Tag Archives: show and tell

entertainment overload: part 1

July 13, 2007Uncategorizedmusic, show and tellLauren @ mostly i run

Last night, we saw Dean and Britta at one of my favorite local venues, the Rams Head Tavern. The stage area is very intimate, holding only about 250 people. (Unfortunately, it was a little more intimate than it should have been — it was only about 25% sold!)

Dean and Britta are new to me. Both of them are former members of the band Luna (which I knew of in college, but never really listened to), among other bands. Britta was also in the movie Satisfaction, and was the singing voice of Jem!

While I don’t know them very well (and am really only familiar with their latest album), it was a great show. Like most performers at this venue, they hung out afterwards to sign CD covers (we have quite a collection!).

I highly recommend going to their myspace page and listening to ‘You turn my head around’ right now. I can’t stop playing it!

The concert-going continues tomorrow night …

show and tell: erin mckeown

January 26, 2007Uncategorizedshow and tellLauren @ mostly i run

I’ve been listening to Erin McKeown for a few years now.

Our local radio station had a showcase with a number of somewhat unknown performers. I wasn’t able to attend, but they had been playing songs by the participants to drum up interest. After I heard “Slung-Lo” on the radio, I immediately ordered her CD Grand.

That was two albums ago. Just weeks ago, Sing You Sinners was released.

The new album is a departure from the rest of her catalog, with only one original song. For Sinners, Erin has put her spin on a collection of lesser-known jazz standards.

While I prefer her original music, I think it’ll grow on me. I haven’t played it too much yet, but so far I know I especially like “Paper Moon.”

Sample verse, from “We are More” on We Will Become Like Birds:

it’s victorian this embroidering ordering and
sorting of memory to museum quality
in a box we are, we are and we’re art
for the victims and tourists to see

She’s an exciting performer, with a great jazzy style. Check out some samples on her site!

show and tell: laura veirs

January 8, 2007Uncategorizedshow and tellLauren @ mostly i run

I’ve been wanting to start introducing music to my blog, and now’s as good a time as any! I’m not going to go into full-blown reviews, rather, I’d just like to share things I love. Maybe you’ll love them too!

My husband introduced me to Laura Veirs last year, when he bought me her CD Year of Meteors. He often buys me music he thinks I’ll like, and is usually right.

I quickly fell in love this CD, and bought as may of her other albums as I could. (Her first self-titled, self-recorded album is sold out.)

Sample verse, from “Icebound Stream” on Carbon Glacier:

watch, I can flash across the sky
a lightning bolt from up on high
and I can crash into myself
now a flower blooms in reverse
and a song takes back a verse
a photograph fades to white

Laura’s style spans many styles: a little country, a little folky, a little jazzy, a little rock. She sings clever lyrics, creating a vivid image for each song with a clear, honest voice.

She toured with Colin Meloy of The Decemberists last year. Perhaps it was due to this tour pairing, she is featured in the song “Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)” on The Decemberists’ album The Crane Wife.

Check out some samples on her site, or a live show through KCRW archives of “Morning Becomes Eclectic” (there’s also another show from 2003, which I just realized was there!).

Enjoy!