Hungry for Music
Mar. 18th, 2006 09:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebLast night we went to an interesting concert. It was a tribute to a musician who was still alive (Peter Case) and who was told he had to be the MC. There were probably ten other groups there, each singing one song of his and at least one of theirs. And when we got there we found out it was also a fund raiser so poor kids can get their own instruments. This is a traveling show; for more information, see Hungry for Music.
So it starts out with Peter Case on the stage looking disheveled as he gets things ready. You know he's spent the day fighting the crowds at South by Southwest (a giant crazy annual music festival we're near the end of). Then he looks up at the audience and tells us that this is the first chance he's had to relax all day. It's so nice to be somewhere quiet (and we were wonderfully quiet during the performances). And throughout the evening you could tell he was relaxing and getting more and more into the music. If you get the chance, I recommend seeing him live; he plays a mean guitar, and he has a very good on-stage presence.
Another performer I really enjoyed was Joe Ely's accordion player (whose name sounded like Joe something, so it might be Joel Guzman). He was like the kind of back-up singer who could play around the lead singer, adding depth and beauty without distracting at all. And it was only a little disturbing when they'd break out into a snappy instrumental right after singing about a tragic death. The circus elephants didn't like the guy lasso-ing their co-worker horse. Even though that cowboy saved the town, including the horse and the elephants, by stopping the horse from knocking over the lantern that was too close to the hay. But you have no time to cry because now it's time for an energetic interlude. Those guys were on a roll.
I also liked Emilia somebody, who Robin tells me is Peter Case's daughter. But I wasn't impressed by somebody, who Robin later told me was a totally famous surprise guest. She had a nice voice and was very focused on having a nice sound come out, but she didn't enunciate well enough for me to get a clue on what she was singing, so without knowing what exactly she was so passionate about, it just didn't have the same impact as the previous singers.
I didn't realize at the time yesterday that my only window of opportunity for blogging would be at lunchtime. I didn't even have time for a proper dinner. While Robin waited in line I ran over to the CVS across the street and found an energy bar and a milk. The building where the concert was held has several fast food places, but not only were they all closed, there was a metal gate blocking the whole area. Even upstairs I saw doors I never knew existed. Closed doors. Locked doors. Finally I found that there were also bathrooms I'd forgotten all about right next to the venue.
So it starts out with Peter Case on the stage looking disheveled as he gets things ready. You know he's spent the day fighting the crowds at South by Southwest (a giant crazy annual music festival we're near the end of). Then he looks up at the audience and tells us that this is the first chance he's had to relax all day. It's so nice to be somewhere quiet (and we were wonderfully quiet during the performances). And throughout the evening you could tell he was relaxing and getting more and more into the music. If you get the chance, I recommend seeing him live; he plays a mean guitar, and he has a very good on-stage presence.
Another performer I really enjoyed was Joe Ely's accordion player (whose name sounded like Joe something, so it might be Joel Guzman). He was like the kind of back-up singer who could play around the lead singer, adding depth and beauty without distracting at all. And it was only a little disturbing when they'd break out into a snappy instrumental right after singing about a tragic death. The circus elephants didn't like the guy lasso-ing their co-worker horse. Even though that cowboy saved the town, including the horse and the elephants, by stopping the horse from knocking over the lantern that was too close to the hay. But you have no time to cry because now it's time for an energetic interlude. Those guys were on a roll.
I also liked Emilia somebody, who Robin tells me is Peter Case's daughter. But I wasn't impressed by somebody, who Robin later told me was a totally famous surprise guest. She had a nice voice and was very focused on having a nice sound come out, but she didn't enunciate well enough for me to get a clue on what she was singing, so without knowing what exactly she was so passionate about, it just didn't have the same impact as the previous singers.
I didn't realize at the time yesterday that my only window of opportunity for blogging would be at lunchtime. I didn't even have time for a proper dinner. While Robin waited in line I ran over to the CVS across the street and found an energy bar and a milk. The building where the concert was held has several fast food places, but not only were they all closed, there was a metal gate blocking the whole area. Even upstairs I saw doors I never knew existed. Closed doors. Locked doors. Finally I found that there were also bathrooms I'd forgotten all about right next to the venue.