You won't let those robots eat me...
Disclaimer: My wireless router disagrees with my macbook, so this post might be interrupted. I begins on friday night at 10:58 PM
I'm writing to inform you all that I've found my true love. Again. Her name is Lisa Hannigan, and she is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen from 28 rows back. You would know her as the young lady who performs on much of the Damien Rice albums O and 9. She was a quality of indifference about her, completely unaffected. During sets, she would sit on stage and sip tea or sway to the music, without regard for the several thousand people looking at her. And her voice, well, she was haunting and that's all I can say about that. I think the spell put on my by Norah Jones has finally been broken and replaced by this Irish siren. She wins.
About the concert, I can say with certainty that this was one of the 3 best shows I've ever been to. You know how some people see Springsteen and it changes their lives forever? They walk around for days in a trance, thinking over and over again about the set list, the performance, the timing, everything that made the concert for them. The important part is not that they remember the good parts, but that they can't remember a single problem with the show. Everything perfect, maybe just for them, but that's enough. This is how I came away from the show on Wednesday. I've been trying to think for the past two days when I've seen a better show and I honestly can't say that I have. I'm actually working on a list of the top 10 concerts to which I've been. This will definitely be on the list.
As for what made the concert itself, I don't want to get into the whole set list, but I'll bring up the awesome-est parts.
-I was debating with myself what song I wanted him to open with. I've been addicted to "Accidental Babies" for the past week or so, and I decided I really wanted to hear that. He walks on stage, sits at the piano, and opens with "Accidental Babies."
-After the third song (Volcano), someone yells out, "Cheers Darlin'!" I always hate it when people request shit. He's not a DJ, he's a performer and you should respect that. You wouldn't go see Phantom of the Opera and yell out "The Rum Tum Tugger!" (I know nothing about broadway, this is the best i could do.) Damien, however, says to the audience member that he would have to be considerably drunk to play that song, as it's quite personal. A few songs later he has a roadie bring him a glass of wine, downed it, and proceeded to play a heart wrenching version of "Cheers Darlin'."
-The song right before "Cheers," an audience member exclaimed, "Woman Like A Man!" Another song I wanted to hear, and Damien did us the honor. Rather than just go into it, however, he unplugged his guitar from the amp, stepped in front of the mic, and sang directly at the guy who requested the song. Fucking awesome. After the first verse, he stepped back behind the mic, the full band came in, and they torn it up.
-Damien asks his cellist Vyvienne Long to sit behind the piano and play a little song while he takes a break. She proceeds to regale us with the tale of Yoshima and how she would not let the robots defeat us (Yoshima Battles the Pink Robots, Part 1. by The Flaming Lips)
-My dearest Lisa sang a rendition of "Be My Husband" by Nina Simone. I was floored and honestly cannot get it out of my head.
-The last song of the night was an amalgam of intensity and calm, as he began with all the lights off, only candles barely lighting the stage. The song crescendos to a fever pitch as Damien Rice begins screaming, "You already know, you already know..." At the apex of this swell, they hit the floodlights aimed directly at the audience and wash the background of the stage in white. It was intensely blinding, so harsh that I began to cry from the sheer pain in my eyes. 20 seconds of this was more than enough and they cut the lights again. Damien then transitions into the calmer "Sleep Don't Weep" for about two minutes. He concludes the set by covering the Leonard Cohen classic "Hallelujah" and I'm spent.
That's really all I have to say about it. Later
I'm writing to inform you all that I've found my true love. Again. Her name is Lisa Hannigan, and she is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen from 28 rows back. You would know her as the young lady who performs on much of the Damien Rice albums O and 9. She was a quality of indifference about her, completely unaffected. During sets, she would sit on stage and sip tea or sway to the music, without regard for the several thousand people looking at her. And her voice, well, she was haunting and that's all I can say about that. I think the spell put on my by Norah Jones has finally been broken and replaced by this Irish siren. She wins.
About the concert, I can say with certainty that this was one of the 3 best shows I've ever been to. You know how some people see Springsteen and it changes their lives forever? They walk around for days in a trance, thinking over and over again about the set list, the performance, the timing, everything that made the concert for them. The important part is not that they remember the good parts, but that they can't remember a single problem with the show. Everything perfect, maybe just for them, but that's enough. This is how I came away from the show on Wednesday. I've been trying to think for the past two days when I've seen a better show and I honestly can't say that I have. I'm actually working on a list of the top 10 concerts to which I've been. This will definitely be on the list.
As for what made the concert itself, I don't want to get into the whole set list, but I'll bring up the awesome-est parts.
-I was debating with myself what song I wanted him to open with. I've been addicted to "Accidental Babies" for the past week or so, and I decided I really wanted to hear that. He walks on stage, sits at the piano, and opens with "Accidental Babies."
-After the third song (Volcano), someone yells out, "Cheers Darlin'!" I always hate it when people request shit. He's not a DJ, he's a performer and you should respect that. You wouldn't go see Phantom of the Opera and yell out "The Rum Tum Tugger!" (I know nothing about broadway, this is the best i could do.) Damien, however, says to the audience member that he would have to be considerably drunk to play that song, as it's quite personal. A few songs later he has a roadie bring him a glass of wine, downed it, and proceeded to play a heart wrenching version of "Cheers Darlin'."
-The song right before "Cheers," an audience member exclaimed, "Woman Like A Man!" Another song I wanted to hear, and Damien did us the honor. Rather than just go into it, however, he unplugged his guitar from the amp, stepped in front of the mic, and sang directly at the guy who requested the song. Fucking awesome. After the first verse, he stepped back behind the mic, the full band came in, and they torn it up.
-Damien asks his cellist Vyvienne Long to sit behind the piano and play a little song while he takes a break. She proceeds to regale us with the tale of Yoshima and how she would not let the robots defeat us (Yoshima Battles the Pink Robots, Part 1. by The Flaming Lips)
-My dearest Lisa sang a rendition of "Be My Husband" by Nina Simone. I was floored and honestly cannot get it out of my head.
-The last song of the night was an amalgam of intensity and calm, as he began with all the lights off, only candles barely lighting the stage. The song crescendos to a fever pitch as Damien Rice begins screaming, "You already know, you already know..." At the apex of this swell, they hit the floodlights aimed directly at the audience and wash the background of the stage in white. It was intensely blinding, so harsh that I began to cry from the sheer pain in my eyes. 20 seconds of this was more than enough and they cut the lights again. Damien then transitions into the calmer "Sleep Don't Weep" for about two minutes. He concludes the set by covering the Leonard Cohen classic "Hallelujah" and I'm spent.
That's really all I have to say about it. Later