE AND A HALF musicians do what they do best... perform.  I'm sorry, but I can only count David Garrett as a half because he's a sell-out and that concert was not my choosing.

Let's work backwards...

Thur, Feb 17th - Josh Ritter and Scott Hutchison (of Frightened Rabbit) at The Vic

Talk about a massive sing-a-long AND dance-a-long.  Josh literally got the entire audience to slow dance to "Kathleen."  In the middle of one of his most well-known "hits," (not the radio kind of hits), the band went into a little groove and Josh asked the entire audience to find a partner and to just slow dance.  So you know what we did?  We danced.  And it was glorious.  Lame?  Yes, in the most amazingly, beautiful kind of "I love music and I love concerts" kind of way.  Josh Ritter loves to perform, and we could see that as he bounced around on stage through every song.  Even in the slow songs, he had this little smile on his face that said, "I'm glad to share this with you."  His actions were something you'd see at a Natalie Merchant concert - you know, the twirling and the crying on stage from dramatic emotions.  And sometimes, that's just what the doctor ordered.

Josh Ritter's from Idaho.  I thought he was Irish... until I heard him speak.  But let me explain... he's BIG in Ireland!  I mean, he made his career by opening for The Frames (you know, that dude Glen Hansard who made it big in the states with The Swell Season).

Here's a video of a Josh Ritter tune.  "Girl In The War" might make you tear up a little bit.

 

But the main reason I went to this concert was to hear "Kathleen."  No Mom, this song wasn't written about you.  However, you might want to replace it as your song because too many people in life have been singing "Cathy's Clown" to you:

 (Replace the lyrics of "Here he comes, that's Cathy's clown" to "Here she comes, that's Kathy the Clown.")

Back to the REAL song about Kathleen...



This video is "Live from Dublin."  Wouldn't you think he was Irish?  Trust me.  He's not.  "If you'd like to come along, I'll be yours for a song."  That's right.  "I know that you are waiting, and I know that it is not for me / But I'm here and I'm ready, and I saved you the passenger seat."

Did I mention that his band is awesome?  So much love for the keys.  The bassist had a crazy mustache.  AND, they were spot on together.   Seriously though... these musicians just blended so well together, as each song bled into the next.  There were so many dynamics!  I heart dynamics.

It also helps that Scott Hutchison opened the show.  Although he performed acoustically, I thought I'd post this song from his band, Frightened Rabbit, just because I feel like listening to it:



In summary, why weren't you there?

By far, the highlight of the night:  I bought my first vinyl as a souvenir!  No more t-shirts.  No more buttons.  No more ticket stubs.  No more stealing posters off the wall (wait, I lie.  I will continue to do that).  Now that I have a record player, I can purchase real albums!  Call me a nerd.  Call me cool.  Call me whatever.  In 30 years, I'll look back at that record and say, "Yup.  I remember when I slow danced to that song at the Vic.  Let me play it for you on my album."  Too bad it's not on the particular one that I purchased.  But I can pretend.

I have to eat some dinner, but I've got a lot to say about David Garrett.  Here's a sneak peak of what's to come in "Four Shows.  One Week.  Part Two."

 (surprisingly, they weren't selling any Garrett popcorn at Chicago Theater)