Dar Williams put on one of the best concerts I’ve honestly ever been to… Kinda “cozy,” since it was at the Cradle, and I’ll admit I did snicker a bit on the inside when she announced she was going to “rock us” at the beginning of the show, but any reservations I might have had were completely unfounded. It was musically and acoustically perfect; you could hear everything she sang and spoke, which is important given the nature of her music, and her band was perfect. It was just…so good. She had a way with the audience and stories in between songs that were spot-on, not just rambling, but related to the music in a poignant way that made the song that much deeper. I’m going to have to start buying cds again, I think. It’s important to have that artistic statement instead of doing the piecemeal thing via Kazaa (not to mention the fact that my car’s cd player has real issues with burned cds… But oh well).
And now I have a tiredness headache. The Krispy Kreme doughnuts eaten in Raleigh after the concert served their purpose of a sugar high, but now I’m crashing. ‘Night all.
*jealous* *grumblestupidworkgrumble*
Matt, I’m so jealous! I saw Dar Williams about two years ago – and I totally know what you mean – she has such a casual, understated stage presence and sense of humor. She’s a pretty amazing woman. Had you seen her in concert before?
Glad you had such a good time :-)
take care.
It was a fantastic show. No, I hadn’t seen her in concert before, since I’ve only recently discovered her music (thanks in no small part to your journal, I might add :o) We were about 15 feet from the low stage… Standing room only, but not packed in. Most of the songs she played were from her most recent album, but she did play “After All,” (solo, acoustic) dedicated to a pair of audience members I got the impression she had just met and talked to that day. She played “As Cool As I Am” too, a particularly rocking rendition with solos from virtually all the band members… Two encores, and there would have been more if she hadn’t played a quiet song for the second encore to settle everyone down and let them know that that was the end.
Somewhere ’round the middle of the concert, right before she played “Closer to Me,” she told how she was endeavoring to teach two of her nieces more about the wonders of the world and geography in general, and was trying to send them back something from every state on her tour, so she asked for recommendations. People yelled out “candy cigarettes,” “moonshine,” (to which she responded, “I hate to admit it to you, but that stuff’s not illegal anymore”), and “barbeque.” I hollered “hush puppies,” which several audience members agreed with, but I don’t think Dar heard me. Then a couple people yelled “Krispy Kreme doughnuts,” and she liked that idea. She waffled a little bit, though, talking about one of the other suggestions, when her bass player, standing right behind her, leaned into his mike and just said “Krispy Kreme.” Everybody laughed and that settled it. It was great.
Which album would you recommend as good introductory album?