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lenora_roseOysterband last night. Whooo.
Mom had to cancel last minute; we ended up dragging Cristina out instead (She and taleisin are the two people who borrowed CDs after the last music night, and since it was only one ticket, I thought it might be unfair to ask Brannie and Dan.)
The weirdest thing, on walking in, was that they didn't have a dance floor set up in the front. The WECC had it completely cleared for Horace X, with rows of seats behind and tables to the sides, and it got so jam-packed that after a while of only being able to bounce in place, I literally got pressed right out of it. I'd have figured the same thing here. Instead, they'd set it up as they did for Fairport Convention; tables down the middle and rows down the sides. So we snagged the very front stage right row, with me eyeing the six feet or so of space immediately in front as an ideal dance spot.
The second odd thing, to me, was that it had an unannounced opening act. I didn't mind, I just thought they usually listed the opener, even in small type, somewhere on the posters. In this case it was local singer-songwriter, Dan Frechette, a name I knew I recognized from Folk Fest and the like, but couldn't remember if I knew him as a good performer or a bad.
Evidence suggests, good. Aside from one overly country tune, I enjoyed pretty much all of his set, which included tastes of fifties jazz, rockabilly, and comedy. He was pretty good with the patter, too.
The main act was about what you'd expect. They started with Over the Water, also the opening track to the new CD (Freshly available this side of the ocean, but out since late 2007 at least on the other, IIRC), with Chopper plucking at an odd little square box with keys to make the tinkling opening (Called a mbira in the album credits). It's a slower piece with emphasis on harmony, so I sat to listen, then stood up before they kicked into the next song -- an odd choice, I think, If you Can't Be Good (a fast rocker but not one I would have picked off Rise Above.) Still, it was plenty of good excuse to dance. So I did.
Most of the dancers stayed on the other side of the stage, or at the far back (The lights were up enough, at Dan Frechette's request, that the band could probably see that, though J. J. did at one point joke that we must have a rule about no dancing before 10 PM.) So essentially, I had enough space the whole time, even when joined by others, to go all out. So I did.
I counted: I *didn't* dance to 3 tracks and two part-tracks, one of the latter only because I was fetching water. The damage is... not bad, actually. My calves are a little sore today, especially obvious going down stairs -- however, my right knee and left hip, the bits that twinge on me sometimes at the best of times, are beign nicer about it than I thought they would. The worst problem is that the lingering cough from my cold will probably linger an extra day or two. SOOO worth it.
This is the third time I've seen them live. The first time, I was seventeen. I have yet to be disappointed in the show they can put on. Or the music. I listen to them less than I used to mainly out of intense familiarity. The acoustics in the front corner of the WECC aren't perfect (Better even as far as the chairs where Cristina and Colin sat), but they're plenty good enough to appreciate the things they do. I got to appreciate again that Alan Prosser is a better guitarist than I tend to account for, considering the fiddle tends to get the really hooky bits, and the cello grabs more attention than a bass. The new drummer is pretty good, from the point of view of someone who kind of did have to pay attention to the beat.
My only real disappointment is that they pretty much disappeared from the stage at the end; Prosser came back to do esoteric guitar-putting-away-stuff, and did pause to chat, although I think it was with a member of the Dust Rhinos, as it happens. So I didn't feel like walking up and doing the fangirl "Can I get your autograph?" on the new CD Colin bought me.
Aside from the opening and closing numbers, I can't swear as to order. But here's the full set list, as divided by albums:
From Meet You There:
-Over the Water
-Here Comes the Flood (Not remotely to be taken for the Peter Gabriel song. More raucous than the album version)
-Where the World Divides (The album version is also on, gasp, their myspace page)
-Walking Down the Road With You
-Bury Me Standing
-Just One Life
-Dancing as Fast as I Can (A slow track, making it rather harder to dance to than you'd think from the title. But already my favourite; before the concert I thought I only favoured it because I got to hear - and dance to - a live version in advance off myspace. Nope.)
From Rise Above:
-Uncommercial Song
-If You Can't Be Good
From Here I stand:
-Street of Dreams (I wasn't sure how this would go off without a woman. It went off SPLENDIDLY.)
From Deep Dark Ocean:
-Native Son (With the welsh opening verse)
-Be My Luck
From The Shouting End of Life:
-By Northern Light (The old fast version but with a slow fiddle teaser from the new acoustic version on their myspace page)
-Everywhere I Go
-Put out the Lights (The last encore, done totally acoustic - by which I mean off the stage and away from the mikes, too. And opening with a relatively new cello bit.)
-The World Turned Upside Down. (The next to last encore)
From Holy Bandits:
-When I'm Up I can't Get down. (Which segued into Granite Years, so I can place it near the end.)
From Deserters:
-Granite Years (The main set closer)
From Wide Blue Yonder:
-Oxford Girl (A splendid near acoustic version (they used the mikes but I think they unplugged the instruments))
From elsewhere:
-A set of English polkas, I think a match for the ones on Alive and Acoustic, and certainly familiar.
-John Barleycorn (Similar to the Big Session version, though obviously without all the guest voices)
Tracks I wished they'd played but they didn't:
Rise Above
Molly Bond
False Knight on the Road (No keyboard on stage that i could see, so therefore impossible. Still...)
We Could Leave Right Now
And of course, there were plenty of others they could have played and made me happy to hear. As it is, my complaints about the set list? Well... none. Wisting after other songs they could have played isn't to say they did wrong, it's to say I'd have been okay with MORE.
Mom had to cancel last minute; we ended up dragging Cristina out instead (She and taleisin are the two people who borrowed CDs after the last music night, and since it was only one ticket, I thought it might be unfair to ask Brannie and Dan.)
The weirdest thing, on walking in, was that they didn't have a dance floor set up in the front. The WECC had it completely cleared for Horace X, with rows of seats behind and tables to the sides, and it got so jam-packed that after a while of only being able to bounce in place, I literally got pressed right out of it. I'd have figured the same thing here. Instead, they'd set it up as they did for Fairport Convention; tables down the middle and rows down the sides. So we snagged the very front stage right row, with me eyeing the six feet or so of space immediately in front as an ideal dance spot.
The second odd thing, to me, was that it had an unannounced opening act. I didn't mind, I just thought they usually listed the opener, even in small type, somewhere on the posters. In this case it was local singer-songwriter, Dan Frechette, a name I knew I recognized from Folk Fest and the like, but couldn't remember if I knew him as a good performer or a bad.
Evidence suggests, good. Aside from one overly country tune, I enjoyed pretty much all of his set, which included tastes of fifties jazz, rockabilly, and comedy. He was pretty good with the patter, too.
The main act was about what you'd expect. They started with Over the Water, also the opening track to the new CD (Freshly available this side of the ocean, but out since late 2007 at least on the other, IIRC), with Chopper plucking at an odd little square box with keys to make the tinkling opening (Called a mbira in the album credits). It's a slower piece with emphasis on harmony, so I sat to listen, then stood up before they kicked into the next song -- an odd choice, I think, If you Can't Be Good (a fast rocker but not one I would have picked off Rise Above.) Still, it was plenty of good excuse to dance. So I did.
Most of the dancers stayed on the other side of the stage, or at the far back (The lights were up enough, at Dan Frechette's request, that the band could probably see that, though J. J. did at one point joke that we must have a rule about no dancing before 10 PM.) So essentially, I had enough space the whole time, even when joined by others, to go all out. So I did.
I counted: I *didn't* dance to 3 tracks and two part-tracks, one of the latter only because I was fetching water. The damage is... not bad, actually. My calves are a little sore today, especially obvious going down stairs -- however, my right knee and left hip, the bits that twinge on me sometimes at the best of times, are beign nicer about it than I thought they would. The worst problem is that the lingering cough from my cold will probably linger an extra day or two. SOOO worth it.
This is the third time I've seen them live. The first time, I was seventeen. I have yet to be disappointed in the show they can put on. Or the music. I listen to them less than I used to mainly out of intense familiarity. The acoustics in the front corner of the WECC aren't perfect (Better even as far as the chairs where Cristina and Colin sat), but they're plenty good enough to appreciate the things they do. I got to appreciate again that Alan Prosser is a better guitarist than I tend to account for, considering the fiddle tends to get the really hooky bits, and the cello grabs more attention than a bass. The new drummer is pretty good, from the point of view of someone who kind of did have to pay attention to the beat.
My only real disappointment is that they pretty much disappeared from the stage at the end; Prosser came back to do esoteric guitar-putting-away-stuff, and did pause to chat, although I think it was with a member of the Dust Rhinos, as it happens. So I didn't feel like walking up and doing the fangirl "Can I get your autograph?" on the new CD Colin bought me.
Aside from the opening and closing numbers, I can't swear as to order. But here's the full set list, as divided by albums:
From Meet You There:
-Over the Water
-Here Comes the Flood (Not remotely to be taken for the Peter Gabriel song. More raucous than the album version)
-Where the World Divides (The album version is also on, gasp, their myspace page)
-Walking Down the Road With You
-Bury Me Standing
-Just One Life
-Dancing as Fast as I Can (A slow track, making it rather harder to dance to than you'd think from the title. But already my favourite; before the concert I thought I only favoured it because I got to hear - and dance to - a live version in advance off myspace. Nope.)
From Rise Above:
-Uncommercial Song
-If You Can't Be Good
From Here I stand:
-Street of Dreams (I wasn't sure how this would go off without a woman. It went off SPLENDIDLY.)
From Deep Dark Ocean:
-Native Son (With the welsh opening verse)
-Be My Luck
From The Shouting End of Life:
-By Northern Light (The old fast version but with a slow fiddle teaser from the new acoustic version on their myspace page)
-Everywhere I Go
-Put out the Lights (The last encore, done totally acoustic - by which I mean off the stage and away from the mikes, too. And opening with a relatively new cello bit.)
-The World Turned Upside Down. (The next to last encore)
From Holy Bandits:
-When I'm Up I can't Get down. (Which segued into Granite Years, so I can place it near the end.)
From Deserters:
-Granite Years (The main set closer)
From Wide Blue Yonder:
-Oxford Girl (A splendid near acoustic version (they used the mikes but I think they unplugged the instruments))
From elsewhere:
-A set of English polkas, I think a match for the ones on Alive and Acoustic, and certainly familiar.
-John Barleycorn (Similar to the Big Session version, though obviously without all the guest voices)
Tracks I wished they'd played but they didn't:
Rise Above
Molly Bond
False Knight on the Road (No keyboard on stage that i could see, so therefore impossible. Still...)
We Could Leave Right Now
And of course, there were plenty of others they could have played and made me happy to hear. As it is, my complaints about the set list? Well... none. Wisting after other songs they could have played isn't to say they did wrong, it's to say I'd have been okay with MORE.
