Brandi Carlile, Westhampton Beach
I just returned safely back to Queens after another awesome Brandi Carlile show. As usual, I really don't know what to say about it, because when I talk about Brandi, I turn into Barney Stinson and insert an "awesome" into every sentence.
She's on an acoustic tour with her band, which is fun because we get to hear new songs, ones she hasn't played in a while, and versions of her old ones which we haven't heard before. It's really cool to hear some of the newer ones stripped down to just an acoustic guitar, and she's got one new one where Phil (Tim? I can never tell the twins apart) plays the ukulele and they all sing into one mic.
In case you've just tuned in to my livejournal, Brandi Carlile is a singer songwriter who plays folk/pop/rock/country/etc. Her back up singers and band mates are Tim and Phil Hanseroth, twin brothers extraordinaire. She also has a cellist named Josh, who is almost as dreamy as Brandi. She plays a mean acoustic guitar, and looks really good doing it. Sometimes she plays electric guitar (though not on this tour), and looks even better doing that. She's learning to play piano, but (shh! don't tell her I said this), is not very good at it. It's adorable, though, when she plays piano.
I've always loved rock concerts, and I've always had my favorites of people I like to see play, or musicals I like to see over and over again, that sort of thing. But I have never before been a fan of an artist who gives such a dynamic performance, that there's never a moment during the show where I tune out, or think, "I don't like this song," or get bored. Not that I love every one of her songs, but she has such an interesting voice, that even if I'm not too fond of the melody, I still love to hear her sing it.
Her voice is ethereal, raw, and sweet all at the same time. She can cover Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Elton John, Radiohead and the Beatles, all with the same adept earnestness. I really don't know how to describe it, since I'm mostly tone deaf, but she's got that raspy thing that I love in all of my favorite singers, but can also sing amazingly high notes, and can yodel. Yes, she yodels. It's ridiculous. Before I saw her play, her CDs were the ones I fell asleep to, because her voice has such a soothing quality to it. Now, I listen to live bootlegs of hers when I feel stressed or anxious and need to calm down.
This acoustic show featured all of our favorites from her first 2 albums (the 3rd is due out in the fall), plus some new ones from the upcoming release, and some covers - a few which we already love, and some new ones. Highlights included a cover of "I've Just Seen a Face," with a cameo appearance by Melissa Ferrick; A new song called "Dreams," which she's been playing on the road for a while - it's a raw and passionate song about, well, dreams, and it's more, uh, intimate than what she usually plays, so watching it is a rare treat; A resurrected old song called "Over You," which she says "haunts her dreams" because she had buried it years ago and then ended up putting it on the new album, and her mother hates it because it's so angry; A cover of "Let it Be," with Brandi on piano and each of the twins singing a verse; A couple of verses of Johnny Cash's "Jackson" before she launches into her famous cover of "Folsom Prison Blues"; Closing the show with "Hallelujah," which she hasn't done in a while, but I'm glad it's back.
Lowlights (is that a word?) were the fact that somewhere around the third song, I really had to pee, but could not find a good time to get up during the whole show. I was sitting way down in front, and a) I didn't want to be rude or disturb the people next to me, b) I didn't want to miss anything, and c) Brandi was feeling especially chatty with the audience. I didn't want her to give me shit. The other lowlight is that it didn't last longer. Seriously, those are the only bad things I can think of.
I met up with and ran into some people from the againtoday forums, and it was nice to see some people I had met in Seattle, as well as meet the East Coasters. They were fun to hang out with, and let me tell you, those people really know what they're doing when it comes to getting autographs and memorabilia. Here's the part where you have to listen to me be a fangirl for a moment. During the show, Brandi wished someone a happy birthday, and then random audience members started yelling out names of people's birthdays, so she sang Happy Birthday to all those people. I thought, "how can we get her to sing Happy Birthday to me?" (Let me preface by saying, really, I don't know why I was thinking that in the first place, since I would never want to be singled out of an audience like that, it's so embarrassing.) Anyway, I bought a record (yup, a record, as in vinyl) and brought it up to her to have it signed (she signed after the show, no stalking the bus this time - at least not led by me), and out of nowhere, I busted out with, "Next week is my birthday - I'll be at the show." Seriously. Holy inappropriate, Batman. Last time I met her, I was so nervous I was speechless. Now, I have apparently turned that into just blurting out inappropriate things. Lovely. They didn't stop for pics, but in the end, I came home with a record signed by Brandi and Josh, and did get to talk to the twins for a few minutes.
Don't get me wrong, though - the performance was the best part. To tell the honest truth, while I do fall for the glamour of it every time, I find that meeting Brandi, saying inappropriate things, trying to be her buddy or whatever it is I'm doing... it kind of takes away from the experience a little bit. I like my rock stars to be, well, rock stars. Gods and goddesses (well, in my case, mostly goddesses) of the stage and shiny lights, if you will. They're cowboys, on steel horses they ride. (Sorry, I had to.) I feel like after enough of these meet and greets, it will be like watching your friend at her recital. A damn good recital at that, but still. I hate to admit it, but shaking her hand too many times may take away a little bit from the fantasy that is watching her make that face and do that thing with her voice when she plays "Dreams." It's more fun to dream about what she's like (ew! Not like that, her personality!) than to actually know what she's like. Not because she's not lovely, but because dreaming about what she's like is kind of the point of her being a rock star. Besides, aside from inappropriate blurtings, the only thing I can ever think to say to her is "you're amazing." Barf. But, while I later question the wisdom of always being in the autograph line, I do fall for it every time... it simply cannot be helped. Plus, as I've said on this livejournal before, what kind of forum poster would I be if I didn't fall for it?
I don't have any pictures to post, because I wasn't allowed any during the show, and there was no time after the show. Maybe next week.
She's on an acoustic tour with her band, which is fun because we get to hear new songs, ones she hasn't played in a while, and versions of her old ones which we haven't heard before. It's really cool to hear some of the newer ones stripped down to just an acoustic guitar, and she's got one new one where Phil (Tim? I can never tell the twins apart) plays the ukulele and they all sing into one mic.
In case you've just tuned in to my livejournal, Brandi Carlile is a singer songwriter who plays folk/pop/rock/country/etc. Her back up singers and band mates are Tim and Phil Hanseroth, twin brothers extraordinaire. She also has a cellist named Josh, who is almost as dreamy as Brandi. She plays a mean acoustic guitar, and looks really good doing it. Sometimes she plays electric guitar (though not on this tour), and looks even better doing that. She's learning to play piano, but (shh! don't tell her I said this), is not very good at it. It's adorable, though, when she plays piano.
I've always loved rock concerts, and I've always had my favorites of people I like to see play, or musicals I like to see over and over again, that sort of thing. But I have never before been a fan of an artist who gives such a dynamic performance, that there's never a moment during the show where I tune out, or think, "I don't like this song," or get bored. Not that I love every one of her songs, but she has such an interesting voice, that even if I'm not too fond of the melody, I still love to hear her sing it.
Her voice is ethereal, raw, and sweet all at the same time. She can cover Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Elton John, Radiohead and the Beatles, all with the same adept earnestness. I really don't know how to describe it, since I'm mostly tone deaf, but she's got that raspy thing that I love in all of my favorite singers, but can also sing amazingly high notes, and can yodel. Yes, she yodels. It's ridiculous. Before I saw her play, her CDs were the ones I fell asleep to, because her voice has such a soothing quality to it. Now, I listen to live bootlegs of hers when I feel stressed or anxious and need to calm down.
This acoustic show featured all of our favorites from her first 2 albums (the 3rd is due out in the fall), plus some new ones from the upcoming release, and some covers - a few which we already love, and some new ones. Highlights included a cover of "I've Just Seen a Face," with a cameo appearance by Melissa Ferrick; A new song called "Dreams," which she's been playing on the road for a while - it's a raw and passionate song about, well, dreams, and it's more, uh, intimate than what she usually plays, so watching it is a rare treat; A resurrected old song called "Over You," which she says "haunts her dreams" because she had buried it years ago and then ended up putting it on the new album, and her mother hates it because it's so angry; A cover of "Let it Be," with Brandi on piano and each of the twins singing a verse; A couple of verses of Johnny Cash's "Jackson" before she launches into her famous cover of "Folsom Prison Blues"; Closing the show with "Hallelujah," which she hasn't done in a while, but I'm glad it's back.
Lowlights (is that a word?) were the fact that somewhere around the third song, I really had to pee, but could not find a good time to get up during the whole show. I was sitting way down in front, and a) I didn't want to be rude or disturb the people next to me, b) I didn't want to miss anything, and c) Brandi was feeling especially chatty with the audience. I didn't want her to give me shit. The other lowlight is that it didn't last longer. Seriously, those are the only bad things I can think of.
I met up with and ran into some people from the againtoday forums, and it was nice to see some people I had met in Seattle, as well as meet the East Coasters. They were fun to hang out with, and let me tell you, those people really know what they're doing when it comes to getting autographs and memorabilia. Here's the part where you have to listen to me be a fangirl for a moment. During the show, Brandi wished someone a happy birthday, and then random audience members started yelling out names of people's birthdays, so she sang Happy Birthday to all those people. I thought, "how can we get her to sing Happy Birthday to me?" (Let me preface by saying, really, I don't know why I was thinking that in the first place, since I would never want to be singled out of an audience like that, it's so embarrassing.) Anyway, I bought a record (yup, a record, as in vinyl) and brought it up to her to have it signed (she signed after the show, no stalking the bus this time - at least not led by me), and out of nowhere, I busted out with, "Next week is my birthday - I'll be at the show." Seriously. Holy inappropriate, Batman. Last time I met her, I was so nervous I was speechless. Now, I have apparently turned that into just blurting out inappropriate things. Lovely. They didn't stop for pics, but in the end, I came home with a record signed by Brandi and Josh, and did get to talk to the twins for a few minutes.
Don't get me wrong, though - the performance was the best part. To tell the honest truth, while I do fall for the glamour of it every time, I find that meeting Brandi, saying inappropriate things, trying to be her buddy or whatever it is I'm doing... it kind of takes away from the experience a little bit. I like my rock stars to be, well, rock stars. Gods and goddesses (well, in my case, mostly goddesses) of the stage and shiny lights, if you will. They're cowboys, on steel horses they ride. (Sorry, I had to.) I feel like after enough of these meet and greets, it will be like watching your friend at her recital. A damn good recital at that, but still. I hate to admit it, but shaking her hand too many times may take away a little bit from the fantasy that is watching her make that face and do that thing with her voice when she plays "Dreams." It's more fun to dream about what she's like (ew! Not like that, her personality!) than to actually know what she's like. Not because she's not lovely, but because dreaming about what she's like is kind of the point of her being a rock star. Besides, aside from inappropriate blurtings, the only thing I can ever think to say to her is "you're amazing." Barf. But, while I later question the wisdom of always being in the autograph line, I do fall for it every time... it simply cannot be helped. Plus, as I've said on this livejournal before, what kind of forum poster would I be if I didn't fall for it?
I don't have any pictures to post, because I wasn't allowed any during the show, and there was no time after the show. Maybe next week.