Capo 3rd fret

Valentine's day was spent at an excellent concert.
Usually I stalk bands online and buy tickets months in advance so I have something great to look forward to... Last year I went to far fewer concerts than usual, so 2009 will be full of make up concerts.
Someone mentioned this concert to me accidentally, in that he was invited by his ex-girlfriend, on valentine's day... to go to with her...and then I was in a very round about way invited by him, sort of, to which I politely declined, even though there wasn't really an actual invitation at all (note: if this sounds like "he's just not that into you" you're exactly right. He's not and I get it) ANYHOW, as he was speaking all I could hear was "Josh Radin concert....saturday night..." and I got very excited. I know, it all sounds very suspect, but it's fine.

I am actually on an e-mail list to let me know when Joshua Radin will be here...(I have a slight crush) and for some reason they didn't let me know. And he was here - with special guest, Meiko.
If you don't know who she is, you should look her up. She's fantastic.

SO, concert tickets were obtained. V and I went to the Clubhouse in Tempe. This was my first time there and I was very surprised to find the line wrapped around the building. The show was sold out - and the people in line were so very interesting. The fact that it was valentine's day made it a little more interesting than usual, in that there was more *love* in the air. The couple in front of us didn't detach the entire time we waited. Maybe she was cold, or maybe they just couldn't bear to be apart.
Anyway.
We found our way inside and it was small, dark, and very Whitesnake concert-fire-esque so we were sure to locate the exits upon arrival. It was all ages, so they roped off the drinking section (luckily they do that - otherwise the drunks would co-mingle with the sobers and that might be a little uncomfortable.)
First up was the backup guy for Josh Radin, Jesse Harris. Nothing special. Acoustic guitar and banjo. He was pretty alright.
Next was Meiko. She was very shy and almost seemed like she had stage fright. She sang all of her songs with her eyes closed. That is something I would do - I can't bear to sing in front of anyone except family really, which is weird because I know I have a good voice, I just can't get past the fright. She was very good and sang a few of my favorites - Boys with Girlfriends being one of them. She also sang a new song called 'Good Looking Loser' which will likely be added to the soundtrack of my life sometime soon.

I should have video soon to upload........... I liked this venue mostly because it was standing room only and you can get as close as you'd like so long as you want to push your way to the front. V was nice enough to trade places with me so I could see Meiko's hands. Her songs are simple but yet the tabs never seem to be exact. I like to see their hands to see what chords are played and where the capo is, what the strum pattern is, etc.
Sometimes I wonder what other people are thinking when they are watching the same person I am watching. I wonder if they feel the music the same way that I do. Most of the time, I don't think so. I don't think I'm anything special, but I think I can feel it in a way that others can't. No offense to the others. Like when someone goes to an art exhibit and feels what they are looking at is very personal to them - whether it be sculpted, drawn or painted - the viewer is seeing it in a very original way - feeling it in a way that others who were dragged there by their significant others cannot. You feel bad about the others who don't get it.
That's how I feel about concerts.

Josh Radin was great. He has a very calming tone - and he's charming. They were having a lot of technical difficulties with the sound - so he did some songs completely acoustic alone without a mic. I love that.

Last year I went to see the Swell Season - a couple that wrote/performed songs in a movie called "Once." Glen Hansard came out on stage with his old beat up guitar and performed a song without any backup...alone...on the stage. It was moving. The song is called 'Say it to me now'. Anyway, I like it when artists do that - they make it a point to really connect and it is so effective and appreciated.

Josh Radin sings some sappy lovey songs, but he is very sincere. He told a story of seeing a girl drive by and wishing that she would notice him sitting on his porch playing his guitar...so he wrote a pop song for her and thought that maybe if she drove past him and his song was playing on her radio, she'd notice him. I was thinking, if I drove past him anywhere and saw him playing his guitar, I'd be stopping immediately...granted the song is called vegetable car, but still.

Next up - Lisa Hannigan @ the Rhythm Room.