Sarah McLachlan and Friends played the first of two nights at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville the other evening. Sarah’s Friends consist of Melissa McClelland (guitar, vocals), Butterfly Boucher (bass, vocals), Peter Stroud (guitar, vocals), Vince Jones (keys, vocals), Jason Orme (guitar, vocals) and Curt Bisquera (drums, percussion).
Fans attend concerts because they are searching for that transcendent musical moment. They are searching for that deep musical connection that only a live performance can provide. This surreal, elusive musical moment doesn’t happen often; it doesn’t happen at every show and it most definitely doesn’t happen with just any artist. By my count there were at least two such moments at Benaroya Hall as one Mr. Eddie Vedder kicked off his two night Seattle stand. While over the years we have come to expect great things from Eddie, the opening act started the night off right by blowing everyone away with just his voice and acoustic guitar.
Academy Award-winning singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, star of the movie Once, demanded attention from the audience with his strong, emotional vocals and masterful guitar work. The audience was riveted from the beginning and listened in awe. Hansard comes across as a harder-edged Cat Stevens or Van Morrison. If the audience didn’t hear the similarity, Hansard drove the connection home with a surreal cover of “Astral Weeks,” the first of the night’s transcendent moments. At a point towards the end of the song Hansard was strumming his guitar so fast everything became a blur. The audience couldn’t believe what they were seeing and hearing. The crowd erupted in a standing ovation. Hansard’s set was short, powerful and to the point.
Eddie Vedder
I caught Curtains For You performing on the California Stage at West Seattle Summer Fest – this was right after I had a steak sandwich and before I enjoyed a slice of cherry pie, plus I resisted purchasing creatively designed gloves and adorable garden gnomes – and the quintet totally charmed the crowd. Even dogs, taken to the fest by enthusiastic owners, chilled along on a perfect afternoon. Curtains For You next play the Tractor Tavern with Brent Amaker and the Rodeo and Massy Ferguson for a Spark & Shine Records showcase on Saturday, July 30th.
Gillian Welch accompanied by longtime musical partner, guitarist Dave Rawlings, played to a packed audience at the Moore Theater in support of her new album, The Harrow & The Harvest. Not surprisingly, as I looked through the crowd, I saw a number of familiar faces from the Tractor Tavern as well as local performers there to hear Gillian.
“Step one, we can have lots of fun/Step two, there’s so much we can do,” sing New Kids on the Block in their classic, “Step by Step.” The song is catchy and the lyrics are fun, and you don’t enjoy New Kids on the Block? then you’re missing seriously excellent pop. Likewise with Backstreet Boys, a band that released 4 quite great CDs in the 2000s well worth checking out if you stopped listening at 1999’s Millennium, and I’m not sure why you would have done that. I feel like New Kids on the Block’s Jordan Knight’s solo career is rightfully successful but should be so, so much bigger. I’m also very interested in this solo material Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter is working on. Can you believe Carter is still only 31? Together the bands are touring under the name NKOTBSB, and they sang and danced in Tacoma on Friday night. The only band members missing on this tour are New Kids on the Block’s Jamie Kelly and Mark Wahlberg plus Kevin Richardson of Backstreet Boys. Otherwise they are all there, and looking good. An early happy birthday to me comes courtesy of Brittney Bush Bollay‘s photos of the guys and openers, Midnight Red and Matthew Morrison.
