Just a lone man on a stage with a bit of a combover and an electric guitar. He was a singer/songwriter in essence so the electric guitar was different – his sound was loud as well, almost to the point of distortion, which I blamed on the kid sound man diddling on his iphone. But it also spoke to the performer’s boldness, and really lack of singer/songwriter-ness. I really liked his deep voice. He immediately reminded me of Red House Painters – that kind of melancholy rumble. Interesting lyrics too that make you want to pay attention. After the first song, he asked the audience if they had any questions – unusual and cute. A guy raised his hand and said, “Edward or Jacob?” The only reason I got it was because my niece had asked me the very same question the week before – David Bazan totally didn’t get it, and good for him. He rallied, debated the merits of the two names, and picked Jacob because of his “Christian background.” The question asker was polite and didn’t call him on it. His Christian background came up several times (he said it like he was no longer Christian?), but I attribute the blend of passion and restraint in his music to that background. Another audience member asked him what he thought about the name Jacobo, and he didn’t get that either. Then I was starting to feel embarrassed for him, but finally he got it: “Oh you mean how people in other languages say Jacob…” I didn’t like the second more rocking song. The songs I liked the most kind of had a Songs: Ohia sound, but he performed them in the way Songs: Ohia could never pull off live (damn that band for disappointing me so many times). I couldn’t figure out why people were slinking across the floor trying to get close ups of him… I’d looked the show up and given it a thumbs up in my little black book, but then promptly forgot whatever I read. Pedro the Lion! They were The Band one SXSW – I don’t know them or didn’t like what I heard and forgot about them – but any band deserves a second chance, especially when their “lead singer and creative force” put on such an interesting show all by himself. He asked for questions after his second song too, and then it was really endearing because it seemed he was serious instead of going for an effect – and especially because he was willing to risk it after the first question session. The Jacobo guy asked him a long muffled question that Bazan repeated as whether he wrote offensive lyrics because he was trying to live up to his image…. Or… basically why? It was a great question and he gave a great answer. Basically that this is art, it’s the kind of art he likes, he immediately related to punk music when he first heard it, still loves Fugazi, and so he feels he can push people in his music in ways he wouldn’t in real life. Someone else asked what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a musician. He thought about it and said that he would probably be a junior high teacher, because it would be the sort of job with levels of humiliation comparable to touring every day. And then I really liked him – he was kind of deadpan comedian. He reminded the crowd how lucky they were to have a music store like this, how rare it is, and it’s true. Waterloo will always be number one in my heart, but Cactus Music is pretty all right. Speaking of, I particularly like the monument on one wall to two great Austin bands, Black Angels & Trail of Dead – although I think it’s more the label they’re both on than a monument to Austin – I’ll believe what I want. I also love the two cloth murals that portray Johnny Cash and Ray Charles (El Rey Charles) as day of the dead skeletons – new Texas personified. Driving out of the parking lot, I passed two people sitting at a table outside a restaurant of some sort, with a bag of Chiclk-Fil-A and martinis on their table – and that’s Houston for you.

I saw him years ago at Waterloo Records and did not enjoy the experience. I felt like we were all exploiting his mental illness as cool ‘weirdness.’ And the music was terrible. He was much better at this show – more melodic songs and a clearer voice. He had another guy playing guitar for him. Maybe because he’s developed tremors – his hand was shaking so badly as he read lyrics that he had trouble reading them. The place was packed but he only played two songs – without apology. His second and last song totally reminded me of our first experience together with lyrics in which he described himself as a monkey in a zoo, and reminded the crowd that they could be like him, if not for the luck of the draw.

I came to Rodney Crowell through the movie Heartworn Highways – it’s a movie I love first because Townes Van Zandt is in it, and second, because I generally really like the Texas songwriter style (dark country folk) that characterizes most of the artists featured in the movie. “Bluebird Wine” is the song Rodney performed in the movie that made me remember him, and I was pretty excited to see him in person – his music and persona did not disappoint. Like his musical peers, he carries himself with a wry poetic intelligence as reflected in his song lyrics and his spoken interludes between songs. He’s very funny. He has recently been writing with a woman named Mary, who is a professor of English, and similarly grew up in a godforsaken Texas town with an alcoholic parent. They wrote a song that they imagined Hank Williams would have written had he ever gotten sober, which was an amusing idea. Vince Neil was the artist who actually sang this song on their latest release, and Rodney summed this experience up with Mary’s words: “Fuck Vince Neil” – which also summarizes the divide between mainstream country and these ‘outlaw country’ singers. Rockboy noted that he seems to be more of a songwriter than a singer, in the tradition of Kristofferson, although his singing was pleasant. In addition to the joy of seeing this man, I was experiencing the joy of being at my favorite place for in-stores after a year away from Austin – all of the regulars were there, getting as much of the free beer as they could. Every time I would applaud, I had an inexplicable urge to scream, “I love you Austin” (a la “That 70s Show”). Rodney diverged into the story of his former wife, Roseanne Cash (Johnny Cash’s daughter), telling us how he had the good or bad fortune to introduce her to her next husband. He joked that when the three of them get together, her new husband thanks him, and Rodney turns right around and thanks her new husband. He prefaced his last song by telling us that Guy Clark (another one of the artists featured in Heartworn Highways) had lost his wife, Suzanne Clark, only a few nights before. They had all been friends for decades and Rodney’s voice started breaking as he explained how Suzanne had been the muse not only for Guy, but for all of the guys, and that he was going to sing a song he had never performed for the public but that he used to sing to her. It was something about an angel and his obvious pain seemed so genuine and evident, what could I do but cry. I was mortified to be crying at Waterloo (there’s no crying in Waterloo) but was somewhat relieved to see that half of the crowd was wiping at their eyes by the end of the performance when Rodney just wasn’t able to go on.

[Denver, CO] He had an electric banjo, or at least as far as I could tell. I’d never seen such an instrument before. Despite being a lone man with a lone instrument, he somehow didn’t fall into the bland singer/songwriter category. I enjoyed him. Upon looking him up, it turns out he did a SXSW showcase this year which also confirms he’s no slouch.

hippie extreme setting: barefoot, dreadlocks, doing rope tricks – Rockboy was very bothered by this but I was more bothered by the lackluster music – a woman and a man trying to kill whatever life was left in singer/songwriter music – she whispered along to her dull guitar strums – he livened things up a bit with some nice backwalking riffs – I’d like to say it was because the sound was bad but I’d be lying- we left before their set ended

Kristin Ezbicki is an unassuming
singer-songwriter with country sensibilities who showed up on a porch on Willow Ave on a sunny afternoon in Somerville, MA. Dubbed Porchfest, the event was a city-wide initiative to highlight local artists by having them perform on people’s porches. After a rainy miserable week, the sun came out for a few hours as Ezbicki took the stage to promote her recent album, Bring Me to the Light.

Given the venue (a porch), the limited staging space she had to share with a guitarist, a keyboard and a drum kit, and a roving audience who came and went by foot, on bicycle, plus the constant stream of cars passing by, Ezbicki handled the entire atmosphere with aplomb. But what quickly became evident, despite Ezbicki not being a household name, was that the people who stopped to listen to the music stuck around. She was good. Her voice was warm and her songs struck a chord with the crowd.

Weaving deftly between haunting lost-love melodies like Anna and an Edgar Allan Poe poem A Dream Within a Dream set to original music, Ezbicki ran through a forty-five minute set of original tunes. The highlight was the gorgeous rendition of the album title track, Bring Me to the Light that soared through the crowd (which, fortunately for all involved, happened to be at its largest size at that moment).

For a change of pace, Ezbicki invited the house band on stage for a jam session of familiar tunes including Honky Tonk Woman and Dead Flowers (both Rolling Stones covers). And the surprise of the night was a woman named Anastasia who was recruited from the crowd to play guitar – and took lead vocals on an impressive version of Coldplay’s Clocks.

Ezbicki handled all the elements and surprises and put on a terrific showcase for her talents and her original music. Reportedly, her debut album was six years in the making. Here’s hoping the next one comes sooner than that.

[New York, NY] we walked 3 miles uphill in snow to see this band because Rockboy and ThinLizzyLover know the bass player from Las Vegas when they were all young high school lads – it was a grey-topped crowd of former bad boys – he was a harmless singer/songwriter type who told lots of stories

[New York, NY] skinny white man on an acoustic guitar with a butter voice – accompanied by an electric bass, trombone, drums, and sometimes a sax – but then he was more soulful angsty as was the music – and then they were a band for children (“I don’t want to go to the candy store anymore”), sure, it was about how at least he’s addicted to candy instead of auto asphyxiation, etc., but as far as the me and the kids in the audience were concerned, they were one of those bands musicheads go to once they have kids and can’t stay out late – the two really little boys at the next table to me were loving it – the one who was about 5 was all rapt attention and shiny eyes, obviously in total agreement about the lure of candy stores – the other one, maybe 8, was practicing piano scales with his fingers on the table – Rockboy liked this band a lot more than I did, but they were high quality and diverse at least

a thin self-described-neurotic who plays girl rock on an electric guitar all by her lonesome, her voice was good, I thought she could be a Liz Phair for a second but her lyrics were way too average, her biggest downfall was her insecurity – she kept criticizing herself, faltering during songs, etc., Rockboy found her much less tolerable than I did but I do have a high tolerance for any female who occupies the stage all by herself and no less with an electric guitar

three average guys singing average songs, mellow jammy singer/songwriter with a country tone, reminded me of Songs: Ohia but less fabulous of course, some Neil Young, the interesting thing was that they acted as the house band for the night, playing on the window stage while the other bands were setting up, very classy of the Hole

Quiet is the new loud. First struck by Richman’s constantly dopey expression, with the eyes of a cult-member and a mouth that is always slightly open. I like some of his songs just fine and I love his early Modern Lovers work, but the last time I saw him, I was bored stiff. The music was the same tonight—Spanish guitar, tribal drums, jazzy singer/songwriter, kind of jammy, mostly anti-pop—but the vibe with the crowd was all different. It was an intimate setting, and his lyrics were allowed to shine. Jonathan to the crowd: “Don’t just stare! What’s the point?” It was a poetry slam with a Sesame Street sensibility. He managed to pull off a performance that approached The Mountain Goats brilliance at live shows, giving off the feeling that we were privy to personal revelations. The first time he started dancing like a painfully white boy, it was hilarious. Jonathan on growing up weird: “My parents trusted me on the way to bohemia…” Jonathan on the tactlessness of ‘picking up’ a girl: “Hey, let’s pick up a 6-pack, 2 tires, and 2 girls…” Jonathan on your girlfriend leaving you for her old boyfriend: “Well, she’s back with her old boyfriend… Just let her go into the darkness… You want to tell her, her boyfriend’s no friend…Just take them sheets to the Laundromat!” Jonathan on building walls around yourself: “When we refuse to suffer, we refuse to feel, we can’t fall in love, … but we can have sexual relations.” Jonathan on his pretentious adolescence: “I talked with an accent I didn’t even have… in my affected accent [Jonathan as the crowd’s response: his affected accent]… such a brat… I should have been bullied more than I was.” The thing is, he’s still that adolescent. He sang Pablo Picasso with a fake little accent. He loves to slip into singing in different languages. The kooky dancing wasn’t funny after the first few times. All of his overt attempts to be eccentric just create distance. Still really enjoyed the show.

With a deft mix of theatrics and strumming, Jim Bianco warmed up the crowd on the opening night of Concrete Blonde’s 20 Years of Bloodletting tour. Bianco impressively coaxed a lot of sounds out of his guitar and his vocals, whether he was singing about hillbilly weddings or careers changes. In between each song, he added some backstory in a smoothly sarcastic, self-deprecating manner.

He opened with a barn-burner To Hell With the Devil and stuck mostly to tracks from his 2008 album, Sing. He introduced Painkiller as a ballad (term used loosely) and said of Tennessee Wedding, “I don’t perform this in Tennessee.” Each song told a pretty specific story, embellished by Bianco’s natural hammy stage presence. It was engrossing, and he made the best of his 40-minute set, even getting the lighting guy to help set the tone before I Got a Thing for You. The best of the night was the song Elevator Operator (it’s pretty much about what you think it’s about) and Sing.

[Toronto, Canada] singer/songwriter with a piano – her voice is nice but doesn\”t bring a lot else to the music like inventiveness, passion, etc. – like I told her, SingingSociologist is worlds better – Basia\”s got more of a world-folk sound on MySpace and I think she might not have her full band with her for SXSW since she was only (I think?) accompanied by her piano

[France] her song “I’ll Kill Her” is indescribably cute and hilarious but she didn’t play it and mocked it when I asked her to – despite that, I enjoyed her show – her little-girl voice bends and curls and then she’s screaming – the one consistency in her sound is a sort of hippie ethic but otherwise it was something of a spoken performance with a backing band – Rockboy only saw the tail end of her show and immediately declared her pretentious, disingenuous and annoying all of which are true as well – for example, there was a long period of time when her MySpace tagline was “Soko is dead” which prompted cries of adoration form her fans and pleas to come back which she did of course

it\”s still surprising to hear beautiful noises come out of a person you\”ve only heard speak so far – but I wasn\”t surprised that Karen sings with the heartfelt passion that I always suspect is under her cool calm collected non-singing demeanor – I liked that the passion seemed more genuine than showmanship, as if her songs were about things she had actually experienced – her voice is rich and even, with a cool elegance that is soothing – interesting and smart lyrics and well-crafted songs – she plays with her voice at times and she used some sort of beat-recorder to add rhythm to one song – I especially liked that she\”s brave enough to pause and give the song room to breathe – and she managed to play guitar well with half-frozen fingers!

a former member of The Hidden Cameras and a golden frosted fairy of a man – he\”s near albino – his voice was both good and interesting, but his singer-songwriter style grew old very quickly – towards the end of the set, the band moved into indie rock material that was more exciting

Tori Amos gave an exquisite performance, starting with a three-song whammy including a big, big version of Big Wheel. The Sinful Attraction tour rolled into Boston for the last U.S. stop showing no fatigue from the twenty-plus dates that came before. The show began and ended on a euphoric high. The setlist was heavy with American Doll Posse tracks and a big nod to From the Choirgirl Hotel.

There wasn’t much talking, aside from introducing the band, but just a seamless run through some of her best tracks, including a heavenly solo version of Silent All These Years on the Bösendorfer (during the Lizard Lounge segment). The new material was pretty, but simply couldn’t match the depth of her older tracks which was more obvious by her pairing Tear in Your Hand against Welcome to England (the new album’s first single). Of the new material, Flavor, stood on its own the best, bookended by two amazing performances, Space Dog and Hotel respectively.

She picked a lot of songs that really focused on her vocals and keyboards, shunting Matt Chamberlain’s drums and Jon Evan’s guitar parts to the background. Especially songs like The Power Of Orange Knickers and Digital Ghost which climaxed on her performance alone, the backing instruments very much seemed like an afterthought.

The surprise of the night was when Tori came out in her Santa persona (from the ADP album) to pound through throbbing versions of Raspberry Swirl and She’s Your Cocaine and Body and Soul during the encore. Holding a martini glass, Santa flicked her drink on the crowd in the front row. But here’s the thing, the costume change revived the energy of the show in a way I couldn’t have predicted. The collective vigor of the venue, including from Tori herself, took a huge upswing with Santa on stage, matching the power of Big Wheel in a way that nothing in between could hold a candle to.

Tori Amos setlist
Give
Big Wheel
Cornflake Girl
Bells For Her
Space Dog
Flavor
Hotel
Tear In Your Hand
Welcome To England
Jamaica Inn
Silent All These Years
You Know I’ve Gotta Go improv
Cool On Your Island
Lady In Blue
The Power Of Orange Knickers
Talula
Digital Ghost
Precious Things
Strong Black Vine
Encore
Raspberry Swirl
She’s Your Cocaine
Body And Soul

this venue immediately transports you to another place with irregular stadium seating, Mai Thai drinks, open-aired roofing, and the sweet smell of pot – the world of dub, ska, rocksteady and things reggae-beautiful – I was immediately soothed but was scrunching my brows once the music started – it was sounding like Lenny Kravitz to me which was not what I was looking for – UrbanBiker, a far more savvy consumer of the genre, stated in flat disdain “this is not reggae! this is a Jamaican singer/songwriter!” – all he needed to say, “singer/songwriter” is the death knell no matter where you’re from – he islanded it up a little bit as songs progressed but never approached escape.

I’ve seen her before in The Knitters – suppose I developed an affection for her because of Rockboy’s minor obsession and because I am fascinated by people who traverse from the world of punk (X) to the world of country (The Knitters) – the crowd was a lot of late-middle-aged men with badges. ech – Exene looked ancient – maybe 60? – she had attitude in abundance in demeanor and speech but her music was just blah – singer/songwriter with a slight country-folk twang – we left for hotter waters

I was silly excited to see this show – I only discovered him in the last year or so but love his work with The Modern Lovers AND his solo career – of course the post-punkness of The Modern Lovers is appealing to me but there is generally something very appealing to me about his voice and his song constructions – so he turned out to be a bit of a wack job with perpetually turned-up eyebrows in a seemingly contrived expression of innocence and goofiness that I suspect masks a deep dislike for humankind and a vicious little ego – but maybe being an odd genius results in such behaviors and feelings – the real surprise to me is that the man is a guitar virtuoso, playing songs riddled with jazz and Latin influences and then handling both the bass and lead progression in a song – he would end each song with a spin of his guitar – in my theoretical version of his life, he was the sort who got bored so easily and quickly that he had to constantly move on to new things or be suffocated, so he was a punk and then went into a prolific career as a singer/songwriter and then moved out of the US and became infused with new sounds and learned to speak French and Spanish – he sang several songs in Spanish and midway through the show got into the habit of re-singing the song he just sang, either a new version of the intro or the entire song in a different language, I found this presumptuous and pretentious and wasn\”t sure if he was trying to insult the crowd or really saw value in resigning the same songs – oh! oh! the most important part for understanding my impressions of this show: $15 was charged for him alone without the standard two opening bands, he started at 9pm, he insisted on no air-conditioning at the show, it is still in the 90s in Austin, therefore eccentric or pretentious – he had something of the Mountain Goats about him but his songs aren\”t as quirky or deep but rather more childlike and silly – this may have been a reflection of his poorly crafted set list for the show, at least insofar as the songs I like by him – lastly and most importantly, I figured out that my affinity for Jonathan Richman is a result of the incongruity of his post-punk voice overlaying infectious little Latin-flavored melodies

Fairly generic female-empowered pop. Rambled between songs and not in any focused way. The set included Steer and Angela from her 2008 album On a Clear Night but none of it was particularly memorable.

knew them from one song that I really liked on Pandora but was more interested when I found out that Stephen Malkmus of Pavement is a member – turns out they\”ve been around since the late 80s – the lead singer David Berman is very engaging – he\”s thin (a la melancholy drug abuser) with swagger and sunglasses and a speak-singing low voice that alternated between sounding like Lou Reed and David Bowie – they\”re like a lo-fi country or indie rock band with a poet/glam rocker fronting them – Emo\”s was overflowing with random people – the whole band had class and I am a new fan

started by informing the crowd that he\”d started the tour with a band but was with a band no more, generally seemed bitter and Emo\”s is just a venue entirely unsuited to a singer/songwriter, otherwise he did a good job for being a lone guy on a big stage, nice voice and sufficient stage presence, think his purported nuance was lost on a crowd of that size though

Prologue:

A long-time closet favorite of mine – her melodies are soothing – her lyrics are smart, interesting and relatable – she’s stunning – realized tonight that her incongruently deep speaking voice may be what makes her songs within my range

Austin City Limits tapings:

Only my second because they make the tickets practically impossible to get (not for sale so have to have connections), this of course creates the requisite mystique, plus they generally only book high-quality musicians and have a tremendous sound system, the crowd (seated and genteel) is basically middle-aged musicheads and suburban people who otherwise don’t go to see music

Impressions:

Quite awkward with gangly and ungraceful height and shoulders hunching up to her ears – her face matches her deep voice with sharp features, a defined brow and oft-blinking eyes – despite all of this she is an attractive person – pretty rigid on the stage outside of her mildly ribald between-song commentaries and a seemingly intentional stage presence (smiles, rock star poses, etc.) for the last song – seemed to be using “fuck” to convince the audience that she is not mainstream

Started with single “Freeway” from her new album – the song that her fans supposedly hate, “The Great Beyond,” was clearly a departure (almost proggy classic rock) – but then I realized that she’s genuinely got a prog rock bent what with the moog and organ accompanying on every song – had a token world-music song – did a very nice job with “Save Me” and “One is the Loneliest Number” from Magnolia – hit every song from my favorite album (Bachelor No. 2) except for “Hanging Around” – the three encore songs were all from this album: “How Am I Different,” “Nothing is Good Enough,” “Calling It Quits”

Moog player was clean-cute-cute with Converses – organ player was old rocker with long frayed hair in a Mean Eyed Cat t-shirt (a Johnny-Cash themed bar in Austin) and velvet jacket – buddy on bass was 80s geek with bold tie and striped shirt under business jacket – drummer was a healthy round bald guy with heavy glasses – not sure that she has a regular band outside of the geek

Her singing voice is very natural and effortless – it can be melodious and perfect but then there’s a constraint or stiltedness to it (somehow a part of that effortlessness) – something about this and her general minor-chord aura reminds me of Townes Van Zandt – realized that part of the stiltedness is her voice sliding into nasal restraint for the higher notes – I figured all of this out when she did my favorite song “Red Vines” without her band, slowed down and acoustic

Doesn’t try to sound like the boys but definitely not a girly girl singer – she’s a good pop song writer: melodies with some driving loops but some of her songs sound too much like her (repetitive or too clearly Aimee Mann) but some are lovely and take you in – high quality pop that endures

Her between-song banter largely involved mocking the pee-ers – admitted she was very nervous – told a story about a song that she wrote for Shrek 3 that was in part inspired by Snow White and the dwarves that she quite liked despite it not being quite her style (try-try-try again theme) – but after they asked her to speed it up and then asked her to make it sound like Fall Out Boy and then didn’t accept it anyway she totally reworked it and changed the meaning to a twisted fairytale theme

Epilogue:

So I was operating under the impression that she was a fellow child of the 90s in her Doc Martens, jeans and funky little t-shirt and vest – not to mention she sang a song about being 31 and realizing that your life isn’t what you expected it would be and that you really ought to have your shit more together – but upon some googling when I got home I figured out that she’s 47 (!!!), was in a punk band called Young Snakes when she dropped out of Berklee music school and then a new wave band Til Tuesday in the 80s.

Jacqueline Smith was charming with a 45-minute set that mixed in original tunes with some well-chosen cover songs. Accompanied by a guitarist and occasionally tapping on the keyboard in front of her, Smith’s primary weapon was her voice and she perfectly captured the audience with her sweet voice. She described all her songs as being about “heartbreak or songs about ‘done me wrong’.” Occasionally offering the audience a joke that “sounded better in my head” she said laughingly after, her banter was way more alluring than she may have realized.

She followed the bittersweet Ticket for a Train with a Ray LaMontagne cover Jolene. But she shined best on her own material, from the jazzy Cavalier to NY State and the simmering All Over Me. The absolute highlight was the gorgeous lament Siren Song, which she promised would be the title track of her upcoming LP release. “Where did all the good men go?” she crooned on the cut, “pretty girls took them every one.” That track alone makes the heartbreak worth it.

Andrew Mitchell hit the stage at Kennedy’s Midtown bar with his guitar, opening with a more than respectable version of R.E.M.’s (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville. His 45-minute set also included the Styx cover Come Sail Away and Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd, a throwback to 1939. Considering he was playing to only a handful of people, he still gamely put on a noteworthy show.

very atypical for Austin, this band is a vehicle for girls with pretty voices, ballads and ditties as if they were little girls playing around at home, I liked them, the two harmonizers and the lead vocalist all look alike, we were actually there as stalkers of one of the backup harmonizers (PartyBoy’s ex) although PartyBoy denies that he happens to show up at every single Dana Falconberry show

We only caught the last two songs of her set, a Beatles cover and one of her own, due to hitting traffic on 95 near Gillette Stadium, where Bruce Springsteen was playing tonight. Not much to comment except her performance seemed artful.

Catie Curtis brought her phenomenal singer-songwriter talents to Natick for a homecoming performance of sorts. The Center for Arts in Natick is an intimate stage to play on, where the artists just walk into the room and on to the stage. Accompanied by Kevin Barry, who has played with Paula Cole and Mary Chapin Carpenter, Curtis opened with waggish Slave to My Belly and masterfully ran through a two-hour show that covered many of her most popular songs and new ones from her upcoming release Sweet Life.

In the folk tradition, Curtis peppered every song with commentary, random stories about herself and her family and life as an artist. One story was about a sign on a church bathroom stall door that said “Please flush the toilet behind you.” Sure, it had nothing to do with the song that followed, but nobody in the audience minded even a bit. She explained a name change of the track Are You Ready to Fly? from the new album was because people weren’t taking in the wistful meaning of the original title Teenagers Jumping off the Bridge.

She had her rockin’ moments, notably Kiss That Counted and her softer side, a gorgeous cover of Emmylou Harris’s Red Dirt Girl. Lovely was a track that, as she said, “she wrote in the 20′s” and would have easily fit as a big band tune (or Cole Porter for that matter). Other tracks from the new album, out September 8, The Princess and the Mermaid and Happy were standout moments in an otherwise impressive showcase.

A request from the audience for Dandelion made her react in surprise, “Really?” but she gamely played the song. Towards the end of the night, she played a song for parents of teenagers, Don White’s Be Sixteen with Me. Another request Magnolia Street bookended her main set paired with the doleful Hard Time with Goodbyes.

The encore was two songs. The first, the exquisite Love Takes the Best of You was introduced by Curtis taking requests then concluding “I’ll play a song you’ve never heard.” She finished with Passing Through which ignited a soulful impromptu audience singalong on the chorus.

Chris Trapper strapped on the guitar and launched into a 45 minute warm-up for Catie Curtis with the heartfelt Letter to the Middle of the World. Armed with a raspy, unpolished voice and slight stutter, the lanky performer quickly warmed the crowd to him, wrapping each song in a story. Boston Girl was written after spending a year on the road, about the comforts of coming home. Birthday Song was his answer to singing happy birthday to an audience member. And Wish I Was Cool was every geek’s high school reunion song.

His set transitioned smoothly from folk balladry like Starlight to more uptempo numbers, the best of which Boston Girl left huge smiles around the room. Sure, most of the songs were about that special girl but his awkwardness and utter sincerity made the delivery of each wholly charming.

Cyndi Lauper is just amazing. Her political speech was uplifting (think southern gospel preacher stumping for the get out and vote) and she touched the crowd through her music. The highlight was an impossibly gorgeous and spare version of I’m Gonna Be Strong and the classic Time After Time with an a capella intro of the track Lyfe from her new album Bring Ya to the Brink. While she was more talkative this year, she also seemed a little more tense overall, and several of her songs seemed to stop abruptly with a flick of her hand towards the band.

The new material fit in great with her classic tracks. Rocking Chair, despite being a weird cat-lady kind of song, actually came across as a solid live tune. She sang Set Your Heart, which she debuted last year on tour, from the middle of the audience as if she was determined to reach out to everyone. And Into the Nightlife was a pure disco tune. She pulled out an acoustic version of Erasure\”s Blue Savannah by way of leading into a rocking I Drove All Night. The entire ensemble came out at the end for Everyday People and the show closer True Colors.

Cyndi Lauper setlist
Change of Heart
Rocking Chair
Set Your Heart
When You Were Mine
Sisters of Avalon
She Bop
Into the Nightlife
Blue Savannah/I Drove All Night
I’m Gonna Be Strong
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Encore
Rain on Me
Lyfe (intro)/Time After Time
Money Changes Everything
2nd Encore
Everyday People (with ensemble)
True Colors (with ensemble)

Friend3 and Friend2′s band of four months – they both sing though Friend2 is more Mountain Goats while Friend3 is dramatic rock, Friend1′s ex-roommate is on trumpet, “burner” on incongruent V-shaped guitar, long curly hair on drums, band includes some three other members-mostly brass, so as the vocals/songwriters varied did the music, from witty-lyric silly-voice songs to dramatic rock opera numbers to a rock-medium when both sang together, distinctive diverse band with musical talent, they\”re disparate right now plus can’t judge them fairly because I know them