"Free Until They Cut Me Down"
Natalie and I went to Milwaukee, yesterday, to see Sam Beam of Iron & Wine at the Pabst Theater. The trip was great, but, at the same time, a little depressing---we had gone up early enough to visit all of the ghosts that make me miss MKE the most: casual lunch at Alterra, scoring discounted fromage from Sendik's, spending absolutely all of my money at Atomic Records, and drinking Pabsts at the Pabst with Kate Funk and her boy while watching Sam Beam do his acoustic, woodsman, hippie/surfer, folk thing he does.
For those of you who don't know, the Pabst Theater is the marvel of concert venues. Made near the turn of the century, the nineteenth to the twentieth century, it is decorated in an elaborate opulence: part faux-Baroque, part faux-romantic, part art-deco the place is simply beautiful. A female singer from the opening band The 1900s recounted during their set how she immediately broke into tears coming onto the stage for the first time, during their soundcheck; it's that well done. It's entirely seated, but still small enough for most seats to feel pretty intimate, but best of all there's probably five bars, at least, that all sell Pabst tallboys for your enjoyment.
Sam Beam was great, although he only played a handful of songs anyone recognized; most songs he played were new, introduced with, "...well i've never played this one before, we'll see how it flies..." including a short diddy he had composed just a week earlier stuck at the airport in Dallas. Natalie cried a lot, but she later admitted that part of it was because Sammy, our old cat, actually really liked their albums. Sometimes Natalie and the cat would start howling. It was a little disturbing, so at first she's worried if somethings wrong, but the cat is all bumping noses and purring and whatnot, he just wanted to sing along too---but he was like that.
FREE UNTIL THEY CUT ME DOWN
by: Iron & Wine
When the men take me to the devil tree
I will be free and shining like before
Papa don't tell me what I should've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the wind wraps me like the reaper's hand
I will swing free until they cut me down
Papa don't tell me what I could've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the sea takes me like my mother's arms
I will breathe free as any word of God
Papa don't tell me what you would've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
For those of you who don't know, the Pabst Theater is the marvel of concert venues. Made near the turn of the century, the nineteenth to the twentieth century, it is decorated in an elaborate opulence: part faux-Baroque, part faux-romantic, part art-deco the place is simply beautiful. A female singer from the opening band The 1900s recounted during their set how she immediately broke into tears coming onto the stage for the first time, during their soundcheck; it's that well done. It's entirely seated, but still small enough for most seats to feel pretty intimate, but best of all there's probably five bars, at least, that all sell Pabst tallboys for your enjoyment.
Sam Beam was great, although he only played a handful of songs anyone recognized; most songs he played were new, introduced with, "...well i've never played this one before, we'll see how it flies..." including a short diddy he had composed just a week earlier stuck at the airport in Dallas. Natalie cried a lot, but she later admitted that part of it was because Sammy, our old cat, actually really liked their albums. Sometimes Natalie and the cat would start howling. It was a little disturbing, so at first she's worried if somethings wrong, but the cat is all bumping noses and purring and whatnot, he just wanted to sing along too---but he was like that.
FREE UNTIL THEY CUT ME DOWN
by: Iron & Wine
When the men take me to the devil tree
I will be free and shining like before
Papa don't tell me what I should've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the wind wraps me like the reaper's hand
I will swing free until they cut me down
Papa don't tell me what I could've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"
When the sea takes me like my mother's arms
I will breathe free as any word of God
Papa don't tell me what you would've done
She's the one who begged me
"Take me home"