(no subject)
Finally, I'm going to do a full entry on The Swell Season. And, what's nice about this is I've actually thought it out and all that I'll be missing is the order of the songs, because I don't know the full order. =/ But, everything else is good (I think managed to remember every song that they did play).
Opening Act: Rachel Yamagata. I hadn't looked beforehand at who it was supposed to be. But, unlike a surprisingly large number of people, my friend & I made it to the concert before it began, so while we were enjoying Yamagata assholes kept walking in late like it was no big deal. To me it was; unless there were extenuating circumstances it was just plain rude. But she was very good, especially on Be Be Your Love and The Reason Why.
Now for the main act:
Hansard (who was wearing a hilariously adorable orange hat that had green on the top, it looked like a pumpkin) & Irglova walked onto the stage and at down in the center. They played Fallen From the Sky, which sounded amazing, and then stood up and Irglova went to the piano and Hansard took off his hate and the rest of the band came on the stage.
I have no clue the order of the rest of the songs. I remember that Hansard had a period in the middle of the show where he performed songs all by his lonesome, and then he left the stage and the violinist, Colm Mac Con Iomaire played an Irish folk song. Other than that, I don't remember much. I'm also not certain if I remembered every song they played, but I think I got most of them.
Low Rising: I think this was the third song they played. It was AMAZING. It's one of my favorite tracks on Strict Joy and it was just..so much better than I could have imagined. And Glen was explaining that it's a song about being at a low place in life, but it's slowly getting better. I just love that their songs have real meaning behind them.
The Moon: I'm pretty certain this was second. They made a joke about New Moon with it, at which some girl in the audience yelled out that Glen was way cooler than Edward Cullen. And normally I hate when people yell out shit, but this was 100% acceptable. Because I hate twatlight & ~Edward~. He can just die forever. But anyway, that was a song I hadn't heard before, and I don't entirely remember it. It's one I need to go back and listen to. Also, that was a point where a whole bunch of assholes people decided to enter the theater late.
In These Arms: As Glen put it, it's about someone who's very book smart and educated, but he has realized he's made a mistake and let someone amazing, his one love, slip away. This was one of the songs that the audience was encouraged to sing part of: Maybe I was born to hold you in these arms. Which brought me to tears, and that happened a lot of times that night. There's just something amazing about being in a room filled with people of all different backgrounds and ages and beliefs and values, and they all come together to sing something together. Everything else is forgotten about in that moment, it's just the music that's left.
Fantasy Man: By far my favorite song on Strict Joy. I love the lyrics, and the idea of the mountain & diamonds. It's just so beautiful and fragile and yet tough at the same time. Marketa was very different from Glen when she was central figure on the stage. She's more reserved than he is, and I thought that was very down to earth. Not that he isn't, but it was just a different manner of being so. Anyway, she talked about how there is light & shadow in everyone, and we sometimes are blinded by that light and don't see their shadows, their faults. She mentioned that a fall from a great place when you see that shadow can be much more devastating than if you're only falling from a place where you're "just okay".
At one point Glen had his solo session. And that's where a good chunk of my crying time took place. Because he played one of my absolute favorites, Say It To Me Now. He told a story about how when they played in Chicago he was in an elevator with a little old woman who was wearing a fabulous blue coat. He complimented her on it and they talked a little bit. She said that for two years she'd just sat in her pajamas in her apartment, eating cereal, and rarely went out. But one day she was walking by a store and she saw the coat in the window and decided it was too beautiful to pass up. She said that's the moment where she decided to not just exist, but to live. So she bought it and she started living her life. As they walked out of the hotel to get cabs she told him that she'd had a son and that he shouldn't have gone into work "that morning". He'd worked at the WTC, but was supposed to not go in that day, but he wanted to get his stuff from the office. She thought about calling him the night before, something felt off, but she didn't. She woke up the next morning and was about to call him, to tell him that she didn't think it was a good idea, she felt bad about it, but by then it was too late. So she told Glen that it is incredibly important to speak about whatever's in the back of your mind, to get it off your chest; you never know how important it may be. He then said that was the best advice he'd received, and that it'd come at the perfect time because he'd been thinking about telling people some things but just wasn't certain, but that conversation was a catalyst and he did and it helped him. And I was crying by the end of his story and then he stepped forward onto the stage, away from the mike, unplugged his guitar, and played Say It To Me Now. It was so beautiful. And I, of course, cried harder. It was so raw, and had so much meaning behind it. I also got my favorite picture from the night of part of it.
Glen also played Leave, which is also a big tearjerker for me. And god, his ability to just go and not take a breath for ages is fascinating and slightly mesmerizing. Because he also played a cover of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and it was SO MIND BLOWING. I'll post a youtube vid of him playing it at a different venue because I just can't do it justice. I mean, it's one of those songs that you can feel every bit of it in your bones. Every single bit.
The Verb, The Rain, and Feeling the Pull were also played.
For High Horses Glen had us sing the backing parts, which in the actual song are instrumental, but it was a lot of fun. We also got to sing the backing vocals on Paper Cup, which actually involves a choir. That too, was a beautiful moment.
For the encore they played Falling Slowly first. And god. I lose it every time I hear that song. There's no stopping it. And they had everyone stand up and sing along with it. I couldn't, my voice was too shaky. I'd get in a line and then be too overwhelmed by the moment. But it was gorgeous and I loved it so much. ♥
They also played When Your Mind's Made Up (and had us sing that one too), and If You Want Me.
They closed by playing the Red Chord, and then using that to lead into Parting Glass. Glen took a moment to wish peace and health to the remaining Clancy brother in Ireland, whose health is failing. And then He had us all joing in for Parting Glass. And he told us to sing it from the bottom of our hearts; to mean every bit of it. It didn't matter if we sang well, what mattered was that our hearts were 100% in it. It was such a genuine, beautiful moment. I have such great respect for this band. They're all humble and come off as people who care and don't just make music to make it. They make it for themselves and for their fans, and it shows.
Opening Act: Rachel Yamagata. I hadn't looked beforehand at who it was supposed to be. But, unlike a surprisingly large number of people, my friend & I made it to the concert before it began, so while we were enjoying Yamagata assholes kept walking in late like it was no big deal. To me it was; unless there were extenuating circumstances it was just plain rude. But she was very good, especially on Be Be Your Love and The Reason Why.
Click to viewNow for the main act:
Hansard (who was wearing a hilariously adorable orange hat that had green on the top, it looked like a pumpkin) & Irglova walked onto the stage and at down in the center. They played Fallen From the Sky, which sounded amazing, and then stood up and Irglova went to the piano and Hansard took off his hate and the rest of the band came on the stage.
I have no clue the order of the rest of the songs. I remember that Hansard had a period in the middle of the show where he performed songs all by his lonesome, and then he left the stage and the violinist, Colm Mac Con Iomaire played an Irish folk song. Other than that, I don't remember much. I'm also not certain if I remembered every song they played, but I think I got most of them.
Low Rising: I think this was the third song they played. It was AMAZING. It's one of my favorite tracks on Strict Joy and it was just..so much better than I could have imagined. And Glen was explaining that it's a song about being at a low place in life, but it's slowly getting better. I just love that their songs have real meaning behind them.
The Moon: I'm pretty certain this was second. They made a joke about New Moon with it, at which some girl in the audience yelled out that Glen was way cooler than Edward Cullen. And normally I hate when people yell out shit, but this was 100% acceptable. Because I hate twatlight & ~Edward~. He can just die forever. But anyway, that was a song I hadn't heard before, and I don't entirely remember it. It's one I need to go back and listen to. Also, that was a point where a whole bunch of assholes people decided to enter the theater late.
In These Arms: As Glen put it, it's about someone who's very book smart and educated, but he has realized he's made a mistake and let someone amazing, his one love, slip away. This was one of the songs that the audience was encouraged to sing part of: Maybe I was born to hold you in these arms. Which brought me to tears, and that happened a lot of times that night. There's just something amazing about being in a room filled with people of all different backgrounds and ages and beliefs and values, and they all come together to sing something together. Everything else is forgotten about in that moment, it's just the music that's left.
Fantasy Man: By far my favorite song on Strict Joy. I love the lyrics, and the idea of the mountain & diamonds. It's just so beautiful and fragile and yet tough at the same time. Marketa was very different from Glen when she was central figure on the stage. She's more reserved than he is, and I thought that was very down to earth. Not that he isn't, but it was just a different manner of being so. Anyway, she talked about how there is light & shadow in everyone, and we sometimes are blinded by that light and don't see their shadows, their faults. She mentioned that a fall from a great place when you see that shadow can be much more devastating than if you're only falling from a place where you're "just okay".
At one point Glen had his solo session. And that's where a good chunk of my crying time took place. Because he played one of my absolute favorites, Say It To Me Now. He told a story about how when they played in Chicago he was in an elevator with a little old woman who was wearing a fabulous blue coat. He complimented her on it and they talked a little bit. She said that for two years she'd just sat in her pajamas in her apartment, eating cereal, and rarely went out. But one day she was walking by a store and she saw the coat in the window and decided it was too beautiful to pass up. She said that's the moment where she decided to not just exist, but to live. So she bought it and she started living her life. As they walked out of the hotel to get cabs she told him that she'd had a son and that he shouldn't have gone into work "that morning". He'd worked at the WTC, but was supposed to not go in that day, but he wanted to get his stuff from the office. She thought about calling him the night before, something felt off, but she didn't. She woke up the next morning and was about to call him, to tell him that she didn't think it was a good idea, she felt bad about it, but by then it was too late. So she told Glen that it is incredibly important to speak about whatever's in the back of your mind, to get it off your chest; you never know how important it may be. He then said that was the best advice he'd received, and that it'd come at the perfect time because he'd been thinking about telling people some things but just wasn't certain, but that conversation was a catalyst and he did and it helped him. And I was crying by the end of his story and then he stepped forward onto the stage, away from the mike, unplugged his guitar, and played Say It To Me Now. It was so beautiful. And I, of course, cried harder. It was so raw, and had so much meaning behind it. I also got my favorite picture from the night of part of it.
Glen also played Leave, which is also a big tearjerker for me. And god, his ability to just go and not take a breath for ages is fascinating and slightly mesmerizing. Because he also played a cover of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and it was SO MIND BLOWING. I'll post a youtube vid of him playing it at a different venue because I just can't do it justice. I mean, it's one of those songs that you can feel every bit of it in your bones. Every single bit.
The Verb, The Rain, and Feeling the Pull were also played.
For High Horses Glen had us sing the backing parts, which in the actual song are instrumental, but it was a lot of fun. We also got to sing the backing vocals on Paper Cup, which actually involves a choir. That too, was a beautiful moment.
For the encore they played Falling Slowly first. And god. I lose it every time I hear that song. There's no stopping it. And they had everyone stand up and sing along with it. I couldn't, my voice was too shaky. I'd get in a line and then be too overwhelmed by the moment. But it was gorgeous and I loved it so much. ♥
They also played When Your Mind's Made Up (and had us sing that one too), and If You Want Me.
They closed by playing the Red Chord, and then using that to lead into Parting Glass. Glen took a moment to wish peace and health to the remaining Clancy brother in Ireland, whose health is failing. And then He had us all joing in for Parting Glass. And he told us to sing it from the bottom of our hearts; to mean every bit of it. It didn't matter if we sang well, what mattered was that our hearts were 100% in it. It was such a genuine, beautiful moment. I have such great respect for this band. They're all humble and come off as people who care and don't just make music to make it. They make it for themselves and for their fans, and it shows.