Brandi Carlile, on an acoustic tour around the country, never ceases to amaze

As it happens, I'm visiting family/vacationing in New York City this week, which serendipitously coincides with the East Coast leg of Brandi Carlile's current concert tour. As a result, I've spent many hours this week attending her shows, and have one more coming up this weekend. As usual, I really don't know what to say about the shows I've been to so far, because when I talk about Brandi, I turn into Barney Stinson and insert an "awesome" into every sentence. What follows is about the closest thing you'll get from me to a Brandi Carlile concert review.

She's on an acoustic tour with her band, which is fun because we get to hear new songs, ones she hasn't played in a while, and versions of her old ones which we haven't heard before. Additionally, her repertoire and range of motion has become vast enough to allow her to change up the set list from night to night, always keeping the show fresh and lively. It's really cool to hear some of the newer ones stripped down to just an acoustic guitar, and she's got one new one where Phil plays the ukulele and they all sing into one mic.

In case you've just tuned in to my blog, Brandi Carlile is a singer-songwriter who plays folk/pop/rock/country/etc. Her backup singers and band mates are Tim and Phil Hanseroth, twin brothers extraordinaire. She also has a cellist named Josh, who is almost as dreamy as Brandi. She plays a mean acoustic guitar, and looks really good doing it. Sometimes she plays electric guitar (though not on this tour), and looks even better doing that. She's learning to play piano, but (shh! don't tell her I said this), is adorably not very good at it.

I've always loved rock concerts, and I've always had my favorites of people I like to see play, or musicals I like to see over and over again, that sort of thing. But I have never before been a fan of an artist who gives such a dynamic performance, that there's never a moment during the show where I tune out, or think, "I don't like this song," or get bored. Not that I love every one of her songs, but she has such an interesting voice, that even if I'm not too fond of the melody, I still love to hear her sing it. Case in point: when her opener, Gregory Alan Isakov, took the stage, I was underwhelmed. His songs were fine, but his stage presence needed some work. However, the other night in Tarrytown, when Brandi did a bit with Gregory where she tried to sing some of his songs to see if she could get them right, they sounded awesome. I was engaged in the songs immediately, but only when Brandi herself sang them.

Her voice is ethereal, raw, and sweet all at the same time. She can cover Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Elton John, Radiohead and the Beatles, all with the same adept earnestness. I really don't know how to describe it, since I'm mostly tone deaf, but she's got that raspy thing that I love in all of my favorite singers, but can also sing amazingly high notes, and can yodel. Yes, she yodels. It's ridiculous. She has one of those voices where she could sing the phone book and make it compelling. Before I saw her play, her CDs were the ones I fell asleep to, because her voice has such a soothing quality to it. Now, I listen to live bootlegs of hers when I feel stressed or anxious and need to calm down.

These acoustic shows feature all of our favorites from her first 2 albums (the 3rd is due out in the fall), plus some new ones from the upcoming release, and some covers - a few which we already love, and some new ones. So far, the New York contingent of her tour has covered Long Island and Westchester, and this coming weekend she'll play to a sold out crowd in Manhattan. Highlights so far have included a cover of "I've Just Seen a Face," with a cameo appearance by Melissa Ferrick in Long Island; A new song called "Dreams," which she's been playing on the road for a while - it's a raw and passionate song about, well, dreams, and it's more intimate than what she usually plays, so watching it is a rare treat; A resurrected old song called "Over You," which she says "haunts her dreams" because she had buried it years ago and then ended up putting it on the new album, and her mother hates it because it's so angry; A cover of "Let it Be," with Brandi on piano and each of the twins singing a verse; A couple of verses of Johnny Cash's "Jackson" before she launches into her famous cover of "Folsom Prison Blues"; Closing the show with "Hallelujah," which she hasn't done in a while, but I'm glad it's back.

Check out "Let it Be" and "Dreams":





She killed in Long Island, and while I felt the acoustics in the Tarrytown Music Hall were not as good as they should be, and the energy level of both the crowd and Brandi, et al was not as high as it should have been, she amazed us at that show as well. This tour involves playing smaller venues, with a scaled back set and not as much gear, which allows her time to do signings and meet and greets after every show. If we didn't love her enough already, her willingness to meet fans, learn people's names, sign every bit of merch and stolen set lists, and be completely charming while doing it just seals the deal. And honestly, doing the signings is just good business sense - it's a really good way to sell merch.

Since I'm attending three Brandi shows this week, I'm finding myself running into the same people at all of the shows. I've met some of the fan club members before (all frequent participants in the discussion boards at againtoday.com, a fan-run website devoted to all things Brandi Carlile), and really enjoyed hanging out with old acquaintances as well as meeting new ones. Let me tell you, say what you will about internet fandoms and the like, but those people really know what they're doing when it comes to getting autographs and memorabilia, and just making the best out of every performance. During both of the shows I've been to this week, I collected my share of dust-collecting memorabilia, got it all signed, and said my share of really stupid, inappropriately fannish things to Brandi while doing it.

Don't get me wrong, though - the performances are still the best part. To be honest, while I do fall for the glamour of it every time, I find that meeting Brandi, saying inappropriate things, trying to be her buddy or whatever it is I'm doing... it kind of takes away from the experience a little bit. I like my rock stars to be, well, rock stars. They are gods and goddesses (well, in my case, mostly goddesses) of the stage and shiny lights, if you will. They're cowboys, on steel horses they ride. (Sorry, I had to.) I feel like after enough of these meet and greets, it will be like watching your friend at her recital. (It would be a damn good recital at that, but still.) I hate to admit it, but shaking her hand too many times may take away a little bit from the fantasy that is watching her make that face and do that thing with her voice when she plays "Dreams." It's more fun to wonder about what she's like than to actually know what she's like. Not because she's not lovely, but because wondering what she's like is kind of the point of her being a rock star. Besides, aside from overcompensating by saying inappropriate things, the only thing I can ever think to say to her is "you're amazing." Like she doesn't already know that. But, while I later question the wisdom of always being in the autograph line, I do fall for it every time... it simply cannot be helped.

Disclaimer: All of the photos and videos in this post were taken by me. Please excuse their shoddiness.