Art, and accidental concert-going
Oct. 3rd, 2009 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseLast night was First Friday, and our good friends Donna and Rick had a very cool show at one of the local art galleries. Brian and Andy and I had been planning to check it out, but due to various circumstances we didn't get there until the artists were about to leave. But at least we got to give them a hug and tell them how wonderful the show was (which it really is - anyone in town, I recommend stopping by The Canvas this month and checking it out).
While we were perusing their artwork, we could help but notice a band setting up in the corner for a show. I'd heard their name (One Aisle Over) but had never seen them perform, and I must say I'm happy we caught them. It was an acoustic performance, so their drummer wasn't included, and in that particular vein they reminded me quite a bit of Nickel Creek in their Why Should the Fire Die? album - soulful folk-rock harmonics that were lovely and melodic with some catchy hooks. Excellent stuff, and even more importantly, excellent musicianship - and their singer could actually sing. (I know it's elitist of me, but ever since I finally got around to taking some lessons myself, it tends to bug me when a singer can't, y'know, sing.) Additionally, I particularly liked the way they incorporated a saxophone player into their music. Usually you think of a sax as a replacement for a singer - it's a very bold, distinctive instrument - but they used theirs more for mood-setting during instrumental breaks, as well almost like a second vocalist in a few places, harmonizing with the lead vocals. It was very striking.
My favorite song was called "Carry-On Suitcase", which was inspired by the singer's experiences being trapped in Seattle with her husband over the snowstorms last December, when there were no hotel rooms anywhere and whole mountain ranges of luggage piled together at baggage claim and they ended up living out of a carry-on suitcase for five days, not knowing if they were going to make it home in time for Christmas or not. It was an oddly sweet reflection on how much of our identity we invest in our possessions and our plans, and what it feels like when all of that goes away. If I ever get around to learning the guitar and doing some performing of my own, I may have to ask their permission to do a cover version.
I went ahead and bought a copy of their (currently) lone album, a live recording of a concert they'd given at the local university, because I had $10 on me and I definitely liked the music $10 worth. It doesn't have "Carry-On Suitcase" on it, unfortunately, but they were talking about how they were on their way down to Portland to record their first real album, so I'm going to hope that it'll be on that one. But I'll buy a copy, regardless - the concert was good stuff, and it's always so fun when you discover nifty new things completely accidentally like that.
While we were perusing their artwork, we could help but notice a band setting up in the corner for a show. I'd heard their name (One Aisle Over) but had never seen them perform, and I must say I'm happy we caught them. It was an acoustic performance, so their drummer wasn't included, and in that particular vein they reminded me quite a bit of Nickel Creek in their Why Should the Fire Die? album - soulful folk-rock harmonics that were lovely and melodic with some catchy hooks. Excellent stuff, and even more importantly, excellent musicianship - and their singer could actually sing. (I know it's elitist of me, but ever since I finally got around to taking some lessons myself, it tends to bug me when a singer can't, y'know, sing.) Additionally, I particularly liked the way they incorporated a saxophone player into their music. Usually you think of a sax as a replacement for a singer - it's a very bold, distinctive instrument - but they used theirs more for mood-setting during instrumental breaks, as well almost like a second vocalist in a few places, harmonizing with the lead vocals. It was very striking.
My favorite song was called "Carry-On Suitcase", which was inspired by the singer's experiences being trapped in Seattle with her husband over the snowstorms last December, when there were no hotel rooms anywhere and whole mountain ranges of luggage piled together at baggage claim and they ended up living out of a carry-on suitcase for five days, not knowing if they were going to make it home in time for Christmas or not. It was an oddly sweet reflection on how much of our identity we invest in our possessions and our plans, and what it feels like when all of that goes away. If I ever get around to learning the guitar and doing some performing of my own, I may have to ask their permission to do a cover version.
I went ahead and bought a copy of their (currently) lone album, a live recording of a concert they'd given at the local university, because I had $10 on me and I definitely liked the music $10 worth. It doesn't have "Carry-On Suitcase" on it, unfortunately, but they were talking about how they were on their way down to Portland to record their first real album, so I'm going to hope that it'll be on that one. But I'll buy a copy, regardless - the concert was good stuff, and it's always so fun when you discover nifty new things completely accidentally like that.
