So, at the beginning of October, I took a weekend trip to Philly to see Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs, and then Matt Nathanson the next night.
Ray was a solid show. Nice crowd, amazing atmosphere. Sexy raspy voice. Ray dresses like he's Amish, but I think that's just because he's trying too hard to be cool by being anti-fashion. He really draws you into his songs, and it's reminiscent of the the time I saw M. Ward in concert. It's just hypnotizing and relaxing.
Matt Nathanson's show was fantastic. Matt's shows are always part music, part comedy. He's just got this quirky, humble attitude. He's not trying too hard to fit into the industry, he just is who he is, and I like that. His Celine Dion impression left everyone bursting with laughter. He and his guitarist rocked a Simon and Garfunkel cover. They did their own rendition of "Blister in the Sun." Matt's songs are much different from his original singer/songwriter style back in the day, but I don't think it's in a bad way. His songs are tighter, some of them more radio-friendly, yet I don't ever feel like they're lacking substance or musicality, and I like his experimentation with other styles and the addition of songs with some guest singers.
After the show, he stayed over 2 hrs while people waited in line to meet him and take pictures and stuff. I had met him once before, and when I told him it was back in 2004, he was taken aback. "Whoa, 2004? Really?" He signed my poster which he said was awesome because, "It glows in the fucking dark." and told me the first girl he ever made out with was named Alyssa. How does a gal respond to that? Hot damn.
We were one of the last ones at the venue, it was raining, and everyone had stolen all the cabs, so we popped into the only bar in the area, right next to the venue to have a drink while waiting on a cab to make its way across town. It was there that we met Matt's band, as well as Vanessa Carlton's violinist (Vanessa was Matt's opening act). They were super sweethearts. At one point I may have called the adorable Jewish keyboardist an anti-Semite and threatened to take his job as Matt's keyboardist.
Anyway, 'twas good times.
Ray was a solid show. Nice crowd, amazing atmosphere. Sexy raspy voice. Ray dresses like he's Amish, but I think that's just because he's trying too hard to be cool by being anti-fashion. He really draws you into his songs, and it's reminiscent of the the time I saw M. Ward in concert. It's just hypnotizing and relaxing.
Matt Nathanson's show was fantastic. Matt's shows are always part music, part comedy. He's just got this quirky, humble attitude. He's not trying too hard to fit into the industry, he just is who he is, and I like that. His Celine Dion impression left everyone bursting with laughter. He and his guitarist rocked a Simon and Garfunkel cover. They did their own rendition of "Blister in the Sun." Matt's songs are much different from his original singer/songwriter style back in the day, but I don't think it's in a bad way. His songs are tighter, some of them more radio-friendly, yet I don't ever feel like they're lacking substance or musicality, and I like his experimentation with other styles and the addition of songs with some guest singers.
After the show, he stayed over 2 hrs while people waited in line to meet him and take pictures and stuff. I had met him once before, and when I told him it was back in 2004, he was taken aback. "Whoa, 2004? Really?" He signed my poster which he said was awesome because, "It glows in the fucking dark." and told me the first girl he ever made out with was named Alyssa. How does a gal respond to that? Hot damn.
We were one of the last ones at the venue, it was raining, and everyone had stolen all the cabs, so we popped into the only bar in the area, right next to the venue to have a drink while waiting on a cab to make its way across town. It was there that we met Matt's band, as well as Vanessa Carlton's violinist (Vanessa was Matt's opening act). They were super sweethearts. At one point I may have called the adorable Jewish keyboardist an anti-Semite and threatened to take his job as Matt's keyboardist.
Anyway, 'twas good times.