Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band

Concerts almost always leave me uplifted for days. It doesn't matter how tired I am, in this case still recovering from jet lag, going to see a live show will always leave me feeling rejuvenated and happy.

It's been two days since Dan and I went to the Henry Fonda Theater to see Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band. I am still completely elated.

Josh Ritter is the best song writer that I've ever come across. I discovered him a few years ago, when he co-headlined with my favorite band, the Old 97's. As much as I love the Old 97's, Ritter completely blew me away. In fact, this month, I had to pick between seeing Ritter or Rhett Miller (97's front man), and Ritter won. He doesn't tour in Los Angeles frequently and I couldn't pass up seeing him live.

The show was at my favorite venue, the Henry Fonda in Hollywood. It's a smallish venue that is well run and has a cool vibe. I'm always excited when a band that I love books a show at the Fonda.

Inside of the Fonda

My ticket!

The marquee.

The openers were a fantastic Brooklyn based band called Lake Street Dive. They had a unique soulful sound. The lead singer has an extremely powerful and unexpected voice. The bass player was a stand out and they use a trumpet in a few songs. Cool right? They're unique and worth checking out. It's always exciting when the openers are a great discovery, plus they really got the crowd pumped for Ritter.

We had floor tickets and stood near the mixing boards. I've never had floor tickets at the Fonda and it was a great experience. My feet may have hurt from standing, but it was a good trade-off to be in the mix with the crowd. It's a different energy level. Although the balcony has a nice sitting area, it just feels like a superior concert experience to be on the floor.

Dan stole a look at the set list on the mixer and we discovered that Ritter was opening with Idaho. This was a surprise. I'm so used to concerts starting with a power house song, that it was something different to see Ritter start the show, alone on stage with his guitar, playing a a quiet song.

It turned out to be the perfect way to open his set. Ritter's latest album, The Beast in its Tracks, is his most personal, written during his painful divorce. Ritter's set list, both old and new songs, was comprised of those songs that are his most reflective and emotive. The concert had many quiet moments, where the audience was completely silent in rapt attention. At one point, Ritter sang an entire song without amplification. I've only seen a few other acts do this in concert and it feels like such a personal moment. It's these special moments that I treasure most about going to concerts.

When we entered the venue, we were given a blank paper airplane and asked to write our burdens on it. I kept it simple and wrote down my two current troubles, jet lag and bank issues. If this mortgage refinance doesn't get settled soon, I'll go crazy!!!! Dan wrote down the not so subtle hint, "No Dog".

Towards the end of the concert, actor Rainn Wilson came on stage to explain the airplanes. The airplane idea was put together by Wilson's company, Soul Pancake. We were to release our burdens to tie in with Ritter's album theme.

Rainn Wilson explaining the airplanes and Soul Pancake.

My airplane.

It was unexpectedly cool to see all of the airplanes and streamers flying in the air as Ritter started to play "Good Man", one of my favorite songs. Dan took a video of it.

Admittedly, there were three songs that I really wish had been included in the set- Girl in the War, Change of Time and Monster Ballads. I was disappointed. However, it was okay, because Ritter played for two solid hours and all of his songs are so, so good. He has so much wonderful material, that I can't imagine the task of putting together a set list. Even though some of my favorites didn't make the cut, I think the set was perfect for the tone of the tour.

Not only is Ritter such a masterful writer and musician, but he puts on a hell of a live show. He doesn't go in for big theatrics, it's a technically simple show. What makes Ritter stand out, is he always looks so joyful. He loves what he's doing and it shows. He sings with raw emotion and his ever present smile is contagious.

Final bow

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band

The new album is amazing. Ritter mentioned that when he started writing the songs, he was in an angry state of mind. Instead of rushing to release them, he took extra time for much needed perspective and reworked them, instead of leaving them marred with bitterness. The album is deeply reflective, the songs coming from a place of hard lessons learned and personal growth. Many of the lyrics are alternately sad and beautiful and ultimately a reminder that things will always get better. Ritter knows how to state something perfectly, he is a poet and storyteller. If you have not bought the new album, get it now!!!

Concert review- Old 97's at the El Rey

his is the first time in the last several years that I have only been able to attend one concert on the Old 97's tour stop. Usually, they play more than one local show and I attend them all. I don't mind driving all over Southern California to catch them. Sadly, my new job prevented me from attending the Friday night show ( One that included special guest Exene Cervenka). I also nearly missed part of Rhett's opening set as we were running late to the show on Saturday night. Luckily we walked in about a minute before he took stage and managed to get drinks and a great spot. The curse was lifted!

Rhett played a short opening set, maybe six or seven songs. He started the set with a song that I absolutely love, Lost Without You, off of his latest album, The Dreamer. I loved the last show with Rhett and the Serial Lady Killers, but it was nice just to have him and the guitar up for a few songs. He also played a song that I have never heard and had been pitched to be part of the Too Far To Care album. I wish that I could remember the name of it and will need to do some research to figure it out.

After Rhett's set, we had a longer opening set by a Nashville band called Those Darlins. They frequently tour with the Old 97's, but this was the first time that I had seen them perform. I have been introduced to many fantastic bands via Old 97's shows and was very excited to see Those Darlins. I listened to some of their songs on Youtube prior to the show and had a mixed reaction. Some of their songs have great nuanced lyrics and are catchy. In particular, I liked Screws Get Loose and Be Your Bro. Be Your Bro is an especially great song, a hilarious/edgy take on why men and women sometimes can't just be friends. I liked the studio versions of the songs, but I didn't care for the band live. It was just loud and difficult to discern the clever lyrics. I felt like this band was potentially better than what I saw at the El Rey. If my only exposure to them had been at this show, I wouldn't have been interested in them. They had a really long opening set that felt like it would never end. It only built the anticipation for the Old 97's!

Waiting...

Old 97's are my favorite band, so this is going to be a glowing review. I love them and they never put on a bad show. The first half of the concert was the Too Far to Care album in its entirety, which means kicking off the concert with Timebomb. Timebomb is traditionally the song that they use to close the show, last song of the encore. Myself and I am sure, every hard core fan in the audience was wondering what on earth they play to close the show. Well, they did Timebomb, again. Timebomb twice in the same night = awesome! The Too Far To Care album is one of my favorites and it really makes for a great set. It was the first time I've heard Salome done live, great stuff. They also played maybe an additional fifteen songs that are fan favorites. I know it's popular and that they often play it, but I was happy to hear Doreen, which is my go to song for singing along as loud as I can when driving on the freeway.

Here is a shot of the band courtesy of Dan. I was so engrossed in the show, that I couldn't be bothered to take pictures.

A few thoughts on the venue. This was the first time that I had visited the El Rey for a concert. Many years ago, I used to attend the monthly Club Make-up at the El Rey, which was a lot of fun and much missed. I think that this venue works well for concerts. The parking was easy, ten dollars in a structure about a block away. When I used to come for the club, we would always have to hunt for street parking. The structure makes it easy. The venue is clean and well managed. Nice bar staff with average prices for drinks. I like that it's standing room, we had a great vantage point and security was everywhere, not that I noticed any problems. Fans were dancing, singing along and respectful to one another, just as any great concert should be!

Rhett Miller and the Lady Serial Killers

Last night, my guy (who suggested that his blog code name be "Big Ben" ) and I headed to The Troubadour for Rhett Miller's tour in support of his latest album,The Dreamer.Rhett is my absolute favorite songwriter and I always try to catch him when he is in town, usually 3-4 times a year. This is the second time that I have seen him play with the Serial Lady Killers.

For those out there not familiar with Rhett, he is the front man for the alt-country (or I prefer Cow-punk, if labels must be used) band, The Old 97's. When he is not working with the 97's, he also puts out solo albums, which tend to have more of a pop feel. Occasionally when he tours, he brings along his band for his solo career, The Serial Lady Killers. The Lady Killers are awesome musicians, but it is a tad weird to see them perform some of the 97's biggest hits. It's almost like the 97's are replaced by younger models. In particular, I missed Ken on Guitar. However, I do love seeing Angela Webster kill it on the drums. It seems so rare to have bands with female drummer kicking ass!

We arrived at the Troubadour really early to get in line, not realizing that the doors opened at eight. The ticket listed the event as starting at eight. Rhett came out and greeted the few of us waiting in line, so any annoyance was washed away as I turned into a blushing teenager. It's not only that he is so damn good looking, but he an incredibly talented writer. I go weak in the knees for talented writers!

The openers were,The Spring Standards, a band that I was entirely unfamiliar to me. They hail from Brooklyn, Great stuff. They played about eight songs, each sounding entirely different than the next. The lead singer, Heather Robb, felt like a mix between Stevie Nicks and Jenny Lewis. She had this amazing joyful energy as she sang, played drums and the keyboard (all in the same song). Rhett really gets some great openers for his shows and I always feel like I walk away with a new music discovery.

Rhett and the Serial Lady Killers hit the stage at ten. They opened with my favorite song off of the new album, Lost WIthout You. I had actually sent Rhett a request via Twitter for this song, but I guarantee that it was already on the set list! The concert was a very even mix of songs from all of Rhett's solo albums, the new album and songs recorded with the 97's. Mid set, Rhett gave the band a break and did a few solo songs, including a cover of a song from the British Band, The Wedding Present. David Gedge was said to have been in the audience. Rhett also did a somewhat soft acoustic version of Timebomb, I've never seen a show where Timebomb wasn't the closing song and this was the least hard core version I have ever heard. It was very cool!

Rhett Brought out Heather Robb to sing three songs with him, including one that she co-wrote on the new album. She also sang Fireflies as beautifully as Rachael Yamagata. Rhett did a three song encore, ending withOur Love.Another awesome concert. I left the Troubadour smiling and bouncing around to the songs stuck in my head.

A quick bit about the new album, The Dreamer. It's great, a bit more folk/country feel than his previous solo albums. This is the first album that Rhett produced himself on his new label Maximum Sunshine Records. It's a very reflective album. In particular, I love the following tracks- Lost Without You, Swimmin' In Sunshine and Picture This. As always the writing is strong with all of the tracks, a lot of word play and vague ideas that allow the lister to fill in their own story, I love that Rhett's songs tell stories and evoke emotion. His lyrics can go from being cheeky to cutting. Even a song like Picture This, which seems so sweet and sentimental, has a moment that is dark and questioning. Rhett never writes simple lyrics and that's what I love most about his writing.