two of my favorites artists at one of my favorite venues in one of my favorite cities, a match made in heaven. or at a minimum, a damn fine evening of music.
i have been a fan of tift merritt since i stumbled on her first record “bramble rose” in ear x-tacy back in 2002, to this day, it is still one of my favorites and always among the highest in play counts on my i-pod. honestly, not a mediocre on song the disc. go buy it if you don’t already own it (and while you are at it, do yourself a favor and go ahead and pick up “tambourine,” “another country” and “see you on the moon” too, you won’t regret it).
i have seen her perform many times, the last being just a week ago in front of a huge crowd here on the banks of the ohio river at WFPK’s waterfront wednesday. tonight, in her role as supporting act for josh ritter, it was tift solo and acoustic, and it was wonderful. the crowd was mostly there for josh and new to tift and her music. with her charm, grace, voice and lyrics, she won them over and had the sold out crowd in the palm of her hand immediately.
she performed for about 30 minutes and mostly from her new record “see you on the moon,” but graced us with a beautiful “unplugged” and un-miked version of “supposed to make you happy” (from bramble rose) to a quiet, still crowd that was just stunning.
if you are unfamiliar with tift, do yourself a favor and get familiar with her. stat.
i will admit, i was late to the josh ritter party, but i’m sure glad i finally made it. better late than never as they say.
i first saw him two years ago at WFPK’s “waterfront wednesday,” i had heard the name for years but for some reason, just never checked him out. that show changed all of that. he is a performer that, while produces great work “on record,” really must be seen live to be truly appreciated.
there is an absolute joy that radiates from him and his band that is infectious, from the second they step on stage ’til they exit the venue, they are totally enjoying what they do and in turn, you do to. it’s hard to see this man walk up behind a microphone at the beginning of a show and not have a smile appear on your face. james taylor had a record called “dad loves his work,” that perfectly describes josh, as is often said, but rarely lived up to (imho), “they leave it all on stage.”
i have seen him/them four times now and i was impressed that first night, and yet i continue to be more and more impressed each time i see them. i was lucky enough to meet and chat with him several months ago at ear x-tacy and found him to be incredibly sincere, open and generous with his time. he is the only artist that i have met that early in the conversation, looked me in the eyes and asked; “so tell me about you…what do you do? who else do you listen to?” and as our discussion ended, rather than a handshake, he gave me a friendly hug followed by a sincere “thank you, i appreciate you listening and your support.” as i’ve said regarding few (very few) artists, he “gets it, i’m not sure what it is, but i know it when i see it and he get’s it.”
they are touring to support their new (and excellent) record, “so runs the world away,” and the disc was well represented, they always pull pretty deep from their catalog too, and last night dropped in a john prine cover (a welcome addition to any artist’s set), “mexican home” in reference to the day’s insane heat (a 100 degree day, w/typical midwest humidity).
josh is a great singer/songwriter, backed by a great, tight band that truly love what they do, and love sharing it with a roomful of like-minded souls.
check out more @: http://joshritter.com
more pictures @: http://picasaweb.google.com/bivester
what we need is music 