"Just a little bird floating on a hurricane": A Josh Ritter Concert Review
Whee! Before I launch into my detailed review of last night's Josh Ritter concert, I have to mention one Josh-related item that I'd somehow forgotten to mention for the last week.
Some beautiful, glorious, amazing promo monkey at CBS used a JAMIE CULLUM song in the promo for tonight's ep of Moonlight! Yes! I squeed with delight last Friday as I heard the familiar jazz riff from "Get Your Way" under the poorly edited promo. (The music may have been great, but the promo sure wasn't) So CBS just got on my good side. Now if only they'd produce better shows.
Ok! Forward March! All sorts of historical jokes and funny hats await you behind the cut.
First, some backstory. I've been feeling really blah recently, and there was a definite moment yesterday when I sighed and thought maybe I should just skip the concert. I know, sacrilege, but I can't deny I thought it. I'm so glad I went - I think last night bolstered my mood for the next month.
I cleverly stood right behind the audio booth, which was in the middle of the floor, knowing that was the only location in the theatre I could possibly hope to see the stage from. (psst - tall people suck) The show was at the El Rey on Wilshire, and it was a nice converted concert space, except there's this cafe on the balcony and you could hear dishes clinking during the really quiet songs. Shh!
First - One of my favorite and most written about aspects of Josh's music is his grin. I love that you can listen to him sing and know that he's smiling and enjoying himself. He seems like such a nice guy - kinda shy, obviously super psyched to be in LA, and a lot like a little kid who's utterly delighted with something. He kept profusely thanking the audience for being there, and based on the cheers and clapping he recieved back, he was the one getting all the thanks. The audience was great - totally into him and his music, and I'm really glad to see his fan base growing. He had his full band with him this time around, and it made a big change from the last time I saw him (opening for Jamie Cullum at the Wiltern). Their jam sessions were awesome, and you could really tell they were a cohesive unit. As you can maybe see from my camera phone pic (I brought my real camera but it utterly refused to even turn on. Ugh) there was Josh, another guitarist, a bass player, a piano/keyboard guy, the drummer (his first time in LA), and about 4 or 5 guys in the brass section.
He opened with a bang - the super quiet and slow "Naked as a Window" led straight into the crazyloudexciting "To the Dogs or Whoever." When he played "Thin Blue Line" I was enthralled - he held the whole audience in the palm of his hand, and it was utterly silent while he sang alone on the stage under a single spotlight. And then the entire band snuck back on for the awesome driving beat that pops up at the end of that song. He sang mainly from his last two albums, and though I had a birds eye view of the setlist (go audio guy!) I couldn't get a good picture. Here's what I remember in roughly chronological order: Naked/To the Dogs, Wolves, four or five songs I can't remember, The Last Temptation of Adam, Thin Blue Flame, Rumors (booyah!), Long Distance, Empty Heart, Kathleen, Lawrence KS, River, Girl (he didn't sing this one but it was on the list) and he closed with Lillian. Before singing Empty Hearts he gave a shout out to a couple in the audience who had literally just gotten engaged - they had met at his last concert, so he proposed to her at this one. Another song on his list was "Hotel Song" but it had been crossed out. Is this a new song, or is it off one of his first albums?
He told us a great story about "Adam" - he wrote this song in the basement of his new house back in Moscow, Idaho. He said it's customary to buy a huge bag of potatoes from the Rotary Club every year (to protect your house - I'm assuming from angry Rotary Club members) and this bag of potatoes gets really interesting around the 3rd or 4th month. That's when it starts growing little arms and legs and begins to take on the attributes of people. He said it really helps when he needs to try out a new song he's been working on, because he can go into the basement and sing it for Margret Thatcher. :)
He was also very excited to have his very own tour bus, and he said he thought it came equipped with it's own aquarium until it morphed into a fireplace and he realized it was one of those calming dvds and a television set. He said the aquarium dvd is a huge hit with the band and they all have favorite fish (and eels!) and they cheer when their favorites appear. He started to bring up the fish again later in the concert but apparently thought better of it.
Before singing Lillian the entire band donned the Roman soldier hats - the one featured on the cover of his newest album. During the middle of the song, as the band continued playing, he explained that he'd done a lot of research on the Roman empire, because he wanted to know why it fell. He concluded it was due to four factors: 1) Humours (I'm assuming he's referring to the 'medical' concept) 2) A feeling of exclusivity 3) Funny hats, and 4) Lack of disco. He then led us in a rousing sing along and told us our singing tonight was going to singlehandedly save all of civilization. Oh Josh, you're just made of awesome. :)
Some beautiful, glorious, amazing promo monkey at CBS used a JAMIE CULLUM song in the promo for tonight's ep of Moonlight! Yes! I squeed with delight last Friday as I heard the familiar jazz riff from "Get Your Way" under the poorly edited promo. (The music may have been great, but the promo sure wasn't) So CBS just got on my good side. Now if only they'd produce better shows.
Ok! Forward March! All sorts of historical jokes and funny hats await you behind the cut.
First, some backstory. I've been feeling really blah recently, and there was a definite moment yesterday when I sighed and thought maybe I should just skip the concert. I know, sacrilege, but I can't deny I thought it. I'm so glad I went - I think last night bolstered my mood for the next month.
I cleverly stood right behind the audio booth, which was in the middle of the floor, knowing that was the only location in the theatre I could possibly hope to see the stage from. (psst - tall people suck) The show was at the El Rey on Wilshire, and it was a nice converted concert space, except there's this cafe on the balcony and you could hear dishes clinking during the really quiet songs. Shh!
First - One of my favorite and most written about aspects of Josh's music is his grin. I love that you can listen to him sing and know that he's smiling and enjoying himself. He seems like such a nice guy - kinda shy, obviously super psyched to be in LA, and a lot like a little kid who's utterly delighted with something. He kept profusely thanking the audience for being there, and based on the cheers and clapping he recieved back, he was the one getting all the thanks. The audience was great - totally into him and his music, and I'm really glad to see his fan base growing. He had his full band with him this time around, and it made a big change from the last time I saw him (opening for Jamie Cullum at the Wiltern). Their jam sessions were awesome, and you could really tell they were a cohesive unit. As you can maybe see from my camera phone pic (I brought my real camera but it utterly refused to even turn on. Ugh) there was Josh, another guitarist, a bass player, a piano/keyboard guy, the drummer (his first time in LA), and about 4 or 5 guys in the brass section.
He opened with a bang - the super quiet and slow "Naked as a Window" led straight into the crazyloudexciting "To the Dogs or Whoever." When he played "Thin Blue Line" I was enthralled - he held the whole audience in the palm of his hand, and it was utterly silent while he sang alone on the stage under a single spotlight. And then the entire band snuck back on for the awesome driving beat that pops up at the end of that song. He sang mainly from his last two albums, and though I had a birds eye view of the setlist (go audio guy!) I couldn't get a good picture. Here's what I remember in roughly chronological order: Naked/To the Dogs, Wolves, four or five songs I can't remember, The Last Temptation of Adam, Thin Blue Flame, Rumors (booyah!), Long Distance, Empty Heart, Kathleen, Lawrence KS, River, Girl (he didn't sing this one but it was on the list) and he closed with Lillian. Before singing Empty Hearts he gave a shout out to a couple in the audience who had literally just gotten engaged - they had met at his last concert, so he proposed to her at this one. Another song on his list was "Hotel Song" but it had been crossed out. Is this a new song, or is it off one of his first albums?
He told us a great story about "Adam" - he wrote this song in the basement of his new house back in Moscow, Idaho. He said it's customary to buy a huge bag of potatoes from the Rotary Club every year (to protect your house - I'm assuming from angry Rotary Club members) and this bag of potatoes gets really interesting around the 3rd or 4th month. That's when it starts growing little arms and legs and begins to take on the attributes of people. He said it really helps when he needs to try out a new song he's been working on, because he can go into the basement and sing it for Margret Thatcher. :)
He was also very excited to have his very own tour bus, and he said he thought it came equipped with it's own aquarium until it morphed into a fireplace and he realized it was one of those calming dvds and a television set. He said the aquarium dvd is a huge hit with the band and they all have favorite fish (and eels!) and they cheer when their favorites appear. He started to bring up the fish again later in the concert but apparently thought better of it.
Before singing Lillian the entire band donned the Roman soldier hats - the one featured on the cover of his newest album. During the middle of the song, as the band continued playing, he explained that he'd done a lot of research on the Roman empire, because he wanted to know why it fell. He concluded it was due to four factors: 1) Humours (I'm assuming he's referring to the 'medical' concept) 2) A feeling of exclusivity 3) Funny hats, and 4) Lack of disco. He then led us in a rousing sing along and told us our singing tonight was going to singlehandedly save all of civilization. Oh Josh, you're just made of awesome. :)