Last Tuesday night, I headed to Hollywood with my friend Julie, to see my favorite musician/songwriter, Josh Ritter, perform with The Royal City Band. This was my fifth time seeing Josh Ritter perform live and he never disappoints. What I love most, is how he uses concerts to play different variations of his songs. The entire vibe of a song changes dramatically when slowed down, sped up, or played with different instruments. Ritter always surprises during his concerts, including this one, where he played a new, never recorded song.

This concert tour is in support of his latest album, Sermon on the Rocks, which was recorded last year in New Orleans. He played a majority of the new album, but also pepper the set with many favorites, like Girl in the War and Good Man. His encore included two of my all time favorite songs, The Temptation of Adam and To the Dogs or Whoever. As with his previous shows, Ritter performed with an enthusiasm and joy that is simply infectious.

The opening band was a folk band called Elephant Revival from Colorado. They had a woman playing a washboard, and another playing the fiddle. Good times! Admittedly some of their songs were a bit artsy and experimental for my taste, but others that leaned towards rock and singer-songwriter, appealed to me. The lead male singer has a wonderful, rich voice.

Normally, The Fonda Theatre is one of my favorite concert venues. It's small enough to feel intimate, not a bad view in the house. It's stylish ( if not a bit unusual in its art work) and the sound is excellent. This was my first time that I had a negative experience at The Fonda Theatre. We had tickets for seats in the balcony, which are first come/first serve. Arriving early, we secured great seats, not that any spot in the balcony would have provided a bad view.

The problem was the security working the balcony. One of the guards that was stationed to patrol the front of the balcony had his radio turned up high. Many songs in Ritter's set were quiet, and the guard's radio kept going off, interrupting the performance. Although concert goers in the balcony complained and shot him dirty looks, he did nothing about the noise level on his radio. He was also intrusive when it came to people sitting in the reserved section at the front of the balcony. Instead of waiting between songs to check their tickets, he would loudly barrel over and communicate with them mid-song, no matter how quiet the nature of the song. It was incredibly distracting and rude. Never once was his noise a necessity or something that couldn't have waited to take place between songs.

What I admire most about Ritter, is how within the economy of a song, he is able to tell a complete story with vibrant characters and unusual phrasing. His writing is emotional, honest, and surprising. Frustrating security guard aside, I left the concert feeling energized and inspired to get back to writing my novel.

Trivia- Julie, who is German, told me that Ritter means "Knight" in German!

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

The marquee.

My ticket!

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!!!