The Swell Season
I know you’ve seen the movie Once and I’m sure you loved it as much as I did. I convinced many a friend of the need to watch it. One said friend then convinced me to go see The Swell Season with her to listen to the songs live. I have to admit, I kind of just went because she wanted to, and the excitement about the film (and my addiction to the soundtrack) had definitely dwindled between the point months ago when I bought the ticket and last Saturday when we went to see the show.
That said, their performance is one of the best concerts I’ve been to in a long time. It was at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House here in Denver, a gorgeous gorgeous theater with such perfect sound that when Glen Hansard first took the stage he stepped in front of the mic and monitors, said, “Can you hear me up there? I hear they do opera here and figured, what the hell” and then proceeded to perform the first song solo acoustic right there, sans mic. It was perfection.
I could go through song by song about how the show was really good. But I just want to instead say that I think an ideal show for me, no matter what kind of music, is one where you feel like the artist has successfully created a specific mood and atmosphere. You feel like they’re really tuned in to something. This show had such an intimacy to it that, even though I was in a balcony probably 100 feet away from the stage, I felt I was the only one there sitting in a living room listening to friends play songs.
Instead of further describing this, go here and listen to the entire concert from when they were in DC at the 9:30 and tell me you don’t just become totally enraptured listening to Glen’s story about how “Drown Out” got made or by the clarity of Marketa’s voice or that you don’t get all goosebumpy listening to “Star Star” and their cover of “Into the Mystic” or just get ecstatically happy listening to their second encore covering “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.”
Raise a Toast to Secrecy or Posting at Work Without Being Found Out
There are better things to do when you’re supposed to be doing other things. But I’m not sure what those things are.
I’ve only heard Elliott Smith’s version of his own song as a live version. I’m not sure if there is a studio version, but I’ll take these versions and be happy because I can hear Elliott in Mary Lou’s voice. Apparently he didn’t think the song was good enough so she took it off his hands. Lucky girl. A full Mary Lou Lord post will come one day, but until then enjoy her studio version and these two live takes.
Mary Lou Lord – I Figured You Out (studio)
Mary Lou Lord – I Figured You Out (live with intro)
Elliott Smith - I Figured You Out
A New America or Ways to Not Die
Recently I was reading this book:
My daughters separately asked me what this book was about. They both know who Barack Obama is and so I told them that it was basically about how he thinks he can make America better. My youngest volunteered to tell me how to make America better and her plan included the following:
- Don’t litter.
- Save water.
- Recycle.
- Be nice to people.
My oldest daughter had a little different way of looking at things. She’s obsessed with things that scare her and currently her biggest fear is a tornado. Her “New Deal” included:
- Make houses tornado proof.
That’s about it. She just wanted to make sure catastrophic events didn’t happen.
As for me, I say: Let’s start by not littering so that tornadoes don’t have garbage in them.
Willy Mason – The Message
