Monthly Archives: April 2015

April 22, 2015 · 10:32 AM

The Ballroom Thieves unveil A Wolf in the Doorway

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Boston’s The Ballroom Thieves live just a handful of times, but they quickly made their way onto my short list of favorite live bands. This talented trio—Martin Earley (guitar/vocals), Calin Peters (cello/vocals), and Devin Mauch (percussion/vocals)—is simply made to play music together. Their driving, percussive sound is infectious and their crystal clear vocals and gorgeous harmonies are top notch.

I first saw The Ballroom Thieves open for The Lone Bellow (holy smokes, I know!) back in June of 2013. I’d never heard of them and yet they stole my heart with the urgency of their music, honest lyrics, and engaging live show. They know how to perform and bring it every single time. The last time I saw the Thieves was with the very talented Maine Youth Rock Orchestra, and it was a real treat to see them perform together.

The Ballroom Thieves with Maine Youth Rock Orchestra

The Ballroom Thieves just released their first full-length album, A Wolf in the Doorway. They kindly sent it to me a couple of months ago and I’ve been listening on repeat. A Wolf in the Doorway beautifully captures the spirit of the Ballroom Thieves. It opens with “Archers,” which will win you over in seconds. (Check out the video for “Archers” that the Thieves made with the Maine Youth Rock Orchestra). “Archers” captures what I think is the Thieves’ essential sound.

My other favorite songs on the record are towards the end of the album. I love Calin’s airy lead vocal on “Bury Me Smiling.” “The Loneliness Waltz” is beautiful. I’ve listened to that one over and over and the lyric “We are frivolous with our hearts/Watch them bend till they break/Then we pick up the parts/We give/We take/We save and condemn/We live just to love again” slays me. Martin’s lead vocals on “Here I Stand” tell the next part of the story after “The Loneliness Waltz,” and their harmonies are hymn like. The whole album is stellar, and you should definitely give it a listen.

Not only have the Thieves released a great new album, but they’re coming to town on Friday! They’re definitely going to sell out Empire, so get your tickets early. They’re bringing the Maine Youth Rock Orchestra, and Boston-based folk duo Tall Heights is opening the show. If you’re into string sections and strong harmonies, this is a do not miss show! Come find me at the show and say hi—I’ll be the one smiling big and singing along in the front row.

xo,

bree

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April 20, 2015 · 5:26 PM

Gregory Alan Isakov

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

I stumbled upon Gregory Alan Isakov almost exactly six years ago when he opened for Brandi Carlile at South Portland High School. I caught him in Portland again in 2011, but have missed him since then, so was really excited to finally see him live again. My sweetie was able to meet me in Portland and we had a perfect Portland date night—drinks at The North Point, a delicious dinner at Empire, and a cup of coffee before the show where we met up with my steadfast concert friend Colin.

I have a pretty firm rule that I always get to a venue early and grab a spot up close and catch the opening act. Following that rule has been abundantly fruitful, as many of my current favorites are people I first saw as a show opener (Glen Hansard and Brandi Carlile are both good examples). Thursday night, getting to Port City Music Hall early for the opening act didn’t pan out for me because I thought they were terrible. People ask me all the time if I write bad reviews and I usually don’t have only bad things to say about a performance, but this was an exception. Jolie Holland and a guitarist “opened” the show—they bantered with each other awkwardly but mostly ignored the crowd, and she turned her back on the audience and away from the microphone after each song. I didn’t like their mumbled, slightly out of tune songs and their stage presence was ghastly. I was floored when Gregory invited her back out later in the show to do a song together and he spoke about how blown away he was by her when he first saw her live.

Jolie Holland

Gregory Alan Isakov (GAI) and his band took the stage close to 9PM and the crowd was ready for him (I’m definitely not the only one who struggled through the opener). I was very happy to see Jeb Bows on fiddle. I’ve seen him play with Brandi Carlile and her band a number of times, but didn’t know (and Colin told me) that Jeb’s home is with GAI. He has a ton of stage presence and really wails on his instrument and such fun to watch. My sweetie has a music background and intended to go into performance as a career, so I was delighted to see the huge smile spread across on his face right from the start when GAI opened with “Monsters” (check out this new song backed by the Seattle Symphony). The fullness of sound those five people (four on strings and a drummer) made together was gorgeous. Gregory’s voice is simple and clear and his folk songs are pretty and evoke times gone by. His songs are brought to their fullest with the addition of strings, harmonies, percussion, and an occasional banjo accompaniment.

From left to right are Jeb Bows, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Phil Parker

Steve Varney and Jeb Bows

I suspect Gregory Alan Isakov is a good guy. I was impressed by how little he put himself in the spotlight (literally, too, when you look at where he’s standing in my photos). He spoke about everyone in the band warmly throughout the night. We sang happy birthday to cellist Phil Parker. They played a lot of Gregory’s 2013 album, The Weatherman, but didn’t leave out 2009’s This Empty Northern Hemisphere and I was so happy to hear “This Empty Northern Hemisphere,” “That Moon Song,” and “Dandelion Wine” live.

Most of the band left the stage at one point and Gregory and Steve Varney played “The Stable Song” off of their 2007 release, That Sea, That Gambler. It was beautiful. Soon after, Gregory crossed something off his “list of things to accomplish that people make at the new year” and instead of “growing a scary beard” or “standing up on a surfboard,” he had his “gospel moment” when everyone gathered around one microphone and accompanied him on “Honey, It’s Alright.”

A song in the dark

“The Stable Song”

“Honey, It’s Alright”

This was one of those special shows that I didn’t want to end. Gregory Alan Isakov and his band are an absolute pleasure to see live. Thanks for hosting a wonderful night, Port City Music Hall!

xo, bree

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April 16, 2015 · 9:30 AM

Shakey Graves with David Ramirez

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

State Theatre, Portland, Maine

I saw Shakey Graves at the State Theatre a year and a half ago opening for The Devil Makes Three and was impressed. I knew Alejandro Rose-Garcia from his brief role on Friday Night Lights, and it’s great to see the buzz that’s grown around him that led to a sold out show last year at Port City Music Hall and a very full house of swooning fans last night when he headlined the State Theatre.

As I often do, I got to the State when doors opened and snagged a second row center spot for the show. I was very excited to see Austin’s David Ramirez open the show—98.9 WCLZ plays his song “The Bad Days,” which I love. I thought David was great—just a man, his powerful voice, honest lyrics, and an acoustic guitar. Right up my alley. I am listening to him right now.

David Ramirez

Shakey Graves took the stage and I was glad to see that people were enthusiastically there to support him and were singing along. The last time I saw him at the State, people didn’t seem to know him at all, so he’s come a long way quickly. He has a raspy, clear voice, plays guitar confidently, and brings a lot of energy with the kick drum. Check out “Roll the Bones,” which was the first Shakey Graves song I ever heard to get a sense of him if you don’t already know him. He was joined by a drummer and a guitarist for parts of the night, but Shakey can do it all on his own. He’s very comfortable in front of a crowd, too, and was at ease on stage and chatted with us warmly throughout the night. People were psyched to sing along with his best-known song, “Dearly Departed,” too. It was a fun show and I’ll definitely see him whenever he’s in town. Thanks to the State Theatre for hosting! Check out more pictures from the show below.

xo,

bree

Shakey Graves was all smiles last night at the State Theatre

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April 13, 2015 · 12:58 PM

Ellis Paul with Shun Ng

Friday, April 10, 2015

Boothbay Opera House, Boothbay Harbor, Maine

My dear friend Dot asked if I wanted to join her for her very first Ellis Paul show. Of course I wanted to! I love going with Ellis Paul first-timers to see their reaction to his fantastic storytelling and engaging live show. Dot and I met after school and carpooled to Boothbay Harbor, where we boldly invited ourselves to share a big table with a man and his son at the very crowded The Thistle Inn (who, of course, we found out we had people in common with) and made it over to the Boothbay Opera House when doors opened. I hadn’t been to the Boothbay Opera House in years and it looks fantastic!

Guitar prodigy Shun Ng took the stage and wowed with very impressive, complex guitar pieces and reinterpreted songs, including “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Ellis is a mentor to this talented 25 year old, and helped him write the lyrics for the first of the songs he played that night. When Ellis’ guitar string broke later in the evening, Shun brought Ellis his own guitar to use. I liked seeing their friendship and admiration for each other, and am happy to see Ellis’ continued support of young musicians.

Shun Ng

Ellis took the stage and welcomed us warmly. He lived for a couple of years in the midcoast and many of his friends and neighbors from those years were at the show. This was my 44^th Ellis Paul show, and I think he sounded the best he has in ages (even though he told us later in the show that he had a bit of a cold). The majority of songs he played over the course of the evening were from his most recent fan-funded album, Chasing Beauty, and his 2010 release, The Day After Everything Changed. Ellis showed us the vinyl version of Chasing Beauty and a copy of his first children’s book The Hero In You. He reminisced with the crowd throughout the night about shows he’s played in the area, including a show years ago at Bowdoin College (I couldn’t help myself and shouted out that the Bowdoin show was my first time seeing him and he joked that “you never forget your first time!”). Laurie MacAllister, who plays bass for Red Molly, joined Ellis for two songs. They honored the late Pete Seeger by playing his “If I Had A Hammer” and closed the night together with a beautiful version of “Let It Be.” I see Ellis live so often that I am very familiar with the content of his live show, but I got a special treat because he played a song I’d never heard before–“I Ain’t No Jesus”—which I loved.

Ellis Paul smiling for his former hometown crowd

I was glad that Ellis played some of my favorites for Dot to experience live—including “Maria’s Beautiful Mess” and “Hurricane Angel.” We got to sing along on “Kick Out the Lights” about Johnny Cash kicking out the lights at the Grand Ole Opry. Ellis hopped off stage and played “Annalee” and “The World Ain’t Slowin’ Down” unplugged from the floor. He asked us to sing along and at some point I realized mine was the only voice besides his I could hear. It was as close to singing a duet with Ellis that I’ve come. Maybe we should do a song together at my 50^th Ellis show? It won’t be long. Thanks for a great night!

xo,

bree

Red Molly’s Laurie MacAllister

Ellis unplugged

“Let It Be”

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April 8, 2015 · 3:09 PM

Damien Rice with My bubba

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Orpheum Theatre, Boston

I’m tempted to write just this:

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

I SAW DAMIEN RICE FROM THE FIFTH ROW LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!

But you know me, and I’m long winded. I’ll try to keep it brief though, but only to spare you the sadness you might feel since you weren’t there, or that I feel because it’s over now.

I’d never been to the Orpheum before. If you don’t look too closely, it’s quite pretty.

My awesome concert friend Bob (who is always looking out for me concert-wise) and I got tickets over the weekend for last night’s sold out Damien Rice show at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston. When he and I met almost four years ago, he asked me what my best concert experience to date was, and I told him without hesitating what I’ve told anyone who has ever asked me that question—it was Damien Rice with The Frames (featuring the insanely gifted Glen Hansard) at State Theatre in Portland back in April of 2004. Damien was touring to support his beautiful 2002 album O, and I was in the front row for the show with no barricade leaning right up against the stage. Lisa Hannigan joined him that night along with a cellist and an additional instrumentalist or two. It was inspired. I was speechless after the show.

I haven’t seen Damien Rice live in eleven years, but last night’s live show more than met my lofty expectations and fully reminded me of the magic of that night all those many years ago. Damien is an unassuming character on stage. He chatted with us genuinely (none of that “HEY BOSTON!!” crap) about some of the songs and life in general. His voice is crystal clear and powerful. He holds notes forever and can evoke emotion without even singing a single word. I think he oohed and aahed for the last many minutes of the last song of the night, “Cold Water,” but the cries meant something anyhow. The hair on the back of my neck was at a standstill for the bulk of the night. If anything, I’d occasionally get distracted by how uncomfortable I was in the ancient seat (albeit a fifth row one, so not a complaint) at the dilapidated Orpheum and would shift and get back to focusing on the show.

My bubba. Courtesy of Chris Van Slyke of bostonthroughmyeyes.com

This gives a good sense of how far from the stage our seats were. So close!

Damien Rice. Courtesy of Chris Van Slyke of bostonthroughmyeyes.com

Courtesy of Chris Van Slyke of bostonthroughmyeyes.com

I’m enjoying Damien’s newest album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, and it seemed that last night’s crowd was full of fans who alsoknew his entire catalogue by heart. I just considered telling you about the standout songs, but the list would basically be a set list of the whole show. I was so impressed with how much passion and just sheer noise one man could produce up there. What a night. My friend Chris at bostonthroughmyeyes.com wrote a bit about the show which includes the set list and lovely photos he took, as well. I knew I’d likely send you his way for a full report and so pretty much turned off the music journalist in my head and just got caught up being a lucky member of last night’s incredibly fortunate audience.

Damien Rice—you have got “it” and “it” to spare. Thank you for the gift of your music and for a truly beautiful show last night. This is essentially my version of speechless.

xo,

bree

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April 5, 2015 · 2:42 PM

Chris Smither

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Johnson Hall, Gardiner, Maine

This was a perfect Gardiner evening. I love my sweet little town, and living a quarter of a mile from downtown is the best. My dear friend Dot came up to join me and we had a delicious dinner at the incomparable A1 Diner, joined a handful of Gardiner friends for a glass of wine at Vintage Wine Bar, and made our way over to Johnson Hall to grab seats for the sold out Chris Smither show just before show time at 7:30.

Gardiner’s A1 Diner on Bridge Street

Johnson Hall’s director Mike Miclon took the stage and welcomed us warmly. He let the crowd know that this is Johnson Hall’s 150^th year and there’s an active capital campaign to renovate the beautiful 400-seat opera house on the top floor of the building. Mike would love Lyle Lovett to be the first to perform in the renovated space in 2019 when the space is complete. I’m enthusiastic about this project and know it will happen thanks to Mike’s leadership and the dedication of a loyal board of directors.

Mike explained that he’d stumbled across a CD of Chris Smither’s years ago at his former arts venue and has booked him time and again. Chris Smither took the stage solo and charmed us immediately. I was taken by his distinctive, raspy voice, toe tapping percussion, and impressive command of the guitar. I am not a huge fan of the blues (sorry, but true), but Chris Smither does it right. He was notably unassuming on stage and made me feel a bit like I was in his living room. Chris engaged the crowd throughout the night. He joked with us before playing “Origin of Species” that “evolution’s not something you believe in—you either know about it or you don’t.”

I snuck backstage to take a couple of pictures of Chris Smithers with my iPhone

Dot, Clare (of Monkitree), and I took a tour of the beautiful upstairs of Johnson Hall during intermission. It’s going to be amazing when it’s renovated. It’s pretty phenomenal already, but probably not up to code.

Johnson Hall’s incredible and not yet renovated third story

Chris took the stage after intermission and told us about the first time he met fellow singer-songwriter Dave Carter at a music festival in Oregon. Chris said he rushed off stage after playing a set hoping to make it over to Dave Carter’s tent elsewhere with time to meet and talk before Dave’s set. As he ran, someone behind him called his name and it was Dave Carter—who’d gone to Chris’ set. Dave told Chris “you sure have a lot of words in your songs,” which Chris said was like the pot calling the kettle black. He covered Dave Carter’s “Crocodile Man” and showed us just what he meant. They both sure can fit a lot of words in one breath.

Chris Smither is a storyteller. I particularly enjoyed the funny stories he told in song—especially “Get A Better One.” We laughed a lot throughout the night. Chris talked about his family a lot during the show and wrote “I Don’t Know” using phrases his then four or five year old daughter said that he jotted down. He adopted a baby from China when he was 60 years old. She’s ten now, and even though he said his friends joked with him that parenthood would change his songwriting forever (and for the worse), but he feels like he hasn’t lost it. “No Love Today” is inspired by the roving produce seller (Mr. Okra’s dad, maybe?) who came down the street Chris grew up on in New Orleans singing about his fruits and vegetables twice a week.

A packed house at Johnson Hall

I’m glad I had the chance to see Chris Smither live. He is an American classic who has been writing music and performing for 50 years. His newest recording (his sixteenth), Still on the Levee, is a compilation of songs from Chris’ impressive career. He joked with us that he used to think he had to put new music out every three or so years or people would think he’d died, but now he’s not so worried about that.

Chris wrapped his set with “Leave the Light On,” which he recorded with Rusty Belle on Still on the Levee. I really enjoyed Rusty Belle when I saw them live with two of my favorites Caitlin Canty and Darlingside back in 2013 and am delighted that this intergenerational team is making music together. The engrossed crowd was on their feet after the last song, and Chris treated us to one more song before sending us on our way.

Thanks for hosting, Johnson Hall. I love seeing shows in this intimate space!

xo,

bree

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Monthly Archives: April 2015

The Ballroom Thieves unveil A Wolf in the Doorway

Gregory Alan Isakov

Shakey Graves with David Ramirez

Ellis Paul with Shun Ng

Damien Rice with My bubba

Chris Smither

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