#krisallenrockstar
I AM ANSWERING COMMENTS TOMORROW. I SWEAR. But I wanted to get this done before I forget everything!
On Sunday, I FINALLY got to see Kris Allen live, in a non-"Idols Live" context. He (or rather his management) has not seen fit to get his delicious ass out here aside from a couple of years ago, when he was opening for Lifehouse, and that show was cancelled because of ice/snow ("Apparently it doesn't ever snow here? That seems stupid to me; it's up north!" Kris observed during the show, HEE). So now instead of paying $50 to see him play six songs in support of a band I didn't want to see, at a big venue, I got to pay $17 to see him headline a show at a small venue, with a spectacular opener (Jillette Johnson), too. I'm not really sure whether that's good news for Kris (I hope it is! And they seem to be doing fine), but it was EXCELLENT news for me.
Pics and videos here, for reference; my "if you only watch one" pick is Seven Nation Army/Shut That Door (the first video has better sound, the second one has better video). And, for posterity, the setlist:
Out Alive
Better With You
Alright With Me
Loves Me Not
Faith/We Are Young/Some Nights Medley
Red Guitar
Request: High and Dry (Radiohead)
Paul Simon
Leave You Alone
Monster
Rooftops
Live Like We’re Dying
The River (Garth Brooks)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)
Shut That Door
We open our scene with me,
zabira, and dugrival enjoying some delicious German beers and German food! (Well, actually, we open with me NOT GETTING LOST on my way to Ballard, which is not QUITE a first, but I'm pretty sure it's a second or third. Oh Ballard: I like being in you, but I haaate getting to you.) Despite our mutual love of music/certain musicians, Dugrival and I have never actually seen a show together before, so it was very exciting, even if this is not the show I would have predicted we would end up seeing together! Hee. We made it to the venue by about 7:30 for an 8 pm show, and ended up with more or less our choice of spots-we weren't quite at the front of the stage, but we were only about 2-3 rows back, depending on the cluelessness/shoving of the people around us. Basically, we were close enough that if a tiny Pocket Idol-type person were to reach out (with his injured hand!) and offer us a fist-bump, we could totally get in on that action. HYPOTHETICALLY. So that was pretty awesome! I spent a fair amount of time before the show started standing there staring at the mic/stand in front of me thinking, "KRIS ALLEN IS GOING TO BE STANDING THERE." It was a lot to process! We also got a quick glimpse of Katy disappearing backstage, which made me very happy. HI KATY HIIIIII. I LOVE YOU. I HOPE YOUR ALLEN-LET GESTATION IS GOING WELL.
We'd heard from sadiane that the opener, Jillette Johnson, was excellent, so I was very curious to hear her. And you guys. YOU GUYS. SHE IS INCREDIBLE. It was one of those things for me where as soon as she walked out and opened her mouth, it felt like everything else in the world just fell away, you know? She has a stunning, huge voice, and she accompanied herself on the piano SO beautifully, and she's got some really lovely/interesting turns of phrase in her lyrics, and she is an AWESOME performer. She definitely reminded me of Tori Amos, though without the jagged edge that Tori has (for good and for bad, IMO). And she was SO FUCKING HOT, both physically (she reminds me of devilpiglet, actually) and in terms of her general presence. She plays/sings with her whole body (she is an excellent match for Kris that way!) and has this sort of sultry-flirty total CONFIDENCE to her performance that had me on my KNEES, pretty much. I think it would be really difficult to watch her and NOT think about sex (though she is YOUNG, compared to me at least-I'd say early 20s, probably-so possibly I should not have been thinking what I was thinking, AND YET). But it was all very natural and not at all affected, like she just HAPPENED to be aurally sexing everyone in the room. It was AWESOME. I am pretty sure the pupils of my eyes ACTUALLY turned into little sparkly asterisks.
Her banter was adorable/hilarious, too; she started off by telling us that she and Kris have been talking about this show for a while, because she's never been to Seattle, but she's heard that we like to "get down." Therefore, "I am fully prepared not to remember my own name tomorrow." Hee! And also: OKAY THEN. (I… am not sure where she heard this, honestly, because Seattle crowds DO tend to be enthusiastic, but partiers of the forget-your-own-name variety we are NOT, in my experience. However, "Can we keep her?" I asked Z at this point, all of one song into the set. "Yes!" Z said. "We'll make her forget her name AND where she lives." CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.) She also made a joke at the end about her name being spelled "like the razor, but with a J. 'The best a man can get.' They should be paying me to say that." HEE. Just, her CONFIDENCE was so impressive, especially because she's got this sweet face and huge doe eyes and her songs DO have a little bit of the innocence of youth in them, but they also have a lot of strength and determination and these clever little spirals of humor, like the refreshing lemon twist in your angst martini. Plus she has a song called "Cameron" which she introduced as being about "a little boy who felt like he was a little girl." As an outsider, I don't feel really qualified to assess it, but from my perspective, at least, the song seemed like it dealt with that topic pretty sensitively, if briefly-the chorus is "The world is full of aliens / but you are a real live human, Cameron." Awwwwww. And I give her kudos for engaging positively with it, at least. (I saw on her website that she's actively supported some anti-bullying causes, as well, so props for that.)
ALSO her EP is called "Whiskey and Frosting." WHISKEY AND FROSTING. CLEARLY WE ARE SOULMATES. So, um, I loved her? A lot? Here she is doing a little home recording, just her and the piano and assistance from her goldendoodle Humphrey, awwww, OFFSIDES:
PRETTY AMAZING, right? You can stream the whole EP on her website (and it is for sale on Amazon/iTunes for $4, I believe), and she has a full album coming out in May called (IIRC) The Whale and the Water. "I'm the whale, and my voice is the water," she told us. "My EP is called Whiskey and Frosting, and I'm not the whiskey or the frosting, but I have consumed great quantities of both." HEEEE. <333333333
So. JILLETTE JOHNSON. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER. She is also apparently touring with William Beckett this spring, for those of you who are into that situation!
And then there was Kris! I had not watched footage or anything from this tour, and I had not realized that the configuration of the band had changed (!), or that they were going mostly-acoustic, but it worked EXTREMELY EXTREMELY WELL, especially in that venue. Kris absolutely CAN hold an arena-I've seen/felt him do it-but one of his strengths, IMO, is bringing everybody in and making it feel intimate, so in a smaller venue, that REALLY shines. Also DEAR GOD that boy is hot, so being at a vantage where we could see every little bump of his hips and every twitch of muscle in his VERY FINE arms was GOOD TIMES. ("How does he even make a WRIST BRACE look hot?" I wondered to Z when he came out.) Also his little faaaaaaaaaaaaace and his DINOSAUR JAW and his dorky dancing and all of those Kris things that I adore SO SO SO VERY MUCH and have never gotten to see live and up close and in person! ♥ Also he was wearing a deliciously tight white ribbed tank top under an open pearl-buttoned, rosebud-bedecked shirt that appeared to be made out of one of his Grandmother's pillowcases, similarly deliciously tight jeans, and-Z would want me to tell you-REALLY GOOD shoes. IT WORKED, pillowcase and all. Voila:
See? WORKING. HNNNGH. (Thanks to Z for the last pic!) (Also, yes, that is what Jillette wore. I feel like I should have disapproved, on the grounds that tights are not pants, but… I anti-disapproved. I'M SORRY. SHE MADE IT WORK.) (Tangentially, if you would like to see some extremely hot and better-quality Kris pics, may I recommend me_maneuver's post from the Portland show here? RRRRROWR.)
I don't know his new album all that well-I streamed it several times from his website when it first came out, thought it was adorable, but never got around to buying it-so I don't have a song-by-song breakdown, but. Some general observations:
- One of my biggest impressions from this show is how HAPPY the whole thing was. Kris is just this tiny bouncing ball of hotass PURE JOY, and many of his songs are so refreshingly cheerful, and obviously he and the band love each other SO MUCH and are having SO MUCH FUN and we all bounced and laughed and shouted along and it was all just THOROUGHLY THOROUGHLY DELIGHTFUL.
- I also really REALLY appreciate the way that Kris writes about love, in general. Whether the song is happy or angsty, I feel like they always reflect the understanding of someone who actually GETS mature, healthy relationships, which is SUCH A RARITY in music. Like "Leave You Alone"-holy shit, a song about NOT pressuring a woman (presumably) to talk about/deal with something if she's not ready! A song about GIVING SOMEONE SPACE. BUT NOT IN A PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE WAY. I am seriously boggled by this, and I LOVE IT-it's kind of like established-relationship stories, something that doesn't get a lot of play because it's not the obvious choice and doesn't push the obvious buttons, but that I absolutely adore when it's done well. It also just reinforces my conclusion that Kris and Katy have an EXEMPLARY marriage/relationship, which is a PLEASANT THOUGHT to me. And knowing that Katy was backstage listening while Kris sang songs like "Red Guitar" (and unconsciously fondled his wedding ring tattoo, nggggh)? AWWWWWWWWWW. AWWWWWWWWWWWWW. HOT POCKETS. <33333333333
- In news of taller, more single (AFAIK) people: CALE. PLEASE CALL ME. I have to admit that I have always thought Cale's function in the band was primarily… decorative? In the sense that Kris brought him along on this ride more for his friendship than for his musical abilities, and also in the sense that he is incredibly hot. I never thought he was a BAD musician or anything, but I was really surprised during this show to discover that he's actually a pretty damn good guitarist. (I think I assumed that if he was that great a guitarist, they wouldn’t have needed Andrew on the last tour? Clearly I misjudged the situation!) Of course I'm not THAT into people who play the guitar well, so, you know. *shrug* AHAHAHAHAHAHA JUST KIDDING CALE YOU AND YOUR APPARENTLY MAGIC FINGERS AND YOUR SQUINCHY GUITAR!FACE REALLY NEED TO CALL ME. Also OMG Cale and Kris are SO FREAKING CUTE, and Cale and Torres (SPEAKING OF HOT PEOPLE, SPEAKING OF HOT PEOPLE WHO ARE APPARENTLY ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL, ALL-PURPOSE RHYTHM SECTIONS) had LOTS of FANTASTIC moments as well, and Andrew was kind of stuck behind the piano so he did not get as much interaction but is nonetheless SUPER SUPER ADORABLE (and from Seattle, apparently!). Also, as Dugrival observed afterward, Torres spent a LOT of time just sort of gazing up adoringly at Kris, and everybody just SO CLEARLY enjoys each other's company and talents and AWWWWWW. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Good band! ♥ ♥ ♥
- Speaking of Cale and Torres and Kris, at one point Kris was commenting on how he appreciated being able to see the people in the back (the Tractor Tavern is not WELL-lit but it is semi-evenly lit), and that he appreciated that there WERE people in the back, aww. (He also commented earlier on how many guys were there, which was something I noticed, too-I'd say the audience was maybe 15-20% dudes? Kris was like, "I'm not really sure why you're here, but I'm glad you are." HEE. Kris Allen, destined to live the life of the American Idol Covered In Ladies. He and Dave should start a support group!) And then he started talking about the "makeout corner," which is this little kind of open-sided room with benches between the bar area and the floor area. "C'mon," he said as we laughed. "That's totally a makeout corner. I might be going there later, we'll see." (PLZ SEND PICS.) Then Cale said something I didn't catch, and Kris laughs and goes, "Not with Torres. That's what Cale said-'not with Torres'." HEEEEEEE. (PLZ SEND PICS.) (It was around this point where I started wanting Kris/Katy/Cale fic about how they like to gather single strays into the bounty of their perfect marriage. IDEK, but WOULD READ.) This then led into "Leave You Alone," namely, "This is a song about a makeout gone bad… probably." HEEEEEEEEEE.
- Z and I have talked various times before about musicians who are good at playing their instruments, but who should also have their instruments taken away from them periodically because VERY INTERESTING THINGS happen when they do (exhibit A: Brendon Urie). We've also talked before about Kris being one of those people, and this show proved that ABSOLUTELY TRUE. Kris was obviously frustrated that he couldn't play, poor bb (he was in a car accident recently and broke his wrist)-and very grateful to the band for helping him out, awww-but no guitar/piano meant a LOT of jumping and dorky-hot dancing and a lot a lot a LOT of VERY DISTRACTING hip movements. Holy shit. It also helped underscore-in many very fine ways-that Kris has an excellent sense of rhythm, which I think is one of the best things about his songs; they often have an undeniable bouncy sort of beat and Kris just embraces that with his WHOLE BODY, but especially his hips. YES PLEASE. I EMBRACE THIS AS WELL.
- "Alright With Me" is far and away my favorite song of Kris', and I listen to it ALL THE TIME, so that was my "if they play this, I'll go home happy" song for the night, and when they broke into it, it was EVERY BIT as fantastic as I'd hoped. It is near-impossible to remain in a bad mood (or remain still) while listening to that song, at least for me! Unfortunately, a couple of women rudely shoved their way in front of us at this point-"it's my favorite song!" one of them told me as she hip-checked me, OH WELL OKAY THEN, carry on!-and that was annoying, but I was not about to let it ruin anything for me. (It DID create an awkward situation a couple of songs later when one of the women shouted at Kris that it was her friend's birthday [which her similarly shovetastic friend denied, and honestly, I was pretty skeptical, considering], so he very sweetly sang happy birthday to her, and asked us all to sing along, and so I'm standing there DIRECTLY BEHIND these women that I am VERY ANNOYED AT but also KRIS WANTS ME TO SING and I am in FULL VIEW of his adorable, sincere, sexy gaze, so what could I do? Hee.). ANYWAY. It was pretty freaking amazing, rudeness notwithstanding, and "I'm a little prawn, stealin' your gay": STILL FUNNY. <3333333
- The "Faith" cover was EPICCCC, and then right into "We Are Young"? AMAAAAAAAZING. It was basically a five-minute festival of things I never knew I needed in my life but it turns out I TOTALLY DID. A++++ Kris also informed us afterward that "I get very ADD when I'm doing covers, so there are usually like three songs in them." HEE.
- The request song of the night was Radiohead's "High and Dry," and they did a great job with it, though because that song will forever make me think of epic Dave/Neal beauty/angst/aaaaaaagh FEELINGS, it was a little distracting. (I just rewatched this last night when I was checking the link and OH MY GOD how can I still have feelings about this, all this time later? SNIFFLE.) However, Kris' banter leading into it was hilarious-he was like, "So every night we ask for requests…" and IMMEDIATELY a bunch of people started shouting stuff out and Kris was like-cheerfully, but also making it clear that he meant it-"BEFORE the show! We ask for requests BEFORE the show! So shut up! I have the microphone, you don't have the microphone." HEEEEEEE. So BOSSY, Kristopher! I LIKE IT. He then explained that they ask BEFORE the show so that they have time to get something together, which he said usually takes about 20 minutes. Well THAT IS ATTRACTIVE. That is a pretty badass thing to do, just whip something new together every night-well-played, fellas!
- He also brought Jillette (!!!) out to duet with him at one point, and somehow he ended up jokingly offering her phone number to the crowd at large (YES PLEASE) and she goes, "You sound like my parents!" (HEE) and he was like, "Aww, they're just trying to hook you up!" and then he put his hand on her back and was like, "No, no, you don't need to be hooked up." AWWWWWWWW. IT WAS REALLY CUTE. This must be an INTERESTING tour for her, on the road with all these boys, though if her Instagram account is any indication, they have been having a LOT of fun. YAY!
- "Monster" was another set highlight for me-much as it makes me LOL in concept (yes, Kris, you're such a monster! *pats him on the head*), it's a really cool song, especially acoustic, all kind of sly and moody, with the slinky guitar. It's also an awesome balance to the general cheer of the rest of the set-which I LOVED, like I said, but levels are good!-and let each instrument really shine, including Kris' voice. Very very cool.
- I have not listened to "Live Like We're Dying" in a LONG TIME, and it was SO FUN to hear it again. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. It was a great set-ender, actually, and Kris is so earnest and COMPLETELY uninhibited that it makes it VERY EASY to feel the same way, which is a pretty fabulous way to feel-I often feel at least a little bit self-conscious at shows, for one reason or another, but this one was just pure joy all the way through. My cheeks were ACHING from smiling/giggling/laughing before they were even halfway through the set. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
- And then Kris came out and gave a very heartfelt speech in support of the charity he's currently working with, and I REALLY REALLY love that about him, that he's so consistently invested in charitable causes. He just appears to be such a STELLAR HUMAN BEING and I appreciate that SO MUCH.
- They encored with a great a capella rendition of Garth Brooks' "The River" (I feel like Kris made some snarky joke about the band when they came back out-something about not needing them, or something-but I can't remember the exact way it went); Torres' singing face is the CUTEST THING. AND ALSO HOT. And then. SEVEN NATION ARMY. Guys, I'm already on board! YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK THIS HARD. <333333 It was actually REALLY INTERESTING to hear this in a completely different context, with a completely different vibe, after having seen Jack White (and the Peacocks) do this twice, fairly recently-I mean, that song is ALWAYS going to be very different when it's acoustic, so they really put their own spin on it, but they also still did the "ohhhh-oh-OH-oh-oh-ohhhhh-ohhh" singalong part, AS YOU DO, and Cale rocked the guitar parts, and it was pretty damn awesome, all things considered.
- And then AND THEN. "SHUT THAT DOOR." YOU GUYS. I LOVE THIS SONG A LOT. Just a fucking BARN-BURNER, all rockabilly-bluesy and dirty-earnest in Kris' own uniquely Kris way, and I NEVER WANTED IT TO END. Also Kris was going around shaking/touching hands and I usually kind of hang back in those situations because I REALLY don’t to be creepy, but he reached out with his brace-hand to fist-bump Z and then he reached out to ME and LOOKED RIGHT AT MY GOOFILY SMILING FACE HI KRIS I LOVE YOU OKAY I WILL TOUCH YOUR TINY PERFECT HAND. So I did. And have spent the entire week since worrying that in my flailiness I touched him TOO HARD and maybe I HURT HIS INJURED WRIST and OMG I BROKE KRIS ALLEN. (Clearly I did not. Yet I am STILL vaguely worried about it. *facepalm*)
Afterward, we hung around for a bit (while the band broke down their own gear, awww! I love that!) and debated talking to various people; Z wanted to talk to their (adorable) tour manager, but could not figure out an appropriate way to say "PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO HAVE YOUR LIFE" (in a general sense, not about managing Kris specifically), and I briefly considered talking to Cale, but could not figure out an appropriate way to say "you're a much better guitarist than I gave you credit for" and/or "here is my phone number, let's do this." (I should've talked to him about P90X! DAMMIT. OPPORTUNITY WASTED. Hee.) We DID go talk to/flail at Jillette, and she was very sweet, and I bought things that I did not need, because I love her and I want her to have my money. (Obviously I was going to buy her EP, but you got the EP download free with any purchase, so I bought a small set of magnets, and a [pre-]signed notebook. It turns out the inscription says "You're not an alien." AWWWWWWW. ♥ )
And then we went out for nachos and more beer, and debriefed the show, and talked about baseball, and it was the PERFECT way to end the evening. *hearts Z and Dugrival*
So. YOU WERE WORTH THE WAIT, KRIS. COME BACK SOON. <333333
This post is also at Dreamwidth! http://brynnmck.dreamwidth.org/293205.html Comments at Dreamwidth:
On Sunday, I FINALLY got to see Kris Allen live, in a non-"Idols Live" context. He (or rather his management) has not seen fit to get his delicious ass out here aside from a couple of years ago, when he was opening for Lifehouse, and that show was cancelled because of ice/snow ("Apparently it doesn't ever snow here? That seems stupid to me; it's up north!" Kris observed during the show, HEE). So now instead of paying $50 to see him play six songs in support of a band I didn't want to see, at a big venue, I got to pay $17 to see him headline a show at a small venue, with a spectacular opener (Jillette Johnson), too. I'm not really sure whether that's good news for Kris (I hope it is! And they seem to be doing fine), but it was EXCELLENT news for me.
Pics and videos here, for reference; my "if you only watch one" pick is Seven Nation Army/Shut That Door (the first video has better sound, the second one has better video). And, for posterity, the setlist:
Out Alive
Better With You
Alright With Me
Loves Me Not
Faith/We Are Young/Some Nights Medley
Red Guitar
Request: High and Dry (Radiohead)
Paul Simon
Leave You Alone
Monster
Rooftops
Live Like We’re Dying
The River (Garth Brooks)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)
Shut That Door
We open our scene with me,
zabira, and dugrival enjoying some delicious German beers and German food! (Well, actually, we open with me NOT GETTING LOST on my way to Ballard, which is not QUITE a first, but I'm pretty sure it's a second or third. Oh Ballard: I like being in you, but I haaate getting to you.) Despite our mutual love of music/certain musicians, Dugrival and I have never actually seen a show together before, so it was very exciting, even if this is not the show I would have predicted we would end up seeing together! Hee. We made it to the venue by about 7:30 for an 8 pm show, and ended up with more or less our choice of spots-we weren't quite at the front of the stage, but we were only about 2-3 rows back, depending on the cluelessness/shoving of the people around us. Basically, we were close enough that if a tiny Pocket Idol-type person were to reach out (with his injured hand!) and offer us a fist-bump, we could totally get in on that action. HYPOTHETICALLY. So that was pretty awesome! I spent a fair amount of time before the show started standing there staring at the mic/stand in front of me thinking, "KRIS ALLEN IS GOING TO BE STANDING THERE." It was a lot to process! We also got a quick glimpse of Katy disappearing backstage, which made me very happy. HI KATY HIIIIII. I LOVE YOU. I HOPE YOUR ALLEN-LET GESTATION IS GOING WELL.
We'd heard from sadiane that the opener, Jillette Johnson, was excellent, so I was very curious to hear her. And you guys. YOU GUYS. SHE IS INCREDIBLE. It was one of those things for me where as soon as she walked out and opened her mouth, it felt like everything else in the world just fell away, you know? She has a stunning, huge voice, and she accompanied herself on the piano SO beautifully, and she's got some really lovely/interesting turns of phrase in her lyrics, and she is an AWESOME performer. She definitely reminded me of Tori Amos, though without the jagged edge that Tori has (for good and for bad, IMO). And she was SO FUCKING HOT, both physically (she reminds me of devilpiglet, actually) and in terms of her general presence. She plays/sings with her whole body (she is an excellent match for Kris that way!) and has this sort of sultry-flirty total CONFIDENCE to her performance that had me on my KNEES, pretty much. I think it would be really difficult to watch her and NOT think about sex (though she is YOUNG, compared to me at least-I'd say early 20s, probably-so possibly I should not have been thinking what I was thinking, AND YET). But it was all very natural and not at all affected, like she just HAPPENED to be aurally sexing everyone in the room. It was AWESOME. I am pretty sure the pupils of my eyes ACTUALLY turned into little sparkly asterisks.
Her banter was adorable/hilarious, too; she started off by telling us that she and Kris have been talking about this show for a while, because she's never been to Seattle, but she's heard that we like to "get down." Therefore, "I am fully prepared not to remember my own name tomorrow." Hee! And also: OKAY THEN. (I… am not sure where she heard this, honestly, because Seattle crowds DO tend to be enthusiastic, but partiers of the forget-your-own-name variety we are NOT, in my experience. However, "Can we keep her?" I asked Z at this point, all of one song into the set. "Yes!" Z said. "We'll make her forget her name AND where she lives." CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.) She also made a joke at the end about her name being spelled "like the razor, but with a J. 'The best a man can get.' They should be paying me to say that." HEE. Just, her CONFIDENCE was so impressive, especially because she's got this sweet face and huge doe eyes and her songs DO have a little bit of the innocence of youth in them, but they also have a lot of strength and determination and these clever little spirals of humor, like the refreshing lemon twist in your angst martini. Plus she has a song called "Cameron" which she introduced as being about "a little boy who felt like he was a little girl." As an outsider, I don't feel really qualified to assess it, but from my perspective, at least, the song seemed like it dealt with that topic pretty sensitively, if briefly-the chorus is "The world is full of aliens / but you are a real live human, Cameron." Awwwwww. And I give her kudos for engaging positively with it, at least. (I saw on her website that she's actively supported some anti-bullying causes, as well, so props for that.)
ALSO her EP is called "Whiskey and Frosting." WHISKEY AND FROSTING. CLEARLY WE ARE SOULMATES. So, um, I loved her? A lot? Here she is doing a little home recording, just her and the piano and assistance from her goldendoodle Humphrey, awwww, OFFSIDES:
Click to viewPRETTY AMAZING, right? You can stream the whole EP on her website (and it is for sale on Amazon/iTunes for $4, I believe), and she has a full album coming out in May called (IIRC) The Whale and the Water. "I'm the whale, and my voice is the water," she told us. "My EP is called Whiskey and Frosting, and I'm not the whiskey or the frosting, but I have consumed great quantities of both." HEEEE. <333333333
So. JILLETTE JOHNSON. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER. She is also apparently touring with William Beckett this spring, for those of you who are into that situation!
And then there was Kris! I had not watched footage or anything from this tour, and I had not realized that the configuration of the band had changed (!), or that they were going mostly-acoustic, but it worked EXTREMELY EXTREMELY WELL, especially in that venue. Kris absolutely CAN hold an arena-I've seen/felt him do it-but one of his strengths, IMO, is bringing everybody in and making it feel intimate, so in a smaller venue, that REALLY shines. Also DEAR GOD that boy is hot, so being at a vantage where we could see every little bump of his hips and every twitch of muscle in his VERY FINE arms was GOOD TIMES. ("How does he even make a WRIST BRACE look hot?" I wondered to Z when he came out.) Also his little faaaaaaaaaaaaace and his DINOSAUR JAW and his dorky dancing and all of those Kris things that I adore SO SO SO VERY MUCH and have never gotten to see live and up close and in person! ♥ Also he was wearing a deliciously tight white ribbed tank top under an open pearl-buttoned, rosebud-bedecked shirt that appeared to be made out of one of his Grandmother's pillowcases, similarly deliciously tight jeans, and-Z would want me to tell you-REALLY GOOD shoes. IT WORKED, pillowcase and all. Voila:
See? WORKING. HNNNGH. (Thanks to Z for the last pic!) (Also, yes, that is what Jillette wore. I feel like I should have disapproved, on the grounds that tights are not pants, but… I anti-disapproved. I'M SORRY. SHE MADE IT WORK.) (Tangentially, if you would like to see some extremely hot and better-quality Kris pics, may I recommend me_maneuver's post from the Portland show here? RRRRROWR.)
I don't know his new album all that well-I streamed it several times from his website when it first came out, thought it was adorable, but never got around to buying it-so I don't have a song-by-song breakdown, but. Some general observations:
- One of my biggest impressions from this show is how HAPPY the whole thing was. Kris is just this tiny bouncing ball of hotass PURE JOY, and many of his songs are so refreshingly cheerful, and obviously he and the band love each other SO MUCH and are having SO MUCH FUN and we all bounced and laughed and shouted along and it was all just THOROUGHLY THOROUGHLY DELIGHTFUL.
- I also really REALLY appreciate the way that Kris writes about love, in general. Whether the song is happy or angsty, I feel like they always reflect the understanding of someone who actually GETS mature, healthy relationships, which is SUCH A RARITY in music. Like "Leave You Alone"-holy shit, a song about NOT pressuring a woman (presumably) to talk about/deal with something if she's not ready! A song about GIVING SOMEONE SPACE. BUT NOT IN A PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE WAY. I am seriously boggled by this, and I LOVE IT-it's kind of like established-relationship stories, something that doesn't get a lot of play because it's not the obvious choice and doesn't push the obvious buttons, but that I absolutely adore when it's done well. It also just reinforces my conclusion that Kris and Katy have an EXEMPLARY marriage/relationship, which is a PLEASANT THOUGHT to me. And knowing that Katy was backstage listening while Kris sang songs like "Red Guitar" (and unconsciously fondled his wedding ring tattoo, nggggh)? AWWWWWWWWWW. AWWWWWWWWWWWWW. HOT POCKETS. <33333333333
- In news of taller, more single (AFAIK) people: CALE. PLEASE CALL ME. I have to admit that I have always thought Cale's function in the band was primarily… decorative? In the sense that Kris brought him along on this ride more for his friendship than for his musical abilities, and also in the sense that he is incredibly hot. I never thought he was a BAD musician or anything, but I was really surprised during this show to discover that he's actually a pretty damn good guitarist. (I think I assumed that if he was that great a guitarist, they wouldn’t have needed Andrew on the last tour? Clearly I misjudged the situation!) Of course I'm not THAT into people who play the guitar well, so, you know. *shrug* AHAHAHAHAHAHA JUST KIDDING CALE YOU AND YOUR APPARENTLY MAGIC FINGERS AND YOUR SQUINCHY GUITAR!FACE REALLY NEED TO CALL ME. Also OMG Cale and Kris are SO FREAKING CUTE, and Cale and Torres (SPEAKING OF HOT PEOPLE, SPEAKING OF HOT PEOPLE WHO ARE APPARENTLY ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL, ALL-PURPOSE RHYTHM SECTIONS) had LOTS of FANTASTIC moments as well, and Andrew was kind of stuck behind the piano so he did not get as much interaction but is nonetheless SUPER SUPER ADORABLE (and from Seattle, apparently!). Also, as Dugrival observed afterward, Torres spent a LOT of time just sort of gazing up adoringly at Kris, and everybody just SO CLEARLY enjoys each other's company and talents and AWWWWWW. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Good band! ♥ ♥ ♥
- Speaking of Cale and Torres and Kris, at one point Kris was commenting on how he appreciated being able to see the people in the back (the Tractor Tavern is not WELL-lit but it is semi-evenly lit), and that he appreciated that there WERE people in the back, aww. (He also commented earlier on how many guys were there, which was something I noticed, too-I'd say the audience was maybe 15-20% dudes? Kris was like, "I'm not really sure why you're here, but I'm glad you are." HEE. Kris Allen, destined to live the life of the American Idol Covered In Ladies. He and Dave should start a support group!) And then he started talking about the "makeout corner," which is this little kind of open-sided room with benches between the bar area and the floor area. "C'mon," he said as we laughed. "That's totally a makeout corner. I might be going there later, we'll see." (PLZ SEND PICS.) Then Cale said something I didn't catch, and Kris laughs and goes, "Not with Torres. That's what Cale said-'not with Torres'." HEEEEEEE. (PLZ SEND PICS.) (It was around this point where I started wanting Kris/Katy/Cale fic about how they like to gather single strays into the bounty of their perfect marriage. IDEK, but WOULD READ.) This then led into "Leave You Alone," namely, "This is a song about a makeout gone bad… probably." HEEEEEEEEEE.
- Z and I have talked various times before about musicians who are good at playing their instruments, but who should also have their instruments taken away from them periodically because VERY INTERESTING THINGS happen when they do (exhibit A: Brendon Urie). We've also talked before about Kris being one of those people, and this show proved that ABSOLUTELY TRUE. Kris was obviously frustrated that he couldn't play, poor bb (he was in a car accident recently and broke his wrist)-and very grateful to the band for helping him out, awww-but no guitar/piano meant a LOT of jumping and dorky-hot dancing and a lot a lot a LOT of VERY DISTRACTING hip movements. Holy shit. It also helped underscore-in many very fine ways-that Kris has an excellent sense of rhythm, which I think is one of the best things about his songs; they often have an undeniable bouncy sort of beat and Kris just embraces that with his WHOLE BODY, but especially his hips. YES PLEASE. I EMBRACE THIS AS WELL.
- "Alright With Me" is far and away my favorite song of Kris', and I listen to it ALL THE TIME, so that was my "if they play this, I'll go home happy" song for the night, and when they broke into it, it was EVERY BIT as fantastic as I'd hoped. It is near-impossible to remain in a bad mood (or remain still) while listening to that song, at least for me! Unfortunately, a couple of women rudely shoved their way in front of us at this point-"it's my favorite song!" one of them told me as she hip-checked me, OH WELL OKAY THEN, carry on!-and that was annoying, but I was not about to let it ruin anything for me. (It DID create an awkward situation a couple of songs later when one of the women shouted at Kris that it was her friend's birthday [which her similarly shovetastic friend denied, and honestly, I was pretty skeptical, considering], so he very sweetly sang happy birthday to her, and asked us all to sing along, and so I'm standing there DIRECTLY BEHIND these women that I am VERY ANNOYED AT but also KRIS WANTS ME TO SING and I am in FULL VIEW of his adorable, sincere, sexy gaze, so what could I do? Hee.). ANYWAY. It was pretty freaking amazing, rudeness notwithstanding, and "I'm a little prawn, stealin' your gay": STILL FUNNY. <3333333
- The "Faith" cover was EPICCCC, and then right into "We Are Young"? AMAAAAAAAZING. It was basically a five-minute festival of things I never knew I needed in my life but it turns out I TOTALLY DID. A++++ Kris also informed us afterward that "I get very ADD when I'm doing covers, so there are usually like three songs in them." HEE.
- The request song of the night was Radiohead's "High and Dry," and they did a great job with it, though because that song will forever make me think of epic Dave/Neal beauty/angst/aaaaaaagh FEELINGS, it was a little distracting. (I just rewatched this last night when I was checking the link and OH MY GOD how can I still have feelings about this, all this time later? SNIFFLE.) However, Kris' banter leading into it was hilarious-he was like, "So every night we ask for requests…" and IMMEDIATELY a bunch of people started shouting stuff out and Kris was like-cheerfully, but also making it clear that he meant it-"BEFORE the show! We ask for requests BEFORE the show! So shut up! I have the microphone, you don't have the microphone." HEEEEEEE. So BOSSY, Kristopher! I LIKE IT. He then explained that they ask BEFORE the show so that they have time to get something together, which he said usually takes about 20 minutes. Well THAT IS ATTRACTIVE. That is a pretty badass thing to do, just whip something new together every night-well-played, fellas!
- He also brought Jillette (!!!) out to duet with him at one point, and somehow he ended up jokingly offering her phone number to the crowd at large (YES PLEASE) and she goes, "You sound like my parents!" (HEE) and he was like, "Aww, they're just trying to hook you up!" and then he put his hand on her back and was like, "No, no, you don't need to be hooked up." AWWWWWWWW. IT WAS REALLY CUTE. This must be an INTERESTING tour for her, on the road with all these boys, though if her Instagram account is any indication, they have been having a LOT of fun. YAY!
- "Monster" was another set highlight for me-much as it makes me LOL in concept (yes, Kris, you're such a monster! *pats him on the head*), it's a really cool song, especially acoustic, all kind of sly and moody, with the slinky guitar. It's also an awesome balance to the general cheer of the rest of the set-which I LOVED, like I said, but levels are good!-and let each instrument really shine, including Kris' voice. Very very cool.
- I have not listened to "Live Like We're Dying" in a LONG TIME, and it was SO FUN to hear it again. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. It was a great set-ender, actually, and Kris is so earnest and COMPLETELY uninhibited that it makes it VERY EASY to feel the same way, which is a pretty fabulous way to feel-I often feel at least a little bit self-conscious at shows, for one reason or another, but this one was just pure joy all the way through. My cheeks were ACHING from smiling/giggling/laughing before they were even halfway through the set. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
- And then Kris came out and gave a very heartfelt speech in support of the charity he's currently working with, and I REALLY REALLY love that about him, that he's so consistently invested in charitable causes. He just appears to be such a STELLAR HUMAN BEING and I appreciate that SO MUCH.
- They encored with a great a capella rendition of Garth Brooks' "The River" (I feel like Kris made some snarky joke about the band when they came back out-something about not needing them, or something-but I can't remember the exact way it went); Torres' singing face is the CUTEST THING. AND ALSO HOT. And then. SEVEN NATION ARMY. Guys, I'm already on board! YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK THIS HARD. <333333 It was actually REALLY INTERESTING to hear this in a completely different context, with a completely different vibe, after having seen Jack White (and the Peacocks) do this twice, fairly recently-I mean, that song is ALWAYS going to be very different when it's acoustic, so they really put their own spin on it, but they also still did the "ohhhh-oh-OH-oh-oh-ohhhhh-ohhh" singalong part, AS YOU DO, and Cale rocked the guitar parts, and it was pretty damn awesome, all things considered.
- And then AND THEN. "SHUT THAT DOOR." YOU GUYS. I LOVE THIS SONG A LOT. Just a fucking BARN-BURNER, all rockabilly-bluesy and dirty-earnest in Kris' own uniquely Kris way, and I NEVER WANTED IT TO END. Also Kris was going around shaking/touching hands and I usually kind of hang back in those situations because I REALLY don’t to be creepy, but he reached out with his brace-hand to fist-bump Z and then he reached out to ME and LOOKED RIGHT AT MY GOOFILY SMILING FACE HI KRIS I LOVE YOU OKAY I WILL TOUCH YOUR TINY PERFECT HAND. So I did. And have spent the entire week since worrying that in my flailiness I touched him TOO HARD and maybe I HURT HIS INJURED WRIST and OMG I BROKE KRIS ALLEN. (Clearly I did not. Yet I am STILL vaguely worried about it. *facepalm*)
Afterward, we hung around for a bit (while the band broke down their own gear, awww! I love that!) and debated talking to various people; Z wanted to talk to their (adorable) tour manager, but could not figure out an appropriate way to say "PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO HAVE YOUR LIFE" (in a general sense, not about managing Kris specifically), and I briefly considered talking to Cale, but could not figure out an appropriate way to say "you're a much better guitarist than I gave you credit for" and/or "here is my phone number, let's do this." (I should've talked to him about P90X! DAMMIT. OPPORTUNITY WASTED. Hee.) We DID go talk to/flail at Jillette, and she was very sweet, and I bought things that I did not need, because I love her and I want her to have my money. (Obviously I was going to buy her EP, but you got the EP download free with any purchase, so I bought a small set of magnets, and a [pre-]signed notebook. It turns out the inscription says "You're not an alien." AWWWWWWW. ♥ )
And then we went out for nachos and more beer, and debriefed the show, and talked about baseball, and it was the PERFECT way to end the evening. *hearts Z and Dugrival*
So. YOU WERE WORTH THE WAIT, KRIS. COME BACK SOON. <333333
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